Zalevi lounged on the limb of one of the large grassland trees, enjoying the limited shade the upper branches provided. Sometimes, the glaring savannah sun was just way too warm for her. Watching her friend, Sharloa, run up from the village, the pan-thar thought again about her dark pelt. She completely understood why so few pan-thar were born with this black fur; it was not an ideal color for the relatively treeless land. She looked at her friend again.
"You know," she called to the wolv, when she was only a few feet from the tree, "Sometimes, I really wish I had your coat. White would not be nearly as hot in the sun."
The wolv grinned. "But then you'd have to worry about blinding people if they look at the wrong angle. I think I've lost more suitors that way; though, none of them were really worth keeping anyway. I came to tell you; I think I found a buyer for that necklace you were working on. Have you finished it?"
Zalevi reached for her work pouch, as she climbed from the tree. "Which one? The gold with the ruby? Yeah, I finished it last night. You really found someone who wants it?" Once on the ground, she held the item in question up for the wolv to see.
Sharloa inspected it, then replied. "Yep! That's the one. And I did. One of the elders was talking about getting a new piece for the ranking ceremony tonight. I told her about it, and she said she'd like to see it. She's liked your stuff since she saw it at our ranking ceremony." The two friends had been ranked at the last ceremony, Zalevi recieving Crafter rank for her jewelry making, and Sharloa recieving Trader rank, for being able to sell almost anything to almost anyone! Though, she usually just worked on selling her best friend's jewelry.
"Oh, that's wonderful. I never dreamed I'd be selling things to the elders so soon! I hope she likes it." She handed the necklace to Sharloa. "Do we know who's getting ranked tonight?"
"Not sure on everyone, but I think one of my cousins and a couple of the young hunters. There was some talk of new developments in a couple of the tribes, so maybe we'll get some news too."
A few hours later, the both found themselves in the meeting tent, waiting for the ceremony to begin. A small group of youngsters was seated near the front of the room, and Zalevi could tell a few of them were very nervous. She tapped Sharloa on the shoulder.
"Hey, isn't that your cousin?" she asked, pointing to the timid-looking wolv sitting amongst the youths. The grey wolv was sitting slightly apart from the group of young pan-thar and the other wolv; Sharloa's cousin had recently come to live with her from another tribe when her parents were killed, and she hadn't really made many friends yet.
Sharloa looked over. "It is. And she looks so sad! Let's go say hi before the ceremony starts. Maybe she won't be so nervous with a familiar face nearby."
Nudging her way through the light crowd, the white wolf recieved a few glares, but she didn't notice. Zalevi followed her, but taking care not to bump anyone too much, and apologizing to the ones who had been bumped by her friend. When the pair reached the younger wolv, Sharloa dropped into a crouch next to her, and Zalevi sat on the bench on her other side.
"So. How're you doing, Achira? You look a little nervous."
The younger wolv smiled weakly. "I'm okay, Sharloa. I'm just not sure why I'm being ranked already. I haven't been here long enough for the elders to know what I can do, and I can't actually do much in the first place." She shrugged, then looked from her cousin to Zalevi and back. "I'm glad you guys are here, though. It reminds me I'm not alone."
Sharloa gave her a quick hug, and Zalevi squeezed her shoulder. Zalevi spoke up. "Maybe they spoke to the elders of your other tribe, found out some of your skills from them. I know you're good with fabric; did you make much when you were there?"
Before Achira could answer, a couple of elders entered, and one headed straight for the waiting group. Zalevi and Sharloa got up to go back to their places, but the elder motioned for them to wait. As soon as he reached the group, he began to speak.
"I know you are all waiting to be ranked, and I'll ask you to be patient a few moments longer. There is some news we'd like to share before we start the ceremony. Zalevi, Sharloa? Would you be kind enough to stay and keep Achiri company? I know she feels a little out of place, and I think she'd be more comfortable with people she knows nearby." At their nods, he headed to the front to call everyone to order. The two friends sat back down on either side of Achira and waited.
After a few moments, once everyone had quieted, the rest of the elders and the chief took their places, and Vortanu, the chief, began to speak.
