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 Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:26 pm
The Rain Ceremony binds two souls together in marriage forever. There is no divorce or separation in this pride. Thus, the Rain Ceremony keeps two souls bound forever. The Rain represents love, how it is the lifeblood of marriage. The earth needs rain to survive, as does love to a union.
We will try to do this one pair at a time. A pair will approach Skan. They will need something to exchange with one another, whether it be a feather, a flower/leaf, or something similar. Skan will take each gift, bless it, and offer it to the other. Thus, they will be united. Then the pair should leave together, so I'm asking for at least two posts for you guys. <3
This is also a good time to renew such vows, as it renews the excitement of love! (*bricked*)
Please try to post together if possible. There will be no 'closed' time, at least until the festival is over completely.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:56 pm
  ((Yes, we did get a bit carried away))
Yes. Yes he was.
As he shifted from one paw to the other he had to agree that this was possibly the most scariest thing he had ever done. Not because he was worried it was the wrong decision. He knew it wasn't. It was just so...so final. So grown-up. And after today - after this moment - they would be wed and when the festival was done he would return with her to Mantis and bid his family farewell. Was this how his older brother felt, too? Or was it just him? It seemed to Poa that too few of his family had wed. Even his older brothers and sisters - for the most part - were single and he had a lot of them.
His stomach fluttered and he glanced down at the string of leaves and flowers looped around his fore paw - his gift for Kalanu. He'd completely forgotten about that particular part of the ceremony and was incredibly thankful that his sister had been able to help him with it.
He heard the sound of footfall and looked up, wondering whether it was Kalanu. His heart quickened in his chest.
Kalanu's excitement had overtaken all fear and anxiety she had about attending the rain ceremony. Even now, as she prepared to make it official, she had decidedly forgotten Poa's original reservations and focused completely on the fact that he was going to be with her now. The biggest help in forgetting that particular bit of the past was a huge surprise: it was Sesere. The temperamental little black bird was the last one Kalanu expected to be supportive of this wedding considering she had always seemed so distant during their courtship and annoyed during their breakup.
But in the end, it turned out Sesere was always on Poa's side.
Which was why as the dark lioness approached Poa, ready to walk with him to the rain ceremony, she had some sleek black feathers tucked in with the orange ones she normally wore. She couldn't have come up with a better gift on her own.
"Poa," she greeted him when he looked up, smiling."K-Kalanu." He gave her a shy smile, folding his ears back into his mane as he stepped forwards towards her. She was so beautiful with that stark black fur all embellished with vibrant gold.
Carefully he extended his neck and touched his muzzle gently against her shoulder, rumbling contentedly in his chest at the contact. The scent of her warm fur in his nose was ridiculously comforting and helped settle the fluttering in his stomach. "Are you ready?" He asked, his eyes widening a little as he waited for her response. He glanced over his shoulder to look around them and swallowed nervously before looking back. A couple of days ago he never would have dreamed that he would be standing there with her, readying to take their vows. Some part of him felt it was a dream he was about to wake up from.
She was oblivious to the leafy gift around his paw, keeping her eyes on his face. He was nervous, she wasn't surprised- and she wouldn't let herself worry it was a bad sign.
"Ready," she said brightly, leaning back against him and resting there for a moment, "You?"
Even when he glanced around them, she stayed where she was, pressed against him waiting for him to say he was ready. All that remained was to walk up to the wanidatsi and then they would be bound together forever. It was much more public than if they had not come together during the festival, she thought.. but perhaps that was better.He gave her a small nod and leaned into her side, lifting his eyes to look towards the direction they needed to go. To where Skan awaited. "I'm ready. I just really hope I don't mess this up." He could end up breaking the delicate chain Eeva had helped him construct. Or trip over a stone and fall flat on his face, or...
...He cut those thoughts off and swallowed nervously.
"Okay, shall we go?" And he moved off slowly, breathing deeply in an attempt to keep himself calm and not lose his voice. All in all, it was a simple ceremony but...for all that it was simple it certainly did symbolise a lot.
He hadn't noticed, as of yet, the different coloured feathers amongst the ones she normally wore.
She couldn't help but laugh at his concern, headbutting him playfully before finally standing up straight and tall. They were just about ready, then!
