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 Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:56 pm
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"Are you sure you're up for this?"
Skan could feel his claws chipping away at the earth beneath them as he walked with his father to the Sky clan. There was a new boy that had been selected to be trained as their next nvwati, and the wanidatsi of the pride had decided it would be good to get his father involved. It had been a blessing that Tawa'di had retained all his memories from his mortal life, but he was also much younger than anyone ever recalled him being. Which also meant he was more impulsive, prone to boredom, and easily distracted. Ususally, Skan felt like his father's father more than anything else.
"Yes," Skan hissed with a grinding of his teeth. "Besides, you will be the one doing most of the training; I'm here to make a proper introduction between him and you." Skan had met the parents of this boy when they had joined the pride, but he knew little else of them. It was strange to allow a child of ex-rogues to become a spiritual leader of the clan, but Skan did his best to not interfere too much with other clans' decisions....even if that would bite him in the a** sometimes. Damned wolf clan.
"That's true. I hope he isn't too nervous," Tawa'di said with a flick of his tail. He was walking next to his son, clearly larger than the boy; though he had been a pure-blooded Ela'wadiyi in his mortal life, being reborn as a god had bulked him up a bit. He felt a little strange being so large, but it did assist him in helping to get his way, or breaking up fights, or even just chasing off crocodiles from the river.
Mochni was flying above him, helping to gauge just how much further they had to walk. Tawa'di enjoyed walking next to his son; flying was wonderful, but there was such a lost connect to the earth that he could only get with his paws on the ground. His wings were normally tucked against his side, obscuring some of the tattoos that covered his body; a story explaining his mortal life, as well as his origins of godhood. They were dizzying if one didn't understand the ways of reading tattoos, and Tawa'di had learned that...there were many who wouldn't read them very well. So he was becoming a rather practiced oral historian in his eternal life.
"Ah, here we are!" the god laughed, feeling ready to get this meeting over with.
"Except we have to find him first, father," Skan said with a huff. |
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:02 pm
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Achak was sitting just out of eyesight from where the rest of the clan was loosely gathered, waiting for the wanidatsi to arrive. It was all he could do to not shift his weight anxiously from forepaw to forepaw - what if the wanidatsi looked at him and declared him some sort of fraud, or unworthy of the role?
It was bad enough he doubted his own abilities, and he worried constantly about letting down his parents, and his clan as a whole...but even more than that, he constantly worried that there was going to be a public, massive declaration of his failings, or that something he lacked was going to be detrimental to everyone around him.
All he could do was keep trying his best to live up to expectations - studying facial expressions, and trying to better learn all he was being taught, so that he didn't shame everyone who had expressed faith in him...
His tail flicked once, then twice...a physical manifestation of his discomfort. The longer he waited, the more uneasy he was getting...
And then, he heard an unfamiliar laugh, freezing him on the spot, followed by a slightly irritable voice, although he couldn't make out the words. Surely this was the wanidatsi (what were the odds of someone else from another clan stopping by that day?). He mist have brought a companion with him, as well.
With a small sigh, the cub got to his feet, only shuffling his feet a little bit before padding toward it. At least they were here, so he could stop...well, worry less about it. Inhale. Exhale. And again.
He found himself focusing on his breathing, taking deep breaths in time with his footfalls, in a (semi) effective attempt at calming his nerves. Emerging from some foliage, he caught sight of the visiting males, nearly stumbling, he froze so awkwardly. There was not one, but two intimidating looking males - and one of them was a deity.
Forcing his paws to move, he tried to appear more confident than he was. "Good morning, wanidatsi. It's a...pleasure to meet you." he hesitated awkwardly for a moment, wondering if his words sounded as stilted as they felt. "I'm Achak..Dikanodi, and I appreciate any guidance you're able to give me." Hopefully he'd managed to strike the balance between respectful, and sucking up.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:15 pm
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Tawa'di was debating tossing back another joke at his son, curious to see if it could prickle the boy further. Really, even though Tawa'di, in his past life, had not been trained as a cub for the wanidatsi roll, and was merely temporarily filled it as he finally was able to train one to wrestle the meaning of wanidatsi in the Ela'wadiyi's budding new chapter of life....he sure was a stick in the mud.
"Ah!" Tawa'di remarked. "It seems like he found us, for us. That was easy." He rustled his wings for a moment, feeling Mochni land on his back and tuck into his mane. All eyes seemed to be on Skan, though, perhaps out of awkwardness.
