[VIKING P4] Coming of Age (Destati x Tethys)

[Epine de Rose]

Arimathras's directions had been perfect. This was not entirely surprising, while Ari had always elected to be vague to strangers in his youth, she had always been honest with her offspring. No sooner had he begun to traverse the mountainous landscape than he had found the caves she had spoken about. It was at this point that the lion found himself following in his father's footsteps... Step by step, he had the opportunity to explore each cavern.

It was an attempt to ascertain what on earth his father had been up to, but as none of the caves so far had been home to anything important, he was at a loss. Truly, it simply looked like his father was wandering back and forth almost erratically between the network of caves. Tethys had always known there was method to his father's madness, but on this occasion he had absolutely no idea what he was attempting to achieve.

Or rather...he hadn't been until he entered one cave and immediately stepped upon something...wet.

As it was too dark to see what he had stepped on, but he raised his paw to sniff, only to be greeted by blood. It wasn't enough to turn his stomach, but he was aware that he was most assuredly missing something. At this point he walked further in, pulling a mildly disgusted face as he stepped on more on more of whatever comprised the floor of this particular cave.

It was eerily quiet in here, and yet he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

Something was here with him.

And then he saw it, the piercing red eyes staring out of the shadows, completely disembodied. It was soon accompanied by the gleaming white smile of teeth, but he just couldn't put a body to this ethereal smile.

"What in the name of -"  

[Epine de Rose]

Crack!

There was no hesitation as the red eyes faded and the smile faltered. A low growl followed as the sound of a body sliding to the cavern floor could be heard. It had been so controlled, a measured and well timed response, and clearly belonged to that of a hunter. Quite simply, the red-eyed ghost hadn't stood a chance against something which could apparently slay the 'damned'.

"I thought I had raised you better than this," the familiar voice remarked from where the eyes had once stood. Stepping out from the shadow, a flicker of white could be seen and the 'being' moved closer towards the cavern exit. The closer he came, the more obvious his identity became. Soon, Destati stood at the exit and gaze down into the depths at his son with a rather unimpressed expression.

"You let your guard down," he said finally and shook his head. "Get out of there before you soil yourself further," he ordered and disappeared from view. Outside he would be found wiping the blood from his paws against the rock... Eventually the rains at higher altitude would wash this all away...  

[Epine de Rose]

"Father," Tethys's eyes widened in astonishment as the larger lion swept passed him. He followed, lips parted in silent question as he returned to the cave exterior and regarded his father. The lion might have been cleaning his paws but he would need a damn bath based on the sheer amount of blood on his coat. Had it been his father who had caused whatever had occurred in there? When he was finally outside and had wiped down his own paws, the lion fixed his gaze on his parent.

"I have several questions," he said, disregarding his father's criticism for the time being. Admittedly it was a valid one, one he would acknowledge later, but right now he needed clarification. "For a start, what the hell happened in there?" he demanded and flicked his gaze towards the external walls that had now been draped in bloodied paw prints - if it hadn't been a warning sign to passers by before, it certainly was now.

"Did you kill all those..." He shook his head at is father's ever unreadable expression. "Whatever it was in there, did you kill them?"

Normally, he wouldn't have cared if there was blood or death nearby, but this seemed so unlike his father that he had cause for concern. His father didn't simply go on massacres, but he was the only one alive in there...  

[Epine de Rose]

"I did not," Destati nodded for his son to follow and began to walk towards the barely visible pathway. It let up the slope, far further up by the looks of it, and he appeared to be heading towards another cave system Tethys had observed from a distance. "The blood came from having to lie in them," he clarified and knocked a number of the larger rocks away from his path to avoid uncertain footing.

The elder male hadn't expected to see his son on these slopes, he had distinctly recalled setting them in the opposite direction when he had informed his offspring that he expected them to find a purpose in life. Thus, it had come at quite a surprise to see his son, and almost watch as his throat was slit, by the very creatures he had been tracking all this time.

...It rather put things into perspective.

"The thing that should have killed you, is one of several beings responsible for the deaths of everything in that cave," he narrowed his eyes and swept round a corner. "They are brought in one by one, bled out, and then another is found. This is but one of the caves that seem to be in use at this point in time," he grimaced and turned to his son. "And given your coat colour this is the least appropriate place for you to be..."  

[Epine de Rose]

Beings?

"Beings...?" Tethys arched a brow in a similar style to that of his father. He had certainly inherited that from him at least, along with his size (though this had also been helped by his mother). If what his father was saying was accurate, then he could only surmise that his father insisted on disappearing without warning because well, whatever these beings were, was clearly dangerous. How much of a risk they posed to him remained to be seen, but Destati certainly seemed to think they were worth a measure of concern.

"For what purpose?" he said at last and joined his father's side. If these victims had been brought in one by one, then this would have indicated ritualistic tendencies, though Tethys hadn't had the opportunity to work out who and what these victims had been. Were they smaller animals, or were they larger? Taking his father's remarks into consideration it appeared that the victims could also be lions as well.

"Some sort of ritual?" he squinted. "Why would I be considered at risk, or is it merely an association with you?" he continued to pry. He was at least asking reasonably questions rather than foolish ones, Destati always had responded to logic better than emotion in that sense.  

[Epine de Rose]

Destati nodded, glancing briefly at his son as he pried for information. There were some things that the elder lion believed that his son did not need to be privvy to, but the he was entitled to a measure of detail.

"They are cultists," he explained and paused his stride. "They were seeking one specific individual, but in their pursuit of that individual they have developed an interest in the local population," he shook his head and sighed. "Their beliefs are peculiar, though not wholly illogical, there is a science to them," he continued and cleared his throat. He soon pressed onwards and continued his explanation as he went.

