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Sorry it took me this long to get this up; Dad's been hard on me about getting on Souls. I'm only on now because I didn't shut down earlier, just closed the laptop. Lemme know if you want anything changed.
Word Count: 545. Worth 5 points.
It was only a few hours after she had been accepted, but already Hanna had a decision in front of her. The woman had wandered the village where Dawali had shown her the ceremonial fire, and later had re-found and traipsed around the fields. As she and Dawali had walked to the village, the Kalona had informed her of all the possible jobs she could take. She had debated over which job to work at while she wandered.
The decision that stood out most strongly to Hanna was that of Kunikoti, the medical profession. Medicine was her first love, and she was skilled in ways and methods that - to her knowledge - no one else knew. She was probably wrong, but until she met a few other healers and learned how they did things, what harm was there in stroking her ego a little? The problem with following this profession was that there was already at least one healer.
After Kunikoti, the job Hanna could see herself in most was that of Gatlvska, or craftsman. Hanna had repaired the cabin near Dahlia de Mai, fixing the roof and a small part of the floor. She had since begun tanning sleeping furs from deer hide, and had contemplated crafting clothing from the hides. But no... still no match for her.
Hanna was not a warrior and was no better than average at hunting, even with Tobias' help, so the thought of pursuing those or scouting her career was just as fruitless. The last thing the Kalona had mentioned, though, the Fire Keeper, that... kind of caught her interest. Rakha's pack elder had entrusted her with the secret of making fire, though it was not the secret she'd once thought.
Hanna drew to a halt in front of a large wooden building as she made her way back into town from the fields. The doors were open but the interior was dark enough that it was not immediately apparent what was contained within the structure. Hanna was emboldened by the gentle wuffling noises coming from inside; she approached and entered the building. Her feet stilled while she let her eyes adjust to the dimmed light. Then her jaws gaped. There were beasts inside miniature enclosures, swishing their long tails. None growled, neither did they attack, and so Hanna took a few moments to observe these creatures.
Tall and fairly slender, the pelts and hair of these deer-like animals differed nearly as much as those of the wolves. Here was one who would probably shine burnished red in the sunlight. His mane and tail looked the same. Yet, there was one with flaxen coat, the hair at neck and rump a bright white. And then there was one colored as dark as Hanna was herself.
The one which caught Hanna's eye, though, wore a pelt of soft chocolate brown. Her mane and tail were similarly colored. Intelligent liquid brown eyes turned on Hanna and the wolf smiled softly at the blanket of white that seemingly coated the mare's entire face. She was drawn inexplicably toward the horse, one hand outstretched as she neared. The first words she'd spoken since parting ways with Dawali not long before tumbled out in a whisper of Low Speech. "Hello, Beautiful One."
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Word Count: 351
come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
He'd led Hanna, the new female, around the village and spoken to her about the professions they still lacked within the tribe, before he returned to the stables with the intent to see whether any of the younger foals were ready to begin proper training. He wanted to see these young foals in the hands of the tribe's young ones, Attila and Noir (especially) would probably love to have their own horses. And who better to give them to, than the young? After all, these horses lived a long time; their years would be wasted on an old person.
His white palms stroked the neck of one of the smaller ones, currently standing outside the stables at a distance. He was trying to make it used to being without its mother, and for now it seemed calm enough. The smallest sound, however, and it would jump instantly and likely panic for a moment. It was quite used to Dawali, but it found other quite scary so far. Its ears jerked in one direction and it trembled a little - Dawali's eyes rose to see what had startled it. Not so far away, the form of Hanna entered the stables, no doubt the cause of the anxiety in the young horse. If there was anything he could help her with, he would do that, thus he led the foal by a rope and started to walk calmly towards the building. He thought he heard her say something inside, but couldn't make out it was. When he entered the stable, halting in the doorway, he held a firm grip on the rope that held the foal. It would likely make a scene out of two reasons: a strange smell, and the sight of its mother. His assumptions did not fail, and as his hands handled the rope and also gently tried to calm the foal, he spoke to the femme with a smile. His eyes were focused on her, not the horse - he had enough experience with foals to not need to look at it.
"Hi there! I see you're exploring already?"
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And dad let me online, though for an undetermined set of time. Of course. I'm gonna post pictures of Gali in my profile thing, in case my description is lacking.
Word Count: 324. Worth 2 points.
