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Feedback and comments good and bad are welcomed!", "description_bbcode_parsed": "This is the  beginning of Runa's Crucible to become a full member of the tribe. Feedback and comments good and bad are welcomed!", "writing": "Runa woke up and almost vaulted out of her hammock with a squeal and a burst of joy. Today was the day! The day that she would start her coming of age rites! She dashed out into the hut and to the bot of hot water that her mother already had going and carried it carefully over to the tub. She poured it into the water already there to get the cool water warm enough for a morning bath. Runa lived in a remote area of forest land, far away from cities and other people in a tribe of other foxes. Today her tribe would send her and a few of her age group out into the wilds for a month to survive and seek guidance from the gods to become adults in the tribe, able to sit in on tribal gatherings and have their voices heard. She had been waiting what seemed forever for this day. Not many in her age group had been chosen for the rites, normally it would be another few years, but the elders had chosen her and two others to take the rites early. Runa slipped into the basin and soaked a little before using the soap to clean herself for the morning. After that good soak and wash Runa climbed out and shook herself somewhat dry before walking into the main gathering room of the hut to see her family seated around breakfast. She happily plopped down between her older sister and brother who both handed her a plate and piled food on it. Her brother Kern smiled ``Need you to eat as much as you can Runa, sometimes your first day is hard and food is hard to find. I know it took me two and a half days to find my first food when I went on my rite and Keela didn't get food the first night either.'' Runa giggles some and nods to her siblings as she ate breakfast.\n\nAfter breakfast the family was gathered up and walked to the center of the village to join the other two families and the elders. On arrival Runa dashed over to the other two, white and black twins that were her best friends. Nari, the black vixen and her twin sister Seeba. Why Seeba was white no one in the tribe knew, the elders said the gods needed to tell them apart and that is why she was white and had pink eyes to her twin's midnight black fur and green eyes. Other than those differences the two spoke the same, acted the same and were the same height and weight, identical in every other way. They even claimed to be able to talk with each other in their heads! She hugged her friends who both smiled and giggled happily with her about the day before they were hushed by the arrival of the village spiritual leader. The old man, Runa thought he must be as old as the dirt, walked over to the group of young girls and patted their shoulders with a genuine smile of pride. ``Young girls, today you start an important journey, upon your return there will be a feast in your honor and your voices will be heard. I wish you luck and may the gods rain luck and guidance upon your journey.'' The elder then motioned for some younger kits to bring over the ceremonial dyes and started to paint runes of protection and wisdom on the three young girls. Runa, for her part, was super excited about all of this, she had waited ten long years and was given this opportunity to go early and was determined not to mess up. Just as she was thinking that, the elder stood Infront of her and started painting. The man's soft touches along her fur caused her to shiver a bit, and when he found some places that tickled, she couldn't help but squirm and laugh. The old man laughed right along with her, a fatherly smile on his face as he worked. Once done placing the protective runes on her, he moved onto the other two and continued his words of luck and wisdom.\n\nOnce that was all done, they were handed a small bundle and the elder explained. ``Out there in the wilds it is not wise to run around in just your fur like you do at home in the village so we have included a loincloth for each of you, there is also a hunting knife and small treats from your family in the pouches on the bandoleer. Put them on and leave the village, go any direction you wish, but you will not return until Kunani the moon goddess has once again shown full in the sky. Good luck little ones, may the Gods watch over you.'' With that the ceremony was finished and the three put on the offered gifts and sped out into the surround dark forest.\n\nRuna dashed into the forest, running as hard and fast as she could, the first day was a run, those on the journey were to run until they fell from exhaustion, this was to show endurance, to show that the hopeful had what it took to make long patrols of the area and keep the village safe. What they didn't tell you was that if you started out at full speed you would tire out quickly and you were supposed to run at least half a day! Runa ran until her legs burned and she pushed herself harder, she ran until tears streamed down her cheeks from the pain in her legs and finally just before noon, she was stumbling down a deer path unable to run any more. She leaned against a tree and collapsed down in to the mud and that saved her life. Runa heard the hiss and thrum of an arrow slamming into the tree trunk where her head was at only a moment ago. Rune's eyes went wide by she held still, her ears straining for sound as she heard light footsteps moving in the forest. Runa knew there were other tribes in the area, and that some of them were non too friendly with hers, feeling that they had intruded on their sacred hunting grounds. Her village had tried to share the land so that both tribes would prosper, but the other tribe kept sending raiding parties at the village, most of the time repelled by the stalkers in her village, skilled in silent movement, they hunted enemies of the village around its lands to keep all inside safe.\n\nNari and Seeba both ran off in the same direction together and ran at a less eager pace than their friend running in the other direction, their parents had warned them that morning about taking things slow and steady. They ran until mid-day and decided to take a small rest on some fallen logs. Seeba looked at her sister and grinned ``Nari! You think Runa ran as much? She was always the fastest in learning days.'' Nari looked up at her sister on the log above her and laughed ``Runa? No way! She is fast that's absolutely true, but I bet she didn't take it slow like our parents told us too. I bet she ran as fast and as long as she could. I bet she is flat on her back panting with her tongue hanging out. Hey Lets go ahead and have one of those snack cakes mom made us and then go...hmm west with the suns for a bit.'' Seeba nodded and flipped off her tree and sat beside her sister and pulled out two hard biscuits for a quick lunch before they moved on. As darkness fell the two sisters worked together to make a shelter and fire. Seeba made a small lean-to and blended it in with the surroundings while Nari gathered some sticks and dry moss for a fire, lighting it with her spark rocks. After a little planning and setting a few traps up for the night, the sisters curled up together and fell asleep.\n\nRuna stared up at the arrow in shock as it thrummed in the tree. That shock was wiped away as she heard the movements of her hunter in the forest. The sounds slowly stalked closer making the young fox start to move slowly away from the tree. As she tried to gain distance from the spot, she heard the voice of another person close to where she was at. The high female sounding voice chided about a missed shot and Runa froze as she saw the hunter's legs pass inches from her nose through the bushes, she had crawled under to try and sneak away. This hunter was a human! They were young maybe close to her age, she wasn't sure, with humans it was hard to tell their age. This one was armed with a fancy mechanical bow that looked very menacing with the ears dangling off of the end, some of those she saw were fox ears! She heard the other hunter, who sounded like a male, reply that he only missed by an inch because the foxkin fell over. That's what others called her kind, not Kitsune like they called themselves, but foxkin like they were related to the feral kind...which they were absolutely not! Well that's what she was told anyhow...Runa crawled through the mud and leaves slowly inching away from the area as the two humans started to look for her. When she thought she was far enough away, she leaped up and dashed deeper into the dark woods with a newfound burst of fear fueled energy.\n\nNow as the sun was setting Runa sat very still, listening to the sounds around her. She had been chased a few miles by the hunters when she took off running, but as far as her ears told her, she had lost them. She was exhausted, hungry and her whole body hurt from all of the running and climbing and dodging she had to do to escape. However, with her body demanding sleep, she still managed to find a place to shelter for the night. Runa had found a small hollow made from a fallen over tree! She dug a few of the leaves out and scattered them around to cover her path and dragged over a few large leafy branches and draped them over the roots to hide the hole. She stepped back and admired her work. You couldn't tell this was not natural! Her brother taught her well in hide and seek games! She crawled under the leaves and curled up against the cool ground with a content sigh and drifted off to sleep, her dagger close at hand.\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Runa woke up and almost vaulted out of her hammock with a squeal and a burst of joy. Today was the day! The day that she would start her coming of age rites! She dashed out into the hut and to the bot of hot water that her mother already had going and carried it carefully over to the tub. She poured it into the water already there to get the cool water warm enough for a morning bath. Runa lived in a remote area of forest land, far away from cities and other people in a tribe of other foxes. Today her tribe would send her and a few of her age group out into the wilds for a month to survive and seek guidance from the gods to become adults in the tribe, able to sit in on tribal gatherings and have their voices heard. She had been waiting what seemed forever for this day. Not many in her age group had been chosen for the rites, normally it would be another few years, but the elders had chosen her and two others to take the rites early. Runa slipped into the basin and soaked a little before using the soap to clean herself for the morning. After that good soak and wash Runa climbed out and shook herself somewhat dry before walking into the main gathering room of the hut to see her family seated around breakfast. She happily plopped down between her older sister and brother who both handed her a plate and piled food on it. Her brother Kern smiled ``Need you to eat as much as you can Runa, sometimes your first day is hard and food is hard to find. I know it took me two and a half days to find my first food when I went on my rite and Keela didn't get food the first night either.'' Runa giggles some and nods to her siblings as she ate breakfast.

