[Flashback] The old days...

[Akuaysun]

Late Winter, Unknown Year B.V.

The sky shined a beautiful shade of blue, deeper then normally found in the mid afternoon with only a few clouds drifting through it. In the distance birds calling out to their mates could be heard and filled the air with a lovely background song. It signified the start of the laying season and with it the end of winter. In only a few months the rains would come again and with them the unbearable heat of summer. Now was the time for the spring hunts, to clear out the old and make way for the new.

Sitting upon the steps of one of the great stone temples a Myrian boy aimless looked to the sky. In his hand an iron blade ran up and down the smooth surface of a stone, whilst his blue green orbs traced the paths of the birds that soared through the air. His ears listened intently to the grinding of steel on stone, its melody telling him the exact angle the blade was traveling and the degree of sharpness he was creating. It was second nature to the youth, his wrist flipping the iron back and forth to create and even hair edge on both sides.

As his eyes drew down on the surrounding area from the sky he watched as people moved about with their daily tasks. Their bronze skin covered in tattooing glistened in the suns brightly shining light. Each moved with a distinct purpose, a task to complete for the day. In Taloba each did as they were supposed to for the betterment of the entire group, laziness was not tolerated for only through a group effort could the whole survive. Weakness was like a plague it had to be cut out and destroyed as soon as possible and Myri was fast to complete this role. She was their queen, many even considered her a god and none had come to yet challenge that idea.

Here women ruled they were the life givers and the leaders. No matter the strength men showed they were always a lesser class to their mothers and sisters. For most Myrians it came down to one simple fact, a woman could give birth and further the race many were needed for that but one man could fill the secondary role. It didn’t matter much; men did their duties just as women did, and together the people prospered. On this morning the young boy was waiting for a woman, his teacher, but more specifically his mother, Tika of the Tiger eyed.

He was to learn today, no more then a handful of years the boy was already a proficient member in his family. On this afternoon he would further that role by taking apart of his family’s primary duty. They wouldn’t be hunting animals per se but anything that they found desirable to eliminate be it great beasts, the Suvan or anything that trespassed on their lands. Survival, let along tracking was hard to do in the wilds of the jungle surrounding Taloba. That was why these missions were so important, to keep the tribes skills as sharp as the iron the boy held in his hand.

[Cayenne]

Tika emerged from the great temple some time after he had been sitting there, observing the birds. His mother would have pointed out how to tell what type of bird was what and whether they were male or female from the way they held their legs if he was close enough to see that. Below the steps, their people moved about, children running and playing, or those doing their chores that hadn't already been completed. The games the children played may have seemed harmless... but each game in its own way helped to hone some skill or sense. From hide and seek, to mock battles with wooden weapons, to wrestling and brawling, to chasing games... these were skills that the Myrians used every day to survive. Besides the birds soaring overhead, he could see a group of Tskannas helping with construction as yet another stone building was being put together.

His mother had told him to meet her here when he was done with his lessons for the day, and she was pleased to see he was on time. She had been meeting with her sister, Aira, and bringing her some of the various plants that she had found for supplies. His aunt Aira was heavily pregnant, and it was suspected with twins, so Tika helped out where she could. Every Myrian had their role to fulfill and duties to perform. It was the way that they survived. Tika paused in the doorway, watching the small boy work his blade. It was a skill that the children learned, maintaining and looking after one's weapons. It could make all the difference in a fight, and a dull weapon meant for slicing and cutting was useless.

Padding in her leather boots, the tall, sturdy woman scooped up her son from behind, holding him high off the stones and looking down at all of them. She turned him around, effortlessly avoiding the iron he held, and pulled him close, going nose to nose with him. To outsiders, Tika was frightening - her face was tattooed with the markings of a tiger, and her arms bore tiger stripes. Her chest was covered today, but Teris, or Ter, as his mother called him, knew that there was a tattoo of a tiger peering from the grasses there. They were the Tiger Eyed. Boots protected from the snakes and other low, biting creatures, a leather skirt and vest, a fringed armband, and her archer's wrist guards to cover her hands. A quiver hung over her back along with a pair of unstrung bows, one much larger than the other, and from a leather belt, she carried a pouch. Two weapons, both made from Tskanna tusks, one short, one long, hung from her broad hips. She was wearing her leathers today, and the boy knew what that meant. They were going beyond the walls.

