Verdigris Ravine 'tis time that i fare from you

@Talisman

S'ari was slowly recovering, and sniffing about the ravine, sussing out the new smells of new coyotes. She'd yet to meet any of them, however. She'd been sick for a long time, and was still tired often, having to retire early and leave the running of what was left of the Tribe to the others. She did not mind that some had left and new ones had come. Her home Tribe had been this way, as well, with many leaving and many joining all the time.

Today she lay beside the waters, in the shade of the great arching red rocks, and stared out into the Desert.

Talis had been traveling his entire life, yet he’d never seen terrain quite like what these lowlands offered. He initially hesitated to penetrate the ravine, sticking to the outskirts of The Tribe’s domain, but he decided it was time to integrate more properly. He ventured into the soaring canyon, marveling more and more with every footstep.

He paused at what felt like the center of the main chamber, staring up at the rocky ceiling before his pale eyes swept down the clay-colored walls. Shallow water ran through the stony bower, forking around a spit of silt where fronds bent in a slight breeze. The leaves were still green, even though it was nearly December.

For a long time, Talisman didn’t realize he wasn’t alone. But he suddenly thought he heard breathing and he started a little, eyes scouring his surroundings until he spotted an unfamiliar face crouched beside the water. His nose twitched as he wondered, was this the fabled S’ari?

Hey, I didn’t see you there, he admitted with a self-deprecating laugh. In my defense, this place is… Talis paused, gesturing, then stilled before taking a step closer. Anyway, hi. I’m Talisman.

S'ari started a bit at the coyote's words. She'd half-fallen asleep as she'd laid there, and hadn't noticed him, either. Ah, yes, she said, with a grin, then cleared her throat. The words had come out scratchy. The Desert can be... entrancing, no? She studied the yearling, taking in his pale visage and red tail.

Talisman. S'ari's eyes wandered away from him, thinking. Hmm, she hummed. A portent of a name. What is this one a talisman for, she wonders... Will he bring prosperity, or harm? She brought her wandering gaze back to his face, and grinned and winked to show that she was merely playing with him. It is good to meet this one, she said, with a bow of her head. S'ari is S'ari. She would get up to greet you, but she is still tired and weak from her time spent ill.

Entrancing, he repeated in his head. It was definitely an apt word. His eyes lifted to the soaring ceilings again before dropping to properly study her face. Like Ko’a, she wore the agouti pelt typical of coyotes. She was small and thin. He remembered the mention of her illness. Her eyes were dark brown, yet clear and bright. She appeared to be on the mend.

What? he laughed, a little nervously, at her musing. Comforted by her playful wink, he grinned and added, I swear I don’t bring any harm, at least not on purpose. It’s nice to meet you too, S’ari. I’ve heard a bit about you. I’m told we're all equals here, though you’re sort of like the founder, right?

He ranged even closer as he spoke, until he stood over her. Talis quickly folded into a sit, then eased into a sphinx pose about a yard away from her, angled toward her but not too directly. He blinked at the nearby water, then his arctic blue eyes roved up to her face, taking in her features now that he was closer.

You’re feeling better, then? he queried.

S'ari supposes she could be called the founder, yes, she replied. Though she did not come up with the idea. The Tribe is old, much older than she, and hails from another desert, far away from here. S'ari came from this Home Tribe and went out on her own to bring the ways of the Tribe to others. She is not the first to do so, nor will she be the last. As long as there is the Desert, there will be the Tribe.

S'ari smiled at Talisman's positioning as he lay down. This way of facing her but not directly was something the Home Tribe also did, a way of showing respect without coming off as confrontational, like avoiding holding someone's gaze for long. It seemed this yearling would fit in perhaps more than he realized.

S'ari hummed noncommittally at his question of whether she was feeling better, her head tilting from side to side. She is lucid, and that is good. But she still tires easily. Even walking for a while is exhausting. She must regain her strength. But she is much better than she was. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. So. Where does our portent of doom hail from? In her eyes was a laugher and mischief, once again showing that she was only joking.

