{"id":149,"date":"2024-02-23T22:08:49","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T22:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/website_02846d40\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2024-02-29T22:14:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T06:14:05","slug":"davu-the-explorer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/rw\/2024-spring\/davu-the-explorer\/","title":{"rendered":"Davu the Explorer and the Druid T\u00eda Yara"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.71)” width=”80%” max_width=”1200px” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/website_02846d40\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/RW-header-3.png” title_text=”RW-header” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Davu the Explorer and
\nthe Druid T\u00eda Yara<\/h1>\n

by T.\u00a0K. Rex<\/h3>\n

Illustrations by Helena Domenic
\nand Thana Meejinda<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/rw\/2024-spring\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Thana-Meejinda-753×1024.png” title_text=”Thana Meejinda” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” module_alignment=”center” width=”70%” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” width=”85%” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]\u201cWhen was the Rewilding?\u201d Davu asked his big brother, Semtset, as they walked the oak and bay lined trail to the ruins of the Berkeley Wall, where they sometimes liked to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad said it was seven hundred years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that a really long time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s practically forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Semtset climbed onto a concrete boulder, scraping yellow lichen with his shoe, gray felt with brown leather soles. Newer than Davu\u2019s, which were starting to feel a little small, one heel about to get a hole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From one boulder they climbed onto another, then another, Semtset offering a hand at every rise, Davu insisting on climbing by himself.<\/p>\n

At the height just beyond the last safe height to climb, they sat and looked out at the ruins. It was mostly forest from the crumbled wall out to the bay, but at the water\u2019s edge they could just make out the skeletons of ancient neighborhoods. Out across the silvery water through a growing mist stood the shattered remnants of a dozen skyscrapers, precariously decorating the peninsula.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to go there<\/i>,\u201d Davu said to his brother, pointing and swinging his feet against the ancient wall\u2019s western face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too dangerous,\u201d Semtset said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone always says that but no one ever says why<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see why from here.\u201d Semtset was impatient. \u201cThose old buildings could fall any time. One more earthquake and they\u2019ll all come down for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davu had never seen a building fall. In fact, the ragged skyline of the forbidden place across the bay had always looked the same, as long as he could remember.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

\u201cHere you go, two bags of chia, and one mesquite flour.\u201d The trader with the dromark on her temple handed Brunnel the goods from her small cart, and he hefted the sack of live oak acorns from the prior mast year onto her pile of baskets and bags. Done and done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s those boys of yours? They\u2019re usually so curious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunnel grunted. \u201cUh, you know, just out being boys.\u201d He took a step back in an attempt to end the interaction, but the trader was unfazed. As she made small talk, all he could think about was her dromark. How had she gotten it? Did it go into her brain? What did she see, or know, that no one else could?<\/p>\n

She looked off in the direction of the wall mid-sentence and waved at someone else. Thank\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there they are! Hi, boys!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh, no.<\/p>\n

Brunnel\u2019s sons, Davu and Semtset, ran up to the cart excitedly. He grabbed them both by their shirt collars before they could get too close.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, T\u00eda Yara!\u201d little Davu said, squirming under Brunnel\u2019s grip. The trader knelt to the boy\u2019s level and pulled something from one of the many smaller bags she wore.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi there, Davu! I saved something just for you. And one for you too, Semtset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, hold on,\u201d Brunnel said to his boys. \u201cDon\u2019t eat those. You don\u2019t even know what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dromarked trader looked up at Brunnel and said, \u201cThey\u2019re just carob and candy caps. There\u2019s a nice older couple down in\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMushrooms are easy to mix up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She squinted at him, and said flatly, \u201cI don\u2019t mix up mushrooms.\u201d Then she stood, brushed off her brightly colored skirts, and said to the boys, who were already unwrapping the candies, \u201cAnyway, I think you all are my last customers, so I\u2019d better be off before it gets too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you go?\u201d Davu asked her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever I want.\u201d she said. And with a glance at Brunnel, \u201cSome places I stay longer than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the farthest away place you\u2019ve been?\u201d Davu asked her. \u201cHave you ever flown up into the clouds?\u201d<\/p>\n

The trader let out a small laugh and said, \u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Semtset spoke up in an exasperated tone: \u201cDromarks can\u2019t make you fly, Davu.\u201d He popped the candy in his mouth.<\/p>\n

