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Almonihah didn't leave the village, but neither did he particularly feel like staying. He tried to figure out why he wasn't going anywhere as he aimlessly wandered through the days and weeks. It wasn't as if he really wanted to live in a place like this... while he'd grown to respect the Griffon Tribe's ways during his time with them, the idea of staying in one area and doing the same routine year after year just grated on him.
At the same time, he finally admitted to himself late in the autumn, he didn't really have anywhere he wanted to go. He'd been thinking about going south to the Line, but in all honesty, that had just been for lack of a better idea. No, he didn't want to go somewhere he'd be stuck for a while doing the same thing every day, whether here with the tribe or south at the Line. So... basically, he wanted to go anywhere, but there wasn't anywhere he wanted to go.
He snorted at his own thoughts.
The first snows were falling when he finally realized what he'd wanted to do for the last several months. The tribe was gathered to hear a tale from Owl Talon, as was apparently their tradition when the first snow fell. As many of their tales did, it related the story of a young man on his Vision Quest, and the many experiences he had during it.
After the tale was done, Almonihah was able to catch up with Owl Talon out of sight and hearing of the other Plainsmen. The old shaman turned and looked up at the half-dragon with one of his mysterious smiles.
“Is there something you wish, young dragon?” he asked.
Almonihah was quiet for a while, trying to decide how to approach the subject. Finally, he asked, “How d' you go on a Vision Quest?”
Owl Talon nodded, as if this was the most natural question in the world... or one he'd been expecting for a long time. “First, I would have you understand that most Vision Quests are not nearly so dramatic as those in our tales.” He waited for Almonihah's nod before continuing. “To begin a Vision Quest, the young man in question must leave behind all of his possessions except a single weapon.”
Almonihah nodded. That much he'd been able to pick up from the stories.
“After that, he must leave the village until he knows it is time to return. Although,” Owl Talon paused, “You most likely will not be returning to us for quite some time. Regardless, he must then travel out into the wilds, and there... follow the direction of the Earth Mother.”
The half-dragon nodded slowly. “'nd you leave in th' Spring.”
Owl Talon nodded.
“Guess I'm here until then.”
*****'
The end of Chapter 13! Yeah, in future revisions, I'm pretty sure chapters 12 and 13 will be condensed into one short chapter.
So, thing should pick back up after this. Hopefully I'll write more now, since the next part is much more interesting.