A voice behind her startled Hanna, so focused was she on the mare, but only momentarily, for she somewhat recognized the scent that accompanied it. She turned, tearing her gaze from the horse she had picked out, and bowed to the Kalona, her body making a thirty-five degree angle from the waist in recognition of his leadership. "Yes, Sir, I have been. I've been putting some serious thought into the profession I want to take. It's not been an easy decision."
She stepped toward the foal for which Dawali was holding the opposite end of the rope, extending her hand, palm up, to let the little creature smell her. She murmured to it, again in Low Speech, sweet little sayings. She hoped to calm the little one's fears, so it wouldn't cause a problem. "Hello, little darling. Do not be frightened of me. I mean you no harm."
Her words sounded like a croon, much as one would speak to a very young child, an infant. After a moment, more, Hanna turned again to look at the beautiful painted mare. Her coat was predominantly brown down her back and stomach, though there was a strap, so to speak, of white fur on her belly just behind her front legs. Her face was almost completely white, but for a sliver around her right eye that was chocolate. Ivory patches were otherwise randomly splashed over her body, but it created a beautiful effect, not a haphazard one.
"Dawali... who owns that horse there? The brown one with all the white on her face, I mean. She's beautiful." Trying to avoid seeming disrespectful, she edged toward the mare again, stretching her arm out as she had done with the foal. The mare tossed her head, spiritedly, and Hanna stopped. She wanted to win the trust of the Beautiful One, not scare her. Perhaps Dawali would enlighten her with some tips on handling the large but gentle beasts.
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Word Count: 345
come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
Hanna kept calling him by formal titles, but she would likely learn that there was no need for it one-on-one, in time. Most of the members of the tribe right now knew that already, but some of the newer ones still were formal. It pleased him to see that they could be polite, but he liked to think of them as his friends and in every way his equal. His position merely appointed him leader of formal things, which in his mind didn't entitle him to such politeness in every situation - only the formal ones. So as long as he did not put himself in an authoritative position, there was no need for titling. Smiling very friendly, he gestured with his hand, dismissing the "Sir" granted to him by the dark femme. "That's true, we have many to choose from. And you don't have to call my by titles, Hanna. Just call me Dawali - that's what everyone else do." The shine in his eyes and mien on his face was purely friendly; there was not an ounce of accusation in them.
Puzzled, Dawali observed her impact on the foal he held, and while the small one had at first been skittish and nervous, it now calmed down as soon as her voice reached its ears. She spoke with signs and sounds he had seen before, but he had never bothered to learn it. Still, it was very fascinating to watch, and he was also glad at knowing that the foal would not cause trouble. They could be rather jumpy if they wanted, and one should not underestimate their strength just because they were young. When Hanna inquired about one of the other horses, Dawali's shoulders shrugged as he replied. "That one has no particular owner - she is one of the more neutral working horses we keep, for anyone who needs it to make use of or train to their needs." Pausing, he let his yellow gaze wander to the horse's face, and then back to Hanna's. "Indeed, she's something. They're beautiful creatures."
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Here we go!
Word Count: 219. Worth 0 points.
Hanna nodded as he dismissed her formality, asking that she call him by name instead of by title. If he didn't require it, she supposed she'd refrain from it. After all, she'd called Cercelee by her given name. Then again, they'd met prior to her ascent to Rosea, when she, Hanna, Mew, Colibri, and Slay had been merely bandying about the possibility of forming a pack.
She completely missed the way the foal had calmed, so intent was she on the mare. But she whirled around when Dawali told her that the horse was open to whomever wanted to train her, startling the paint and causing her to toss her head again. "Oh, Dawali! Do you think someone would help me train her? Oh, but first she needs a name. Something that suits her." Her expressions ran the gamut, seeing excitement, wonder, curiosity, wonder, and deep thought all in the space of a few moments. She was like a pup, as excited as though she was getting a present. And perhaps, in a way, she was.
Then she recalled that she had mentioned having made a decision, one she needed to inform Dawali of. "By the way, I'd like to become..." She paused to get the pronunciation right, "Guh.. Gata Hineyu." She went still, awaiting Dawali's approval or disapproval.