He was only seven, but he was old enough, as far as Tika was concerned. All of the children were taken beyond the walls of Taloba. They needed to to learn how to survive. It may have only been simple excursions at this age, but they had to start somewhere. If they were living in the outlying villages, they would have learned many of these skills already, and forced to practice them in daily situations. "Just because you only see one trail of prints, does that mean that you are only following one?" she asked him by way of greeting as she turned him around to face her, reclining him against her as she started down the steps, grinning at her son.

[Akuaysun]

Being raised in the den of the Tiger Eyed made one hone their senses especially early, even when sitting peacefully the boys ears were listening and processing each sound around him. He could count the number of Tskannas working around the building without even turning his head that way, simply picking each by their calls and the feet pounding against the ground. Closer he could smell the evening meal for one of the families being prepared, a combination of stewed vegetables, fruits and meats. However, he did not sense his mother sliding up behind him, she made a life of being unseen and so it was of little surprise when she scooped him up into the air.

Instantly knowing it to be her, and confirming it when she spun him about a wide smile crossed the boy’s small lips as they touched noses, and stared one another in the eye. He was not a daughter, but still he knew how proud of him she was. He came from the bloodline of their leader, and with that came a natural respect, not so much because of the familial ties but because all in the village knew he would be raised into a strong member of the city. Already few of his peers could best him in unarmed combat, as he practiced it daily and loved the thrill found within. When no opposition could be found he would even venture into the families stables and wrested with the tiger cubs. Scolded time and time for this very action, they was often the only opponent he could find willing and worthy to wrestle with, and took little heed of his elders words about it. More times then he could count, he had walked in cut and bloody only to receive a stern lashing at his elders hands to which he never tried to avoid.

Giving a mock roar at her and chomping his teeth playfully at her nose, Teris showed his true nature, one of fearless bravery, much like the tigers their people rode. He listened at her question as his curious eyes looked over the clothes she dawned. Slowly he shook his head from side to side and spoke confidently about the subject. “Noooooo.” His voice over exaggerated as if to solidify how easy the question was. It could mean that your prey is smart, that they are trying to hide their numbers. It’s easy to figure out though, look at the depth of the track and how far apart they are. If they are wide and deep it’s someone running, but if they are close and deep it means that they could be stepping in each other’s path. You just have to look at the shape, if they are odd shaped as they walk its likely many people, if they all seem the same though it could be someone with a heavy load. Of coarse that is after you have check to make sure they aren’t just spread out.

He smiled, pausing for a minute as they started to descend, and pushing the strands of raven hair from his eyes. You just have to compare them to your own, bigger means heavier and deeper, smaller means lighter. If they aren’t much bigger, but much deeper then you should keep your eyes open for other signs… That’s usually only for people though, most animals can’t think like that. He smiled wider as if satisfied with his answer. Looking the blade over he still held in his hands, it seemed satisfactory for now, as he tucked it back away into its sheath on his hip. He was quiet for a while, having a good idea of what was going on, but as with most children his curiosity got the better of him. “Where are we going?

[Cayenne]

Tika listened to his answer, giving nothing away with her face or eyes until they reached the bottom of the stairs. The almost-feral grin returned, and her teeth glinted in the sun. "Good," she told her son, hugging him close and rubbing her cheek against his, nuzzling him like one of the tigresses with her cubs, and inhaled the scent of his dark hair. Male-child though he may be, he was her child, her flesh and blood. The blood of the goddess ran through his veins, just as it did his siblings and cousins from Mri's four children. "You've been paying attention," she chuckled. Between what he learned from his family and from what other elders and teachers taught the children, Tika well expected him to know these things.

