dmousey: (Default)
dmousey ([personal profile] dmousey) wrote2018-10-15 05:45 pm

LJI 12 Native RedBird

The small girl in her buckskins was barely noticeable. She had fallen asleep under a huckleberry bush. Her buckets were full, as well as her stomach, and there were two hares in her deerskin pouch. The berries, and venison jerky she ate along with it, her excuse for needing the nap. A knife tucked into her waistband lent a measure of comfort and safety, along with the bow, and its quiver full of arrows sitting nestled between her shoulders.

As she slept, the veil between present and future came asunder. Her unconscious awareness rose from her sleeping body and continued until it reached the buffalo plains of the elders. Someone (it could of been her) chanted, while other voices sung the prayers for divination, and power flowed and ebbed through and around her.

Delicately wrapping Red Bird's spirit with a cushion of air, the Ancestors blew her through tunnels created in time. At reaching her destination, the Elders instructed her to wake, and gaze into the future.

"Red Bird look. Open your inner eye, and understand the danger that is coming to our world ." Red Bird's eyes sprung open.

She stood on the top of dunes, where beaches met a green sea far off on the other side of The People's vast lands. A westerly wind was blowing, and some distance out in the water, sat a great wooden craft. Death stood at its helm. And Death was not alone.

He and his companions came disguised as men, but they were unlike any men she'd ever known. Their canoe-like long boats landed along the shoreline, and Red Bird's gift of sight stripped their masks away. She gasped as she saw these vessels had come helmed by Pestilence and Famine, Sorrow and War.

She felt immediate fear for her people. She had to warn them. With her connection to the vision fading, Red Bird hurriedly asked the Elders. "Dearest Ancestors, how long do The People have before this future comes to pass?"

The Elders replied. "Before two handfuls of generations pass, you need to gather Our People; As many as will follow the buffalo to their northern breeding grounds. Go far beyond these Blackhills and valleys of Six Pillar Mountain. You will find rest by the "Waters of the Spirit" and there will be others to help you."

"Now awaken Red Bird, and tell your grandmother, Medicine Hat what you have seen."

*****

Her hands trembled as she accepted the ceremonial totem from her grandmother's hand. Medicine Hat nodded and squeezed Red Bird's arm slightly in reassurance. Red Bird drew her shoulders straight, sucked in a breath, and with a strength of voice belying her eleven years, she began to speak.
adoptedwriter: (Default)

[personal profile] adoptedwriter 2018-10-15 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm looking forward to the next chapter, assuming this is a continuing story. Love the name "Red Bird" and all that cardinal birds symbolize.
rayaso: (Default)

[personal profile] rayaso 2018-10-15 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved the image of the great wooden craft with Death at its helm. I'm glad you were able to get this in. If you do decide to expand this in future entries, it will be interesting to see what you do with Red Bird.
bleodswean: (Default)

[personal profile] bleodswean 2018-10-15 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
*weeps*

Yes.
bleodswean: (Default)

[personal profile] bleodswean 2018-10-16 05:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes! I don't think you need to apologize for this! It's beautifully written. I think the monument is a complicated mess. Why deface the mountain yet the work is astonishing. Ultimately, it seems pointless and destructive.
jenwithapen: (Default)

[personal profile] jenwithapen 2018-10-16 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
Truly interesting read! Thank you! =D
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[personal profile] meridian_rose 2018-10-16 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
A great read!
the_eternal_overthinker: (Default)

[personal profile] the_eternal_overthinker 2018-10-16 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah! This was an interesting read and I got sucked right into this world. I am hoping and looking forward to the next installment. I loved the description of death. Amazing work! Kudos!
fausts_dream: (Default)

[personal profile] fausts_dream 2018-10-16 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Splendid stuff...very on point and knowing.
bewize: (Default)

[personal profile] bewize 2018-10-16 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Poor child. I hope they believed her.
bsgsix: (Default)

[personal profile] bsgsix 2018-10-17 07:04 am (UTC)(link)
Oh my. This made me shiver, but in a good way. How compelling and moving.
nayanawrites: (Default)

[personal profile] nayanawrites 2018-10-17 01:46 pm (UTC)(link)
This was different - fresh !!!

Loved the names - Red Bird ( young and full of life ) and Medicine Hat ( experienced with solutions to life's problems ) ... My interpretation ofcourse.

Loved it....
sorchawench: (Default)

[personal profile] sorchawench 2018-10-17 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Hopefully we'll hear more from Red Bird?

Great entry!
megatronix: (Default)

[personal profile] megatronix 2018-10-17 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Beautifully done! The U.S.A.'s history is terribly sad, and it's awful that so much horror came to its Native people, with repercussions that still haunt them today.

I enjoyed the surprise of Red Bird being much younger than I'd thought!
halfshellvenus: (Default)

[personal profile] halfshellvenus 2018-10-19 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
There was lovely imagery in this, and sadness in knowing that all of this came to be. It was a truly terrible fate for all the early people of these lands. :(
flipflop_diva: (Default)

[personal profile] flipflop_diva 2018-10-19 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
This is so sad. But I love it all the same. And I too hope to see more of Red Bird!
murielle: Me (Default)

[personal profile] murielle 2018-10-19 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Beautiful! Every word and image is a gift! It's also terrifying, and powerful.

Brava! Brava!