Kazul
Kazul had come down to the forest with her favorite sibling, Odd, to meet her new nieces and nephews some time back, and now she would occasionally make her way to the forest for that same purpose unescorted, though never without sending Odd as advance warning so that Herryk and his wife would not be surprised by her appearance.
She was not really a cub person, but her half-brother's cubs were better than most. By and large they did not behave like cubs, for one thing. That alone made them infinitely superior to the majority of the pride's youthful explosion. They were also related to her, and therefore she was willing to give them greater leeway while simultaneously holding them to higher standards.
Today was not a day that she had picked to visit the niecelets and nephlets though. Today one of the nephlets had come to visit her.
She was not really a cub person, but her half-brother's cubs were better than most. By and large they did not behave like cubs, for one thing. That alone made them infinitely superior to the majority of the pride's youthful explosion. They were also related to her, and therefore she was willing to give them greater leeway while simultaneously holding them to higher standards.
Today was not a day that she had picked to visit the niecelets and nephlets though. Today one of the nephlets had come to visit her.
Burz
From what his Odd-Uncle had told him, Burzum knew that the education he was receiving from his parents was well-meaning but inadequate. His father might try to teach him the woodlore he had learned from Burz's grandmother and great-aunt, but those teachings were really better acquired directly from the source and so Burz tended not to attend when his father started on them. From his mother Burz had yet to figure out what he could learn.
On the other hand, he could learn about the Stormborn, the pride he had been born into, from his favorite uncle, who informed him that if he really wanted to learn more about the pride, he should be learning from a lawspeaker as his Aunt Kazul and her siblings had done in their youth. His Odd-Uncle assured him that it would be a beneficial education for a lion like Burz who wanted to be a reaver when he grew up.
Burz wasn't so sure about learning from a lawspeaker. There were only nine of them and he guessed they'd probably be too busy to teach a single cub. But from what he understood the ties of family were such that if he asked someone related to him who had been taught by a lawspeaker to teach him what they had learned, they were bound to do so.
With this in mind, he had sought out his Aunt Kazul, who preferred just to be called Kazul.
On the other hand, he could learn about the Stormborn, the pride he had been born into, from his favorite uncle, who informed him that if he really wanted to learn more about the pride, he should be learning from a lawspeaker as his Aunt Kazul and her siblings had done in their youth. His Odd-Uncle assured him that it would be a beneficial education for a lion like Burz who wanted to be a reaver when he grew up.
Burz wasn't so sure about learning from a lawspeaker. There were only nine of them and he guessed they'd probably be too busy to teach a single cub. But from what he understood the ties of family were such that if he asked someone related to him who had been taught by a lawspeaker to teach him what they had learned, they were bound to do so.
With this in mind, he had sought out his Aunt Kazul, who preferred just to be called Kazul.
Kazul
"And what can I do for you, nephlet?" Kazul asked as she lounged at ease in her den.
Despite the fact that at least one of her half-sisters was training as a priestess and her half-brother Calder was now training with her father, it still startled Kazul to see any of her forest family other than Odd in the stronghold. She was pleased, though, that some of the next generation was venturing out of the forest. It bothered her that half of her family were nearly strangers to her.
"Is today the day you decide to leave the forest for good and come protect me from spirits?"
Despite the fact that at least one of her half-sisters was training as a priestess and her half-brother Calder was now training with her father, it still startled Kazul to see any of her forest family other than Odd in the stronghold. She was pleased, though, that some of the next generation was venturing out of the forest. It bothered her that half of her family were nearly strangers to her.
"Is today the day you decide to leave the forest for good and come protect me from spirits?"
Burz
Burz laughed and shook his head. The last time he and his Odd-Uncle had seen Kazul, Odd had told him about an instance in their youth where they went looking for storm spirits. The story had alarmed Burz more than he had expected it to, even knowing that they were all right in the end. He had made the impromptu offer to his aunt, who he suspected knew no better about the spirits now than she had then, to help her with them.
"I'm not sure you really need it," he said. "I'm not even sure that story was true. No one would really be that dumb."
