They had gone for a ride, just the two of them, the old Oralu in a pensive mood. The kaiila clawed their way up the slope of a small hill that gave them the vantage of being able to see the camp and the almost endless herd of dark forms that were the bosk. Few words had passed between them, but this was not unusual. In fact, there were times when nothing passed between them beyond a nod of a head or a hand gesture.
Sitting on the kaiila, looking out over the plains, words finally came from the old warrior. "There is nothing like this. I have seen the great Thassa, the waters of the Vosk and the Cartius. I have seen the great cities of Ar and Ko-ro-ba, and the smaller villages and hamlets that are scattered over the land. I have gazed upon the great sheets of ice in the far north, and I have sweated in the sands of the Tahari. I have been to the Sardar to seek peace. But, none of that, none of those things touch me in the same way that looking out over my people, and the bosk does. None of them have this beauty." His gaze was far away, not only in distance, but in time.
Remaining quiet for a time, she tries to visualize what he has seen, but it is just not there for her. Continuing to allow her gaze to sweep the great herd, she simply says to him quietly……"Perhaps someday you will tell me of these things." As an answer, she got nothing more than the nod of the old, gray head.
In their time together, they had grown close, and she found him to be a good friend. Once she had even asked him if he ever grew tired of babysitting her. Her question was answered by the cocking of his brow, and he asked her "Do you think that is what I am doing? If you do, then you are wrong." She was confused by this, and it was one of the rare times she had pressed him, asking him if he was not babysitting her, then what was he doing. In that same quiet manner, his answer was very simple. "Watching" She took this in, pondered it and finally nodded. She did not ask what he watched, but she knew that he did. Very little got passed the man.
For the longest time, she thought he sat on that same platform each night, arms crossed, chin resting on his chest sleeping, but she was wrong. From time to time he would question her about why she said a certain thing, or why she did not speak up about something. It was these times, when she realized that he was watching more than her, and that he never slept. Always, he was watching, listening and weighing everything that went on around them. She accepted this, and never asked him about it again.
He had taught her many things. Things like how to sharpen a quiva, how to haggle with the metal workers to get what she wanted, how to inspect blades to know of what quality they were. He had taught her how to use her knowledge of things and supplies, to acquire that which she knew little about. She had learned that she could not do or be everything, and how to acknowledge that, and ways to get what she needed or wanted. He was teaching her how to capitalize on the talents of others. Teaching her to allow them to do what they did best.
Whether others knew it or not, the elder Oralu had a huge hand in shaping her into the woman she was evolving to be. When he had first taken up his duties, she was a shy, scared young woman that had just lost the one thing that was most important to her. She had no direction, no clue as to how to continue with her life. Rook was the one that talked to her long into the nights, gently prodding her into the direction she had taken. It was through him, that she had first started taking ownership of her place within the tribe. It was he, that had opened the door to her that allowed her to stand strong, and to trust in herself. And even now, when she stumbled, it was Rook who would speak to her in that calm tone, helping her to work through things that plagued her, helping her to put life into perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment