A Cub's Questions
Tonight was like any other night for most of the elves and their bonds. The hunting party was getting ready to go, others going about their way in the holt and the weather was warm. Both human tribes were at a truce after the recent fighting, letting the elves either sigh in relief or become disappointed that they weren't wiping themselves out. Only one elf had other things on her mind and she wasn't thinking about the holt's current worries. Rather, the cub was questioning her mother about something that didn't make sense to her sense of right.
"Why can't wolves get adult names?" Littlejoy looked totally confused about this. To her it was very simple. Wolves and elves were family and elves got a cub name and then an adult name so why didn't the wolves? She'd stumbled upon this pressing issue when she told her mother, Brightmoss, that since her wolf-bond was a big wolf and not a cub, she would give her an adult wolf name. For her part, Brightmoss was amused at what her daughter questioned. Last time it had been about why the daystar didn't change like Mother and Child moon.
"I don't know, cub. We usually give them one name for life so they know it's theirs. After all, they can't choose a name like we do. Do you want to confuse poor Flowersneeze by changing her name now?" Brightmoss asked in seriousness with a small smile. Nimble fingers continued to braid the flowers into a crown as they rode to the river's edge. The brief pause of thought felt very natural on this warm night.
"No...but then shouldn't they have adult names? Even if they are still cubs?" Littlejoy insisted. This was a new rule to the world that she wanted to know. She was running a small hand through Flowersneeze's light brown fur as she asked. For the moment this was very important to Littlejoy and Brightmoss had never really encouraged her to stop asking such thoughts.
"If you want to you can. Just remember that Flowersneeze is your first wolf and how she came by her name honestly." Brightmoss had to grin when she thought about that day.
Littlejoy had bounced about so excited all about as all small cubs would as she waited. For a moment Brightmoss had forgotten about her lifemate's death and had turned around to share a proud smile with him. The reality came back as she saw instead Wolfstrider a bit further off. So she looked back at her cub as the wolf pup came out. Littlejoy had called out to get its attention, as if it could have had anything else on its mind and then picked it up.
The whole tribe was happy and laughed when after Littlejoy had put the pup down and it had looked challenging at a patch of flowers. Maybe an insect caught its eye but the wolf cub pounced on the flowers, sniffed around for a second and promptly started sneezing.
Brightmoss came out of the memory as the last of the flower crown was finished, leaving her fingers empty of anything to do. Glancing at her daughter she leaned over slightly and placed the crown on Littlejoy's head. She felt more then saw Littlejoy's delight at the gift and knew contentment. And Littlejoy completely forgot about this conversation until years later when she'd have another wolf-bond.
Tonight was like any other night for most of the elves and their bonds. The hunting party was getting ready to go, others going about their way in the holt and the weather was warm. Both human tribes were at a truce after the recent fighting, letting the elves either sigh in relief or become disappointed that they weren't wiping themselves out. Only one elf had other things on her mind and she wasn't thinking about the holt's current worries. Rather, the cub was questioning her mother about something that didn't make sense to her sense of right.
"Why can't wolves get adult names?" Littlejoy looked totally confused about this. To her it was very simple. Wolves and elves were family and elves got a cub name and then an adult name so why didn't the wolves? She'd stumbled upon this pressing issue when she told her mother, Brightmoss, that since her wolf-bond was a big wolf and not a cub, she would give her an adult wolf name. For her part, Brightmoss was amused at what her daughter questioned. Last time it had been about why the daystar didn't change like Mother and Child moon.
"I don't know, cub. We usually give them one name for life so they know it's theirs. After all, they can't choose a name like we do. Do you want to confuse poor Flowersneeze by changing her name now?" Brightmoss asked in seriousness with a small smile. Nimble fingers continued to braid the flowers into a crown as they rode to the river's edge. The brief pause of thought felt very natural on this warm night.
"No...but then shouldn't they have adult names? Even if they are still cubs?" Littlejoy insisted. This was a new rule to the world that she wanted to know. She was running a small hand through Flowersneeze's light brown fur as she asked. For the moment this was very important to Littlejoy and Brightmoss had never really encouraged her to stop asking such thoughts.
"If you want to you can. Just remember that Flowersneeze is your first wolf and how she came by her name honestly." Brightmoss had to grin when she thought about that day.
Littlejoy had bounced about so excited all about as all small cubs would as she waited. For a moment Brightmoss had forgotten about her lifemate's death and had turned around to share a proud smile with him. The reality came back as she saw instead Wolfstrider a bit further off. So she looked back at her cub as the wolf pup came out. Littlejoy had called out to get its attention, as if it could have had anything else on its mind and then picked it up.
The whole tribe was happy and laughed when after Littlejoy had put the pup down and it had looked challenging at a patch of flowers. Maybe an insect caught its eye but the wolf cub pounced on the flowers, sniffed around for a second and promptly started sneezing.
Brightmoss came out of the memory as the last of the flower crown was finished, leaving her fingers empty of anything to do. Glancing at her daughter she leaned over slightly and placed the crown on Littlejoy's head. She felt more then saw Littlejoy's delight at the gift and knew contentment. And Littlejoy completely forgot about this conversation until years later when she'd have another wolf-bond.