Jawn felt strangely perturbed as it yawned and stretched. The androgen took note of the strange silence that had permeated the woods surrounding the ruined city of Manacaru since early this morning. It's senses told it that something was amiss. Perhaps an Elvling stepped into the wood to hunt. It was rare, but not unheard of. It recalled an Elvling wandering in almost 149 Cold Seasons ago.
It walked outside, always a little breathtaken by the way the light fell on the Harvest Season leaves. Jawn studied his surroundings. Androgen intuition gave him nothing save a few strange vibes but the Empath heart skittered about, excited and scared. Must be something, it muttered to itself. Just as Jawn suspected, it was suddenly greeted by a child-sized glowing form.
"Tarik Orere! You MUST come see my new child!" the creature danced about excitedly, limbs wavering in patterns of lights. Jawn sighed and twisted it's beautiful face into a facsimile of a smile.
"What poor thing have you dragged into your lair again!"
"Mallora told you, a child." the golden specter replied happily. "but i need help, this one is far gone away."
"Mallora, you have a beautiful heart, but i can't go about saving every baby bird that falls from the trees either. It's tiresome."
"But this is a child."
"So were the other ones according to you."
"Mallora just said that so you wouldn't be mad at Mallora right away and help me."
Jawn put a gentle claw on Mallora's forehead, always amazed by how little substance she really had in this form. Mallora often travelled the wood as a collection of light particles, even though she could be anything she wanted. For a child like her who liked to be told she was good and beautiful, it was perfect.
"Let's go then. Hopefully this time your child won't bite me before i get it back in the nest."
"Mallora thanks you." she blinked her black liquid eyes at it and led the way.
"Your speech is getting much better." Jawn remarked idly as they walked.
"Is it? Mallora thanks you."
"You should try replacing your name with "I" when referring to yourself.
"But my name isn't I, Tarik Orere, it's Mallora. I don't want to change my name to something that sounds so dull."
"Perhaps another time then." Jawn chuckled. It wasn't long before the two were standing in front of the ruined Great Hall of Manacaru. The glistening black iridescent stone lay broken and moss covered, carved faces with blank eyes stared up at the heavens. Had anyone else chanced upon this place they would have steered well clear of it. It was that same eerie dishevelment that drew Mallora to this place.
Even though parts of the roof had long since fallen, it was still a formidable hovel. She kept the stone floors clear and her pallet of rich green moss was well kept and clipped into a perfect ellipse. Around her pallette she always kept small things she found, things of interest, in neat rows. Bird feathers and dried flowers were used as decoration, as well as old coins, rusted knife blades and broken pieces of once beautiful pottery. She'd even amassed a formidable collection of stone and gems, some polished by the river, some take from the earth, still others having been cut once by Elvlings and lost forever... or atleast until Mallora dug them out of the leave-covered ground.
The middle of her pallet held her newest acquisition. For a moment Jawn though it was some bloodstained hide that she had found. Mallora shifted to the form of a Mafaeri child, just barely big enough to handle even a bundle this tiny. She hoisted the thing and showed it to Jawn, smiling widely.
"Mallora found a child and she wants to keep it." Jawn was immediately taken aback. Mallora had indeed found a child. This child, however, was far too small to be alive, he thought. It was barely the size of a chipmunk, tiny webbed fingers clenched in bright red balls. The eyes, though closed were barely concealed by lids too translucent to keep the light out. How long had it been since it had fed even? The only indication that the child still lived was the shallow intermittent rise and fall of his chest.
Jawn reached out, fighting back tears. This child couldn't possibly live, but it had already lived so long. Surely he must be suffering, Jawn thought as it gathered the bundle in his arms. The coverlet was amazingly soft and even the parts that had come unwoven had their own sense of beauty. Whoever had made this truly loved their child, then why was he here? It was afraid to feel the pull of pain, the waves of cold that accompanied someone with death. Whenever it held someone in it's death, it too went through the motions of death. Jawn was almost afraid to feel it. How else could it offer comfort, however. Offering comfort was the only thing Jawn was bred and kept to do so long ago. As soon as it held the bundle the child came to life, crying with tiny fists waving about. Jawn held it's breath, waiting to feel pain but none came. In the stead of pain came a small sensation of joy.
"Tarik Orere" Jawn hissed as it quickly set the child back down on Mallora's pallet. She sat on her heels, watching with innocent curiosity, unable to understand the gravity of the situation.