Once Ter sheathed his blade, she reached around and moved her massive braid over her shoulder, shifting the quivers and bows in the same fluid movement. She squeezed him reassuringly for a moment, and moved him from her chest to her broad back, waiting until he had a grip before she let him go. She often carried her young children this way. It was good exercise for both of them. They strengthened their limbs and muscles, and she got an additional workout and conditioning from the added weight on her back. When, or if, Tika had had enough, they would be put down to walk. He would well be up to the task of a few hours' walking - Myrian children usually were. When they were active for the vast majority of the day and sometimes part of the night, they developed their stamina - perfect for long trips or fights.

"We're going outside of the city," his mother told him. "First to the Kandukta, where we will practice," Tika told her little one. "Then to the northwest. We'll visit Jocoto." Jocoto was one of the little outlying villages that was a few hours' walk from Taloba, located in amongst a dense thicket of Dragonfruit trees. They were large, burgundy-coloured fruits with sharp 'petals' along the thick, concealing skin. It was also the home village of his father, Rek. They would stay with them for the night, and either carry on around the circle of villages, or head back to Taloba. Between his aunts and uncles, Rek and his eldest sister, Myka, the other children would be looked after. Tika routinely took her children with her on these trips fairly often, and sometimes their cousins as well.

They continued along the busy pathway, going through the construction area easily that he had been listening to earlier. His count of the massive tskannas was correct, right down to the little calf that was lingering by a young Myrian woman as its mother worked. "Were you playing with the tigers again?" Tika wanted to know, glancing over her shoulder at him. She was pretty sure she'd smelled fresh wounds on her son, but they could have been caused by any number of things - accidents, play, mock battles, lessons...

[Akuaysun]

The question has not been a trying one, any child that had ever been on a hunt knew the answer, and could make use of the skill. Sure teachers talked about it, but the way you best learned things, at least in Teris’s case, was to practice them, see the path laid out before him and to actually walk it. For that reason, it was why he often became overjoyed when allowed to stalk through the dense foliage of the jungle with his mother. She was an expert of a plethora of skills, tracking only one of many. She also had patience, she took her time with everything insuring it was perfect, perhaps a reason why she was so avid at training her young son rather then leaving the task to others.

Whatever the case or reason the young boy would not argue, he enjoyed his time with the family. They were all high ranking members of the city; each had many tasks to complete and was trusted with great responsibilities. It wasn’t easy being descended from the queen, certain amounts of greatness were simply expected, you were scrutinized more, and held to a higher bar. For that reason moments like this did not come as often as the boy would like. Not that Tika was a bad mother, that was exactly the contrary to what she was, instead she simply had many things to accomplish, especially now that he had more cousins on the way.

The boy held tight to his mother as she carried him about with a smile. He was perhaps growing too old for this sort of thing but still reveled in the moments that it came. Even so young he was smart enough to know that very soon things would be changing. He would loose his innocence and be expected to act the part of a man. Soon enough he would come of age and serve the tribe as a young adult. It was important for him to enjoy these youthful years why he had them, because all around him he could see the work that had to be done by adults. There was much less time to play when part of the tribe depended upon you. Listening intently Teris let out a soft sigh and rested his head on his mother’s shoulder.

As they moved through the streets, his eyes drifted back and forth watching the younger children of the village and eyeing the elders. He was curious of them all, interested in what their thoughts were. Someday he would be responsible for these people, perhaps even start a family with one. It was sad for him to think about, because as the law stood he could never be a leader, one who guided his people into battle or carried the greatest of respects amongst them. He would always be a man, and with that his duty was to serve. His sister often made that point clear, though he was fairly certain that if he truly wanted to, he could force her into submission… a thought that curled his lips ever so slightly into a grin.

