The next morning, Gojyo had given him a list of duties, which were no different from the duties given to him by Lichi-Won. At least, that was how it looked on paper.
Starting the list off was collecting water from the well and filling a large basin that served as the community water supply. Sounded easy enough...
He stood looking in dismay at the long flight of stone stairs that led up to the well outside. Two large buckets in hand, he proceeded. It was not too bad at first, but after three trips he found himself dripping with sweat and every part of him ached.
After nearly three hours, the basin was full of water and the villagers began collecting their water rations.
Next on the list was sweeping the main hall. It would have been quite simple had it not been for the awkward shape of the broom. The long, flat brush swiveled this way and that, his arms quivering as he struggled to keep it going straight.
As the sun rose into the afternoon hours, the Faun was grateful to be sitting on a cushion in a small classroom with other Faun kids, practicing calligraphy.
Unlike the atmosphere in the other small classroom on the other side of the village, which was filled with laughter and activity, this classroom was quiet, owing to the fact that each little Faun had his or her own list of duties on the training compound and were just as exhausted as Tumnus to bother making any kind of conversation.
After class came the familiar task of washing windows, all seventy-three of them.
And so, it went on like this for two months. He barely had time to spend with his friends and had even less time to long to be with them. The only time he could spend time with them was during festivals, which were only once every month.
Work. Study. Work.
For three years, he would continue living under Kennichisun's conditions until finally one day the Elder Faun announced that Tumnus would begin his apprenticeship.
Gojyo decided to take him under his wing and ceremoniously bound himself to Tumnus as his Older Brother in the same fashion as Kensun had done for Gojyo long ago.
The young Faun stared quietly at a photograph taken of his father and now older brother in their much younger years when they were newly bound brothers. They had yet to grow prongs or beards, for they were only kids then.
Unlike Kensun, Gojyo grew up specializing in stealth and scouting.
They walked along a path inside the forest within the village boundaries as Gojyo explained what he expected of a Little Brother. The path bent around a small pond, the air filled with the smell of its still waters. Occasionally, in the peripheral of his vision, Tumnus was sure he saw other Fauns but when he turned his head to look more closely, they would be gone. The path led them back to the village grounds. 'That was a nice chat," the young Faun thought to himself.
"The path we took just now," said Gojyo. "I'm gonna have to ask you to walk it again alone."
"Okay." Said Tumnus, it was definitely a simple enough task. He turned down the start of the pathway and began his trek.
"Hold on," said Gojyo pulling out a cloth from behind his back. "Blindfolded."
"Wh—what?" said Tumnus as Gojyo tied the fold over his eyes, throwing him into a world of darkness.
"I know you heard," replied Gojyo. "Walk the path from beginning to end with that blindfold on. And trust me, Little Brother should you take it off before you make your way back here I will know of it."
With a nod, the young Faun slowly began walking the path. The blindfold was such a hindrance! He tripped over rocks, sticks and overgrown tree roots trying in haste to get back to the village. With hot little scrape marks on his palms, he took comfort in the scent of the pond nearby. However, he had forgotten that the path rounded in a bend and continued walking straight. He toppled face first into the shallow water. He came out of the water coughing and spluttering. He made like was going to take off the blindfold than decided against it. Sopping wet he continued. After finding his way back to the path he stood in silence. In his world of darkness, he could make out tiny forms of light in the distance. Concentrating more on his task, Tumnus ignored them.
After what seemed like an hour, he could hear the sound of the busy village. Feeling triumphant, he began to hurry and suddenly tripped over a small log that protruded onto the path. The Faun groaned in anger and pain as his elbow scraped against the craggy, unforgiving surface. Angry welts trailed half way up his bicep and burned as grit stuck to open wounds.
"Come along, Little Brother." He heard Gojyo say a ways ahead.
Tumnus removed the blindfold and saw his Older Brother grinning before him.
"Not bad. Kudos for not removing the blindfold after falling in that pond, I would have." He helped the young Faun up as his stood. "Especially if it had been my first time."
"First time?"
"Oh yes, I expect you to do it again and again until you can make it back here in less than a minute. That will take time however." Gojyo replied. "Tonight you will run it again."
"Wh-what? Tonight?"
"Don't worry," the older Faun laughed. "Without the blindfold…"
After Gojyo taught him how to clean and dress his wounds, he led Tumnus out onto a small training unit on the compound.
He found himself standing before a wall that stood nearly eight feet tall. A few feet away lay a very large bale of hay and on the other side of the wall were four large sacks of flour.
"Now, try to jump over the wall."
Tumnus looked at Gojyo then at the wall. He could jump over fences easily enough but this seemed, well, a little too high. The best way to get over the top of the wall was to get a running start and use the bale of hay as leverage, which he did.
