Falls of the Hinterlands Brightest Dark

@Coelacanth

"Riverbone, O highest father
your daughter runs in brightest dark
no snowfall in the mountains
no faithless morning lark

The sun is fully hidden
stars cover up the day
by moon the earth is bitten
and all will waste away - "

A silver mist hung all around the small, forest pool she bathed in, making Doctor feel as though she were hidden from all the world. She laid in the water up to her nose, breathless from her song and play. She'd made a game of dropping Shink into the water, and catching him again before he sank to the bottom.

Shink now lay between her paws, as hidden as Doctor was in the bright mist and cool waters. Doctor alternated between vigorously grooming him and gazing around adoringly at the mist and color that danced around her. She might've been fully invisible, if it were not for the constant movement of her satellite-dish ears.

Doctor's hearing was even better in the water. Sound was amplified tenfold, and she felt as though she could hear the entire forest moving around her - and the forest knew nothing of her. She was the proverbial fly on the wall, but instead of a winged insect, she was two eyes, glowing and yellow; two swivelling ears, one bent and one pointed; one nose, black and twitching.

It was a beautiful night, and Doctor basked in it, singing along with the hounds of the wind whenever she had breath to do so.

"Riverbone, O highest father..."

Having established a “home base” of sorts, Coelacanth felt comfortable leaving the coast she loved in favor of exploring the inland territory her brother had visited again and again. Despite their closeness and codependence, the siblings often kept differing schedules to suit their individual tastes — Coelacanth did not share her brother’s wanderlust and penchant for adventure to quite the same degree and was more prone to settling into a pattern of behaviors and haunts. It was an arrangement that suited them, for Coelacanth was, in a sense, Amoxtli’s compass. The siblings’ ability to find one another was uncanny — and with Coelacanth spending much of her time divided up between a triangle of territories, she served as the sepia and coal dragon’s homing device.

She moved at a steady southwesterly clip until she reached the glittering salt flat she remembered from their first night in the Teekon Wilds, and turned decisively southeast to follow the river. Clusters of wolves appeared to be gathering here and there — a burgeoning morass of possessiveness and pride — and Coelacanth steered clear of any sign of dispute, but could not shake her attraction to the sound of falling water. Carefully skirting the burgeoning border marks around the copse of glittering will-o’-the-wisps, she picked her way nearer to the wintry cascade and drew a reverent breath at the glowing arch that splayed vividly across the misted sky. Wonderstruck, she stood without moving, one paw lifted as she paused in midstep to fill her heart with its beauty.

“Riverbone, O highest father,
your daughter runs in brightest dark;
no snowfall in the mountains,
no faithless morning lark —

The sun is fully hidden;
stars cover up the day —
by moon the earth is bitten
and all will waste away — ”

Drawn as always to those who could sing songs or tell stories, Coelacanth found her dainty paws meandering toward the sound before she had time to consider whether her actions were wise. Denied the role of siren, she was cast as a sailor — doomed forever to the allure of the creatures’ arias. Wrapped in the mist, her tufted ears flicking water droplets here and there as she perked her ears and swiveled them to cup each solitary sound, she was undeniably disappointed when the song came to an abrupt end. Stepping beneath a cavernous overhang so the water spilled over her body and turned her fur to ink, she allowed the pressure to pleasurably pepper her limber muscles.

“Riverbone, O highest father…”

There it was again!

Turning her head, Coelacanth moved in the direction of the sound, unwittingly stopping just before the forest pool and its two unlikely inhabitants — but as before, the sound trickled into silence. She hadn’t noticed the Mexican Wolf or her skeletal treasure — her tufted ears swiveled this way and that as she searched for the source of the singing, a soft sigh slipping soundlessly from her mist-dappled muzzle.

The dark creature that approached her was a wolf, bot not a real one. Doctor had determined this at once - something about her slim paws or tall, tipped ears. Maybe the way she trickled through the woods, like water down the stone sides of the falls. It didn't matter what had tipped her off - the creature was not a wolf, but not really, and that was all there was too it. The specifics did not concern her. Not much concerned her, these days. She did what she could to please the Leviathan, and in turn, he syphoned away her worries the way that alphas always did. What could possibly concern her, so long as she belonged to her king?

But she watched the dark creature all the same, her tail wagging passively under the veil of the water.

"Hail," she said at length, to catch the non-wolf's attention. She realized that she had been singing as soon as she stopped to address the ink-dark girl. This bothered her for a moment, but more interesting matters soon pushed the discomfort from her mind. Like, would this non-wolf try to steal her pup? It was doubtful - few seemed to care very much about Shink - and either way, Doctor could certainly defend her pale prodgeny from such a small creature. Still, though, it was unwise to let strangers around one's pups, and Doctor did not know this shadowy girl.