The strange dialects of this place were one of the things that simultaneously fascinated Talisman and made him feel uncertain of whether he belonged. S’ari spoke a great deal more than some of the others. Her speech differed from his own but she was quite articulate and Talis easily followed everything she said.

Do you know what you had? What illness, I mean? the yearling wondered, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else. Do you need anything? Like food? Zoug taught me a bit about caching. I could bring you some meat… or fruits and nuts, if that’s your thing.

Just like storing snacks for later, tending to others’ needs was kind of foreign to him. But Talis had always been happy to look out for his dad, so this was one thing he could definitely contribute. Actually, the thought of providing for and supporting his brethren here in The Tribe sent a little thrill through him. I live to serve, he thought a little randomly.

I’ve actually been a nomad my whole life, Talis answered her question, up ‘til now, I guess. I’ve never stayed in one place or lived with a group like this. It was always just my dad and me. My mom died when I was very little, he explained.

S'ari only knows she had some kind of... lingering fever, she said, in response to his question. The others tell S'ari that she was responsive enough to eat and drink, but barely. She did not talk, and mostly slept fitfully. Honestly, S'ari does not remember most of her time being ill. She must have been very close to death... The coyote did not like to think too much about her illness, about how close she had come to returning as sand to the Desert. She was not afraid of death, but that did not mean she wanted to die quite so young. She was only two years old, in her prime. Now was not her time to return her soul to the sands.

She shook her head at the yearling. S'ari thanks you for your concern, but she is perfectly happy as she is. S'ari ate a little while ago. She listened as Talisman spoke a bit about his own life. There are many wanderers like you, many who have no one place to call home. S'ari has met many such nomads; the Home Tribe often took your kind in for a night or two, swapping stories and meals. Here, her voice softened, and she said, She is sorry about this one's mother. S'ari did not have a close relationship with either of her parents, but... to some, those relationships mean everything.

The mysterious illness sounded unpleasant, not to mention frightening. He hardly knew her, yet Talisman was just glad S’ari seemed to be out of the woods now. In just these first few minutes, he’d already formed a positive opinion of her that could quite easily burgeon into friendship… maybe even more?

That thought inevitably whispered through the young man’s mind. He shifted his weight and tried to pay attention to her voice. She was addressing the subject of his mother, for goodness’s sake. But he suddenly began noticing her quintessentially feminine features, like the sharp taper of her snout and the curve of her slim hips.

Clearing his throat, Talisman didn’t let his eyes linger anywhere long before he brought them up to the spot beside her face to say, I barely remember my mom, if I’m honest, which is especially tragic because she died saving my life. That prompted a question which popped out of his mouth without any preamble, Otters don’t live in the desert… right?

His faded cornflower eyes shot warily to the shallow water trickling just feet away. It was not deep. Water seemed to be a finite resource in the lowlands, which probably should’ve made Talis apprehensive about his new habitat. It put him at ease, though. Where there was little water, there would be few otters.

Phone post

Otters? S’ari repeated curiously, eyeing the yearling. It was a strange question to ask after talking about his mother dying. No, otters do not make their home here. It is far too hot for them. She wanted to ask why he was asking, but that seemed like a potential can of worms if it had sometime to do with his mother’s death. Either that, or he’d simply been deflecting, and otters was the first thing that had popped into his head.

He could see that the question perplexed her. Nevertheless, S’ari answered, reassuring him that otters didn’t make their homes here. Talisman nodded and shot her a sheepish smile, suddenly feeling a little ridiculous.

I know everyone thinks they’re so cute and cuddly, he said on an exhale, but when I was a tiny baby, I was attacked by one. My mother interfered. Apparently she got bitten several times. They were deep. They got infected and she passed away not long after.

It was a sob story, though truthfully Talis didn’t feel terribly sad about his loss. He did vaguely remember his early days, particularly the attack, but he couldn’t remember much about his mom. He knew she’d looked like him and that his father had become wistful whenever they’d spoken about her.

