[Flashback] What We Once Were

[Hirem]

Hirem took a moment to think before replying, biting his lip as his mind combed through his past for any song of his that he could sing. He was a shepherd, so most of the tunes that he could sing were known by these people as well, which defeated the purpose of learning from each other. No, he wanted a song that not many sang, one that was unique and original.

Finally, realization dawned upon him. "My mother once sang a tune to me that she had made up, about Biyram's sons." He turned to cast a bright gaze upon the two playful boys. "And it is a nursery rhyme." He didn't make any other comment, instead turning to the sun and clearing his throat, searching for the lyrics. Finally, he began the song.

"Biyram's children,
descendants are we.
We are all brethren,
mind your family!
Remember your roots,
and remember them well.

Remember Rapa, the kind
Strong in and of mind.
Remember Benha, the truthful
Her exploits were very fruitful.
Remember Havid, the brave
Strong in matters grave!
Remember Jeroab, the just
He earned his people's trust!
Remember Aysaw, so determined!
But these are not the end! Oh no!"

Hirem singing by himself was definitely much worse a sound than the combined voices of all the shepherds. His voice was clumsy and he stumbled over the words during his song, and by the end he was too flustered to even finish. He just started to laugh, shrugging jovially at the younger folk.

"My mother is not the greatest wordsmith." He laughed uncomfortably for a few more seconds before going quiet, waiting for the response to his song.

OOC :

Man, I hate making fictional songs! I spend way too much time on them.

[Nahali]

OOCSorry to put you in the position of making up a song off the top of your head! For the record, though, I thought your song was excellent. This post can be the last of the singing. I just thought it'd be appropriate, and it's fun to see Hirem's lighter side.

When Hirem first started to sing, Nahali and the boys leaned in to listen intently, always interested in learning new songs that no one else from their Tent would know. Even a new nursery rhyme could be sung to younger siblings, taught to new mothers, and even adapted with different beats or melodies to create fresh variations. The fact that Hirem was far from an awe-inspiring singer only made the song feel more real and earthy to them. Had he been a master musician, Nahali would've felt ashamed to repeat his song with her inferior voice, but Hirem's cheerfully inexpert rendition made her comfortable with not only appreciating his song but also learning it.

As Nahali and the boys heard more of the words, though, grins and smirks appeared on their faces. At first, Hirem was too absorbed in singing to notice. When he finished, though, he couldn't help but see how all three of his fellow shepherds looked like they were on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"What is it?" he asked, surprised by their unexpected reaction. "Was my singing that amusing?"

His flustered, perplexed expression finally pushed the younger shepherds over the edge, and Nahali and the boys started laughing. They weren't meaning to be hurtful, but they couldn't help it. Nahali kept shaking her head and chuckling, and the boys were letting out the squeaky snorts of typical adolescent boys. Hirem certainly had a right to wonder what was so funny.

Finally, Yacob got a hold of himself. "No, no, we weren't really laughing at you. It's just that your song reminded us… Well, we were all remembering how this older girl…she married into our Tent…she got it into her head one day to set up a sort of school for us when we were kids. We'd help with chores in the day and go to her tent for lessons in the evening ,that sort of thing."

"She was from Yahebah," Lahai added, by way of explanation. "Probably thought we were all a bunch of ignorant rascals compared to the kids going to the Seat of the Sons. She kept boasting about how much she'd learned there when she was little and how much she could teach us and everything."

"Anyway," Yacob continued, "she got us all together and started our lessons, all official-like. She was so serious, even threatened to spank us if we didn't attend properly. But then…then…" He started laughing again, so Nahali picked up the thread of the story.

"Well, her very first lesson was about the sons of Biyram," she went on. "And guess what? For all her boasting, she couldn't even keep their names and attributes straight! It was such a ridiculous sight. One of the seven-year-olds finally spoke up and told her who was who, and she turned so red I thought there was no blood left in the rest of her body. After that, that girl never wanted to teach us again."

