Wanderer ] Miguel Stephane Lafitte . fin
Jun 30, 2014 9:56:37 GMT -5
Post by анзие (Anz) on Jun 30, 2014 9:56:37 GMT -5
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As he grows Miguel begins to understand bits and pieces of his tribe - for they are a tribe settled on the outskirts of a colorful city his parents call le Capitole. They tell him as he grows that even though he is not colorful in the way the people of the Capitol are colorful he is no less important, for they all belong to the wonderful country of Panem. "We are well looked after in Panem, for years ago as the elders tell it we would have been destroyed," they are fond of telling him, Manman's hands smoothing his jet black hair back and Papa's sausage-shaped fingers almost constantly tickling his belly to make him giggle.
Miguel learns to appreciate Panem and le Capitole, but first he learns to honor the Loa. When Papa tells him about the Loa, he says that they are the messengers between humankind and Bondye, humankind's creator. "They are worthy of worship," Papa says as he draws winged people in the dirt - parchment being few and far to come by as Miguel remembers it - for Miguel to see, "Because they look after us, just as le Capitole do." Miguel is three (and a half) and rapidly absorbing every little bit of information from his beloved father, dark brown eyes wide with amazement at the number of things his father knows. Papa smiles and leans in closer to whisper (not for the last time), "Some people even think that the colorful men and women of le Capitole are the Loa, but they are only men and women."
(When Miguel is older he whispers to his Papa in return: "Then why do they take care of us?" Papa just smiles and says, "Because the Loa bless us all.")
By the same age of three Miguel has learned to make friends through various means. The younger children of his tribe know each other but each meeting is tinged with caution and shyness, and they often end with children hiding behind their mothers' legs. Miguel learns to play by watching the older children play (they let him join in, scrambling with a bright smile after a ball that he never touches, but they laugh about things that Miguel doesn't understand) and he begs Papa to weave him a ball just like the big children's ball. Papa caves into his trembling lower lip (much to Manman's amusement, and though Miguel doesn't at that age understand her laughter he laughs along with her) and Miguel receives his ball as a birthday present. He takes it when Manman goes out to do their washing with the other mothers; the ball becomes the source of amusement for the younger children while their mothers are busy at work, and Miguel feels proud of himself when he takes it home that day.
He becomes the unwitting leader of the younger children, in charge of most of what they play, and they look to him to settle disputes as they get older. Miguel does not pick favorite friends because, as he reasoned with Manman in a naive tone of voice, they are all his friends and to pick a favorite will be too difficult. But he does play more often with Manman's friend's son, Valery. It is natural, as Manman and Valery's mother both enjoy each other's company, which means Valery and Miguel are thrown together for play. Miguel doesn't mind, because Valery is fun and adventurous and they both are capable of imagining games that leave them both in teary giggles.
As Miguel nears his fifth birthday he stumbles almost purely by accident into a shrine built by his tribe. He was playing a game Valery calls 'Hide and Seek' with the other children and thought to hide in the little caves near the stream - one of his usual hiding spots, he might admit if asked. This time, though, rather than tucking himself behind the boulder at the entrance Miguel ducks inside, not wishing to be one of first caught by the seeker yet again.
The cave is darker than he imagines and Miguel soon gets the shivers from the abrupt temperature drop as he waits; to warm himself up he decides to walk deeper into the cave, slipping on damp rocks and almost falling downhill until just ahead of him he spies an ethereal glow. Eager for any kind of warmth and light the dingy cave can offer, Miguel hurries forwards with a mud-coated layer of skin until he sees the shrine.
It is not a very large shrine, but in comparison with Miguel's pint-sized height it towers over him. Ebony wide-eyed statuettes watch him with their hands in various positions of prayer, their intricate carving detailing every little tribal design a steady hand can capture; beaded offerings are draped in what looked like a sporadic manner around and over the statuettes; a human skull stares Miguel down with empty sockets, flowers laid carefully in a circle around it. What captured Miguel's attention most was the giant cross carved in ancient wood placed on a pedestal above all else, and the little cloth dolls lined up just in front of it.
To Miguel's naive mind, he concludes that Bondye must be the cross and the cloth dolls the messengers. And though the shrine was stained with rust-colored substance and dirt, though the skull grinned right at Miguel, he does not feel afraid. Quite the opposite - the discovery of the shrine seemed to set a part of Miguel's mind to rest, and when, hours later, he's finally found dozing under the watchful eyes of Bondye and the Loa, Miguel feels warmth.
He never goes back down to the caves after that, by order of his relieved parents, but Miguel begs to learn the art of Vodou. Manman is reluctant, but Papa takes his hand one day and leads him to an old practitioner who never gives her name. She asks Miguel to call her Shaman, and he does. Shaman is a quick-tempered, crotchety old lady who Miguel comes to love as a third parent; she teaches him the art and religion of Vodou, the moralities that are fundamental to the practice. Under her strict tutelage Miguel learns what it truly means to worship the Loa and Bondye, and each night excitedly shares his knowledge with his smiling parents.
(Miguel dreams one night of Shaman's hands placing a little piece of cloth in his hands and a voice his dream-self believes to be one of the Loa whispering, "Never forget who you are."
He promises, but the dream fades from his mind the moment he wakes.)