"You won't," she said, nodding when he started them off. With a fleeting glance down to his paws, nearly double-taking at the flowers but managing to straighten herself up and keep her excitement contained by a bright smile.
Staying close by his side, they finally approached Skan. After a bit of shuffling to loosen their safely stowed gifts, they were ready.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:38 pm
Once he felt that it was ready, he waited. He knew that he would have to wait for most of this ceremony, but he didn't mind it. It gave him time to be just far enough away from the pride to meditate, gather his thoughts, and contemplate over the past and future of the Ela'wadiyi.
The sounds of a couple approaching alerted him to look sharp, and his eyes widened just slightly as he saw the couple approach. Well, well. A twinge of pride, and also a feeling of time draped over his frame. The youngsters that he remembered were getting married, and perhaps going to start their own families soon. It was an odd feeling, but he was still filled with pride.
He waited until they were both ready. "Poa Subiani. Kalanu Kalisetsi." He nodded to both of them, doing his best to hide a grin, but failing.
"Poa, though you must leave your clan of the Shadow to enter into Mantis, you will always carry what you learned with you. Your family will always love you, and be proud of you." He turned to the black female. "Kalanu. You are aware of the sacrifice that Poa must take, and so I ask of you to help him fit in with his new extended family, as I'm sure you will."
He paused, knowing just by their body language that this was a perfect fit. "Your gifts that you exchange symbolize the devotion you two share, and though they may not last for the extent of your lives, the mark they make today will always be remembered. Our homelands will remember that as well, and will always view the two of you as a true mated pair."
Now, now he felt like he could smile, and he did. He nodded to the two of them. "I bless you both, and may the two of you always be happy," he added on. It was a simple ceremony, but it always filled Skan Kanati with joy.
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:50 pm
His heart was hammering so loud that Skan's voice sounded muffled and distant. Even still he heard the words - quiet as they were - and knew what they meant. He and Kalanu were together now. Until the end of their days. Just like his own parents. This was a start of a new life with a new family. It was a sacrifice, true, and it made him feel afraid, but he just had to look across at Kalanu to know that she was his family now.
It would all be well.
He leaned in against her as he untied the string of flowers and leaves wound around his fore-paw., being extra careful to ensure that he didn't break it now. Not now when they were supposed to be strong and united. Then, with a short breath of relief, he allowed the gift to be passed from him, to Skan, and at last to Kalanu Kalisetsi.
He dipped his head at Skan's words. The gifts would not last but they, as a couple, would. It was a heartening thing indeed. And Skan's following smile jolted Poa into one of his own and he glanced across at his new mate and said: "I'm ready to join you and your family, Kalanu. Ready to make them my own."
Kalanu was pleased their approach was greeted with such a sincere smile but once they were before him and receiving his blessing, she was having a hard time staying focused on the wanidatsi. She nodded where appropriate, always smiling and struggling to keep her eyes on the speaker. She couldn't help but smile at Poa as he leaned in and handed over the flowers- and she had to stifle a laugh at herself when she fumbled with her feathers to be given to Poa.
"I love you," was all she could say when Poa said he was ready.
He swallowed thickly, moved by the gift and by her words. "Thank you." Was his response, the words thickened with emotion. "I love you, too." And he reached forward to press his snout against hers, closing his eyes just briefly before he remembered that Skan was there.
Turning back to the other male, he bowed his head deeply. "Thank you, Skan Kanati." Simple words, but heartfelt.
Poa might have remembered Skan was there but even her mate looking toward the wanidatsi wasn't enough to bring Kalanu back to reality. His thank you was, though. She shook her head, looking back at Skan with a bright smile, mimicking the respectful bow but unable to vocalize her thank you.
Now it was official and she wasn't sure how long it would take her to get over the excitement.
"Come on!" she murmured to Poa, giving one last grateful nod to Skan before turning to go off and celebrate.
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 2:12 pm
MoonRazor He had searched long and hard for it, had searched deep into the night and the next morning for the gift he would present to Tawi at the Rain Ceremony, but his efforts had been repaid in spades, and Qaletaqa Subiani returned now with the perfect gift. The beauty of it all made him all but tremble with excitement and a touch of anticipation, but any anxiety he might have felt earlier had been drained by his restless search through the lands occupied by the clans. The rhythmic pad of his paws against the dusty ground and the physical act of putting one paw in front of the next had been almost therapeutic, calming him and driving all that pent up energy out and into the earth.
