Of Tabuk

This evening when I came to the Main Fires I brought with me a haunch of tabuk .. something I had taken down and cut up .. splitting it between Oren's .. Asria's and Silken's wagons ... a final piece brought to the First Fires as a tribute of sorts. I eat there .. I take from the community chest ... therefore I put back.

I hung it on the side of the supply wagon and joined Tarra and Seveya at the fires. I had made a comment of how I could still remember my first hunt .. the first hunt that I was all alone on. Tarra asked me to recount it. It is not a harrowing story. It is not a story of bravery and skill .. it is not one of those stories that the Year Keepers are aware of ... or the Singers sing of. It is not a story I am proud of .. other than it was my first meat that was all mine and I did not have to share it with anyone. It was my first hide ... that was all mine. And from that hide I made my first tunic .. that was all mine and not handed down to me from someone else.

But in the way of stories .. it was not one to belly up to the fire and recount in the face of great expectations.

It was soon after that Tarra left and Seveya and I were alone at the Main Fires. As interesting as that sounds .. being alone in the middle of a great city of Tuchuk ... right in the middle of it all at the Ubar's fires where there is always someone around .. is not exactly all that alone. However I asked Seveya if she was allowed to sit with me at the fires alone. Probably because I am a bit of an asshole and asking that question gave me a bit of sadistic pleasure.

She smirked at me .. and said right up until the time I might do something that would make her want to leave.

figures

I told her I was rather good at that .. she said she knew.

huh

I asked her how old she was. She said she was twenty and shot back the same question to me .. studying me perhaps to gauge how truthful my answer was. I told her with some consideration that I had yet to see either my twenty fourth or my twenty fifth passing of Turia.

She said she would have guessed older. I could not tell if she was teasing or not.

I asked her if her father was then over protective .. or just protective enough. Being twenty years old and not having a nose ring spoke of one or the other to me.

She said both .. and I asked her .. how it was both ... if she really believed it was both or if she had been conditioned to say both in honor of her father.

She said that after the death of her mother he was a little over protective of her .. but given her nature that it worked. That he was protective enough. That he proved to know what was best for her.

As I picked through my stew and flicked away anything that did not resemble meat .. she told me that perhaps someone would make me a stew with only meat so that I stopped wasting food. I told her I was not wasting meat. Seemed all that needed to be said to that.

I asked Seveya what about her nature made her conducive to over protectiveness. She spoke of always getting into trouble as a child. Her over active imagination made following the rules a challenge she did not always take up. Her words on how her father punished her made me understand a little more of why Seveya thought her father knew best. I had to agree. Restored some of my first thoughts as to the type of man her father was.

It was the most I have spoken to Seveya. It was the most Seveya has ever spoken to me. I learned a lot about her in a simple conversation. As I do with most people .. I suppose. But it was nice to hear her voice .. her thoughts about things. And if pushed she is capable of explaining her thoughts .. which is something I value in another person. I think Seveya will make an excellent addition to the First Fires. I do not think there is anyone who quite thinks the same way she does .. or expresses her thoughts in the same way. I like that .. difference. It makes me want to see more of her art .. I think that is probably how she communicates the best. Still .. it was pleasant that she tried and succeeded this evening in communicating with words as well.