I Can Hear the Toll...

Ralla · 07-15-2011, 01:03 PM

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Backdated to July 10 (Nootau: Visible)

Ralla was a bit less than peeved, but a bit more than concerned. Ayasha had come home upset for the second time and, upon Ralla's prompting, had told her what had been going on. While she saw that it was also a bit on Ayasha's part--Ralla had not done well to instill the art of silent listening, she supposed--the white mother was not at all happy with how it seemed the issue was addressed by Chitsa. So she went out that day partly to apologize and partly to set things straight.

Nootau was not upset or offended or anything of the like; he just simply followed Ralla and waited to see what she would do. Often he would give her nudges in the right direction--a feeling, a game of 'follow me'--but in many situations he would merely observe, his method being to only intervene if there was a large step away from the path he saw Ralla treading. Thus far the only instance had been Kemo's leaving, but this was more of a personal matter. The first place she went searching was the Great Fire, where hopefully Chitsa would be doing her duties. If not, she supposed she could ask Nootau to look, although having a spirit guide run scout for such a matter seemed a bit far. But in fact, although Ralla was actively seeking Chitsa's audience, she did not know how to even begin the confrontation. Do I ask if Ayasha's been troublesome? Do I ask that she leave the disciplining to me? It was a bit of a conundrum because, really, Ralla had never had need for such a train of thought. Sure there had been Shiloh and Mizu's assaults, but those were larger, less personal issues; far more easily addressed since they were pack matters. This was dealing directly with her daughter and someone within the tribe.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Chitsa Amara · 07-15-2011, 01:32 PM

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Her days had been conflicting as she went about her work. The sense that Dawali had done something wrong left her unable to focus — through tradition, the Etikaiele Gata was wrong. It didn't matter the circumstances. The family unit was the single most important part of the AniWayan world and she was wrong to be in the position she was. A mateless mother, a shameful blight upon the lands of AniWaya, and in a position that caused problems within Chitsa. She was raised properly, to offer respect to those who deserved their respect, but she could not respect what Ralla was. There was no reason she should have had to. Dawali was wrong in his judgement.

Hands bundled the wood as they always did, staying quiet in the attempt to remain invisible to the AniWayan eyes. Mongwau simply watched from the ground, again doing the foolish task of pecking like a chicken in an attempt to cheer up his friend — she didn't acknowledge him as he went about his work, though when he squawked the arrival of another, she looked up to the call. Blood ran cold as her periwinkle eyes saw who had come to the Great Fire, though she had expected it sooner or later. Her eyes hardened and she straightened, head held high while eyes averted only a miniscule amount. She would not force herself to offer more respect than that of the position of Etikaiele Gata for someone so foolish.

Ralla · 07-18-2011, 02:21 PM

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Sorry for the fail-post; pretty straightforward >_>

Instantly the difference was visible. Whereas before Chitsa had been calmer and more easygoing, there was a palpable tense aura about the woman that spread to Ralla and made her fur prickle down her spine. To fit her rank she, too, straightened, attempting to be assertive. She was both a Master and a Councilman, and upholding rank within the tribe was important to maintain the peace. This could not be done without stern resolve.

"Chitsa," she said evenly in greeting, forest green eyes seeking to connect directly with the other woman's. She would not do this conversation halfheartedly or with any misconceptions. "My daughter has come home and told me of your...encounters. I'm obliged to ask if she merited any trouble." A very simple conversation start, and yet only half as graceful as Ralla wished. Perhaps it was the atmosphere surrounding the two, or perhaps it was how quiet it was and how strong the thump of the white wolfess's heart was in her chest, and maybe it was that she was instinctively protective of her daughter and sought to remedy a problem within the tribe. Although as of yet, Ralla had yet to know if that problem was of sole blame or shared guilt. In all her time in AniWaya there had not been such a confrontation as the one she was currently undergoing, but there was always a first time for everything. Flitting about Nootau went to rest a few feet away from Mongwau, a silent onlooker dwarfed by the other spirit guide.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Chitsa Amara · 07-18-2011, 05:49 PM