It seemed to be promising as he soared into midair. He landed harshly on top of the wall with a loud grunt that was knocked from his lungs then toppled awkwardly over the side and fell face first into the bags of flour.
"Shake it off, try again." Gojyo ordered, as he emerged spitting and gasping.
After an hour or so of this, the young Faun was allowed to rest. They went into the mess hall that Tumnus was forbidden to enter, until now.
There was really nothing special about the hall, it was merely a rite of passage, a status symbol.
They made their way toward his mother and father, his legs aching with every step. His thighs quivered angrily as he lowered himself down onto the soft mat next to his mother.
"I see you've had a busy day." Said Kensun with a smile as he sipped his tea. Tumnus smiled weakly, his lips too were too tired to stretch brightly. "You'll get used to it." His father chuckled.
"Eat up, young Apprentice," said Elder Hakkai, the Eldest Faun, whose prongs had captivated Tumnus a few years ago. "You'll feel much better. One thing I've learned during my five-hundred years journey through these living lands is that a good meal always does the body good."
"Thank-you, sir." Said Tumnus as he took a baked crab cake from the bowl the Eldest Faun offered to him. He took a nibble, his stomach gurgled in appreciation and he soon consumed the cake and a few other delicacies.
"Rest up." Gojyo said to him as the Faun stood to leave. "And meet at the Trail after nightfall."
"Yes, Older Brother." Tumnus replied as Gojyo linked arms with a Doe and walked out of the mess hall.
"I remember running that trail." Said Kiyo. "It was…fun."
"I was never much for stealth myself." Said Kensun. "I always preferred a more confrontational approach when it comes to a battle.
"Really?" said Elder Hakkai in mock surprise. They laughed. "You were always scrapping, even as a little Faun."
"What's it like?" Tumnus asked his mother. "Running the trail at night?"
"You'll find out." She replied giving him a reassuring hug.
That night the young Faun made his way to the Trail and there he met up with Gojyo who held a brightly lit torch in one hand and a vest of plate chainmail that weighed at least forty-five pounds. He slipped it over Tumnus' head and threw the torch into a puddle.
"Run." He said as the flames extinguished, thrusting them into pitch-blackness.
Running the trail under the cloak of darkness was not as easy as he thought. It sure as hell wasn't fun! Not with forty-five pounds hanging on his soft inexperienced backside.
He may not have had the blindfold over his eyes this time, but he might as well have. He was careful not to trip over any logs or debris, but thanks to the awkwardness of the chainmail vest he tripped over his own little hooves from time to time.
As his eyes adjusted to the dark of night, Tumnus could see that he was nearing the pond that glittered under the moon light.
He slowed down to catch his breath. His eyes closed as he inhaled.
A spark of electricity was coming toward him from the wood. No, it was behind him! He whipped around in shock only to see what he thought was a mist of black mass disappearing into the leaves of the dark shaded trees without a sound.
Surprised to feel only slightly alarmed, the young Faun continued.
He finally reached the end of the path. Slipping the vest off his body and longing for his bed, Tumnus approached his Older Brother for the analysis of how he did.
"Not bad, though, had we been going by the point system, you would have received none for all the noise you made." He said. "However, I will give you bonus points for managing to spot my comrade. He was meant to surprise you but you sensed him before he approached, very sharp."
"That was a Faun I saw back there?" Tumnus said.
"Yup." Gojyo replied bluntly.
"But he moved like the wind." He said incredulously. Gojyo chuckled.
"The same will be expected of you, Little Brother, in years to come." The older Faun replied. "You're not doing all of this training for nothing."
Back inside the mess hall Tumnus made for his bedroom in the servants quarters, but his Older Brother instead led him into the hall where the warriors rested, another place he was forbidden to enter, until now.
He lay in a bunk above Gojyo's in a room that held several other bunk beds.
"Do my parents sleep here too?" he asked.
"Well, they're bonded mates so they share their own sleeping quarters." Gojyo replied.
"Oh." Tumnus said slightly disappointed. He had not been seeing much of them lately. "Where are they now?"
"Out on patrol." Gojyo replied pulling the covers over himself as lay back on the bottom bunk. "It's getting to be very dangerous out there. Narnian Raiders keep trying to close in our lands. There is a constant chill that even the summer air cannot shake. They say that snow is falling within the Narnian borderlines. It had begun snowing non-stop months ago, but it won't stick. The White Witch is powerful but the people haven't lost hope." The sound of Tumnus snoring caused Gojyo to stop talking. Laughing to himself, he too rolled over and drifted off to sleep.