Kahs-wan Ritual - Day Three Part Two
Kr'trkkla eh Kril'es Monastery
Out of a need to be doing something, Mimi decided to move one of the chairs in the room so that it was facing out onto The Forge. She might not have the emotional control of a Vulcan, but she did know how to find inner peace. One way in which she did this was by looking at and enjoying nature. Mimi sat down on the chair and took a deep breath to steady herself. She closed her eyes and said a small prayer for all of the children before opening them again to look out onto the changing landscape. Eridani was well above the horizon by now, casting its red glow across the desert sands. Although the terrain was barren, there was a strange kind of beauty to it. She sat in silence, soaking it all in. In time a gentle stillness gradually settled over her spirit and she found a place of peace. All she needed to do now was keep hold of it... no matter what happened...
She was disturbed by the sound of the door swishing open. Startled, she quickly turned to see Sordd come into the room.
"It is T'Lara," he answered calmly before she had the chance to ask the question. "We have managed to stabilize her condition for transfer to Shi'Kahr." He stopped just in front of Mimi and placed his hand on her shoulder in reassurance, "Her injuries are extensive, I need to accompany her."
Mimi nodded her head in understanding, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Sordd contemplated her words for a moment. There was something in Mimi's psyche that always caused her to want to help. He gently brushed her cheek and as he did so he detected a tranquility in her katra that had not been there before. He found it to be quite gratifying. "Nirsh, Ashayam." He watched as she slightly deflated. "Not at the moment, perhaps later," he said encouragingly.
Sordd quickly gathered his communicator and padd before Mimi accompanied him to the flitter. "What happened?" she asked with a note of concern in her voice, as they quickly walked along the corridor to the flitter pad.
"She was caught by a d'mallu plant," he answered, while fastening up his grey outer robe.
Mimi tilted her head as she looked up at him, "A plant?" she said in a surprise.
"Ha," Sordd nodded his head, "they have carnivorous sucker vines capable of devouring a Vulcan or other prey."
Mimi's eyes went wide at the thought of it, "How did she get free?"
"At great risk, another candidate, Avarin, rescued her. He found her a place of shelter before raising the alarm as soon as he could. Fortunately, neither candidate was far into The Forge," Sordd replied.
Mimi sighed. "Does that mean Avarin has failed?"
Sordd shook his head in the negative, "Nirsh, such an act is not seen as failure. He will have an opportunity to go through the ritual on a later date. There is no shame in resitting a Kahs-wan." Mimi was relieved to hear that an act of courage was not deemed to be a failure, at least Vulcans and humans had that in common. "T'Lara is his prospective bondmate, there is also a certain logic in his decision."
"But even if she wasn't his prospective bondmate, it was still right for him to help her?" Mimi asked tentatively, unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.
"Ha," Sordd acknowledged, "it was." As they approached the desert flitter, Sordd stopped and turned to look at Mimi. "Ashayam," he said softly, "I will return as soon as possible."
Mimi nodded her head as they briefly touched their fingers together. She looked on as Sordd made his way to the biobed, where T'Lara was lying. They carefully loaded her onto the desert flitter. T'Lara's mother followed close behind, a calm serenity on her face. Mimi could feel the tears pricking at her eyes, she dug her nails into the palm of her hands, she would not let them flow. The last thing any of these Vulcans needed was a weak human displaying their emotions in public view. Mimi sighed inwardly. The consequences of not completing this ritual must be extremely high if Vulcans were willing to allow their children to go to such extremes. Mimi watched as the flitter took off and headed towards Shi'Kahr, she continued to look until it was well out of sight...
Kr'trkkla eh Kril'es Monastery
"May I join you?"
Mimi, who was sitting alone in the communal area, looked up like a rabbit caught in headlights. Standing before her was an elderly Vulcan lady, dressed in the blue robes of the monastery. The only exception to the 'normal' robes was some gold braiding around the border of the hood. She was holding two earthenware mugs, with a steaming hot liquid in them. Mimi looked around, checking to see that no one else was there, worried that she would get into trouble for speaking. This was going against all the protocol that she had heard concerning the monastery. As far as she was aware, discussion in the communal area was forbidden! A bit flustered, she nodded her head. "Yes, of course," she replied, while moving her hand towards one of the empty seats.
"Shaya tonat," the Vulcan lady replied in a gentle voice. "Would you find a mug of Vulcan gahv-kur tei to be agreeable?" she asked while holding out one of the mugs.