“I was earlier, the new cubs will come soon and the older ones need to be strong enough to teach them.” He paused knowing his mother couldn’t argue that logic very well. It was after all the way of their people, the elders taught the youth, and together they prospered. Besides, they aren’t afraid of me, they like to wrestle, and are quick enough to give me a challenge. The younger kids aren’t good enough to make me stronger and the older children laugh or are to busy when I challenge them. I need to become very strong so that when I come of age I can go into the jungle and find a new tiger. I will find one that makes even our own look small, and I will hold him to the ground until he admits that I am his master. Then when we return together Myri will have to admit that I am as good as any girl in the family!”


His words grumbled out, expecting to be chastised for his actions and his tongue, but the boy didn’t care it was how he felt. Teris thought it was dumb that he would someday be considered below a woman even if he was stronger then her. It put a ceiling on him, as if telling the boy that he could be as strong as he liked but he would still only go so far, and no matter how much his mother or any other elder scolded him for the words and thoughts it would not change his mind.

[Cayenne]

Tika jostled him on purpose at his words, but that was the only admonishment she offered. If he wanted to go far, he was going to need all the fire in his belly that he had and more. She would not dampen it. She, and many of the adults, understood the history about why the males no longer held ruling positions officially. That went way back to her mother's family's history and that tribe's cultures, and to the times of conquest... well before she herself was born. Her mother's tribe had always been female-dominated. Taloba, before Myri, had been a war leader for the tribe, but Myri had taken on the mantle of war leader and chieftain as her conquests began. And when one chieftain swore up and down that neither he nor his men would kneel to her...

Myri had been more or less willing to allow other tribes their choices in that regard until that moment, so long as they swore to her as the Queen. Only females had ruled ever since.

"Then, my little warrior, you had best be making plans on an offering to Navre for such a tiger. That is why we have the tigers that we are blessed with now," she smiled at him. "Or if you are feeling bold, you could even try to approach Caiyha Herself, yes?" She walked on, greeting some of the warriors that watched the gates from the walls. He knew who they were. They were cousins, they were family, they were all people who knew each other, even in a bustling city like Taloba. Tattoos told him who belonged to what. Tattoos told him that five of the guards who patrolled the wall were siblings, the eldest five of his Aunt Miha. Each of them was armed with a bow, and each was armed with at least one ugly-looking blade - the so-called Jagged Blades that his Aunt had named her family for. They didn't only cut - they made an absolute mess of whomever they used those blades against, shaving and cutting with the flat of the blade.

Beyond the massive gates that seemed to be perpetually open -- the number of times Ter had seen them closed could be counted on both hands as part of Grandmother Myri's war simulations -- the enormous jungle loomed invitingly. She reached behind her easily enough, and removed her son from her back, squeezing him to her chest for a moment as her lips found his forehead and pressed a kiss there before lowering him to the ground. While Tika was proficient in the use of both the much longer, powerful longbow, she rarely used it - she favoured the shorter, curved bow. At shorter distances, it had all the power you needed, after all. The smaller of the two bows was passed to him, and a pair of coiled bowstrings were removed from the pouch she bore. This string was also given to him. He could string his own bow as she strung hers. The first rule of the jungle was to be prepared... and there was nothing as useless as an unstrung bow. On more than one occasion, Ter had seen his mother drop an animal in its tracks with one well-placed arrow. From the long-legged, spiral-horned barrabarras to the nasty crocodiles that lurked in some of the deeper rivers, particularly on the coast. Rarely did one ever catch them by the Basin, but sometimes they worked themselves that far in land...

Tika led the way from the gates to the path by the Basin. They avoided the great walls that surrounded the city - both Tika and Teris knew that they were booby-trapped, some of which Tika had laid herself and checked and added more. One day, Ter would find himself studying the walls, trying to find his mother's handiwork before it caught him. They didn't stop to look at the walls today. Their last trip had spent a lot of time on the wall, but not today. They headed for the basin, passing one of the cattle posts, where the massive Jagara cattle grazed under the watchful gaze of herd watchers. Large Myrian tigers, retired from their years of carrying a rider, reclined lazily in the grass, often the tigers of the watchers' mothers or aunts or family. Ter's older sister, Alys, whooped a greeting to them as they went by the wooden fence. Tika called back in response. Lys wouldn't leave her post to come after them, she knew better - the one time she had, Tika had given her a swat and sent her back to work. Everyone had their role to fill and their duty to do. That was all there was to it.