He might have spoken with more respect, but that just wasn't his style. Burz was respectful to his parents and to his grandmother and great-aunt. Everyone else was subject to his arrogance and sharp humor. Odd and Kazul had never insisted that he treat them with respect or demonstrated much cause for him to do so, and so he behaved toward them as he did his siblings.
"I'm not sure you really need it," he said. "I'm not even sure that story was true. No one would really be that dumb."
He might have spoken with more respect, but that just wasn't his style. Burz was respectful to his parents and to his grandmother and great-aunt. Everyone else was subject to his arrogance and sharp humor. Odd and Kazul had never insisted that he treat them with respect or demonstrated much cause for him to do so, and so he behaved toward them as he did his siblings.
Kazul
Kazul's paw darted out and cuffed her nephew across the back of his head. Her claws were sheathed, but the blow still had to have hurt.
"You're old enough to have better manners than that, Burzum," she told him firmly. "But that's not what earned you that cuff. Do you know what did?"
The lioness wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. Rather, she knew where she was going with it, but she wasn't sure why she was doing it. He had parents who ought to be more than capable of schooling him in the things he needed to know. Ought to be. Considering one was an outlander and the other was practically a hermit, there was the possibility that they were, in fact, incapable of teaching Burz about the pride.
"You're old enough to have better manners than that, Burzum," she told him firmly. "But that's not what earned you that cuff. Do you know what did?"
The lioness wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. Rather, she knew where she was going with it, but she wasn't sure why she was doing it. He had parents who ought to be more than capable of schooling him in the things he needed to know. Ought to be. Considering one was an outlander and the other was practically a hermit, there was the possibility that they were, in fact, incapable of teaching Burz about the pride.
Burz
"Ow!" Burz grumbled, shaking his head as if that wold somehow make it hurt less. The blow hadn't been very hard, but it had been extremely unexpected and that seemed to make it hurt more.
"I don't know," he whined. "That hurt!"
He hadn't done anything different, as far as he could tell, and he didn't see why his aunt would have hit him. No one had ever hit him before. His parents weren't the type, nor were his forest-born aunts and uncles. As for his siblings, well, when they fought Burz tended to come out the winner. That was part of why he had figured that he would make a good reaver.
How he had heard about reavers and the like was a mystery. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't know about them. Maybe his Odd-Uncle had told him stories about them when he was very young. Where his ideas came from wasn't something his youthful mind tended to dwell on.
"I don't know," he whined. "That hurt!"
He hadn't done anything different, as far as he could tell, and he didn't see why his aunt would have hit him. No one had ever hit him before. His parents weren't the type, nor were his forest-born aunts and uncles. As for his siblings, well, when they fought Burz tended to come out the winner. That was part of why he had figured that he would make a good reaver.
How he had heard about reavers and the like was a mystery. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't know about them. Maybe his Odd-Uncle had told him stories about them when he was very young. Where his ideas came from wasn't something his youthful mind tended to dwell on.
Kazul
"Some reaver," Kazul snorted. "You'll take worse than that if you really grow up to be a reaver. Right now that's a pretty big if, judging by how you take a little tap."
She was belittling her nephew deliberately and she didn't feel particularly good about it. He was only a cub and to pick on him felt uncomfortably like bullying. Not that Kazul was averse to a good bit of bullying now and then, but she preferred to bully people closer to her own age, size, and all that. Or at least people who didn't matter, like thralls.
"All right, I'll tell you what you did. You called me and my favorite sibling stupid liars. I don't take kindly to it when people insult my family, and I don't like to be called stupid or a liar. There is also the minor fact that the people you insulted are older than you are and better at pretty much everything, and so you have no right to offer criticism."
She was belittling her nephew deliberately and she didn't feel particularly good about it. He was only a cub and to pick on him felt uncomfortably like bullying. Not that Kazul was averse to a good bit of bullying now and then, but she preferred to bully people closer to her own age, size, and all that. Or at least people who didn't matter, like thralls.
"All right, I'll tell you what you did. You called me and my favorite sibling stupid liars. I don't take kindly to it when people insult my family, and I don't like to be called stupid or a liar. There is also the minor fact that the people you insulted are older than you are and better at pretty much everything, and so you have no right to offer criticism."
