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Post by Badger on Sept 18, 2023 16:59:38 GMT 1
Badger listened as the one they nowadays called Esseltu, explained clumsily about the concept of name and another name. She nodded at the explanation, whatever sense she could make of it -- it did sound similar to their customs. It seemed to her, like mostly those with mixed heritage had soul names, and she tried to remember how one maiden had explained it back at old home, when she had Recognized someone without wolf blood. "It was like I knew his name and him even if we had not met before.", the maiden had explained it, when she had introduced Tanagra to other wolfriders. "Some of my origin tribe know their name since the very beginning, and for others it is harder to find.", Badger chimed in, and visibly lit up as soon as she noticed No-Sting in the other side of the group. The wolfrider maiden waved a happy little greeting toward the tufteared elf, and then returned her attention back to the meeting. It seemed to her, like majority of folks had somewhat of a similar thought process around their secret names, even if there was then some rather stark differences. |
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Post by Eryk on Sept 18, 2023 17:14:51 GMT 1
OoC: Note to self, this is about 50 days before Work All Day, so Eryk is still depressed and closed off. ~*~ Eryk listened to the chitter chatter of others, as he worked on sharpening the poles -- they would be useful later, as tools, in trapping and in making fences. The whole talk about soul names and whatever else went waaaay over his head, and he noticed himself chiding himself for even attending to the meeting. Whatever he had hoped to learn was way too complicated for his foggy mind, and he was tired. As someone whose name he had not cared to even learn asked "full Go-Back?", he looked around and then made a questioning look at the maiden who had settled close to him. He pointed at himself, aura of 'me?' evident on his demeanor and he then returned to the sharpening. "As far as I know.", he gruffly responded back, and then tried to make sense of the discussion going on. Not that his parents or other relatives had much told about the backgrounds or origins of their family, but Eryk did not quite believe there was a drop of any other blood, not at least for a few generations. It did not even make too much sense to him how some were more wolf-blooded than others, even among wolfriders. He felt like he was being watched or listened to, but he could not pinpoint by whom. Except that Mahrak seemed especially innocent. The go-back carpenter narrowed his eyes and finished the pole in his hands, just getting another slender pole and beginning to sharpen that one. Wood chips flew around him. |
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Post by Tambri on Sept 18, 2023 21:46:18 GMT 1
Tambri nodded at Eryk's response. She had figured as such. She glanced back at the rest of the group and then spoke, something she would have rather not done but being aware at least one member of this new tribe couldn't send...
"There are tribes who no longer have soul names. They do not need recognition to have their young, and so the soul name was lost to time. Not to say they don't have souls or thst they can't recognize... they just don't have a secret name for that purpose."
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Post by Nightbird on Sept 18, 2023 22:33:10 GMT 1
She listened in rapt fascination; she'd never heard of elves not having soul names, but they hadn't met many tribes outside their own. At least, not until she'd met Mahrak. "Mine are like Badger's," Nightbird nodded to the other wolfrider. "Some of ours are known at birth, our parents sensing who we are before we are born. Some of us hide our secret selves so well we don't know them ourselves and have to go find them." She considered everyone's words thoughtfully; she knew they had to be protected, because hers, too, could be used to harm her. The dark-haired maiden smiled warmly at Mahrak. She and Bones had been overjoyed to be reunited with their friends, and the thrill of all of this strangeness bringing them together again hadn't worn off. ~**The one with the stick - puckernuts, I don't remember his name - he seems ill at ease. Is he one of these Go-Backs?**~ she locksent to Mahrak. ~**That poor stake seems to be taking a lot of punishment.**~ |
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Post by Flint on Sept 19, 2023 18:31:32 GMT 1
Flint had come to a bit late, still not the best at keeping times. Not good with so many people either, he opted to stay some back from the circle, leaning against a tree, only smiling shortly at Mahrak in a greeting. Perhaps he'd wander over and sit near the redhead, later. For now he was comfortable listening, trying to puzzle out what half those concepts were.
