Orion says goodbye…

The next morning when Orion woke he realized that there was no ceremonial gong as he expected. He thought that maybe Lady Suzu had not had her baby as he had thought. He prepared himself for the morning and hoped to run into someone right away with news.

He met Tatiana first as she came from the kitchen with a pitcher of water. She stopped as he bowed to her. Her smile seemed tired and before he could ask she told him what he was expecting.

“Good morning, Orion. Lady Suzu is resting up in the women’s quarters with her son. I will fetch you when they are ready.” She continued up to the bedroom and left him standing in the courtyard.

Orion felt disappointed but not as much as he had expected; he had a son! Now he only had to make it through his chores for the morning and then he could meet him. What had Lady Suzu named him, he wondered?

Orion did not have long to wait before he was summoned. As he walked up the stairs he heard quiet cooing and Lady Suzu’s voice speaking softly to the child. Lady Suzu stood in front of the cot, rocking their son.

Suzu turned towards Orion and held out the baby for him to see.

“I am pleased to present my son, Rigel, brightest star in the constellation Orion.”

Orion was stunned. What a wonderful way to remember him after he went away. She put Rigel into his cot and reached out to embrace Orion.

“I’m so sorry you have to go away…” she sounded upset as she pulled away and he saw her eyes glistening. Orion shook his head and held her hand.

“It is alright, Lady Suzu. I understand the rules and I am not upset. You have given our son a name that will remind him where he came from and I am so grateful.” He bowed to her and she wiped her eyes to compose herself.

“You are too good to us here. I will miss you terribly.” She turned back to the cot and lifted Rigel up and towards Orion. “Please hold him…” She carefully placed him into Orion’s arms. “Tonight we will say goodbye, so, until then…” She left him to cuddle his child.

That afternoon everyone worked together in the garden to help send Orion off. He and Phoenix joked about old times and Tatiana tried to be lighthearted. She and Phoenix had returned to speaking terms but there was now a rift between the two.

When they were finished, Suzu came out to say some words.

“Orion, you have served our clan with honor and we will all miss your cheerful presence in the compound. We wish you well in your new life!” Everyone cheered him and Orion held his head high. He did not know if he would ever come back to them but he did know that he would not be forgotten.

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Orion can be found on the gallery under the hashtag #suzuclan and #amazonchallenge. He has CC enabled. If you use him please let me know! I’d love to see how he gets along in your games and stories. 

ALSO, BEWARE OF SPOILERS ON THE GALLERY! I’ll try not to give too much away… 😉

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As the weeks went on, Suzu realized that they needed another hand around the compound. Not quite ready to bring in a new attendant, she instead went to look for another sister. She went back to her teahouse and there met a young woman named Jana Min. She came highly recommended as she was thought to have the power of divination.

Although Suzu prayed for good harvests every morning, she was not one to believe in magic. Still, she decided to bring Jana into the clan for a while to see how she got on with the rest of them.

Jana went straight to work on her meditation skills. Her first day inside the compound was spent by the tree and Tatiana and Phoenix watched from a distance.

Tatiana did her best to befriend their potential sister. Jana was pleasant enough. She appreciated how the compound was decorated.

“There is such fine art here. It will be beneficial to me during meditation…”

The three sisters got along well. Tatiana’s loneliness went away a little with another person around to talk to. Suzu was pleased that she had a new companion. A little of Tatiana’s brightness returned to them.

Phoenix found that he liked Jana quite a bit. He didn’t let Tatiana see but he was fascinated by the new sister. Something about her pulled him to her…

Phoenix did his best to get to know her and they became fast friends. Being a shaman in training, she had some tricks to share and Phoenix was, of course, eager to please.

“Phoenix, I would like to read your aura. Would you allow me to enter your mind?”

“Uh, yes! Of course, Ms Jana…”

Jana pressed her fingers to her temples and appeared to be intensely concentrating. Suddenly, Phoenix felt strange and his thoughts jumbled.

What an interesting man. So many emotions and personal connections… Jana thought to herself as she explored his mind. After some time she felt very tired and released her hold on him. Phoenix looked baffled at what had happened but he was also oddly excited.

“I don’t know what you did but it was amazing… You truly are a shaman!” His confusing feelings intensified. “You must show Lady Suzu!” Jana waved her hands in front of her, looking worried.

“No! Not yet… I am not yet ready… In time I will show her, do not fear.” Phoenix continued to stare at her in awe. She smiled as if she had him right where she wanted him…

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The next post will be September 10th so watch out!
We’ll be jumping into the future…