Great Expectations
#1
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Only just remembered this x'D


He'd been wanting to learn Cherokee for a while. He'd turned his nose up at the idea for a time, but that was when he was a boy. He was a man grown by now, and he wanted something to teach his children, and something to use to make others of the tribe respect him more. He could hardly speak like a lumbering idiot if it was in another language, right? After all, his elvish was soft and perfect, with no flaws like when he spoke in English. So with Cherokee, or AniWayan, whatever the language was that AniWanas seemed to speak, it would hopefully be no different.


The only teacher he knew about in the tribe was Aranck. Not only was he a teacher, but he was also fluent in Cherokee, or so he'd heard. The strapping young man patrolled around the village, where he'd heard he'd find the elder, with a hopeful yet grim smile on his face. He was determined to learn something new, and he would force himself to enjoy it! The pups wouldn't be young and un-learned for long, so learning a couple of languages - he planned to teach them elvish as well as cherokee - would be best when they were young. He knew that Gemma was already teaching them what she knew, and he wanted to be a part of that as well. And so, the hunt for the tribe's elderly teacher was on.




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#2
OOC: That's perfectly fine Smile

IC: Aranck really liked being near the Great Fire as it allowed him to be close to the spirits. Degataga was in a nearby tree watching over his aged charge. Of course the spirit guide was much older than the elderly wolf, being immortal and likely around at the beginning of time. Of course there was no proof or stories to support this, but it was what he believed. He knew better than to ask Taga since it was highly unlikely that the spirit could tell him or want to tell him.

The reason he was in front of the fire was that it had quickly become his favorite place to work on writing down records and stories. Which was what he was doing now, continuing his work on the history of the Great Tribe. As he worked, he hummed a Cherokee lullaby that many mothers in the Great Tribe, including his own, sung to their children.

The song brought back memories of his mother, long since pasted on to the spirit world. She was a sweet woman, well loved by many in the Tribe. She was willing to help anyone with anything. She was a healer much like him. His father was also a healer, yet much more stoic than his mate. Yet he held great affection for his mate and children. He remembered playing games with his father and especially his father letting him practice "healing" him. He got a fond and absent smile on his face as he remembered his childhood.
#3
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^-^


He spotted the elder canine down by the Great Fire. He tilted his head above the smoke and tried not to inhale any of it too much as he walked around it, stifling snorts as the humid air irritated his eyes. He itched them for a second or two and then thought better of it, wiping around his cheeks until he could see a little clearer. Bleary eyed, he trudged forwards, ash crunching under his feet as he moved stumbling after the slightly unfamiliar scent. Aranck was practically a stranger to him. They had never spoken after all. But then again, it wasn't so. Every tribe member spotted each other almost every day, and so it was almost as if they were family even when not speaking with each other.


Aranck? he called out. He didn't believe he'd ever actually said the name aloud before. He scuttled forward and finally the smoke gave way. He saw the elderly wolf sitting by the fire so he walked up and crouched down, then changed his mind and decided to lean lazily against the side of a nearby pole. Hey, I'm Frodo. he paused, wondering whether to explain himself even before the wolf introduced himself too. I was uh, a-wonderin'... he started. Do yer speak this here, uh, language that err'yone seems ter speak roun' here? AniWayan?



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#4
His peaceful remembering and writing was broken by the approach of someone, soon followed by the sound of a male calling his name. He looked up, only slightly irritated at the interruption, and saw member of AniWaya that he had seen around but never really gotten to know, much like most of the members of the pack. "Yes? I'm Aranck." He studied the male for a moment before sighing and gesturing for him to join him on the log. It was only the polite thing for the elder male to do.