Before Davu could ask the trader anything else, Brunnel gave the boys each a bag of chia seeds to carry and said, \u201cCome on, boys, let\u2019s get dinner started.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they walked away, he looked back once. The trader was packing up her cart. She saw him looking, and sighed, and said, with obligatory positivity, \u201cSee you next time!\u201d The boys both turned and waved to her. Brunnel did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad, how come you don\u2019t like T\u00eda Yara?\u201d Semtset asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not your t\u00eda. You don\u2019t even know what t\u00eda<\/i> means.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what she said to call her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know anything about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked in subdued silence to the communal kitchen, until the doorway, where Davu stopped, put down his bag, which was almost half his size, and looked up at Brunnel with his big brown eyes full of want. \u201cDad, when can I go exploring with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re older.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOlder than Semtset?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll never be older than me, Davu,\u201d Semtset chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI meant\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunnel interrupted the boy by picking him up and swinging him onto his shoulders. He was heavier than ever. \u201cI know what you meant. Don\u2019t worry about it, Davu. The years will fly by. Trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c.\u00a0.\u00a0. Years?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

That night, after everyone was asleep, Davu packed a small bag of supplies: a slice of acorn bread, a flask of water, his favorite blanket, and a piece of twine he was pretty sure would hold him if he needed to climb down a cliff, like they did sometimes in the adventure sims. He didn\u2019t need to wait years<\/i> to explore past the wall. He could prove he was ready now.<\/p>\n

He tiptoed through the entrance of his family dome, out into the night, and followed the light of the full moon west. He was Davu the Explorer now. He knew the peninsula would be too far, but he could at least see the ruins at the water\u2019s edge on this side of the bay up close, and make discoveries, and be home in time for dinner the next day.<\/p>\n

At the wall, Davu looked back once, at the domes of his village, one or two still softly glowing, and then ahead, at the dark, distant skyline, and the bay in moonlight, and the broken, nearer shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Someone rustled in the bushes up ahead. He froze, startled, as a cat emerged\u2014the small kind, like Great-Grandma\u2019s old pet Rascal, but this one had pale fur with a dark star on their head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cat froze, too, then leapt into the rubble of the wall and disappeared.<\/p>\n

Davu told himself he\u2019d faced down a mountain lion, and after half an hour, he believed it. After an hour, he was so tired, and had come so far, he decided good adventurers took naps. He pulled his loosely rolled-up blanket from his bag and found an oak tree that reminded him of one his family always gathered acorns under when the air was dry and hot. The ground around the tree was broken concrete, pushed up sharply by its roots, but he found a flat spot just big enough to curl up on, head resting on a root.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what all the fuss is about, honestly. So what if she\u2019s dromarked. Plenty of creatures are dromarked. She\u2019s nice, and she always has those yucca flowers from the south that Semtset likes fried.\u201d Brunnel\u2019s partner, Ru, the mother of his two sons and the woman who had welcomed him to this community ten years ago\u2014in a lovely ceremony by the Ashokawna river where both their families spent the salmon run each year\u2014was just not fucking getting it this time. How could she not hear her own words?<\/p>\n

\u201cRu, listen to yourself. \u2018Plenty of creatures\u2019?! That\u2019s my whole point. She\u2019s not fully human. It\u2019s unnatural.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ru dropped her mending on the blanket over both their laps and looked up at him with that<\/i> look, the one she always wore when she was one dumb-Brunnel-comment away from walking over to her sister\u2019s dome. He couldn\u2019t back down from this one, though. There was too much at stake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRu\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She cocked her head, eyebrow raised and ready to slap down whatever he said next. He said it anyway. Her people had always been too lax about this stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want her near our boys. What if she\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, infects<\/i> them? Come on, Brunnel. I thought you were over that backward northern shit. It\u2019s been ten\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMom? Dad?\u201d Semtset. He stood in the arched entrance to their bedroom, arms folded, eyes worried. How much had he heard?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, kiddo?\u201d Brunnel asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know where Davu is.\u201d<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Davu woke in pre-dawn fog to scrub jays in an argument with ravens. \u201cCan\u2019t you just get along?\u201d he said to them as he brushed dried leaves and acorn caps off his blanket and rolled it back up as tightly as he could.<\/p>\n

