Chapter 11A-Melanie's Initiation
Wayne
and Char were still working on their base camp and making good
progress. They invited him to stop by if he was ever in the
neighborhood and gave him directions. At least they were not mad at
him. Tara was still looking for someone to partner up with for the
winter and wasn’t doing so well with the construction of her base camp.
It was pretty obvious she was looking for a man.
Tobal saw some
of his other friends gathered by the kitchen and waved. Only a couple
waved back and a few looked the other direction and moved away. He saw
the Ox glower at him and sulk past silently.
Apparently there
were no other candidates that month and Melanie’s initiation was going
to be the only one. There was a highly charged atmosphere about the
camp with an under current of anger and many were curious to get their
first sight of this hell cat that was also rumor had it, prepared to
take her solo! She was going to do this without even the traditional
month of training and it was causing quite a stir.
Later he
learned from Ellen the Ox had waited at sanctuary for another student
and none had appeared. Both Zee and Kevin had gone there after the
storm and waited too but no one had shown up. That’s why they were
upset with him. While they had been worried about him he had been out
training the only newbie available.
She warned him there could
really be some hard feelings and resentment among Apprentices unless
more newbies started coming in. The last couple months had been
abnormally slow and people planning on becoming Journeymen were still
one or two trainees away. Ox was obviously on the war path and it would
pay to stay well out of his way if possible.
He excused himself
from Ellen and was thinking about what she had said when he suddenly
remembered the attack on his camp and the mysterious mass grave at the
abandoned gathering spot. He wanted to ask Rafe about these things.
Unfortunately Rafe was involved in Melanie’s initiation as a guard.
Tobal also wanted to share his secret camp location with Rafe so he
could find it.
As Melanie’s initiation began, Tobal found
himself casting furtive glances toward the red haired girl. She was
talking rapidly and excitedly to an Apprentice that was sitting next to
her. He recognized the gray robed figure as the instructor that brought
her into circle last time. He suddenly realized Becca was going to be
soloing this month along with Melanie.
His feelings of
responsibility toward Melanie were stronger than his curiosity and he
felt himself drawn back into Melanie’s initiation ceremony as the drums
started beating in deep rhythm. He was drawn into the dance with the
other circle members.
Disoriented, she stood hoodwinked and
tied before the central fire. Her tunic had been cut a little too high
and he caught glimpses of her pubic hair in the firelight. It seemed
that some dancers jostled her too roughly but she stood proudly through
it all as the power grew within the circle. Tobal could feel the power
growing and soon sensed the presence of the Lord and Lady. He saw them
with his inner eye. It seemed they were not as happy as before and the
energy had an angry tinge to it that had not been there during his
initiation.
He was happy for Melanie and gave her a big hug at
the end of the ceremony. She was now wearing the gray trousers and
there were tears of happiness in her eyes.
“Thank you Tobal,”
she whispered as she clung to him. “This is sanctuary and the safest
place I have ever been in my life. I’m among friends I can trust in a
place where I belong and you are my closest and dearest friend.”
She pulled him close and kissed him deeply, her lips crushing his in a fierce embrace.
The party was getting into full swing when some raucous voices called
Tobal over in their direction. Tobal saw his friends drinking home
brewed beer out of leather drinking jacks and hurried over to help
drink it up. This evening was in Melanie’s honor and he made
introductions. It was Melanie that made the greatest hit by passing out
honeycomb and honey to people greedy for the unaccustomed sweets. The
drums beat again and the party shifted into high gear with people
dancing just for the pleasure of dancing.
Rafe came over in his
new black outfit. They exchanged stories and caught each other up on
what had been going on. Rafe was concerned about Tobal’s camp being
destroyed and mentioned there had been other camps that had been
destroyed in that general area. He had never heard about the abandoned
camp with its mass grave site and found the story interesting,
especially the part about the air sleds that came and buzzed them
without waving back. He considered going there and checking it out
himself.
Rafe also brought him up to date on circle and clan
politics. It seemed that fewer people were coming to circle these days.
The shortage of newbies had caused division among the clan members. The
heat of the summer months made food abundant and many treated it as a
holiday. Others formed romantic partnerships that lasted several months.
Often love turned sour and couples once in love with each other
separated in anger and jealousy looking for new partners or newbies to
train. The total effect was too many clan members stuck in the
Apprentice degree without a means of self promotion. They were going
elsewhere and turning their attention to other things. There was even
talk of a new gathering spot that had different laws and customs.
Rafe’s students had managed to corner the market on newbies and were
moving up the ranks faster than others. The incident with Ox brought
things to a head and guide lines needed to be set up. Ox had come back
from waiting over a week at sanctuary and no one had shown up. Furious
he had gone to the elders complaining that Tobal had threatened him
with a knife and forcibly taken Melanie away from him. The circle
elders took this very seriously and they were very interested in
talking with Tobal about it.
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