[PRP] Speak Not of These Secrets (Brynja & Morath)

[bipolar bee]

Brynja had heard that while Taraxa had two daughters, he'd only found an apprentice for one of them. While Saraneth had taken Ulrika under her wing in order to teach the youth all that needed to be known about the ways of the Priestesses, well, that still left Taraxa's other daughter without a guiding paw. She had no intent on speaking to Taraxa on this matter -- he was naught but a pig-headed womanizing male -- and would merely go and snatch the youth up as her own apprentice. After cornering Gunnar one afternoon days past, she'd gotten the name of Taraxa's dark daughter -- Morath. A fine name, one that rang strong.

Nearing the den in the early afternoon, Brynja yawned and seated herself daintily at the mouth of the den before calling out in a demanding tone, "Morath." She was betting that the cub would be home (cocky, yes) and her tone demanded that the cub show herself posthaste.  

[Split Personality]

Morath's hatred for her rival sister was driving her mad. It wasn't fair! She was better than her sister, who seemed to worried about their damned father, couldn't see how horrible of a male he really was. Morath had no sympathy for either of them. Now that she was a juve, she was much more independent than some of her other siblings. In fact, the only reason she stayed in the den, was to keep close tabs on what her sister was doing.

Someday she would show everyone.

She shifted among her rocky bed; her eyes half lidded and staring at the wall. Among her paws, were the things she collected out of habit. Small rocks, bones, some other objects she wasn't aware of their origin. Just things she felt a strong connection too. She lifted her head, upon hearing her name being spoken by someone she didn't recognize. She turned, looking over her shoulder at the stranger. "Yes?" She caught the sense of importance.

"I am Morath." She said a bit more sternly, standing up and abandoning her things.  

[bipolar bee]

Brynja gave a small sniff as she eyed the juvenile lioness, dual-colored eyes moving from Morath's face to the trinkets and whatnot the female had left behind. Excellent, Brynja thought to herself with the slightest smirk, she already shows such promise. Those odd eyes of Brynja's discarded the bones and other whatnots, once more returning to Morath's face. Brynja considered herself a fine priestess. Her father would settle for nothing less.

"I am Brynja. You will be my apprentice." Her voice, cultured though it was, held little room for disagreement. Morath would be her apprentice. "I will teach you, little bird, all the things that you will need to know of the life of a Priestess. Listen well and speak little. Walk with me so that we might talk. I will tell you of myself and you will do the same." Without waiting for a reply Brynja rose to her feet and slowly began padding away from Morath's den.  

[Split Personality]

Morath was busy trying to wonder why this female was there. No one had real interest in any of her family half the time... Taraxa only had interest in females and all of a sudden there was cub's that were strangely similar to her brothers and sister. She flicked her tail at the female, studying her as well. She knew that she was a priestess-now that she thought about it. She was thinking deeply, almost wondering why it was her she wanted and not her sister.

When the words felled upon Morath's ears; she perked up. "A priestess!" She looked excited beyond compare. "Really?" She stepped right up next to Brynja; looking up at her with brilliant eyes. "I am honored my priestess!" There was a gleam of pure vengeance in her lilac eyes.  

[Split Personality]

Honor was important to Brynja, and when Morath addressed her properly she couldn't help but feel a surge of rightful pride. She'd worked long and hard to secure her position in the pride. Her father had forced it upon her, in ways, but Brynja had always desired the position of Priestess. It helped that her Mother had once held the position; many of the tools that Brynja used in her duties had been those that had once belonged to her mother and had been gifted to Brynja by her father after she had proven herself ready to accept the title.

Brynja nodded as she continued walking, knowing that this apprenticeship would prove to be fruitful for the both of them. With such an eager young apprentice, well, Brynja would have something to brag about.

"Aye," she said softly as she walked, "and you will learn much, little bird. Your training will be intensive, and of course you will come to live with me in my den. I will speak to your father of this at another time. For now, I will show you your future home. In the following days you will move your belongings. All of them -- especially the trinkets you've collected. You hold them close because you are attatched to them," she continued, speaking of the things she'd spotted when she'd first approached Morath, "and they will be your tools."  