Burz
Burz was ready to hiss and fizz and take offense at Kazul's needling, but he couldn't. Because she was right. If he truly wanted to be a reaver, he would have to learn to take a blow. Or he would have to learn to move a good deal faster so that such blows couldn't land. The thought of not earning them to begin with didn't occur to him.
"But I'm your family, too," he protested. "Does that still count?"
If it did, Burz couldn't believe more families didn't tear themselves apart before their cubs ever grew up. There were so many insults that were traded back and forth on a daily basis among his litter that probably someone ought to have smacked them all silly, if that was the appropriate response. Or perhaps it was because of the "minor fact" Kazul had mentioned.
"I didn't mean to insult you," he said sullenly. "I didn't think you'd get mad like that."
"But I'm your family, too," he protested. "Does that still count?"
If it did, Burz couldn't believe more families didn't tear themselves apart before their cubs ever grew up. There were so many insults that were traded back and forth on a daily basis among his litter that probably someone ought to have smacked them all silly, if that was the appropriate response. Or perhaps it was because of the "minor fact" Kazul had mentioned.
"I didn't mean to insult you," he said sullenly. "I didn't think you'd get mad like that."
Kazul
She wasn't very good at this. Maybe she should've just repeated her question about why he had come to visit her and ignored his remark about her and Odd being dumb. After all, what they'd done had been dumb. They'd known it at the time. At this point, it was too late for that.
Kazul sighed. "I'm not mad at you. Not really, Burz. But I'm trying to teach you a lesson."
If she had known that he had actually come up to ask her to teach him some of the things she had learned from Tomi as a cub, she wouldn't have known whether she ought to feel amused or guilty about how things had gone.
"You're family, too, and so you're right. It's okay for you to say things about our family. Within reason." She gave him a stern look that she hoped would remind him to at least so respect to people older and more talented than he was.
"But if someone who isn't part of our family had actually called one of us a liar or an idiot or weak, it would be your duty to make sure they knew they were wrong. Do you understand?"
Kazul sighed. "I'm not mad at you. Not really, Burz. But I'm trying to teach you a lesson."
If she had known that he had actually come up to ask her to teach him some of the things she had learned from Tomi as a cub, she wouldn't have known whether she ought to feel amused or guilty about how things had gone.
"You're family, too, and so you're right. It's okay for you to say things about our family. Within reason." She gave him a stern look that she hoped would remind him to at least so respect to people older and more talented than he was.
"But if someone who isn't part of our family had actually called one of us a liar or an idiot or weak, it would be your duty to make sure they knew they were wrong. Do you understand?"
Burz
Burz nodded. He understood what she was saying quite intuitively. He was sensitive about his voice, and so he definitely got the idea of slights and insults and that sort of thing. He was already protective of his sister Klona, who spoke even more unusually than he did. Extending his protection to his entire family wouldn't be all that difficult for him.
"I do understand. Sort of. I didn't really mean to call you or Odd stupid or liars, but you still hit me." The question was implicit rather than explicit. He didn't know how to phrase it as a question.
His original purpose in coming to see Kazul had fallen by the wayside in his mind when his aunt's paw connected with the back of his head. It would come back to him, most likely but probably not during the course of this visit.
"I do understand. Sort of. I didn't really mean to call you or Odd stupid or liars, but you still hit me." The question was implicit rather than explicit. He didn't know how to phrase it as a question.
His original purpose in coming to see Kazul had fallen by the wayside in his mind when his aunt's paw connected with the back of his head. It would come back to him, most likely but probably not during the course of this visit.
Kazul
"It's up to you, really, to decide where to draw the line on what is and is not an insult worth acting on," Kazul said. She really hoped she wouldn't have to come up with some sort of list to cover every single possibility.
"Generally speaking though, what you said, since you're a cub and talking about your own family, you might've gotten cuffed by an older family member if they're very conservative, but that's about it. It wasn't all that bad." It would make her feel endlessly guilty if this episode made her nephew stop being so irreverent. She enjoyed that about him.
She closed her eyes and tried to think whether there was anything else she ought to add here to keep Burz from being too jumpy about insults. That was a good way to get into lots of fights. Not that it would be such a bad thing for the cub if he wanted to be a reaver when he grew up, but she didn't want people to think that Burz was overly sensitive, because that wouldn't help him at all.
