+- Wolf RPG (https://wolf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: In Character: Roleplaying (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Archives (https://wolf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11)
+--- Thread: i stood for nothing (/showthread.php?tid=349)
i stood for nothing - Jinx - August 28, 2013
<style type="text/css">.jinx {margin:auto; width:600px; text-align:justify;} .jinx q {color:#8B8B59; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:bold;}</style>
Her meeting with the local authority had gone well, and Jinx walked away bearing the title of Surgeon, though it wasn't without some begrudging reluctance. She was a Warchief, a Mambo; she needn't bow her head to anyone. However, she had been led here by dreams or visions, whichever they may have been. Her first steps had been clouded in opium from the Bay's caches, and after that, she had seen while lucid, or at least believed she had. The vision had played over and over in her mind each night until she reached the edge of this territory, a vast and sprawling forest not unlike the one she'd grown up in, where suddenly vertigo had overcome her.
Then the leaders had found her, and she had pleaded her case, trusting that Sos had led her here for a purpose and wasn't putting her in a position of humility for no reason. She wanted desperately to believe she had done the right thing by leaving Kaskae in charge of the Bay and coming here; it was for their own good, she reasoned, even if she yearned to be back there, standing tall and strong alongside her, rather than being nothing more than a commoner here. She would not let the pack fall to strife; the fire would not consume them, not while she lived and breathed.
A quiet sigh blew past her lips as she let her body flop uselessly down between a wide evergreen's raised roots, mind racing and doubts mounting.
This better be purposeful,she murmured, casting a grumpy look to the sky overhead as if the Dark God of her religion would somehow materialize and answer her. But Sos did not reign over the sky nor the sea; He reigned over the underworld and the spirit realm, the Loa were His, and so her quiet, subtle threat was more or less directed upon deaf ears. She licked her lips and placed her chin across her forearms with a quiet huff, uncertain what to do with the rest of her day now that she had followed her God to His chosen place, for the time being.
RE: i stood for nothing - Kerberos - August 28, 2013
*snags* i couldn't resist. :D
Kerberos had been, slowly, getting himself accustomed to life in Neverwinter though it ranged vastly different than his life in Shearwater Bay. Kerberos was, by now, no stranger to homesickness though there were times when it would hit him worse than others. He missed the Sea. He missed Sila. He missed Kaskae and Jinx. He missed the ability of freely traversing the path to the Great Bear alters which he had taken to cleaning simply because he didn’t mind the task. Yet, Atka had pushed him to this place, he had left at her divine decree and he had no desire to displease the Goddess. Though Kerberos had surprised himself when he had approached Styx about the Diplomat co-rank, particularly because Kerberos was not the worlds most social creature, it felt...right. What better way to help him get out of his hermit shell than to fulfill such an important role? He had watched Nanuq wield diplomacy so masterfully enough, from the shadows of brush as a child, awed by his adoptive mother often enough to understand how it worked. Besides, on the scale of warrior or peacekeeper, Kerberos fit the bill of peacekeeper more accurately. He was not one for violence. Especially because, not always, but most of the time it was (usually) avoidable. Though his new title relied upon the ability of communicating -- something he was getting used to for Atka, as it was -- Kerberos strove to do his daily tasks to the best of his ability.
Sea-green eyes pre-planned Kerberos’ path as he shrugged his way through the forest, relieved to have to not carry his gift of the Sea around with him all the time now that he had a stable den. He had not yet eaten the seaweed he had swathed it in, though it continued to tempt him, instead rearranging it so it acted as a barrier between the gleaming, beautiful pearl and the earthen floor of his den. Steps paused, body hesitating as a muffled sound, though Kerberos had no idea what, exactly it was, tickled at his sandy colored ears, which had perked, thrusting forward atop his skull. He took a couple steps in the direction, eyes seeing the back of an ivory creature -- presumably a wolf, possibly a new recruit -- that smelled semi-familiar. Kerberos had been in the process of attempting to convince himself it was pure coincidence; that homesickness had taken to a new form of torture and was playing with his mind when the wolf spoke.
