Official Disclaimer: All of the premises and names mentioned in this fic are property of White Wolf. I'm not making any money from this and no copyright infringement was intended. Anpw and Lurker belong to me, so ask if you, for some strange reason, want to use them.
Author's Note: Here's part two. This will be wrapped up in a third chapter detailing Anpw's Rite of Passage. Then a new fic that will be coinciding with the author Scully's fics will be posted. In this chapter, I just wanted to show some of the little known culture of the Silent Striders. I find this stuff pretty cool. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
Solitary Road
Part Two "The Learning"
By Ender
I tread softly through the dark wood, avoiding the numerous trees with graceful steps as I brought the canteens I had just filled back to my camp. It was my turn to get the water, as Sean had pointed out after throwing the water jugs in my direction, a little too close to my head for comfort. Sometimes I thought it was a certified wonder he wasn't a Ragabash with all the pranks and jokes he liked to tell. He could be serious though, deadly serious, and with his considerable knowledge of the Umbra and spirits that he taught to me, he was a Theurge, through and through.
As I approached the small but scalding fire I had made, I realized that Sean was nowhere in sight. Suspicious, I slipped into a particularly dark shadow to hide myself, in case Lurker, in line with his name, decided to have a little fun and jump out at me. After a few minutes, however, not a leaf had moved within ten feet of me. I was pretty sure that Lurker wasn't around, nothing was out of the ordinary and he had taught me the Strider ways of silence, none of which were detected in the greenery around me.
Slowly, preparing myself in advance for an ambush, I snuck out from behind the tree I had used as cover and walked into the clearing where our campsite was set up, the fire growing gradually dimmer because of the lack of wood. I looked around me, my gaze focusing on every aspect of the forest.
My head snapped around as I heard a faint noise coming from my left, and I quickly approached the sound, wondering what the hell was going on. The sight that met me was strange, Sean standing up on a small boulder in Crinos form, moving and twisting his limbs around in a pattern. He seemed to be acting something out, his dark gray fur gleaming in the firelight. I watched him for a few minutes, then partially scuffed my boot in the dry dirt to let him know I was there. Sean's eyes shot open and he stared at me for a few seconds before shifting back to his regular human form and jumping down to join me.
"Jesus, you're getting good at being silent, Lauren."
"It's Anpw, remember," I replied, grinning at the praise of my developing abilities.
"Sorry, I keep forgetting," Sean told me as he led us back to the fire.
"Don't worry about it. I'm still getting used to it myself." I had just chosen to change my name two days earlier, after learning of the word for the Egyptian god Anubis in the ancient Egyptian tongue. I dropped the canteens I was carrying to the ground and glanced up at him as we stopped. "What were you doing back there, man?"
He shrugged and sat down and I followed suit, knowing that he was about to explain something about the Garou.
"I was thinking that I should tell you more about our tribe and its customs, and I wanted to see if I could still do that one. It's called the Pakiv Swatura and it's used only by the Striders to tell tales to our people." He shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable about something. "It's supposed to be done by Galliards, usually females, but I learned it from a Strider a crossed paths with last year in Canada. All of us can understand it, but I really can't do it that well."
"What, are you kidding?" I asked him. "That was pretty good. I probably couldn't do it that well and I am a Galliard." I had always liked to dance, but I was never really good at it, in any form.
"You'll probably surprise yourself. Though, knowing how you dance you'll kill yourself trying." I tried to hit him, but he dodged and continued to laugh. I joined him, but stopped when he paused, then changed the subject. Sean obviously had something important to say. "There's another thing, though."
"What?" I asked, now fully intrigued about the entire culture of the Silent Striders. There was so much to learn, in so little time, if I wanted to survive.
"I need to teach you about some general Strider things. We have a code, you know, to communicate with each other on the road, or at moots. None of the other tribes know about it. We could be telling each other millions of things, and even the high and mighty Shadow Lords wouldn't have a clue." He grinned at this, his dislike of the Shadow Lords obvious.
"Whaddya mean? That we give each other secret handshakes and make hand signals?" I asked incredulous.
"Kind of. There are certain colors that mean things only to us. If you walk by a Strider at a moot wearing an obvious red scarf or shirt or something, it means danger is around. Green things mean safety and blue generally means peace. Other colors stand for other things, but those are the three main ones." Sean reached over and retrieved his backpack, then opened it and took out some clothing that were all different colors. "You're probably going to need to get some of these."
