When The Full Moon Shines We Sing

by **Dravite** on June 5th, 2015, 5:29 am

6 Winter, 506 AV
Noon

"Dravite stop!" One of the boys called from behind him.
"It's too dangerous!" Another insisted.

Dravite silenced them with a wave of his hand, creeping towards the clearing where a jackal had helped himself to one of the rabbits the team of teens had managed to catch in their snare. The earth was cold underfoot and there was a brisk breeze carrying the scent of the Drykas boys to the animal’s sharp, black nose.

The jackal pointed his nose skyward and Dravite watched him sniff the air before looking up wind to spot the young teen. The boys at Dravite's back made a nervous sound amongst themselves and stirred as if deciding which would be quicker, to escape on foot now before the animal charged them, or to make a dash for their striders; or those that had them at least.

Dravite quickly noticed that this jackal was bigger than the coyotes they had chased away from the edge of camp on the odd occasion, but unlike them, he appeared to be alone. The boy gripped his spear and stole another tentative step towards the creature, pointing the head of the weapon forwards defensively.

He glanced down at his feet and noticed a scattering of paw prints He assumed belong to the jackal, and followed these with his eyes towards the animal’s general direction. "Dravite!" One of the boys shouted, "Just come back; we don't need the rabbit!"
"What about the snare?" Dravite called back over his shoulder, careful not to take his eyes off the Jackal not fifteen feet in front of him.
"Don't worry about it!"
"We can always make some more!"

Dravite pursed his lips, why should they feed the jackal just because they were afraid? A lone jackal out on the Sea of Grass surely had more to fear faced with four hunters ahead of him, one of which was getting a little too close for comfort. Dravite noticed the animal flinch and thrust his spear forward threateningly, hissing at the Jackal to try and startle him.

The dog-like creature dropped his rabbit and took a step backwards, and Dravite, thinking he had the upper hand, charged forward without thinking. The tall grass rustled loudly as a second jackal appeared, licking its lips at the sight of the dead rabbit his mate stood over. The young Drykas warrior stopped dead in his tracks; he didn't know Jackals sometimes hunted in pairs and was starting to regret his decision; both animals growing braver for having the other there.

Teamwork might serve him well, he thought as he eyed the Jackals; if only his friends would act like they were part of a team and not look out for themselves so much. "Come!" Dravite signalled to them in grassland sign, but the boys would not budge.
"Don't be afraid!" He called; words he should live by now, for he felt fear brush him lightly, trying to work its way into his heart.

Dravite swallowed and jabbed his spear at one of the Jackals as she started to circle, her mate soon joining her. She was quick and had managed to dodge the strike of his weapon, as Dravite spun to growl at her companion, who had attempted to snap at his ankles. "Run, Dravite!" .
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by **Dravite** on June 5th, 2015, 5:43 am

He had put himself in a life threatening situation for the sake of claiming a rabbit carcass and had no one to blame for his misfortune but himself. It didn't seem as if his Windborne kin were in any hurry to help him out of this sticky spot, and so Dravite learned the hard way; that the only person he would ever be able to rely on in life was himself.

Frustrated, he yelled at the jackals at the top of his lungs. Both animals scarpered quickly only to turn back and snake towards him again, but he wasn't about to let them get the upper hand. His knuckles were white under the strain of his grasp on the bone spear that had belonged to his father. He swept it towards one of the jackals and watched her dance away from it as if they were playing some sort of game with him.

Her mate seemed to be the more vicious of the two and nipped again at his feet, trying to test the boy's reactions. This time they were swift and Dravite thumped the Jackal with his spear. It yelped and skipped back and as the female paused to try and see what had happened, Dravite turned and caught her right, front should with the point of his weapon. She cried out and both animals sprinted away into the tall grass.

