The Hunt Begins (And 'the Talk')
Dawn... It was the first day of the Hunt... Surion, now a week into childhood, was ready, or at least... Torvil thought he was. It was actually still the day before, the sun had not really yet risen, but it threatened, and Torvil know that soon it would in fact, be true Dawn. He sighed, and moved over to Surion's Pallet, to wake him.
Surion stirred when his father woke him he opened his eyes and noted it was still dark "What dad?" he asked having not been warned that that way was the day
"Today... Is the day you become a man..." He murmured softly, and touched his son's forehead. "Lets go wake your mother, and say our goodbyes..." he murmured softly.
Surion rolled over under the too-small blanket and sat up on his knees stretching "Okay Dad" he said and stood up grabbing the blanket and giving it one more cuddle before tossing it on his pillow and climbed off the pallet
Torvil got up and moved back over to the pallet he and Ala shared on silent feet, he was already in hunter mode, the only difference is there was nothing to hunt here. He moved to her side and knelt, touching his wife's cheek. "Ala..."
"Hmm?" Ala asked wordlessly rolling onto her back stretching
"It's the day..." He murmured softly to her. "The day we leave you... For the Hunt..." He said softly.
Ala sat up holding the sheet against her chest "The hunt?" she blinked the sleep from her eyes "Ok, Hugs and kisses then you go, and be safe, come home to me in one piece... please" The hunt explained a lot, like the night before, ok technically earlier that morning, she'd only been asleep a few hours
Torvil smiled and gave her a kiss and a hug, then a nuzzle and a lick. "I promise to bring him back in once piece... even if he gets chewed into two..." He smirked and kissed her hand. "I'll stick him back together if I have to... Or bring him back for you to..."
"That's not one piece" she said and kissed him back and then held an arm towards her son for a hug
Surion moved closer hugging his mother tight and giving her a kiss on the cheek "Love ya Mum" he said softly and then moved away
Ala smiled looking proudly at her son
Torvil chuckled. "Well I'll try..." he murmured. "I really shouldn't promise..." he stood. "Okay... Lets go... We really should beat the sun to the lodge..."
Ala waved to them as they disappeared out the door of the room and then lay down to try and sleep some more
Surion hurried after his dad
Torvil walked quickly, but not too quickly, there were still things he had to tell Surion about the ritual, important things.
Surion caught up and tried to keep pace with his father though he was walking faster then his father was just to keep up since his father's legs were longer
"To start... They're going to ask for your name... To them, you are the nameless..." He murmured softly.
"Nameless why am I the nameless?" he asked curiously
"Because you haven't got a totem yet... And you're dead..."
Surion stared at his father confused but letting it be
Torvil looked down at him. "I'll be dead too... We can't return until you kill the animal that you chose to be your totem, then you will return to with a Trophy, and they will give you a name, and then we will be alive to the Clan again..." He murmured softly, walking along at a slightly slower pace... They had time. "You have no totem, no name, you are the nameless and you are dead to the clan.
"So I get to kill something" he mused looking up a the sky thinking about what was to happen
Torvil nodded. "Yes... With a spear, or a knife... Or your bare hands if need be..." He murmured. "You will get to taste the bloodlust..." he murmured, looking to the slowly brightening sky. "This is what it means to me a man at the cliffs Surion... The ability to kill..."
Surion nodded "What did you kill dad?" he asked quietly after a few minutes
Torvil was silent for a moment. "A Plains Dragon..." He murmured softly.
Surion stopped dead in his tracks "Dad please tell me I don't have to kill a dragon, that'd be HARD!"
Torvil chuckled. "You don't have too..." He murmured softly. "I went Northwest, away from my brothers and father... I bumped into my totem... literally... I lost fingers because of it..." He murmured.
Surion nodded and started walking again "ok, that's a relief" he said honestly relieved at that fact
Torvil chuckled and kept walking. "Oh... You must be silent unless spoken to directly..." He murmured as they started to near the lodge..."
Surion nodded "Silent... ok" he said almost dreading his hunt now, but not showing it as he caught sight of a building looming ahead of them
Torvil chuckled softly. "Don't worry... I think in the end... You'll enjoy this..."