[attr="class","abox"]Miguel Lafitte
| male | twenty-six | wanderer | odair |
he plucked feathers from his back
H
e begins, as all do, as a baby. Miguel was a brilliant child, both in mind and heart - his smile, his mother used to say to him with all the love in the world, was the reason the stars twinkled at night. When Miguel laughed it always seemed as though the world laughed with him in bubbling brooks and a gentle breeze passing lightly over his tanned skin. He advanced as any other child would: baby steps are born from crawling until his tiny legs were strong enough to let him toddle without tumbling over, sparkling child-eyes grow wider and brighter with every wonder the world has to offer, toothless smiles turn into brilliant laughter. As he grows Miguel begins to understand bits and pieces of his tribe - for they are a tribe settled on the outskirts of a colorful city his parents call le Capitole. They tell him as he grows that even though he is not colorful in the way the people of the Capitol are colorful he is no less important, for they all belong to the wonderful country of Panem. "We are well looked after in Panem, for years ago as the elders tell it we would have been destroyed," they are fond of telling him, Manman's hands smoothing his jet black hair back and Papa's sausage-shaped fingers almost constantly tickling his belly to make him giggle.
Miguel learns to appreciate Panem and le Capitole, but first he learns to honor the Loa. When Papa tells him about the Loa, he says that they are the messengers between humankind and Bondye, humankind's creator. "They are worthy of worship," Papa says as he draws winged people in the dirt - parchment being few and far to come by as Miguel remembers it - for Miguel to see, "Because they look after us, just as le Capitole do." Miguel is three (and a half) and rapidly absorbing every little bit of information from his beloved father, dark brown eyes wide with amazement at the number of things his father knows. Papa smiles and leans in closer to whisper (not for the last time), "Some people even think that the colorful men and women of le Capitole are the Loa, but they are only men and women."
(When Miguel is older he whispers to his Papa in return: "Then why do they take care of us?" Papa just smiles and says, "Because the Loa bless us all.")
By the same age of three Miguel has learned to make friends through various means. The younger children of his tribe know each other but each meeting is tinged with caution and shyness, and they often end with children hiding behind their mothers' legs. Miguel learns to play by watching the older children play (they let him join in, scrambling with a bright smile after a ball that he never touches, but they laugh about things that Miguel doesn't understand) and he begs Papa to weave him a ball just like the big children's ball. Papa caves into his trembling lower lip (much to Manman's amusement, and though Miguel doesn't at that age understand her laughter he laughs along with her) and Miguel receives his ball as a birthday present. He takes it when Manman goes out to do their washing with the other mothers; the ball becomes the source of amusement for the younger children while their mothers are busy at work, and Miguel feels proud of himself when he takes it home that day.
He becomes the unwitting leader of the younger children, in charge of most of what they play, and they look to him to settle disputes as they get older. Miguel does not pick favorite friends because, as he reasoned with Manman in a naive tone of voice, they are all his friends and to pick a favorite will be too difficult. But he does play more often with Manman's friend's son, Valery. It is natural, as Manman and Valery's mother both enjoy each other's company, which means Valery and Miguel are thrown together for play. Miguel doesn't mind, because Valery is fun and adventurous and they both are capable of imagining games that leave them both in teary giggles.
As Miguel nears his fifth birthday he stumbles almost purely by accident into a shrine built by his tribe. He was playing a game Valery calls 'Hide and Seek' with the other children and thought to hide in the little caves near the stream - one of his usual hiding spots, he might admit if asked. This time, though, rather than tucking himself behind the boulder at the entrance Miguel ducks inside, not wishing to be one of first caught by the seeker yet again.
The cave is darker than he imagines and Miguel soon gets the shivers from the abrupt temperature drop as he waits; to warm himself up he decides to walk deeper into the cave, slipping on damp rocks and almost falling downhill until just ahead of him he spies an ethereal glow. Eager for any kind of warmth and light the dingy cave can offer, Miguel hurries forwards with a mud-coated layer of skin until he sees the shrine.
It is not a very large shrine, but in comparison with Miguel's pint-sized height it towers over him. Ebony wide-eyed statuettes watch him with their hands in various positions of prayer, their intricate carving detailing every little tribal design a steady hand can capture; beaded offerings are draped in what looked like a sporadic manner around and over the statuettes; a human skull stares Miguel down with empty sockets, flowers laid carefully in a circle around it. What captured Miguel's attention most was the giant cross carved in ancient wood placed on a pedestal above all else, and the little cloth dolls lined up just in front of it.
To Miguel's naive mind, he concludes that Bondye must be the cross and the cloth dolls the messengers. And though the shrine was stained with rust-colored substance and dirt, though the skull grinned right at Miguel, he does not feel afraid. Quite the opposite - the discovery of the shrine seemed to set a part of Miguel's mind to rest, and when, hours later, he's finally found dozing under the watchful eyes of Bondye and the Loa, Miguel feels warmth.
He never goes back down to the caves after that, by order of his relieved parents, but Miguel begs to learn the art of Vodou. Manman is reluctant, but Papa takes his hand one day and leads him to an old practitioner who never gives her name. She asks Miguel to call her Shaman, and he does. Shaman is a quick-tempered, crotchety old lady who Miguel comes to love as a third parent; she teaches him the art and religion of Vodou, the moralities that are fundamental to the practice. Under her strict tutelage Miguel learns what it truly means to worship the Loa and Bondye, and each night excitedly shares his knowledge with his smiling parents.
(Miguel dreams one night of Shaman's hands placing a little piece of cloth in his hands and a voice his dream-self believes to be one of the Loa whispering, "Never forget who you are."
He promises, but the dream fades from his mind the moment he wakes.)
end of part one
and bent forwards, towards something more
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