He knew that voice. Of course he knew that voice! He’d grown up with that voice. It made no sense but there was no doubt in the identity of the wolf as Kerberos approached boldly. “Jinx?!” Of course his tone had to come out incredulous sounding because, mentally, Kerberos was still not sure that it was real, but he supposed there was no other way to find out if it was real or not than to interact.
RE: i stood for nothing - Jinx - August 28, 2013
OOC: Hi! :D I was hoping for you!
<style type="text/css">.jinx {margin:auto; width:600px; text-align:justify;} .jinx q {color:#8B8B59; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:bold;}</style>
IC: A breeze toyed with the longer fur around her nape, but it lacked the distinct tang of salt and humidity she was used to, and a ripple of homesickness wound itself through her gut at the realisation. It smelled of pine and sap, of dirt and fungus and prey animals, but nothing like the sea. Nothing of the sand she had grown up walking on. In moments like this, Jinx might've succumbed to weakness and vulnerability, hoisted herself to her feet, and walked solemnly home to accept the fate of the Gods despite Sos' warnings, but it was fear that always kept her rooted. Deeply hidden fear, but fear nonetheless.
She was pulled from her reverie by a too-familiar voice behind her. Her ears snatched backward more quickly than her head turned, but even before she laid eyes on him, she knew exactly who it was. What? She blinked, a long and slow and owlish process, and then a smile lifted the corner of her lips.
Oh,she muttered,
of course, I've gone crazy, it all makes sense now.
But she hadn't gone crazy. She waited a few expectant seconds, but Kerberos did not disappear into the wind like she expected him to, did not fade out like the phantom she believed he was, and she was left with bewilderment and, suddenly, panic.
When did you leave? Why? Is… Is Shearwater Bay okay?!It had been months since she had openly expressed such fear — the last time she could remember had also been in his company, when the Sea had embraced her for the first time and she felt she would drown and he had made it stop, she thought — for her eyes had visibly widened and her voice stuttered with frightened hesitation. What if it hadn't mattered? What if her leaving had been what had doomed the Bay, and she had misinterpreted her God's message? Would he allow me to doom them like that?
RE: i stood for nothing - Kerberos - September 12, 2013
I am so sorry for the wait for this. x_x
Jinx’s smile had begun to be returned by the sandy Aok only to freeze in confusion at the words that followed the action mere moments later. Kerberos hesitated, quite visibly, before it sunk in, slowly, after a few seconds time, that she was in the same boat as him. Unsure if what she was seeing was an illusion or real. Her comment, though initially caused Kerberos’ hesitation, also ascertained the fact that Jinx was really there. Physically standing right in front of him, real. He figured that his illusion of Jinx would not be so uncertain, and such, deduced everything from that small, simple assumption of his own mind. “A couple of months ago,” He had not counted time as accurately as he, possibly, should have. It had seemed useless to count the days since he had left Shearwater Bay simply because, though the knowledge felt as if someone were piercing his heavy heart, the departure had felt permanent. Or as permanent as Atka required it to be, at any rate. “I…” He had begun but shushed himself when Jinx continued, wondering silently, why she was not in Shearwater Bay, herself. “W-what?! O-of course it’s ok. I mean, everybody was fine and healthy when I left.” Her panic had caused his own and in it’s pressing depths Kerberos, once more, picked up the stutter of his childhood, embarrassingly enough.
“Why wouldn’t it be ok?” He asked softly after a few moments, sea-green eyes softening as he studied her familiar facial features, ignoring the soft squeeze his heart gave at the sight of her. Seeing Jinx was like seeing a part of…home. It brought the homesickness Kerberos fought off on a near daily basis back into the war, and pulled the soft sigh right from the Aok boy’s lips. “I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d find you…or anyone from Shearwater Bay here,” Kerberos paused, his triangular ears slicking back to his skull ever so slightly as he settled back, comfortably, onto his haunches. “Atka lead me to this place…I…her full purpose for me remains enigmatic, but I know that she means for me to be here.” Jinx hadn’t asked for why he’d left Shearwater Bay…but she had been one of his Alpha’s. As an Alpha, as family he certainly respected her enough to admit the nature of his departure. Though, Kerberos supposed that she was no longer, technically, his Mambo, he still, unable to help it, thought of her as such.
He probably always would.