He was ready now, now that he had partaken of that ritual and come to understand in part the rush that Tawi felt when traveling, though he suspected that a part of him had been ready since day one. The once-flighty lioness had, from the very beginning, elicited from Taqa that timeless patience he possessed, that desire to wait and wait until the wait was done, and that alone had always seemed enough.
He had watched as his younger brother left with Kalanu, knowing where Poa was headed and that by the end of the day they would have gone through the same experiences, and inside, Taqa had cheered Poa on. Outside, though, he could only smile. Anything else, and he might have exploded in an uncharacteristically giddy fit, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to put himself off in any way before this, one of the most important days of his life. He wouldn't have to leave his family and his clan as Poa soon would, but it was a momentous day all the same.
The tattooed lion turned to Tawi, seeing her burnt red eyes and beautiful masked face as if for the first time. "I found this for you, for the ceremony," he told her, batting his ear to show her a small purple butterfly with iridescent wings that glittered under the light. "It was dead when I saw it, and that's a shame, but... there you are. You've found a new kind of butterfly."
Another smile, and then, "I think it's time." She-Ra of Etheria Tawi was such a mixed bag of emotions she wasn't sure what to do. She was excited, nervous, fearful, happy and a tiny bit of dead mixed in. It's not that she didn't want to marry Taqa, no it was quite the opposite she was looking forward to this day greatly even if she was extremely nervous about messing something up during the ceremony. But her old ways, which had mostly been buried deep inside her had the tendency to flair up when her nerves got the better of her, and today was certainly one of those cases. Heck the last couple of days she had spent a large portion of the day, and sometimes the night, pacing just to get it out of her system and to give herself time to think and calm down. Her biggest fear had been not being able to find the perfect gift for Taqa.
And this was what had got her pacing nearly endlessly for two days. Luckily her new life, and Taqa's calming presence helped quite a bit, but she did wonder if what she had found for him was truly special enough, if it was perfect. There was no doubt in Tawi's mind that Taqa would find the most perfect thing out there for her gift, so because of this, she had changed her mind out what gift to give him about as many times as she went out pacing. She wanted their married life to start out right, and while she knew Taqa would love her and her gift no matter what, she wanted to make sure it not only made him happy but herself.
It had been in the middle of the night, during a pacing spree that had seen her wander far from Taqa's side that she had stumbled upon the perfect gift. In fact she had only just picked up another item when she practically tripped over this one in the dark. That was when a single beam of moonlight had snuck out from behind the clouds to reveal what it was. A small rock sat in the middle of the savannah, nothing special there, but as the moonlight danced across it's surface Tawi could see small green crystals catching the light. It instantly reminded her of Taqa, a dark brown rock with green crystals was so similar to his brown hide with it's green tattoo's. In that moment she knew this was the right gift and she quickly abandoned her prior gift, what it was she honestly couldn't remember now, and scooped up the rock.
Now she stood before Taqa as they prepared to go. Now the reality of it was truly sinking in and she was so glad she had found Taqa. He had truly been the light at her long and lonely tunnel. Seeing his gift for her brought tears to her eyes. "Oh Taqa, it's beautiful." Pulling her tail forward Tawi bent her head down and revealed the rock with it's tiny green crystals to Taqa. "This is your gift. I tripped over it the other night and it reminded me of you, of how you ended up in my path and changed my life forever." It was amazing how suddenly all of her nervousness was gone and now she wanted this ceremony to happy now, so she and Taqa could truly start their life together.
"Shall we go then?" There was no hiding the excitement in her voice, nor the slight impatience as well.
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:34 am
Skan Kanati watched as Poa and Kalanu left, feeling heartened by their clear love for one another. Something that had gone right, and the ceremony had been lovely. He felt himself sitting up a bit straighter, brushing off what little stray dirt had made its way onto his paws. He knew that this was a time when the couples would be more in tune with each other, and not paying as much attention to him or what was around them. That was perfectly fine for him, but he still wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.
The next pair to approach was another one of the Subiani family. And...yes. He remembered the female...Tadi? No. Tawi. Yes, that was it. Familiarity reminded him that she had joined a bit ago, but it seemed that she was ready to take another step in their pride. Nodding with approval, he watched as the two of them approached him.