One of the scrub jays cocked their blue head at him, and he noticed a dark star, hard between soft feathers. It reminded him of the cat he\u2019d seen in the bushes, and of the outcast traveler T\u00eda Yara, who traded in the village several times a year. Was that what a dromark was? He\u2019d seen it sometimes on the pronghorn in the valley, too, and once on a doe Dad pointed to, and said, \u201cYou see that on her head? It looks like a black brittle star? Someday if you decide to be a hunter, remember this: never hunt the ones with stars.\u201d That was the day he first saw a real brittle star, in an underwater sim when they got home. Its long, thin legs flailed slow and wild over rocks and rippled sand. He wondered if the ones that animals and people sometimes wore could move like that.<\/p>\n

The scrub jay squawked and flitted to a higher branch. Davu stuffed his blanket in his bag and continued on his trek downhill.<\/p>\n

In the ruins of a building near the water\u2019s edge, Davu stopped to eat his acorn bread, and listened to the waves nip at the seaweed-covered rubble, and the shorebirds flapping from patch of mud to patch of mud between the rust-streaked concrete slabs.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t dangerous at all, he thought, chewing the soft, sweet, nutty bread. Or if it was, he must be really brave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He kicked his feet in satisfaction, pushing dirt around until his toes began to catch on something. He looked down, and brushed more dirt away with his shoe to see what it was.<\/p>\n

It looked a little like a root, a little like a worm, but it was made of hard black stuff like the star the doe and cat and jay and T\u00eda Yara all wore on their heads. He finished off the acorn bread with one last, big bite, and, still chewing, reached down to pull the buried black thing from the dirt.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just a root or worm. It was a whole mess of dead tentacles, light and stiff, like a clump of dried kelp connected by a net-like shell, just bigger than an avocado, but not as big as Davu\u2019s head. The tentacles were stuck together in a tangled, flattened disarray.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He carried it down to the water\u2019s edge, balancing on chunks of rubble to get close enough to lean in. He knew better than to get his shoes wet if he could help it.<\/p>\n

Lying across a barnacle-encrusted slab, he dangled the dark, dirty dead thing by the top of its shell in the waves. The dirt made the water brown, but when he pulled it out, the tentacles had loosened up. They dangled, dripping on the rocks. It almost looked like one of those old drones from the Rewilding sims.<\/p>\n

This must be an ancient artifact. That made him a real archaeologist!<\/p>\n

He stuffed the artifact into his pack. The tentacles that wouldn\u2019t fit flopped out the top, slapping against the leather of the bag as Davu hopped from rock to rock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the ninth or tenth rock that finally did his shoe in. The one with the thinning heel finally thinned its last and formed a hole. And as the leather tore, he slipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thunk.<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Concrete to skull. Dizzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Darkness.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Brunnel felt Ru\u2019s mist-cold hand take his and gently tug. \u201cBrunnel. Stop for a second. Let\u2019s think this through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morning light was quickly turning into noon, and no one had slept. Everyone who could walk had been looking for Davu since late last night, first with flashlights in the dark and now with eyes, and a thermal sensor from the tool library. Of course, there was the possibility that a thermal sensor wouldn\u2019t do any good. But he shook that thought back into the scary shadows of his psyche and let Ru pull him to a stop.<\/p>\n

The late morning sun hit Ru\u2019s unbrushed brown hair from behind, giving her whole tan face a blazing, tangled auburn aura. Her eyes were still puffy and red from a fit of dawn tears. He pulled her in close and tight and they embraced for a moment, stealing small comfort from each other\u2019s touch until the urgency of finding Davu pulled them back apart. \u201cWhat\u2019s there to think through?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve looked everywhere,\u201d Ru said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSemtset thinks he went past the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Ru\u2019s panic made her interrupt him. \u201cWhat if you were right about that trader, Yara? What if .\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d She choked on the last whispered words, \u201cWhat if she took him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brunnel looked off to the distance, in the direction of the crumbling wall. Davu knew better than to go out past it, and the trader had only left yesterday afternoon. He\u2019d assumed she was headed north, but who knew? She could be anywhere. And what if he found her, and confronted her\u2014what powers did the dromark give her? He knew only rumors, stories that his uncles told him third- and fourth-hand about men who denned with mountain lions, women who had condors at their beck and call.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d need backup if they had to hunt her down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Something scratchy tickled Davu\u2019s nose and cheeks. He opened his eyes, and the bright green eyes of a small, pale cat stared back at him. Their mouth was open and their tongue licked his nose again, whiskers tickling with the motion of their head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t bite me.\u201d He tried his best to sound brave, but he knew he was about to cry.<\/p>\n

