Sneaking within the walls of the bamboo had its upsides. The little golden girl frequently weaved through the bamboo poles of the maze on her own. It was easy to lose track of her since there were eleven children in the litter.
She typically observed and listened to everything around her. She knew she had a hard time speaking around others. By herself though she practiced mimicking the words and some of the conversations she heard as she hid away.
Every time she came face to face with someone though, it felt like her words were stuck behind her mouth. As if suddenly a rock was placed between her words and her voice and she just couldn't get around it somehow. Her heart would race and her mouth would feel glued shut and no matter what she screamed in her head the words just would not appear. Would she ever be able to speak her mind?
One time while listening and observing her packmates she heard a conversation with one of the healers. Someone was suffering from some anxiety and worries and had trouble talking about it and sleeping. The healer offered some chamomile and lemon balm teas to ease their worries and soothe their mind. Asahi watched carefully as they prepared the herbs and tea and noticed that the stock of those plants where low. She wondered if these herbs would also help her speak.
Early one morning Asahi snuck out of the Bamboo Maze. She saw the trail some of the healers took to gather herbs and suddenly the matter of her missing voice wasn't the scariest thing. Rolling green hills stretched out bald and bare before her. Asahi spent most of her life within the protection of the maze and the bay. Seeing the open land suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed. How determined was she to get these herbs all by herself? When she set out this morning she thought she was set on how easy this was but suddenly... The herbs seemed so very far away... And no one knew where she was going. Because she couldn't tell them... She had to find her voice, these herbs will help her find her voice!
She stood for a moment longer, planning her route. With a great breath, she puffed out her chest and pushed herself out into the open moor. Suddenly her heart leaped into her throat as she felt suddenly very naked against the world and she ran forward as fast she could along the path, her chest thrumming with fear and excitement both.
Her paws slowed along the path as she ran out of breath, the stones loomed on a big hill still ahead of her. She noticed several other stones strewn about beside the path and around the various hills. Her fear started to be overcome by her curiosity as she strolled steadily onward, her golden gaze absorbing all around her. There were plants and tracks of critters that weren't very common within the bamboo maze, she wanted to know all about them now!
The cry of a large bird overhead made her heart race again! She pounded her paws against the path once more and sped up toward the landmark. She reached it just as the bird called again circling above her. She clung to the side of one of the large stones towering high. She watched the wings of the bird circle overhead for a little while until it circled away, perhaps set on trying for easier prey.
With a shaky sigh, Asahi continued to watch the shadow of the bird fly away until she couldn't see it any longer. She scanned the sky and her surroundings, her back pressed against the large stone. She was alone again and safe. Cautiously she pulled away from the rock and tiptoed around it looking carefully at the plants as she swept through them. The unmistakable scent of lemon balm wafted toward her from another great carved stone. Within the circle she felt safe, surrounded by the mighty stones on every side, much like the bamboo maze. She could breathe easier and felt a settling calm envelope her in the quietness of the circle. She reached the other stone and circled it to find a small stand of lemon balm a few tail lengths away from the stone itself. She hopped toward the clump of lemon balm and picked several fronds. Then leaped back to the embrace of the stones and within the circle.
She placed her lemon balm at the root of the stone and wandered into the center of the rune stone circle. She could see the barest outlines of several carvings in the subtle shadows of the morning light on each one. A line here, an arrow there, a spiral and mountain and a sun... She felt the sun warm her skin and she drew in a breath.
"Chamomile..." She whispered into the wind. Her eyes landed on a seemingly random arrow that pointed askew to the earth. A clump of chamomile grew haphazardly around the stones in a swathed blanket at its peak. She bounded joyously toward them and picked a full jawful of the gently scented daisy-like blossoms. She was victorious! She bounded to where she last left her lemon balm and added them to her mouthful bundle. She stepped high beyond the stones and made her way steadily home.
Asahi does not typically speak, even sometimes when she wants to.
Her brother Jiro may enter her threads unannounced!