“I'm not mixed with anything to my knowledge.” he chimed in. “Got one still, I think. Sapling found it and I his. They just... fit better. Something that's truly yourself, that can't be taken away or changed.” Perhaps it'd been a protection against their lands, once. His mother hadn't thought it important to teach about or perhaps didn't knew either.
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Post by Milo on Sept 19, 2023 18:59:25 GMT 1
The young one smiled at SL2557F when she looked at him, encouraging her to speak. He would help her find words, if needed, let her know of any important sendings. It was almost comfortable being here, between someone who spoke human and someone he cared about – Choice. Even if there were his longlengs between, not that he minded him. There even was one of the pubs coming over and he lighted up at the trust. For all there was no animal blood in him, he enjoyed the company.
Still: he had to speak up for himself. Not just avoid the gaze of Mahrak and others, keep quiet on his part in this. Crispin had been quite clear that she wouldn't do this task for him, that he needed to tell them about the name he wanted to have used. When he finally gathered enough confidence to speak, it was quietly, looking down at his hands. “I do not know my people. But I have such a name. Found it all on my own and it should be used. There's nothing wrong with that, if I want it.” It scared him, that more here might reject the idea. Might try to talk him out of it.
A blessing that Crispin chimed in too: **Much like our young friend, I'm going by my soulname. Some of you may have picked up that 'Crispin' has a bit more of a information on it than names usually do. Recognition... that is something more. Something that would happen, name or not. It's so for all of my people, though some may pick different use-names for speaking.**
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Post by Sunset on Sept 19, 2023 19:39:51 GMT 1
The cat-blooded elf listened quietly, and then offered Milo a small smile of reassurance. "Sometimes our names aren't hidden from us, and I think that maybe some of my old friends used the names for their true selves as well."
Sunset felt an overwhelming sense of morbidity at this conversation. That they were so freely speaking of their secret selves meant a lot of risk, but it also...it made this feel more like a tribe. Some sense of sameness, to help combat the disconnection and loneliness she, at least, had felt since she'd come through the Beacon.
Scenting Keleero, she looked for her taller friend, frowning a little as she realized he was trying to stay apart from the conversation. He was so fidgety and uncomfortable around the wolfriders and the spotted elf, and she knew he tried desperately to ignore that she likely had cat blood herself. Gently, she locksent to him, ~**@keleero? Are you all right?**~
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Post by Choice on Sept 20, 2023 19:55:37 GMT 1
Choice took a deep breath, bracing himself. Now that Milo had spoken up there was no way he could stay silent. He hadn't been idle since speaking with Crispin and he hoped the long nights he'd spent thinking this through would steer him true. **Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to be called by your name,** Choice sent. He was speaking to Milo, but letting all who could hear listen in. He didn't like shutting Spotfur – or Esseltu? - out but he needed to share more than words could, to make himself as clear as possible. **You have done nothing wrong. Your wishes are not wrong. It's that we have been raised very differently and…** Choice paused to gesture at the gathered elves, as if to try and summarize all that had been said of soul names. **I want to make you happy and make you feel safe. I will try to use the name you wish to be called.** He hesitated, gave a brief prayer for guidance to the High Ones, then rushed on, letting Milo and all the other listeners feel his inner turmoil: **The reason I reacted as I did when you first shared your...name, is because to me, sharing your soul name is dangerous. It is simply not done except under very specific circumstances and very rarely. Using someone else's soul name as a name is something I have been taught since birth is as bad as sticking your hand in a fire. So there is nothing wrong with you or your wishes. It is simply that I have been given two very different stories of how the world works and I'm struggling to make them join together.** Choice wished the knowledge that some soul names were different than others would have allowed him to feel that difference. But no such luck. It would perhaps have helped if Crispin's name had had the same dramatic and obvious effects as Milo's had on how Choice saw them. Yet another difference to make sense of. Crispin's name, once she'd pointed it out, did feel slightly 'more' than a name like Choice of No-Sting, but it hadn't given Choice the knowledge about her that Milo's had revealed about him. Such a tangle! **Please, have patience with me,** he finished and held his breath. |
