Prompt: "you go outside to get away for a bit and a particular star catches your eye. what does it say to you?"
@KhusobekWhen the procession was over, the visitors were ushered from the space and the party began. While Raiyuk had been with
@Seal and
@Heph at the beginning, he somehow got separated in the rush of bodies.
There was a
feast scheduled, but not until the honeyed wine was flowing, and everyone was given time to mingle and enjoy themselves.
For Raiyuk, who had never been this far from home or around this many foreign people, the noise of the celebration and the many odd smells was too much. He didn't eat anything or take any drink from the coyotes; each time they tried to wait upon him he would recoil, fighting the instinct to do them harm! These were such kind people - Raiyuk did not understand why he felt this way.
Singing and raucous conversation buzzed around him. He hurried on and on, seeking the entrance to this place, and when he finally had escaped it all in to the night - he could breathe.
prompt: "your wolf bumps into a servant carrying drinks."
@Inji unfortunately was the hapless attendant into whom the crocodile blundered that night. he had finally descended from the top of the cenote, and now stood with shoulders and chest soaked in wine.
but he was not upset; he winked boldly at the purple-eyed girl, smoothing liqueur from his lips as held her eyes, and then retired out of doors again to clean himself.
there was a boy here, one of their guests. he watched the stars. khusobek would not have invited babies to such an event, but he saw the merit of dazzling the very young so that they would always be awed by akashingo.
the crocodile wiped liquid from his forearms.
"from where do you hail, young one?"
He wondered as he stared; did his mother look up to the same stars? Then, what did it matter. Now was not the time to think of her. The party was in full swing and would be going for many days (although of this Raiyuk was unaware). He breathed the unfamiliar air with its many odd scents, and a man spoke from behind him.
Turning, his ears flattened a moment. The man was rugged and tall, and had the look of a vagabond, carrying the newly crowned girl's scent as well as a sharp, sour smell that was prominent inside.
Moontide,
the boy answered. Knowing his manners, he recited: I am Raiyuk, son of Chakliux—
he chose then to omit the rest.
I greet you.
A bow of his head.
moontide. khusobek had not heard of it. to his ear, the boy's speech was accented, and who cared about a father? the crocodile was not so rough as to dissuade a possible ally from the kingdom of his pharaoh. "i greet you back," he smirked.
"you are quite far from the sea. what did you make of all this, raiyuk?" he was not sure how to title the young wolf, and so simply did not.
This man was impressive in his ways. Strong, lean, very much like his own father but different enough to be of interest. Raiyuk did not know what to make of his expression and was midlly put-off by it, but courteous enough to continue the conversation.
It is very...
he didn't have a word at first, and lost his train of thought, or seemed to. In fact he was thinking very hard. Alive.
Was that a strange synopsis? He looks back to where the party flows and all the bodies, all the noise, all the goodness there; so much life.
We do not have this many people in my village.
His eyes went briefly wide, and then he glanced again to the man. Are all desert people this way?
"it is often this way. perhaps not so many, but servants, guards, nobility, and those royal are always a part of akashingo."
village. was it like a nome or province? it was clear the boy had come from a distant land and a foreign people, which intrigued the crocodile more.
"tell me of this moontide ... village."
What kind of person would he be if this was his birthright? Raiyuk couldn't fathom being waited-on like this, rather than fending for himself; to be ruled by gods and royals, or some amalgam of the two; and he found himself intensely, intimately homesick.
Thankfully this man appeared interested in Moontide, and Raiyuk was overjoyed to speak of it!
Moontide is where my father's lodge sits; there he attends his wives, and works the land, and one day I will do the same.
It wasn't quite what Khusobek asked, but Raiyuk was always ready to praise Chakliux.
The village is home to other families as well, and the head of the village is my uncle, Rodyn.
This wasn't a truth, they held no blood shared, but Raiyuk by now considered everyone of the village as kin. He respected the man who could continue after the loss of a wife - much as his father, and himself, had survived the loss of Nasamik.
"so it is a place of related family," the crocodile observed. the mention of wives as a plural did not escape the man, who found this amusing. relatable. "and where do you fit into all this? dutiful son? sea swimmer?"
the boy's voice held the admiration that boys have for their fathers.
khusobek had never felt this way about his own, and so found the sentiment to be inferior.
If Raiyuk heard any negativity in the man's voice, he gave no indication. He was happy to talk of the village as it made him feel more at-ease about his current situation, which otherwise was overwhelming.
I am... both, yes. I am the first-son of Chakliux, seal hunter.
This seemed an important fact necessary to repeat. One day my father will take me to the ice, where I will hunt, and earn my scars, and come back a man.
As he explained this, Raiyuk observed the man. He didn't think this might sound strange to the man, and was in fact searching his face for scars of his own.
In the spring, I will be an older brother and I will teach my father's other children our ways. It is an honor.
seal hunters. a manhood ceremony. raiyuk looked forward to being a brother.
it was saccharine and unknown in a way that charmed the hard heart of the crocodile, despite what he felt might be lowborn aspirations.
the boy's eyes were appraising. "does moontide deal in wives? in seals?" he asked, genuinely curious despite his tone. "and when you are a man, what will you choose to do?"
In this context of dealings, Raiyuk was lost. He did not let that stop him from speaking, only he held a briefly curious expression on his face.
The matchmaker of Moonglow, Kukutux, would know of wives and husbands,
he did not think Rodyn would hold the same interest, ability, or heart for such work; maybe if Samani were alive, but not now.
We trade what we hunt. Fish, caribou, birds of the sea, and seals when we can. The sea brings us many things - stones, glass, things rare and hard to find otherwise.
Of this Raiyuk knew well! He loved to prowl the seaside and have his choice of the trinkets there.
I will be like my father one day; I will hunt upon the sea ice and fill my lodge with many wives, and many sons.
All his aspirations were couched in familial pride.
a matchmaker, even? khusobek's interest grew as raiyuk spoke of husbands and wives, and trade. the mazoi had never heard of a seal before, or caribou. the world that the boy described was far unknown to the man in ways he would not admit.
but he saw more of an equal in the young traveler now, smiling as raiyuk described his aspirations. "this, i can drink to," khusobek declared, signalling a passing servant for cups of deep red liquid.
"drink, boy. this is the stuff of men."
The desert man offered a toast to him. Raiyuk did not know what this was, yet the man grabbed for a drink from a passing servant and offered it to him with a new warmth in his voice; it reminded Raiyuk of the many times he had pleased his father, and the praise that came from him. Unsure as he was, Raiyuk knew to be respectful.
He took the drink and eyed it, waiting for the man to raise it up or to taste it, and would mimic whatever it was he did.
deeply did he drain his draught; khusobek watched as the boy did the same, and grinning, clapped his shoulder.
"now go and mingle, young seastar. go and dance. you will never have felt better, i assure you."
wistful now; this moment of boy becoming man was long behind khusobek, and he was not certain the moment had ever belonged to him.
When he'd swallowed it, he felt the burn at the back of his throat and a sharp wave of sourness that sank in to his teeth.
It was a unique flavor and disorienting moment, but Raiyuk held strong against the urge to pucker his face, or otherwise falter before the man; then he felt the clap of his shoulder and let out a small wheeze.
The man was happy with him. A blooming awareness overtook Raiyuk then; he would remember this little moment as something bigger, something important, in his transition from boy to man.
With a small bow to Khusobek he did as bade, and sauntered off to find his age-mates.