Your Protector

0.5 Words of wisdom

„Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

That was the answer I got from my father to almost all of my questions. And while it was a beautiful sentence, I never understood the exact meaning.
So a lot of times my father got the same facial expression from me as a response.
Big golden colored eyes with specks of green in them, staring back at him, confused.

„Explain it to her in her level of language, Ley'ä'itan"
Those were my mothers first words I remembered. Her lecturing my father about using easier language around his five year old second born.

„If she thinks about it for long enough, she will begin to understand it, won't you Vawayani?"

That of course I understood because I recognized the sound of my name. I nodded eagerly „Yes father"

He looked down on my with a soft smile put my hair behind my ear.
The peaceful silence of the forest was interrupted by tiny but fast footsteps coming towards us.

„Mother, Father look what I found, I am a real hunter now." my six year old brother Ratxaw exclaimed breathlessly as he held a lively fish in his hands.

„Ratxaw, how many times must I tell you to leave the fish in peace, show me where you found it. We will put him back while he's still alive." My father scolded, standing up and taking the fish from my now sulking brother as they both walked back to the pond.

My mother laughed quietly and walked over to me when I asked „Why must he put the fish back? He caught it?"

„Yes my dear, but torturing animals for pure entertainment is not what hunters do, and warriors especially not." she explained calmly and took my hand as we started walking back to our hut.

„So what do warriors do?" I asked naively, tracking my footstep and trying to match them to the pace of my mothers which were much larger.

„We protect the people in our clan."

I looked up and saw her looking straight ahead, her expression was blank but her eyes weren't.

„Like the Olo'eyktan? And Toruk Makto?" I whispered the last part, covering one side of my mouth.

My mother started laughing as she looked down at me, picking me up in her arms when she started climbing up „Especially the Olo'eyktan and his family, our family has been the closest protector to them for endless generations."

„Will I do that as well?" I played with one braid of many on her head.

„Eventually you will, but that is another story for your father to tell you."

Once we were in our hut Mother started preparing dinner and I went outside to find my friend, Kiri.

I knew the way to her hut by heart. We had recently become close, she was also five and she could talk to the Prolemuris which was super cool.

„Kiri!" I yelled loudly, arriving at her hut where I saw her Mother Neytiri and her two brothers. I had only met Kiri and Neytiri until that moment.

„Yani!" she yelled excitedly and began running to me. Her mother laughed at the sight, covering her mouth.

I looked around her hut to see her brothers playing.

„Hello my name is Vawayani." I smiled proudly.

„My name is Lo'ak, this is Neteyam." the younger boy said smiling and pointing to his brother next to him who was only focusing on stacking the stones they were playing with, not acknowledging me nor his brother.

Kiri pulled me away from them and she told me how her mother was cooking her favorite dinner. Then we played what felt like only a few moments before my mother came to take me home for dinner.

I said goodbye to Kiri and to both Lo'ak and Neteyam, who shyly smiled at me this time.

≿————-　❈　————-≾

After dinner, as father prepared me for bed I questioned „Why is our family the only one protecting the Olo'eyktan?"

„We are not the only one's, the whole clan would protect him just as he would protect us."
He continued
„The difference is that the Ley'ä'itan family have been the closest protectors for generations. It started with the first ever Toruk Makto in the forest clan history, he united with a separate folk full of warriors, which were our ancestors, and who had been banished from their old clan for their aggressive ways to protect. And so he gave them everything they needed to survive and together they created a new clan.
They fought side by side to protect Pandorra. Even if they laid down dying, they would never turn their back on him. Our ancestors have fought in every war along with the Toruk Makto since then and we have made it our duty to protect him and his family no matter the consequences."

„So it is genetic?" I asked solemnly and my father began laughing as he sat next to me.

„Our Family, Vawa, is a dearly respected one in our clan and we have our ancestors to thank for that. A warriors greatest defeat is to not be seen as a threat, remember that." he looked serious before continuing.
„And well our family has only given birth to the best warriors and hunters for decades, so yes you may say it is genetic." he patted my hair and gave me a kiss on the head before telling me to go to sleep.

But after that story I layed there, thinking. Will I also get to protect the great Olo'eyktan? Will I be a great Ley'ä'itan warrior?