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Post by Mahrak on Sept 20, 2023 20:01:10 GMT 1
Mahrak leaned back against Longsleep, basking in the opportunity to learn so much about so many people all at once. He happily returned the smile Nightbird sent his way and replied: ~**That's Eryk . Prickly as an old thorn bush and quiet as the mountains. At least, that's my impression of him thus far. Who knows, he might be as cuddly as Longsleep once he warms up to you.**~ Another smile was sent Flint 's way. Hearing him share his own knowledge of soul names was beyond delightful. Mahrak might also have made his smile a little flirtatious, just to test the waters. He had no wish to push interest where it wasn't wanted, but he'd gotten the impression that Flint not picking up his hints not necessarily signaled disinterest. So he kept gently prodding. When Choice began his little sending speech to Milo, Mahrak sat up straighter, eagerly awaiting the outcome of this. To Nightbird and Flint, he lock-sent: ~**Oooh, this will be interesting! Let's see if the cub listens to this or if he's too busy wallowing in misery to hear anything but 'No'.**~ Mahrak did have some sympathy for Milo, having both once been his age and knowing Milo's life before Beacon Call had been a rough one, but he still held on to some frustrations after his own failed attempt at explaining soul names to the youth. He honestly hoped this gathering and Choice would do a better job of it. Then Crispin sent and Mahrak found himself saying "Hang on a moment," before he'd known he meant to speak. He continued speaking, because even if not planned, he was never shy to voice his opinions: "Now I'm confused. Your name," he gestured at Crispin, "is nowhere near as full of secrets as his." A wave at Milo. "I'm not saying yours is a regular one, dear Crispin, but how come I see so much more of him when I know his name, then I see of you when I know yours?" Mahrak didn't think twice about revealing he'd known Milo's soul name for a while. Wasn't like the kit was keeping it a true secret. |
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Post by No-Sting on Sept 20, 2023 20:03:30 GMT 1
Swift-Wind gave No-Sting a playful elbow to the ribs as No-Sting perked up just as much if not more at the greeting from Badger . No-Sting stoically ignored this and did her best to act unruffled, stealing the occasional glance Badger's way even after the wolf maiden had stopped speaking. Then Tambri 's tale of elves who neither had soul names nor Recognized utterly stunned No-Sting for a moment. She had to turn to the elf in question and ask, to make sure she hadn't misheard: "No Recognition?" What a thought! "They just end up with cubs whenever? Or do they have seasons they have cubs in?" She vaguely remembered her own people having tales of elves born outside of Recognition, but usually that had involved healing magic and thus were cautionary tales. Choice's speech left her reeling a little bit, especially in regards to the use of soul names as names. She had noticed that Crispin's name felt somewhat odd, but not in the way she'd imagined it would have felt like to learn someone's soul name. And Mahrak had apparently known Olim's soul name for a while, as it seemed had Choice. She'd been so busy hunting, gathering and making sure they had safe places to sleep, she'd clearly missed out on a lot of important drama in the holt itself. She honestly didn't know how to feel about that. |
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Post by Keleero on Sept 20, 2023 20:07:06 GMT 1
Focused on following the tangle of conversation and information flowing through the clearing outside the caves, Keleero started as Sunset touched his mind with hers. He hadn't been trying to hide but he hadn't been prepared for anyone to seek him out either. ~**I am fine. I merely prefer to stay inside the caves.**~ he sent back, curtly though not unkindly. He'd never mastered the near impossible skill of lying while sending, but he'd gotten good at sharing no feelings whatsoever, only words and images. It might make for an unusually cold or barren mind voice, but it was the custom of his people and one hard to put aside. Gentle sendings put him off balance the most. They were a downright alien sensation, having spent only a handful of his long life in any position to receive such things without there being an undertone of threat to them. To distract himself, and as if to prove he truly was fine, he sent openly: **It would seem there is a great variety in what the words 'soul name' mean to all of us. You,** he indicated Crispin, **can clearly share your soul name safely. Others are not so lucky.