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 Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:01 pm
Stewart couldn't believe what had just happened, every other change that had just occured seemed so minor compared with what had just occured. What would he do now? Even the simplest of everyday tasks seemed daunting now, he could feel his whole body begin to shake as he stared at his now deformed hands. Stewart saw Chana reach out to him and call out his name, but he didn't know what to do or even what to say. Finally he was able to mutter "Dear god, what have I become?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 7:18 pm
Chana heard him, but what could she possibly answer to that? Even though they were turning into animals, they were still people!
But there was something so simply horrid about looking at his hands, because she could only think of the things he could no longer do. The beaver looked from hands to face; Stewart seemed white with shock. And even though she knew that he was as uncomfortable as anyone with the changes, to see him so upset shook her.
"The Hebrews wandered in the desert for forty years," she said quietly, "but eventually they did reach Israel." Chana paused, then continued. "And the Israelites were driven from their lands and from their religion by the Syrians, the Babylonians, and finally the Romans. They were prosecuted in every country they lived in. But one day, Israel became a state, and the Jews had a homeland to return to." She spoke with feeling, having been immersed in the history of this people her entire life. She spoke with knowledge, having been to many of the places and lands written of in the old stories.
But she did her best to speak with hope, to tell Stewart in a way that (she hoped) would comfort him that bad things did come to an end.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:04 pm
Stewart listened to her story, was she trying to tell him that the hardships will pass? After she finshed he looked at her for a moment then gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, I just..." He started pausing for a moment "I just don't know what I'm going to do now. Everything seems so different now. But thank you..."
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:07 pm
Chana smiled at him, flushing a little under her fur. "I...I...well, the new year's coming up, and I was thinking about it. I mean, Yom Kippur is when you ask forgiveness for your sins from the past year."
The beaver thought a bit, and decided not to mention that some synagogues still rubbed the dust in their pockets onto a scapegoat. It probably wouldn't go over very well at the moment. And, of course, the Day of Atonement was supposed to be the most serious day of the year, Jewishly speaking.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:25 pm
Stewart's smile widened as he listened to her, he was sort of familiar with the holidays she was talking about. But it was still sort of strange to hear her talking of these foreign sounding holidays. "On the same day as Yom Kippur, we celeberated the Day of Atonement at my Church. Aren't they similar?" He asked. He was pretty sure they were similar, but didn't want to jump to conclusions.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:28 pm
Chana grinned at the question. Of all the things, this would definitely serve to distract them both.
"Silly, Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement! That's what it means!" the beaver replied, giggling, her good mood restored. Maybe it wasn't that funny, and maybe her giggles had a hysterical edge. Any laughter was better than none, right?
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:41 pm
Stewart couldn't stop himself from laughing at his stupid question "Really?" He asked chuckling "All these years, and I had no clue they were the same!" Stewart was still very amused by this though, there were so many similarities between the two religions. He thought he knew them all, but was very wrong in that assumption.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:45 pm
Stewart's laughter was all Chana needed to set her off again on a fresh bout. This time she laughed out loud, and so hard that she ended up rolling around on the grass, slapping the ground with her tail.
"No...idea..." she managed to repeat, before losing her compusre yet again. It just seemed ridiculous to her, who'd heard the day called by both names for as long as she could remember. She knew, somewhere, in a rational part of her mind, that it wasn't reasonable to expect the Catholic priest to know something like that, but the very absurdity of the situation was still a riot.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:57 pm
Stewart had been trying to control his laughted, but as soon as she started rolling on the ground he couldn't hold it back anymore. He started laughing uncontroably but first managed to say "I never believed my mom when she said you learn something new everyday, but I guess it is true!"
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:03 pm
Chana had managed to relax enough so that she was only snickering when Stewart made his comment. The tears were streaming down her face as she had to stop and catch her breath before responding.
"Haven't you figured it out?" she asked him, coyly (or as coy as someone getting over a laugh attack could be). "When a woman tells you something, it's generally true, 'cause they know what they're talking about." The beaver grinned at the goat.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:11 pm
"Ha ha ha, I'm sure you women always know what you're talking about" Stewart said scarcastically trying not to smile.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:14 pm
The beaver raised an eyebrow at him. "Wanna bet?" she asked.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:23 pm
"Bet what?" He said laughing "My male ego?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:27 pm
Chana shrugged, a mischevious look in her eyes. "If that's really what you want to wager...fine."
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:01 pm
"What exactly would you bet?" He asked smiling, he had no clue what she would say. But he was still trying to figure out if he was serious or not, and just what exactly would happen if he lost the bet?
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