[Split Personality]

Morath was ecstatic. She padded along close beside the lioness. She looked up proudly at her now teacher and with a straight face spoke. "My father will not care. He has his other daughter to worry about him. He will be fine without me." She looked down sternly at the path they walked. "I was hoping someone would see my potential here... I have been sitting and building up my strengths while my sister tends to my idiot father..." She spoke so adult, as if the life of a child was of no interest of her.


She looked up upon the mentioning of her trinkets. "My things... My tools." She paused and thought hard about why she even collected them. "I have always had those things. Little things like and things that remind me of others... I'm glad my collection isn't just small childish things..." She looked up at her. "You know my name... How?"  

[Split Personality]

Brynja knew a father's love was sometimes hard to understand, but to feel as if he did not care was an unfamiliar thought for Brynja. "The brain of a male is hard to understand, little bird. I have long since given up any hope of figuring out the inner workings of the male brain." The last was said with snide disapproval. "At any rate, strike it from your mind, Morath. Your only worry now will be that which I will teach you."

She was quiet for a moment, a thoughtful look in her eye. "You know of Gunnar, hmm?" Without waiting for a reply, Brynja continued. "I am a cousin of his. My father is his uncle. I know much because of Gunnar. I prefer to hear most of my news from his lips -- he is not as fickle as most of the males here." She grinned. It was known around the pride that Gunnar and Taraxa were close friends, and so it should be no surprise that Brynja had been privy to the names of Taraxa's children.

"We near the den. You must touch nothing -- there are certain... things that must be done to cleanse both you and your tools. I will show you all of these things  

[Split Personality]

She noddded, knowing that those words were true. Males were useless; she liked her brothers half the time, the other boys were just annoying. Her father, was useless to her. She once sought his approval but long lost it. She nodded, knowing that soon she would be a proud apprentice and would not have to deal with the idiotic happenings of her siblings and her damned sister.

"I will learn. I want to know everything you tell me..." She said seriously, looking up from behind her teal mask. "I want to be the best... better than my sister."

"Yes Gunnar... I know him." She nodded, since she was familiar with his presence around her father. She wasn't impressed with him that much, but the life of a reaver was different than that of a child.

"I won't touch anything..." She said severely. "I will cleanse my things..." She nodded.  

[Split Personality]

It didn't take long for the duo to reach the den. It was a secluded spot, a long tunnel leading to the actual den. Inside were shelves carved into the berry-paint and bone-paste decorated walls. On these shelves rested different poultices in various sized turtle shells, or small satchels that likely held leaves. In the farthest corner was a mound of well-kept bedding; obviously this was where Brynja slept each night. Scattered around the largeish den were large bones, mostly skulls which were painted with berry-paint. The markings were mostly abstract and meaningless to those who didn't know how to read them. In a corner of the den rested a rather large and hollowed out elephant bone. Within the bowl's center was a crystal clear pool of water. The bowl itself rested on markings that had been scratched into the ground, and the outside decorated with feathers and more burgundy berry-paint. Leather strips suspended feathers from the walls of the den, held to the walls with teeth or claws stripped from unfortunate animals.

"My home," Brynja whispered proudly, "Our home, Morath. I have long worked on creating this den, everything in place where I want it. Remember that you are to respect what I have worked so hard on creating. When you are granted your own den - after I feel you are through with your apprenticeship - you may place things where you wish." The words were spoken kindly but firmly.  

[Split Personality]

Morath could feel the anticipation building as they came nearer to her teachers den. Her fur prickled, her tail tucked up underneath her in anticipation. She hadn't ever been in someone else's den like this, and she had NEVER seen anything like a priestesses den... She felt so excited, she was walking on needles it felt. She was so careful when she walked around, looking at everything.

This place looked like it had all her trinkets were decorating the walls and ceiling. "It's everything I like... I like all these things." She looked to the feathers and the do-dads. "Where should I sleep... Uh..." She realized she hadn't learned her teachers name. "I haven't been told your name yet..." She added a bit softly, not sure if she was even supposed to know her name. "what should I call you?"  

