World of Ranicke Bk. 02 Ch. 03

"Gah, help!" She squealed and was trying to protect her face from Sheeha. Allie walked out and started at what was going on and looked really confused. "Allie help rescue me from an over enthusiastic cat." She was giggling as the whiskers tickled her face.

Allie simply stood there trying really hard not to laugh at her sister's plight. Both their parents were laughing at everything that had happened. "Sorry sis she has claws and I don't have any urge to get pounced on by an over active feline." She turned to Jim and smirked. "Jim you need to do something to calm her down since I really don't want to be pounced on."

She went down a moment later as Sheeha pounced on her and it was now her turn to try and keep the tongue away from her face. "Uncle Jimmy help. I don't want to be licked to death." About this time the other ladies walked in and stood there for a moment.

"Yimmy did you avoid a pounce again? It was wrong of you to do that and let the girls get the brunt of the pouncing." Nora was trying to sound serious and annoyed with him but the way her tails were flicking in amusement showed otherwise. As she was talking Sheeha stood up and stretched. Nora shook her head at her. "Sheeha sometimes you are a pain in the tails."

"I feel better now. I will get Yimmy later. I figured Ana had somehow let him know I was waiting so she deserved it." As she was talking she was carefully examining her claws and smirking. That lasted till Ana snuck up behind her and tickled as she had seen Jimmy do earlier. Sheeha yowled again and jumped away and glared at her. Ana dodged behind her father and peeked over his shoulder and was grinning. "Turnabout is fair play."

Eventually they finished the meal and Sorrel came forward. "I know these won't fit quite correctly but you need some nicer cloths for the ceremony tonight. I know it might seem a bit silly since everyone is going to be wearing a rain cape but it still shows respect. Nang, Allie, and Ana if you would come with us so we can check the fit so I can get something larger or smaller as needed." The woman and girls were tiny compared to most of the rest of the tribe and as hard as she tried to find adult clothing she hadn't been able to.

All the females left and Jim stood up and slung his axe over his rain cape. "Go get your sword Dan and once we are done with the Master warrior I will talk to some of the warriors and find something for you." Moments later Dan was back with his sword and followed Jim's lead with the rain cape. "I am not sure what exactly he will have you do today. It might simply be the case of his talking to you and actually test you tomorrow." Jim had to sigh and some of the tension he was feeling showed.

Dan rested a hand on his shoulder and lightly squeezed. "I understand and it is never easy to lose someone either close to you or important to a tribe or clan." They walked in companionable silence to the Masters tent and caravan. Dan had to admit that after giving the caravan's a good looking over he was impressed at how well they were constructed.

"Come in and have a seat. Thomas is getting another jug of something warm and stimulating." There were several chairs around the table under the tent. "Welcome Dan and today I just want to talk and get to know you. I do understand that you are from the same world as Warrior Yim. I have talked to him enough to know that your warriors are trained with a totally different philosophy. I have accepted this and though I might, or probably will, be shocked I will understand." He gave Jim a wry grin. "Till I got to know your friend to be honest he scared the crap out of me."

Jim flushed and looked away for a moment. "I didn't really think when I told them your philosophy on fighting." If he had been one of the furred tribe members his ears would have been back and down. "To be honest that is one reason I decided fairly quickly I wanted to stay. I don't have to live that way anymore. The majority of what we have to worry about is a wild animal getting into the camp. Once in a very rare blue moon we might encounter bandits or brigands. Those I don't hesitate about though."

Dan smiled at Thomas when he came back with a large pot and several more cups. Once he had a cup in hand he nodded at him. "Thank you Thomas and I hope we can become friends like you and Jim." He didn't bother saying anything about not doing the sir or ma'am thing since Nang was going to be the new Mystic. "I understand Jim and to be honest I wanted to retire well before I did."