His ears flicked slightly at the male's name, Frodo. He waited to hear what he said and had to decipher what he was asking before he could answer the question. Did he speak AniWayan? He gave an amused chortle. "Of course I do, young man. I'm from the Great Tribe and it is in some ways more my mother tongue then English is." He gave another chuckle but sobered as he considered Frodo. "Why do you ask, Frodo?" His tone was rather curious. He hoped that the reason he was interrupted wasn't just to ask that question, that there was a point to being asked if he knew AniWayan.
#5
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The initial thing he was glad to learn was that he had got Aranck's name right. Happy at succeeding in getting at least one thing correct, he hurried over rather awkwardly, silently thanking the elder wolf with a nod at his gesture that invited him to sit down. Frodo sat on the log with his knees locked together and feet sprawled a nice width apart, his fingers on his lap as he focused on not fidgeting. From the Great Tribe? Must've been summit special. he commented vaguely, his mind wandering off to think about what it must have been like in a tribe much more bigger and stricter in it's rules than the one he lived in currently. The feathers on his hair caught in the wind as a sudden gust of air sped past his face, and distractedly he tucked his mane back into place, smoothing down the thickness.


That's dandy. he commented. I ask 'cuz I'm wantin' to learn 'bout the language...don't a-suppose you'll be wantin' to teach me a lil' bit? he asked as plainly as he could, knowing that putting too much odditys into his accent could well confuse someone, never mind someone old. It wasn't as if Aranck was even that old, though, but to Frodo Aranck seemed grumpy, and his eyes, grumpy meant aged. He chuckled slightly at the thought, shaking his head with his lime green eyes active and thoughtful.



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#6
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WC:000+ - OOC


He arched his brow at the man's comment about the Great Tribe being special. Aranck wasn't sure what he was supposed to say in response to that. "It was very special. But AniWaya is not all that different than the Great Tribe. Where are you from, Frodo?" His tone was curious and most of his irritation had disappeared, not that it had been great to begin with. He should be more used to this since he was one of the few members that was fluent in AniWayan.


Which apparently was why Frodo had sought him out, made apparent by his question to the elder. Aranck supposed it was only natural for him to be the one asked since he was a teacher. So he nodded and said, " Udohiyuhiya, that means certainly" His saying yes might as well be used as the beginning of the language lesson. He did wonder briefly how well his newest student would do but the spirits were the only ones that knew that for certain.


But he also wanted to know something. "Is there anything in particular you would like to know how to say, Frodo? Or just the basics?" He would still teach the basics but he would try and tailor the lessons to what his students wanted to learn, so they would be more interested in what they were learning and more likely to continue learning.



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#7
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339


Frodo nodded in response to Aranck's words; he wouldn't expect anything less of the Great Tribe. He didn't know all that about it, however he was pretty certain it was a wonderful place. Everywhere. he responded to the question of where he was from. Then he figured he might need to be a tad more specific, so he frowned and sniffed. Especially New Zealand and London. he said, even if it didn't make much sense. New Zealand was where he was born - true, they hadn't stayed for very long, but it seemed like home to him. Then there was London, where the gypsies had travelled for the longest. That was where he picked up most of his weird accent, on the streets where the vagabonds lived. And eventually, when he became a cabin boy on a ship, he'd picked up some other odd phrases.


Frodo was confused at what the elder man said next, but then realised what he was saying as he translated. Frodo grinned. Thanks, rip-tide, thanks ever so. he exclaimed. Udo...Udohiyuhiya he repeated to himself, oddly enough getting the pronunciation spot on. This made him realise that learning a new language might not be such a pain in the arse after all. Eh..not really. Back to the basics would be good though, yep, that's spiffing. he said, hoping the basics wouldn't be all that hard. He figured it'd just be simple things like "hello", and "yes", but he could be wrong. What if it was a hell of a lot more complicated than he figured? That would be pretty disturbing, but there was no backing out. He'd decided he was going to do this, and he /was/ going to do this, whether he enjoyed it or not. He wanted to help out making his children proper members of the tribe...he wanted them to belong. Everyone needed to belong to somewhere. Frodo wasn't sure where he belonged to - and this was why he wanted his children to know their place, their home.



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