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Chapter 23
Even in the years to come, it would always amaze Grey when she looked back on how quickly the next year seemed to pass.
Over the next months, Nanku and the others continued on with their plaiting ceremony at the Great Temple, after Grey had sworn an oath of honor that she wouldn't be angry at them for doing so.
"You've got to do this to become Hunters, right? There's no other temple that's close enough for you to get to without a lot of hassle; and I don't think it'll look good for you or the Clan to pick up a reputation of throwing a fit when you don't get your way." Grey said, and though some of them chuffed with irritation at her phrasing, they at last decided among themselves that she was right.
She was surprised to learn that several of the mothers of the Unblooded males had taken it upon themselves to ask the priestesses about whether Grey might attend the remaining rituals…to no avail. It seemed that they felt a good deal of gratitude to her, for she had trained with their sons, sometimes had even convinced Ijane to give them lessons. These things would, hopefully, allow their progeny not only to survive once they left the safety of their home village, but to bring honor and glory to their Clan and lineage.
Back on Earth, something like this would probably have garnered media attention, sparked protests, and caused the forming of a bunch of special interest groups; but although word certainly got around, seeing as how Grey was the only human currently residing with the Yautja, it became clear to everyone in the village that they were pretty much alone in their support of their human inhabitant.
It was at that time that Grey began to learn just how opposed many Yautja were to her living among them.
They had, apparently, been fine when she was just living quietly in an out-of-the-way little village, not causing trouble or drawing undue attention to herself; but once it got around that the ooman's whining had the whole Lakeshore Clan petitioning the priestess of the Great Temple on her behalf, shit got real ugly, real fast.
Although no one had actually come to the village seeking Grey out, one of the females, having gone to the city on some errand or another, had come back with reports that several people had asked her about their unusual "guest" when they found out where she was from. These people-almost all of them brash young males-had declared that they didn't know what the Arbitrator had been thinking, bringing a pyode amedha back to live among them as though she were a proper Yautja; and were adamant that, if he insisted on keeping his little ooman pet, he should at least keep her from yapping so much, and be sure to remind her of her place.
"But what do you expect? I heard she's being kept by Lady Ijane; and you know she'll accept just about anything as a pupil." one of these Hunters was overheard to remark, after a few bowls of c'ntlip; though the female who'd overheard him, and those to whom she later repeated the comment, felt that he never would have said such a thing in front of either Ijane or Kantra.
Unsurprisingly, when Ijane heard about this, her mandibles spread and her back arched a bit in anger, and only her mother could calm her down. Grey had wondered what the male had meant by what he'd said; but decided to let the matter drop, as it was none of her business, and Ijane was already upset enough, anyway.
Word of this sort of thing had apparently gotten to Kantra, as well; because numerous stories began to crop up of foolhardy Hunters daring to say something stupid within his hearing (and Yautja had incredible hearing) and ending up in the infirmary for their trouble.
"He can't just go around kicking everyone's ass who insults him…" Grey muttered, after hearing about another one of these incidents over a game of So'in.
"He can… In fact, he has to. A Yautja, especially a high-ranking one such as an Arbitrator, cannot allow his honor and decisions to be questioned at every turn. The other males are just lucky that they ended up in the infirmary, and not in the afterlife." Di'Sedi said casually, as she collected two more of Grey's pieces.
The only thing Grey was really upset about, though, was not being able to see Nanku and the others finish their rituals. She had said she wasn't mad about them going back to the Great Temple…and she honestly wasn't; but she was disappointed that she couldn't be there to support them. As the months wore on, it really began to dawn on her that her time with them was growing ever shorter, and that it was entirely possible that some, or even all, of them might not make it back here to visit in the future.
Still, she tried to push these thoughts away from her, and concentrated on supporting her friends as best she could.
Since Grey wasn't allowed to go with the rest of them, Ijane had her stay with Nuini on the days they attended the rituals, and Grey consoled herself by playing with little Dami, who was now able to roll over, and was trying to learn to crawl.
"He's kind of young to be crawling, isn't he?" the human said, as the little guy focused on putting his weight on his little arms and legs, a look of intense concentration on his face. Then again, she didn't know much at all about Yautja child development…or human child development, for that matter.
