#warofshallows
## War of Shallows 004: Stop Dreaming
"I can't see them," Radiv said.
"Who?"
"All of them. The lives. Whatever they were."
Juva rose behind him. "Stand still."
Radiv obeyed immediately.
That alone nearly made her laugh.
He straightened his back and fixed his eyes on North Eis. His hair flattened against his head, dark and motionless. Both hands hung loose at his sides.
"Pay complete attention," Juva said.
"I am."
"Do not move."
She stepped away.
Radiv waited for her palm.
Juva kicked him between the shoulders.
He left the bank with his arms still obediently at his sides and struck the river face-first. Water rose in a sheet, briefly erasing the reflected stars.
Juva dropped to one knee laughing. By the time Radiv surfaced, she had tears in her eyes.
He stumbled through the shallows, hair streaming behind him like red weed.
"You told me not to move!"
"You moved."
"You kicked me into a river."
"Then the lesson was accurate."
Radiv snatched stones from the water and threw them in rapid succession. Juva knocked each one aside without standing. The final stone she caught and crushed in her fist.
"I can't believe you're going to lead Pila Land someday," he shouted.
His hair shook itself dry. It settled into a dark red that matched his anger.
"At least I am a better choice than you."
"If the qualification is having the biggest ass in Pila Land, you're the only choice."
"Big ass or tiny brain. Which would you choose?"
"You tell me. You have both."
Silence held for half a breath.
Then Juva laughed again. Radiv tried not to, failed, and sat heavily in the water. The current folded around his waist.
Above them the sky deepened from glass-blue to something almost black. North Eis remained bright, but the other stars appeared sharper now. Radiv looked at them without speaking.
Juva's laughter faded first.
"I can tell you one thing for certain, my big brother."
"That you're paying for new trousers?"
"One ruler cannot face what is coming."
Radiv stopped wringing water from his clothes.
The words did not suit the evening. A moment before, the river had held their insults and laughter. Now it seemed to carry the sentence away from them as fast as it could.
"What is coming?"
Juva looked toward the far bank. She could still feel the lives of North Eis crowded behind its single point of light.
"I don't know."
"You usually wait until after you know nothing before sounding mysterious."
"I am serious."
Radiv stood. Water poured from his untearable boots.
"Then perhaps Pilas should become choosers like the Dials. We can spend all our time arguing over which leader is least useful."
"No."
"No to several leaders or no to arguing?"
Juva faced him.
"I mean you should be ready."
"For what?"
"To do all the work of a leader without receiving any of its rewards."
His smile returned, but not completely.
"You always did know how to offer an opportunity."