Skan sighed, though he offered the small cub a reassuring smile. "A pleasure indeed, though I promise you do not need to be so formal with us. I believe by the end of the moon's phases you'll be feeling rather comfortable with us...with Tawa'di." His green eyes glanced over to a matching pair that looked back at him, the two adult males exchanging looks.
"He's so...formal. Its a good thing you're having me train him; we don't need a second you running around." Tawa'di laughed alone at his joke, feeling confident that perhaps this was going to be rather interesting.
"Lovely," Skan said with a straight face. "Well then," he returned his attention back to the...very bright coated cub. "Don't let him bad mouth me too much, Achak."
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 2:37 pm
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Achak blinked, not quite sure how to respond to the pair. It was readily apparent that this meeting was not going, in any way, shape or form, like the cub had expected. Cautiously, as if afraid of offending by staring too hard, his eyes darted quick, sneaky glances at Tawa'di, before flying back to the wanidatsi.
"T...thank you!" He managed to get out, cringing at his own awkward stammer. With the invitation to be less formal, a different sort of panic gripped him. He had never found it easy to converse with others casually - concerns over what was expected made it...awkward.
At the god's...Tawa'di, he reminded himself. At Tawa'di's interjection, Achak's eyes widened, as he half expected the wanidatsi to take offense. For a cub who hid his insecurities behind a wall of formality, he mentally floundered, convinced that this was going to end with his being sent back to his clan labelled a failure.
His stomach knotted, but he gamely attempted to cover it up with a smile...that probably came out looking more like a pained grimace. "O...of course not, wanidatsi!" His voice was loud to his own ears, and he hunched his shoulders slightly in embarrassment at the realization, before forcing himself to press on.
"So...I will be training with...Tawa'di?" He asked after a moment's hesitation, obviously uncomfortable using the god's name, rather than a title. Finally turning to look directly at the deity, he shuffled his paws, briefly, before he caught himself and stilled the movement. "I'll do my best to learn quickly," he said, his words stilted, although he attempted a slightly more genuine smile.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:43 pm
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Skan wanted to smack his father, but that would be the absolute worst thing to do in this moment. The poor cub seemed so terrified that all his fur could fall off at any minute, and that would surely happen if he started to not portray himself as to how Achak seemed to have envisioned him.
"Yes. I unfortunately cannot dedicate the needed time to train you, though Tawa'di has all the time to offer. He was also the one that trained me, so you'll be in good hands." He figured Achak would take this well enough, as long as he wasn't too star-struck by Tawa'di's wings. Awful, annoying, huge things that they could be.
"We'll do great, kid!" Tawa'di exclaimed, laughing yet again. "You'll learn quick enough; they all do. It's actually practicing that's going to be the hardest lesson to learn of all." Theories were all and well good, but he knew enough, and remembered enough, that practicing until things became second nature was going to be the most challenging aspect of teaching Achak.
"Any questions?" Skan asked.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:25 pm
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The rigidity of the cub's posture relaxed minutely, the slight return to formality on Skan's part something he was more familiar with....it was more like what he always felt was expected of him. "I'm sure he'll be the best of teachers," Achak replied, having heard enough about the wanidatsi to have no doubts as to how good an instructor Tawa'di likely was. But...what did it mean fir him, that the god seemed almost...irreverent?
His statement about the learning being the easy part almost had the cub's expression crumple into visible dismay- he had trouble remembering things now, and keeping them straight...and his memory only seemed to get worse when he got nervous. If that was the easy part, how was he ever going to master the harder parts?!
He would just have to try harder, and pay close attention to the god's body language, and words, and hope he could prevent his own ineptitude from coming too close to the forefront, and letting everyone down.
At Skan's final query, Achak started to shake his head, and then hesitated before replying. "When will we begin?" His gaze flicked between the two of them, debating asking a follow up question of where he would be trained, as well - would he remain with his clan, where the proximity to his family would help serve as a counterpoint to the curious stares of the rest of the clan, and the potential whispers that he was convinced followed his every misstep? Or would he be travelling to another clan, where he would be away from familiar faces?
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:51 pm
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"The best...see, this kid is great!" Tawa'di laughed, his wings rustling behind him as he did. He knew this was going to be great fun, and Achak would learn things along the way. At least then the Sky clan would be better off, having a fully trained nvwati from cubhood 'til adult hood.
