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 Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:10 am
 With Achilles sent on his way back to the Queen Yakut could once more concentrate on the reason for her and Necro's meeting. It was a relatively simple answer, one that did not require her to read the rocks, feathers or sticks strewn about. Had Necro been a female them the answer would have been different, in that case she would have simply met with the other wolf to discuss ghosts and how they can affect the living. However Necro being a male it meant a completely different thing. His attachment to the ethereal being was a clear sign that he was powerful in ways she was not. Yakut could speak to nature, but she could not speak to the dead - well that wasn't entirely true, she had on previous occasions spoke with the spirits of sisters who had passed on, but she could not see nor communicate with those who were not attached to her pack, like Necro's companion.
She walked in silence leading Necro to the river, there was not much to speak of until they arrived at their destination plus she was carrying a turtle shell in her mouth with made speaking darn near impossible. When they reached the river Yakut took a moment to rinse the remaining blood out of the shell before setting it down and looking at Necro. "My journey is nearly complete Ghost Walker. Tonight I return to my home, but there is a final matter that needs my attention. This matter includes you." But first there was one thing she needed to know, not about him but his spirit companion. Yakut glanced off beside him, where she figured the ghost may be and then back at Necro. "Tell me of your spirit guide."
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:25 am
 Necromancer was pleased when Yakut sent that mottled nuscience on his way...I rather liked him...commented his ghostly mother, she would, wouldn't she Necro thought darkly to himself, openly glaring at her wispy form before turning his attention back to the path.
Wretched beast he wished she'd just go and haunt someone else - Yakut would probably like her just fine he continued to mentally grumble...but I can't ever leave you dear Neccy...Came her response, her tone almost one which would make him believe the sentiment projected..if she hadn't also used the oh so hated nickname.
When they reached the river Necro was somewhat confused by Yakut statement - how on earth could it involve him, his mother for her part just chuckled slightly..something that confused him all the more. Ah well he'd never been one to dwell on things that confused him ad turned his attention to the question he could indeed answer. "She is my mother, slain as soon as my eyes opened to see her for the first time" How cruel he thought now - that his sire had left his mother alive to nurture him only long enough for his eyes to open so that he could watch her die.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:54 am
Yakut nodded slowly when he explained that the spirit was his dam. So he had watched her die, at such a young age too. Perhaps the reason she stuck around was to try to protect her son, or guide him down a certain path. The exact reason behind it did not truly matter at this very moment in time. Should it be something she needed to know then it would be revealed to her - but the trees remained silent so it was best to move on. "Tragic thing." She finally said after a long pause. "Even those things have reasons behind them. And there is a reason she stays with you now. One who is followed and guided by a spirit is an extremely rare occurrence." The last time she had spoken with a departed soul was shortly after the war, it had been the spirit of her apprentice who had been slain in battle.
Lowering herself onto her haunches Yakut studied Necro for a few moments before speaking again. "We both share a power that few others can ever obtain. You speak with your dead mother, and I have previously spoken with my slain sisters, but they do not follow me like your dam does. My strength lies with the living, they guide me in a similar way that your mother does - perhaps even toy with you on occasion as well." She had been steered the wrong way from time to time based upon what the trees and rocks had told her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:06 am
"Her death was her own fault, her transgressions my torture" He told the brown wolf with a touch of anger in his voice - guide she might be but Necromancer was not going to easily forgive his mother, nor make any excuses for wishing her to depart. Still there was some truth to her words - despite the anoyance she was most of the time his mother was good at warning him when someone was nearby, had told him of danger well before the rest of his senses detected them.