"Your mother should've taught that girl," Lahai told Hirem with mock solemnity. "She could've used your nursery rhyme for sure."

Yacob nodded in agreement, having recovered from his last fit of laughing. "That was a nice song, though. We''ll remember it and sing it in our Tent. But in the meantime, we should return the favor, shouldn't we, little brother? There's a great song that Nahali's own Uncle Labran made up that everyone should know. Let's teach it to him, Lahai."

Oh Yahal, please, not that song again, Nahali thought desperately. But her prayer went unheeded. In a voice full of pride and swagger, Yacob burst into the opening lines:

"Ohhh, the girls of Ahnatep
Have lips of ruby and skins of gold
The Chaktawe girls are copper
But their kisses are hot and bold
These desert beauties will love you
For all the water they can hold
Still, I prefer Benshira girls
Their dancing is a sight to behold
And when the night is dark and chill,
Their loving keeps away the cold!"

As the boys swung into the chorus together, Nahali clapped her hands over her ears and marched away toward the front of the flock. Uncle Labran had made up the song after drinking far too much wine, and all the men in the Tent had liked it so much that they kept singing it for years afterward. I hope we get to the watering hole quickly, she thought, her face contorted into a grumpy frown. And I hope they don't keep singing that song all the way back home.

[Hirem]

Hirem listened to the boy's little ditty with pursed lips and a questioning look. He nodded occasionally, smiled when he felt he needed to, and gave one large grin at the end. They were all the necessary responses to such a song, but when you watched Hirem do it, there was something fake about it. Like he was acting.

He nodded once more at the boys, flashing them the grin. "An interesting tune, to say the least." He didn't offer any other comment however, moving slower than the boys, and he soon was bringing up the rear of the flock, herding the slow goats forward as he bowed his head in the intense heat.

In truth, their drinking song brought back memories of similar songs, similar boys. When he listened to such songs as a boy, he was one that didn't feel bold and boisterous when it came to women. His reaction was akin to Nahali's: ignore them and continue forward with his job.

And now, here he was. Never loved a woman, never shared a bedroll. Boys like Yacob and Lahai would be the ones with love in their futures, and a family in their lives. However, he himself had a shrouded future when it came to companionship. He supposed that the love of his god was all he needed to go forward, but he still entertained the idea of a woman.

As they rose across the next dune, Hirem was greeted with a desert wanderer's greatest sight. Laying at the bottom of the next crest was a clear and beautiful round pool of water, shining brightly in the desert sun. He felt his tongue water at the sight, and he tried to resist the urge to rush forward and dunk his head in the oasis.

Beside it was a large, colorful palm tree, bending gracefully over the sands like a mother interested in her child's progress. Small, faded tracks in the sand revealed frequent use of this watering hole; no wonder the Tent had set up here.

[Nahali]

Nahali breathed a deep sigh of relief when they reached the watering pool, which by now was pleasantly shaded by the tall date palm that had flourished there this year. For all that it had grown in the desert, rather than the tillable soil of Ahnatep or Yahebah, the palm tree had flourished beautifully for as long as she had known it. Indeed, it was the subject of many a song in her Tent, for the tree and the pool of water it guarded were a rare and precious sight in Eyktol. Their Tent stopped by this small oasis at least once a year, but they tried to be as careful as possible not to over-use it and drain the pool dry. At the sight of the water, the goats surged forward. Nahali laughed to see their eagerness.

"It's like I said this morning," she said, glancing over her shoulder at Hirem. "You can always tell what goats are thinking, even if they can't speak. They know what they want better than we do sometimes."

She was relieved to see Hirem's mouth curving into a slow smile. When the boys finished singing that ridiculous song of Uncle Labran's, Nahali had snuck a few peeks behind her to see his reaction. He had grinned, like most men did, but afterward his face sank into a thoughtful, almost melancholy expression. Whether Hirem had been thinking of the past or the present, or perhaps of women the song reminded him of, Nahali had no way of knowing. But it was good to see that expression fade and the cheerful, hardworking Hirem reemerge.