The cat sat back and blinked at him, and he saw the star across their head. He tried to sit up, but couldn\u2019t. He was trapped beneath a concrete slab, leg pinned between hard edges. It hurt when he tried to pull it out, a sharp pain that finally made him cry. Barnacles scratched his arms, and he could feel crabs crawling through the slimy seaweed underneath his back.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you hear me yet?\u201d the cat said, in a voice a little older than Semtset\u2019s, male and strangely soundless. He\u2019d never heard cats talk before, but he knew the star made this cat special. Davu tried to nod, but it hurt. \u201cTry not to move too much,\u201d the cat said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanna go home,\u201d Davu cried out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will. If we can get you out of here before the tide comes in. But right now just hold still, OK? Help is coming, and I don\u2019t want you hurting yourself any more than you already have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davu sobbed a little more, then wiped his nose across his sleeve. It left a streak of blood.<\/p>\n

Now Davu was really scared. \u201cYou said there\u2019s someone coming?\u201d he asked the cat, voice wobbling.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends. They\u2019re on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointment made him want to cry again. He was hoping for Semtset, or Dad, or Mom, or maybe a group of aunties who\u2019d been hunting near the wall or .\u00a0.\u00a0. or anyone he knew. How were a tabby cat\u2019s friends supposed to help him?<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, kid,\u201d the cat said. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be OK. Just stay calm. We got this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have come out here.\u201d Davu sniffled. \u201cMy leg hurts a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure it does. Your head probably hurts, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as he tried to nod again, it did. A lot.<\/p>\n

Davu felt his throat clench up again with tears, and sobbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeeeeey, hey little human, don\u2019t cry.\u201d The cat licked his face again, and climbed up on top of Davu\u2019s chest, and started purring. Soon Davu felt calm again, or calm as he could with all those crabs and seaweed under him, and the sharp shells of barnacles digging into his skin. And his leg and head both throbbing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the tide coming in.<\/p>\n

What if the cat\u2019s friends didn\u2019t come in time?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, what\u2019s that in your bag?\u201d the cat asked.<\/p>\n

Davu couldn\u2019t see the bag from the angle he was stuck at, but he could feel the strap across his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an ancient artifact I discovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, isn\u2019t that something.\u201d The cat stepped down toward it with his front paws, haunches still on Davu\u2019s chest, and sniffed. \u201cAn ancient artifact. Ah. I know what this is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do?\u201d Davu sniffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wildcraft drone. Human-companion specialist. Or it was, maybe four hundred years ago? Pretty rare to find them now, most of their bodies got repurposed in the space elevator. This one must\u2019ve gotten trapped in the Big Quake. It was one of the last macros the network made on Earth before they all left.\u201d The cat climbed back up on Davu\u2019s chest and began to purr again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the network?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll know soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The waves sounded very close now, and while they were small here in the bay, they could drown a boy all the same. Davu felt afraid. But he wasn\u2019t going to cry again. He wanted the cat to know how brave he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, look at that, you\u2019re healing right up,\u201d the cat said a moment later. He didn\u2019t open his mouth to talk.<\/p>\n

Davu thought of the last time he scuffed his knee, and how it took days and days to heal. He reached up to touch his forehead, and it was sticky still with blood. But there was something there, a texture, lines like roots across his skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Davu asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, kid, I\u2019ve got it, too. It\u2019s how we\u2019re talking. It\u2019s fixing up your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cold, wet wave touched the top of his head, and pulled at his blood-soaked hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill it help me not drown?\u201d Davu asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about that. My friends are close. Just hang tight.\u201d And a moment later, \u201cSo, what\u2019s your name anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Davu.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDavu. I like it. Good name. You can call me Fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a funny name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, most cats don\u2019t have names at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you get one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave it to myself. When I joined the network.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the\u2014\u201d A wave came up to Davu\u2019s ear and soaked his back. He squirmed. It was so cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunate said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Davu. My friends are very close now.\u201d But something in his voice had changed. Like how Mom talked to Great-Grandma sometimes when she found her wandering alone.<\/p>\n