"Yeah," I muttered, looking at a bright blue headband. I picked it up and looked at it.
"You can have that, if you want. I've got a spare," Sean told me. I thanked him and put it in my own backpack, a large black bag containing my possessions and rations. Then I turned back to my friend, remembering what he had said.
"But that only works at moots, right? What about when you need to warn someone and you can't stick around? You said we had a code when we're on the road."
"You're right," he replied, picking up a stick. "We use trail markings and signs on the road. Colors mean the same things if you can write the glyphs in a dye, but there are general signs to know. Those will take a while to learn." He drew a few in the dirt at out feet and gave me the meanings of them. I knew I wouldn't be able to remember all of them, and so did Lurker, so he threw away the stick and stood up, wanting to teach me the markings another day.
"Back to the Pakiv Swatura, huh? Just like the other stuff, outsiders can't know this. No one, and I mean no one, can learn this outside of our tribe. You can show it to them, but never tell others what it means." Sean looked me in the eyes.
"Hey, don't worry about me. I won't tell a soul. I promise." He nodded at my answer. "Now get on with it, you freak." His solemn expression turned into a wicked grin and he led me to a flat spot near the fire to practice.
We spent most of the night going over the subtleties of the dance and what each movement meant. Each small flick of the hand or movement of the fingers me taught me meant something different, and Sean only knew a small portion of the dance's vocabulary. The next day we packed up and moved on, though everywhere we traveled I practiced my newfound Strider knowledge. After I had mastered the moves of the Pakiv Swatura Sean knew, I couldn't wait to meet a Strider that knew of the entire language of the intricate dance.
Likewise, I picked up the symbols quickly on the road as we saw examples in our travels on paths, rocks, walls, and basically everywhere. My tribe really got around. I wasn't surprised to learn that the Silent Striders' tribe symbol was taken from the general Garou sign for travel or journey. I started to get used to this new nomadic life.
A month later, Sean told me that I had learned enough to go through my Rite of Passage. He told me my skills were very good and that I was ready, though I didn't know myself because he had never elaborated on what the Rite was. I was a little apprehensive to go through something I didn't know too much about, but I was confident, or at least a little confident, that I was ready. I just hoped that what I knew was going to be enough to do the unknown.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Here's part two. This will be wrapped up in a third chapter detailing Anpw's Rite of Passage. Then a new fic that will be coinciding with the author Scully's fics will be posted. In this chapter, I just wanted to show some of the little known culture of the Silent Striders. I find this stuff pretty cool. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
Solitary Road
Part Two "The Learning"
By Ender
I tread softly through the dark wood, avoiding the numerous trees with graceful steps as I brought the canteens I had just filled back to my camp. It was my turn to get the water, as Sean had pointed out after throwing the water jugs in my direction, a little too close to my head for comfort. Sometimes I thought it was a certified wonder he wasn't a Ragabash with all the pranks and jokes he liked to tell. He could be serious though, deadly serious, and with his considerable knowledge of the Umbra and spirits that he taught to me, he was a Theurge, through and through.
As I approached the small but scalding fire I had made, I realized that Sean was nowhere in sight. Suspicious, I slipped into a particularly dark shadow to hide myself, in case Lurker, in line with his name, decided to have a little fun and jump out at me. After a few minutes, however, not a leaf had moved within ten feet of me. I was pretty sure that Lurker wasn't around, nothing was out of the ordinary and he had taught me the Strider ways of silence, none of which were detected in the greenery around me.
Slowly, preparing myself in advance for an ambush, I snuck out from behind the tree I had used as cover and walked into the clearing where our campsite was set up, the fire growing gradually dimmer because of the lack of wood. I looked around me, my gaze focusing on every aspect of the forest.
My head snapped around as I heard a faint noise coming from my left, and I quickly approached the sound, wondering what the hell was going on. The sight that met me was strange, Sean standing up on a small boulder in Crinos form, moving and twisting his limbs around in a pattern. He seemed to be acting something out, his dark gray fur gleaming in the firelight. I watched him for a few minutes, then partially scuffed my boot in the dry dirt to let him know I was there. Sean's eyes shot open and he stared at me for a few seconds before shifting back to his regular human form and jumping down to join me.
"Jesus, you're getting good at being silent, Lauren."
"It's Anpw, remember," I replied, grinning at the praise of my developing abilities.