They seemed to be alike in that aspect, at least; they cared about the work in front of them and doing it as best they could. The rest was only important after the work was done. Right now, what mattered was leading the goats to the pool so they could all drink their fill. She, Hirem and the boys worked together to water the flock, now that the heat of the day had passed and their thirst was at its greatest. Soon, even the youngest kid was contentedly slurping from the pool.

"We should drink our fill as well," Nahali said, taking the empty waterskin at her belt and squatting to fill it from the pool. She added, turning to Hirem, "This water is clean enough that we can drink it, not just the sheep. It tastes a little bit like metal, but it is very healthful and good."

While she spoke, the boys had already unslung their own waterskins and were drinking deeply from them. She did the same, sighing with pleasure at the taste of water on her tongue and the coolness of it in her dry throat.

"After this," she said, "we should start bringing the goats back to camp. The days are getting shorter now that it's getting close to autumn. It should be almost dark by the time we get home."

[Colombina]

Pssst...Is this thread done? I have a link to it in my office and I just read it all and made shiny XP awards, but now methinks I jumped the gun. Carry on if I did!

[Hirem]

OOC :

We're finishing it up now Bina, don't worry. I'm also testing the new post template for Hirem, so yay!

Hirem took a few seconds to make sure the goats were all drinking from the oasis, but he didn't waste any time after that. Immediately after he reached the side of the pool, Hirem dropped to his knees and nearly dunked his head into the water. Instead, he slowed himself to dip his mouth completely in the water, sipping the water ravenously. He wasn't incredibly thirsty, but in the desert, you relished what water you could find. You basked in it. You drank and drank until you were completely full and bloated with it, then you drank some more to help you for the next day. He couldn't think of a single person in Eyktol that would refuse a drink of water, surrounded as they were by the giant expanse of sand and rock. Well, maybe the Eypharians would. From what the Benshiran had heard of them, they didn't need to hunger for much. As it was, he kept drinking from the pool until he finally pulled his head out for air, and sucked in what oxygen he could as he settled back onto his knees. Dipping his waterskin into the oasis, he kept his eyes downcast to protect them from the fierce heat of the sun. It was past noon, the hottest point of the day, but the sun still could vent out it's fearsome rage upon the sands. Hirem. The call was nothing more than a whisper, a sensation. It danced past his ears on a half-breath, flying upon the wind. He paused in his task as the call repeated itself, no louder or more urgent. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, and his body went numb as he considered what he had just heard. However, he had the strange feeling that this was nothing to fear. Nothing to panic over. He found that he was now standing, staring off into the next dune, the next crest of the sandy waves. His brow was furrowed and his lips were pursed together, his mind reeling with the possibilities. What could be calling him? What could be saying his name? Go. It wasn't words. There was no language in the message, he realized. It was an instinct, a basic understanding of such communication. No one was talking to him. He swallowed the last trickle of water down his throat as he watched the horizon for a moment longer before walking over to Nahali, around the goats and the distracted boys. They need not recieve his message, but the girl would ask questions, she would wonder as to his reasons. Once he reached her drinking from the pool, he leaned down and tapped her shoulder. "Nahali... I must go."

[Nahali]

"It's all right, I don't mind as long as you turn your back," Nahali started to say, in response to Hirem's abrupt statement. She'd intended to add that she had seen many men relieving their bladders and one more would hardly bother her, when she caught sight of his face. His expression was so solemn, so full of reverence and confusion, that Nahali had the feeling he wasn't referring to his bladder.

"You…you mean you're going? As in, you're leaving us?" she asked, her eyes widening. "But why? You haven't even stayed with us for a full day!"

As Hirem explained why he was leaving, her expression went from dismayed to incredulous to the same look of perplexed wonder that his face already wore. While she had been drawing water from the pool and thinking of ordinary things like taking the goats back, Hirem had been standing nearby experiencing a religious revelation. Right behind her, the voice of Yahal had echoed in his ears. Holiness had passed so close to her, and she hadn't even known. The knowledge of it made Nahali dizzy.