"Yautja pups must learn these things sooner. This planet was-and still is-quite dangerous; little ones had to begin learning survival as soon as possible. We evolved and live here among extreme climates, harsh terrain, and a myriad of creatures who would make a meal of us, given half a chance. Ours is not a world for the weak." Nuini said, surveying her youngest child.
Vaguely, Grey wondered what category she would end up falling into.
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Finally, the big day had arrived.
The Unblooded, accompanied by their mothers and siblings, as usual, left the village early in the morning, with Grey coming to the gates to see them off, as she'd done every time since she'd been forbidden from attending the ceremonies one year previously.
All that day, she and the other females prepared a feast for the village, to celebrate the imminent departure of this newest generation of young Hunters, who would be leaving first thing the next morning, to begin their training with a master warrior in preparation for their first chiva.
"So, do you train for the chiva onboard your Clan ships, or here on the Homeworld?" she'd asked Kantra the night before.
"It depends on the Clan one wishes to join. Thwei-Luar-ke offers training in the basic arts of armed and unarmed combat, tracking, and the like; but other Clans require that the Unblooded go through this training on the Homeworld before they can apply." the Arbitrator, who had somehow managed to come to every one of Nanku's braiding rituals, explained. It had been a great source of pride for the younger male to have such a distinguished personage attending the rituals; especially since that person happened to be his first cousin. The other Unblooded of the Lakeshore Clan, too, swelled with pride when Kantra, an Arbitrator who'd been born and raised in their own Clan, showed up; for it made the little Clan look very good to have produced such a fine warrior.
"Do Clans accept everyone who applies?" she asked.
"Certainly not! There is a selection process for each Clan, since they all have different criteria and standards for who they wish to allow in. Some hold a kind of contest-fighting, tracking some wily prey, surviving a certain amount of time in a difficult terrain-to weed out those who aren't strong enough or haven't the intelligence or ingenuity that the particular Clan is looking for in its members. Some Clans only allow the most elite warriors into their ranks; they don't even allow anything less than Honored Hunters to apply, let alone join." Ijane said, from where she sat on Grey's other side.
"Like the Dark Blade Clan." V'kha said, to mutters of agreement from the other Unblooded.
"It's kind of like applying for college…with the possibility of death…" Grey thought, with slight amusement.
"If the Clans took in everyone who simply wanted to join, it would create a disproportionate balance of power. No one Clan can be allowed to have too much influence; and the bigger the Clan, the bigger the influence. You have heard of the Adjudicators, I assume?" Kantra asked the human, who nodded.
"The guys who run the Yautja society, right?"
"Yes…and no. They do not usually delve into the day-to-day affairs of individual Clans; but they do make our laws, decide what is and is not honorable or acceptable regarding the Hunt, and see to it that certain ancient rites and practices are upheld and strictly adhered to." Kantra said.
"How are they chosen? Are they voted in?"
"Well, for a new Council to be chosen, the previous one decides what Clans will battle to determine the new members." the Arbitrator said.
"Clans battle?" Grey asked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly.
"They do. A certain number of Clans are selected, and a task is chosen for them to compete against each other. Usually, it's a very hard trial; only rarely do the Clans actually fight each other. Once the winners are decided, the reigning Council retires, and the new one steps in, though they can and often do seek advice from their predecessors. The whole thing is set up very carefully, so that the Adjudicators can't show too much favoritism to their own Clans…" Ijane said.
"…Because the balance of power would shift, and that wouldn't be good for the Yautja as a whole." Grey finished, and the former Huntress nodded.
"Elder Yeyinde could have become an Adjudicator, if he had chosen to do so, as well as his elder brother, Lord Nande; though they declined, and became a Clan Leader and Philosopher, respectively." Kantra said, seeming to swell with pride.
"No Clan Leader or Elder can be appointed without the express permission of a majority of the Council. They also decide whether new species, planets or regions of space are lawful for Hunting, and make the plans when more than one Clan get together for a joint Hunt." Nanku said.
