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Was working on my Poison Worker book and let myself play editor. Which means two characters I had gotten fond of had recieved the chop. To make myself feel better, I was going to give them a ministory. Then I wrote this instead.
Background info: Thames is about thirteen and is a demon. Novice in the order of Eusi, a god of order.
Jesitrion is in his thirties, he's Thames' teacher, and a priest in the order of Eupe, a goddess of chaos. Sumerian.
Anyway.
The Moon and its Jewels
By John Harris
"Jesitrion..."
Jesit looked up. "Yes, Thames?" he called from where he was tending to the fire that had driven Thames off into the bushes. He hated the smell of it and it was a trick to get him to come back before it was embers.
A pause. "It's bright tonight."
"That's because the lady wants to show off her jewels. Vain thing," Jesitrion smiled and added another log to the fire. In the shadows where Thames was hiding he heard a sigh.
"What are you talking about *now*?" a small boy's voice with a definite whine to it.
"The lady," said Jesitrion pointing at the moon and the stars.
Thames peered out from his hiding place and glared. "That's not a lady."
"It is! The moon's a lady who was favoured by the gods. But she was a horrible gossip and wanted to see and hear everything," Jesitrion said. Poking the fire a bit higher he looked up again.
"You don't become the moon when you gossip." Jesit could hear the glare in the voice. Thames had developed a hatred of the stories Jesitrion would tell him. Jesitrion could not for the life of him guess why, except maybe that scene in the marketplace where Thames had screamed at the sight of a melon due to the story of Spider Melonclimber. Jesitrion snickered at that for a moment and began the rest of the story.
"Ah, but she started telling stories about Father Mountain and he didn't like that. She was shoved up there to make her regret what she wanted. She can get all the stories she wants up there, but she can't tell them to anyone," said Jesitrion as he began roasting some of the rabbit he'd caught earlier. "Some of the gods took pity on her and gave her jewelry to cheer her. She shows them off sometime to us."
"You're not telling the truth." Thames crept out into the light of the fire, eyeing the rabbit hungrily.
"I'm not? What makes you say that? Don't touch it, it's not done yet," admonished Jesitrion, batting Thames' hand away from the meat.
"Done enough," Thames said and snatched back his hand, out of reach. "The moon is Eusi and Eupe. Eupe is the part we see and Eusi's the part we can't that sometimes obscures Eupe. They're dancing up there because the Mother put them there for the whole world to see."
He thought for a moment, then added: "The sun is the Mother," in case this fact had gone past Jesitrion.
"Is it? I always thought the sun was a fine gentleman courting the lady in his best silks," Jesitrion left the meat to the side to cool for a moment.
"Where do you hear this stuff, Jesit?" Thames said in a long-suffering voice and nabbed a piece of rabbit. "You'd believe *anything*."
"Maybe. Is that too well-done?"
"Just a little. I'll cope," said Thames. He wolfed down the last bit, checked to see if any forest creatures or That Damned Donkey was looking, then curled up on Jesitrion. A short bit later, in a tired voice: "What are his silk clothes?"
"The clouds, Thames. That's what he wears."
"Oh. He must be cold on clear days."
"I bet."
End.
notes: none.