Quiet Rabbit
A Single Tapestry - Individeual Destenies
These Are the origin stories of the people who shaped Taelo’s world. These are the intimate tales: The naming of Taelo and Golden Hawk A Of their Mothers: White Swan and Quiet Pheasant.
Of a Grandmother: Who raises Quiet Rabbit who becomes Taelo's Mate.
Of Busy Bee, Who becomes Golden Hawks Mate
Of Little Otter and Talking Wren two opposites that fate brings together
Of Burley Bear of the Others and how he becomes like a brother to Taelo.
Of How Rolling Stone of the Others became Saber Scar.
And of Broken Spear, the Seer of the Others who is with Taelo from infancy and through all of Taelo's Journeys.
Each story reveals the roots of Courage Loyalty, and the constant adventure that echoes throughout the Taelo saga.
These are not just character sketches.
They are the emotional foundation of a world.
A tapestry of mothers, daughters, hunters seers future leaders.
whose choices, whose sacrifices, and triumphs surrounded the path Taelo walked throughout his life.
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Quiet Rabbit
Quiet Rabbit walked slowly behind and took in the orange, yellow and red of the leaves. The bright red leaves on one bush caught her eye and she wondered what name it had. She ran her hand through the tan waving grasses. She looked into a cloudless sky at a lone eagle gliding in a graceful seemingly effortless dance with the wind.
She pulled her favorite jacket snuggly around her as the gust reminded her that the season was chilling, and the cold season was ahead.
She had fallen behind as she absorbed what to her were the wonders of her world. She hurried forward to catch up with her parents.
They were holding hands and talking quietly to each other. Quiet Rabbit could not hear what they were saying but it did not matter. The way they were walking, the way they were talking, and the way they looked at each other was what Quiet Rabbit absorbed.
She knew that the bond, the force, the way they were one, was what she wanted for herself. To her it seemed that the two reinforced each other and together they were powerful, they were whole. She felt the warmth as if the two harbored the flames of a fire.
Quiet Rabbit ran ahead past them, until she reached a rocky open area along the lake bank. She looked around for some flat rocks that she could skip across the water. She giggled as her skipping stone was passed by one that went much farther than hers.
Her father had been given the name Flat Stone at his naming ceremony after he selected a flat stone from the edge of the naming blanket, but he was now known as Fast Skimmer for the speed of his running and his ability to skip his stones farther than anyone in the Elk Clan. He was also one of the best hunters in the Clan.
He was friends with Red Oak and Grey Fox Running. The three were the lead hunters for the clan.
He had told her mother and her that this was his departure walk with the two most beautiful women in his life.
He, Red Oak and Gray Fox Running were taking the hunters out on a long hunt. The Clan needed a fresh supply of meat to make it through the coming cycle. The hunters would be gone for at least one moon.
She felt the exhilaration flow through her as he picked her up and spun around with her in the air. They laughed together for the whole time.
The evening ended with them sitting together around White Swan’s fire and sharing stories of long hunts in the past and of past exploits that they had shared.
The next day her father, Grey Fox Running and Red Oak led the hunting parties out for their annual long hunt. They would bring back enough meat to feed the Elk Horn Clan until the warm season.
She and her mother both wished all the hunters good hunting. The better the hunt went, the sooner the hunters came home.
Their return would be the trigger to prepare to travel to the seasonal gathering of all the Elk sub-clans.
The sun cycles seemed long and the moon cycles even longer. Finally, a runner came in with the news that the long hunters were returning.
She and her mother had marked a stick each evening as the sun left for the night and yielded to the sky lit by the twinkling of the many ancestors and the huge white lady of the night. They laughed together about the fact that they were Fast Skimmer’s beautiful women, but he was their strong handsome man.
She and her mother spent many hours preparing goods that could be traded at the fall clan gathering.
A scout had returned and let the Clan know that the long hunters were returning. She and her mother and the rest of the Clan stood at the edge of the village waiting for their arrival.
A cheer went up when everyone saw at least six heavily loaded travois being pulled toward them.
Quiet Rabbit scanned the entire convoy but did not see the figure she was searching for. She looked up at her mother when the hand on her shoulder began to squeeze her to the point it hurt.
Thank you for reading this far.
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