"Whole Clans might Hunt together?"
"Usually they only cooperate in such a manner to achieve a very specific goal…the capture of a Hard Meat Queen, or the elimination of particularly large nests of the creatures." Kantra explained.
Grey knew that some Clans, usually the ones with ships large enough to hold such, would keep captive Hard Meat Queens onboard, to provide eggs for the chivas, or sometimes for release to start a hive on a new planet. How the warriors onboard managed to live with such a creature onboard their ship was beyond her understanding, considering she'd heard that the majority of the Hunters selected to capture the beasts were either killed while entering or exiting the hive…let alone the casualties associated with taking the Queen alive while simultaneously fighting off her snarling, hissing, drooling, enraged brood…
With all these new facts swimming through her mind, she'd gone to bed that night fervently hoping that Nanku and the others would stay alive long enough to make it through their chiva; because from what she'd heard, plenty of them didn't even live long enough to become Blooded…
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For now, though, she was helping the others prepare a massive amount of food and cleaning the huge main hall of the Matriarch's dwelling to accommodate the entire Clan, who would all gather there for the traditional feast to celebrate the completion of the plaiting ceremony, as soon as everyone else returned home.
"I can't believe they're going to be leaving tomorrow morning…" she said to Nuini, as she brought another large basket of pori to the large kitchen of Di'Sedi's house. The collecting of the clam-like mollusks had been left almost solely up to her, because her small ooman fingers were more adept at grabbing the little creatures from their holes along the sandy bottom of the lake's shallow waters close to the bank.
"I was here when Nanku was just a naked little pup, running around with the others and getting into trouble at every turn… Perhaps, in a few seasons, Nanku's own progeny will be doing the same." Nuini said, taking the large basket of shellfish from the human, who hung up the wide, shallow basket the Yautja female had made for her to serve as a kind of hat, at Ijane's insistence, when she found out that Grey would be out in the sun, up to her knees in water while she gathered the pori.
Nuini's pups were all being looked after by her two eldest daughters, who'd been given only two choices for the day: look after their younger siblings, or help their mother in the kitchen. Reluctantly, and with a great deal of grumbling, they'd chosen the former option, and all save for Dami, who was still nursing, were currently under the two females' supervision. The youngest of Nuini's brood was currently snoozing in a large basket in a quiet, out of the way corner of the kitchen, having recently been fed and changed by his mother. Another of Grey's duties, should it come to that, would be to look after the little one, and play with him, should he wake up and refuse to go back to sleep. This was fine with Grey, to whom the suckling had taken a great interest and liking, and for whom he would settle down far easier than he would for anyone else, save his mother.
"Yeah, I can just imagine them running around here, with Ijane and Mjadi trying to get them to sit down and behave themselves for five minutes…" Grey mused, trying to imagine what Nanku's pups would even look like.
"Why would you imagine them being here?" Nuini asked curiously, as she ran some warm water into a large basin and dumped the shellfish into it to clean them.
"Well, this is his Clan, isn't it?"
"It is; but Yautja never mate with anyone from their maternal or paternal Clans, male or female."
"Why not? I didn't think everyone here is related to one another, so I just assumed…" Grey said, confused.
"No, no, no… It isn't necessarily considered incestuous, exactly; but it's a bit of a taboo, nonetheless."
"So, Nanku's father didn't come from here?"
"No. He came from…I think, yes, he came from the Silent Spear Clan; though I know almost nothing else about him."
"And Kantra's father? What Clan was he from?" Grey asked, beginning to chop up some herbs to be put in the soup later. It had only been her intention to continue the conversation, but when she looked over at Nuini, the odd look she received back made her stop what she was doing, wondering if she'd said or done something wrong.
"Nuini…?" she said, feeling like, once again, she'd inadvertently asked something that was none of her business.
The older female looked at her for another few seconds, before replying, seeming to choose her words very carefully.
"Kantra's father… What do you know of him, Grey?"
"I think Ijane told me that he died; but she never said anything else, and she was pretty agitated. Kantra never even mentioned him, so I just dropped the whole subject."