They approached the Kandukta, seeing various people fishing, some collecting water. Some Tskannas also cooled off, gathering water in their trunks and sending it up in great streams over the air. Tika left the action, taking Ter off to the far side of the Basin from the city's walls. She avoided the loamy sand by the the water, and moved along the grassy bank. Ter knew why they did this - so that they didn't ruin the tracks just yet. She stopped, then, and with the fluid grace of a cat, leaped from the grassy ridge to land deftly a few feet from a myriad of tracks. "Look here," she told her son as she crouched down, her eyes taking in the prints in front of them. "Which of these are fresh?" Even as much as Ter had studied, this might prove tricky. Prints of jungle cats, of cows, of people, even leopardbred horses and birds littered the sand. Some were old, some were new. But Tika expected him to decipher these, and no help would be forthcoming from her.

[Akuaysun]

“I pray to Leth, he is god of change, he understands what I want best. Without his blessing nothing I do will matter. I ask him for guidance, if the other gods wish to hear my prayers they can through him. He is also death’s brother, only he can protect me from her hand, just as Alys would never betray me. They were strong words, the kind of words that could bring on trouble from someone older then himself. The boy was just that however, youthful, unknowing of the way of the world. He was naïve to all the things happening about him, or of what lay ahead. His statement was one he believed in however, from birth children were taught of the gods and encouraged to make their own paths in the tribes. It couldn’t be helped that the grandchild of the greatest leader the Myrian’s had ever known had inherited some of his families fiery spirit.

Teris was also smart enough to know when he should be quiet however, and as such, no matter the return he received to the bold statement, the boy remained silent. He didn’t feel the urge to argue with his mother, it wouldn’t end well, it never did, and further there was the fact that today’s activities were very important to the youth’s adventurous spirit. He held tight and watched the people as the pair moved through the city, even as his mother talked to others he was silent unless addressed and then was brief with his responses. Any outside of the family knew very little of the boy, and would most likely have described him as shy, or respectful. To him it was not divulging his secrets, and not bringing shame to his mother with his loose tongue. While he might have been quick to words with the woman that now carried him, to the rest of the city he preferred silent study.

Eyes wandering he examined each person in turn, and even when his eyes strayed to others, his ears were focused on the conversations. Teris obviously always didn’t understand the workings of adults but that didn’t mean he could not take in the information. Things revealed themselves in time, and even if he did not know what the words always meant, one could often pick up their connotation through the way in which they were spoke.

On the walls were the boy’s cousins, standing guard as they often did. Their extended family was quite large, Tika’s sisters often being described as being fertile as a jungle frog. Teris had no idea what that meant but from when it was often referenced he imagined it had to do with the number of cousins he had. Most were older then the boy, which he didn’t mind, often the family was so busy watching or scolding the elders they forgot he was running about. Again something he attributed to his quiet nature. His mother however saw something in him, and often she took him about on these missions or made a point to ask of his studies. It was if she could see something in the boy that others could not, and whenever he thought of it a slim smile quickly followed. Someday he knew he would make his mother very proud, for more then anything he wanted the right to carry on the clan’s name.

As they passed through the gates, he was taken from his resting spot and left to his own devices. His mother handed over her favored weapon, a short bow meat for close range, fast shots and a string. Easily Teris wrapped a loop about one end, and using leverage flexed the wood down to loop the second. Bringing the weapon up as if to shoot, the boy pulled on the string to insure it was secure and aligned. The heavy weight of the thing was nearly too much for his small muscles but he could still pull it back to its full draw. Slowly he relaxed his arms as to not simply dry fire the device and harm it, releasing its force with no projectile only transferred the energy into the weapon and damaged its wood and strings.