"What did you do to Mallora's child? When Mallora picks it up, it laughs with her." She rocked on her heels, hands reaching out ever so often to touch the child's soft forehead.
"Pick him up." Jawn snapped, trying his hardest to shake the misplaced joy that still wracked his body. Mallora did as she was told, gently, and stroked the child's face with her fingertips. Instantly the child opened it's tiny maw, forming what looked like a smile and made the faintest cooing sound. Mallora laughed at this, then so did the baby.
"Oh Great Zchi, Tarik? An Elvling Tarik? It's not possible." Mallora's eyes suddenly dropped to the floor.
"Tarik Orere promises not to be mad at Mallora?" Jawn barely heard her guilty whisper. "Promise me you won't hit Mallora!" The vibrant creature seemed to recoil, growing dim as she set the child down.
"Of all the blessings, of course i won't, child. Have i ever struck you?" Jawn smiled gently and beckoned her closer. These were the moments when Jawn was sure once upon a time Mallora was a kept creature. She looked up at him and nodded.
"Mallora wanted her child so much, but when she found him it had already died and the ravens were starting to pick at it. Mallora was so sad that she brought her child here and sang to it until it woke up." Mallora cringed again, waiting for Jawn to be angry, but it didn't move. The Androgen's copper eyes closed and a single tear tracked down it's powerwhite face.
"Oh Mallora, you foolish creature. How could you bind yourself to something so frail. You're still to young to understand what you've done." Her head sank and she choked back a sob. Jawn stroked her lightfilled hair and smiled. "You did a wonderful thing for this child. You gave him life at the expense of your own. When you two are older I will explain this more. For now, stay with him, console him, laugh with him. He's going to have a hard life ahead of him, just as you will." Jawn sighed and turned away.
"What does Mallora's child eat?" She called as he left into the new night.
"I will send Mother Linn to you to help you." and with that, Jawn walked away just in time to hear Mallora say to the child softly:
"I will call my child Narim, this means "Child to No One". Just like Mallora, Narim will never have an owner. We can be best friends and live here forever. "
Jawn never returned to the ruined forest city of Manacaru.
It walked outside, always a little breathtaken by the way the light fell on the Harvest Season leaves. Jawn studied his surroundings. Androgen intuition gave him nothing save a few strange vibes but the Empath heart skittered about, excited and scared. Must be something, it muttered to itself. Just as Jawn suspected, it was suddenly greeted by a child-sized glowing form.
"Tarik Orere! You MUST come see my new child!" the creature danced about excitedly, limbs wavering in patterns of lights. Jawn sighed and twisted it's beautiful face into a facsimile of a smile.
"What poor thing have you dragged into your lair again!"
"Mallora told you, a child." the golden specter replied happily. "but i need help, this one is far gone away."
"Mallora, you have a beautiful heart, but i can't go about saving every baby bird that falls from the trees either. It's tiresome."
"But this is a child."
"So were the other ones according to you."
"Mallora just said that so you wouldn't be mad at Mallora right away and help me."
Jawn put a gentle claw on Mallora's forehead, always amazed by how little substance she really had in this form. Mallora often travelled the wood as a collection of light particles, even though she could be anything she wanted. For a child like her who liked to be told she was good and beautiful, it was perfect.
"Let's go then. Hopefully this time your child won't bite me before i get it back in the nest."
"Mallora thanks you." she blinked her black liquid eyes at it and led the way.
"Your speech is getting much better." Jawn remarked idly as they walked.
"Is it? Mallora thanks you."
"You should try replacing your name with "I" when referring to yourself.
"But my name isn't I, Tarik Orere, it's Mallora. I don't want to change my name to something that sounds so dull."
"Perhaps another time then." Jawn chuckled. It wasn't long before the two were standing in front of the ruined Great Hall of Manacaru. The glistening black iridescent stone lay broken and moss covered, carved faces with blank eyes stared up at the heavens. Had anyone else chanced upon this place they would have steered well clear of it. It was that same eerie dishevelment that drew Mallora to this place.