"Remember, though, you are the grandson of the Warlord."
"Generally speaking though, what you said, since you're a cub and talking about your own family, you might've gotten cuffed by an older family member if they're very conservative, but that's about it. It wasn't all that bad." It would make her feel endlessly guilty if this episode made her nephew stop being so irreverent. She enjoyed that about him.
She closed her eyes and tried to think whether there was anything else she ought to add here to keep Burz from being too jumpy about insults. That was a good way to get into lots of fights. Not that it would be such a bad thing for the cub if he wanted to be a reaver when he grew up, but she didn't want people to think that Burz was overly sensitive, because that wouldn't help him at all.
"Remember, though, you are the grandson of the Warlord."
Burz
Burz nodded. He wasn't unintelligent, and what Kazul said made sense to him. Especially that bit about him being the Warlord's grandson. He understood what she was really saying when she told him that. She was saying, he believed, that an insult to him or his family was also an insult to the Warlord and must be dealt with harshly. He could do that.
"Odd-Uncle told me once that people might give me a hard time because of who my father is. Because he's a b*****d, that is." He paused. "He said it doesn't matter, but when I asked why people would give me a hard time if it doesn't matter he didn't really have an answer."
Burz had no idea that what he was asking was an incredibly difficult question to answer, and that his Odd-Uncle was one of the hardest to insult lions in the pride because he was very self-assured. Had Burz decided to stay in the forest, he might have grown up similarly, but he had already sensed that was not his destiny, and so he wanted to be ready for what the pride would throw at him.
"Odd-Uncle told me once that people might give me a hard time because of who my father is. Because he's a b*****d, that is." He paused. "He said it doesn't matter, but when I asked why people would give me a hard time if it doesn't matter he didn't really have an answer."
Burz had no idea that what he was asking was an incredibly difficult question to answer, and that his Odd-Uncle was one of the hardest to insult lions in the pride because he was very self-assured. Had Burz decided to stay in the forest, he might have grown up similarly, but he had already sensed that was not his destiny, and so he wanted to be ready for what the pride would throw at him.
Kazul
"Your uncle is unusual in that he doesn't take insult easily. He'll defend his family from threats, be they physical or spiritual, but he doesn't believe that insults make any difference because they're only opinions. That's probably why he told you it doesn't matter that you'll be considered a b*****d."
This was going to be a challenging explanation, Kazul thought to herself, but for the sake of her nephew she was willing to try.
"In truth, it shouldn't matter that you're a b*****d because in the Stormborn what a person does is supposed to mean more than who their parents are. At the same time, we take pride in our history and her ancestors, so who a person's parents are does matter."
She didn't know how much of this Burz already knew or understood, but since he hadn't interrupted her yet, she continued.
"My father decided not to take your grandmother as his saltwife for whatever reason. I don't know why. If she had been his älskarinna your father and his sibs would have been considered legitimate. Because Räven is not his älskarinna, her cubs by my father are considered illegitimate. Bastards. Are you following?"
This was going to be a challenging explanation, Kazul thought to herself, but for the sake of her nephew she was willing to try.
"In truth, it shouldn't matter that you're a b*****d because in the Stormborn what a person does is supposed to mean more than who their parents are. At the same time, we take pride in our history and her ancestors, so who a person's parents are does matter."
She didn't know how much of this Burz already knew or understood, but since he hadn't interrupted her yet, she continued.
"My father decided not to take your grandmother as his saltwife for whatever reason. I don't know why. If she had been his älskarinna your father and his sibs would have been considered legitimate. Because Räven is not his älskarinna, her cubs by my father are considered illegitimate. Bastards. Are you following?"
Burz
Burz nodded once again in response to his aunt's question. She wasn't really telling him anything he didn't already know about the pride, though the term älskarinna was unfamiliar to him.
"Everything except älskarinna. What does that mean?" he asked.
It was a little disappointing that she hadn't really told him anything new. Did that mean she didn't know either, or was it more like she knew but wasn't telling him? With Kazul it could be difficult to tell. She tended to cultivate an air of knowing things others didn't. Burz wanted to learn to do that someday.