Of course she'd also tried to get him killed once or twice too."It is not just her which speaks to me" He confessed after a few moments "Death draws me close..places where terrible things have occurred...war..famine...sickness...I am often drawn to such places and there I find the bones of the departed and whichever spirits are still trapped there.Sometimes they follow me for a time when I leave...though only she stays in the end" He told the brown wolf "I have yet to met another whom can talk to the dead...but this is also the first I have met one who can talk to the trees and the wind" He nodded in slight agreement. It seemed wolves like there were indeed rare....but he still wasn't sure just where she was going with this.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:20 am
Once again Yakut nodded her head, but she made no comment about the torture his mothers ghost caused him. That was something for the two of them to sort out, not here. Of course when he continued on about how other death drew him in her head lifted slightly. It made sense for a wolf so connected to the spirit of his mother to be connected to other death. "Drawn to places of war? I am surprised then that you have not encountered my pack lands yet. Or perhaps you have." She had left the lands not long after the war in search of survivors upon the Queen's orders, so perhaps he did come along after she had left. "War tore us apart, killed many of my sisters including my apprentice. Those who survived mostly scattered to the winds, those who had stayed behind left to find the others. I am among those who have been searching. Not many of us left."
It was sad to know that a once large and strong pack like Antianeira had nearly been destroyed by the lust for power. Power that now rested in a young Queen's paws. "What better way to revive the pack than to bring in new blood and new life." Yakut paused glancing off into the trees for a moment, listening to their murmurs. "A union between life and death could spawn forth powerful lives that can provide the strength needed for future generations. Perhaps even replace my lost apprentice." Bringing her gaze back to Necro she fell silent to see if he understood what she was hinting at, or if his mother would tell him. She would explain further if needed.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:30 am
"I have been to many such places" He told the brown wolf - though without knowing exactly where her former pack had been located he couldn't confirm or deny having been there. "It seems all packs eventually meet such an end - years and years may go by in peace or relative quiet..but always do things change and always does the pack die much like the mortal lives which lead them, it is natures way"
Oh sure after the bloodshed some packs picked themselves up and continued on with the same name - but they were never the pack of old, war always changed things and just because they had the same name did not mean they had resisted the changes. Same names... different packs entirely.
His brow furrowed however at her next words, Necromancer was not a stupid wolf..he was beginning to get the idea here and he certainly didn't need the whispered comments his mother was cackling into his ear, shaking his head in a attempt to dissuade her from sharing any more details he gave Yakut a somewhat hocked look.
He could see her point yes..but well...Necro had so long been conditioned to think other wolves despised his abilities that it was almost unheard of to hear one say it was desirable. "You..you are not afraid to whelp pups with the silver eyes curse?" He had no proof of course that it was his silver eyes that allowed him to see the dead..but he had heard it whispered enough to think the oddity of his eyes might have something to do with it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:45 am
"It is the way of the world to destroy what is there in order to make room for the new." She knew of many other packs that had fallen to war, though the reasons for these wars were both as similar and as difference to the reason her own pack had nearly fallen. But her pack had been lucky, that it did not completely die off, instead they were given a second chance, one in which to not make the mistakes of the past. And with the Queen producing not only an heir but several other females in her first litter things were already looking up for Antianeira.
Yakut let out a soft laugh. "Is it truly a curse to speak with the dead and have eyes of silver? Perhaps I am cursed as well, for the trees constantly natter in my ears. Nothing is a curse. Everything is a curse." And with the pack she came from the color of ones eyes did not matter, it was the gender of those pups that did. Females with silver eyes would be just as important as females without them. Males would be an unfortunate side effect, but perhaps having a son to teach would ease Necro's suffering just a bit. "What I fear is not having one to teach my ways to. My role within the pack is sacred and I am the only one who can pass on that knowledge to the next generation." Her last apprentice had nearly been done with her training when the war had ended her life. There was the possibility that one within the pack now could hold this role one day, but a pup formed between herself and Necromancer could surely have a better chance at obtaining such a role. Speaking to both living and the dead would provide the pack with so much more than just what she could do now.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 12:01 pm
Necromancer considered the brown wolf for several long and silent moments, he wasn't worried about creating an awkward silence - Yakut if any seemed the type who would understand that such a thing as this was not to be taken lightly."It is merely life to me" He told her - he's grown up with the affliction and truthfully had found it quite normal in his younger years..he hadn't considered it a curse until he grew old enough to take notice of the contempt on other wolves faces when they looked at him.