Another wave washed up so high he had to lift his head. It soaked all his clothes through and pulled at his bag, tightening the strap around him. Fortunate stood up on his chest to keep from getting wet. His four paws were much heavier this way, and Davu squirmed, then shivered. He could feel the tears well up again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Davu,\u201d Fortunate said in that same tone, \u201cI\u2019ve always wondered. What\u2019s it like being a human?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d His voice rattled and his throat grew tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ever tried walking on four legs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Well, babies do. But I don\u2019t remember being a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t remember anything before my eyes opened. Oh, shit\u2014\u201d Fortunate\u2019s claws dug into Davu\u2019s chest, and water spilled over Davu\u2019s head. His nose and mouth filled up and his eyes stung. The wave receded, pulling at his hair, and his coughing was so bad he had to gasp for air.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know how to hold your breath, Davu?\u201d Fortunate asked, claws still digging in, pale fur wet against his legs.<\/p>\n

All Davu could do was cough before the next wave came, and Fortunate leapt off his chest onto the concrete slab above.<\/p>\n

Saltwater touched his leg where it was stuck for the first time, and it stung. For a moment, he was halfway floating, looking up at the surface of the water from the other side. Distorted sunlight, bubbles, the ragged shadows of the concrete\u2014and then another kind of shadow, big and looming, as the wave receded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A female voice, without sound, like Fortunate\u2019s, said, \u201cThere you are! Oh, hell, did you network him, Fortunate?! The sentient ones are supposed to give consent!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust help him, Tina?\u201d Fortunate said. Davu could only cough. His nose burned all the way up into his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah, I got this.\u201d Tina, Davu realized through his uncontrollable coughing, was a bear. She pulled the concrete slab that held his leg up off of him, and he was free.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you get up, kid?\u201d Fortunate asked.<\/p>\n

Davu tried to push himself up, but the seaweed was slippery, and he was dizzy and still coughing up seawater. Tina grabbed him by the back of his shirt with her teeth and pulled, and he grabbed the concrete to steady himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now that he was up, he saw a yellow pronghorn, hooves precariously balanced on the rubble, staring at him skeptically.<\/p>\n

A wave washed over his torn shoe and soaked his foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou crazy cat,\u201d the pronghorn said to Fortunate. Her voice was light and feminine and annoyed. \u201cI can\u2019t believe you networked a human.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was gonna die, Horns. And he\u2019s so young he\u2019s basically one of us anyway,\u201d Fortunate said. \u201cWhat was I supposed to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis people are gonna be pissed<\/i>,\u201d Tina said. \u201cBut we\u2019d better bring him back to them.\u201d And then to Davu, who stood there soaked and shaking, she said softly, \u201cCan you walk, little one?\u201d<\/p>\n

He tried to take a step but his leg hurt so much it made him want to cry again.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, OK,\u201d Tina said. \u201cHold on.\u201d And she lifted him up with her enormous paws and set him on the pronghorn\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on to my fur and don\u2019t fall off,\u201d Horns said. And Davu did the best he could. His head was feeling a bit better. Tina took his bag and carried it around her neck, and just as another wave came in, the four of them were off.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

After finally convincing Semtset not to follow them, Brunnel, Ru, and a well-armed hunting party found the dromarked trader\u2019s cart faster than they\u2019d thought, at a makeshift camp up the trail to the Ohlone village, under an ancient bay tree in full flower. Like hunters stalking prey, they quietly surrounded her small, colorfully patched tent with bows and daggers ready. Ru and her sister approached with blades drawn, and in the manzanita thicket out of sight, Brunnel trained his bow on the triangle entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey! Where\u2019s my son?!\u201d Ru growled.<\/p>\n

No answer. She stepped closer and reached for the cloth. Brunnel tensed. In one swift motion Ru sliced at the tent, gutting it like a pronghorn. A pillow and a stack of books fell out, into the dead bay leaves.<\/p>\n

No one was inside. Ru cursed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brunnel sighed and lowered his bow, surprisingly relieved. He\u2019d never hurt a human being before, and whatever the dromarked really were, whatever this creature had done to his son .\u00a0.\u00a0. he\u2019d not been looking forward to confronting her with violence. And if things went real bad, what did the old custom of not killing dromarked animals mean, when the animal was human?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d Ru\u2019s sister asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can\u2019t be far,\u201d Ru said. \u201cWe\u2019ll find her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr she\u2019ll find you,\u201d a voice said from behind Brunnel. He tried to stand and spin at once, caught his sleeve on a manzanita branch, lost his balance, and shot his arrow accidentally in the wrong direction. Ru and her sister were beside him in a heartbeat, and the hunting party quickly surrounded the trader with all their weapons drawn.<\/p>\n