"I believe that would be the best course of action, Grey; at least until either Ijane or Kantra decide to speak with you further. I would appreciate it, and consider it a kindness to Ijane and Kantra, if you didn't go asking around about it, either." she said, looking seriously at the younger female. Usually Nuini was pretty cheerful, even sweet (by Yautja standards); but seeing that she was so serious, Grey nodded.
"I won't go poking around." she said.
"You will swear? An oath of honor?" she asked, and Grey, knowing by now how seriously such an oath was taken, nodded again.
"On my honor, I'll wait for Ijane or Kantra to tell me whatever they want to tell me about Kantra's father." she said.
Nuini seemed then to relax a great deal, and was almost immediately back to her usual self, and chatted away as they continued to prepare the feast.
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The remaining females finished their cooking, cleaning, and setting up of the three enormous tables, with enough time to hurry back to their homes and get themselves and their children ready for the evening's celebration.
Grey, who'd been out in the sun most of the day, had taken extra care to scrub herself clean of all the sweat, and put some healing cream on a few places that she could feel were going to be sunburned by the next morning.
Changing into a long, beige dress made of a fabric that felt like linen, she ran her fingers through her hair, which she'd let grow during the past year, and tied a long green sash around her waist. Stepping into her newer pair of sandals, she went out and joined the other females on their way to the village gates to welcome the males home.
They didn't have to wait long.
Almost as soon as they had all congregated there, the small shuttle descended from the sky and landed, extending its ramp for the passengers to descend.
As soon as the first of the Unblooded had set foot upon the ground outside the ship, a huge roar erupted from the gathered females and pups, nearly deafening the human in their midst.
The roars, cheers and clicking continued as all the males made their way through the village, wearing their plain brown ritual robes, their hair now fully plaited in the style of braiding only worn by Hunters, and sticking out their chests in pride.
After the males, the females and younger siblings of the males walked, looking proudly ahead at their sons and brothers, with Di'Sedi leading the procession.
Walking in single file, the males kept a constant pace as they walked through the streets of the village of their birth, heading to the Matriarch's house for the feast, with the rest of the village following behind them.
Once they'd made their way into the huge dining hall, Di'Sedi appeared on a raised platform at the head of the room, which had been erected and upon it had a long table placed for the Matriarch and the mothers of the soon-to-depart future Hunters. How she'd managed to get ahead of the entire village and get there first, Grey didn't know; but she was impressed.
Everyone went and stood at their places at the tables, Grey finding her way to stand between Ijane and Nuini, and Di'Sedi began to speak. Immediately, the room became completely silent; not one of them even clicked their tusks together, and even Dami, who was being held by his mother, as per usual, seemed to know that this was a very important occasion, and temporarily silenced his babbling and baby talk.
"We are here this day," she began, looking around the room and all who were gathered there, "to celebrate, once again, the departure of our young males, who will, at tomorrow's first light, leave their mothers and this Clan to begin their lives as adults. They will become Hunters, warriors, bringers and defenders of honor…and it is from their loins that the next generation will spring, if the gods will it. These things, they will do, until Cetanu claims them, as he has claimed those great Hunters who have come before, and will claim all those who come after. It is at this time that I ask Arbitrator Kantra, who is among us tonight, to speak to these Unblooded, and impart a bit of his wisdom, if he feels them deserving of it."
Whether or not Kantra had been told about this ahead of time, Grey didn't know; but as he walked up to the platform, he showed the same composure and dignity that he always did. The room grew, if possible, even more silent under the honey-brown gaze of the Arbitrator, and all of the Unblooded looked at him in rapt anticipation.
"I have watched, these past few months," he began, in an almost grave tone, as he looked out at the room, "as these young males underwent the plaiting ritual; the ancient rite that begins their journey from raw, undisciplined and ignorant pups into dignified, honorable and proper Hunters. They have conducted themselves well, and shown the self-command and gravity that will be expected of them throughout their lives. I pray to the gods that their Paths lead only to honor, and only to glory…for it would bring me both shame and sadness to find that they have strayed… I would, I think, consider it a personal insult, should any of them become Bad Bloods" he looked directly at Nanku when he said this, "and I would never relent until I had tracked them down and regained the pride and good name of this Clan. Tonight, though, we feast and celebrate; for this is indeed a happy occasion, and I ask that the gods bless these males, and look upon them, this Clan, and the Yautja people, with favor. I ask that their Hunts be successful, that their trophies be many, their wounds few, and their offspring numerous."