Thinking about her and their peculiar coats reminded Talisman of his hopes for the future. He had mentioned them to Candle quite candidly. Should he do the same with S’ari? Was now an appropriate time to bring up such a thing?

Anyway, he said a bit more lightly, stretching out his toes for something to do, I look just like her, apparently. At least my dad said so at least once a day, and it had always come with a fond footnote about the superiority of his genes.

S'ari made a pained sympathetic face at Talisman's story. In truth, she didn't know much about otters, seeing as she'd spent almost her entire life in one desert or another. She hadn't realized they could be so vicious. Coyote is... sorry to hear that, she murmured, looking the yearling over. However, he seemed surprisingly fine. He had said it had happened when he was but a sunling, and a very small one at that.

Well, she said, in response to his next words, your mother was quite beautiful, if you are anyone to go off of. Although, she questioned Talisman's father on mentioning it every day. It must have been hard for the boy to grow up in his mother's shadow. S'ari grimaced and looked out into the greater Desert. Thank you for sharing with S'ari, she said. Perhaps there is something you'd like to know about her now? It was a Tribe custom to swap tales, though not all of them had to be real. In fact, many were not, or they were laced with half-lies. It was simply the way of things.

Her compliment sent a flush of warmth up his neck to his cheeks. He tucked his muzzle, fighting a pleased smile. Talis’s heart fluttered, though it felt like it stopped in his chest when S’ari asked him if he wanted to know anything about her. Of course he did. He just hoped he hadn’t come across as totally narcissistic just now…

I’d like to know everything about you, he blurted, painfully authentic. He sucked in a breath, heat crowding his throat again as he huffed a self-deprecating laugh. I mean, I suppose I could be more specific, huh? Well…

He pondered for a moment, eyes tracking over her face. He should’ve taken the opportunity to repay her compliment, he realized. Talisman kicked himself but didn’t dwell on that thought. The yearling wanted to come up with a compelling question to pose to S’ari.

You said the relationship between a parent and child can mean a lot but that you personally weren’t very close to your parents, Talis said slowly. What does that mean for your take on kids of your own?

S'ari smiled in amusement at his burst of words, his desire to know everything about her. Well, he'd come to the right coyote, for any Tribe member was well known for talking anyone's ear off who would listen. As he thought of his question, she kept her gaze somewhere else, giving him time to think without being stared at. (It was very hard to think sometimes when someone was staring right at you, waiting.)

Ah, she said, when he asked his question. Well, this one must understand. Perhaps S'ari misspoke earlier. There are many in S'ari's Home Tribe who are not very close to their parents. It is not for a lack of love or caring--merely that coyotes are taught to be independent very young. That, and the fact that the whole of the Tribe is considered to be a sunling's family, its parents. There is no stronger familial bond placed on parent and child over the bond of the child to the entire Tribe. Outsiders may find this to be... cold, perhaps? But S'ari thinks it is better this way--to have many mothers and fathers, instead of one each. S'ari was as close or as distant to her parents as she was to everyone else.

Now she thought on his second question. Coyote does not know how she would raise her own children. She would probably follow the Tribe's teachings, unless the father wanted differently. She shrugged. Children belong to all the Tribe, not just to S'ari. It is simply the way.

"This is The Way" -- Mando

Still dwelling on his faux pas a bit, Talis made a point to listen very attentively to everything S’ari said. It wasn’t difficult, since what she shared genuinely fascinated him. He had never heard the term “sunling,” though he gathered it was another word for a child. In many ways, her culture and upbringing stood in stark contrast to his own, though the picture she painted actually meshed pretty well with his hopes for the future.

I like that thought, he told her after taking a moment to process everything. I had a good childhood, being raised by my dad, but it might’ve been fun to have a bunch more people around, Talis mused aloud, heart quickening at the idea. Maybe my kids could have that.

He hadn’t mean to say that out loud, though he didn’t really regret it. He’d told Candle about his desires, so they weren’t exactly a secret. Still, he wasn’t sure of the social etiquette around this topic, though now that he’d shared that, he supposed he may as well embellish.

