Neverwinter Forest untouched maiden

— attn: @Miriam

morning sunshine crept silently into their den, gradually waking liliana from her night’s slumber. miriam lay behind her, holding the girl entangled between outstretched limbs. amma, she whispered, using a paw to nudge the woman’s cheek, morning time.

whatever miriam’s reaction, liliana went on to recite a short prayer — hi, goddess. — before wiggling free from her restraints.

Miriam was proud her daughter was getting into the religion. She didn't expect them to dwelve deeply into it, and wasn't sure if even Asmoses wished to know. The land was not the Orchid after all, but she definitely wished to give them knowledge on what it was.

"Sometimes, Liliana, the maidens do rituals. However, the ritual is how you feel is right," there was never a specific practice, it was always 'in the heart,' and sometimes, proven difficulty, "maybe you can offer the Goddess, a flower." Though with suggestions, Miriam thought to give some ways to which her daughter could honor the Goddess.

miriam’s suggestion couldn’t have been any better! liliana excitedly tottered around her mother’s legs, finding her way to the thickest patch of wildflowers near their den. no, no.., she whispered to herself as she sifted through the blooms.

finally, she found an ideal offering in two stalks of yellow, one slightly larger than the other. he-ya go! yana exclaimed, as she tossed the flowers into the air for the goddess to grab onto.

Miriam chuckled, as her daughter threw the flower into the air, waiting for some miracle of the Goddess to grab forward. However they fell, and she gave Liliana a gentle lick on her nose, "you must imagine it, Liliana, and think of the offer in your mind. Then, you feel how you should properly move the offering."

Usually Miriam simply buried hers, but her favorite was washing any prayer items into the river, so they may vanish into's its streams.

think ‘bout it? liliana looked up at her mother, unsure what exactly she meant. was the goddess somewhere in her mind, that she should have control over the girl’s thoughts? if that was the case, then why hadn’t she spoken to her before?

she was confused, but lacked the vocabulary to articulate the problem. instead, liliana huffed and stomped her foot, furrowing her brow with big brain power.

it took some time before she felt something, and even then, liliana couldn’t be sure if it was an epiphany or bad gas. she asked miriam, amma, quiet time? then sat back on her haunches to dig deeper into her mind.

The mother nodded to her daughter, as the moment of prayers was 'quiet time.'  Often or not when Miriam felt was true peace, she would whisper her prayers out loud with a small ritual of her own, but she thought until her daughter grew, it may be easier to simply think in peace. For Liliana, to find her own prayers, without her mothers help.

It was how all maidens of the orchid had to go through. Each way to connect with their Goddess, was special to the individual.

the goddess was quiet, she’d learned. it took patience to really hear her speak, if such things could be accomplished at all. 

liliana held her breath for complete silence until she thought that her lungs might burst! then exhaled loudly with a soft whimper. why wasn’t the goddess speaking to her? had she done something wrong?

amma, yana plead, her eyes beginning to water, how come.. too quiet?

"Because, you'll feel here in her." Miriam softly touched her daughter's chest, in the exact position where one may feel her heart, "she will send a sign, Liliana." The Goddess never directly talks to them, but sends signs and only feelings toward. A riddle of sorts- there would be too many to talk to if she did so.

miriam seemed confident, but her daughter wasn’t convinced. believing in their goddess was becoming increasingly difficult with the stagnant silence; as she grew older, liliana couldn’t help but question her existence altogether.

but, she decided to try again. maybe the goddess really had sent a sign, and she’d just been too caught up in her emotional fit to notice. silence overcame the child once more.

her mind was blank, no thoughts to fill it. she waited patiently for the goddess to speak, her heart (and ears) open to listen.

"You must look," she advised, "the sign can be as small as butterfly, you must be perceptive, to see what she sends." There were times her fellow maidens would miss the signs of the Goddess, or sometimes, the other-way around. The High Priest of the orchid, always managed to catch them before all else. 

Sometimes they were hard as a butterfly, coming through, or a bright fish down the stream. She hoped, that Liliana could see that sign that the Goddess could send. She hoped, her Goddess wouldn't be silent for her daughter.

eyes open, or eyes closed? and if they were open, did she still have to think? could she talk, or did she have to be quiet? what if she started thinking on accident? would that mess everything up?

there was too much pressure. liliana didn’t want to pray anymore, not if it was going to be this difficult. the goddess obviously didn’t have anything to say to her, and for what reason, she didn’t know.

with no other means by which to spite their deity, liliana decided that she would simply eat the offering — a big f*ck you! to the goddess. she grabbed the flower before miriam would have been able to stop her (babies are good at that, unfortunately) and began frantically chewing.

Miriam would have a heart attack if she knew what her daughter was thinking. Sayying such blasphemary against the Goddess wasn't the best to say, especially toward a religious devout. She could only slightly chuckle against her daughters fustrations.

"It's never easy in the beginning, but eventually, you will learn to see what she says." The maiden was rather understanding, as all young ones in the Orchid experienced the same fustrations. They had no patience to see he signs giving, and thus only had silence. It would take a while, but she had confidence.

wrap?

the flower tasted gross, which only added to her frustration. liliana ignored miriam’s subsequent explanation and stormed back off toward the den, totally over her non-existent conversation with their supposedly compassionate goddess.