He gave a small bow to the room, who began to applaud as he made his way back to his seat on the other side of his mother. The applause was punctuated by the occasional roar, but it quieted down a touch when Di'Sedi sat down at the table on the platform, which was the cue for everyone else to do the same, and the feast was underway.
"Nice speech, Kantra; leave it to you to wish them luck and threaten to kill them in the same breath." Grey teased, ladling some stew into her bowl. Nuini's tusks clicked with laughter at this.
"I am an Arbitrator. My duty is to uphold the laws of the Yautja people; I only sought to remind them of this, and their duty to follow those laws." Kantra said simply, pouring himself a bowl of c'ntlip from a jug offered by his mother. Ijane herself wasn't drinking any, due both to the face that she wasn't usually fond of the drink, and she knew that the strong smell made Grey quite dizzy, if she were exposed to it long enough.
"If you say so." Grey said, grinning.
"I just did." Kantra said, cocking his head slightly to the side. Some of Grey's ooman words, phrases and actions still puzzled him, and she wasn't really able to convey their meanings to him in a way that made them seem anything more than completely and utterly asinine.
"How did the ritual go?" Nuini asked Ijane, not wanting the conversation to become awkward.
"For the males of our Clan, it went perfectly; but…" she began, her tusks clicking in thought.
"What happened?" Nuini asked, excited by the promise of some interesting gossip.
"One of the males from the Swaying Grass Clan… When the priestess went to seal the end of his final plait, I suppose she held the cauterizer to it for too long, or he thought she did, anyway, and he screamed like a dying Hard Meat." Kantra said, after taking a drink of the c'ntlip.
Grey knew that Yautja hair wasn't "hair" in the truest sense; it was actually some kind of sensory appendage, something like a cat's whiskers, and could pick up slight movements and temperature changes in the air, among other things. Unlike a cat's whiskers, however, this "hair" grew from the tips, not the root, and each individual strand was filled with near-microscopic blood vessels and nerve endings. So, unlike human hair, Yautja tendrils, which to Grey resembled dreadlocks, were very sensitive to touch, and cutting them caused their owner varying levels of pain, and they bled quite a bit if severed, from what she'd been told. It was for this reason that she had to be very careful and gentle when she helped Ijane or one of the other females add adornments to or remove them from their tendrils.
The other Yautja at the table shuddered at this thought, and Grey couldn't help but be grateful that her human hair had been deemed unfit for the ritual, since human hair was essentially made up of dead cells, grew from the roots, and regularly was shed, among other factors, it was decided that it would be a waste of time to have Grey go through the ritual, and that a special exception could be made for her, under the circumstances.
For once, she was glad to be the odd one out.
She couldn't help but feel bad for that particular male, though; for he would have to endure the pain of having all of his plaits undone, and begin all over again, which would put him a year behind the others of his Clan.
"It's unfortunate…" Ijane said, shaking her head sadly.
Grey knew that Ijane had likewise gone through the process; though she'd been told that back then, the female's hair had been just below shoulder length, so it was far easier than it would be now. Many males, though, tended to have longer plaits, as these were viewed as attractive by many females; and males were willing to exploit every advantage they could get when it came to mating.
Well, some things were universal…
The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly, and soon it was time for the feast to end. The Clan all filed out of the hall and back to their respective homes, leaving the cleanup for a team of servants who'd been hired especially for the celebration.
Kantra had elected, despite some hopeful prodding from his mother, to spend the night in his own ship, which allowed Grey to keep her own bed.
"I'll wake you up in time for their departure tomorrow, Luar-ke." Ijane had said, before the human could even ask the question. She never would have forgiven herself if she didn't see Nanku and the others off this one, last time.
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Across the village, Mjadi listened from the living room as her son got ready and went to bed.