"There will be an eclipse in a few months" He noted, he'd taken to keeping track of them since his adopted father had told him he'd been born during one "I was born during an eclipse, though of an adulterous union and not the agreement your proposing - those who allowed me to live were unsure if it was the traitorous method of my conception - my mothers death sentence in the end - or birth during the eclipse which caused my soul to touch the dead." He admitted - he couldn't guarantee that his children would see the dead as well, though surely if they would with any wolf as a mother then another touched oddly as Yakut was would offer the best chance.
"They would not be treated badly in your home pack?" He asked, recalling his own youthful life, being shifted about from female to female as they could feed him - none of them had loved him and none had made any bones about what they thought over being forced to care for the b*****d pup. A whisper in his ear caught his attention for the moment and although somewhat puzzled he decided to pass along the information she had wished to share. "My mother wishes to say she was a great warrior in life..as was my father..which is why she choose him over the king, they were of similar color and she hoped the transgression would not be noticed and result in stronger pups..sadly it was, they were both put to death when one of my siblings revealed coloration in neither my mother or the kings bloodlines. My sibling too was murdered by the furious king"
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 12:48 pm
Merely a life - it was a good way of putting it. No matter what role, curse or situations befell a wolf in the end they were just living a life. The mention of the eclipse and his birth made her pause. Well eclipses were rare and held a certain power to them, perhaps it could be the reason behind Necro's so-called curse and with the murder of his dam that cause of his power of speaking to the dead.
"You worry that a pup of your blood born during the eclipse will have your curse?" It was certainly a valid concern if Necro's eyes were truly a curse, however Yakut saw them otherwise, she could look beyond the curse to see how unique and special it was. Before she could answer his question about the treatment the pack would give to pups Yakut noticed Necro look over at the spirit of his mother and then informed her of her warrior status. Well this changed everything, no not completely, but a ghost talker sired by two great warriors was of great significance. "Warriors, eclipse, traitorous actions and death." She repeated some of the details covered so far. "A warrior's blood runs strong within both of our veins. My mother was also a warrior though I do not know of my fathers condition." Yakut had never been told anything about her father, as wolves in Antiaineira rarely knew these details unless their fathers were one of the pack slaves.
Now there was still that question to answer. "Let me tell you about my pack. We are a group of female warriors, trained to protect and serve each other. We keep males in the pack more as slaves than anything else, they do our bidding and on occasion are used for breeding." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Daughters are most prized in the pack, as they continue the line of warriors. Sons are expected to work for the sisters until old enough to decide whether to leave or stay. Should the father of such creations be from outside of the pack, as you are, they are free to take their sons and raise them as they so wish. Regardless pups are treated well as they are the future of the pack, whether they have the silver eyed curse or not is irrelevant."
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:10 pm
Necromancer listened as Yakut told of her home pack - while many other wolves might shrink away at the thought of possible slavery Necro did not - it was merely another form of life and he himself had been a slave of sorts until he grew strong enough to be a threat. He had been kept and used, a weapon to be pointed at the enemy and then thrown away when it was no longer needed.
It had made him bitter yes..but he had accepted it as merely the way things were. If fate deemed that he sired sons and fate decreed that they may grow to be slaves then so it would be.
Of course he also knew that he himself was unsuitable for such a life, he'd emerged as a berserker when anger got the better of him and wandering for so long he was no longer the type to kowtow before anyone else, he expected his pups...if indeed they had some would find their own way through life one way or another."As long as they are not abused" He remarked...even he with his thoughts of fate would not willingly bring the young into such a situation.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:23 pm
"They would be cared for as best as possible." She had already stated that daughters were better off than sons in the pack so there was no reason to repeat that statement. If they did produce anything together he was well informed that he would be free to take any males if he so wished. She waited to see if he had any further questions but when none came Yakut just continued on.
