Mnemosyne
Lunar Lilly Muse
Chapter 4: Maikaki
"Come on, Alliyah! I've been looking forever! Please come out!" Aletia whined. This game of Hide-and-Seek was getting tiresome. Little did she know, Alliyah wasn't hiding anymore. She had been following her friend for the past five minutes!
Alliyah crept up behind Aletia, raised her arms over the girl's shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Gotcha!" Aletia screamed and wriggled out of the older girl's grasp. She ran a few feet before tripping over the long hem of her robes and falling on her stomach. Instantly, Alliyah appeared beside her. "Are you okay?" She asked in a concerned manner.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Aletia took the hand Alliyah offered and stood up. "Sometimes you worry too much, Alliyah." Aletia said jokingly. "You would worry if you didn't have anything to worry about!" She chuckled but Alliyah frowned. "Oh, wait! That wasn't funny! Sorry!"
"That's okay." Alliyah said distractedly. An awkward silence passed between the two. "Aletia, where did you come from?" Alliyah finally said. The innocent inquiry caught Aletia off guard. Her expression darkened. She crossed her arms and turned away.
"Don't ask me." She murmured.
Family was a taboo topic for the girls. Nobody asked about it, nobody talked about it. But the mystery surrounding her best friend was gnawing at Alliyah. All she really knew about Aletia was that she lived at the Wind Shrine and that she had powers over Wind. Sometimes Alliyah had even heard her talking to it, although could never hear the Wind's response.
Aletia didn't know much about Alliyah either. She didn't even know what Alliyah's necklace's purpose was. The possibility had occurred that Alliyah was an orphan. But then who was this Chase she kept mentioning when no one else was around?
Mysteries aside, the girls made an excellent pair. Alliyah was the cautious, protective, maternal figure Aletia needed. Aletia was the innocent, fun, happy little sister Alliyah had never had. They ran rampant through the Temple and the Wind Shrine when they weren't training together. Aletia could devise the funniest pranks and games, but only with Alliyah's help could she carry them out. With Aletia beside her, Alliyah grew brighter and happier. She started to act more like an eight year-old child rather than a grim warrior.
The girl's melancholy mood was interrupted by the sound of drum music coming from the Temple courtyard.
"Ceremonial music." Alliyah noted. They ran to the courtyard and stopped just outside the gate. Aletia gripped the bars and pressed her face against the metal.
"Wow..." She said. Alliyah stood on tiptoe to peer over the top of the gate. What was going on in there that required ceremonial music?
"Wow..." Was all she could say.
Whatever this was, it was beautiful. A small group of the Temple's monks (mostly women with one or two men) were standing back against the wall. They were wearing their finest clothing. Robes for the men, kimonos for the women. They were watching a girl who looked only a few years older than Alliyah. She was performing a rather intricate dance and held two black lacquered fans. The beauty of her kimono put the dresses of the women spectators to shame.
It was blue, blue like the summer sky, and had a pattern of cranes hand-sewn on it in silver thread. The obi was purest white and it had a pin made of silver and amethyst pinned to it. Her hair was black, shiny and pulled back into a tight bun. Every strand was held in place by a black comb inlaid with amethyst. Her makeup was simple-a touch of dark eyeliner and blood red lipstick. But, wow, did she look amazing.
Alliyah regarded her own appearance. Her hair had grown considerably longer-almost to her waist-and had a few tangles because she had no comb to smooth it. Her outfit was the same set of training robes she wore everyday. They had rips and were a little short on her arms and legs. She had grown taller, but Master hadn't provided her with new clothes yet.
Secretly, Alliyah wished that she could be as beautiful as the dancing girl.
The girls were standing before the gate for a full minute before they realized that the ceremony was over.
"What do you think that was?" Aletia asked dreamily.
"Master explained it to me once. He called it a..a maikaki." Alliyah realized she'd need to explain what a maikaki was when Aletia gave her a quizzical look. "It's my Temple's ritual. When a girl is of a certain age, she does this ritual to officially become a woman."
"Oh." Aletia looked longingly back to the empty courtyard. "I don't think we have anything like that at my Shrine." Alliyah put an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"Don't worry. When the time comes...I'll help you complete your maikaki." Aletia perked up. She looked to Alliyah with excitement.
"Really?"
"Mm-hm. I'll even do your makeup." Aletia threw her arms around Alliyah's waist, screaming,
"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She let go and started to bounce on the balls of her feet. "I wonder what my kimono will look like. I hope it won't be red. I hate red." Aletia skipped away and Alliyah followed. The two spent the rest of the afternoon fantasizing about what their maikakis would be like.
Finally, an update. Just consider it your Christmas present. :) A maikaki is something I made up. And, if anyone is confused as to why Aletia and Alliyah train together: the way I imagine it, Aletia's Master and Alliyah's Master are close friends. So, even though their pupils are being trained in different arts, they like to keep the girls close together.
Much Luv,
Zoey
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.