For as long as she could remember, they were the only people she knew. Dressed all in white, the older women would clean her and brush her hair and fur each morning, wrap her in fresh linens, escorting her to the room with the incense that prickled her little nose. Tai'at was whisked from place to place, surrounded on all sides by people in white robes that hid their faces, all of them smelling clean, the air filled with the smells of spices and flowers. Sometimes the scents were too strong and the little foxtaur would fall into a sneezing fit, one of her protectors sweeping her up and carrying her from the room.
Today, things were progressing a bit differently. Instead of being paraded to her quiet little room, she was taken onto a stage before the biggest group of people that she had ever seen before. One of her older sisters picked her up under the arms, holding her for all to see, her paws tucking against her, tail wrapping around her body as she squirmed unhappily. There was a veil over her blonde hair and the dressings that she'd been wrapped in were lacy and fancier than anything that she could remember wearing -- it was itchier, too. The older foxtaur droned on for what seemed like hours as she shifted in her place of honor, grumbling to herself.
When the assembly was finally ended, Tai'at felt herself fall by the wayside. A flood of foxtaur headed for the exit, swarming over the sisters and the young girl herself, shaking hands and greeting one another and wishing each other well. There were other children around, too -- it seemed like there was every kind of person alive within the house. Her small claws kneaded into the floor beneath her and she ducked beneath the table's draped tablecloth, only to run right into another little face like her's, with skin as pale as her's was dark.
( Eventually there will be a Vys running around here, too, but that's in the future. ; w; )