Surion looked up at his father "Why do you say that dad?" he asked curiously
Torvil chuckled. "There is nothing more liberating than a hunt..." He murmured softly. "Nothing more powerful, nothing more rapturing than a hunt... save one thing... But I'll save that talk for when we're out there..."
Surion nodded "Ok dad" he took a deep steadying breath "Guess it's time" he said as they neared
Torvil nodded and entered the lodge. There were a lot of people milling in the outer hall... And Torvil smiled.
Surion followed his father in looking around but he didn't say anything
Torvil headed behind the curtain and was followed by three others. Melania, Korvil, and Malkar. They smiled and looked at the two. "So is Surion ready?" they asked as they all started to strip down.
Surion's face went beat red seeing his aunt and he promptly turned to face a different direction
Melania giggled and the others laughed softly and Torvil poked him with his foot. "When at the cliffs..." He chuckled, already stripping down.
Surion nodded getting undressed but still not facing his aunt, and still rather red in the face and ears
Torvil chuckle grabbed the paint painting himself then Surion, himself he painted in a strange scale like tiger pattern, and Surion he painted in the nameless Tribal mark, the then handed the paint off to others and got Surion and himself a loincloth.
Surion took the cloth looking at himself silently and putting it on rather quickly waiting before slowly turning praying to Visha that his aunt was no longer nude
Melania was just finishing up by tying raven feathers into her hair. She was wearing a small barely covering top and a loincloth, she flashed him a grin. "You won't blush so much when you're older..." Said with a light laugh. Torvil taped the back of Surion's head with the haft of a spear, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention.
Surion turned around looking up at his father when he felt the tapping
Torvil held out the spear to him, it was short, just a foot longer than Surion. Torvil's had teeth and claws tied onto his,.
Surion took it with a smile looking at it and turning it in his hands
Torvil smiled. "That's your life..." He murmured, grabbing a large and then smaller knife and tying them to his side.
Surion nodded "Kay" he whispered, after all his father had spoken directly to him
Torvil then headed into the next room... It was smoky and smelled of strange herbs. He took a deep breath and smiled. "Ahhh, the cleansing..." He said, sitting down in the open space for them.
Surion wrinkled his nose at the smell for a moment then relaxed and sat down beside his father
Torvil smiled and waited for it to begin.
Surion sat quietly looking around at the others who were already there curious as to see what each of them was painted as
Malkar was painted like a wolf, he also wore a Wolf's skin on his head. Korvil wore A bear's head and was slouched forward painted like a bear. Melania wore Raven feathers in her hair, and was painted like a Raven. And if Surion were to look at Torvil's right hand, he would see the claws of the dragon he had killed, tied onto the back of his hand like a knuckleduster.
Surion thought everything he saw was interesting there were faces he didn't know but he was in fact more interested in his family members over the others
Malkar stood and there was a dead hush. "Stranger... What is your name..." He said, his finger pointing at Surion as he spoke loud and clear.
Surion looked towards the voices "I'm nameless" he said after a moment when he saw that it was in fact he who had been addressed
Malkar nodded. "Do you know why you are here?"
"To earn a name and become a man" he said saying what he thought was a good summary of what he had been told
Malkar nodded and turned again to face him. "Then welcome Nameless, to the first hunt of your life!" He declared, standing talk. "Today, you leave here dead, but you will return to us a Living man... Is your guide here?" "His guide is here, dead also, ready to again regain his life..." Torvil said loudly. "Good, then let us pass the cup of sacrifice!" Malkar sat and produced a cup, cutting his hand and filling it with blood, drinking half, he handed it to Korvil, who did the same. This went on till it skipped Surion and went to Torvil who did the same. He then handed it to Surion. "Drink and become strong..." He murmured.
Surion took the cup from his father and brought it to his lips drinking the contents before lowering it, he wasn't sure what to do with it then so he held it for the time being figuring they'd probably take it from him
Torvil took the cup and passed it back to Malkar. Then Malkar stood again. "Let us evoke Visha, so that the nameless shall know her!" Melania started to chat as she closed her eyes, and soon the ghostly form of Visha appeared. "The Protectors of my Children, why do you call?" "To bring another into our fold, the nameless one over there..." Malkar pointed at Surion. The apparition smiled.