"Welcome to this season's ranking ceremony. We are going to start things a little differently this season. I would like to begin with a bit of news we've recieved from a few other tribes. We've been sending people offworld for trading and other seeking opportunities for many years, and we have had occasions where the Seeker found something offworld and elected not to return. While we do not prevent them from returning at any time, they have chosen their new responsibilities over their ties to Malnev. This is not a bad thing; it shows their commitment. However, in recent months, a few of the other tribes have begun sending out newly ranked tribesmembers, deliberately, in order to try to do the same thing. And for those of you who do not know what I'm talking about, dragons. The creatures who have been largely missing from our world for some time now.
A few tribes have created a new rank, Bonder, in addition to the traditional ones, and sent some of these offworld to bond dragons. And hopefully, to return with them. I announce this to you today, as it will affect some of those waiting for rank this very evening. We have decided that a few of these waiting will have the rank of Bonder added to their traditional rank; that way they have a "normal" trade to practice when or if they bond. I say if, because though we have chosen these to try, we cannot read dragons minds to know if they will all be acceptable. Though if you are passed over in one location, it is by no means the end of your search. There are many different dragons out there and they all have different qualities they look for in a bond." He broke off for a moment, as he looked over all the waiting youths. The already ranked pair were slightly disturbed by Vortanu's lack of expression when he saw them in the group. He was obviously not surprised to see them there.
"Now, onto the ranking!" He announced, obviously glad his speech was over. It was the elders who did most of the speaking during this ceremony, and everyone knew this was mostly because Vortanu hated long speeches. The elders quickly ranked all the young pan-thar, the lone lynnx, and the other wolv, before coming to Achira. There were two who had been ranked as bonders in addition to their traditional ranks, and Sharloa and Zalevi waited anxiously to see what Achira would get. Hopefully it would mesh with their ranks and they would be able to continue working with her.
"Achira, please step forward." When she had, the elder continued. "While you were not born to this tribe, you are still part of it, by blood ties and by adoption. We hereby bestow upon you the rank of Outfitter, as well as Bonder. Hopefully, you can find a bond who may boost your self-confidence. You do an excellent job on the clothing you make, and should be aware of it."
As her companions looked on stunned, the elder grinned, mischief playing in his eyes. "We also have a surprise this evening. We normally don't add ranks, unless a person has been actively training towards a new rank, but we decided to make an exception this time. Zalevi, Sharloa, you two have also been Ranked as Bonders. We hope the three of you will journey together for a while. And bring us interesting things from other worlds!"
The three females sat, stunned, as Vortanu closed the ceremony, and people began to trickle out of the tent. Finally, Zalevi broke the silence. "Did that really just happen? Are we being given the opportunity to go find dragons?" Never in any but her wildest dreams had she imagined getting such an opportunity.
"I think so," Sharloa managed to say, before starting to giggle uncontrollably. "I... never... "she tried to speak, but couldn't get out what she wanted to say, so she gave up, at least for the moment, and let herself giggle.
Achira looked at her madly giggling cousin, and laughed lightly. "I think she always wanted to go looking for dragons. She used to talk about them when she would visit us. Always wishing they were still here, wondering what the Malnevian ones looked like, once she'd seen others in a book someone brought back. I'm glad we'll get to go together; I'd hate being all alone in a place where I didn't know anyone at all!"
The white wolv finally got herself under control and started to speak. "Exactly what Achira said. I did always want to see dragons, but I also wanted to bring them back here, so Malnev would have dragons again. I just never thought I would be ordered to do so! I have an idea of where I'd like to go, but I want to know what you think. I don't want to take us somewhere we don't all want to go. The place I'm thinking of has had bunches of different dragons go through it, and we'll have to go through it to get anywhere else, so you can think about it for a little."
Zalevi looked at her friend. "Are you thinking of the same place I am? If so, we could all go there and possibly get very different dragons. They have had a lot of variety from what I've learned about them."
Sharloa started to nod, then looked at Achira. "What about you? Any ideas?"
"Well," the younger wolv looked a little nervous about expressing her opinion, even to her friends. "There was a pan-thar from my tribe who went somewhere, he supposedly bonded already, but he hadn't come back before I came here. I was thinking maybe we could go where he went? I think it was called the Destiny? Or something close to that, anyway." She slapped her paws over her ears at the shriek let out by Sharloa.
Even Zalevi was rubbing her ears when her friend shrilled, "You see, Zalevi! Great minds do think alike! Pack your bags, girls, we're off to the Abstract Destiny!"
At the Destiny
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