"Sorry, I keep forgetting," Sean told me as he led us back to the fire.
"Don't worry about it. I'm still getting used to it myself." I had just chosen to change my name two days earlier, after learning of the word for the Egyptian god Anubis in the ancient Egyptian tongue. I dropped the canteens I was carrying to the ground and glanced up at him as we stopped. "What were you doing back there, man?"
He shrugged and sat down and I followed suit, knowing that he was about to explain something about the Garou.
"I was thinking that I should tell you more about our tribe and its customs, and I wanted to see if I could still do that one. It's called the Pakiv Swatura and it's used only by the Striders to tell tales to our people." He shifted his weight, obviously uncomfortable about something. "It's supposed to be done by Galliards, usually females, but I learned it from a Strider a crossed paths with last year in Canada. All of us can understand it, but I really can't do it that well."
"What, are you kidding?" I asked him. "That was pretty good. I probably couldn't do it that well and I am a Galliard." I had always liked to dance, but I was never really good at it, in any form.
"You'll probably surprise yourself. Though, knowing how you dance you'll kill yourself trying." I tried to hit him, but he dodged and continued to laugh. I joined him, but stopped when he paused, then changed the subject. Sean obviously had something important to say. "There's another thing, though."
"What?" I asked, now fully intrigued about the entire culture of the Silent Striders. There was so much to learn, in so little time, if I wanted to survive.
"I need to teach you about some general Strider things. We have a code, you know, to communicate with each other on the road, or at moots. None of the other tribes know about it. We could be telling each other millions of things, and even the high and mighty Shadow Lords wouldn't have a clue." He grinned at this, his dislike of the Shadow Lords obvious.
"Whaddya mean? That we give each other secret handshakes and make hand signals?" I asked incredulous.
"Kind of. There are certain colors that mean things only to us. If you walk by a Strider at a moot wearing an obvious red scarf or shirt or something, it means danger is around. Green things mean safety and blue generally means peace. Other colors stand for other things, but those are the three main ones." Sean reached over and retrieved his backpack, then opened it and took out some clothing that were all different colors. "You're probably going to need to get some of these."
"Yeah," I muttered, looking at a bright blue headband. I picked it up and looked at it.
"You can have that, if you want. I've got a spare," Sean told me. I thanked him and put it in my own backpack, a large black bag containing my possessions and rations. Then I turned back to my friend, remembering what he had said.
"But that only works at moots, right? What about when you need to warn someone and you can't stick around? You said we had a code when we're on the road."
"You're right," he replied, picking up a stick. "We use trail markings and signs on the road. Colors mean the same things if you can write the glyphs in a dye, but there are general signs to know. Those will take a while to learn." He drew a few in the dirt at out feet and gave me the meanings of them. I knew I wouldn't be able to remember all of them, and so did Lurker, so he threw away the stick and stood up, wanting to teach me the markings another day.
"Back to the Pakiv Swatura, huh? Just like the other stuff, outsiders can't know this. No one, and I mean no one, can learn this outside of our tribe. You can show it to them, but never tell others what it means." Sean looked me in the eyes.
"Hey, don't worry about me. I won't tell a soul. I promise." He nodded at my answer. "Now get on with it, you freak." His solemn expression turned into a wicked grin and he led me to a flat spot near the fire to practice.
We spent most of the night going over the subtleties of the dance and what each movement meant. Each small flick of the hand or movement of the fingers me taught me meant something different, and Sean only knew a small portion of the dance's vocabulary. The next day we packed up and moved on, though everywhere we traveled I practiced my newfound Strider knowledge. After I had mastered the moves of the Pakiv Swatura Sean knew, I couldn't wait to meet a Strider that knew of the entire language of the intricate dance.
Likewise, I picked up the symbols quickly on the road as we saw examples in our travels on paths, rocks, walls, and basically everywhere. My tribe really got around. I wasn't surprised to learn that the Silent Striders' tribe symbol was taken from the general Garou sign for travel or journey. I started to get used to this new nomadic life.
A month later, Sean told me that I had learned enough to go through my Rite of Passage. He told me my skills were very good and that I was ready, though I didn't know myself because he had never elaborated on what the Rite was. I was a little apprehensive to go through something I didn't know too much about, but I was confident, or at least a little confident, that I was ready. I just hoped that what I knew was going to be enough to do the unknown.
To be continued...