Surion smiled looking up at a figure that to him was very familiar
Visha's ghostly form... Grew solid, and there were gasps. "Today... is a special day..." She said softly.
Surion watched her silently he remembered the time she had taken control of the doll that resembled her he was pretty sure it had been the most recent time he had seen her
Visha knelt down in front of him and she touched his forehead. "You... Are important... Blessed are you, you will make a fine protector..." She murmured and smiled. She then turned to Torvil and did the same to him. "You have done well... My Chosen one... You have started them on the path I want them to walk..." She kissed both their foreheads and walked back to the the center of the circle. "Blessed are my Hunters! Blessed are the protectors of my children!" She said, and then was gone. There was silence in the room.
Surion watched her until she was gone after she was gone he played with the edge of his loincloth waiting to see what was to come
Torvil got to his knee and stood. "Let us go..." He murmured, the others had started to turn their backs to themThere was a momentary flash of light and Visha was swearing. "GAH!" Several people tumbled. "I almost forgot!" She quickly rushed back over to Surion. "You, my little hunter need to chose a direction!"
Surion was just as surprised as the rest as he had started to stand with his father. Regaining his composure he glanced at his father deciding then and there to be similar yet different then his father "North East?" he said with some uncertainty and hoping beyond hope the dragons were in a different direction
Visha smiled and poked his nose. "Good choice..." She murmured and then poofed again. Torvil chuckled and started to walk. "That... was crazy..."
Surion scrambled to his feet grabbing his spear and hurrying after his father
Torvil chuckled and walked out of the lodge, heading for the ramp.
"Why are you laughing dad?" he asked once they were out of the lodge
"That was, I have to say, the most atypical first hunt ever, and the most hilarious too..." He said with a smile.
"What is normal then?" he asked glancing over his shoulder at the lodge
"She would have stayed ghostly and would have asked your direction without the swearing and whatnot..." He chuckled softly, slowly nearing the ramp.
Surion stopped seeing the ramp and froze, he knew he shouldn't be afraid, or least that was what he was trying to convince himself
Torvil stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Surion Asmodeus Rakamash, you will follow me down this ramp, it is your duty, you are a Rakamash, you will do your duty to your people, no matter how paralyzed with fear you are..." Torvil barked, seeing him freeze up.
Surion winced his father never called him by his full name. Gulping and clutching the spear for all it was worth and taking a deep breath he slowly moved towards the ramp
Torvil started to walk down the ramp, slower than he'd liked, he hoped to Visha he would never have to use Surion's full name again... It hurt to say it... in his heart.
Surion followed staying close to his father and looked in all directions as they neared the end of it
Torvil headed towards the tree, which just happened to be NE of the Ramp
Surion refused to not have his father between him and that tree, his eyes continued to move and even look up into the foliage of the tree as they walked
Torvil passed the tree with no incident. It was empty, and Torvil started to run into the thick underbrush, forcing Surion to do the same to keep up. He wanted to get them a good distance out before sunrise, which was swiftly approaching.
Surion's nerves eased as he chased his father into the underbrush just a bit as the ramp and the tree slowly disappeared from sight, it wasn't until they were completely out of sight that he really relaxed though still watching in every direction
Torvil slowed to a walk as the sun came up, going slow and looked around. "Okay... Nearest water is about a mile from here, We'll have to drink our fill there... The nearest game... Is prolly near there as well..." He murmured. "And Surion, it's time you and I had... a talk...
Surion caught up and slowed moving beside his father and looking towards him
Torvil took a deep breath. "Surion, have you ever wondered where you and other children came from?"
Surion blinked "Not really" he admitted "Maybe a tiny bit, but not really..."
Torvil nodded. "Well now's about the time I think you learned... You see Surion, when a Man and a Woman love each other very much...." Torvil went into very in-depth detail about the ins and outs of procreation, and also entered the realm of procreation for pleasure, and the differing levels of that, after about an hour of talking he finally ended. "And that's pretty much it... Any questions?"