He looked out over the bustle of the tribe and smiled. "In a way it sort of makes me think of the village Nang grew up in. It is refreshing and soothing at the same time." Dan turned back to the Master Warrior. "So ask and I will answer as best possible. Even though I am in a different world there are some things I have been sworn to secrecy over."

~~~

When Sorrel asked them to follow her they were shown to the adults tent. "Please come in but just so you know normally this tent is off limits to anyone who has not reached their majority. If there is an emergency of course call out and then enter. This is where we adults come to relax and also sleep at night."

This section of the tent had much nicer carpeting. Hanging over the head of the bed was a wonderful painting, or what looked like a painting, on an either silk or other fine material. It was a picture of the four adults sitting at a table and Uncle Jimmy was resting his head on the little kitsune girl's head. "Oh my that is a lovely painting. You need to show it to Pam Auntie Sorrel."

The others were looking at it as well and it was a very lovely picture. "Saria, Chief Piquel's mate did it for us. That was the night that Jim was given his totem necklace and axe. She did such a wonderful job on it." She smiled and then turned to the three. "Go ahead and strip down to the breast band and loin cloth so you can try on what I brought back."

Ana sighed and blushed a bit. "This is so going to take time to get used to. It might be silly but taking a shower with the other girls in gym class is one thing. Randomly taking cloths off for communal bathing or trying on cloths just feels weird." She was slowly taking her clothes off as she was talking.

Sorrel came over and gave her a good hug. "I know that this is strange to you and Yimmy went through many of the same things you are. It took him a good two or more weeks before he was close to comfortable with the communal bathing. Also since it is warm at night the females tend to wear just a loin cloth. If they need a privacy tent they toss on a shirt, use them and then take the shirt off before crawling in." She stroked Ana's hair as she was talking.

"In a way it was as hard for me to understand the world he was coming from since it is so wildly different. One of the hardest things for me was to reconcile the Jim I had saved and started to get to know before meeting his other side. It did scare me seeing the killer in him but I have since come to see that it really isn't a killer. It is an almost total determination to protect what he considers innocents and ensure that the others won't come back." Sorrel gave her one more good hug and let her finish stripping down.

Since she was talking to Ana the others were helping Nang and Allie into the dress clothing. Sorrel had been forced to guess what would look good on them and for the most part it did look good on them. "The dress clothing is similar to regular clothing but are a looser cut and nicer material." She wrinkled her nose at her. "That and lots more colors to play with."

Ana was stroking the material. "It is really soft and though it doesn't look it almost feels slightly furry." The colors Sorrel had picked for her were a bright yellow skirt with an off white blouse that went nicely together. "I like the colors. Light and bright colors always make me feel happier." She was getting ready to put the skirt on when Sorrel stopped her.

"Put the blouse on first since it will be easier to pull the skirt over the tails of the blouse." Once Ana had pulled it on Sorrel carefully snugged up the tie string around her neck and wrists. She frowned slightly since it was a bit loose but anything smaller would look like a child's dress cloths. Ana was just starting to show her curves and they wouldn't be appropriate for a girl of her turns.

"It is a bit loose and will need to be tailored but will work for this evening. Now the skirt and just like the other skirt make sure the silver chins are showing." She helped her into the skirt and smiled since she looked really good in the outfit. Around the sleeves and the bottom of the skirt was some embroidery that was appropriate for someone of her age. "You are a lovely young lady Ana and those look very good on you." The last thing she did was to strap a belt around her waist with a small knife on it. "Virtually everyone carries a knife for doing chores and such."

When she turned to the others she gave them a good look and smiled. "All of you look very good though you are going to need to have the clothing tailored as well." Considering Sorrel, Nasha, and Nora were almost Jim's height the other three were tiny. "I know you are an adult Nang but honestly I almost can't believe it since you are so petite." She had to give her a wry grin. "Most tribes members your size are still short of their majority by a fair amount."