Once ready, he looped the bow across his thin body and looked up at his mother who had completed much the same task with her much larger, beast of a weapon. They were then on their way, traveling through the hidden paths of their people from the city walls to the areas where livestock was raised. Here rested old tigers, a deterrent to anything that thought it might be sly enough to go after the city’s meat supply. A call came from his sister, in the Myrian battle tongue, a series of native calls and mimics that let them communicate in battle without raising suspicion. Ter rolled his eyes, thinking about how boring a job his sister had, and how it was embarrassing to be called a Sheppard’s brother. She was a driving influence in why he studied and practiced so hard. Gods be damned if he would end up watching over some stupid cows.

Coming to the sand he was presented with another challenge from his mother. Slightly harder then the first but still along the same lines, it wouldn’t be too hard of a challenge for his sharp eye. Stepping up to the sand he knelt and examined the tracks. There were many from the various animals that roamed here but he wasn’t looking for what type of animal as much as when the animal had passed. Taking a scoop of the sand in hand he rolled it between his palms, checking for how damp it was. This area was known to be affected by the sea tides, which was why the sandbank had not been overgrown with weeds like areas deeper into the jungle. It was dry, which meant that the tide had not been high in quite a while, and that the waters from the rainy season were receding. As he looked he saw how some tracks overlapped the others and which were crisp and those that were not. Sand while easy to make a print in did not hold it for long either. All it took was a large wave of a few gusts of wind and they were gone.

“They are all fairly recent; the water washes them away when it comes in. The wind hasn’t been strong today and that is why you can see so many. You can tell which is freshest a few ways, those that are on top of the others are newer then the ones they cover. He paused pointing at a set of tracks from some birds that were barely visible and laced by those of something like a fox or dog. Then you can also judge how long ago it was that they passed by how clean the print still is. The sand doesn’t hold tracks like mud or soft dirt, a good wind clears them. These here, the cattle and tiger tracks are the newest, they are still fairly clean. I would say they are from when Alys brought them down to cool off and to fetch afternoon water.

[Cayenne]

Tika smiled at her son. The Myrians were polytheistic - all of the numerous tribes had worshiped various beings before being united by Myri the Merciless, and that had not changed at all. Of course, all of them worshiped their Goddess-Queen, and the three major deities of Dira, Kihala, and Caiyha. Worship of Syna and Leth, Navre and Makutsi, was common enough - some whispered prayers to Rak'keli or Oriana or Laviku... just to name some. That wasn't, of course, to forget the common practice of ancestor worship that thrived amongst each of the different families. Each of the children was encouraged to learn about the gods the family worshiped, and Tika's little boy had attached himself to Leth.

But they were outside, then, and it was all business. Alys was taking her turn watching the enormous Jagara cattle, and Tika knew that in time, Ter would also bear this responsibility. It wasn't so much of a chore as a duty and a test, watching to see how the children handled themselves in such a thing. Not everything in life was pleasant, and one had to make the best of it. Eventually Alys would be removed from that post as Tika put her to other uses, and another sibling would take her place. She knew from watching her daughter silently that Alys practiced with her bows and slings, as well as her brawling and hand-to-hand combat with the other shepherds. To just sit there and laze about was to fail the test.

His mother watched him as he checked the sand the way she had taught him, and went through the rest of his analysis. She listened without a word, nor an indication on her face, nodding occasionally for him to continue. Only once he was finished did she reach down to ruffle his hair. "Very good. And if you looked further, though I did not ask you to, you'd see the cow dung," she squatted down beside him, and extended her arm and finger to point at what looked to be a dark patch of sand several meters off. It had been trampled into the sand by the cows, but once you went to have a closer look at it... the smell told you just as well what it was. "And that, if you went to touch it, is still warm, and probably fresh enough." She stood up. "Let's go. Plenty to learn."