Or did she? She hadn't recognized Riptide by name or face, but he had been part of her pack. She knew that she forgot things sometimes, but this creature? Doctor doubted she could forget such striking features. Still, just to be sure, Doctor rose from the water and stepped closer to the stranger, breathing in her scent.

The sea. She smells like the ocean. I must know her - my pack lives by the ocean, and so does she. She must be part of my pack.

Relieved, but a little concerned that she'd forgotten the girl so easily, Doctor sank back into her haunt. "You can come in," she said brightly, making a little room. "It's very pretty from in here."

“Hail.”

Pirouetting neatly, Coelacanth peered into the darkness and saw — two eyes, glowing and yellow; two swiveling ears, one bent and one pointed; one nose, black and twitching. Dipping her muzzle graciously, allowing her chin to sweep the angular curve of her carpi, the sheepdog cross tilted her head to the side, tufted ears cupping forward attentively. She dropped carefully to creep forward on her stomach as the dandelion fluff and cream female rose from the water and stepped nearer. A soft whine that was more air than tone spilled from her jaws in silent greeting as her feathered tail waved eloquent friendliness.

As the stranger breathed deeply, Coelacanth mirrored the action, her whiskers quivering as she took in the small wolf’s scent. The stranger smelled of salt — and as it had reassured Doe, so too did it reassure Seelie. They shared a common thread, although Coelacanth had never set foot in the bay now claimed by the wolves of Blackrock Depths.

“You can come in,” the female invited, shifting to allow room for Coelacanth to sidle in beside her. The tiny sheepwolf needed no other invitation. On her tiptoes, she crept nearer, sliding into the forest pool beside the other wolf with a purring hum of pleasure. Glancing out at the world Doe had enjoyed mere moments ago, Coelacanth sighed her contentment. It was beautiful, dancing with color and shrouded in mist. Her tail swayed behind her like the tip of an inkbrush, causing a soft ripple in the water. Without stopping to think of the consequences, she turned her head, intending to brush her muzzle in a tender nuzzle against the base of the female’s ear in gratitude for showing her this beautiful new world.

She might not have let a stranger sit near her or her cub - might not. But in her mind, this was no stranger. This was pack, and it was not strange for pack to share dens, cubs, touch. Doctor leaned into the smaller creature's nuzzle with a soft huff of thanks, glad not to be alone anymore on such a beautiful night. Perhaps now another voice would join hers, as well, as she decided to take up a song that was common among the wolves where she'd been born.

"At Tara in this faithful hour,
I place Heaven with all its power,
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath..."

The song went on, but Doctor's thoughts were elsewhere while her tongue carried out a march memorized long ago. I don't think she's spoken at all. Is she hiding something? That thought was quickly cast aside. Pack did not mislead each other. Is she pack, though? I didn't recognize her. Not by scent or sight. All I know is that she smells like the sea, and she's as dark as a shadow. An new thought struck her, blanking the slate that had been her train of thought. Shadows don't talk, silly. Of course she doesn't speak. And then, I've never seen my shadow so clearly at night.

But the thoughts soon slipped away, and Doctor was content to share the pool with her friend or shadow, wolf or not, pack or not, known or not. She was awfully good company, and Doctor liked to look at her tufted ears and silky fur - it made such interesting swirls as the water eddied around it. Did her ear hairs do the same when wet? Doctor pushed her nose forward to give one an experimental lick.

"What big ears you have," she exclaimed, a bit giddy about it, for some reason.

Rewarded with the intimacy of touch, Coelacanth felt the clasp of loneliness that squeezed her heart constrict with a willful wrench before relaxing its grip; a soft thrum of sound like the flutter of a well beloved book’s pages spilled from her lips as the golden-eyed wolf began to sing anew. And although the sheepdog cross could not sing along in kind, she felt her tongue and lips begin to clumsily shape the words regardless, a beat behind the shale and sand female’s wandering timbre. What beautiful words they were! A low murmur of inquiry teased the fur at the base of the Depths female’s ear. Who or what is Tara, wondered Seelie, and why is she in need of rescue?

As the siren stretched her nose forward, tongue poking out to lick Coelacanth’s ear, the sheepdog trembled at the ticklish sensation — she was sensitive about her ears, and Amoxtli had learned at a young age that she wouldn’t tolerate any tugging — as a soundless laugh blew ripples on the water’s surface. “What big ears you have,” exclaimed the female, who possessed rather sizeable ones herself, and Coelacanth nodded her head in mute agreement. Playfully, the sheepdog cross offered her otherworldly companion a caress in turn, nosing once more at the base of her ear as though to say, “You, too!” Whuffing softly, her fur intermingling with the Mexican Wolf’s in the pool of water, Coelacanth felt true contentment steal over her.

Her shadow pleased her very much - perhaps overly so, even for being a living one. Still, who among the living could boast such a pretty shadow, and who possessed a reflection that could at least attempt to sing? It was a vain thought, but Doctor found that she did not really care - there was no one around to hear her thoughts.

