to see the dancing ladies

Ralla · 06-21-2011, 12:39 PM

[html]

SORRY SORRY SORRY! D: (Nootau: Not Visible)

It was true...! It was all true, and...she was so stupid. She had ignored it for days, distracting herself instead, and after resigning herself to read the stars... It hurt. Kemo was gone--disappeared, no sign whatsoever--and all the signs and readings could do was tell her that he was so; gone and disappeared. The readings wouldn't tell her if he was dead or injured or in trouble, or anything; just gone. That word echoed in her head for the past few days, causing her entire being to tremble. I...I loved him... He had been her first, and it hurt; worse than any burn or broken bone; he had left a mate and newborn pups; his family. She didn't know what to do, and she had told no one else of her inner troubles. But...she had stopped singing; her smile didn't quite reach her eyes; her work and care for the pups became mechanical for the past three days. She knew she had to carry out her duties, but for some reason, the spark within her had dimmed...and it was shameful.

As if still asleep, Ralla went down the tree hut to go through the mechanical routine she once so loved, but was still too shocked to put all her heart into again. As it had been in her native tribe, the tribe's duties and needs came before one's own; this was a value instilled into her, and once she could not break from her soul, even in its hardened state. And yet, how curious it was that it wasn't her pups' cries that broke that shell of cold, but the chanting of an unfamiliar song wafting over the hills to greet her ears, resonating from the center of the village. Just as it had begun it ceased, but Ralla persisted that way, since she had to go that way otherwise. The first thing she was the Great Fire, of course, but then a familiar figure. "Chitsa?" she said, gentle voice quiet from days of no use. She saw what the woman was doing and nodded approval, feeling ages older than she actually was. How long was it since she last ran among the forest? Sang with such joy? Too long. And how she yearned to do so again. Even the fire dancing which had been a great joy to her in the last winter had brought her no comfort, yet, as she practiced its fluid movements and forms. "I...hope that you've settled in nicely?" she asked as she went to stand beside the Great Fire, letting her fingers trail through the smoke wafting from it. The smoke, as always, was soft and smelled of the wood it was burning--oak and maple today--and it melted the ice a little. Her calloused hands had long ago stopped smarting from embers or half-burnt coals; she had allowed the fire to become a part of her, and still... She did not know what was holding her back from letting go. Even Nootau had been troubled by it, although he had tried hard to steer her on the right path. But this was not a path of reality or choice; it was acceptance. All that was needed was time. "Tell me...what were you singing?"

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Login




Remember me Lost Password?