Firebird
Copyright© 2025 by Megumi Kashuahara
Chapter 6
The Changes
Spring arrived in earnest, the prairie grass turning from brown to green, wildflowers beginning to dot the hillsides. But the changes Firebird noticed most were not in the landscape.
Morning Star had grown taller in recent weeks, her body filling out in ways that were becoming impossible to ignore. Her hips had widened slightly, giving her the beginning of a woman’s shape. Dark hair had appeared under her arms and between her legs. And her breasts—no longer just budding—had developed into small, firm mounds that pressed visibly against her buckskin dress.
But it was the soreness that troubled Morning Star most.
“It hurts,” she whimpered one morning, tears in her eyes as she held her chest. “They hurt all the time now.”
Firebird examined her gently, feeling the tender, swollen tissue. The breasts were growing rapidly, the skin stretched tight. Every movement, every brush of fabric caused discomfort.
“I know, baby. Your body is changing fast. The growing hurts sometimes.” Firebird kissed her forehead. “But I have an idea that might help.”
That afternoon, Firebird took her bow and went hunting. She returned with three rabbits, which she skinned carefully, setting the meat aside for the evening meal. But it was the pelts she wanted—soft, supple, with the fur still attached.
Over the next two days, she worked the hides, scraping them clean, working them with fat and ash until they were butter-soft. Then she carefully cut and shaped them, sewing the pieces with sinew into small, curved pads lined with the silkiest fur.
Morning Star watched, curious, as Firebird stitched the fur linings into the inside of a new dress she’d been making.
“Try this on,” Firebird said when she’d finished.
Morning Star slipped into the dress, and her face transformed. The soft rabbit fur cradled her sensitive breasts, cushioning them from the rough buckskin. She moved experimentally—reaching, bending, stretching—and smiled with relief.
“It doesn’t hurt!”
“The fur is gentle,” Firebird explained, adjusting the fit. “It will protect you while your body finishes growing.”
Morning Star threw her arms around Firebird, squeezing tight. “You always know how to make things better.”
Firebird held her close, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair, feeling the trust and love radiating from this eternal child. “That’s my job, baby. Taking care of you.”
But even as she said it, Firebird felt a strange flutter in her own belly—a sensation she didn’t yet understand. Her moon time, she realized, was late. But with all the training, the fighting, the chaos of warrior life, her cycles had been irregular for months. She thought nothing of it.
The Moon’s Arrival
It happened three weeks later, in the quiet hour before dawn.
Firebird woke to Morning Star’s soft whimpering. The girl was curled on her side, hands pressed between her legs, confusion and fear in her eyes.
“Firebird,” she whispered. “Something’s wrong. There’s ... there’s blood.”
Firebird’s heart clenched—not with fear, but with recognition. She’d known this was coming, had prepared Morning Star as best she could. But knowing intellectually and experiencing it were different things.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” She pulled Morning Star close. “Remember what we talked about? Your moon time has come. Your body is becoming a woman’s body.”
“But it hurts,” Morning Star whimpered. “My belly hurts.”
“I know. That’s the cramping I told you about.” Firebird stroked her hair, soothing. “We’re going to go to the moon lodge. The elder women will be there. We’ll take care of you.”
She helped Morning Star clean herself, showed her how to use the soft moss and leather ties, wrapped her in a warm blanket. Red Hawk, already awake, nodded with understanding as they prepared to leave.
“I will tell the Chief,” he said quietly. “This is an important day for our people. The spirit child becomes a woman.”
The Moon Lodge Ceremony
The moon lodge was already warm with fire and the presence of women when Firebird and Morning Star arrived. Gentle Rain, Becky Sunflower, and several other elder women waited, their faces solemn but kind.
“The spirit child has received her moon gift,” Gentle Rain announced. “This is sacred. This is powerful. We welcome her.”
For the next four days, Morning Star stayed in the moon lodge, surrounded by the tribe’s women. They taught her songs, told her stories of the first women, explained the cycles of the moon and the earth and women’s bodies.
Firebird stayed close, but the elder women also took their turn caring for Morning Star, treating her with a mixture of reverence and tenderness. She was not just any girl entering womanhood—she was their spirit child, their seer, touched by Maheo.
On the final day, Gentle Rain painted Morning Star’s face with red ochre—the color of life, of blood, of women’s power. The old woman spoke in Cheyenne, her voice carrying through the lodge:
“Morning Star, your body has become a woman’s body. You will bleed with the moon, as all women do. This is your power. This is your gift. Though your spirit remains young and pure, your body now carries the rhythm of life itself. You are sacred. You are honored. You are woman.”
The women ululated, a high, wavering cry of celebration. Morning Star, paint on her face, smiled shyly, not fully understanding but feeling the importance of the moment.
When they emerged from the moon lodge four days later, the tribe was waiting. Chief Tall Bull stood with Red Hawk, and together they acknowledged Morning Star’s passage into womanhood.
“The spirit child walks in two worlds,” the Chief proclaimed. “Her mind is pure as a child’s, but her body has entered the sacred circle of women. We honor both. We protect both. She is blessed among us.”
The tribe feast that followed was joyful, with dancing and singing late into the night. Morning Star, exhausted but happy, fell asleep in Firebird’s lap by the fire.
Red Hawk sat beside them, his hand resting gently on Firebird’s shoulder. When their eyes met, something passed between them—a recognition that Morning Star’s transformation meant changes for all of them.
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