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+--- Thread: Bearclaw Valley a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea (/showthread.php?tid=50848)
a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - April 09, 2022
Mature Content Warning
This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: graphic description of organ removal
in the practice of haruspicy, most vital is the correct handling of entrails
ursus was shaken, a great beast forced to limp and stumble. she could feel it, even without having set eyes upon the bear-prince's cracked crown.
the desired organ is revealed by carefully peeling back the layers encasing it
it reeked of weakness. in such cases one's faithfulness tends to rise, as mortals by nature turn to the divine when they feel cosmically wronged.
first, one should look for obvious irregularities, such as growths or unhealthy colour
but not in this case. the faith was wavering.
then, the full organ is extracted from the body, as to allow for closer inspection from all angles
it infuriated her.
afterwards, it is precisely dissected for a clear internal view
she thought they'd know, her cousins by a starved cur begging by the first fire. that their minds would be unclouded, their beliefs pure. that they'd know.
finally, the organ is
the slick liver was crushed by teeth, blood seeping out like juice from a pomegranate.
for a moment, bernadette was stunned by her own lack of self-control, and froze, essence dripping down her chin, staring blankly ahead into the thickened evening shadows.
then she spat it out, the organ hitting the stone ground with a wet sound.
a hopeless rage was building up within the beardog; her bitter disappointment immense. the bruin-witch should've brought her closer to understanding the Powers, their meeting all but orchestrated by Them, this pack all but made for her.
the dog's nape bristled, stained teeth bared. she stood mere feet away from the thoroughly dissected corpse of the former starbone, @Stryx , the dead old woman's ribs gaped open to reveal the bounty of organs, all useful tools for divination if one knew how to handle them.
and bernadette knew. she'd studied, she'd learned, but somehow, somehow, she was still no closer than she was as a whining newborn whelp - if poor teachers haven't directed her farther away.
a doggish growl rose out the stilrift, soon followed by a snarl as the dogwoman tore into the days-dead corpse, all carefulness gone.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - April 09, 2022
The days since Ursus had been betrayed were long and full of anger and sadness. She spent much of her time caring for Aves. Even if he hadn't been injured, she would have sought only his company. Her heart was broken over the traitors, she was racked with guilt over the children escaping. The only one she knew she could truly count on was the bruin-jaw.
But they had to eat, and she needed to replenish some of her plants, so today, she had made herself leave mosskeep. She clutched a bundle of plants in her jaws as she made her way past stillrift. She could barely even look at the place. She had left Stryx's body down there to rot. It seemed fitting for the traitor.
The bruin-heart froze when she heard the angry sound from down inside the rift. Who would be down there?
Arielle set the plants down and carefully made her way down, her stomach turning as she was reminded of all the terrible things that had happened the last time she was there.
The beardog was the one who had cried out. The woman poured over the traitor's carcass, and it was then that Arielle saw what the woman had done.
A low growl rolled from her chest.
What are you doing?she demanded to know. This body was not hers to use. The bear had been wronged and it whispered to her in her dreams and from the shadows at night when everything was quiet. The spirit was angry and this would only make things worse.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - April 09, 2022
while humans thought otherwise, among quadrupedal scholars it was widely accepted that it was the liver that housed all things of value for an animal's spirit (with the exception of herbivores, who claimed it was the stomach). with it ruined, however, the novice haruspex needed turn to the alternative option, which would be the tough meat of the heart, much less conductive to prophecies, but useful in a pinch.
her agry jaws tore at the days-old wolfmeat until the glistening dark organ was revealed. her paws dug at the surrounding tissue until they too glistened, just as dark, and eventually the heart was out, dangling by the thick aorta out her mouth, and the supplicant stood proud.
the voice cut trough her, primarily because it was unexpected. bernadette froze, and her shadowed eyes moved to look at the bruin-heart. she hadn't sensed the other's approach.
with stilted movements of one still gripped by strong emotions, the beardog lowered the organ between her frontpaws. when her head rose again, the usual placid expression was upon the chow's features again.
"haruspicy." she stated, not even assuming the she-wolf would be familiar with the concept, but wishing for a moment of feeling more educated than another. "divination trough internal organs." was all she said.
her posture was wholly neural, expect for the traitorous wagging of her tail, twin to the human habit of bouncing one's knee when under stress.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - April 14, 2022
Rage surged through her veins at the sight before her. This was not what the bear had demanded.
The bear has no use for the organs of a traitor,she said with deceptive calm. Underneath that, she was fighting the urge to rip the beardog's throat out too and watch her blood mix with the dried mess of Stryx's blood.