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Sorry for the wait :/
Word Count: 363
come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
Excitement suddenly washed over the female's face, and Dawali found himself smiling. Naturally, he was glad that she seemed to already take in the different sides of AniWaya, and that she also seemed to enjoy them already. He didn't know that much about the other packs around here, but he did know that his tribe differed from the others in some ways - perhaps particularly in tradition. Coming over to pet the animal as well, he put his white hand on the horse's neck, patting and stroking it as she spoke further. Nodding, he looked at the horse for a moment before directing his gaze towards Hanna again. "You needn't worry about training her - she's already broken in and good to go, although she's not been trained to be familiar with fighting or hunting." In the old tribe they'd had several warriors skilled in fighting on the horse, as well as some hunters skilled in hunting with a horse, but none with that knowledge had come here with the scouting party to settle. Now, the tribe was settled elsewhere with his daughter, and he was left with wondering about their skills. A name, she said. Dawali had never been good at that, not with his daughters and not with anything else. Luckily, his guide had named itself and his wife had named their children - and his horse Belle had had a mother named Bela, so... that went hand in hand. shrugging, he looked at the horse again as he spoke. "A name... I don't know, what do you think? What kind of sounds would suit her?"
She struggled somewhat with the pronunciation, and he repeated it when she was done, so as to confirm the sounds and the order in which they were supposed to be uttered. "Gata Hineyu, yes. That's good - we need one." Hopefully, she would appreciate this profession, and rise to the rank of master. That way, he would have another burden off of his shoulders. It would be nice indeed. "If you want, we could go over what there is to do as a Fire Maker - the only tutor you'll have is myself, I'm afraid."
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And today is catch-me-up day!
Word Count: 310. Worth 2 points.
Dawali alleviated her fears about the basic training of the horse, though she had the feeling she herself would need training. But with every new skill, there was needed some form of practice, so she was not upset or worried greatly about that. In fact, she resolved to herself to work on teaching the horse to behave while she hunted. Luna forbid that they would ever have to fight, but she would work on that, too. The gears in Hanna's brain started whirring: a secluded place would be best, where the paint could move freely without fear of hurting someone, and where she could swing items about without harm or inquiry.
Laying her plans aside for the time being, Hanna spoke again. "I think she needs a name that tells everyone how gorgeous she is. 'Beauty' would work, but that seems... trite. I do not know any other languages that I could name her from, but in Low Speech, I have been addressing her as 'Beautiful One'." Even that was only a basic translation of the name she was calling the mare, the actual words being hard to translate into the High Speech that the canines shared.
Her leader went on to affirm her choice of rank and seemed pleased with her choice. For now her decision had less to do with the reverence for fire that she was supposed to have and more to do with the fact that it was the only thing that fit. His offer to tutor her was met with alacrity. "I would like that. I am sure you are a wonderful tutor; I've learned so much from you already. What are my duties as Gata Hineyu?" The final words still did not slip as easily from her mouth as they did Dawali's but it was a fair approximation, given her newness to the language.
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Word of the Day - Thursday, September 24, 2009: assiduous
Word Count: 332
come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops
Dawali nodded as he listened to Hanna's words, his face a smile. Perhaps the horse's current nickname was trite - he had no opinion of it. A name that was only a compliment could hardly be a bad name, and to him horses could just as well have trite names than anything else. He had never given much thought to the naming of the animals, but Hanna shared a different connection with them. He could understand her need for a more meaningful name. "You could call her Uwoduhi - it means 'beautiful' in our traditional language." The sound flew comfortably from his lips, although the combination was probably foreign-sounding to anyone who had not heard the language spoken before. He continued, almost as a thought; "Hardly anyone speaks it but me, though.".
He did not comment on her compliment, but continued instead directly to the case at hand. Her duties would vary as she gained more knowledge and rose in the ranks. Unfortunately, the first tasks would be quite boring. Hopefully, she would seek more knowledge from him, and be eligible for more responsibility rather quickly. "Your beginner task is simple; you provide burning materials for the ceremonial fire, as well as the tribe members' hearths. I can teach you about the better sorts of firewood, and I will show you where it should be stored." He gave her a halfway apologetic smile before continuing. "It's little, but you'll spend the rest of the time learning about the significance and tradition of our ceremonial fire. I'm afraid that during this time, you'll not be allowed to approach the fire - until someone else is Master, I am the only one who can, outside of ceremonies." His yellow gaze studied her. She was knowledgeable, and like Hemming she appreciated lore and tradition. Perhaps she would find the job more interesting than it sounded. The great fire craved assiduous feeding, and that would be her next step. Hopefully she could find that more productive.
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