** He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say with that. Maybe he was joining the conversation to not stand out as a silent shape lurking in the darkness. Maybe...maybe he wished to stave off any possible chance for the discussion to take a mad turn toward more soul name sharing. Mahrak would likely champion such a horrifically unsafe idea – he'd long ago proved he'd little sense and no ability to keep silent. Why Keleero kept bedding him only the High Ones knew. |
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Post by Reefshadow on Sept 20, 2023 20:45:21 GMT 1
The sea elf had stayed silent for a while, listening to the back and forth with interest. He'd known that, in some tribes, soul names were considered secret, sacred things. Some of the members of his own pod kept theirs to themselves, but out of a desire for privacy, not out of necessity. Between the gliders and pureblooded elves that had mixed with them throughout the ages, keeping them secret for safety seemed a thing long of the past.
"Oh, calm down, featherhead," Reefshadow retorted playfully to Keleero. His send was distracted and irritated, but what else was new? "Nobody's asking you to share yours. It's just to get a better understanding of where everyone's come from."
The blue elf stretched, adjusting to find another sunwarmed spot on the rock. He spoke again, "For my pod, some of us still have soul names. But we haven't needed them for safety for some time. Recognition is more just a way to guarantee a pip, or pips, and while some of us can have children outside of it, it's not always safe to."
He glanced at Crispin, understanding how she seemed more her true self because of knowing the name. "I don't think any of you knowing mine would change much, but I'm not looking to be a sire, either. If my soul decides it for me, well, that's different."
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Post by Milo on Sept 21, 2023 5:17:34 GMT 1
Milo listened, had done some thinking of himself – no one here meant him harm, they just didn't knew any better than he did what to do with this. Though he still was somewhat cross with Mahrak, for using the wrong words at the wrong time. For asking to hear it and then backtrack on using it. He glanced at Choice, hint of a smile showing. ~**With you, always**~
Out loud, for the others he added: “It's... alright, to call me Milo. Not like you can truly speak my name out loud. But it's important. It's the only thing that's ever been mine.” Which was another delicacy Mahrak had failed to understand.
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Post by Crispin on Sept 21, 2023 5:17:51 GMT 1
**Because I choose too. I've shared all of myself with plenty of family, lovers and friends over the course of a long life and never suffered any harm from it. It's... a sign of bonds beyond those of blood, to me.** Crispin calmly explained. **Perhaps our young friends people have different customs. Perhaps he can't do it, because there was no one to show him how. Perhaps he doesn't want to. No wrong in either path.** Personally she thought it was mostly Milos attachment to the name, to be recognized and understood, but who could fault the cub that, after the life he had?
She worried more about Keleero. This discussion, uncomfortable as it may be, was a good moment to form some more tentative bonds between all those brought here. To start a culture of understanding and talking about differences. And the glider was keeping himself apart from it, ever retreating to the cave. **How was it for your people, Keleero?** she asked openly, trying to include him more.
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Post by Flint on Sept 21, 2023 5:18:05 GMT 1
Flint kept aside, quietly, trying to keep track of all that was being said. Too many people talking all at once on a topic where he, frankly, lacked the basis of understanding. Talking such out with Sapling had been wholly different, less words and more feelings, knowing each other deeply already. He knew not flirting, could not see Mahraks tries for what they were, for all he rarely reacted badly to it – but his preference to keep away from touching, to not be looked at directly, to say how things were, had been borne from a life of alien experiences.
“What is this Recognition you keep talking off?” he threw into a pause between speakers.
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