"They believe that of all things in this world, there is one sworn truth. All things must return to their source, however, their view is that this source is perfection and in order to achieve it... That which is 'pure' life, must be cleansed."

"I have no been able to gauge precisely why they define it as such, but they seem to associate white coats with new life, a 'fresh' spirit as it were," he shook his head. "Anything that does not possess this coat colour is 'old' and is therefore on the way to its natural conclusion..." he shrugged his shoulders loosely.

"I can only surmise that a fresh spirit means that the final, perfect state, is delayed and they consider this unacceptable..."

He motioned behind him and grimaced.

"Thus they take all they deem to be 'fresh' and expedite the process. Perhaps they believe it will be reborn older, thus weaker? We are not sure of this, all we can do is gather evidence and draw some conclusions." He glanced at his soon and raised both eyebrows. "Given that you possess the very coat they find to be so insulting, perhaps you can appreciate that you should not be in this immediate vicinity."  

[Epine de Rose]

"If you wanted that you would assume they would kill indiscriminately," Tethys murmured as he absorbed the information his father had provided him with. However, cultists didn't necessarily make sense and as his father had said, while there was science to some of it, there were things that simply didn't add up. One in particular was their decision to focus on only one thing; he was morbidly curious and yet he already knew he would be tempting fate in such a way that would bring down the wrath of his own father upon him.

"Surely others have noticed their loved ones vanishing though?" Tethys grimaced as he recalled the strange consistency of the floor within the cave. He might not have been able to see them, but he could only assume there were more than just a few dead bodies in there. "The location is also so..." he searched for a word and clucked his tongue.

"Remote," he said finally. "How would anyone even show up here without deliberately asking for directions?" he challenged, causing his father to close his eyes momentarily. "A constant stream of specific types of creature would give cause to some form of suspicion surely..."  

[Epine de Rose]

"The problem is not so much that it goes unnoticed, so much as it simply cannot be stopped," Destati corrected him as they climbed higher. He took this opportunity to take a seat, he wouldn't permit his son to continue further when he was aware that there was a distinct possibility of more of these beings hiding in the next set of tunnels. "The only reason this came to light was the fact that a number of families began to despair..."

"They told tales of phantoms in the night, they appeared before they could react. Any who resisted found themselves dead before they could draw breath," he grimaced and shook his head. These were all tales he had heard of before, entire prides massacred by the otherwise silent phantoms as they swept across the lands seeking out their prey. To this day he was not entirely sure of what they used to continue with their sacrificial ceremonies but they certainly did something...

"Those who are pure are escorted away, witnesses often claimed they were in trance-like states, completely obedient in every way."

"There would have been no reason to halt them in their tracks as they escorted their victim away, particularly if there was no sign of struggle," he pursed his lips and regarded his son. "It seems whatever method they use to control their subjects also ensures they do not scream as they perish, the act is silent... So no one knows it ever occurs."

"Individuals simply vanish, and the locations are so remote that no one thinks to look for them... Except on this occasion they appear to have forgotten that they still have my kind in pursuit."

He paused suddenly and narrowed his eyes.

"But it is for this reason that I need you to leave, immediately," he ordered. "It is not a question of your abilities, more that I need you to use them elsewhere," he continued. "While it is my duty to preserve life and to attempt to halt this scourge, it is vital that you protect not only yourself, but your mother and sister as well."

"They are silent Tethys, they make no sound as they sweep through. I still don't know how they communicate, but they do. You cannot see them until it is simply too late. Now that you know this, and they might very well have seen you on these slopes, it is imperative that you do not let yourself succumb."

"In this respect it is time you truly grew up. In essence you are now the elder of this family line, and you will continue to be so until I am certain that this scourge is over. As you can imagine, such a role comes with responsibilities, and while your sister may not understand it at the moment, she will in time."

"Are we clear?"

Total Words (Destati) : 1214

 

[Epine de Rose]

How the hell was he meant to fight back against something he couldn't see? His expression was incredulous as his father bestowed the responsibility upon him, he would certainly try to protect his family, but he wasn't entirely sure how. Admittedly, his father seemed to have implied that this wouldn't be something he had to worry about, if anything it sounded like Destati intended for this to end with him, but what if he did fail?

Tethys gave a nod, one that was perhaps a little uncertain.

He wasn't entirely confident that he could live up to his father's expectations. Truth be told his mother would want an explanation, and just like his father, he was going to have to work out how to be vague. She was simply too delicate of mind, she wasn't mercurial, but he wasn't sure she could handle the death of his father if it came down to that... it would be the second 'mate' she had lost.

"We're clear," he said finally, albeit slowly. "I'll...figure something out," he said after another few moments. Closing his eyes, the lion regathered his composure and rose to his feet. He knew when he was being dismissed, though he had been dismissed on far graver circumstances than he had intended.

...If this was his father's true purpose, then what had the lioness meant?

Oh! The lioness!

"Actually there was a lioness looking for you, her name was Oa," he motioned back down the range. "She said that circumstances had changed, she needed to find you," he shook his head. "I have no idea what this might mean but..." he took a deep breath grimaced. "If you have a moment perhaps you should attempt to locate her, though I will send her this way if I see her again," he added.

With that, he bowed his head in a curt nod and began to make his way back down the slope. His expression had been hesitant, and for once... he knew he was really going to have to seek his sibling's counsel, if there was one person who could come up with a plan, it would be her.

Total Words (Tethys) : 1303