I’d love to have a bunch of kids, Talis admitted, catching S’ari’s eye for a quick moment before glancing away, toward the stream. I know it’s pretty standard to find a mate and have kids with them, or at least that’s what I know. Does it work any differently here? he wondered, looking up at her face again.

S'ari smiled in amusement at Talisman's words. He seemed taken with Tribe's ways of raising children, for which she was relieved. Actually, he seemed taken with the idea of simply having children. She glanced at him again. For one so young, that was a surprise, though not an unwelcome one. Most young males wanted to go off and have adventures, not settle down and breed.

There are no restrictions in the Tribe about finding a mate or having little sunlings, she told him. As all are equal, all are equally given this right. And it is a right--not a privilege. This one may go and make a thousand little Talisman's as he wishes, yes? She grinned at him, flashing her fangs. She grinned at him almost flirtatiously. Of course, she grinned at everyone almost flirtatiously...

The words she spoke now were like music to his ears. Talisman’s heart swelled as he pictured himself surrounded by little miniatures, all of them cream with cinnamon points and pale blue eyes. But that mental image—and S’ari’s blessing to go forth and multiplty—begged a big question.

How many pups can a female have at once? he asked a little hesitantly, once more uncertain whether it was a socially acceptable question.

But S’ari hadn’t batted an eyelash at anything he’d asked so far. If anything, she seemed more and more enamored with their conversation. Talis found himself grinning at her when her teeth flashed in a smile. She really was pretty despite her plainer coloring.

You mentioned that everyone helps raise all the children in The Tribe. What if the pups literally have multiple parents though? What if someone doesn’t want to take a single mate, for instance?

He couldn’t help but think of his father. He’d modeled monogamy, for better of for worse, and Talisman liked the idea of finding the one. It was romantic. But after spending so much time on his own lately—and having no experience living in such a sociocultural setting—Talis wasn’t entirely sure if he was built for any of it.

The only thing he felt certain about, he realized with a little snort, was that he wanted to father as many kids as physically possible.

Being vague answering Talisman because the game rules dictate only 4 surviving pups allowed per litter

Oh, said S'ari, waggling her head vaguely side to side, it depends on things. How much food is available, mostly. If a pack cannot support many more mouths, the womb seems to understand this, and only a few are born. Or even only one.

His second question did not faze her, either. The Tribe holds all romantic relationships and feelings as equal. You may take one mate, or two, or five, or you may have none at all. As long as all are willing and consensual, this is all that matters. She smiled, then her smile fell and she looked at him sharply. And they cannot be children. Such a thing is horrid and not tolerated here. All must be of breeding age. This was, perhaps, the first time she had ever spoken sharply to a member of the Tribe. She did not often bare her fangs at her own, but this point had to be made, and she had to prove that breaking this rule would result in dire consequences.

He misheard “womb” as “woman,” though it didn’t change the way Talisman understood the matter. His mouth parted in wonder at this intrinsic magic the fairer sex possessed. Then his eyes brightened when she told him that there were no restrictions on mates.

The next thing out of her mouth caused his expression to twist. Talis didn’t follow at first. Then he realized what she was saying and he laughed, as if the notion was absurd, because it was absurd. If he wanted to have children, of course he would need to choose mates who could bear them.

S’ari’s look and words were equally sharp with reproof. The yearling suddenly felt uncertain and slightly guilty. Why had she said that to him and in that tone of voice? Had he done something, made some social misstep? He thought back on everything he’d said thus far and he drew a blank.

The uneasy tension grew until he blurted, I swear I only want to mate with grown women who can have my children. I mean, that’s the entire point for me. I want as many kids as possible. I love kids! Realizing how that sounded on the foot of her warning, he blanched and hastily half-shouted, In a totally non-creepy way!

S'ari blinked several times in rapid succession at Talisman's outburst, then she fell over onto her side and laughed like a maniac. Ohh, Talisman... S'ari apologizes. She--she must have frightened you horribly. The coyote sucked in large breaths, trying to steady herself. And suddenly, she was exhausted. Laughing apparently took a lot of energy.