She made her way towards the grassy bank, and up along the cattle path to get back to the higher level of land that usually went unbreached by the waves until the humid months of summer arrived. Beneath them, the soil was soft and almost spongy, giving them step and soon springing back into place, bloated as it was with the Kandukta's waters and the rain. From this vantage point, they could what went on on the banks of the Kandukta while remaining reasonably well-hidden themselves. These were the paths, Ter knew, where the predators watched and stalked, waiting for their prey's guard to slip when they lowered their head to drink... "Look there," Tika stopped suddenly, crouching down to his level, and indicated a scene of struggle on the bank. She had to push back some of the thicker, resilient fronds so that he could see. "One of the arapaida had itself a good meal. Barrabarra, too, you can see the hoof prints. Probably a female, see how they're shaped and spread apart? A male's hind legs are as broad as the front, not sloping in." He could see them, too. "But we know it was something that came from the basin... no prints to indicate a predator that approached from the side or behind. No blood, so not a crocodile... must have been an arapaida." The arapaida were enormous fish that lurked in the basin, and were a constant threat even when the crocodiles were not. It was said that these fish could well devour a crocodile if one came low enough. They were enormous, carnivorous fish that grew to enormous lengths. The biggest that Ter could remember hearing about was about as long as five adults stretched out in a long row. They were a constant danger to the cattle, and something that the herders and guarding dogs and tigers had to watch for.

No sooner had he digested that when they were on the move again. As they went along, Ter at his mother's side showed him things as they went, pointing things out with a gesture and without a word. This was another test of hers - she would point things out to him, without explaining their significance, and expect him to remember them later. The more details he remembered, the better he did, and the better he did, the more she was pleased. And Tika, like her mother and her siblings, was not so easy to please. But he was young, and he was learning. Effort, at his age, counted just as much as the accomplishments... but there was always room for improvement.

One such time was now. She pointed out a large flower with the tip of her bow: it was a lovely violet specimen that seemed to hide in the shadow of the overhanging canopy. Its wide, shiny coiled petals were marked with blue-white stripes and specks, and they furled and unfurled in a lazy rhythm to the ambient harmonies produced by the jungle. The bird song, the croak of frogs... speak of the devils, there was a black one with twelve orange dots in a diamond pattern on its back. Chances were, judging from the pattern on its back, it was poisonous. His mother indicated it as well, as another thing that he would have to remember. She wrested a bittermelon from a branch, tucking it under an arm.

Soon they were deviating away from the bank, following one of the paths that would--eventually-- lead them to Jocoto. These paths weren't easy to follow. They were twisted, overrun with the quickly growing leafage and intersecting with other pathways. The Myrians never intended for any outsiders who got so far to be able to manage on their pathways. It was by following the steps of those who had learned before them that the Myrian children learned which ways to go, and what little indicators to look for. Time was one method. Landmarks were another: a short, squat qallo tree between a fork in the pathways was one of them. Turn left there, and start towards Jocoto. Simple enough, wasn't it? To those who ran them their entire lives, this was so.

Ter's mother raised her bow again, as if to aim at something else, but that fiend only used it to tip the warm, wet contents a large, triangular leaf on top of her young son's head, grinning cheekily at him the entire time. Eventually, though, she slung her bow over an arm and lifted him up, setting him on a mossy branch over looking the path. She passed him the bittermelon that she had been carrying before pulling herself up and sitting beside him. Once seated beside him, she took the melon, sticking it in her lap and removing one of the sharp knives she carried and cut into it, peeling away the thick, waxy skin and flinging it into the trees ahead of them. It would go to feed the wildlife - nothing was wasted, not here. Expertly, she cut a deep wedge out of it, and passed it to her son as the juices ran over her arm. "What did you learn in school today?"

[Akuaysun]

Teris smiled at the acceptance and listened to what his mother had to say, only briefly interjecting as she finished. But if I check the dung then it would leave an obvious mark that I had passed, something we are taught never to do in case you’re followed, and even then only if you must. See things as you come and leave them as they were, isn’t that the way? It could also leave a scent that the prey could pick up if the wind shifted.” Teris looked confusingly at his mother, he wasn’t trying to question her authority, but found this to be an opportunity to clarify his teachings. He had always thought that simple dictation was never the best way to learn but rather time in the field doing the tasks first hand was more effective. In this life, experience outweighed everything else.

