{"sf1_id":867323,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Thunderbird","author":"Tigercougar","words":1020,"posted_at":"2015-05-30T01:21:00.000Z","tags":["Buffalo","Native American","bison","story","thunderbird"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/867323-thunderbird","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/867323","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=867323\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"Submitted to Fur the 'More 2015. Art by MischievousRaven of Weasyl and FA.","content":" \"You've\ncome to me!\" The\nbison, a young adult, stared transfixed at the creature he had\nsummoned. It was an enormous bird with the build of an eagle, brown\nfeathers and currents of electricity flashing around its body. It\nseemed to fill the entire sky, blackening the clouds and creating a\nfierce wind that the bison had to brace his legs against. Once\nhe steadied himself, the bison looked the spirit steadily in the\neyes. He clenched his fists in determination. \"Please, Thunderbird,\nanswer my prayer!\" The\ncreature spoke in a voice that was deep and otherworldly. \"Are\nyou sure this is what you require?\" Narrowing\nhis eyes and nodding, the bison said, \"Yes, I command you to give\nme the strength of Waya!\" The storm surrounding the Thunderbird\nobscured it so that it was difficult to see. The bison, however,\ncould not miss its ethereal, glowing eyes. The\nThunderbird stared, silent. Smacks of electricity emanated from its\nbody as its eyes bored into the bison, who stared back with a mixture\nof determination, and sheer awe at seeing the being he had summoned.\n\"What will it say?\" the bison wondered to himself. At\nlength the spirit spoke. \"You feel as if you must have the powers\nof your friend,\" intoned the Thunderbird. The\nbison narrowed his eyes. He recalled his great love for and jealousy\nof his childhood friend. Waya was born within the same month as he,\nand yet he always seemed to get the better of him. Waya was the first\nto catch a bullfrog that appeared in the ponds formed by the spring\nstorms. He was the first to hit the center of a target with an arrow\nand the first, when the two had grown older, to shoot down a lone\nferal wolf that had crept up on a wandering toddler. It was not a\nmatter of him feeling as if his accomplishments weren't acknowledged\namongst the group. He knew he was good. But Waya, as far as he was\nconcerned, was truly great. He\ndesperately wanted to be as powerful as Waya. He had trained hard,\nand was certainly considered to be a man useful to the tribe. But he\nwanted to be top, so much so that he had prayed many nights over how\nto attain such strength. It was a dream he had, of falling endlessly\ndown a cliff while Waya's specter trailed him and looked at him in\ndefiance, that had given him the idea to summon a spirit that could\nbestow some of its power onto him. And so the day before he had set\nout, telling his tribe that there was something important he had to\ndo, and that he had to do it alone. His tribe and family were\nconcerned, but understood. \"I\nwant to be a strong as him,\" implored the bison. \"I have wanted\nto be the man he is for my entire life. I want Waya's glory. Please,\ngive it to me!\" Once\nagain the great beast went quiet. The bison, with both arms thrust\ntowards the heavens in exaltation, hoped fervently that the\nThunderbird would imminently grant his wish. He\nreceived his answer. \"Your request,\" said the Thunderbird, \"is\ndenied.\" \"What?\"\nsaid the bison in disbelief. \"It\nis true that I wield great power,\" said the spirit, accentuating\nthe point by creating a crash of thunder that frightened the bison\ninto a jolt. \"I could give you more power than the strongest bison\nwho ever lived. Enough power that you would nearly become a spirit\nyourself. But a true warrior would not desire such a thing.\" \"What\ndo you mean?\" the bison asked in confusion. \"Waya.\nWas he born great,\" questioned the Thunderbird, \"or did he make\nhimself great?\" Stunned,\nthe bison went through his memories. Out of all the children near his\nage it was Waya that was the most active. Many times when he was\ninclined to lay back and stare at the clouds or idly play in the dirt\nWaya would be running with purpose, curious as to how far he could go\nwithout running out of breath. Waya play-wrestled with his friends\ntill his coat was clumped with sweat. When it came time to learn how\nto make tools, Waya practiced carving out tools and weapons from\nstone until the soft portion of his hands felt cracked beneath his\ncoat. The young bison recalled what his father had once told him\nabout Waya. \"Young Waya is the hardest working boy I've ever seen\nin my life. He's going to grow up to be the strongest man in our\ntribe. You should learn from his example, son.\" The jealousy he\nfelt from all this was great. But\nthere were fond memories as well. He also recalled his deep\ncomradeship with his fellow bison. He recalled how he and Waya played\ntogether as young boys. How they came to be considered young men in\nthe eyes of their tribe. When he went through the scarification\nceremony that gave him the marks that deemed him a man in the eyes of\nthe tribe, it was Waya who went with him that night as he ran far, to\nanywhere and everywhere, and hollered in exhilaration. Waya had been\nhis friend through many memories and experiences. How\ncould he become jealous of Waya, who never showed him anything but\nkindness? What would Waya think, he suddenly pondered, if he found\nout about this? Would he not be disappointed that his best friend was\ntrying to cheat his way into gaining the strength that only comes\nfrom consistent effort? Silently,\nhe lowered his head. He knew that what he was doing was not the right\nway. Confirming\nthe bison's thoughts, the Thunderbird said, \"The power you seek is\nnot something I need to give you. You have that power within\nyourself. It is you who must find out how to awaken it.\" With\nthat the Thunderbird slowly receded into the heavens, the celestial\nstorm surrounding it fading from view. The young bison was left to\nstand in the grass, alone, contemplating what the spirit had said."}