“It’s nice to see you Jinx. I missed you.” Kerberos admitted, feeling a soft rush of heat of awkwardness settle in his cheeks, though luckily wolves didn’t blush, so he didn’t have to worry about his body betraying him beyond the demure look down at his sandy colored paws.
RE: i stood for nothing - Jinx - September 14, 2013
OOC: No sweat! I've been busy too anyway. :P
IC: Although thoughts swirled through her mind — such as “is this real” and “what if this is the dream, and the vision the reality?” — she pushed them all aside and focused on Kerberos. Her body was tense, perhaps the tensest it had ever been, as she awaited some news of home and its wellbeing. She thought, in a way, that if Kerberos had come here, perhaps the others had as well; perhaps their beloved Bay home had been razed to the ground and the survivors had come here. But if that was the case, where was Kaskae? Why had she not, as Jinx would have expected, formed a new pack for her family?
Her bated breath slowly exhaled when Kerberos confirmed that the Bay was fine, and relief fluttered in her chest. She hadn't realised he had left the pack, much like he hadn't realised she had. She wondered if it had been simultaneous, a work of the Gods, but that would mean Atka was still present in their lives. Truth be told, Jinx had believed Atka corrupt, if only because Kaskae had dared claim to be her Vessel when the Oracle, their grandfather Nutaaq, was the one true Vessel; it occurred to her now that she might have been very wrong about that.
“Thank Sos,” she breathed, woefully unaware how her panic could have affected her dear friend, who once so long ago had been nothing but a crybaby to her. “I saw the Bay in flames, and her wolves in strife... I saw Kaskae standing me down, with the fury of Atka in her eyes, while Sos urged me on to slay Her, and my own sister. I... Took it as a sign that the Gods are not at peace with one another there any longer.” Kerberos would have seen the sisterly struggles between the pair of leaders; one always wished to be the most dominant. Wolves could not co-lead in such a fashion with the same sex, and less so with family; Kaskae, upon acting the part of Vessel of Atka, had superimposed spirituality on herself, which had stepped into Jinx's realm of command; and Jinx, always wanting to be the better, had oft attempted to control the physical domain which was rightly her sister's.
Perhaps then he would understand how the Gods, who had chosen the Kesuk daughters for Their own, might have struggled there, so representing — or rather, being represented by — the two headstrong children of Nanuq Kesuk.
“I left to keep them safe,” she murmured, “but I'm afraid Sos has not given me any hints as to whether it is right or not.” Kerberos parted with his own reasons for leaving, and though they didn't involve any impending doom for Shearwater Bay, they were remarkably similar to her own; so much so that she drew the conclusion that Atka may have chosen another to walk in Her light and do as Her will commanded. “I suspect Atka may have the same design for you, but I am uncertain where He leads me, or She leads you.” It was cryptic, and there was much to think on; but he soon took her from her thoughts with his confession, and she smiled warmly.
“I have missed you too, Aok,” she murmured, moving to place her muzzle beneath his; it was a brief gesture of friendship, of respect, and of course, vulnerability. They were here alone, enemy aliens, and their Gods were giving them no guidance, so here there was no ruler and no ruled. They had to stick together, or so the slim Kesuk believed.
RE: i stood for nothing - Kerberos - September 18, 2013
<3
Kerberos listened patiently and silently to the details of Jinx’s vision, feeling that if he would have been able to pale, such as a human, he would have. As it was, his triangular ears lowered slightly, a soft hiss of breath leaving his lips as he pictured it behind his sea-green irises, a soft shudder slithering down his spine. It was no use in asking Jinx if she thought the vision was likely to happen -- the mere fact that she was standing before him, in the flesh, proved that she had very much believed her vision. “How horrible that must have been,” Kerberos breathed softly, his tone condoling and soft. He could not imagine seeing such a devastating and violent vision. “As I said, when I left the Bay was perfectly fine.” He offered once more to Jinx, hoping to soothe his adopted sister the best he could.