It never occurred to her that there might be some other explanation, like the heat or sun affecting his senses. His eyes were clear and lucid, and their brown depths conveyed his conviction more eloquently than any verbal explanation. She couldn't find it in herself to put up any argument.

"I understand," Nahali said at last. "You don't really have a choice, do you? I guess you should leave right away." Her mind shifted to practical matters. "I'll tell everyone when we get back. Make sure you stored enough water in your waterskins. You can take the leftovers from the midday meal too. Rations, you know. Very critical for trekking into the great, sandy unknown.

And Hirem?" she added, as he started to turn away, hiding a smile at her last comment. "Don't forget what I told you about Yahal and you." Nahali paused and flashed him a warm smile. "The part about becoming a Rapa after all this is over. I really think you'd be a good Rapa someday."

OOCFinished?

[Hirem]

Hirem nodded at Nahali's last statement, and tried to muster one last smile for her, the ones that she loved. Instead, it came off rather sad and regretful. He stared down into her bright, vibrant young eyes, and this time he managed to find that smile, that wide grin for his young friend. "Thank you, Nahali. I will keep that in mind." He turned towards the rest of the food, and knelt down next to the sack. He opened up his pack, and scooped in several items of the food, enough to sustain him for the next week or so, but still tried to leave a decent portion for the children. He was one to always try to spare some thought to others, in all things he did. He knew they were unlikely to eat any more this hot, stuffy day, but it was their food given out of charity. It'd be rude to just steal it all. Standing up once again, he took a deep breath of anticipation, taking a mental calculation of all his supplies. His tent was rested across his back, his food was weighing down his sack, and the waterskin full. He was ready to take the first step. However, when he willed his foot to move, it resisted, firmly planted upon the sand. Face scrunching up in confusion, he attempted a stronger effort to move the foot, and once again, failed. Did he really need to leave now? His purpose out here was to find a purpose, and this Tent needed him. He had a job here, had friends and people that accepted him. In time, it was possible that a new life could be forged here. Couldn't this place be his life? Couldn't this place be his purpose? And if he was to leave, he might never find his purpose. He had already wandered aimlessly for a few weeks now with no sign of this mysterious purpose. What if he went years with any sign of this duty? Yahal was supposed to be guiding his path, but what if this had been the place his path led him to. What if Yahal had been mistaken... Come, Hirem. The sensation came once again, immediately overriding any doubt or indecision that had been in Hirem. He took one last view of his surroundings, and smiled at the kids as he took his first step. Soon, he lost count of how many times his feet had plodded into the sand as he went around the oasis, aware of the eyes of the Benshiran children on his neck, back, his entire form. The oasis eventually disappeared behind another rising brown crest, and he took his head covering tighter around his head as the heat started to pour into him once again. His mind couldn't help but retreat back to the other shepherds, and a pang of worry was sent into him. Would they be alright with his disappearance? Was he hurting them with his actions? Nahali would eventually get over the action. She was a strong one, he reflected. A strong one that would turn into a fine, independent young woman. Would she remember him if they ever met again? Would she still be the same Nahali? Everyone grew up, but some people remained just as youthful as they had been as children. Hopefully, Nahali would be able to live such a life. Hopefully, they would all grow up safely and happily. Hopefully, they could once again meet each other. FIN

[Colombina]

The XP Wand Is Waved! Great thread guys! You two are a good team, repping all the awesomeness that is Benshirans! I especially appreciate the shepherd to goat analogy of Yahal leading his people. Also, the singing was a hoot. I dug the Eyktol rendition of “California Girls” and the chant about the tribes. Nahali 1 XP Dance 2 XP singing 2 XP Animal Husbandry Rapa Lore Hirem 1 XP Dance 1 XP singing 2 XP animal husbandry Rapa Lore Colombina is pleased.

P.S. Hirem I know you have a zillion more threads that need XP could you post all the links for me in a neat little reply in my office? Thanks!