name: Nacoma, a Comanche name meaning "wanderer."
preferred pronouns: he, him, his. _his warpaint » decorated by Dakarai. Nacoma is a wandering soul in search of his true meaning of life. He had lingered with his tribe out of loyalty and belief, but often broke away to walk as a loner and explore the realms of different spirits and their habitats. Along the way he met Dakarai, who shared his curiosity of the world and a need to discover his place in it. The two often meet at secret rendezvous, knowing the severity of being discovered as friends when they each have very different duties far apart from one another. All in all Naco is a very friendly and open person, but he is easily swayed by his doubts and a need to figure things out for himself. *** ----------- the story ----------- *** The buffalo was their source of food, weapons, and shelter. Every part was used, nothing wasted. Where the buffalo moved, they moved. Buffalo moving meant the camp being packed up. Nacoma had known this from a very early age and was dedicated to his life. When hunting, he always prayed for the spirit of the animal to forgive him and understand his need to kill it. Before sleeping, he always gave thanks to the spirits of whatever he was using, whether it be bone tools or buffalo and deer skin. He had been proud to receive his war paint upon entering adulthood. And yet he felt alone. He was amongst friends and family, kin of all ages, and he had everything he could want. Yet he was solitary, in his own little world, speaking to the spirits almost constantly as he felt no connection with others his age. He had no wish for a life partner as some of the victorious young men did. He knew to stay with the tribe, and yet he dreamed of following after the spirits of the plains and the buffalo on his own, and seeing what everything was like without having to go back to camp by sundown. Of course, he was no deserter. He would only leave if blessed to leave. Pondering over all this as he lay in wait for a buffalo grazing with his fellow huntsmen, he realized that as routine as this was, as much as he had grown to love it, there was more out there. Yet, still, some things required teamwork and he could not be selfish. There was a small cry of assent and they all moved as one to take down the beast once they had finished thanking the spirit gods for it. Once it had been successfully defeated, they moved back to camp. Nacoma raised his head as they entered the new camp they had finished setting up, and saw the medicine elder catch his eye. She seemed to know exactly what sort of conflicts were going through his head, because she beckoned him over and placed two feathers in his hands. "Trust your instincts," was all she said before dismissing him to help divide the buffalo for the camp. What did his instincts say? He fastened the eagle feathers to his hair as he pondered this. |