She looked just like she had the day before, wild locs tied up with woven reeds, six earrings made of sea lion fangs (he\u2019d heard Ru\u2019s grandma ask about them), skin dark and dusty from long days on southern trails, and layered clothes in garish orange, teal, and red, an array of bags and pouches strapped across her hips and chest. Across her right temple and reaching out above the closest eyebrow were the black arms of the brittle star that marked her. Cyborg, some myths called them. Druid. Bruja. Dromarked, in the regions he and Ru grew up in.<\/p>\n

The dromarked trader stood undaunted, arms folded across her chest. \u201cYou all gonna kill me, or what?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s my son?\u201d Ru hissed.<\/p>\n

The dromarked woman nodded, almost seemed to relax. \u201cRu. Yeah, I remember your name, we\u2019ve met like eighteen times. Can we chill? I don\u2019t have your kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen where is he!\u201d Ru\u2019s sister yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook,\u201d the trader said, eyes meeting everyone\u2019s in the group one by one. \u201cI can help, but first you all need to stop giving me these psycho lynch mob vibes. I\u2019m not your enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunnel saw the corner of her mouth twitch. Was she lying?<\/p>\n

Or afraid?\u00a0<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

\u201cLong ago,\u201d Tina the bear told Davu on the way back up the hill, as they passed the oak tree where he\u2019d slept the night before, \u201cyour people, well, a bunch of you got really greedy for a while. Using up everything\u2014forests, mountains, water. Leaving none for anybody else. And then when everything went haywire because of it, your kind made the wildcraft drones to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davu had heard this story before. \u201cThat was the Rewilding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you know about it,\u201d Tina said. Her voice was warm and steady.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad told me. Fortunate said the artifact I discovered is a wildcraft drone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sure is,\u201d Tina said. \u201cThey were everywhere for a long time, and they all talked to each other, like you and I are talking right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the network I told you about,\u201d Fortunate chimed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then when everything was fixed,\u201d Tina continued, \u201cthe wildcraft drones handed the work of maintaining it off to folks like us, and left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did they go?\u201d Davu asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther worlds. They were experts at repairing biospheres, you see\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know what a biosphere is, Tina,\u201d Horns spoke up. \u201cHe\u2019s barely weaned, look at him.\u201d She glanced back at Davu with one dark, sideways eye, as he held onto the short tuft of fur on her neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what a biosphere is,\u201d Davu said. \u201cI learned about it in a sim. Our whole planet is one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, if you like sims,\u201d Fortunate said, prancing alongside Horns with his yellow tail high, \u201cyou\u2019re gonna love the network. You can explore everything now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see. You\u2019ll be fully integrated in a few hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill it hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah. You\u2019ll like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even so, Davu felt scared. It sounded like a big change. Like growing out of his favorite pair of shoes, and never being able to wear them again.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Brunnel stepped forward and touched Ru\u2019s wrist, a gesture meant to lower her knife. She held it firm and glanced at him without turning her head. \u201cNo. She knows where he is. We can\u2019t let her run off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not going to run off.\u201d He looked at the trader when he said it, unable to hide the threat in his voice. The trader sighed, and gave a nod. Part of him was certain she would transform into a condor and fly off at any moment, but Ru lowered her knife, and her sister followed her lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re not fighting?\u201d a younger hunter asked, Ru\u2019s nephew. His voice shook.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo fighting, kid,\u201d the trader said. \u201cSet that thing down and listen.\u201d Then, to Ru and Brunnel, \u201cI have good news, and news you\u2019re going to have a hard time hearing but really need to understand with at least a tiny bit of nuance.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the weapons lowered and Ru\u2019s eyes welled up with tears. \u201cIs he\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour kid\u2019s OK. He went over the wall\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Dammit. Semtset had tried to tell them, and they\u2019d been headed that way when Ru suggested that the trader took him.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014and he slipped on some rocks.\u201d Brunnel\u2019s heart pounded. \u201cBut he\u2019s OK. Someone found him and helped him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know this? You saw him?\u201d Ru\u2019s sister spoke for all of them.<\/p>\n

The trader took a long breath through flared nostrils, uncrossed her arms to gesture, and began her explanation. \u201cAlright, this is gonna take a minute, but you really need to understand, for Davu\u2019s sake. What do you all know about the network?\u201d<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

