Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Please only post when the title says open. It will not be one at a time, so hopefully it doesn't take too long to finish everything. It'll be closed when I'm at work, or asleep.

You will post your lion approaching Tawa'di. (include their full name!) He or she will need to offer something small, like a bit of hair. Tawa'di will toss it into a pile of smoldering herbs and plants, and from the way the smoke swirls, he will determine what clan they will be. I will roll in the same post as he does this (probably a cookie-cutter post), and so you will see what clan your lion goes into. If you want to rp a response to this, feel free to do so!

The dice:
1. Bird
2. Earth
3. Mantis
4. Shadow
5. Sky
6. Wolf

If you have any questions, please post them in the Festival thread in the Plot forum! Not here!))

It had been a long path.

Venice stared at the fire as it flickered, his deep, earthy brown fur playing in the shifting breeze. How long had it been, since this stranger had set out? He took a deep breath of night air, mixed with smoke and burning herbs. These people were his people. He’d known it the day he’d stumbled across them, finding their beliefs and traditions so intimately close to the ones he held dear. And yet…

The smoke spiraled as he listened to the old one speak. New roots… that was what he needed. For a long time the spirits and elements had let him drift. He followed wind one way, and water the next. Earth had risen him up into these mountains, and now he sat before fire. All signs, he believed. Quietly, he raised a paw to adjust one of his small totems from the journey.

The elder was telling them to come. The fire flickered, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn’t think one could be rejected. But he hoped that this was indeed, the right path. Venice stood up, and approached Tawa’di. He was not afraid to take the plunge first.

He stopped in front of the smolder, and ceremonially tore a piece from the end of a braid in his mane. “I am Venice,” He told both the elder and the shifting smoke. “A hunter from the northlands." He placed the looped creation down upon the earth beside the elder.

"And I am ready to know which clan I shall plant my roots." Venice said, pulling back to watch the smoke. The fire glimmered from beneath the smolder. Yes. He was ready.

The old lion nodded his head as he looked Venice in the eyes. The determination reflected gave the old lion a flicker of hope. If one was to start a new life here, one needed to feel that. And this one did.

"Venice," his tone dropping as he felt the pull of a trance fall around him. His eyelids drooped as he swept the bits of mane into the smoldering pile. It seemed to shake alive the heat, and a hint of flame flickered up. Tawa'di watched the smoke carefully, reading every swirl like the dance of a snake.

"Your spirit calls you to the Bird Clan, Venice. Your future is set."

Kimba slowly approached the old lion, head bowed in deep respect. His tail swayed, body filled with apprehension and excitement. He moved carefully-- unsure, but not wishing to offend anyone gathered. He smiled to his mate, and sat by her side before the old one, one paw on hers lovingly as he nosed a lock from his mane forward.

Bowe knew her father's movements by scent, and sensed his movement by sound. The blind lioness moved after her father, cautious, before slowly finding her way nearby. Who knew-- from this point on they may belong on different paths. It had been discussed, and the family accepted it was time she went her own way if fate determined it. she sat, ears alert, nose twitching as she took in scents, one paw nudging a lock from her tail carefully.

She was ready.

The Earth Clan could not have been a more perfect fit for Jibanza. She stood there in awe for a moment, taking in what had just happened. It wasn't that she was surprised that Tawa'di had chosen the most suitable Clan for her, it was more that she was just overwhelmed by the whole thing.

She quickly came to her senses though, and smiled widely. "Thank you Tawa'di." This time she only whispered, as she was sure that others were more than ready to come forward now, and she didn't want to slow things down. She then quietly walked away, so that she could watch the rest of the Ceremony from the sidelines.

All these lions... Huong felt like she was in sensory overload seeing and smelling all these lions. Males and females, mingling merrily, happily... They were so used to this... She glanced at Dongo, who nodded to her. Swallowing, the black lioness stepped forward, a chunk of the feather on her ear clutched delicately between her teeth. It was the only thing she had, from whatever god had delivered her and her sister as tiny cubs to Hippolyta's paws. Setting it down near the male, she flicked her ears forward a bit. "My name is Huong... I came here with my friend, Dongo, when he saved me from the lions that invaded my old pride's lands.. I thank you for letting me come here... To join your pride.." And bring her a sense of safety back to her life. "Please, tell me, where does my spirit point me...?"

Following not far behind Huong, Dongo glanced at the assembled crowd of lions. He spotted his brother, offering a smile to the other lion and the lioness with him, before he turned to Tawa'di. On his back, Amadeus carefully draped, balancing on the lion's back to watch. Taking a breath, the gold and black lion stepped forward. "I am Dongo, formerly of the Matembezi lands. I came here with my friend, Huong, so that we may find safety. I also came to find out... Where do I belong?" He could feel it in his very soul, he belonged in these lands. But where within these lands? He reached back, taking the mixed tuft of green and black hair - A little from him, a little from his hare companion - And offered it to Tawa'di.

The bird clan.

He watched as the smoke played about them, the remnant ashes of his own mane. Yes. He could feel it. The bird clan is where he belonged. This would be his new life, with this tribe. And he would serve it with all the heart he could muster.

Venice bowed his head low, and took his place back in the group to watch the rest of the ceremony. A kind of pride was swelled inside him. His long journey, was finally at the end.

And yet…it didn’t feel like an end at all.

Alenisgi wasn't nervous, per se. She was just... eh.

She looked around and felt all the anxious, expectant, eager, and all those other kinds of emotions of the lions around her. They were ready to join this home, and each carried with them their own story, their own goals, their own dreams and ideas. Alen wasn't sure if she pitied them or respected them. Or some combination of both.

Whatever the case, she was, as usual, a bit on the droopy side of things. Her expression was down turned, eyes dark and heavy. She was thoughtful and introspective, though her gaze was critical and she made no effort to hide it whenever she met the eyes of a stranger.

She liked it when others couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

A bit frustrated by all the company, and all the happiness, she shook her head and took her turn to approach the lion and the smoking pile of leaves and, now, fur beside him. She drew a breath, not to steel herself but to let out a profound sigh as she spoke.

"Alenisgi," she said, introducing herself in as short a way as she knew how. And yet she couldn't keep the deference from her tone. She looked Tawa'di over, then bowed her head. She couldn't help but respect someone who bore themselves so well. It was like she could feel all the journeys, and the accomplishments, he had made. Head still lowered, she pulled out a couple of furs from her forelock and offered it to him.

"I guess you're going to tell me the next step on my path. That's cool. Not like I can figure it out."