"Qaletaqa Subiani. Its very special when I can unite two siblings under the same ceremony," Skan laughed lightly. "And Tawi, I remember you from when you first asked to become one of us. It is good to see you, to see the both of you here. Your gifts?"
He noticed that the two of them were prepared for this, and quite calm. Admiration flooded Skan, as usually nerves overtook all other emotions when a pair were to marry, but this time it was this soothing feeling that Skan felt. Invigorating, and cementing the two of them together without Skan really needing to say so.
He accepted both gifts, just for a moment. "These two gifts, though they may not be in your possession forever, represent what you see in your mate. It is an exchange of love and devotion, and complete contentment with your decision. I know that the earth we walk on, and the sky we walk under, will always view the two of you as a perfect compliment of the other." And with that, he exchanged their gifts for them, giving the stone to Qaletaqa and carefully giving the butterfly the Tawi.
"The two of you are now married in the eyes of the pride. Congratulations." He couldn't help himself, and smiled warmly at the two of them.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:50 pm
Tsisqua Waja stepped into the area, padding up to Skan Kanati. At his side his loved one padded with him. Tishkari was her name, and if any would ask. She was as wonky and weird as his family was. But that suited him right.
The large seer's eyes looking to the older lion, though his eyes sometimes would switch to steal glances of his wife-to-be. He was excited, yes, but Tsis was known for his level-headed display. His way of displaying excitement was a large smile that at this moment, was bright and shining. Humming though sometimes did lift from his vocals. But for now he stayed quiet. He had brought with him, his favoured ornate feather to give to Tishkari.
Tsisqua didn't have to look far for a mate, he had to just wait for a little bit and she would come bounding up to him at the watering hole... He considered himself blessed.
He'd give Skan a humble greeting-nod.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:02 pm
 This was almost certainly the happiest day of the former rogue lioness' life. She padded up to join Tsisqua before Skan and couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her normally controlled face. A year she'd been here, among the Ela'wadiyi, and for ten moons of that year she'd known and been courting (and courted by) Tsisqua Waya.
She regarded her mate-to-be thoughtfully, from his brown-furred face surrounded by a green mane, to his white body and all the purple tattoos that covered him so. He was handsome, true, and as much born to this pride as she'd been born to distand lands far from here. But here and now they would be sworn to each other forever. She liked the sound of that. It sounded rooted, though the pride was nomadic within its bounds. That was enough to satisfy her urge to travel nowadays, particularly with Tsis for an anchor.
Tishkari had been briefed about what to expect from the Rain Ceremony, and now she brought out her own gift for Tsisqua. It was an old piece of wood, dry and hollow and shaped by two-leggers. She'd found it washed up on the riverbank on day. Inside, she had stuffed pieces of her own fur and then plugged it up with rocks. She didn't have anything quite as nice as the feather Tsis had brought forth, but damnit she was going to make sure he got something meaningful! The lioness laid out her gift with a slight bow to Skan before turning to smile at her mate-to-be once more.
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:50 pm
Skan watched as the last pair left and the next one approached. This was going far better than last year, though he was a bit surprised that no past couples were here to renew their vows. Perhaps next year. It was hard to do his own desired ceremonies when he was the one who presided them, but Muujiza didn't mind. Maybe being an ex-rogue helped her understand him better, and offer more patience than some of the native females he knew. Strange, as he never would have guessed that himself until he met her.
"Ah, welcome, you two," he said with a smile. The Shadow Clan was clearly very busy with matchmaking, he thought to himself. He was expecting a bit ofa cub boom out there in a few months, as these sorts of things just...happened!
"I am happy to see the two of you, and I'm sure you've been waiting for this day for some time." He noticed that they were prepared. Knowing that while this was such a special moment for them, he was certain that the two of them would be excited to return to their clan as a married couple as soon as they could. That was where the true celebration took place. This was to let the earth and sky know that they were together forever.
He took their gifts, brushing his own paw against them. "The earth will remember this, as not everything can last forever. When these gifts return to the earth, it will still remember this day. The sky will watch over you two, and whatever the future may hold for the both of you." He smiled and exchanged their gifts for them, nodding to each of them slowly as he did so. "Tsisqua Waya and Tishkari, the two of you are bound together forever in our eyes. I congratulate you, and am very happy for the two of you to begin your lives together."
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