Wrath

Last night, we had someone at our weekly meeting whose presence, words, and actions helped throw our usually orderly affair into utter chaos.  This disruption of normalcy seemed to me to be a microcosm of the trials and tribulations that our family has faced over this past year.  Both internal and external threats have plagued us, but we seem to have weathered through them.  If need be, I know we can again.

The path of our Tribe is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil.

Blessed by the ancestors are they, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherd the weak through the valley of darkness, for they are truly their Tribemate's keeper and the finder of lost children.

And we will strike down upon them with great vengeance and furious anger any who would attempt to poison and destroy our family.

And they will know we are the Burning Tusks when we lay our vengeance upon them.

I have yet to hear from Pipiltin since her rather cryptic talk over the talisman yesterday.  It's not unusual, however, for her to disappear unexpectedly like this, especially recently.  I will give it until this evening before I set out to find her.  I'm sure it's just some task she had to complete that she forgot to inform me of.

Joyful

Some time today, I'm going to tell Pipiltin about my shaman training.  I am confident enough in what I have leanred to have pride in my new abilities, so I know in that respect she will be pleased.  There's still the matter of my having kept this all from her, but hopefully she will understand my reason for doing so.

Winter Veil has started!  I am particularly excited this year because it's my first with Pip.  My mate told me that she doesn't really know what the celebration is about, so I've acquired a book that provides a good, concise explanation of the hoilday to read to her while we enjoy smores and hot cocoa.  The beginning of a tradition perhaps?

We are returning to Piki'alo Hetawa this weekend.  As much as I know that our time in Winterspring was necessary, it will feel good to be back amongst the Tribe.  With Viv and Ana both giving birth and Glen moving his family in, our family has grown during our time away from home. 

I have never been happier.

Contentment

As often happens, several members of the Tribe gathered under the Tree this past Sunday evening.  While I sat there amongst my family and friends, I started thinking about how perfect it all was.  Everyone was laughing, joking around, and having a good time.  Even Annjia seemed to be more relaxed than normal.  Except for Pip's absence, I couldn't think of a place I'd rather have been.  All of these people mean so much to me. 

I have a wonderful family.  I'm going to be lifemated soon to the most loving mate I could possibly ask for.  My shaman training is going well.  Except for Pip's continued nightmares and an incident I must apologize to a friend for, I am more content and at peace than I have ever been.

It's a nice place to be.

Homecoming

Pip seems to have found someone qualified to take over the running of the Winterspring orphanage and to care for those wonderful children.  Very soon now, we will be returning home to Piki'alo Hetawa.  I meant it when I told my mate that I would stay with her and help in any way I could until her obligations were fulfilled, but by the ancestors it feels good to be returning to our own home.  I've missed our family.  I've missed our little kitchen.  I've missed my bubbles.

Journeys

I've begun training as a shaman.  This actually started the day after my quest to find my animal spirit guardian.  My time in the realm of the elements affected me deeply and filled me with a desire to learn more.  I sought out a trainer in Durotar and started from there.  He seems to think that I have some sort of inherent gift for walking this path, and says that soon I will progress past his ability to teach me.  I find this very exciting since I had chosen to hide my new interest from Pip until I knew if I at least had some sort of talent for it.  I would hate to dissapoint my favorite shaman.

I only wish my knowledge of healing had been more advanced when Annjia requested my help earlier this week.  She asked for my assistance in recovering some acessories for the carriage she is restoring from the gnolls that infest the area around the project.  Not only were we not able to find the stolen items, but we were very nearly killed by the hyena-faced bastards who had augmented their strength and size with potions they found within the catacombs they had clamed for their own.  Annjia had told me she once lived in what had become the mongrels' lair.  She seemed rather anxious during the whole affair but would speak little of it, and I wasn't going to pry for more information at the time.

Strength

So much for a daily entry in this journal!  I'm not going to get discouraged about it though.  Just going to give it another try.

Since the death of my family, I haven't had a lot of faith in myself.  Self blame led to self doubt.  Pip helped me let go of that guilt, and now, thanks to words of encouragement from my mate and also from Annjia and Westly, I have come to realize that I have more inner strength than I gave myself credit for and my self-confidence is returning.

This past weekend, I successfully completed the tests to discover my animal spirit guardian.  Pip guided me through the ceremony necessary to reach the spirits of the elements, but ultimately it was I alone who had to enter their realm and bargain with them for their favor.  In the end, I was chosen by Wolf.  This guardian will journey with me on my next trip to the spirit world to discover my beloved's true name.  From what I've been told, animal spirits pick those who best exemplify their characteristics, so being chosen by Wolf is truly an honor to me.

We've decided to put off our lifemating ceremony for a few weeks.  I went to Pip and told her that I thought we had too much going on right now to truly put the attention into it that we deserved to in the quickly dwindling amount of time we had to prepare.  This day needs to be about us and as free from outside concerns as possible.  After reassurance from me that this was only a short respite and not an indefinite delay or cancellation, she agreed.  I think when it's all said and done, we'll be glad we gave ourselves this extra time.

Pipiltin has started having recurring nightmares.  Nightmares about her bitch sow of a lifemate, Chopsie.  In them, the harpy skank berates my mate for the death of their child.  My love wakes up crying and holding me tightly, so I hold her and comfort her until she falls back to sleep.  I've decided to try to get some rest during the day when we're apart so that I'm better able to watch over her and be there for her at night.  I'm wondering if these dreams have started because of nervousness over our lifemating

It seems my newly discovered inner strength came along just in time.