Ecclesiastes 7:1

While he was more than content to keep pestering his sisters within the confines of the shrine, the growing boy was beginning to wonder if there was more outside than the chilly powder that he had been able to investigate while Obi slipped in and out during the day. Just as the door shut, sometimes it brought some of the strange substance inside, and he could examine it. Until it melted. Mother had explained that it was called snow and it fell from the sky outside, but only when it was cold outside. Which it definitely was, since a cold breeze invaded the shrine every time the door slid open. The boy had been satisfied with this explanation, for a while. Perhaps mother had sensed it, and was letting them go outside today to sate his growing curiosity for now.

Of course, after wake up time was bath time. Like the good boy he was, he sat still while mother carefully cleaned the sleep from his downy fur. Had the gentle bath made him sleepy? Maybe, but he tried his best to keep himself on his feet, though the musical hum that accompanied his bath couldn't be helped. It was so nice, he hoped mother would give him baths every day, forever. Once he was all clean, he plodded over to where Obi had set himself up with a collection of pots he'd seen briefly before. He wasn't fully familiar with them, so it must be a special 'going outside' thing. Sidling closer to Obi, he parked his little butt as neatly as he could in the spot obi directed him to. Obi's fingers in his fur was as familiar as his mother's tongue along his spine by now, he had never considered the gentle brushing and coaxing by the nimble hands to be a strange thing. Pale eyes slid closed again under the gentle ministrations, and his contented humming returned. Once Obi had tapped him lightly to signal his grooming was finished, he blinked a few times to clear the fog away from his brain. Rising carefully to his oversized paws, the boy playfully lunged forward and aimed to swipe his tongue over Obi's nose in an affectionate thanks. He settled down near the heart of the shrine while his sisters received the same care, watching his glowing sister's mystical fur move with mute fascination. He wasn't sure he'd ever stop being amazed by it.

He'd listened to mother and Obi say the morning prayers, waking at the same time as always to arrange themselves in supplication at the heart of the shrine. He had been working hard to learn the words, even though sometimes his mind drifted elsewhere. the flicker of flames among the coals had a habit of drawing his attention, and holding it just long enough for him to lose his focus on what mother was saying. However, by now he'd gotten the words pretty well memorized. With a little prompting in the future, he could perfect the morning prayers quickly enough. The soft consonants and vowel heavy syllables were beginning to become as familiar as the common tongue to the boy. He'd watched his monochromatic sister, the one with the bobbed tail and the pink nose, and she followed along just as obediently with mother's lessons every day. Perhaps it was because she paid more attention to the lessons, or that she was the first one to dutifully rise and meet the day, that she was the first one to be led outside. He wondered what she was seeing out there, and part of him wondered what name mother, and to the same extent God, would bestow upon her. In the same vein, he considered the vast possibilities of what name mother would give him! Something cool he hoped, he didn't want to have a stupid name, even if it was what God wanted. What if God named him Poopy-Brain? That would be the worst.

Finally, it was his turn to leave the cavernous, stone embrace of the shrine proper where he'd spent his entire life. Outside was bitterly cold, the snow made very strange crunching sounds under his charcoal paws. Regardless, the boy was awed by the world he saw around him. Washed of any darkness, even the trees seemed to match the starkness of the snow underfoot. Until, at least, he arrived at the massive glowing pool where mother directed him to sit on a soft rug. This was good, his toes were already getting really cold, a whole different sensation than the dull bite of the small drifts that wafted into the shrine proper. As he drew closer to the pool, he considered the reality of the water. Was this God, or did he live in there? He was fairly sure mother would be mad at him if he walked away to look into the pool. This was a very important day, she had told them all. They were to behave, or they would be in a lot of trouble. The young boy didn't want to be in big trouble with mother, or with Obi. He settled alongside the bob tailed sister on the plush rug, and was joined by his other sisters quicker than he expected. Time passed differently out here, he thought. There was so much to look at, and he wasn't sure he could properly absorb it all before he had to pay attention to the very important ceremony.

Obi was doing a whole lot, setting aside some more of the little containers that were scattered throughout the shrine proper. There seemed to be a method to his movements, but the boy wasn't fully sure what the whole point was. No one had explained it to him, probably because he wasn't supposed to know yet. God hadn't accepted him yet, after all. The soft croaking of something dark in a container was added into the mix, and whatever it was, it was moving. Very weird. This was going to be an important day, and he hoped he didn't mess it all up. Just as he was beginning to get a grasp of his surroundings, become accustomed to the looming trees overhead, mother laid a fur over his head. Sit still, don't move until she said so, that was what they were supposed to do. So, the young boy waited, folded his thin limbs beneath himself to keep his toes warm. The gap beneath the edge of the fur left enough room for him to gawk at everything going on outside, but right now it was just mother's paws and Obi. Were his sisters excited too? Were they also nervous? Would God love him, like mother and Obi did?

"talking" thinking actions