Bitterroot Valley porphyria

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in a sort of sleep-walking, vague, subconcious way he drifted from point to point, his strides irregular, his gait more of a stumble, and wove between the shrubs that dotted the landscape. above sat the burning sun, a voluptuous array of clouds that drifted aimlessly — similar to the wolf-shaped thing that moved upon the earth. it was midday. it was not the time for his family to be roaming, and so he roamed for them — scouring the desolate valley for any place they could take shelter, a route to traverse through the night, or even a creature to bring back with him so that they may feast. far-off upon the horizon stood an imposing monument, an immense tooth standing out from the flatland. the man shifted his aim and began to move west rather than north, towards the clean scent of water, deciding to slake his own thirst before attending to the needs of his masters.
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Not sure if this just a cameo yet

Riqtajinaq preferred the night. She moved with it like the bats her family was named for. This sunlight made her feel inbalanced, blind almost. The Sotz' felt defenseless in the light of the day and her skin crawled as she emerged from the darkened sleeping space her family had found to rest in. 

Riqta squinted in the light, blinking fiery eyes in annoyance. She glanced to the side in search of @K'atik's slaves. Riqtajaniq had high hopes of achieving Tzuqik when they established a permanent home. Certainly, the femme was violent enough for it. The taste of blood was the sweetest thing there was to the woman, including her own.

Wounds littered her front legs, signs of her devotion to Camazotz. They stung painfully at times, especially after first forming, but Riqta found great satisfaction and pleasure in the burn of ripping her own flesh and the formation of scars taking up her legs. 

The satisfaction she felt for having drawn the blood of @Xa’ojbal and @Koh was not as great. Koh was a slave, devoted as he was to the Oyowals. Xa'ojbal was impure, unworthy and unable of ever receiving Camazotz favor. The wounds Riqta inflicted on herself were beautiful; they were pleasing to her God. To drink the blood of the prisoners was only the natural order of things. 

Riqtajinaq followed the scent of one of the slaves, Koh, knowing the weakened man would not be escaping. He was much too loyal for such actions. He was most certainly scouting ahead, a stupid thing but necessary. 

Riqta would not usually perform the task herself, rather she left that to @K'atinaq. Though if the femme had hopes of being K'atik's Tzuqik, she must keep an eye on the slaves. 

[table width=80%][tr][td]She had safely led her subjects to the new land - had followed Camazotz' guiding voice deep in the night sky to find them a place to belong. For now, they could feed as him, without consequence, and K'atik knew not many had taken notice of their presence yet. How would they? As the other poor souls slumbered, their group was alive. It was in the night they lived, as their great God - and it would not take long for the moon to appear in the sky yet again. But, the woman was not planning on sleeping through the day - she left that blessing upon the others as she followed the scent of both her daughter and the man they had found all those moons ago. She knew them better than to suspect them trying to run away and escape her ruling - escape the wishes of Camazotz - and did not worry all too much.

For a moment did she took upon the role of a Rapapik, although she was not scouting for land this time. No - the ones she wanted to find were far more treasurable than a mere place. Squinting at the daylight, she tried her best to stay in the shadows with a displeased look on her face. Koh and her daughter would not go far - they would not leave the group behind for their own desires. No one had done it in years - no one had dared in centuries.[/td][/tr][/table]

Camazotz would not reveal himself in the siege that day brought. No, His breath reigned only in shadow, shattered now as it was in the sunlight. Amidst the broken tendrils of His voice an icy ghost followed on, nose flaring as the scents of his sister and their slave broke off from the path ahead. They would return, he presumed, he hoped. For they knew so of the consequences abandonment could bring.

He left the heels of his mother now to follow on, muttering only slightly as the sun's harsh rays beat down upon his matted pelt. Camazotz could not hear him now out here on open ground, and so his own mind guided him forwards towards the distant blemish where tooth met ground and water flourished. The white raven clung to the far edges of K'atik's sight, his own ash-blown orbs scouring the scene for any vessel that might pose danger to him and, though he cared least for words of heartfelt warning, his mother and her wrath.

others are welcome to join in whenever, and we'll adjust the post order to compensate! wasn't sure if there was anyone else.

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he did not go as far as the river he scented, and truthfully would not know of the river until the next day when the band would come across it. every so often the dark creature would lift his low-slung head to his shoulders, turn his gaze or his face or his entire shoulder column, and he would search the horizon for the others. upon spotting their silhouettes behind him, not hidden in the dark or in wait as they usually were, his body tensed. the creature's face was wrought with a grimace of pain because of his perpetually frayed nerves; tensing had caused his joints to crack, and the tension in his body made him aware of the dull ache between each segment of himself. he relaxed moments later — mostly — and waited for the others to catch up to him. koh could not travel for long periods at a time, but he always eagerly pushed himself, needing to prove to the family that he was valuable at every opportunity. he turned his head and loosed a pleading, yearning, hungry whine — but he was not hungry himself, rather, koh was asking them, do you thirst? i am here, i am ready.
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---

the daylight was no friend of hers. its light did not illuminate; rather, it blinded. and yet they were moving, moving through this time of light and exposure. her gaze of stone was first slitted against the sun, until the light no longer ignited a pain within the confines of her skull, and the blinding white that was the snow no longer burned. only then did her limbs move into the familiar stalking gate, made of a lethalness conveyed in the silent grace that was hers. 