The boys ran to Dravite's side, patting him on the shoulder and fussing about the little nick on his ankle. "Stop it, I've had far worse," he pushed one of them back, embarrassed by all the attention.
"I thought you were a goner for sure," the youngest of the three boys said, "I was imagining how angry your mother would have been with us all for letting a pair of dogs get the better of us."
"They weren't dogs they were coyotes!" The taller boy argued.
"Jackals," Dravite corrected him.
"How do you know?"
"I heard the hunters talking about what a nuisance they could be with the snares. He said they were bigger than coyotes."

The boys argued for a spell before one of them picked up the rabbit, holding it up by the ears. "I don't think we will be eating this," he laughed and Dravite turned to see that the Jackal had made a right dog's dinner of their catch.
“Yuck; look at its guts!”
"We should check the other snares," Dravite encouraged.
"This was the last one; the other two were empty."

The boy untangled the snare and threw it at Dravite's feet. "It's your turn to set one."

Dravite picked up the snare and spent a good five chimes trying to unravel it while the boys laughed and joked with each other. When finally he managed to untangle the snare, he set it up on the edge of the grass and put down a marker for them to come back and check it tomorrow. "What should we do now?" He asked.
"Let's head back to camp," one of them barked, "It's this way!"
"No," the tallest one protested, "We came from the south."
"Well which way is south?" Dravite asked.

The four of them looked at each other, each as clueless as the next. "Don't tell me we are lost," Dravite sighed; he had been so busy with the Jackals that he had forgotten which if the two tree in either direction he had used as a landmark to help them navigate their way home.
"I think it was this one." .
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by **Dravite** on June 6th, 2015, 12:43 am

One of the boys had already bonded with a strider and rode on ahead to see what he could fine, the remaining three were not too thrilled to be left to go on foot, Dravite included. It was starting to get dark on the plain; the horizon glowed orange and red like wildfire while the rest of the world was fading into darkness. "We've been walking for a bell, there has to be a better way to find home," the tallest boy pondered aloud; he was playing with his dagger, trying to manoeuvre it over his fingers and back into his palm without cutting himself.

"There is a better way; in the city you can buy a compass," the shorter boy told them, "It always points in the right direction."
Dravite laughed. "You're as dim as a fool if you believe that would work in the Sea of Grass."
"Why would it not?"
"You've seen it yourself, all the travellers we come across trying to navigate the grasslands; we point them right on home if the Ankal doesn't decide to kill them first."
"How would you do it then?" The shorter boy asked.
"Some say Syna is the sky guide for men," the taller boy piped up.
"Well what about when it gets dark?"
"Her lover Leth offers some light," Dravite said; not too sure.
"Leth is good for fishing," the tallest boy argued, "He doesn't care for us."

Dravite fell quiet for he did not know much about the Moon God. As they walked, the pair continued arguing while Dravite only listened, watching where he put his bare feet in the darkness.

"He is the mute God," the shorter boy interjected.
"No! His followers can speak without speaking!"
"How?"
"They talk into each other's minds."

"Lies!" Dravite barked, surely that was not true. "Stop talking about the Gods unless you mean to get their attention."
"You can't get his attention with words," the taller boy argued.
"What then?" Dravite asked; it seemed his curiosity had got the better of him.
"Your mind."
"Shut up," Dravite spat, "You lie; all the Gods have ears and will listen when we speak to them."
"Not if they do not care to hear you," the shorter teen smiled.
"Then we sing so that they do."

The boys laughed and shoved each other playfully. From the distance came the thunder of hooves as the other returned on horseback. They waved to one another and called, "Did you find camp up ahead?"
"No," he chirped from on top of his Strider, "It must have been the other tree."

They all turned back the way they had come but no one held Dravite accountable for pointing them in the wrong direction, as one guess would have been as good as the other. "We are singing to the Gods," the shortest boy on foot smiled up at his friend on horseback.
"Which one?"
"Leth," he confirmed and they all laughed, "Shall we see if the God is listening?"
"Why not."

