Outcomes

Spirited

It had been a set of rodent tracks that scurried down the edge of the stream which guided my footsteps. It didn't really take any stealth to follow those so it was more like a lazy stroll. At one point there was just a curl that began forming on the edge of my mouth. I wonder if he knows his voice carries like it does. I was soon tracking that sound instead, as well as the lighter ones that bantered the breeze with it. The original creature became long forgotten.

Aiyana and noodle were having a good time playing with balls of string so I sidled up to the side of Rocca's saddle to watch those huge paws get all wrapped up in twine. He sniffed the fuzzy things just to make sure it wasn't a run away snack. Too bad I hadn't caught the rodent-whatever to give him. It seems like I just stood there .. right there for however many ahns that everyone was there. I stood next to Him and I stood next the kaiila, now and then letting the animal get used to my scent, now and then touching the ripple of his fur or cooing in soft pruffs that only a kaiila understands. Just beast talk.

About the most animation was when I asked if the Master needed anything to wash down the jerky he'd been nibbling. We were far enough upstream not to have to worry about the bosk but I still danced out on the rocks to the center of the stream to fill the bota. It would be cooler and clearer from there. I'm a bit surprised there weren't wagers whether or not I would tumble into the current. But I returned right back to where I started from .. next to the stirrup.

I spent much of the time watching and listening from my warm spot near the flank of Rocca. Or I thought I was paying attention. I was right there but part of me was far away, like I had taken some kind of drug and it made everything all distant. I mean I heard them banter about some crazy Kataii following a priest around instead of tracks and losing a whole tribe. They must have a much smaller Tribe than we do or he has some serious lack of tracking skills. Even I could do better than that. And I've heard of religious fanatics before that sojourn after some evangelical monarch but here? I agree I can see following dreams ... not to the point of being a zealot. Well not my dreams, those I am still truly at odds with.

I noticed blue but she was acting strange and I finally had to stop watching her. It hurt my head to make any sense out of the behaviour. Maybe it is a new level of enslavement I haven't experienced. Maybe I can avoid that part. I certainly hope so.
I saw when a new Master arrived and learned he was a drummer. He is so young and its unique to watch him test his environment with new eyes, with new ears. He said something that piqued my interest. Not just that he had come to find his place among the first fires but to restore the Tuchuk faith. He meant in the drums but there was a point made there. Can I have an amen here? He said something else that would prick the beginning of a thirst for knowledge, he said the winds demanded it, his ancestors and the sky.

It was as if I was filtering informational data through a sieve and keeping the chunky parts left on the screen to test later for gold. That was pretty much how I felt about the little nugget Fonce offered when called Ubar. "I am more about "who" I am than "what" I am. That hit home. There was a great deal of thought that would go into the reasoning and meaning behind what both men had said later.

See I was paying close enough attention to hear Cana say she'd been called prissy and that half made me mad and half just tickled me. She is feisty enough to be able to take care of herself. I am reminded of that constantly not just by her but by all of the members of the Tribe. I know, I know but I can't help the nurturing protective streak. At one point I focused on tidbits left poised in mid air .. a man loves a spirited kaiila but he comes to a fork in the road when the beast embarrasses him for lack of control and he has to weigh his hold on the reins with thought. The outcome is something he will have to live with. Courage is something respected among us .. it always will be. Adventures will add scars but responsibilities of the First Wagons are more than just that ... they are that and then some.

I was paying so much attention I wasn't paying any attention at all when Cana touched my shoulder and told me that I had the gift and she had heard good things about me from the men of the clan. I felt bad, I mean I felt pride in the words of praise and encouragement she gave me but I felt really bad that I had not heard and responded to them immediately. I would seek her later and offer her my heart felt apology for that.

It may sound like I was the pot calling the kettle black that in all of this I hadn't offered to serve the other men and women there during all this time. Truth was that I had never been dismissed from bringing the water. I was enjoying being right where I was as a bonus even if the cold was cutting right through me. Even with my coat pulled tight, I just felt chilled to the bone.

One of the Masters had wound up streaking naked in the stream, arguing with the weaver over her blanket and ... hair. There was an amusing thought that went through my head when someone said there should be a song about all that. If they had only seen the Broadway Musical they would understand why that was so damn funny to me. But singing was not just about entertainment. It was our history and Fonce mentioning he would like to hear more swirled a lot more thoughts around in my head, like a song about the greatest Ubar of the Tuchuk .. adding on the end .. the one before Him. Blue ended up going to get the man sans garments some clean dry leathers to cover up with. See I told you she was acting odd. I missed most of the bareness and turned my head to avoid a flash of arse cheek. Sorry Master, it was probably nice but ...

I was watching this small dove hover over the stream just above some of the bushes. It would flit off and return. I don't think anyone else saw it but when I asked to return to the kaiila pens to finish some of my chores, I kept watching to see if it flitted along with me or stayed there. It made half the trek with me then flew off over the bosk.

I probably need to pay more attention to what is around me.