[Split Personality]

Brynja chuckled. She'd felt the same awe when her father had presented her with all of her mother's belongings. It was such an immense feeling of purity and beauty. Brynja took pride in her den, that much was obvious. "I am glad you approve, Morath. Where and how a lion chooses to live tells much of them. I have always believed this." Her mouth grew pinched as she thought briefly of the messier dens some of the Reavers tended to call home. Disgusting. Brynja was meticulous about her den.

"You will call me Brynja. That is my name, after all," she said with mirth. "You will sleep there," she motioned to an empty corner of the den with a paw, one opposite of Brynja's own bedding, "but first we must find you proper bedding. A Thrall will be given this duty. Before you are to sleep on it, we will bless it. This will cleanse the place you will sleep, and I consider it to be an important ritual. Once we have your bed sufficiently placed, you will bring to me all of your tools. Every one of them must be cleansed and blessed by ritual. You must never let another touch your tools, Morath," Brynja warned. "Never. Doing so will taint and cloud your work, and that is a dangerous thing."

"Now," she continued, gesturing that they should leave the den, "let us direct a Thrall to do our bidding. I have yet to receive one of my own," she mumbled in annoyance, "as my father has been gone for quite some time now and has forbidden me from searching out my own. Gathering bedding is a duty below you, Morath. You are my apprentice now. There will be time for play, but you must carry yourself with pride and grace."  

[Split Personality]

Morath gazed around wide eyed at everything, her heart just about beating out of her chest. Just Brynja. Not a stronger title. She smiled, as if it was a friendship thing. Were they friends? She wasn't even sure and really didn't care about it at this moment. She had a teacher. She was an apprentice. Everything she had ever wanted was happening. Now to just over throw her sister.

"Actually, I know the perfect thrall to do it. He is my brother through my mother. The leopon, you may have seen him. His name is thuto. He swore himself to us children for my mothers sake. I trust him. He has cared for us when Taraxa has not." She said with a undertone of trust. "He shouldn't be far from my fathers den, he stays around there tending to the things my Father is to busy to do." Mostly tend to his cub's basic needs.

"I do not have many things. The few things I have I will bring with us" She paused and furrowed her brow. "I don't play..." She added with a nod. It was true.  

[bipolar bee]

Excellent, so the girl already had a trustworthy Thrall that she could ask to fetch things. Brynja was pleased by this. She returned the smile that the little violet-eyed girl offered, a genuine gesture that warmed her strange eyes. One blue, one green, her father had often called her his 'little witch' and the pet name pleased Brynja. "Excellent. Before you go, I have but one last thing to say to you, and you must heed this above all else." Her expression was all seriousness now, no signs of smiles or mirth.

"Everything I share with you," she whispered with warning tone, "is to be shared with no other. Each priestess has her ways of doing certain rituals and blessings. These are to be held close to heart with utmost respect. Everything I teach you, you are never to share. To do so will result in the loss of my trust and friendship, Morath, and honor is a code that I hold sacred. I am trusting you with things that I learned from my own mother, and it will be a heavy weight to shoulder -- but I would not have chosen you had I not thought you cable of bearing the burden."

"Now, go and find your half-brother, gather bedding. Bring it here and rest it in the pathway, and then gather your things. We have much to do on this day."  

[Split Personality]

Morath was happy at the pleased look of Brynja. Her oddly colored eyes also intrigued Morath and for some reason made her think the power behind those eyes. "Yes." She said, looking attentive. She could sense the tension in her mentors voice as the lioness began. Morath nodded, her ears pressing against her head in a serious manner. "I won't have a problem with telling anyone.." She said, thinking of her sister with relish.

She stood up, bowing her head to her new mentor. "You can trust me with your life Bryjna... I would give my life before revealing anything of our time together... or of your teachings." She said, her eyes strongly shining.

She smiled, bowing her head again and with a huff, headed out. "Thank you... thank you Brynja!" She said over her shoulder as she came to the entrance. "I will be back..." And with that, she ran off to find her brother Thuto.

Fin