Jinx admitted that she was in a boat very similar to him, she was unable to ascertain Sos’ true purpose for her, either. A soft, perplexing frown played at the edges of Kerberos’ muzzle as he considered their situations and their similarities while considering the differences. “I guess….we could spend forever trying to decipher Their intentions but we won’t know until They will us to.” Kerberos could not speak for Jinx but the enigmatic-ness of the entire thing was beginning to drive him a little crazy, but he would take a leaf out of his own book of advice and stop analyzing what he would never know until Atka let him know. For the briefest of moments his sea-green eyes left Jinx’s face to look up at the sky, before they rested back upon the Kesuk woman. While he found the sky beautiful at times, he did not understand it. Not in the complex way that he understood the Sea. Perhaps that why he felt the closest to Atka, sought to worship her primarily, because she allowed him the chance to feel close to his Siren heritage, who he really was despite that he had been, well, born the wrong gender in their eyes.
Eyes fluttered closed when he felt Jinx press her muzzle beneath his as a rush of familiarity washed over him. She was the only thing he knew in this foreign place, so very far from his beloved Sea and the Bay. It was nice, to know that Sos and Atka had seen that Jinx and him find each other. He believed that this reunion was a sign, and Kerberos wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. A soft smile played at the corners of Kerberos’ lips as his eyes slid back open to reveal the jewels colored of the sea. “You know I’ve been trying to decide which sire name to use, but I’ve never been a Nereides, I’m not a true Kesuk so I’m thinking I should stick with what I’ve always been: Aok.” It was who he had been, and who he would always be, no matter what sire name he choose to call himself, and he couldn’t change that. He didn’t want to change who he was. “I know that They haven’t been very clear to us, Jinx…but I feel like They brought us together, here, in this…place.” A stretch of landscapes that he currently had no name for.
RE: i stood for nothing - Jinx - September 20, 2013
She took comfort in his presence, where once she had been so bored by him; where once, she had thought him weird and broken, a wolf who ate seaweed for pleasure, and watched the treacherous sea like a captivating lover. But Kerberos' loyalty had never really wavered, and even now she could not be angry that he had left, not when she herself had as well. She had to agree with his conclusion, and did so with a thoughtful hum and a nod: they had been brought there, and then brought together, purposefully, and were merely unprepared to receive the truth of why. The Divine Bears worked Their magicks and made Their plans, and the wolves were but roles in Their play; but they were pivotal roles, the Chosen Ones, perhaps.
She would've liked to tell him that they had been brought there to renew Shearwater Bay and return it to its roots, one where the Nereides were not immediate family — for Kerberos, no matter his mother, was right in saying he had never been a Nereides, and it was no secret that Lecter, being not a Nereides, had always had an affinity for the Sea, and so having an affinity for the Sea could not be said to be exclusively a Nereides trait — and where the blood of their enemies painted their soils, where they didn't cower from Siku's tyrant reign upon the mountain merely because they were too young to do anything about it, and where leadership was shared properly amongst wolves of differing genders, and not split between two sisters who constantly rivalled one another.
She would've liked to tell him that, but she could not be certain of it either, and what had Shearwater Bay's true roots been, before it became what it was now? She knew it — subconsciously, the knowledge of her parents was inherited by her, and locked behind the curtain of conscious memory where she could not willfully access it — but couldn't begin to imagine it. “You are a Kesuk,” she confirmed sharply, as if it was the only truth, “and a Nereides, and an Aok. But rightly, a Kesuk, with the bravery and the honour of a Kesuk, and the power of a Kesuk. You need not have been my mother's charge to be a Kesuk wolf, though you were.” From whence had come the name “Aok”, she wondered, but did not ask. Who had been his parents, to name him “Aok” and give him up so simply? Jinx had never been the type to like pups, and much admired the Nereides' old traditions in her own private way, but of course, she would sacrifice all her young to her Gods if they so willed it, not just the male ones.
And even then, she might feel her heart wrench for them, even if compelled to the point where it was impossible to refuse. Who had been his mother, to hand him over to Nanuq Kesuk without complaint? And who had been her mother, to require a first-born son as treaty, when she had her own offspring to tend to? Jinx had to remind herself that her mother, first and foremost, was neglectful, but did not wish to think further than that on it. “You can therefore claim any name for yourself,” she continued, revealing none of her innermost thoughts as she smiled warmly, “but I will always regard you as Kesuk and nothing less.”