Even though parts of the roof had long since fallen, it was still a formidable hovel. She kept the stone floors clear and her pallet of rich green moss was well kept and clipped into a perfect ellipse. Around her pallette she always kept small things she found, things of interest, in neat rows. Bird feathers and dried flowers were used as decoration, as well as old coins, rusted knife blades and broken pieces of once beautiful pottery. She'd even amassed a formidable collection of stone and gems, some polished by the river, some take from the earth, still others having been cut once by Elvlings and lost forever... or atleast until Mallora dug them out of the leave-covered ground.
The middle of her pallet held her newest acquisition. For a moment Jawn though it was some bloodstained hide that she had found. Mallora shifted to the form of a Mafaeri child, just barely big enough to handle even a bundle this tiny. She hoisted the thing and showed it to Jawn, smiling widely.
"Mallora found a child and she wants to keep it." Jawn was immediately taken aback. Mallora had indeed found a child. This child, however, was far too small to be alive, he thought. It was barely the size of a chipmunk, tiny webbed fingers clenched in bright red balls. The eyes, though closed were barely concealed by lids too translucent to keep the light out. How long had it been since it had fed even? The only indication that the child still lived was the shallow intermittent rise and fall of his chest.
Jawn reached out, fighting back tears. This child couldn't possibly live, but it had already lived so long. Surely he must be suffering, Jawn thought as it gathered the bundle in his arms. The coverlet was amazingly soft and even the parts that had come unwoven had their own sense of beauty. Whoever had made this truly loved their child, then why was he here? It was afraid to feel the pull of pain, the waves of cold that accompanied someone with death. Whenever it held someone in it's death, it too went through the motions of death. Jawn was almost afraid to feel it. How else could it offer comfort, however. Offering comfort was the only thing Jawn was bred and kept to do so long ago. As soon as it held the bundle the child came to life, crying with tiny fists waving about. Jawn held it's breath, waiting to feel pain but none came. In the stead of pain came a small sensation of joy.
"Tarik Orere" Jawn hissed as it quickly set the child back down on Mallora's pallet. She sat on her heels, watching with innocent curiosity, unable to understand the gravity of the situation.
"What did you do to Mallora's child? When Mallora picks it up, it laughs with her." She rocked on her heels, hands reaching out ever so often to touch the child's soft forehead.
"Pick him up." Jawn snapped, trying his hardest to shake the misplaced joy that still wracked his body. Mallora did as she was told, gently, and stroked the child's face with her fingertips. Instantly the child opened it's tiny maw, forming what looked like a smile and made the faintest cooing sound. Mallora laughed at this, then so did the baby.
"Oh Great Zchi, Tarik? An Elvling Tarik? It's not possible." Mallora's eyes suddenly dropped to the floor.
"Tarik Orere promises not to be mad at Mallora?" Jawn barely heard her guilty whisper. "Promise me you won't hit Mallora!" The vibrant creature seemed to recoil, growing dim as she set the child down.
"Of all the blessings, of course i won't, child. Have i ever struck you?" Jawn smiled gently and beckoned her closer. These were the moments when Jawn was sure once upon a time Mallora was a kept creature. She looked up at him and nodded.
"Mallora wanted her child so much, but when she found him it had already died and the ravens were starting to pick at it. Mallora was so sad that she brought her child here and sang to it until it woke up." Mallora cringed again, waiting for Jawn to be angry, but it didn't move. The Androgen's copper eyes closed and a single tear tracked down it's powerwhite face.
"Oh Mallora, you foolish creature. How could you bind yourself to something so frail. You're still to young to understand what you've done." Her head sank and she choked back a sob. Jawn stroked her lightfilled hair and smiled. "You did a wonderful thing for this child. You gave him life at the expense of your own. When you two are older I will explain this more. For now, stay with him, console him, laugh with him. He's going to have a hard life ahead of him, just as you will." Jawn sighed and turned away.
"What does Mallora's child eat?" She called as he left into the new night.
"I will send Mother Linn to you to help you." and with that, Jawn walked away just in time to hear Mallora say to the child softly:
"I will call my child Narim, this means "Child to No One". Just like Mallora, Narim will never have an owner. We can be best friends and live here forever. "
Jawn never returned to the ruined forest city of Manacaru.
What will he be like, Mallora's Narim? When he dies, she will die too, as they are bound together through life and death. This child CAN NOT LIVE, he is too frail. Through her selfless ignorance, the last Equidan will die soon. Perhaps that is simply how it must be. I could not watch such a beautiful creature wither with sadness as she mourned "her" child's death. There is too much pain it it.