She remained flopped over on her side, body rising and falling heavily as she tried to catch her breath. S'ari does not think she has to worry about such things with Talisman. Go forth and multiply! She said this last as if it were some kind of godly commandment, though she was grinning in amusement, her tail thwacking the sand. She sat up and looked at him a little, studying him. Although... Is this one even old enough to mate yet? Talisman is but a yearling, yes? Or perhaps older than S'ari thinks...

Her fit of laughter caught him off guard. Talisman found himself pushing onto all fours as she fell over. He took a few steps back and eyed her, bemused and wary at first. But the sight of S’ari rolling around on the cavern floor was kind of charming, so soon enough he smiled down at her.

But his cheeks warmed now as she teased him, then questioned his age. He wasn’t a child! That thought made his cinnamon tail lash. Then Talis went still, thoughtful. Was he underage? Truth be told, he wasn’t quite sure when coyotes became… virile.

He flicked a forepaw as if brushing that thought away and replied, I’m a grown man, followed by, I’ll be two years old in early spring. Surely that’s old enough to make some babies?

Surely his dad had gone over this with him, Talisman thought, though all he remembered about that particular conversation was the strangeness of it all. Now those acts were less peculiar and much more appealing, which surely meant he was old enough. Right?

Yes, yes, she said, coming back to her senses and ceasing her laughter. Two years is right at the age when coyotes become old enough to mate. She was still lying down, yet she leaned toward him and said in an undertone, And? Have any beautiful women caught this one's eye, hmm? She glanced around with her eyes, as if said beautiful women would come rounding the corner at any moment, or popping up out of the sand. She could not help but tease him. She teased everyone.

S’ari concurred with his timeline, which made excitement tug at his belly. Procreation was certainly going to be an adventure. Talisman could hardly wait.

No, he said quickly to her teasing question before catching himself and adding, I mean, all of the women here are beautiful, of course. His cheeks warmed a little because, of course, that included her. But I’m still trying to meet and get to know everyone.

And then there was the fact that he was more interested in being a father than a husband. Sure, romance—particularly the physical aspects of it—intrigued him. But at the heart of him, Talis desperately wanted children more than he wanted a life partner.

I’m not actually sure I’m cut out for—what’s it called—monogamy? And S’ari had said that should work out just fine here, though Talis elaborated, My dad was a wreck when my mom passed away. Even though I was too little to really understand what was going on, I’ll never forget that. He found another mate not long ago, so I know he moved on, but it kinda makes me leery of depending on one person so heavily, you know?

S'ari's tail swished behind her, waving away Talisman's remark about how he didn't think monogamy was for him (and thought nothing of his comment about beautiful women). This is not a problem, she assured him. Love who you want. Lay with who you want. But always be upfront about it, yes? Lest you bring trouble back to the Tribe. As long as everyone knows and understands, there will be no trouble.

S'ari is sad for this one's father, and sad for Talisman. Losing his mother must have been difficult. Or, perhaps because you were so young, it was not so hard. S'ari does not know how she would have felt, losing a parent at such a young age. As she said, all Tribe members are parents to the sunlings... She trailed off, unsure of where she was even going with that statement. Did she mean that because she had dozens of parents, that losing one would not be so difficult? That seemed callous.

I didn’t really understand what I’d lost at the time. I barely remember her, to tell you the truth. The hardest part was watching my dad going through it. The older I got, the more I realized…

But Talisman didn’t want to dwell on this anymore, he realized. And when the silence between the two of them suddenly grew vaguely uneasy, he realized he didn’t really know what to say or do with awkward pauses in conversations. It was wild, how swiftly his unease mounted with every silent second. His first instinct was to fill it with something, anything, and then make an escape.

Well, I’m glad we got to meet, S’ari, but I think I’m gonna keep having a look around, Talis declared overly loudly, feeling as though he was fumbling a bit. I’m sure I’ll see you around, he added, cocking one rusty paw in farewell before hastening toward the nearest exit, cream shoulders cringing toward his ears.