Mimi looked at the lady's face, which was totally calm and serene, while she nodded her head in an affirmative, "Ha, shaya tonat. That is very kind," she said in reply as she held out her hand to take one of them.
"My name T'Vish. You are T'Sai Margaret?"
"Yes, I am. How did you know?"
"I received communication regarding the families who would be staying during the Kahs-wan. Margaret is not a Vulcan name, and when I saw you arrive with Hakausu Sordd, I concluded that you are she."
"Logical," Mimi replied in a whisper, still very unsure that it was ok to talk.
"There is no one else here, it is acceptable for us to converse," T'Vish said reassuringly while taking a sip of her tei.
Mimi's eyes went wide in wonder, how did she know what I was thinking?
"Thrap-fam'es nufau," T'Vish bowed her head in apology. "I do not mean to intrude on your thoughts." She tilted her head slightly in the inquisitive Vulcan fashion. "You still have much to learn regarding shielding of your mind and emotions," she said matter-of-factly.
This threw Mimi into an absolute panic. How many other Vulcans in the monastery knew what she was thinking?
T'Vish looked at her intently before speaking again, "Be at peace child, there are few Vulcans, few adepts, who can pick up people's thoughts unless there is physical contact." She paused again. "You are concerned for the children?"
"Ha," Mimi replied quietly. She dug her nails into her palm again. Any mention of the children caused her emotions to rise up. She was not going to let them get the better of her.
"That is understandable. The Journey for any candidate is not without its dangers." T'Vish continued to look her directly in the eyes, "Avarak is injured?"
"Ha," Mimi replied, while biting her lip. "I don't understand why my husband does not ask for a search party to find his son, especially when he knows his son is injured," she spat out in anger.
T'Vish raised an eyebrow, "Would you deny the right of his son to survive adulthood?" she asked probingly.
"Well, no, of course not. Not if you put it like that!" Mimi replied defensively. "Surely there must be another way though?"
"There is no other way for a Vulcan," T'Vish answered calmly. "Deep down you know this. He who is your husband has explained?" The question did not require an answer.
Mimi paused before speaking again. "Does the same apply for the Rite of Tal'oth?"
"Ha," T'Vish replied while taking another sip of tei. "The Rite of Tal'oth comes a little later in life. The Tal'oth requires four months of survival with only a ritual blade. Again, it is a ritual that is necessary for survival in adulthood."
Mimi sighed, "How can everyone act so cool, calm, and collected about the whole thing?"
"It is a thorough grounding in logic and by following the path of peace," T'Vish responded soothingly. T'Vish did not mean to probe, but T'Sai Margaret's katra was so open it was hard not to. While studying Mimi she caught a glimpse of Earth's oceans… "Is it not true in nature, that the surface of great oceans can be in turmoil, but in the deeps there is stillness?"
More than aware of the analogy, Mimi nodded her head in acknowledgement.
T'Vish continued, "Through years of discipline and training Vulcans have learned how to still the storm of their emotions."
"When their children could die!" Mimi retorted. She could feel her anger building up again. How did Vulcans manage to press all her wrong buttons?
"Children die every day," T'Vish replied with a serenity that confounded Mimi. "Adults die every day. When it is our time to join the great a'Tha it is time to join, the choice is not ours. There is no logic in worrying about things that are beyond our control."
Mimi simply frowned. There was also no logic in arguing with a Vulcan.
T'Vish continued to evaluate Mimi further before speaking again. "Have you tried meditation?"
Mimi nodded her head, "Yes, a little. I can't do it for hours on end like my husband can." Mimi felt a sense of failure at the admission.
"Your husband has been trained from childhood, you have not," T'Vish replied to Mimi's 'feelings.' "You are making an illogical comparison."
There we go again, Mimi thought, pulling out the logic card!
Minutes of silence passed between them before T'Vish spoke again, "Have you tried drinking tei?"
Mimi looked down at the mug that was in her hand. She hadn't taken one sip of it yet and it was getting cold. She had never tried Vulcan gahv-kur tei before. She tentatively sniffed it. It smelled like chamomile with a hint of lavender, a very soothing fragrance. Maybe it would help after all. She looked back at T'Vish before slowly taking a sip and was pleasantly surprised with the light taste.
"What would you do on Earth if you were in a situation like this one?" T'Vish asked, while continuing to study Mimi.
Mimi returned the gaze, just as probingly, if not defiantly. "THIS would not happen on Earth!" she replied feistily.