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As the Etikaiele Gata requested of the Gata Hineyu, Chitsa met her green gaze, but her eyes did not display any less but utter distaste. Her words brought about a look of bordem — she was there to criticize her handling of the obnoxious little girl who ran about willy nilly, asking questions of strangers in a way that was simply inappropriate in accordance to AniWayan code. Her arms crossed before her chest and she weighed her own words before allowing herself to speak. "The white one who asks too many questions and reveals too much. Yes. You need to teach her the proper way of interacting with strangers in the Tribe, the AniWayan way. You are the Etikaiele Gata after all. You should know more about our ways, or you can never hope to be a true AniWayan." Her words were hard, honest, and her eyes showed no guilt in what she said. It was better that the woman learned now rather than later what it meant to be a real member of the Tribe.

She allowed her body to relax, leaning over to finish the task of handling the wood for the fire. Chitsa was not the type to allow someone else to hamper her ability to do her job — she was a determined woman who had never allowed an argument ruin her work, though arguments frequently ruined her days. Hot-headed as she was, she had a task to do, and Ralla didn't warrant her full attention any longer.

Ralla · 07-18-2011, 10:22 PM

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Oh gosh, this is probably only the second time Ralla's been angry XD By the way, cuz I don't know if I made it clear in my post or not (I'm especially derpy right now >_>) Ralla's last sentence is referring to both Chitsa's speech and her turning away from Ralla.

"While I apologize for her forthright attitude--you're right, she does have a habit of asking too much--I must contest with what you call the 'AniWayan' way." Ralla's voice was becoming hard, as it was before, when she had had to handle Shiloh's situation and when she had had to confront the King of Cour des Miracles about it. "Although she is still a child and learning, I'd like to encourage her inquisitive attitude. I never want her to be afraid to ask a question. While decorum is to be taught, would you have her silence herself?" Ralla could appreciate the quiet mouths and listening ears of others quite well, but she could appreciate those who thirsted to learn even more because of their desire to learn rather than complacent acceptance. The white mother took a particular jab from the 'true AniWayan' bit, as she had before, but remained firm, her long white tail beginning to rise when Chitsa turned herself away--during their conversation!--the continue her work. While this would've been appreciated in any other, more civil, situation, this was quite obviously a confrontation, and Ralla had just been properly snubbed.

"And you're right; I am the Etikaiele Gata. So I would ask you, Chitsa, that if you are a true AniWayan yourself that you would practice the respect that you would preach." Such a statement was a direct challenge--one that Ralla had never issued before in terms of rank--but she had paid her dues in many more ways than one to earn her respect. Ralla had properly studied the lore and customs with Chief Dawali--she knew many things and saw their faults, even if she must obey them--and she knew the laws that were also her responsibility to uphold as a Councilman. But most of all she knew the Great Fire and how it touched her and the tribe. She knew it perhaps more intimately than most because she had had to rekindle it after the snowstorm, and had felt the great pull of the spirits in its embers. And so to hear Chitsa's words--words that implied she was not yet a true AniWayan at all--after so much dedication and work, Ralla felt the keen sting of insult.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Chitsa Amara · 07-18-2011, 10:47 PM

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@.@ Uhm...angry Chitsa leaves the scene? >.> Angry...Chitsa.

Ralla's words left no impression on Chitsa as they flowed from her. She contested the AniWayan way, she encouraged questions — as Chitsa had expected, she and the white woman were far different from one another and it was not going to be easy for the two to interact. Regardless, she remained silent. She had said her peace, and if a solution wasn't found, she was sure that her attitude towards the young and inquisitive female would not change. That couldn't be helped.

