She would need to tell Alnitak soon.
It was something that the white-legged Baraza was dreading having to do. Only on a few rare occasions have she and Alnitak actually agreed on things and somehow he knew how to proceed without the third Baraza was not going to be one of them. Anilam worried for a civil war, fueled by the two Barazas feuding ways. She currently sat near the Baraza Den, waiting for something to finally get her to go in. She needed to tell Alnitak, but for some reason, the usually confident canine was getting cold feet.
"Mother!"
The voice belonged to her only son and eldest of her four pups.
The Baraza's head quickly turned to see Endymion jogging up towards her.
"I'm glad I found you. I have wonderful news!"
Some good news for a change. That was definitely something she could use at this point. "Well, what is it?"
"Nungal and I are to be wed and I would like you to be the Baraza to oversees our howling." There was an obvious excitement in his voice as he told his mother that her little boy was finally going to settle down. Here he was, hoping that his mother would approve since she seemed to be getting along with Nungal these day.
"..what?"
The statement that had just gone in one ear and out the other left Alnilam standing there too stunned to really say any other words for quite some time. Instead of speaking, she just stood there staring at her only son, trying to contemplate what he had just told her and asked of her. Tradition dictated that one of the Baraza would oversee a couple's 'howling' or asking of the gods for their blessing to wed. Only those of old blood really cared about the tradition anymore but as more young wild dogs found mates in one another, the tradition of the howling was becoming popular again.
Her little boy was all grown up but regardless of how mature and old he got, he would always be her baby boy.
The Baraza smiled weakly at her son. She was getting older and this only solidified it. The creaking in her joints had been the first hint of her age and then the few graying strands of fur was the second. Maybe it was the position of being a Baraza that was aging her and not the years.
"What?" Endymion echoed back as he looked to his mother for more clarification on her single word that formed such a powerful question. Was his mother no pleased that he finally found a mate, that there was someone out there that he could love so fully? He kept telling himself that it couldn't be that she was unhappy. She always wanted the best for him!
"I...I think you just surprised me." She replied, hoping to put any of his worries to rest. Alnilam hadn't meant for that 'what' to come out so shocked and almost hurt sounding, but it had and Endymion had every right to ask for clarification on why she hadn't been as excited. White-streaked paws carried her towards her only son. Her affectionately pressed her head against his as she smiled. "I'm glad for you two. Have you two figured out what you'll leave the gods in case your star doesn't fall?"
Another tradition. After the howling, until day-break, a falling star had to appear and the Baraza presiding had to witness it. If one did, the gods were pleased. The fasted the fall, the happier the gods were with the union. If no star fell, the couple were to leave a gift behind on High Moon Point to try and appease the gods before trying again the next month.
He hadn't even thought about that. Somehow he thought the gods would smile upon their union and it would be the fasted fall of a star on record, but of course it was his mother that brought him back to reality. They needed to plan the best gift ever; just in case! Endymion shook his head, "Not yet. I just asked her after giving her my gift from the meteor shower. She hadn't shown up and I wanted to make sure she got it."
"She didn't show?" That was unlike Nungal. Alnilam knew her to be an energetic female who tried to be friends with everyone, even strangers. For her to not participate in one of the most social events to date since the Great Shaking was odd. Maybe something was wrong and of course Alnilam probably didn't help by giving her a 'secret mission' earlier that day. The Baraza sighed, but tried to reassure her son with a smile. "I'll ask her about it, don't worry. I'm sure she just forgot."
He already knew she had been there, but not...there. Still maybe his mother could get the exact reason from her. "So, when the next full moon comes around, we'll do out howling right? You'll be there? Will you help us with the wedding afterwards?" Question after question. Endymion was excited to say the least and now that he knew his mother approved, the thought of planning a wedding and how his life would change afterwards was extremely exciting for him.
A chuckle made his jerk his head to see his mother laughing.
"One thing at a time, Endymion. First your howling and if your star falls, then we'll begin planning. Your first task should be figuring out the gift you'll leave behind if your howling fails to cause a star to fall." That was really the most important thing to do at this point for the young adult. The Baraza left her son's side and turned back towards the shared den of the council members. "I have duties to attend to. Afterwards, I can help you two pick if you want."
"Well, maybe I can come with you this time. It'd be nice to see what you do all day..."
"No," The word came out a lot ruder than she had originally meant it to be. Slowly Alnilam turned her head back to look over her shoulder. "Not today, son. This is an important duty I have to deal with. Maybe tomorrow." Her head turned back again and she headed into the den, leaving her son still sitting there, watching her leave.
Without a word, Endymion rose onto his paws and headed back to Nungal to tell her that they had his mother's blessing and that she would watch their howling.
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