Rains had fallen for two weeks, and wherever the eye danced, the desert was in full bloom. A torrent rushed down into the deep cavern cisterns of the town, and the tigers and lions were busy exchanging the nets as fast as they could, to haul away the fish caught from the torrent. Their cubs went through the fish, and threw the smaller ones back into the river.
On the farther dune crests, fennekim scouts stood, and watched into the distance, ears perked up, noses in the wind. Wherever the grass patches had blossomed and spread their seeds, groups of zebras slowly mowed the grass with scythes, with others walking behind to collect and bind the grass to armful bundles.
Small groups of mixed members went through the gardens and plantations, weeding out wild herbs and pests with the help busily scurrying ants.
When the sun sank, the horns and mighty tubular bells of the zebras males tower sounded their call. The fisherfolk put wooden forks into the overflows that filled the cisterns, preventing fish to be flushed into them during the night and went home with their catches, assisted by several of the mighty draftlizards. The farmers came in, too. And finally, the scouts that stood guard on the hills around Tehuioy came home, too, bringing in their small catch of insects, lizards and whatever else had run into them.
For the adult felines, a busy nightshift came, for the fish needed to me gutted, their meat hung up to dry n the coming days, whilst their innards were to be processed into storeable foods rich in the nutrients they needed, and into their own traditional delicacies.
For the zebras, the grass was to be spread out in the coming morning on the roofs of their barracks and the walkways of the walls to be dried like the felines dried their fish. Once dried, the bundles would be turned into bales and then stored in various places spread out all over the city.
For the fennekim, a special night began.
The gates to the gardens of the palace of the towns eldest were opened by the wheezed commands of the guilds eldests, and the small peoples population was welcomed to enter. First came the fathers and mothers and their young cublings. For them, there were cushions spread out on the upper terrace in front of the town eldest palace.
All those young male fennekim that had finished their rites of manhood, be it 5 years of travel to as many towns in bordering districts, be it a three year stint in the caravan guards, or be it the successful qualification in a guilds trade, assembled on the lower terrace. Keen noses sniffed and sharp eyes spied the lovely shadows moving behind the silk hanged doorways and windows of the females quarters wall and the palace itself.
"People of Tehuioy, hearken the wisdom of your Sheik, the eldest fennekim of Tehuioy!" the clear voice of the sheiks maid of honor sang out from the palaces large balcony. There were only few lights, for the small people do not need much light to see at night. And it was a clear night, Mahtab, the large moon, a quarter up and illuminating the town with its silvery light, so even the humans and the zebras, who had been free to come, were able to see clearly.
"Dear people!" the voice of the sheik could be heard, then a "over here lord, yes, and take this step please.. and this one, too..." from the maid of honor was heard before the sheik appeared over the balconies rim. "Yes! As I said...," the Sheik made an all-encompassing gesture, "The night is clear." The populace was silent. There had been much worse and more confusing beginnings for great speeches in the past. "And.. and.. because, yes, you are here. Tonight. Yes." He leaned down and whispered first with his maid of honor, then with his primary wife who stood beside him on a lower step, only her head visible. "Exactly!" The sheik shouted in earnest. "Today, it is, for all you wee laddies who want to start a ... business? Family? Family! Is the week of where you can show..." Here he pointed to the direction of the males quarter, until a gentle paw lifted his other arm toward the females sector. "Is the week where you can show the unmarried fenwas, the flowers of our society and the greatest gift that the allfather gave to us." Here he stopped and wanted to turn around to step down the small stairway he had climbed up to be visible, but again, a helpful paw turned him around. After wussily looking around, he waved to the assembled people, and as one they waved back without saying a word. "Dear people! Those that seek the sweetness of a fenwas tail, the gentleness of her snout, and the softness of her voice, will have to proove themselves to them in the coming weeks." A pair of paws steadid the sheik from both sides and patted his back. "Aandandand ... yes? Oh! Exactly." He nodded eagerly before looking down to where his primary wife stood. Then he pointed at the assembled people. "Oh? Oh! Yes! Surely!" He stood upright again: "Every unmarried male who passed the rites of manhood and has no bad standing with the danceress guild, that is, no fenwa has formally logged a grievance against him, and every married fennekim whos wifes agree for him to publically impress other maidens of his skills, may have his quarter hour to show of his skills, his wisdom, his strength, character, yes," here he nodded eagerly, "that, too. Uhm.. So that he might readily impress the gentle maidens of our people. Until the last one has presented himself, alone or with friends, be they seeking themselves or not, all unmarried males seeking are limited to the males quarters. Unless their parents, their guild masters or the tall ladies," here he bowed to where the town princess of the zebras sat in her ceremonial robes amongst the fennekim families, and she bowed her head in acknowledgement, "demand his presence." He wanted to turn around and again was patted on his tighs. "Yes? Oh! Surely surely! I was just about to say it!" He stood erect: "In the night of choosing, a week after the last fennekim presented himself, all hopeful males are restricted to their quarters. Each quarter will be guarded over by a married adult for that night, until the sun rises again. But some of you, and I hope it will be many," and here the old sheiks eyes gleamed, and his voice lost its creaking leather quality, gaining a bit of the fire of his youth that made him live so long, "Will be visited by one, or maybe several of the beautiful daughters of our people, to be taken away, out into the blossoming desert, to start new stories in the books of the allfather and allmothers. Make them good stories!" He exhaled and then scratched his head: "Oh, yes, and: Let the courtships begin!"
He turned around and was visibly helped down. When he had vanished, colorful, aromatic smoke started to rise from a few points on the balcony.
From the windows of the walls surrounding the palace gardens music started to play. Then, from the other side of the town, the mighty voice of the largest tubular bell of the males tower in the princess palace sounded, a deep sound that set the peoples bellies to reverb to its call. Finally, from behind the silken draperies that hid the view into the palaces arcades and the balconies of the females quarters, a multivoiced chorus pearled up to the skies above, the deeper voices of the tall ladies standing guard on the walls from all over the town joining in.
Many of the young fennekim for whom this was their first time to try and woo a fenwa sniffed the air, tears of joy in their eyes. But also others were affected. Many of the married couples bowed deeply to the towns princess sitting in their midst, towering over them, bowing to them all in return. The humans closed their eyes to listen, or smiled, and many an eye was wet. Of the felines that had found the time to come, many sung along, softly, lightly, ears alert, hands entwined when they were with friends or partners.
With the music finally ending, the people left the place, chittering and talking eagerly. At the exits, danceresses stood on wooden pedestals as to be widely visible, holding up wooden boards with the names of those that had applied and who were to come first right this night.