If Achak knew that he'd be stuck with Tawa'di for that long, anyway. He wasn't going to mention it at the moment.
"You will start immediately," Skan replied "I just wanted to make sure that I was here for when you two met one another, but I will be returning to the bird clan shortly. You'll stay here with your clan; it is the best way to practice, and to prove to the clan that you can do this. At times, Tawa'di may pull you away from the clan to practice alone; that matters on what task you are learning, and how quickly you pick it up. Some things are harder than others." Skan always had the blessings of visions to peek into the past and future; a gift from his mother. It had made his training much, much easier. He only hoped that Tawa'di, having lost his own talent when he was reborn, would have a better understanding in how to train Achak without that crutch to lean on.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 1:24 pm
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Directing a small, awkward attempt at a smile at Tawa'di, his face feeling stiff, Achak wasn't even sure how to begin to reply to his new teacher. Nothing about his training to come sounded fun to him; instead, he could feel nervousness sitting like a rock in his stomach, making him near-queasy.
When the wanidatsi spoke again, he ducked his head in a nod, using the motion to hide his widening eyes. They were going to start immediately?! His breath halted briefly in his lungs, panic making every muscle tense before he forcibly made himself relax them again, drawing a shuddery breath in on a near-cough.
"I'm very grateful for your guidance...great ancestor." He finally said directly to Tawa'di, his voice cracking slightly with nerves.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:10 pm
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Tawa'di was beginning to worry he was going to break the little guy. What was there to be so worried about? Was he going to say the wrong thing, and his heart would give out?
And then there it was. Great Ancestor. He...was speechless. How was he to reply to that?
In his stead, Skan finally lost it, and laughed. He laughed! The stern, serious leader of the Ela'wadiyi was laughing. "G...great ancestor...oh...that is too funny. Yes, please remind him that he is actually old, regardless of what he things." Skan laughed more, finally releasing some of his own tension he had been holding in. He was very worried about leaving his father here completely unsupervised, and as a teacher on top of it. Tawa'di had changed a lot, and there were only glimpses of him that had seemed to carry over when he was reborn. Tawa'di and his mother Mana had come to some sort of agreement together on their relationship, and Skan didn't see her as often anymore. Perhaps for the best; the Wind was never a thing to tie down. So Skan had been keeping his father busy to stay out of trouble, only for this to fall in their laps.
"You're....laughing." Tawa'di said with a serious expression. "And yet here you are, worried about me with Achak. I think you should go home to your family and take a break, Skan."
Skan still had a few giggles escape his throat, but he was starting to get control of himself. "Oh yes, I believe I will, ancestor." Skan waved off to the two of them as he turned to return home, thrilled to be able to share that new title with his family. And it fit perfectly!
Tawa'di watched his son leave, still feeling a bit perplexed and worried over his overworked son. "Ah, well....let's just pretend that didn't happen, right Achak?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:36 am
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Achak froze, and if he wasn't covered in fur, would have flushed with embarrassment when Tawa'di hesitated. He'd meant to convey the right level of...respect, and apparently had firmly put his paw in his mouth. He opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could get a word out, the wanidatsi...laughed?
And not just a polite titter, either. The wanidatsi had a reputation for being on the...serious side, to an extent that even the small cub had heard of it, and here he was, laughing. It was shocking enough to break Achak temporarily out of his mortification. Instead, the cub found himself staring at Skan, mouth still hanging open, and with wide eyes.
"O-oh!" He stammered, finally snapping out of his surprised stupor. "I didn't mean to say he was old..." he tapered off, noticing that neither looked offended, per se. He found himself looking up at Tawa'di (he hoped he was doing so discreetly, but likely his attention was quite obvious), as he encouraged Skan to return home, to his own clan. He wasn't sure what to make of him - to be fair, there were a lot of things he didn't understand when it came to interacting with others, but the god was nothing like what he would have expected...
"S...safe travels, wanidatsi!" Achak called after him, his voice likely barely carrying to the other lion, and then turning back to Tawa'di. "Yes! Of course, grea-!" He cut off abruptly, coughing to cover up his error. "Shall we head back to join the rest of my clan now, then...or would you like to begin right away?" He shifted his weight from forepaw to forepaw for a moment, before sitting back on his haunches.
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