For the past few days, she'd been working on sewing a new dress for herself, and she had decided to stay up a little longer tonight and get more work done on it. The dress was based on one Ijane's Grey had showed her in an image from her home planet, and Mjadi had taken a liking to it.
"She's really not bad, that little ooman…" she thought to herself, as she worked on one of the seams.
More than wanting some extra time for sewing, Mjadi wanted to stay up to prolong her little remaining time with her son. Even if he was only sleeping in his room on the house's second story, she was happy to just bask in the pleasant feeling of having her only child under the same roof for a little while longer.
"He really does look like his father." she thought.
Nanku's father had come from the Silent Spear Clan, looking for a mate (or hopefully more than one) to bear his offspring. They had known each other all of two days, and Mjadi had judged his reputation to be honorable, and his trophies and achievements sufficient enough to father her child. The two of them had remained in her home, mating several times over the next couple of days, until they'd decided they'd had enough of each other, and he departed, leaving Mjadi pregnant with her son.
Her mate had died some years ago, having been challenged to a death match by another of his Clan brothers. He'd ultimately won the match; but died a few days after his opponent from the wounds he'd sustained during the fight.
Mjadi hadn't been sad, exactly, when she'd heard the news of his demise. He'd been decent enough company, pleasured her acceptably well in bed, and given her a strong, healthy pup; and that was about all she could ask of any male.
Nanku hadn't really felt much of a loss, either; Yautja males, being polygamous by both culture and nature, generally didn't have a lot to do with their offspring. Females raised the pups, although some males did make it a point to keep in touch with their mates and offspring, should the mothers be willing. Nanku's father hadn't been one of these, however, and so the loss of his sire hadn't affected him much.
But how would losing Nanku affect her?
For the past year, Mjadi had been both dreading and anxiously awaiting what would happen tomorrow. Her pride was tinged with sadness, and a tiny part of her, just a tiny part, wanted to ask her son to remain with her…if only for a little while longer…though she knew such an act would embarrass him terribly. This was the way it had always been…the way it had to be…for the Yautja.
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Grey had almost drifted off to sleep, when a very quiet knock at her window made her open her eyes. Going over to investigate, she saw Nanku standing there, illuminated by the moonlight, and opened the window.
"What's up?" she asked. They'd had several late-night conversations since they'd gotten to know each other, so this wasn't really an unusual occurrence.
"Come out here, I need to talk to you about something." he whispered.
Rolling her eyes and wondering what the hell he could possibly want this late at night, she carefully made her way out the window, where she was gently lifted up and set on the ground by her much stronger friend.
"Follow me." he said, and together they walked a little ways, until they were beside one of the village storage buildings, where she'd been confronted by the whole group of Unblooded almost a year ago today. Just like that day, all eight of them were there waiting for her.
"What's up?" she asked again, looking around at them.
If she hadn't known them as well as she did, and trusted them the way that she did, she might have thought that this, meeting them like this so late at night, was a recipe for disaster. After all, they were all basically teenage boys who were far stronger and faster than any human, and from what she'd heard from the other females in the village, a cloud of dai-shui hung about them wherever they went…which basically meant that they were horny all the time.
"I, that is, we…wanted to see you…and talk to you one last time before we leave tomorrow. We're really not supposed to talk once the departure rite starts; so we wanted to say goodbye now…properly." V'kha explained.
"You wanted to say goodbye properly, eh? I wanted to say goodbye to you guys, too; but didn't know how…"
She paced for a moment, pretending to be deep in thought, then turned back to them with a look of exaggerated revelation on her face.
"Hey, why don't I say goodbye by having sex with each of you? It could be like, something that bonds all of us together forever!"
She'd never made a joke like this to them before; and she'd remember it for the rest of her life.
One of them, who'd been leaning against the side of the building, tripped over himself when he jumped in shock and fell over, while the others all had looks of absolute shock and, perhaps, a touch of disgust. Nanku's mandibles fell open, and none of them knew quite how to respond.
Grey almost fell on her ass as she tried to keep from laughing too loudly at this reaction, and thought of the "great future Hunters", with all their dignity and pride…reduced to these confused creatures that stood, open-mouthed and struck dumb with their confusion before her.