After breakfast the family was gathered up and walked to the center of the village to join the other two families and the elders. On arrival Runa dashed over to the other two, white and black twins that were her best friends. Nari, the black vixen and her twin sister Seeba. Why Seeba was white no one in the tribe knew, the elders said the gods needed to tell them apart and that is why she was white and had pink eyes to her twin's midnight black fur and green eyes. Other than those differences the two spoke the same, acted the same and were the same height and weight, identical in every other way. They even claimed to be able to talk with each other in their heads! She hugged her friends who both smiled and giggled happily with her about the day before they were hushed by the arrival of the village spiritual leader. The old man, Runa thought he must be as old as the dirt, walked over to the group of young girls and patted their shoulders with a genuine smile of pride. ``Young girls, today you start an important journey, upon your return there will be a feast in your honor and your voices will be heard. I wish you luck and may the gods rain luck and guidance upon your journey.'' The elder then motioned for some younger kits to bring over the ceremonial dyes and started to paint runes of protection and wisdom on the three young girls. Runa, for her part, was super excited about all of this, she had waited ten long years and was given this opportunity to go early and was determined not to mess up. Just as she was thinking that, the elder stood Infront of her and started painting. The man's soft touches along her fur caused her to shiver a bit, and when he found some places that tickled, she couldn't help but squirm and laugh. The old man laughed right along with her, a fatherly smile on his face as he worked. Once done placing the protective runes on her, he moved onto the other two and continued his words of luck and wisdom.