Nang snorted. "I am used to it. Barely coming to Dan's shoulder has long since gotten me used to feeling short." Allie and Nang also had a belt on with a knife attached. Off the other side of Nang's belt was a beaded ornament as well that showed she was a mystic. "Well not much is going to happen till time for the pyre and then we will eat afterwards. We might as well stay dressed."

As she was talking the three of them were stripping down and pulled out their fine clothing so they could get dressed. Nang couldn't help but smile slightly. "Sorrel would you mind if I touched your tail? I have been wanting to since we arrived." She felt silly about it but wanted to.

Sorrel laughed and flicked her tail over to Nang and just for good measure flipped the end of her tail gently across her face. "Sure but just letting all of you know if you help bathe a non-human the base of our tail is really sensitive. The best policy is to not get within about five inches of the base just to be sure."

Sheeha snickered at Sorrel but didn't really say anything since she knew Sorrel was editing what was being said since the girls were there. "Most of us like to have our tails brushed while we relax as well. Having our back fur brushed as well is very enjoyable since it is a pain in the tail to do ourselves." She lightly flicked the end of her tail across Allies nose and was pleased with the giggle.

"I get the hint and one of these days I will consider it." Allie had to rub her nose to keep a sneeze away since it had tickled. When Sheeha started to wave her tail at her again Allie lightly grasped the end. "No more tickling my nose or I am going to sneeze big time. She did stroke the bit of tail she was holding. "All of you are so soft, or your fur is."

By the time Jim, Thomas, and Dan made it back the females were back out in the living area relaxing and Sorrel was trying to explain some of the more common customs of the clan. Dan stopped and smiled. "You look lovely Nang." He moved over and cupped the back of her head and kissed her. "My love and my life. I am so glad I met you and you were willing to take a chance on a grumpy old man." Dan turned and looked at their girls. "The two of you look really nice as well. Thank you Sorrel for taking care of that for us."

Jim smiled and settled down at the table and then glanced around since he didn't see Sheeha. "Which tent did she go into? I don't feel like being pounced on right now." That got a snicker and Thomas moved back a bit. Jim glowered at him. "Traitor to all males out there and to think I call you friend."

Thomas snickered at him. "I just don't want to be in the way when she does..." Sheeha nailed him in the chest and wrapped her arms and legs around him and ran her tongue around one ear.

"You were saying there Thomas? I think I am having more fun pouncing this heat than for a while." She winked at the adults. "There are all kinds of new people to pounce on and get to know." She turned back to Thomas and started working on the other ear.

He was growling slightly. "I place the blame for this directly on you Yim. You brought them back and gave her more little mousy's for her to hunt down and pounce on." The actual licking didn't bother him but he was sort of courting a lady and he really didn't need the scent of a feline in season on him.

Jim grinned at him. "As you wish and now it is time to get dressed. Sundown is getting close. Shall we retire to my tent and change?" The three of them walked out after Sheeha finally let go of Thomas. "Thank you for loaning Dan some clothing. You are taller but he is a bit wider and with it getting dark it won't really be noticed."

The three of them walked into the tent and about fifteen minutes later they walked out and Dan was looking sort of grumpy. "So why do I have to wear chains in my hair? I feel utterly silly right now." As he was talking he noticed that Nang and the girls had much the same in their hair as did the other females. Sheeha was dressed very differently in what looked like a some sort of tabard that hung down to mid thigh and had strips of cloth in different colors sewn onto the base material.

Her hair was braided in a number of thin braids with small silver and gold beads scattered through her hair. On her was a rather scary looking knife that was settled low on one hip. She had a baldric with a short sword in a sheath on the other hip. In a way she almost looked barbaric. "That looks really good on you Sheeha." Dan said and grinned slightly. "Remember no pouncing on me since I am mated and I am far meaner than Jim is."

Sheeha tilted her head and smiled. "I would never pounce on an old and experienced warrior like you. You deserve more respect than that." They could feel the sincerity in her voice as she spoke.

Jim kept a straight face as did his ladies. "I am going to go and get my corwith and check the tuning." He climbed into the caravan and pulled it out. He had been wanting to show his guests the instrument as well as let them listen to his playing. That hadn't happened today but hopefully he could the next day.

