The Lead Crown: Ch 3b, The Prodigy (Pt 4)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 3-4, The Prodigy
Brother Rhys had always considered himself observant, but rarely had he taken on the role of observer. Ever since becoming a priest the rat had preferred to take a more active part in the events that played out around him. Of course, that had been before his view of the world had ended up on its side.
The rat still believed strongly that the church was an instrument of good in the world, but there were far too many questionable actions taken by the clergy in far too short a period of a time for him to have faith in the institution's perfection. It was a bitter pill to swallow for many reasons, but he used his time in travel keeping to himself and holding his own council. Rhys did not find it easy to reorganize his outlook on life, duty, and faith, but the young priest had always considered himself to be resilient, and he attributed his newest predicament to be just one more test God had set before him.
Despite his ready smile and upbeat demeanor, life had not been a simple matter for him. Just as with anyone else, the rat had been exposed to his fair share of loss; the carefully covered pit of emotional despair threatened to open anew as he thought about the pain of his past, but he took several moments in mobile meditation, choosing to focus on the here-and-now in an attempt to crumple the flood of feelings back down; it wasn't a good time... it was never a good time... not for that.
The rat let out a deep breath, then jumped as a voice spoke up from beside him, "You... ti-red?" It was a quiet inquiry, welcoming, if a bit timid in its hesitance. Brother Rhys turned to regard Runs-on-Air. The young buck had been welcoming and engaging conversationalist during the first day of their trip, but he had become strangely distant that night and said barely a word throughout the following day of travel. Rhys knew exactly why it was the man had given him so much space.
The rat offered the buck a calm smile, "No... just thinking." That much was true; Rhys had been thinking... mostly about things that Runs-on-Air had brought up the prior evening about their respective faiths. The priest followed up the answer with a declaration, "I didn't mean to offend you last night."
Runs-on-Air had a confused expression for several seconds; it was obvious he was puzzling through the translation of the apology. After a time, the buck nodded, then inquired, "What is 'off-end' to mean?"
Brother Rhys smiled, repeating the question with correct grammar, "What does offend mean?" and he followed it up with the answer, "It means to make someone unhappy and angry."
The young Yew Tribe man nodded, rubbing at the base of one of his short antlers, "I know. You are-- ah... good-- you are good man."
The rat shrugged helplessly, wondering to himself how his own thoughts should so easily transition from his head to his muzzle through the simple involvement of a second party, "Even good men can still do bad things."
The two walked in silence for a time, located clearly toward the middle of the group. Rhys was pleased that Friar Arlowe and Cruff, who were walking ahead of him were on speaking terms again, and what little bit of their conversation filtered back to him seemed positive. Aodhan and Sister Aurelie walked at the head of the group; the wolf had spent most of their nearly-two-day trip speaking with the apparent leader of the cervine war band and the cat was obviously content with keeping him company. That left the rat to himself... except for the strangely pleasant company of his gregarious companion.
As if on cue, Runs-on-Air announced, "We are here."
The apparent 'path' the deer had been following may as well have been invisible to Brother Rhys but, almost as if on cue, things became just a little clearer as the group rounded a corner. The space between the undergrowth grew a little wider; the trees seemed to be just a little more orderly; gradually, the occasional view of thatched roof and wooden walls became a clear view of a decent sized village comprised of about two dozen buildings.
While the egocentric side of Rhys' mind pointed out that the huts weren't anywhere near as well-built as even the stable buildings of Newport, the aesthetic side of him appreciated the rustic beauty of the settlement. That side won out. "Your village is amazing..."
Runs-on-Air paused, cocking his head to the side, "What is 'uh-maze-ing' to mean?" He quickly corrected himself, "What does 'uh-maze-ing' mean?"
Rhys offered a ready smile, finally pleased to be talking about an enjoyable topic, "It means I like it."
The young buck mirrored the smile, holding a hand out to the rat invitingly, "You come with me... see more?"
The enthusiasm Runs-on-Air displayed was infectious, and the priest, despite his reservations, slid his paw into the deer's grasp... and he was whisked off into the midst of the village by the lively buck, who offered little more than what Rhys took as a farewell shout in the tribal tongue to those who led the group to safety. Amidst the village, Runs-on-Air was well-regarded by everyone he saw, responding to their friendly greetings of "Oani, Ulit Amih!" with kind words in return.
After going through what must have been the entire length of the village, the buck finally slowed. Brother Rhys, still held by the young deer, found himself drawing breath quickly, already near the end of his stamina. When Runs-on-Air finally came to a stop and let go of the priest's paw, they were just outside the ring of huts, mostly concealed by a large collection of trees.
Once the rat had regained his breath, he finally had a chance to look around, and what he saw made him freeze in place immediately; he and Runs-on-Air stood in front of a large rocky outcropping that poured a generously sized waterfall down into a small lake... that glowed. If that hadn't been enough of a surprise, the priest received a second shock: the young buck was getting naked right there. Without giving Rhys an opportunity to question it, the deer, still smiling, motioned with his head, "Come... swim... here... with me."
