(( Ashakiran: Manda
Jendayi'maat: -_Wish of the Goddess_- ))
Ashakiran rumbled softly in contentment where he lay just outside the temple upon one of the large flat stones, soaking up the sun's warmth as it descended for the evening. He had come a long way from the curious little juvenile he'd been when he first got here. That first lesson with Maa-nfer had fascinated him so much that he'd decided to study the pride's history on his own ... eventually becoming something of a historian. But he also discovered as he grew that he had nearly endless patience for the younger members of the pride, and he quite enjoyed teaching them. So he began to also learn more general things about the pride, and take some time each evening to teach the younger cubs and juveniles. Most of the rest of his time, he spend studying or sometimes helping out the hunters. Tonight, there were supposed to be a few of the newest cubs coming to get their first lessons, and the large male purred softly as he thought of opening their young minds to the things he knew. Almost time now ....
Jendayi'maat had found herself in a position where she felt like this was going to be hard. Headding for the Teacher before the others, the young cub's mostly deaf ears caught nothing of the world around her, blue eyes nervous. Though hard of hearing, Jen was an eager learner, and would do anything to be able to pick up what her teachers knew. She loved the thougth that she may someday be able to map the stars and tell their stories. When she spotted him, the femme moved quickly to sit before him, bowing her head in greeting, waiting for him to speak, her eyes trained upon his maw, "Hello."
Ashakiran noticed the way that her ears were trained upon him intently and found himself already pleased. She'd gotten here early ... and it seemed like she was actually interested, unlike most cubs who only wanted to play. Sometimes, he could get their attention with an entertaining story, but there were few who had the desire to learn more than the basics at this age. "Hello there," he rumbled, voice low so as not to startle her. Of course, he had no idea as of yet about her difficulty with hearing.
The low voice meant that Jen hadn't heard a word. Frowning, she pawed at the ground, trying to make out what he'd said. Probably hello, right? "H'llo.." The slur in her speech was obvious, "I 'm Jenday'maat. I 'm h're f'r cl'ss." She managed to stutter that out, as best she could, but....it was hard when you couldn't really hear your own voice. Her tail flicked back and forth, and her head tipped to the side, as she remained intently staring at the Teacher.
Oh my ... though she obviously wanted to be there, now Asha was starting to notice that there might be something wrong with her. She'd responded more or less correctly to what he had said, but ... "It's good that you're early," he went on, still at the same volume for the moment. "My name is Ashakiran." He paused for a moment, glancing to one side as a hawk dived upon some small creature. "Is there anything particular you'd like to know?"
The femme's ears flattened back, and she frowned darkly. No....No way. He couldn't talk that softly! That wasn't fair! She couldn't understand a word the male was saying. Moving close to him, her ears twitched, carefully, as he said something about 'know'. And....what else was that? Asha....something....."Asha.....about the stars...." She said, looking up, specifically at the first star. The one she loved as much as her own family...the thing that started her interest in the Stars.
Oh dear, what in the world was that frown for? He noticed the way that her ears flattened back, and then she moved closer to him, looking up at the starts just starting to come out above them. Oh! Perhaps ... hmn, well it wouldn't hurt to try. He had an idea of what might be wrong now, but he didn't want to seem too patronizing if he was wrong. "The stars?" he asked, a bit louder now. "Is that what you want to learn about, Jen?" Easier to shorten her name a bit, hopefully she wouldn't mind. And this time while he talked, he took care to also make his face more expressive and pointed upward with paw. If she couldn't hear well ... it would help, maybe.
She sighed happily as he spoke louder, her eyes softening as he said her name, and mentioned the stars, "Yes! Stars!" Her approval was greater as the Teacher realized that she couldn't hear him well, "I want to learn stars. Like the First." Her tail flicked, and her smile was bright, the small braid in her mane resting evenly against her cheek.
Oh good, it seemed that his guess was correct! And she didn't seem to mind that he'd assumed things ... in fact, she seemed happier. That was good. "Well, that star," he nodded toward the distant point of light, "is called Sopdet. And it's the First because it's the brighest one up there."
The cub's eyes gazed at the star, intriguedly, "...Sop...det..." Her words slowly moved over her tongue, and she looked at the star, tipping her head, "She is....bright yes." Nodding her head, those blue eyes looked back to him, and obviously, she wanted to learn so much more. Her blue eyes were curious, and the girl's tail tip moved slowly, "Sopdet...is she...?"
Ashakiran smiled at the cub's eagerness and nodded slightly. "She is a goddess ... much like the others you might have heard about." Talking slowly and louder than usually, and doing his best to illustrate the points, the large male launched into a short sort of story that told what he knew about the star-goddess. Things like what her name meant, and how seeing her star in the skies meant that hot weather would soon come.
Jendayi'maat lay on her stomach, watching the male as he told her a story about a Goddess of the star, and how she was this amazing goddess who foretold the coming of hot weather, and water. The thought of it fascinated the cub, and she soaked in the knowledge like a sponge, making sure that he knew she was listening. She'd respond a bit every once in a while, ask another question, but....for the most part, listened.
And after that, Ashakiran pointed out another constellation that he knew, and told the little cub the story of that one ... going on, until more of the class started to arrive. Smiling at Jen, he offered to teach her more later on if she wanted to come back. But for now ... it was time to tell everyone about the beginnings of the pride ...
Jen nodded and stepped back into the group of other cubs. At least she knew she now had someone within the Tuait'tekem who could teach her the things she needed to know about the Stars and Constellations. Her little heart was pounding, and now....it was only to wait.
