Dated January 3-6 SoSuWriMo 854

Up until yesterday, the Master Hunter had been nothing but a giant ball of nerves and doubts. It had always been a part of his life plan to find a woman to fall in love with and ask to be his mate, but when he had actually come to that important threshold he had hesitated on many occasions. It had all been silly though. Deep down the man had known that, but of course he had started thinking too much and that always lead him to have doubts that otherwise would not be there and someone else had to be the one to talk sense back into him. Yesterday though, he had finally taken the plunge. He had told Liliana, through the story of his own parents, the traditional way a proposal and mateship was carried out in AniWaya and then he had he had gone through those very motions himself with her. And she had accepted. Nayati didn’t know if he had ever been happier, even his Master ceremony did not quite compare to the knowledge that he was about to become mated to Liliana, whom he loved.

Today Liliana had taken off from the lands on a little trip. She was prone to such things, but the timing of it did worry him just a little bit. Quickly the Utina did his best to shake those worries from his mind. Surely she just needed some time to think about how her life was going to be changing in only a few days time, and really he should be doing the same. Just because he felt prepared didn’t mean that he should not do some soul searching of his own. He had done plenty before actually asking her, but now that she had accepted, it was time to think on their future as a definite thing. One thing he knew they would need was a large hut to accommodate the both of them and whatever future pups they brought into the world. Nayati would have to ask around the tribe for help though, as he was not skilled or experienced in building dwellings.

It occurred to him that it was the time of the year that many in AniWaya would go through the personal purification ritual. Nayati had partaken in it once before, but he did not always feel the need to go through with the ritual. This time it seemed like the perfect thing to do before he and Liliana were bound together in the mateship ceremony. Cleansing himself, making himself pure for their new life together seemed the perfect thing to do in the interim while she was off on her trip. His mind set, Nayati took some things from his hut and set out towards the Adagio Creek. Once he arrived, he set up a small camp. For the whole of the ritual he would stay out here and not return to the village. Nayati started a fire and then filled a pot with water from the icy creek. He set the pot in the glowing flames and waited for the water to not become quite so frigid. Once it had become warm, he bathed himself. Despite the heated water he poured over himself, it did not take long for the moisture to become icy again and once he had completed his first bath he wrapped himself in a warm fur pelt and sat down by the fire to meditate. He completed the cycle six more times before night fell, the seven baths completed.

Time passed, day to night and over again, and the Gadui Kanati did not eat. The next time he enjoyed the priveldge of food, it would be as a man who had committed himself completely to the woman he loved, at their wedding feast. The only company he had aside from the natural world all around him was the occasional coming and going of Onawa. During this time the wolf and his Spirit Guide did not speak, but communed on a deeper level. Nayati worked through force of will and mind to purge whatever impure things might be marring his body and soul. He would not bring any impurity into his mateship. It would be a new start to his life and he wished to enter into his commitment with Liliana with a clean slate and a clear mind. The longer he sat out by the musical waters and meditated, the more and more at peace he began to feel with himself and everything around him. Even in winter, in this most trying and testing of seasons, the world was in harmony.

On the fourth morning of his fasting the Utina woke with unclouded eyes and a mouth that instantly turned into a smile. Today was the day. The day that his life would forever change, but in the best possible way. The Gadui Kanati stood and gathered up his things, carefully extinguishing the flames of his campfire. With one last prolonged look over the morning landscape, he turned back to the village, ready to head to his hut and prepare for the ceremony.