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 Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:16 pm
Two children gone, three more yet to see off. Today, the third would begin his journey. Asali had not planned it this way, but it seemed her sons would all go before her daughters. First Nyoe, then Mng'aro, and now Juu, her little climber.
Although a part of her was reluctant to see all her cubs go, she knew that Juu, of all of them, would likely be the most reluctant to go. But he would go, just the same...he would obey his mother, obey tradition, and be the third to leave to find his name.
First, she just had to find him, and she was pretty sure he'd be just through there...
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:41 pm
And there he would be.
Juu had always been one to get atop whatever he could. Though he always climbed, his soul was one grounded on the earth, much unlike one of his beloved sisters.
Today he had found a rotting trunk, one that had fallen in such a way that it was higher then the others, but not high enough to offer Juu any danger if the scion had fallen off. He dozed, taking in the usual thick and warm air of the swamps, loving his home nearly as mch as his mother.
His tail swishing behind him, probing that he wasn't fully asleep, Juu's dark body colour would have kept him hidden from others if it wasn't for the white mane that had begun to grow around his neck. That, and mothers always seemed to have the knack in finding what they wanted, so he wouldn't hide for long.
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:51 pm
It made her smile, to see that even to sleep, he sought out heights. Vantage points, although that would be more accurate if he were actually awake. He'd continued to live up to the name she'd given him.
But that wasn't his name, not really. That would be up to him, not his mother.
Just close enough, she spoke just loudly enough to wake him from his doze. "Juu."
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Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:20 pm
Juu stirred softly, his olive-coloured eyes slowly opening as they took in the dimly-lit sunlight of the swamplands. He heard his mothers' voice, one that he had always adored.
"Yes, mother?" he returned to her softly. He slipped off of the trunk gracefully, so that his mother wouldn't have to strain her neck up to see him, for that would be terribly rude for him to make his mother do.
He gave her a little bow before sitting down, just wondering what she wanted with him. He knew that the time drew near for them to be released in their naming quests, but the thought that it would happen today never crossed his mind.
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Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 3:24 pm
ASali watched him slip from his perch with pride. What a handsome son she had! "It is time, child. Time for you to leave here and learn; your body grows, but so too must your mind, or else you will never truly be grown, no matter how thick your mane becomes."
"I gave you a name, once. I called you Juu; Juu is a child's name, and as long as you bear it, you will be a child in the eyes of the spirits, in the eyes of the Mother, and in my eyes as well."
"You must find a new name, your true name, and be child no more."
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 1:15 pm
Juu's heart sank as he heard his mother's request. Find his true name? But what about his name right now? He knew it was a short name, of little meaning, but it was still the name his mother gave him. And in his eyes, his mother was his world.
He did his best to hide his sadness from his mother. But mother's were usually sharp in the ways of their children. He only hoped she wouldn't bring up how he was feeling directly.
"Yes, mother." He said softly, staring at the soft ground near his mother's feet. His gaze slowly reached hers, his heart still swollen. "Does this mean I am to leave home for my name?" His worst fear was always having to leave home, and now this was certainly going to be the case.
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:21 am
"You must leave home, and you must leave it now. Leave these lands without delay - do not turn to bid your brothers and sisters goodbye, nor your father nor anyone else. Go, travel as your paws take you, as the spirits and fate take you. Go and find your name."
"When you have found your name, and only then, return here, to your home. Return to your pride and speak your name before us all." The third and last of her sons to leave...in what order would they return to her? Would they all return? Would any?
"If, after one year and one moon, you have not returned, know that we will say the rites for you, so that you will not roam as a ghost forever." After staring hard into Juu's eyes for a long moment, she broke that contact by turning away - though she wanted so to stay with him! - and departing by the way she had come.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:04 am
Juu grudgingly accepted what was asked of him, though it shattered his heart for what his mother was asking of him. Leave home? It would be more then difficult for him to stray far from it, at least at first. But he had his mother's pride to live up to, and thus he had to do his quest.
The selfish part of him wanted it to be over as soon as possible, but he knew that was doubtful. The spirits were to test him, and tests were never easy...were they?
He blinked back tears as his mother turned, to go back home, with his father. They would be here, waiting for him to return....and he should do his best, and make them proud.
The adolescent lion turned towards a path that would lead him out of the swamplands, into strange lands that he knew nothing about. Here goes nothing...
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