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 Posted: Sat Nov 23, 2013 6:14 pm
(( The Rain Ceremony binds two souls together in marriage forever. There is no divorce or separation in this pride. Thus, the Rain Ceremony keeps two souls bound forever. The Rain represents love, how it is the lifeblood of marriage. The earth needs rain to survive, as does love to a union.
We will try to do this one pair at a time. A pair will approach Skan. They will need something to exchange with one another, whether it be a feather, a flower/leaf, or something similar. Skan will take each gift, bless it, and offer it to the other. Thus, they will be united. Then the pair should leave together, so I'm asking for at least two posts for you guys. <3
This is also a good time to renew such vows, as it renews the excitement of love! (*bricked*)
Please try to post together if possible. There will be no 'closed' time, at least until the festival is over completely. ))
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Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 8:29 am
His family were doing fine without him and he had his own to take care of now. His wife. His children - although they had grown quickly, too. Hardly little helpless cubs anymore! Still, Poa could not have been happier, and for a lion who struggled to be optimistic, this was quite a turning point indeed.
His eyes sought his mate, a gentle smiling tipping the corners of his mouth.
A year...
Time certainly did not slow down.
Kalanu was standing opposite Poa, smiling more confidently than she had the first time they participated in the Rain Ceremony. Whatever lingering fears and anxieties she had then were now so long forgotten, having not once found a reason to doubt Poa's resolve and happiness. Their decision to take part in the Rain Ceremony again only strengthened her happy view of what her life had become. With their nearly-grown cubs not far off and her mate standing before her, life seemed just about perfect.
"It's been an exciting year," she said brightly.He gave a small, sheepish cough and looked away fleetingly, out across the rugged landscape that was so welcome and familiar. Settling his paws more firmly against the ground, he shook his mane and turned back.
"Scary how fast time goes, isn't it?" he murmured. The question was left hanging, not truly needing an answer. They both knew how quickly things had passed.
"Just goes to show that we have to make the most of each and every day we have." Easier said than done, to be sure, but they could both attempt it, right? "Who knows, maybe next year, one of our own children might be standing here?" He laughed, sounding slightly nervous at that.
Poa's murmur sent Kalanu's glance looking out to where their own little audience was watching them. Being back to their anniversary already was enough to show how fast time had gone, but already they had cubs that were so grown up themselves.. she looked back at him with a fervent nod, but then she headbutted him affectionately, nuzzling into his mane for a moment.
"Maybe you're right," she said, chuckling at the thought of their babies finding love and letting herself overlook that it could take her boys out of the Mantis Clan, but she found her mind began to wander over his other remark. How could they make this next year count?
"As long as we're standing here together next year, that's all I want," she said, pulling back and smiling at him.The problem with having boys, of course, was that they were more likely to leave their clan come marriage. But...maybe they'd find a nice Mantis Clan lady they wanted to stay with. That was the best case scenario, as far as their overly protective father was concerned.
With another smile, he drew closer to her, bumping his shoulder against hers. "Then that's exactly where I'll be." And then he motioned his eyes onwards. "Are you ready?"
She pushed back against him when he bumped her, but she turned her eyes on Skan suddenly, as if she had forgotten exactly what they were doing here. Luckily, she only hesitated a second before nodding brightly and then stepping forward.
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Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 1:43 pm
Skan waited patiently for those who would participate in the Rain Ceremony. It seemed that over the past couple years, fewer and fewer couples participated. Skan himself wondered if it was almost too public for some couples, although it was normally just the couples themselves who participated, along with a few family members to witness.
With a soft sigh, he reflected a bit on the past. Many things had happened since the last festival, though it seemed like this one would be a bit quieter. He didn't mind that.
Tugging him out of his reflections was a couple approaching him. A very familiar one, seeing as how Skan saw them here in this spot a year ago. A broad smile grew on the wanidatsi's face as they cam to renew their vows for one another. This...this is what he wanted to see.
"Poa Subiani and Kalanu Kalisetsi. It is good to see you both here again." He noticed such a change in the two of them. They flowered together so well, it only made him feel more...proud. And old, in some ways. With a chuckle to himself, he welcome them up to where he was sitting.
"I see that you both have grown much in the past year. Your love for one another is solid, and yet...I feel such joy that you two have returned to participate in the Rain Ceremony once more. You set an example for everyone, and I am very proud of you two for doing so." Skan normally didn't show such emotion, but he was beaming, their own joy tangible in the air around them.
"You both have chosen wisely, and the clouds and earth recognize this. May this land bless you both for your entire lives."
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Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:47 am
"It is good to see you, too, Skan Kanati," Poa replied, feeling far more at ease with himself this year. More confident. More social. More willing to accept these little moments without feeling the need to slip into guarded grumpiness. The smile on his face grew wider and even more fond and at the older male's words, he dipped his head and glanced across to his mate.
"As a symbol of our onion - already a year past - I give to you, Kalanu Kalisetsi, a pebble from the stream that fed into the one where we used to meet." He had wrapped the little thing in a leaf and unfolded it now, on the grass, by her front paws. The water had smoothed it over the ages, the sun now gleaming from its bright, pearly surface.
It had caught his eye quite by chance and he'd known it for his gift from that moment on.
Kalanu beamed when Skan praised and blessed them, but she couldn't help but keep her eyes on Poa. One year had made such a difference for them, you didn't even need to do more than look to see it but living it was something else, something amazing.
When Poa spoke, her eyes moved down to the leaf and pebble. She was silent for a second and then she laughed, but with happy tears in her eyes. It was perfect and so sweet- it took her a minute to shake off her happy distraction and remember that she had a gift for him, too.
"It's not as beautiful as your gift, but I have for you a loop of beads," she said, ducking back and pulling a bracelet she had 'hidden' around one of her hind paws. There were colors similar to those that each member of their own little family wore already, and several others. She wasn't sure it would fit well around one of Poa's legs but that wasn't the only use such a gift had.
"In only a year, we've made such a beautiful family. That is what these beads are for."
"Not as beautiful?" his voice came out a whisper. Disbelief in every word. "Kalanu, it is perfect." A bead for every cub, made just for him. To remind him of everything he had gained by taking the step to make it happen. To his horror, he found his eyes misting over, and he hastily cleared his throat, reaching out to touch the gift with the pads of a paw.
"Thank you." He would treasure it always. "It's perfect."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that their families were nearby watching. Proudly, he hoped. He looked back up into her eyes and smiled again. "Even a year on, this still feels like some sort of dream."
They were wed. They had children. They had this whole life to spend together.
When Poa cleared his throat to try to hide his reaction, Kalanu laughed again and headbutted against him affectionately. She even let herself stay nuzzled against him despite the fact they were standing in front of the wanidatsi and could possibly be in the way of any other couples who still wanted to participate. But she knew better than to let it go too long.
"Let's go start our second year."
He gave a gentle nod, leaning into her and using that contact to steer them both back towards their family. To their children. Their parents. Brothers. Sisters. And all the rest!
Yet, despite all the tattooed faces looking their way, it were his father's eyes that he caught. There was pride there, he saw. Pride and joy.
Their second year, Poa thought.
Where did the time go?
/fin
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