"Oh, and the legitimate thing. Does that mean that the cubs aren't really the cubs of their parents?"
"Everything except älskarinna. What does that mean?" he asked.
It was a little disappointing that she hadn't really told him anything new. Did that mean she didn't know either, or was it more like she knew but wasn't telling him? With Kazul it could be difficult to tell. She tended to cultivate an air of knowing things others didn't. Burz wanted to learn to do that someday.
"Oh, and the legitimate thing. Does that mean that the cubs aren't really the cubs of their parents?"
Kazul
Kazul decided to answer the easy question first. Legitimacy was fairly easily explained. At least compared to the concept of älskarinnor. She understood the concept because she'd had Tomi to explain it to her and Tomi knew the official words as well as how to explain them. Lacking those words, her explanation became a bit more complicated than she'd expected.
"In reality a person's parents are their parents and nothing anyone says can change that. But if someone is an illegitimate cub then no one can say that their parents are who they really are. Everyone sort of pretends they don't know. My father acknowledged his illegitimate cubs as his, which isn't so unusual. Such cubs are usually called vikingborn and accepted without question. It's because his vikingborn cubs came back to the pride with their mother and grew up with her that things were unusual. Maybe that's why people react so strangely to them."
She sighed. "I'm sorry. It's harder to explain than I expected. Do you know the term 'saltwife?' The word älskarinna is an old Stormborn term for saltwife."
"In reality a person's parents are their parents and nothing anyone says can change that. But if someone is an illegitimate cub then no one can say that their parents are who they really are. Everyone sort of pretends they don't know. My father acknowledged his illegitimate cubs as his, which isn't so unusual. Such cubs are usually called vikingborn and accepted without question. It's because his vikingborn cubs came back to the pride with their mother and grew up with her that things were unusual. Maybe that's why people react so strangely to them."
She sighed. "I'm sorry. It's harder to explain than I expected. Do you know the term 'saltwife?' The word älskarinna is an old Stormborn term for saltwife."
Burz
Somehow, Burz did know what a saltwife was, and he said as much, explaining the concept as he understood it. That is, explaining that a saltwife was a lioness who was not a lion's mate, but who lived with him and bore his cubs and whose cubs were considered legitimate and could take their father's name.
"It's the name, isn't it? Your full name is Kazul Aesirsdottir, but Odd-Uncle is actually Odd Haleifr Rävenson." All of a sudden things seemed to make a good deal more sense to him. Except...
"But my name is Burzum Herrykson. I have my father's name. Why would I be considered a b*****d?" That didn't make any sense at all. Surely being a b*****d couldn't be passed on from one generation to another. Unless maybe his mother wasn't really his father's wife or his saltwife. He would have to ask.
"It's the name, isn't it? Your full name is Kazul Aesirsdottir, but Odd-Uncle is actually Odd Haleifr Rävenson." All of a sudden things seemed to make a good deal more sense to him. Except...
"But my name is Burzum Herrykson. I have my father's name. Why would I be considered a b*****d?" That didn't make any sense at all. Surely being a b*****d couldn't be passed on from one generation to another. Unless maybe his mother wasn't really his father's wife or his saltwife. He would have to ask.
Kazul
"That's part of it," Kazul agreed. "And bearing a mother's name rather than a father's can be indicative of a person being a b*****d, but remember that there are female reavers who go viking. Their cubs are considered vikingborn, but not bastards."
From the back of her mind a phrase surfaced that Tomi had used once, and she repeated it for Burz because she suspected that it would be one he would need in the future. "No child is a b*****d if the mother is a wife, Burz. That means that you are not a b*****d, no matter what anyone says. If they say you're a b*****d they're either ignorant or trying to insult you in which case they're still pretty stupid because being a b*****d isn't a bad thing."
She didn't think that she was clarifying things any, but she was trying the best she could. She sighed once more, deeply.
"b*****d or not, you have family, Burz, and if you ever need us, we will help you. Even my mother. Though she probably won't like it. So don't call on her unless you really have to. Or call on her as the high priestess, instead of as family."