* * * * * *
Aodhan had never been well-versed in the habits of deer tribes but the Yew Tribe was welcoming, gracious, and very forgiving of his occasional faulty manners. Although the group split up, the wolf had no concerns about everyone; as long as they had the protection of the Yew Tribe nothing bad would befall them in the village. Despite losing track of the various his friend was his most important companion. The wolf reached over and gently brushed a section of the Aurelie's hair away from the sleeping cat's angelic face, "Eyara."
It was an uncommon word among the Tribesmen. While a friend was known as 'hamah', literally 'friend', it had a plural version: "hamahni". Even the closest of friends, known as a 'comah', or 'companion', it could also be presented as more than one: 'comahni'. Eyara, on the other hand, had no plural; there was only one. it was a spiritual word, indicating that the singular individual in possession of the title was in possession of a unique honor that could not be duplicated.
Very few people ever found their Eyara and it was unheard of for someone to find a second-- to even think such a thing was possible cheapened the word. In Aodhan's case, he was fortunate enough to find his before he had even reached ten summers... but it had taken a long time for him to be winning to fight for it... and that in and of itself had been a long road leading up to where his life had taken him to the point that he would even think of being able to include Aurelie in it.
The wolf continued to sit on the floor, staring at the sleeping cat. The dying fire in the middle of the room cast flickering light across the walls of the guest hut provided to them by the deer of the Yew Tribe. The accommodations were simple, but pleasant, with several reed mats and some woven, soft grass blankets-- unlike the Oak Tribe, the Yew Tribe did not use furs to adorn their dwellings. Aodhan wondered idly how the guest huts looked to the eyes of his traveling companions who, by sheer virtue of birth, were probably used to far finer arrangements.
Arlowe and his son were in the next structure over while Rhys was... well... Aodhan honestly had no idea where the rat had gone off to since he'd disappeared after scarcely three steps into the village... but the wolf was still unconcerned; the priest was in good hands no matter who was looking after him. The wolf put the thought of them out of his mind just as quickly as they had come into it; looking down at Sister Aurelie, he realized he had all he needed to think about right in front of him.
The cat slept soundly for a time... long enough that Aodhan started to doze off before a sudden shift in Aurelie's breathing pulled the wolf back to attention. The Sister's head rolled first one direction, then the other, faintly mumbled words escaping Aurelie's muzzle. The suddenly fitful sleep seemed much less restful, and it concerned Aodhan-- especially when he clearly heard Aurelie say the name, "Ignus..."
The wolf slowly reached out, resting his paw on the side of the cat's face, and he whispered softly, "Saury..."
Sister Aurelie bolted upright immediately, claws out, "NO!"
Aodhan managed to intercept the cat's wrist before the attack found its mark on the side of his face. He looked his Eyara right in the eyes, seeing first a gaze of anger and fear which quickly dissolved into sorrow, regret, and alarm, "It is alright. Saury... you're safe--" he froze as the cat embraced him tightly, "-- it was a bad dream."
Aurelie shivered, the cat's lithe body pressed up against him, and the Sister immediately began sobbing, "We have to help them... we have to go back and help the rest of the Sisters, Aodhan... we can't let the Church keep them imprisoned."
The wolf nodded, slowly folding his arms around his Eyara, "We will, Saury... I'll figure out something."
They didn't exchange any more words after that. Aurelie remained in his arms, face planted against his shoulder, until, eventually, the cat began to stop shaking and, after a time, fell back asleep. Letting out a soft sigh, Aodhan slowly lowered his Eyara back to the reed mat and covered Aurelie once more with the woven grass blanket.
Letting out a deep breath, Aodhan rose to his feet and snuck out past the linen fabric covering the doorway. The wolf gazed up at the sky, letting his mind wander out to play amidst the stars in the sky. The moon was nearly full, which provided as much light to the heavens as the sparingly placed fires around the village gave to the earth. There was a strange balance in things, he reminded himself, and hoped that whatever upcoming actions he was planning would help to preserve that balance.
The flapping of wings and the quick flutter of an avian silhouette in front of the moon pulled the wolf's attention back to the present. It took a moment for him to catch sight of the pigeon as it winged its way through the village and disappeared through the open window hole in the village's Shaman's hut. Although Aodhan knew little about her, he DID know that Aesha Humn did not sleep much, and he was hardly surprised when she emerged from the doorway, fully astute and awake, holding a piece of parchment in her hand.
Her declaration, on the other hand, did surprise him. Shouting in a hearty tone, the doe proclaimed in the language of The People, "Awaken! The Men of Symbol mean to attack! Awaken, and prepare!"
Aurelie appeared in their own hut's doorway, eyes blinking blearily, "What's going on? What's with all of the shouting?"
Aodhan glanced back to his Eyara, "Get dressed... we need to find everyone else... quickly."
The cat gave him a concerned look, "What's wrong, Aodhan?"
He turned to face Sister Aurelie, "We need to get ready... the Church means to attack this village."