Verdigris Ravine tuft

for several hours that evening had zoug gathered bird skulls from among the bone-pile.

as the stars rose, he nosed them into a rough semi-circle, and sat down among them with a splash of red-ochre paint mixed with the slime of aloe and all contained in a stone depression.

he pressed a paw to the first skull after a moment of contemplation.

Mind if I join you? I think Chisa would be rather curious of whatever is going on here.

She had now been old enough to venture herself within tribe lands. She had been following a scent, practicing tracking. Continuing to follow, she heard a rustle in a nearby bush. A shrub. She went up to it and to her surprise a medium sized fowl jumped out, a prairie chicken.

This spooked her for a minute, but then it turned her attention to a long figure sitting upon a circle. In this circle were white objects, unknown to her she wandered closer. It smelled like tribe man, it was Zoug. “This one sit with Zoug?” She asked, quitely going up to him. “What does zoug have? White things.”

stoked u joined! <3

"chisa." his voice was a grunt, and he jerked his head to say that the girl might sit with him.

spirit bones, he gestured, using the paw-signs that he had taught to the others. i call their spirits back down with earth-blood.

"touch," zoug muttered of the paint itself, glancing toward chisa.

Glad to join <3

He spoke in broken dialect, she understood exactly what he said and accepted his gesture to sit by him. She looked at him, curiously.

He gestured many things with his paws, she didn’t quite understand it fully, but knew he was pointing to the bones. They made her think of the horns Koa had taught her about.

Her tail swished while thinking. There was red liquid, “touch” he had said. She willing touched the paint as he was asking. “Okay, this one wonders what is next?” 

put out your paw, zoug signed, then demonstrated for chisa. paint.

it was a sacred thing, this. some iterations of the clan had once forbidden it to all female. but a wise leader knew this was foolish. to deny those female this knowledge was to cut the life of their kind in half.

zoug guided her paw in a line along the nose of the hawk skull.

He signed for her paw, to gently dip into the paint. She did so, then at last he took her paw, guiding her gently across the nose of the skull. In silent awe, she felt a heaviness of the moment.

Was this a ritual? Clearly, it had meant something great to Zoug.

She had completed the paint stroke then looked at Zoug with a small curious smile, “this one paints, paint is special.”

special, zoug signed to her in agreement. sacred. a second sign, similar to the first but made with more reverence.

he gestured to the skull. "paint more. then another." we will put them by the cave, he added, enjoying the ease of the paw motions.

This was sacred, he signed to her. Shifting from words to clan speak.

She did as he said, and paint upon the additional skulls each with a different pattering. At least, as good of a pattern as a child can do. She liked this “painting,” it seemed relaxing, but at the same time an offering.

He had said they’d lay them by the cave, gazing at home once more she wondered curiously, “why?” If they were special then there must have been a good reason to.

to appease the spirits, zoug told chisa, slowing down his motions so she might follow. spirits keep tribe safe. we honor. we see. we appease.

he pointed to the hollow sockets of the painted skull. birds see. birds watch. they carry messages from our living world to that of the dead.

Spirits…. This word sounded magical, she looked around. The birds see, he spoke. She  found this fascinating, the birds would carry messages to those no longer with tribe. 

“Paint for spirits, for birds,” she nodded, “this one will.” And she continued to paint. They would then be gently set by the cave, to please the spirits.

he grunted in answer and began to paint his own choice of the skulls.

between he and chisa, they would glow beneath the sun in various shades of red and earthen ochre. he showed her how to make designs, how to hold a brush of sage to the paint and then to the skull.

they worked in companionable silence.

She was pleased with her work, pleased that she had been taught a new skill. This was special time, she enjoyed the companionable silence. These skulls were beautiful, as they would proceed to lay them along the cave entrance each one shone in an ethereal way.

She was pleased with her work. Together.