Mina watched the Elders. They were the ones who decided who became true Shang. They would either tell her to choose her symbol...or tell her to go home. Though now that she thought about it, she didn't really have a home outside of Shang. It was that kind of thing that made her think that the founders of Shang were not all that intelligent. Too many blows to the head perhaps.
Ah, well. Live and learn, huh? It looked like the Elders had come to a decision. It was about time. This whole procedure had already taken several times longer than she had expected. Go in, tell your tale, get accepted, pick your animal, and leave. How long did that take?
Whoops, they were talking to her. Something about choosing her symbol wise- Hey! They meant they had accepted her! Good thing, too, now that she thought about it. If they had refused to allow her to become a full Shang, they would have wasted everything that went into her training.
What animal should she choose? A bird of some kind would suit her rather well... Nothing silly like a flamingo, though. Or anything like a hawk or eagle. Those were too powerful, too majestic, soaring up above the clouds like they did. Something small, then.
Maybe a dove? They were fierce things, for all their smallness. Pretty as well, not that she should use that as a factor. And it was possible that opponents would underestimate her, as much as anyone underestimated a Shang.
Mina the Shang Dove. She rather liked it.
The Elders warned her to be sure. She wouldn't be allowed to change her mind.
She considered that for a moment. Could she tolerate being the Dove for the rest of her life? It was nice, but would it still be a good name in a few years?
Mina decided it would be fine. If she ever got tired of it, it would probably be far enough in the future that she'd be dead before she got to the point of truly hating it.
She confirmed her choice to the Elders and they dismissed her. She managed a dignified walk out of the room, but as soon as the door closed behind her, she squealed and hugged herself. She was a Shang
A/N: In case anyone is interested, the "challenge to myself" that I mentioned in the summary was whether or not I could write a story without dialogue.