| |
The creature chased her and chased her. Alexandra ran up, and over hills. The creature still followed. Everywhere that she went it would follow. It usually left after a few hours into the chase, but this time it continued to chase her for days, for months, and for years. It would not stop. Whatever she did to evade it would not work until one day when she was too tired to continue running she stood up to it.
Awakening drenched in sweat just as the creature delivered a fatal blow to her chest with its talons saved her the pain of the blow, but left the memory engraved deep into her mind.
“Alexandra are you all right. You must have been having a terrible nightmare. There are a lot of things that we must do in order for you to be ready to be received into the L’art’o. So, center yourself and we will be off to the tattooist’s place for you to get your identity branded into your flesh,”
A tattooist for branding an identity on her. He continued to say more.
“In the future you will get other tattoos to signify your rank and achievements for the tribe. These tattoos are given no matter what age you happen to be. You will find out my name once you have been inducted into the tribe. For now let’s get you your first tattoo. Follow me.” The tribesman said all of this roughly in the L’art’o tongue.
She wondered why the tribesman did not have any visible tattoos on his own flesh. Alexandra got up, and stretched to get the sleep out of her bones. When done she and the tribesman left the tent and she followed him. They turned left as they exited Alexandra’s room. Then they walked down a long dirt trail passing many tall trees. She slipped as they started to climb up a steep hillside, and was thankful that her tribal father caught her before any damage could be caused.
A short while after they passed the hill they came to a fork in the path. Turning left they continued their journey until they reached a hole in the ground. The tribesman climbed down into the hole first and then urged Alexandra to follow. As soon as she was in the hole a huge muscular tribesman covered in tattoos approached her.
*
The weird vibe feeling guy looked at Alexandra with eyes going up, and down, and across her body. Nodding to himself as he pondered something that was probably bad for her, and good for him. Alexandra shivered as goosebumps were felt rising along her skin, and a lump formed in her throat at the sight of him licking his lips. His mumbling to himself while he looked at her, disturbed her spirit.
He then said something to the tribesman who brought her that she could only understand bits, and pieces of. It was said as he gave the tattooed tribesman a piece of parchment with a strange symbol on it. The symbol was of a fox head inside a double lined circle, a battle-axe, and a long sword were embedded into the fox. Blood dripped from the fox from the wounds caused by the weapons. It was so detailed that she almost threw up.
She was instructed to lie on her back to get ready for the tribal markings that he would put on her face, neck, chest, arms, and legs. A line of green, red, and orange dots was tattooed on her body from the left side of her face down her neck, across her left breast, down her left side, and down, and around her left thigh. She asked her tribal father why they put these tattoo markings of dots on her when she did not see anyone else in the tribe that bore the same markings.
He told her that it was to make her standout among them as one who belonged to the tribe, and was not truly free. The total dots on the left side of her face were one green, two red, and three orange. On the left side of her neck were two green, four red, and six orange dots. Leading from the base of her neck, across her left breast, and down her left side was four green, eight red, and twelve orange dots.
From her left side, down her left thigh, and around her left thigh were eight green, sixteen red, and twenty-four orange dots. The total amount of dots on her body was fifteen green, thirty red, and forty-five orange for a total of ninety dots. Alexandra was told to lie on her stomach forcefully as she was still numb from the other tattoos. She did so, and was strapped in so that she could not move around, and mess up the tattoo.
She cried through the whole process of applying the tattoo onto her lower back, and buttocks. The tattoo guy did not take that long, and the pain seemed to go away as soon as it appeared. Then her tribal father had to dowse it in iodine, and that hurt.