At their first sight of the village, Davu\u2019s great-grandma spotted them from behind a deer hide she was tanning. \u201cDavu!\u201d She turned around and yelled toward the domes, \u201cEveryone! Davu\u2019s back!\u201d Hardly anyone came out, just the elders and babies. Where were Mom and Dad?<\/p>\n

Semtset ran up and helped him climb down off of Horns\u2019s back. \u201cDavu, you\u2019re in so much trouble. Mom and Dad have never been this angry the entire time I\u2019ve known them.\u201d Then he hugged his little brother and said, \u201cI\u2019m really glad you\u2019re OK.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

No one spoke to his new friends, though a lot of them stared. Everyone asked Davu if he was hurt, and \u201cWhat happened?\u201d and \u201cIs that a dromark? How\u2019d you get it?\u201d And as he tried to answer, he saw Tina, Fortunate, and Horns turn one by one and walk silently away.<\/p>\n

\u201cBye!\u201d he yelled out after them.<\/p>\n

Fortunate turned his pale, starred face once back toward him, and said without words, \u201cCome find us sometime when you\u2019re a little bigger. The network will know where we are.\u201d No one else seemed to hear him.<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

Brunnel and Ru took the rear on the trek back to the village, and spoke quietly about what they had learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like such an ass, getting caught up in your stupid prejudices,\u201d Ru said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were the one who thought she\u2019d kidnapped him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, fine, maybe I had a few prejudices of my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ru stopped, and gave him that look again. Her sister glanced back, raised an eyebrow, and wisely kept walking with the rest of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Ru. It\u2019s been a long day. I just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She took his hand. The tenseness on her face shifted into something else, a knowing, a pursing of her lips that said she felt it, too. \u201cWe both fucked this one up. But I\u2019m glad we found Yara. We know Davu\u2019s OK now, and on his way home.\u201d<\/p>\n

But they knew so little, still. \u201cIf having a bunch of\u2014what did Yara call them? nanodrones?<\/i>\u2014swimming around in his head is \u2018OK\u2019 .\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s alive<\/i>, Brunnel. That\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it? What kind of life is he going to have? What do I tell my family when we go visit? What if it changes his whole personality?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was going to happen in a few years anyway, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mean hormones, Ru. What if he runs off into the wilderness to live with the animals or something? What if he can\u2019t relate to the rest of us anymore? What if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if: We accept him like Yara said, and help him figure out who he<\/i> wants to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunnel sighed. \u201cWe were going to do that anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what\u2019s changed, really?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his turn to give her a look<\/i>. \u201cEverything\u2019s changed, Ru. Come on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She squeezed his hand. \u201cHey. I\u2019m scared too, Brunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He saw it on her face, and knew she had to be, no matter how \u201copen-minded\u201d she thought she was about all this.<\/p>\n

He knew he didn\u2019t want his son to be an outcast, or to doubt himself, or to feel useless or alone or unwanted. He didn\u2019t want his little Davu treated like .\u00a0.\u00a0. well, like he\u2019d treated Yara yesterday.<\/p>\n

Yara had said there were communities of dromarked humans he could join, but he was still like any other kid, and the best place for him was with a loving family. Even if they never fully understood, their acceptance would be critical as he grew up. It was exactly what their people always strived for when a kid turned out a little different\u2014like Brunnel\u2019s cousin, who had seizures, or Ru\u2019s sister\u2019s kid who hadn\u2019t started talking yet.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d just never thought a difference would be nanodrones<\/i>.<\/p>\n

He pulled Ru\u2019s hand to his cheek and closed his eyes. \u201cLet\u2019s go find out what\u2019s really changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wrapped her other arm around his waist and pressed her forehead to his shoulder. \u201cIs it OK if we quiz him later? I just want to hug him until he suffocates and then sleep for a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

#<\/p>\n

That night, after his mom and dad and aunties came back from looking for him, and after being fussed over and washed and scolded and hugged and bandaged and fed more than he had probably ever eaten in a single meal, and after being teased and hugged and questioned about everything by Semtset, Davu sat quietly in his room and pulled the artifact out of his explorer\u2019s bag.<\/p>\n

It was still real. The new star on his head felt just like it, hard and black but lightweight, thin and matte.<\/p>\n