Oh, yes - and most could not hear her thoughts. She'd forgotten.

Shadow remined her that she was there with a quiet, inquisitive mumble. "Can you hear them, Shadow?" she asked, dropping the song once more. I wish the song would keep going even when I was using my voice for other things, she mused, directing the sentence at the non-entity beside her. "Don't worry, though. I do not fault you for your inability to sing," she added, not wanting to offend her newest friend. "You're lovely in other ways, and I am a reasonable wolf."

Her shadow would know that, of course. Still, it paid to be kind, even to the strangest of creatures.

The cream and cloud siren seemed to lose herself in song, her bright yellow eyes faraway and luminescent with the reflection of each moonbow; Coelacanth found herself entranced, scarcely daring to breathe lest she ripple the water and cause the song to end. Her own voice, trapped in a prison cell of scar tissue and emptiness, swelled within her breast with no outlet — and she felt anew the exquisite pain that sometimes ruled her. “Can you hear them, Shadow?” questioned the siren, and Seelie’s ears flicked forward to catch each coveted syllable as she burrowed in close, nestling her muzzle in the songstress’ fur. Even with the music gone, the rhythmic lilt of the odd-eared female’s voice was a comfort.

As though Coelacanth herself had written the script for this little tableau, reassurance spilled from the siren’s jaws. In an effort to repay the girl for the kindness she sorely needed, Seelie set forth with a will, preening the silver fur and its dusky red guard hairs with soft, toneless murmurs of affection. Love came quite easily to the sheepdog cross, and she could not help but place her yearning heart between her newfound friend’s fangs to keep or discard at her will. Shadow, the siren had said. It was the first new name Coelacanth had received since arriving at these strange lands, and she tucked it away in her heart to treasure and selfishly keep.

For a moment, she simply enjoyed the attentions of her excitable friend; for Doctor was indeed a very vain and selfish creature, and prone to taking without giving in return. But now that she was being groom in earnest, instead of the ghostly nudges she'd thought he imagined earlier...

It was getting harder to ignore the fact that her shadow had a corporeal body, and when she thought of that, it became impossible to ignore that she'd been ignoring it, and her whole body seemed to shut down while she processed all that that could mean. Her eyes glazed over, her tongue lolled out, and a series of memories played through her mind like the real to some tragic film. That's me. I'm Doe, but I don't think I was Doe, then.

It was hard to watch the sick, timid fumblings of the creature that wore her skin, and her heart began to beat faster, her breaths became more labored as she struggled to escape the prison of her own mind.

And then that moment was over. The silent canine was no longer her shadow, quite - perhaps never would be again - but she still wasn't quite a wolf, either. It was a very unsettling feeling, to have one's reality shift in such a way, and Doctor - Doe? I'm Doe! - and Doctor felt the need to be back at home, the desire hitting her hard and feirce as she slowly came back into the present.

"Shadow - " she said, her mind whirring for a moment as she tried to remember who Shadow was. Sea, reasonable wolf, big ears - She gave up, in the end. "I think that I ought to get home, now," she said, giving the other female a quick lick on the cheek. "You should come, too - if you belong there. I think you do. Or maybe not..." She smells like the sea, though! "Even so, I will see you again, I think." She ought to.

Doctor stood uncertainly, picking Shink up in her jaws and letting the water slip through her teeth. She cast one last glance at the beautiful creature in the water before turning away and stepping out of the sparkling pool. Skellige would miss her if she stayed away too long, and she longed to romp with Sy once again and forget all these silly thoughts that plagued her.

It was easy — perhaps too easy — for the inky Groenendael cross to settle into a pattern of familiarity and intimacy. Driven by her feelings and highly sensitive to the feelings of others, she was too often prone to letting logic be blown away by the upwelling of an idea or an emotion.

A change, subtle and difficult to explain, came over the Depths female; the quickening of her heartbeat and the quickening pace of her roughened breaths coaxed a toneless whine of worry from Coelacanth’s muzzle. She was immediately contrite; had she grown comfortable too quickly? It would not have been the first time, as even Kailani had been somewhat taken aback by the kittenish melt of affection from her niece. Tufted ears fanned abashedly back against Seelie’s nape as she anxiously gazed upon the nameless girl’s clouded eyes — and the spell was over, having lasted only a few seconds altogether despite the eternities that had ticked by.

“Shadow,” the girl said, and Coelacanth’s tail flicked beneath the surface of the forest pool, causing a ripple to swell outward. She was still Shadow — she was still someone to someone in this somewhere she had found. The quick swipe of the Witch Doctor’s tongue upon Coelacanth’s cheek was received with a soft, eager to please whine — but it felt like a farewell all in all.

If I belong there, Coelacanth mused to herself. How could that be, when she knew herself to belong nowhere? She held onto the notion that perhaps she would see the cream and grey female again, hopeful as ever, as she too rose from the sparkling pool to seek solace in the waterfall itself.