~~~

After he had grabbed both Corwith's he handed the second one to Sorrel to carry for him and she slung it much as he had. Jim made a quick check to make sure everyone looked good and then pulled on his rain cape and then slung his axe. "Dan till told otherwise you can carry your sword as well as the knife."

Dan slung it and made sure it was in the correct position out of habit. Right about then Bear showed up and Dan had to smile. "Looking good Bear but you are going to have to get some buckskins and some buffalo briefs."

Bear grinned at him and looked at the material. It was a soft brown and somehow it looked like suede. He had a beaded belt with his ceremonial knife on it and his tomahawk tucked into the belt. His long hair was braided back and had, much like the others, trinkets in it. It was getting dark enough that it was hard to tell what the dangles really looked like. "I have a feeling the loin cloth is more comfortable. Leather tends to chaff down there."

He became serious. "I was informed that Nang and I are going to go first followed by you and James. After that will be the four women and then the young children followed by your daughters and then Thomas." He looked around and everyone nodded at him.

Jim had his quarter staff with him and it was properly made with iron wood ends for endurance and kiln dried wood. He still tended to limp a bit and especially when he was stressed. It would be handed to one of his ladies when he started playing. "Well let's form up. Bear I did tell the girls that they could go with some of the kids that are going to be playing or singing tonight." When Bear nodded he looked at them. The other older kids know when to be back. They will also show you how to act and some of the dances if you want." He gave the boys a brief look and the three nodded.

The older kids that were singing split off as they were heading for the main funeral pyre but the rest fell in as would be expected. Bear led them to the chief's tent and there were a large number of people there. Each of his children, their mates if they had one, kids, and various elders and master were there. They walked to the tent covering the pyre and formed up on two sides and the rest of the tribe were on the other two.

Master Eldon stepped forward. "I have requested that Jim sing his sister's song since it has sort of become desired at funeral pyres. Mitzy is going to be singing with him and they will be accompanied by other musicians." He moved off to one side and the Stone Master did something and a soft blue glow came from the stone. "Jim and Mitzy if you would please?"

The two of them stepped forward though she was looking shy. Jim lightly stroked her hair. "You will do fine honey." He strummed a chord and started singing and the Mitzy joined in after the first verse. Jim was amazed at her voice every time she sang. It was obviously the voice of a young girl but it flowed around his voice as he sang. The sound was almost pure innocents and to him there were faint traces of the tinkling of silver bells in it.

Once the two of them had finished the song they bowed to the crowd. The backup songsmiths who had been accompanying them also came forward and bowed to the crowd. After the bow they started on the other two songs which were finished with a flourish and they stepped out of the tent. Now it was time for the pyre.

When Nang stepped forward at the head of the pyre Jim was rather startled. Dan was next to her and on one side of the pyre were Bear and the senior Shaman. Moran and a person he recognized but didn't know were on the third side.

Nang lifted a hand and murmured something and there was a flare of power moments before she and Dan stuck their torches in the wood. The other four followed suit and the fire rose quickly and burned hotter than normal. She started murmuring again and something was starting to glow in the fire and most had to cover their eyes.

When the glow went away and everyone looked they had to gasp, or the closest who could see her gasped. She had a feminine version of the Mystic's necklace and bracelet around her arm and neck. Nang couldn't help but stand there with her eyes closed and she could feel the spirit leaving. It was almost straining towards its new life flying on the winds of the world. Before it vanished she could feel gentle fingers touch her face. With a final flare of the fire the spirit vanished and the pyre collapsed into itself and the flames returned to normal.

When the fire finally went out the only thing left was the small tent covering where the pyre had been. Jim was more than shaken since he had never seen a pyre like that before. He also noticed that his ladies were surrounding him and Mitzy was holding onto one leg. He leaned over and picked her up and held her till her grandparents came and took her.

Nang watched Moran step forward. "We have now set the spirit of the Mystic on the path to its new life. I know we are all in shock and starting to grieve for the man virtually all of us knew from when we were small. I have spent many hours arguing philosophy, law, tribal interactions, and much more. He will expect us to grieve but he would want a celebration held for him in recognition of the centuries he served the clan. Go forth and do your best to enjoy the evening."

~~~ Ana and Allie