From the back of her mind a phrase surfaced that Tomi had used once, and she repeated it for Burz because she suspected that it would be one he would need in the future. "No child is a b*****d if the mother is a wife, Burz. That means that you are not a b*****d, no matter what anyone says. If they say you're a b*****d they're either ignorant or trying to insult you in which case they're still pretty stupid because being a b*****d isn't a bad thing."
She didn't think that she was clarifying things any, but she was trying the best she could. She sighed once more, deeply.
"b*****d or not, you have family, Burz, and if you ever need us, we will help you. Even my mother. Though she probably won't like it. So don't call on her unless you really have to. Or call on her as the high priestess, instead of as family."
Burz
That was a lot more explanation that Burz had expected. He hadn't realized that his questions would take them down this path, or that it would be so terribly complicated. It would bear a lot of thought. And as to whether being a b*****d was a bad thing or a good thing, Burz was not sure what to make of it. Why couldn't things be black and white? Spirits! He didn't even know if he was a b*****d.
Thinking that if he could just ask a simple question with a simple answer his head would stop hurting, Burz asked, "Why wouldn't she like it? And why should it make any difference how I call on her?"
He didn't see why it would make a difference. In fact, if he needed her to help him because she was family, he probably wouldn't need her to help him the way a high priestess would help. He wasn't sure how a high priestess could be more helpful to him than his father's mother. She knew everything about the spirits and wouldn't mind helping him at all.
"I think I'll just ask Gran Räven," he decided.
Thinking that if he could just ask a simple question with a simple answer his head would stop hurting, Burz asked, "Why wouldn't she like it? And why should it make any difference how I call on her?"
He didn't see why it would make a difference. In fact, if he needed her to help him because she was family, he probably wouldn't need her to help him the way a high priestess would help. He wasn't sure how a high priestess could be more helpful to him than his father's mother. She knew everything about the spirits and wouldn't mind helping him at all.
"I think I'll just ask Gran Räven," he decided.
Kazul
"Good plan," Kazul said, declining to speculate on why her mother would be reluctant to help him if he needed it, should he call on her as family. At some point someone would have to explain to him the difference between ties of kinship and ties of blood and other kinds of ties, but that was a complicated explanation which could wait for another day.
Outside her den Kazul saw a shadow on a wall, early warning that she would be receiving a visitor soon. The system only worked at certain times of day, when the sun shone in the correct direction, but even a warning system that worked only some of the time was better than none at all. Kazul didn't usually like surprise visits.
"I'm about to have company," she said. "You're welcome to stay and entertain them with me, but if you'd rather not there's a back way out through the sleeping alcove."
Outside her den Kazul saw a shadow on a wall, early warning that she would be receiving a visitor soon. The system only worked at certain times of day, when the sun shone in the correct direction, but even a warning system that worked only some of the time was better than none at all. Kazul didn't usually like surprise visits.
"I'm about to have company," she said. "You're welcome to stay and entertain them with me, but if you'd rather not there's a back way out through the sleeping alcove."
Burz
Burz didn't know about Kazul's shadow-on-the-wall system, and so he wondered briefly if she was just telling him about a guest to get rid of him so that he'd stop asking difficult questions. He wasn't going to suggest that though. Not given the way she'd reacted the last time!
He supposed he could call her bluff and say that he'd stay, but on the off-chance she was telling the truth, he really didn't want to be stuck sitting around while two grown-ups tried to include him in or exclude him from their conversation. That would be so terribly boring.
"That's all right," he said. "I'll just go out the back way."
And he set off for the sleeping alcove, but as soon as he was out of sight he turned to watch and see for certain if Kazul had been telling the truth. When he saw that she had, he slipped away. It didn't occur to him to try to remember the location of Kazul's secret way out so that he could surprise her later by coming in through it. He had other things on his mind.
He supposed he could call her bluff and say that he'd stay, but on the off-chance she was telling the truth, he really didn't want to be stuck sitting around while two grown-ups tried to include him in or exclude him from their conversation. That would be so terribly boring.
"That's all right," he said. "I'll just go out the back way."
And he set off for the sleeping alcove, but as soon as he was out of sight he turned to watch and see for certain if Kazul had been telling the truth. When he saw that she had, he slipped away. It didn't occur to him to try to remember the location of Kazul's secret way out so that he could surprise her later by coming in through it. He had other things on his mind.
