Fallan
3 Summer 503, Grasslands near Syrila Border
The air still held a chill in the early morning dawn and Fallan shivered slightly now that he had dismounted and stood near the cairn which marked the top of the small knoll. It gave him a good line of sight over the herd, but it was not why he was there, at least not the primary reason, for instead he waited as instructed for his father to arrive, likely along with his eldest brother Haydar.
The reason was well known and long anticipated, though Fallan couldn't really see the point of it and why he had put it off for longer than his brothers. Surdar, his father had been gentle but even he had limits and this was now proof of it. He shivered again as movement caught his eye and he glanced automatically at it. Coming from the direction of the Pavilion the chances of a predator were low and the movement quickly resolved into two horses with riders.
"Father, Haydar," Fallan acknowledged them formally as they dismounted from their Striders, for all that he had seen them but shortly before. Haydar patted him on the shoulder and took his post as watchman even as Surdar walked over to place his hand on the cairn. Fallan followed him and stood close, waiting for his fathers attention to return.
"Sit," his father said softly, pointing the grass near the cairn, and they sat facing each other. "It is time that you became a man," his father said, "with a mans responsibilities." Fallan felt insulted for there was nothing that his brothers did that he did not, but he bit his tongue and did not answer, knowing that this was the sort of subject where his father drew the line.
"The safety of our family and the herd lies in the web." It was nothing new to Fallan, for he'd heard the words a thousand times in a thousand ways. "The web exists because we maintain it, because the family invest a part of themselves into it. You are tied to it, but do not help to support it."
"When you are older you too will assist and you will need to be able not only to read the web so that you can track but also can communicate and maintain it." His fathers gaze grew distant as he stared out into the grasslands. "You will not learn this in a season or even in a handful of seasons. Your mother is displeased with your delays, and I am disappointed that you would avoid me."
Fallan stared at the grass in front of him. His mother was always displeased with something, so it was a state that he'd become accustomed to, but he had also managed to ignore the fact that his father also bore the brunt of her displeasure about Fallan. Reluctantly he began to get a dim understanding of what his father had meant about being a man. Fallan had thought, as all fourteen year old boys thought, that he was a man in all but stature, but it seemed that perhaps this was not the case.
He had nothing to say, the apology stuck to his tongue and his face reddened as the silence lengthened, his eyes also unable to meet those of his father.
"There will be no more delays, you will take your place as one who protects the family." Fallan nodded but remained silent his pride still stinging from being called on something he had known in his heart was wrong. To him, webbing was something that the Ankal did, something that his brothers would learn, not something that he needed to know.
"One day you may have a Pavilion of your own." It seemed that his father was tracking the thoughts which had rushed through his mind and for a moment Fallan wondered if reading minds was an ability granted by the web. "When your brothers marry and have children the Pavilion will become full and you may wish your own space for your own family."
A wife and children were not something that Fallan had spent much time considering, though naturally he had spent a good deal of time thinking about sex. Somehow he had failed to continue those thoughts through to their logical conclusion as such things were years away; a lifetime to a boy his age. It occurred to him that likely his brothers would move out and create space and then he realised that his father was once again ahead of him. Of all the brothers, it was Fallan that was the most independent, the most likely to strike out on his own. Haydar was his fathers shadow and Fallan was not close to Skylar either, though few were.
Fallan looked up, met his fathers eyes finally and nodded. It was time to become a man.
The air still held a chill in the early morning dawn and Fallan shivered slightly now that he had dismounted and stood near the cairn which marked the top of the small knoll. It gave him a good line of sight over the herd, but it was not why he was there, at least not the primary reason, for instead he waited as instructed for his father to arrive, likely along with his eldest brother Haydar.
The reason was well known and long anticipated, though Fallan couldn't really see the point of it and why he had put it off for longer than his brothers. Surdar, his father had been gentle but even he had limits and this was now proof of it. He shivered again as movement caught his eye and he glanced automatically at it. Coming from the direction of the Pavilion the chances of a predator were low and the movement quickly resolved into two horses with riders.
"Father, Haydar," Fallan acknowledged them formally as they dismounted from their Striders, for all that he had seen them but shortly before. Haydar patted him on the shoulder and took his post as watchman even as Surdar walked over to place his hand on the cairn. Fallan followed him and stood close, waiting for his fathers attention to return.
"Sit," his father said softly, pointing the grass near the cairn, and they sat facing each other. "It is time that you became a man," his father said, "with a mans responsibilities." Fallan felt insulted for there was nothing that his brothers did that he did not, but he bit his tongue and did not answer, knowing that this was the sort of subject where his father drew the line.
"The safety of our family and the herd lies in the web." It was nothing new to Fallan, for he'd heard the words a thousand times in a thousand ways. "The web exists because we maintain it, because the family invest a part of themselves into it. You are tied to it, but do not help to support it."
"When you are older you too will assist and you will need to be able not only to read the web so that you can track but also can communicate and maintain it." His fathers gaze grew distant as he stared out into the grasslands. "You will not learn this in a season or even in a handful of seasons. Your mother is displeased with your delays, and I am disappointed that you would avoid me."
Fallan stared at the grass in front of him. His mother was always displeased with something, so it was a state that he'd become accustomed to, but he had also managed to ignore the fact that his father also bore the brunt of her displeasure about Fallan. Reluctantly he began to get a dim understanding of what his father had meant about being a man. Fallan had thought, as all fourteen year old boys thought, that he was a man in all but stature, but it seemed that perhaps this was not the case.
He had nothing to say, the apology stuck to his tongue and his face reddened as the silence lengthened, his eyes also unable to meet those of his father.
"There will be no more delays, you will take your place as one who protects the family." Fallan nodded but remained silent his pride still stinging from being called on something he had known in his heart was wrong. To him, webbing was something that the Ankal did, something that his brothers would learn, not something that he needed to know.
"One day you may have a Pavilion of your own." It seemed that his father was tracking the thoughts which had rushed through his mind and for a moment Fallan wondered if reading minds was an ability granted by the web. "When your brothers marry and have children the Pavilion will become full and you may wish your own space for your own family."
A wife and children were not something that Fallan had spent much time considering, though naturally he had spent a good deal of time thinking about sex. Somehow he had failed to continue those thoughts through to their logical conclusion as such things were years away; a lifetime to a boy his age. It occurred to him that likely his brothers would move out and create space and then he realised that his father was once again ahead of him. Of all the brothers, it was Fallan that was the most independent, the most likely to strike out on his own. Haydar was his fathers shadow and Fallan was not close to Skylar either, though few were.
Fallan looked up, met his fathers eyes finally and nodded. It was time to become a man.
Lovely, Fallan, lovely! 
This is exactly how I've imagined the induction into Webbing going. Beautiful descriptions, as usual.