It wasn't until Ralla chastised her that Chitsa stopped her work, a trademark anger rising within her as she spun on her heel to face the Councilwoman with fire in her eyes. "I give you the respect of the Etikaiele Gata only, Ralla. What you are, what you brought to my Tribe just as other ignorant outsiders bring to my tribe, is shameful. You are shameful. While you hold the place of Etikaiele Gata, you will never --" her arm cut the air horizontally as if to make her point "-- be a true AniWayan woman. You will never feel the Spirits in the way we who are born of AniWayan blood feel them, you will never be as well respected. My brother may be the Kalona here, but you are a mistake in his judgement that I cannot respect. A woman who makes rash decisions and has poor judgement herself — how can that be respected? In the past, you would be shunned for what you are. You should be now, you disrupt what we hold dearest to us in your poor judgement of life. But perhaps your poor judgement is just the fact that the Spirits do not guide you well enough; perhaps they don't trust you. Whatever it is, you will have my respect as Etikaiele Gata only. Asking for anything else from me is rude of you."

Her outrage released, still fuming within her chest, she turned once more to continue her work. Fingers broke the strings used to tie the sticks together, causing more frustration within. With the final bundles separated from the wood she'd brought to serve the rest of the tribe, she lifted the rest into her arms and turned a final time to the white Councilwoman. "As for your daughter, silence is better than rude inquisitions -- we are not all the same, and if you cannot teach her properly, those who understand will." Her body turned toward the Town Hall, legs carrying her away without so much as a final goodbye to place the wood where it belonged. As if to quell the negativity, folk song rose into the air from the lungs of the Gata Hineyu.

Ralla · 07-18-2011, 11:10 PM

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I shall archive this tomorrow ^^

The other woman's true colors finally showed, but Ralla stood her ground. She was no longer the scared and complacent girl she had been when she had arrived in AniWaya, but a woman who understood things beyond what those of her years normally would. And she understood Chitsa's anger, too, even if it stirred the fire within Ralla as well. For the first time since her anger with Shiloh's attacker she felt the fur rise along her hackles, and although the rest of her body remained calm, she matched the fire in Chitsa's eyes with every ounce of fervor--the energy between the two could perhaps have been rivaled with the brilliance of the Great Fire itself.

"You speak of shame so easily," she began as evenly as she had spoken before, "but look how you shame yourself. I know there are many reasons for you to think me shameful: I am an outsider, a single mother, and someone who has risen above you who are of the Great Tribe. But I know the laws, Chitsa. Our laws dictate that being a single mother is, yes, looked down upon. But what part of that is my shame? I did not force him to leave nor did I know it was to happen. Surely you didn't know it was to happen with you?" Oh yes, Ralla knew that Chitsa had undergone a similar situation. She knew not the name of Chitsa's mate or how he had died, but she knew that the woman had once been mated and was no longer. She could've stated that 'shunning' was not a part of the laws or ethics of someone in her position, but she left it alone. Ralla needed not recite the ethics to make her point clear. From where he sat Nootau began to shift foot to foot, feeling the fire within the white wolfess build. "And where have I made rash decisions and poor judgement in your eyes, Chitsa? You have only just arrived here and presume to know me. You presume to know what I feel and what the laws say. I can easily name all of the ethics you have broken in this one conversation alone, respect at the highest. I do not want to hear you lecture me on being a true AniWayan, Chitsa, when you cannot follow the very things you throw at others." At her rank, Ralla was well within her rights to lecture Chitsa so. The white mother had even admitted the requisite shame upon herself--as she knew it was--but she had weathered through that chapter in her life, and would never let that shame hold her back or tie her down. Only then, if she let it, would the spirits truly look down on her.

Ralla did not respond to the last sentence given to her, but held her ground firmly as the other wolfess left. Had she been perhaps a harder wolf--more traditional, as Chitsa perhaps would've wanted it--she would've punished her right there for the disrespect. But Ralla herself had upheld the ability of free speech and to speak one's mind; doing otherwise would've painted her as much a hypocrite as Chitsa was. So when the song floated from the Amara woman to Ralla's ears, all she heard was the echo underneath the crackle of the Great Fire. The song had lost its meaning to the woman.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

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