There were marks on its shell, tiny numbers, and as he read them, suddenly, he knew who the drone had been in life. He saw a gleaming city through its eyes, a red bridge and a bay speckled with the bright white sails of boats that should have been strange but felt familiar. He saw the wall in all its ancient glory, tall and painted with bright murals. And he saw a child, his age, a little girl, and he was helping her with homework in a sunlit room, holding a pencil in one tentacle as he floated by her side.<\/p>\n

Dad sat down next to him and the vision dissolved. He set the long-dead drone down on his bag, carefully like fresh-picked greens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the network, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Dad said, quietly, almost a whisper. \u201cYou\u2019re different now, aren\u2019t you, Davu? You\u2019ve got those .\u00a0.\u00a0. things<\/i> in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunate said they fixed my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cat that found me after I fell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad tensed up with a quick inhale, then slumped. \u201cI\u2019m glad he found you. It\u2019s just .\u00a0.\u00a0.\u201d Dad touched Davu\u2019s face where the black brittle star\u2019s arms stretched over his forehead, and it felt weird, like caked mud that wouldn\u2019t flake off. Dad clenched his jaw, sighed, and dropped his hand to Davu\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI\u2019m just glad you\u2019re OK, son.\u201d And then he hugged Davu, and squeezed him so tight it almost hurt. \u201cAnd anyone who says otherwise will have to come through me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad tucked him in, turned off the light, and said from the archway, \u201cIf you want to go exploring past the wall, there\u2019s a foraging group planned at the end of flower season. Wait until then, OK? I didn\u2019t think you were old enough, but .\u00a0.\u00a0. maybe it\u2019s better you and Semtset learn now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davu sat back up with excitement. \u201cReally? We\u2019ll all be explorers together?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a few days.\u201d Dad smiled, then his smile fell and his eyes looked sad, or maybe scared. Dad had never looked at him like that before. \u201cJust, never go alone again. Promise me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davu nodded. His head didn\u2019t hurt at all anymore.<\/p>\n

He lay awake in bed long after the village had gone quiet, thinking about everything, and Fortunate, and Horns, and Tina. Where were they now? Did they have adventures together? He could almost feel their presence nearby. And he wondered what the other worlds were, the ones with broken biospheres where Fortunate had said the drones went to.<\/p>\n

He saw a landscape as he closed his eyes, red dry sandstone cliffs, black lichen, and a pale orange sky. A wildcraft drone flew past, poked at a patch of lichen with one thin, long tentacle, and flew away.<\/p>\n

He followed it across the canyon, dim sunlight glinting on his shell, his black tentacles tucked neatly back to glide through the thin, dusty air as fast as he could.<\/p>\n

The rocky cliffs ahead looked dangerous, but he was Davu the Explorer, and he had so much<\/i> to discover.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/website_02846d40\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image5-1.jpg” title_text=”image5″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” width=”70%” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”noindent” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”60%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

\"\"T. K. Rex is a science fiction and fantasy author from the western states, whose short stories and poems can be found in roughly thirty publications, including Asimov’s, Escape Pod and Strange Horizons. Raised by Wiccan parents of mostly British and Ashkenazi descent, who joined the fights for whales, redwoods, gay rights and medical marijuana during her formative years, T. K. now resides in San Francisco, California. They\u2019re a member of the Writers Grotto and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association; and an alumni of the Futurescapes, Taos Toolbox and Clarion writers workshops. You can find links to their stories and subscribe to their newsletter at tkrex.wtf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjU4In19@” button_text=”The Cat-God of Zebula” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjE3MSJ9fQ==@” button_text=”Table of Contents” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” animation_style=”zoom” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6IjEwMiJ9fQ==@” button_text=”You are Red” button_alignment=”right” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Davu the Explorer and the Druid T\u00eda Yara by T.\u00a0K. Rex Illustrations by Helena Domenic and Thana Meejinda\u201cWhen was the Rewilding?\u201d Davu asked his big brother, Semtset, as they walked the oak and bay lined trail to the ruins of the Berkeley Wall, where they sometimes liked to play. \u201cDad said it was seven hundred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":156,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":18,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-149","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nDavu the Explorer and the Druid T\u00eda Yara - Roses & Wildflowers Spring 2024<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/rw\/2024-spring\/davu-the-explorer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Davu the Explorer and the Druid T\u00eda Yara - Roses & Wildflowers Spring 2024\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Davu the Explorer and the Druid T\u00eda Yara by T.\u00a0K. 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