"Now then Ghost Walker, will you help me bring forth new life into this world?" It was a simple enough question and since it had been discussed what would happen to any pups created from such a union there was no need to pretty it up with fluffy details. Besides this was a matter of duty more than anything else. Though she felt that whether pups were created on this day or not she would once again speak with Necro at some point in the future to perhaps further her knowledge of the spirit world he was so connected to.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:49 pm
Which he expected was all anyone could ask for in regards to such things - and it was comforting in the fact that it wasn't some hallow promise. Yakut was being truthful with him and he valued honesty, more so then most perhaps. If someone had decided to be truthful with him right from the start rather then pretend to be friendly and later reveal they'd only been using you. Better to know that right from the start - and perhaps in this situation something good would come of it - Yakut would have someone to teach in her ways, something which seemed important to her.
"I expect that is what the world wanted when they brought us together" He told her simply - why else would he have been urged to wander this way? Why else would she have lingered when her pack so obviously wanted her to return.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 2:17 pm
Yakut gave a single nod when he agreed. Yes there was a reason they were brought together, perhaps more than just one, but created life between them was certainly the main focus of their strange meeting. "Then we must prepare." As a Shamaness Yakut needed to preform certain ceremonies before diving into such an event as this. And if any wolf would understand her odd traditions it would be Necro. Standing she stepped closer to the river and glanced over at Necro. "Come forth, I must mark you properly."
Once Necro had done as instructed Yakut plunged one of her front paws into the mud at the edge of the river and wiped it across his forehead. She repeated this same step on both his front legs, then circled around to his side. On this left flank she painted a circle with three lines across it. Dipping her paw into the mud once more she moved to his right side and placed her paw on it, leaving a paw shaped mark upon it. Yakut then circled Necro once more this time mumbling some words that were spoken to quiet for him to properly hear. With Necro now marked and prepared for mating Yakut then did so for herself, only her markings were different than Necro's/ Her front legs were completely covered in mud and a streak of it was placed along the length of her muzzle.
"You are prepared." She stated and then motioned for him to follow. Yakut lead the way towards the small rock cave that she had used as a temporary den over the last few days. Bringing her paws to a stop when they were near the entrance Yakut looked over at Necro, and nodded to his side indicating his mothers ghost. "She must stay outside, spirits cannot enter this cave." Yakut had, when she first arrived, cleansed the cave and placed a pile of various plants at the entrance to ward off spirits from disturbing her peace, those places should prevent Necro's damn from following them inside but she felt it best to state so before the ghost tried to enter along side her son.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 2:40 pm
Necro had never heard of such rituals before - but perhaps they were used only in Yakut pack - not that he had much experience in the way of packs anyways, for all he knew they could all be like this. Regardless she withstood her administrations in good stead, allowing her to do whatever it was she needed to.
Though he did rather wish she hadn't used mud..Necro might like to speak with the dead but that didn't mean he was entirely keen about smelling like one of the old bones he dug up either. When she motioned him toward the cave his mother flitted off - she wouldn't go far he was sure but the look of distaste on her face told him she disliked the cave. "She doesn't like the cave anyways" Necro told Yakut - and perversely that made Necro like it quite allot as he ducked inside.
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Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 2:52 pm
"She wouldn't." Yakut replied and motioned to the pile of leaves and plant roots at the entrance. She took one last look at the trees and rocks around the cave to ensure they would not be interrupted, the trees said all was quiet so Yakut followed Necro inside. The cave was spacious enough for the both of them to move around comfortably. She stood not far from Necro and looked upon the bone wearing male.
"One final thing before you proceed. Spirits have a strong connection to new life, your mother will know if anything comes to pass because of this. If it so does you may come see what you have created. Travel north, north for many days to where the trees become too thick to see far, where the dirt is so hard it makes your paws ache and where a mountain looms over you in the distance. That is where you will find my pack." She paused for a moment to step towards him. "Be forewarned that the sisters will see you as a threat upon entering, you must tell them why you come and they will let you pass."
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