{ORP} Gaian Idol

[Keirro]

The woods were lovely with the blanket of freshly fallen snow. Nothing stirred in the snowy woods except for a precocious toddler who had managed to escape from Keirro's backyard.

This toddler, Ranis, had learned from grade school, that noise COULD create song or something smiliar to it. What he failed to grasp, however, was the fine line between music and noise.

"FAAAA LA LARA!" He yelled out in the woods. He was still within sight of his guardian's backyard, but that didn't stop him from taking advantage of being unsupervised.

"IWANNABEEEEA SINNGAAA!"  

[shibrogane]

It troubled Aure that she actually had to think about something after deciding, and thus she didn't notice the singing child until she was standing quite over him. She took one large step backwards and eyed the young boy for a moment. "Hello, Ranis," she said. "I believe the world would be better off if you did not become a vocal artist."  

[Keirro]

Ranis narrowed his eyes at the tall lady. Wasn't this Aure? She seemed awfully farmiliar. He thought about barking at her to see if she would be scared off, but decided against it. She was bigger than he was and probably barked loud enough to shake walls.

"Isingafo' schooool!" Ranis explained. It wasn't his fault that the teachers gave crummy lessons. The little toddler waved his hands in the air as if he was trying to fly. He had yet to understand the concept of gestures. He scrunched his face as he thought about school.

"Idun like schoool. " he growled.  

[shibrogane]

She pressed pale fingertips to her flushed cheeks. It was cold out, and she had gotten out of shape recently. "School is an excellent place to learn when you are of average intellect." Aure reached down and knocked lightly on his head. "If you don't attend, you might end up as intelligent as the gazelle who is separated from the herd and slaughtered by the lion." I won't do what that woman said, she thought, doubly certain. Near immediately, Aure thought back on that. How often had regret crippled her thoughts in the past few days? Her face showed her indecision quite clearly as she stood there, one hand on Ranis's head, staring into space.  

[Keirro]

"datwhat my mama says!" replied Ranis. His ears twitched at Aure's touch. The boy tilted his head in a very endearing way. Why did she seem so distant? It was the same look Keirro sometimes got when she was lonely.

The boy licked his chops as he thought about a tasty gazelle. He wasn't big enough to get one, but he soon would be. He could get lizards at times and he was starting to master the art of hunting for hibernating snakes. He was starting to gain some mass from all the eating and hunting he was praticing in Keirro's yard.

"I 'unt. I 'unt like a lion! I get you big deer one day so you won't have no sadness!"

"  

[shibrogane]

"It's true," she said absently, removing her hand from his head and straightening. "And please, do leave the deer in its proper ecosystem. I'm not sad enough to merit killing something yet." Her frown deepened a little, and then she sighed. Cultivate the young one. Yes. Cultivate.

Aure knelt so she would be about Ranis's height. "What do you like to hunt, then, Ranis?"  

[Keirro]

"I 'unt leezard and snake! I try to get bunny, but they fast. Mama says I get big one day! look!" replied Ranis as he flexed an arm. He was getting meaty for a toddler. He still had yet developed any real muscles, but the babyfat he would need was perfect for training.  

[shibrogane]

She settled into a bank of snow and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Wow," Aure said, all smiles and enthusiasm. "Yes, it looks like one day you'll be very strong." Muscle was good, especially if anyone ever figured out what she was trying to do. "Perhaps you should leave the bunnies alone. I heard you go to church and listen to Father Asmadai. He likes bunnies very much, and wouldn't be happy if you were to kill them."  

[Keirro]

Ranis's eyes went wide. How did she know that? A big grin spread across his face. He was going to kill Father asmadai a nice fat bunny, but if Aure didn't think it was a good idea, then it probably wasn't. Ranis crossed his arms and wondered wht he could do to please the priest.

"I wanna make 'im 'appy." he thought outloud. "Hmmm."  

[shibrogane]

"Study hard and perhaps tell him what you think about some passage of the Bible? I hear he's fond of Genesis, the first book." And of course this worked towards her purposes also. Genesis involved the judgement of the first sinner, and what better way to get to Ranis than through Asmadai? If he studied hard enough, perhaps he could be useful one day.  

[Keirro]

"Oh, Adam and Eve. " said Ranis. The story of the first man and wife stirred strange emotions within Ranis. It made him feel different. It was as if his sin was more ancient than thiers. His sin was, as they said in church,"original sin. He wasn't sure what it was, but the young boy already knew that the sin was what made ultimately made him different from the other children in sunday school. But didn't God view all sin as equal?

The boy suddenly seemed lost in thought. The sin was equal, but the path to redemption was not. The boy wasn't sure what it ment, but he knew it was significant.  

[shibrogane]

She closed her eyes. "No, Cain and Abel. I don't know why he likes that part of it." Actually, she did. He liked to think of it as an example of God's mercy and workings in all things. Personally, Aure thought of it as a license to do what she had to do to eradicate 'sin'. She shrugged, lost in her own thoughts and not noticing Ranis lost in his.  

[Keirro]

Ranis growled.

"I dun like that one. It gets borin'. I like Moses the most. " said Ranis. In his mind, every book that didn't have Jesus in it was lumped under "Genesis", whether it belonged there or not. The nuns at sunday school spoke many things about Jesus, but Ranis took more interest in the old testaments. Jesus seemed so alien to the young boy.  

[shibrogane]

Aure sighed. "That's the book of Exodus, Ranis," she said gently. "Genesis is the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel."