It was a rest day for young priests-in-training. At least, it was a rest day for Txuratan. The Taronyu had devoted himself to his training with sufficient dedication that the priests overseeing him had actually urged him to take a day off and relax. He could not, they told him, learn everything there was to know all at once, and would have to learn patience, as well as the lessons of the priesthood.Ordinarily he might have spent his free day with his best friend, Petra, but he wanted some time to think. Txur had always thought himself a patient lion, and it was that curious statement, that he would have to learn patience, which occupied his mind as he strode away from the pride, following a familiar path which ran parallel to the river. At the end of the path, not too far from the pride, there was a place where the river water cascaded in a waterfall only about twice as high as his shoulder.
With a practiced hop and twist, Txur went around and behind the waterfall, avoiding actually splashing through the water. It had been more challenging when he was younger and smaller to make the requisite leap, but it had been easier to curve his body around the waterfall itself. The walk to his special place, as he thought of it, had also seemed much longer when he was younger, but he wasn't one to object to a shortening of his way.
Behind the waterfall there was a small grotto with a still pool as its central feature. This was his favorite place to come and think. Sometimes high waters left fish trapped in the pool, and he could even have lunch then. Today was not one of those days, but it was still good to be in this place. He sighed contentedly and sat down.
There would soon be a great, momentous occasion he was told, and he had been trying not to pry too obviously. He was, however, perishingly curious about what this upcoming event might be. There would be a ceremony, and already the highest priests and priestesses were preparing for it. His own part in the proceedings would be minimal. In fact, it was unlikely he would have any part to play whatsoever. He just wished he knew what was going on. He felt he might die from curiosity.
It was something to turn his mind to. He had no doubt that Petra would know what was going on. Her position in the pride, being very close to Pietr, who was Eytucan's heir, often granted her access to privileged information. But if he asked her, that would be admitting defeat. Which is to say, it would be admitting that he could not puzzle it out for himself, and he had no doubt that if he simply turned his mind to it he would be able to figure out what had all the higher-ups in such a tizzy.
His first thought was that maybe Zelt'zin was pregnant, but he dismissed it quickly. While it was true that the cubs of the pride's spiritual leader would occasion a great deal of fuss and furor, it was highly unlikely that it would be starting at this point. She wasn't showing any signs of being pregnant, anyway, and being her apprentice, as it were, Txur was in a good position to notice those sorts of things. No, it couldn't be that, although that would have been a wonderful blessing for the pride.
Briefly Txur found himself distracted as he wondered how Pietr felt about the idea that as Eytucan's heir, he would be ritually mated to whatever female child Eytucan and Zelt'zin produced, even though their ages would be significantly different. Pietr was almost an adult at this point, and it would be a long time before any cub not even born yet would be of age to take a mate. His mind drifted toward Petra, who was Pietr's twin, and thus also approaching adulthood. She would soon be old enough to take a mate, and unlike Pietr, she was free to choose for herself. The thought made his stomach turn a little, and so he forcibly directed his mind back to the matter of the big secret.
Zelt'zin wasn't pregnant. What else could it be? He closed his eyes and began breathing. He no longer had to count when he breathed to achieve a proper meditative state, he had so much practice at it. Sometimes it felt as though he could commune directly with Eywa, even without going to the tree of souls. He'd never told anyone that, though, since everyone knew it was Falk who was the seer in his family, and he didn't want anyone to think he was pretending to have powers he didn't have. He knew he wasn't a seer. He just felt particularly connected to Eywa at times.
Eywa. He hadn't gotten to meet her when he became a Taronyu and chose to follow the path of the priesthood. He'd hoped she might have returned by then. Zelt'zin seemed so sure she would be back whenever they spoke of it, it was difficult to disbelieve her, but at the same time Txur did wonder if Eywa's return would be before he reached adulthood. His faith in the goddess was unwavering, but his faith in her sense of timing...well. Gods lived more slowly, didn't they?
"Oh!" he exclaimed softly as his eyelids fluttered up as a result of his startlement. Could it be that Eywa had returned to the pride? Well, no, maybe she hadn't returned yet, but maybe Zelt'zin had some way of knowing that she really would be returning soon. Something more than her usual optimism. Perhaps Eywa had already returned, and was simply making herself scarce, waiting for the proper time to put in an appearance. Like at a ceremony which required incredible amounts of preparation on everybody's behalf. That had to be it.
He almost wanted to jump to his feet and run off in search of Petra to ask if he had figured it out, but he restrained himself. If he was correct he would spoil the surprise, and if he was wrong he would look foolish, and there was nothing he wanted less than to look foolish in front of Petra. He didn't understand how so many people could care that her coat was brown and not colored like the rest of the pride. Couldn't they see that she and Pietr were twins, and so it could just as easily have been Pietr who was brown and Petra who was white? The People could be so strange.