Surion gulped "Uh, no, not really...." he said it was a LOT of information to digest and he really hadn't expected that talk
Torvil nodded. "It's something all the kids your age here are getting... I don't suspect you'll grow to teenage as fast as them, but I felt that you were old enough to handle the information..." He said softly,.
Surion nodded "Ok... " he loosed his grip on his spear a little, the distance and the talk had taken his mind off his fears of the ramp
Torvil nodded. "Besides, I thought it better you know now, than if you did turn teen on me and weren't ready..." He said softly. "Oh, and remember when I said that only one thing beats the hunt?"
Surion looked back to his father "Yeah I remember" he said quirking a brow at his father
Torvil nodded. "When... When you find someone you really, really love, and you are intimate with them, that intimacy is far better than any hunt..." He murmured. "That's the kind of intimacy your mother and I share..."
Surion stared at his father wide eyed and open mouthed "Did I need to know THAT part?" he squeaked
Torvil chuckled softly. "Surion, when we come back from this hunt you will be a man in the eyes of the cliffs, and in my eyes... Yes, you needed to know that part..." He kept moving through the brush. Going slower now in case game should show itself.
"Okay" he said and REALLY hoped for a change in topics as he slowed as well his eyes looking at everything
Torvil chuckled. "Surion..." He knelt down and pointed at some deer tracks. "Food."
Surion stopped and knelt with him running his finger along the shape of the tracks "Deer right?" he said quietly having been learning some different tracking things with his cousin over the previous week
Torvil nodded. "Yeah, deer, about two days old..." He murmured, looking around. "They're probably not in this area anymore, but keep a look out for me..."
Surion nodded "Ok dad" he said looking off in the direction the tracks led which didn't look like the direction they were going
Torvil nodded. "Out of our way too... Best to keep moving..." He said, rising and heading forwards again,.
Surion stood moving following after his dad once more his eyes keeping a look out
Torvil kept a slow, sweeping pace, he would stop every time he found tracks, but most if not all heading away from where they were heading, and in Torvil's mind, that was good survival skills, more than once he'd seen Dire Wolf tracks.
Surion looked at each set of tracks with his father and got about two thirds of them correct when he tried to identify them
Torvil complimented and congratulated his son with every right track, and corrected him on the ones he got wrong, Torvil could not be prouder of Surion as they moved, the sun starting to peak.
Surion grinned when he was right and nodded when he was corrected , the areas they had passed through had been pretty creature-less thus far
Torvil stopped them near the watering hole and pointed at a large hulking looking Stag. It was huge! It's antlers were very large and it stood about the height of a small car. "Legendary Stag..." He murmured softly. "He will let us drink if we mean no harm... So let us approach slowly..."
Surion nodded keeping his eyes on the stag looking at it in all it's glory as he followed his father
Torvil smiled and walked slowly to the water, he looked up at the stag and put the spear point end down into the ground, kneeling to drink.
Surion copied his father right down to the letter kneeling also to drink from the waterhole
Torvil started to drink, and the Stag let them be, when Torvil was done he stood and pulled his spear from the ground, bowing to the stag. "Thank you, master of these waters..."
Surion copied his father yet again he didn't wanna screw up and he had a feeling in his heart this was not the creature that was to be his totem
Torvil smiled and walked along for a few more hours, he found a small dip and sat down leaning back against the natural wall. "Sit, and rest Surion, we still have a long way to go..." He murmured.
"Kay" Surion said and sat down leaning against the rock beside his father
Torvil ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of you Surion, you're a fine hunter."
Surion chuckled and shook out his hair when his father finished ruffling it "Thanks dad, I have a great teacher and role model"
Torvil chuckled. "You don't mean me do you?" He said softly, semi-serious.
"Course I do, mind you Grampa is a good teacher too considering I remembered a good number of the types of tracks" he grinned
Torvil beamed and pulled him close, ruffling his hair again. "You're a nut you know that... Dad's the best hunter I know..."
Surion giggled and yawned , it'd been a long day and he was getting tired
Torvil smiled and moved his son's head to his lap, brushing his hair. "Get some sleep... We'll be continuing on at night too..."
Surion nodded and closed his eyes falling into a light but restful sleep
Torvil smiled and kept brushing his hair. He wasn't tired... This day must be remembered...
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