As they moved on he kept his eyes open and milled over whatever response his mother gave to him on the questioning. Here and there they paused, his mother pointing out the occasional print, droppings or broken branch. There were a few signs of struggles, and pathways here and there from the various game that lurked in the dense jungle. It was the normal things, and he knew to pay attention as she would test him on various things later, or would point out something further down the trail and expect him to make the link. It was the privilege of being a tiger eyed. You were expected to be observant, to see everything because some day down the road you would ahead of the front line, the eyes for all Myrians.

Suddenly water poured over him, wetting his leathers and soaking his raven hair. He didn’t squelch or yell, instead he only grit his teeth and shot a look at his mother. She of coarse thought it hilarious and put him on a branch as one would do with their laundry. He sat as she crawled up next to him and started suckling on the fruit as she offered him a piece.

“The same old things, we started combat training for the season. They have moved us on to weapons now, trying to figure out who will be good with what. I scored excellent marks with a staff and knife but was put down quickly with the swords. Those are the only three we have used so far. No-one could beat me with the staff though, even in mixed weapons. The teachers were surprised, but it isn’t so much a deal since we use the spears to herd up the tigers and hunting.”

[Cayenne]

"Very good," Tika ruffled his hair. "That is so. Like I said, I didn't ask you to, and did not expect you to. That is why." His mother was tricky like that, but these were nothing compared to the traps she literally laid for her older children. Ter would likely never forget seeing Alys dangling by her ankles from a post as she struggled to try and free herself some years ago while Tika watched and grinned, and had lectured Alys--and all of them, as Ter had been held firm in one arm to watch and listen--about the importance of watching for traps.

Once he was munching on his slice of melon, she cut deeper into it with the blade before drawing the blade back and putting it between her teeth. She reached into the center of the melon, then, grabbing a handful of its guts, and chucking the stringy flesh and seeds into the bush across the path from them. The other animals would thrive on it, from the insects to the rodents to the birds to the larger predators. Everything was in balance, everything was linked to something else, just as Caiyha intended it to be.

She listened to what her little one had to say about school as she bit into the bittermelon, twisting her arm to get at some of the trickling juices that ran along her skin, licking almost like a cat would, from elbow to wrist, and made a sound of approval as she nodded, her balance on the branch never in jeopardy. "Very good. Next season, I imagine, will introduce some of the ranged weapons. The bows, slings, chakram, boomerang. But let me guess. Aunt Miha's Vani got first in swords, didn't she?" Vani of the Jagged Blade was his cousin, about his age, maybe a month older than himself. They played together, sometimes, with the tigers, and they snuck over to harass their Uncle Zal, especially when he had new cubs around - their grandmother often said that Zal was blessed by Navre, such was his affinity with the great cats. Vani was a girl Tika sometimes described as being as sturdy as a kuzu vine. But Tika described her own children that way, and those she taught as well - the entire family came in to help with the teaching and training of the younglings, to better their people as a whole. To be sturdy and resilient was one of the biggest compliments that Tika could give.

Some might have been shocked, maybe, at the young age with which Myrian children were given weapons that were meant to harm and kill, and were taught to use them while other children in lands far away, civilized and wimpish though they were, but life in the wilds of the jungle was never an easy one for those who lived there. Ter would never know the life of his elders, of a time when the individual tribes raided and fought and ripped each other apart in a bloody quest of dominion over pride, territory, and respect. He and his generation would reap the benefits of the bloodiest conquest the savages had ever seen. But despite that, they learned young and they learned the hard way, through bruises and cuts and broken bones and spilled blood and toxin-fueled fevers and sicknesses. That which did not kill them only strengthened them. One needed to be strong to survive, and that was what they were impressing on their children.

"Teris, when we passed the bittermelon tree, there was three tiktik birds," Tika cut her son another piece of melon, and sure enough, the quiz began. "What colours were they? What direction did they fly off in? Were they females or males?"