she was a shadow falling behind her mother, behind the woman who's coat was saturated with night, more so than her own coat of charcoal. she does not worry at the distance they hold from each other, for never would another attempt to stray from the colony. no, for to do so would be to invite death, and would none would hold to gain from escape. 

there came a call, from the throat of the one that on occassion, wet her throat. and it seemed that he would again, as she approached without word. tongue slipping from her maw in the manner of an adder, wetting her muzzle for a brief second was the only sign of her intent. her gaze showed not a flicker of emotion before her fangs slashed open the flesh of the other, waiting for crimson to well and to bleed over the edge of the wound. though she yearned to sate her own thirst, her gaze instead moved to fall onto K'atik, for she was their leader and thus entitled to sate her own bloodlust firstly, should she so wish to.

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Sorry I'm late! If anything is wrong with this post, poke me!

She was not alone for long. Despite her stealth, it seemed fated that her family would travel together this day. The only one left behind was Xa'ojbal though she neither worried over nor missed his absence. 

Upon reaching Koh and hearing his whine, Riqtajinaq allowed her eyes to land on him briefly before moving away. K'atik was first to drink always and Yubyutik was efficient as the rest of their cult at drawing blood in quantity. 

The Sotz' slunk to the side in favor of watching the exchange, perching restlessly on the fringe of their group with anticipation dancing in her fiery orbs. 

For Riqta, she could not recall a time Koh was not around. From what she had gleaned from K'atik's recalled memories and her own concept of life before Camazotz, she must have been very young when found by the Solz' chuchuxel. She could not remember a time before K'atik. Her only memory was a sense of loss, the smell of raw earth after being upturned, and the feeling of solid ground shifting and pitching beneath her feet. 

Often she relived this vague memory in visions. The femme still had not deciphered its meaning. Perhaps it was Camazotz's way of showing her that she was destined for this life. Perhaps it meant there was no family outside Aq'ab Sotz'.

Despite Koh having been around presumably since her discovery, Riqtajinaq bore no love for the man; just as her siblings most certainly did not. No emotion flickered within as Yubyutik ripped into their bloodbag. No emotion save for a hunger born of the blood fed to her by K'atik so long ago.

His legs involuntarily trembled as he wobbled after the group on unsteady paws, his lackluster eyes glued to the ground as he slunk after them. He was not loyal or devoted in the same sense as the elder wa ja’ but Xa'ojbal would not so easily leave his masters. He did not belong, not here, not anywhere, but at least with his captors he served a purpose. At least with them he had a reason to live, even if that very reason was for him to one day die. 

And so with nowhere to go and nowhere to belong, Xa'ojbal remained. He followed after them silently, never complaining when they feasted but never asking them to do so. He would not encourage them to bring him closer to death, but the boy had to admit that it brought some relief each time one of them sunk their fangs into his weakened flesh. The pain reminded him that he wasn't dead, at least not yet anyways.

Koh's call snapped the boy back into reality and Xa'ojbal found himself sunk at the inky heels of the night queen herself. He almost instinctively found himself looking to the ground, not daring to stare into those blood filled eyes of hers. Instead he pulled his tail underneath him and nervously licked his lips in anticipation of what was to come.

[table width=80%][tr][td]She did not mind the shadows following as they always did - she enjoyed the image of power it portrayed and was in love with whatever came with that power. It showed naught - her slightly annoyed expression the only sign of emotion upon her angular face. Once in a while did she cast a glance upon the ones behind her - spotting that more and more had awoken from their daylight slumber to travel with them. It was not always they did this, and it could be spotted - squinting eyes, as a pair of new moons, they carried. For a slight sliver of time was she concerned, but soon realized that if she could survive the warm rays of the sun; they could too.

The whine coming from Koh did her nothing. She did not need an invitation to feed - to enjoy it. As usual, the dark creatures around her waited for her judgement on the matter that she never truly said out loud. Straightening her neck, her spiking hackles not intentionally carried high as her tail, she moved like a shadow toward their bag of blood. Her intensely coloured orbs rested upon the older male's before she moved into his comfort zone - the bubble needed to penetrate for them to feed. Her black nose sniffed over his scarred vessel, his cracking and creaking bones surrounded by meaty flesh and blood, before she sunk her teeth between his shoulder and chest - slightly below his neck.

She did so without a care - without concern for the pain he must be used to by now. She sucked and licked at the wound until she was pleased and moved away with powerful steps. She knew that inviting the others to drink their fill was a waste of energy in the unwavering light of the sun, so she moved back into the shadows - watching what would happen from there. It was time they took a break from the light, but she did not want to take away the pleasure that came with feeding.[/td][/tr][/table]

Gonna wrap this up real quick!

[table width=80%][tr][td]She watched as everyone got their fill, the scent of blood hanging clear in the air. It filled the scythe with silent delight and she decided to rest for a bit. She invited her children (all but one) to come and lie beside her - leaving the feeding bags to do as they pleased. They would not wander - K'atik's stories of the Night Bat had been too terrifying to try anything like it.

It did not take long for them all to settle in the shade and before they knew it, they all slumbered. [/td][/tr][/table]