T'Vish raised an eyebrow. If Mimi didn't know better, she could swear it was in amusement. "Let me rephrase the question. When you were on Earth and situations were out of your control, and you could do nothing to prevent what was happening, what did you do to ease the anxiety?"
Mimi thought for a moment before she replied, "I would try and be still, and then I would do something practical. I would probably cook, clean, tidy, and maybe do some baking to give to people." Mimi contemplated the last few days; she was now on her third day of 'stillness' and she desperately needed a change. "I am well past the 'being still' stage!" she said in an exasperated tone. "If we were at our dwelling I would be cooking and baking, but we are here…" She looked down at the table; she did feel slightly trapped by the whole situation...
"Indeed," T'Vish replied with a nod. "Perhaps you could assist me in some of my duties? Rooms need to be prepared for those returning from The Forge. Meals need to be prepared. Tomorrow morning I must go to Shi'Kahr for supplies. You could help with cooking, maybe do some baking? If it is agreeable to you, would you," She paused again; the child before her was human and it would be logical to use words that were loaded with feeling. "LIKE to assist?"
Forgetting that she was speaking to a Vulcan adept, a burst of excitement broke inside Mimi, "I would love to help!" she exclaimed a bit too loudly, "and I would love to cook and bake!" A broad smile appeared on her face, the first real smile since this whole ordeal began.
T'Vish tilted her head again as she looked at Mimi kindly, "Child, remember to school your emotions!"
"Ni'droi'ik nar-tor," Mimi replied as she tried to suppress her excitement. She needed to be doing things, and this was an offer she could not refuse! In her mind she began to make a list of things that she could get in Shi'Kahr in order to make some of Avarak's favourite foods. She could maybe make some things for the other families, for T'Lara's family. Surely they wouldn't object?
Out of the corner of her eye Mimi watched as another Vulcan approached, wearing the same blue coloured robes as T'Vish. Now they were in trouble!
The Vulcan bowed his head at both of them, then he turned to speak to T'Vish. "Fulag-tor reldai T'Vish," he said.
Mimi's eyes nearly popped out again, fulag-tor meant leader/head and reldai meant priestess. She was speaking to the head adept of the monastery! A wave of embarrassment rolled over her when she thought about the way she had been expressing her emotions throughout the conversation. Her cheeks quickly flushed red.
"Excuse me for interrupting," the Vulcan continued, "Sonak requires your assistance."
T'Vish simply nodded her head as she gracefully rose to her feet. She turned to Mimi, "Embarrassment is an illogical emotion T'Sai Margaret... I will meet you here at 6am. It would be logical for you to retire for the remainder of the evening, it would also be logical for you to find calm in the storm." T'Vish stood in silence for a few more minutes as she probed Mimi's katra. (You could have heard a pin drop.) "Child, you know the path of peace, all you need to do is follow it..." At that she turned and left the room.
Mimi sat for a number of minutes in stunned silence. Somehow T'Vish had managed to get straight to the point, in a very short period of time. Already she was feeling more at ease. T'Vish oozed peace, serenity, wisdom. She was the kind of person, no, the kind of Vulcan, that you could be talking about the weather to and come away and 'feel' better. Yes, Mimi 'felt' better about the whole situation. And she would endeavour not to let go of it ...
*'*
The Vulcan's Forge
Avarak woke in slow, dizzy stages, not at all sure where he was. He gradually managed to open his eyes; it was still dark. His head ached. He winced as he placed his hand on his forehead to rub it; his hands smarted in pain with every move, wounds which were made by the sandstorm. He tried to rise to his feet but a sharp pain shot through his ankle and he collapsed back to the ground. He ached all over. He wrapped his robe tightly around him against the night chill. He was exhausted... he passed out again…
*'**'*
Notes
Nirsh - Nobr
Ashayam - Beloved
Ha - Yes
Kahs-wan - test of passage to adulthood/ordeal of Maturity
Shaya tonat - Thank you
Gahv-kur - purple
Tei - tea
Thrap-fam'es nufau - please forgive me
Katra - the living essence of a Vulcan; a combination of soul and memory
a'Tha - philosophy - immanence; direct experience of the being/force of universe
Ni'droi'ik nar-tor - I am sorry
Fulag-tor - lead/head
reldai - priestess
Thank you very much again to the usual suspects for all of your insights and help, Kehlan and RobertBruceScott :-)