"I was just joking, guys!" she said, after a couple of minutes of watching them moving their mouths and tusks, and she could almost see their brains working as they attempted to come up with a response.
That seemed to lift a great deal of their tension, and slowly they relaxed and Grey got serious again.
"I really am going to miss you…all of you…" she said earnestly, looking around at the faces of those she'd come to call friends over the past couple of years.
"And we will miss you, ooman Grey. You've trained with us, and become our friend and confidant… You've kept our secrets and given us advice, and you've taught us many things, as well. We will not forget your friendship." Nanku said quietly.
His words brought a tightness to Grey's throat, and her eyes stung with tears. Suddenly, she couldn't contain it anymore, and she jumped up and embraced him tightly and, once he'd gotten over his initial surprise, returned the gesture, rumbling softly.
Each of them followed after him, until all of the Yautja were rumbling, trying to keep both themselves and Grey calm after such an open display of emotion.
She said goodbye to each of them in turn, and quietly, they all went back to their homes, with Nanku escorting her and helping her gently back in the window.
"I've decided on something, Grey… I've been thinking about it for quite awhile…" he said, as she turned back to face him after climbing back inside the house.
"What's that?" Grey whispered back.
"I've decided that, once I'm Blooded… I won't hunt Pyode Amedha…" he said, and she could see the look of resolve in his eyes.
She didn't know what to say to this, and opted to give him one last hug, before they parted, and she watched him walk home in the moonlight, until he was out of sight between two houses…
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Ijane kept her word and woke Grey up early the next morning, and the human quickly bathed and dressed in a knee-length purple tunic, putting her hair back with a short black scarf tied around like a headband.
"Sweet gods, what happened?!" Ijane asked, seeing the fresh sunburn on the back of Grey's neck and beginning to fuss over her.
"I was out collecting pori most of yesterday. I put some cream on it." the human explained. The quick application of the healing ointment had made a BIG difference, and the sunburn wasn't nearly as painful as it would have been, had she not tended to it quickly.
"I volunteered to go collect the pori; Nuini didn't ask me to get it." Grey said, seeing the look of indignation on Ijane's face, and she looked mollified, for the time being.
Together, the two females walked through the village, and it was near the gates that Grey noticed a large bonfire had been made.
"For the last part of the departure ritual." Ijane said quietly, as the Unblooded began to make their way down the center of the village.
Just like the day before, they had on their long brown robes; but today, they were also carrying small bundles containing a few clothes, and a couple of them had weapons, which had been gifts from older male family members in preparation for this day.
It seemed to Grey that Di'Sedi and Kantra's speeches the previous night had really struck a chord with the Unblooded; for as they walked, their manner conveyed a sense of gravity…hell, they were almost grim as they made their way out to stand in a single file line before the bonfire.
Silently, they all seemed to be waiting for something, and Grey wondered what that could be, until the transport vessel came down from the sky and landed in the clearing, extended its ramp, and sat waiting for them.
Apparently, this was their cue, and one by one, each male stepped up to the fire, carefully set his bundle on the ground, took off his robe, revealing whatever clothes he wore beneath it, and tossed it into the fire, before picking up his bundle and walking through the gates and up into the vessel. All of this was done in complete and utter silence.
"This part represents their leaving their homes, and their acknowledgement that their lives as children are over, and their mothers can do nothing more to provide for them." Ijane whispered.
The rest of the Clan watched silently as the last of the males, who happened to be Nanku, completed his ritual and walked, head high and shoulders back, toward the gates. As he passed Grey, though, he paused for just a moment and gave her a small, quick smile and nod, before continuing on his way.
They all watched as he disappeared into the vessel, which ascended back into the sky and took off, probably to pick up the next bunch of Unblooded from a nearby village. Once this was done, they all went back to their homes, save for the families of those who had departed, who stayed there looking into the sky for a little longer, before they, too, went back home.
"Good luck, guys…" Grey said quietly, as she looked up into the sky, which was becoming lighter with the coming dawn…
It was a new day.