They were all quiet for a time, deep in thought; none of them knew any songs dedicated to the Moon God, having all grown up in a pavilion that worshiped Zulrav and The Mother. Dravite was fond of singing and while he always managed to find the words, his voice did them no justice. He enjoyed sitting around the fire pit with the rest of the pavilion of an evening to sing with both man and woman. His mother had been a fine singer and he struggled to remember a time that she had not sung him to sleep. While the boy s looked about for someone to start them off, Dravite hummed a tune and though he did not have the best singing voice, the words soon found him.

Where art the moon at ebbing tide,
Beyond his lover sings.
Companionless among the stars,
She's longing for her king.
Each night she reaches out to him,
At dawn they bid farewell.
Until the eve they meet again,
Over the glassy swell. .
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by **Dravite** on June 6th, 2015, 12:57 am

"You really are a terrible singer, Drav."

Dravite laughed and the rest of the boys joined in. They sang to pass the time, for the walk back to camp would be even longer now that they had been headed in the wrong direction for some time. When finally the watch torches came into sight, Dravite stopped singing and pointed out into the distance. "Home!"

The rider on horseback raced ahead, leaving his friends in the dust that rose up in his wake. "Let's race!" The taller boy challenged before dashing ahead on foot.

Dravite and his friend followed quickly in pursuit, running as fast as their long, gimpy legs would carry them. "He's cheating!" The shorter one roared.
"Run faster!" Dravite laughed and almost tipped over his spear where it caught in the grass.

When they got to camp they were breathless and wide-eyed; their hair tossed wildly about their shoulders. Dravite's mother greeted him with a wet cloth to the face which she used to wipe away the dust and dirt that had gathered across his features during the day's adventure. "Did you catch anything, my son?"
"No; the jackals got to our traps before we did."
Lazuli smiled, "What a shame, those tricksters are a terrible nuisance."
"We got lost and started walking the wrong way."
"And how did you find your way home?" Lazuli inquired.
"I set a marker in the distance like you said," Dravite explained, "But--"
One of the other boys interrupted, "He was fighting jackals; you should have seen him!"

Lazuli folded her arms and gave her son that look she was so famous for, staring at him long and hard until the hint of a smile broke her glare. "My boy fighting Jackals? This skinny thing?" She pinched Dravite's side and he laughed.
"I was careful," Dravite tried to assure his mother.
"Not careful enough, you almost got the group lost."
"I know," he bowed his head.
Lazuli put her hand on Dravite's cheek and lifted his chin with her thumb. "You still have a lot to learn, don't be reckless."
"I won't be reckless," he promised.

Later when they were settling down for the night, Dravite looked out through the crack in the doorway and watched the moon duck behind a cloud. He stared at the same spot until it reappeared again. When he felt Lazuli sit down beside him and as her fingers stroked his hairline, he sighed. "No singing tonight, mother."
Lazuli pursed her lips and stopped combing her fingers through Dravite's hair. "Why not, have you got a headache?"
"No," he murmured and pulled his blanket up over his shoulder.
"Then what is it?"
"I'm too old for songs and stories."

Lazuli's azure gaze narrowed slowly; she knew her son better than that; had seen how he looked forward to the tales shared around the fire pit of an evening, and joined in whenever the camp came together in song. "Who told you that?" She asked, strumming her fingers gently through his hair once more.
"No one, but the boys laughed at me for singing today, so perhaps I am too old."
"You're never too old for a story or a song, my son. They help us remember our history and celebrate who we are."
"Does Syna guide men from the sky?" He asked, recalling what one of the boys had said today while they were walking back to camp.
"If you know what to look for," Lazuli smiled.
"What should I look for?"
"Shadows."
"Shadows?" Dravite echoed, confused.
"I couldn't tell you without a story," Lazuli leaned close and pressed a kiss to her son's temple.

She didn't say anymore that night and it took Dravite a lot longer than usual to get to sleep. Perhaps he had been wrong, he thought to himself; maybe he would miss his mother’s singing and stories after all. .
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by **Ssezzkero** on June 28th, 2015, 9:49 pm

Grades

Dravite

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Notes: Don't forget to edit your post in the request forum as 'Graded'. PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

Flashback When The Full Moon Shines We Sing