Once that was all done, they were handed a small bundle and the elder explained. ``Out there in the wilds it is not wise to run around in just your fur like you do at home in the village so we have included a loincloth for each of you, there is also a hunting knife and small treats from your family in the pouches on the bandoleer. Put them on and leave the village, go any direction you wish, but you will not return until Kunani the moon goddess has once again shown full in the sky. Good luck little ones, may the Gods watch over you.'' With that the ceremony was finished and the three put on the offered gifts and sped out into the surround dark forest.

Runa dashed into the forest, running as hard and fast as she could, the first day was a run, those on the journey were to run until they fell from exhaustion, this was to show endurance, to show that the hopeful had what it took to make long patrols of the area and keep the village safe. What they didn't tell you was that if you started out at full speed you would tire out quickly and you were supposed to run at least half a day! Runa ran until her legs burned and she pushed herself harder, she ran until tears streamed down her cheeks from the pain in her legs and finally just before noon, she was stumbling down a deer path unable to run any more. She leaned against a tree and collapsed down in to the mud and that saved her life. Runa heard the hiss and thrum of an arrow slamming into the tree trunk where her head was at only a moment ago. Rune's eyes went wide by she held still, her ears straining for sound as she heard light footsteps moving in the forest. Runa knew there were other tribes in the area, and that some of them were non too friendly with hers, feeling that they had intruded on their sacred hunting grounds. Her village had tried to share the land so that both tribes would prosper, but the other tribe kept sending raiding parties at the village, most of the time repelled by the stalkers in her village, skilled in silent movement, they hunted enemies of the village around its lands to keep all inside safe.

Nari and Seeba both ran off in the same direction together and ran at a less eager pace than their friend running in the other direction, their parents had warned them that morning about taking things slow and steady. They ran until mid-day and decided to take a small rest on some fallen logs. Seeba looked at her sister and grinned ``Nari! You think Runa ran as much? She was always the fastest in learning days.'' Nari looked up at her sister on the log above her and laughed ``Runa? No way! She is fast that's absolutely true, but I bet she didn't take it slow like our parents told us too. I bet she ran as fast and as long as she could. I bet she is flat on her back panting with her tongue hanging out. Hey Lets go ahead and have one of those snack cakes mom made us and then go...hmm west with the suns for a bit.'' Seeba nodded and flipped off her tree and sat beside her sister and pulled out two hard biscuits for a quick lunch before they moved on. As darkness fell the two sisters worked together to make a shelter and fire. Seeba made a small lean-to and blended it in with the surroundings while Nari gathered some sticks and dry moss for a fire, lighting it with her spark rocks. After a little planning and setting a few traps up for the night, the sisters curled up together and fell asleep.

Runa stared up at the arrow in shock as it thrummed in the tree. That shock was wiped away as she heard the movements of her hunter in the forest. The sounds slowly stalked closer making the young fox start to move slowly away from the tree.  As she tried to gain distance from the spot, she heard the voice of another person close to where she was at. The high female sounding voice chided about a missed shot and Runa froze as she saw the hunter's legs pass inches from her nose through the bushes, she had crawled under to try and sneak away. This hunter was a human! They were young maybe close to her age, she wasn't sure, with humans it was hard to tell their age. This one was armed with a fancy mechanical bow that looked very menacing with the ears dangling off of the end, some of those she saw were fox ears! She heard the other hunter, who sounded like a male, reply that he only missed by an inch because the foxkin fell over. That's what others called her kind, not Kitsune like they called themselves, but foxkin like they were related to the feral kind...which they were absolutely not! Well that's what she was told anyhow...Runa crawled through the mud and leaves slowly inching away from the area as the two humans started to look for her. When she thought she was far enough away, she leaped up and dashed deeper into the dark woods with a newfound burst of fear fueled energy.

Now as the sun was setting Runa sat very still, listening to the sounds around her. She had been chased a few miles by the hunters when she took off running, but as far as her ears told her, she had lost them. She was exhausted, hungry and her whole body hurt from all of the running and climbing and dodging she had to do to escape. However, with her body demanding sleep, she still managed to find a place to shelter for the night. Runa had found a small hollow made from a fallen over tree! She dug a few of the leaves out and scattered them around to cover her path and dragged over a few large leafy branches and draped them over the roots to hide the hole. She stepped back and admired her work. You couldn't tell this was not natural! Her brother taught her well in hide and seek games! She crawled under the leaves and curled up against the cool ground with a content sigh and drifted off to sleep, her dagger close at hand.

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