She is meant to rot down here and that is all.Arielle took a step forward, anger hardening the lines of her face.
Leave this area now.There would be no room for discussion, and that would be clear in the violent anger now present in her firelight eyes.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - April 16, 2022
bernadette maintained her dispassionate bearing.
"the bear might not, but a student of it does." she felt as if explaining the concept of colours to a blindman. "among many... it is the disbelieving, that make for best conductors of divine messages."
thinking little of the clear aggression in the bruin-heart's face, the dogwoman turned back to the organ between her forelegs. "if i can - properly - dissect the heart, i should be able to, discern, the cause of the medic's loss of faith."
she remained unguarded, unconcerned.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - April 17, 2022
The bear's will is your will,she replied coldly, feeling her anger begin to morph into rage.
The bear has no use for any part of this traitor, and so neither should you. She is meant to rot here and that is all.
Arielle took a step forward.
I don't care why she betrayed us,the bruin-heart said, her lip lifting as she felt her control slipping. She moved forward and snapped her teeth at the beardog.
Leave.She would not give Bernadette another chance.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - April 29, 2022
the chow's natural brows creased further in annoyance. just as she lifted her head to give another retort, teeth snapped before her face.
she was momentarily shocked. the feeling quickly reshaped tself into a well-boiled irritation.
these people, they were ignorant. how could she ever have hoped to learn anything from them? yes, blind loyalty to a single deity gave one unique views not found anywhere else - but what good were they if one remained blind to all the other forces clearly interwoven within the cosmic tapestry?
the dark woman ground her teeth, but her posture was fixed into one of docility. indignatious rage boiled within her, hidden by the wrinkles and creases of her face, and she let a portion of it out by batting away the traitor's heart, the organ leaving a slick trail as it rolled around the ground.
bernadette was silent, gaze downcast, for a long moment after that, sorting her thoughts until a good sentence came to her mind.
"...you'd bare fangs at a pregnant woman?"
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - May 03, 2022
This one might prove unfit for Ursus. She had her own beliefs, which meant she likely had little room left for the bear. It would not do.
And now she was pregnant.
Until I am sure that you are worthy of the bear, your children mean nothing to me.Who even was the father, anyway. Some random guy who also didn't serve the bear? Arielle had very little faith in this woman and her spawn.
Really, she wanted the beardog out of her sight. The ripped open carcass of the traitor was pissing her off the longer she looked at it.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - May 10, 2022
the she-wolf's words served only to clench the chow's jaws, else some awful word might escape them.
"worthy of the bear"? moments ago, with muzzle still stuck in stale guts, bernadette would have thought it king. was it not the point of her rank to study and prove it? but now, ideologically wronged, she saw the bruin-heart as mere idolater, along with the rest of her uneducated clansmen.
things were better while the witch still lived, the bitch thought bitterly. if only a blood-feud hadn't seen him killed at the fangs of one by same blood his own. as befit such savages.
the thought of merrick reminded her of another thing.
"bruin-heart." bernadette began. "there was a pact."
"my firstborn to the bruin-witch. with him dead, what befalls the child?"
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - May 11, 2022
Arielle was deep in her anger, fueled by the recent betrayals and audacity of the beardog. For a moment, she considered running her off; she could have her spawn somewhere else.
But then she mentioned the bruin-witch and it felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. Merrick was gone. His death had been the catalyst to the explosion that happened within the valley. The explosion that had left them grieving more losses. But the bearking's absence was felt the most. She didn't know what his plans were for the woman's first born, but it felt wrong to disregard them.
The muscles of her face and jaw were tense with the effort to keep her despair from her expression.
I don't know,she answered after a moment of silence.
I need to seek the bear's guidance and speak with the bruin-jaw.There was no easy answer here.
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Innominate - May 14, 2022
a curt nod. at least in this the heart was reasonable. some pacts not even death could sever - if anything, it made them more potent.
the bearwoman bent her head, submissive now that the other had seen light of reason.
"i will await your ruling."
a buzzing hum informed her that flies had found the traitor's remains. bernadette spared a look at the heart, deflated and mauled.
"what should i do with those?"
wrap up and leave it up to you n chelsie? :o
RE: a[m]plius lava me ab iniquitate mea - Arielle - May 16, 2022
sounds good!
Arielle looked to the carcass of the traitor, the heart a blob of flesh and blood sitting near the body. Anger surged within her again.
Leave it. The traitor will rot in here where she belongs.
She looked over the beardog for a moment and then turned and walked away, jumping up to climb from the rift without another word. She would need to wait for the right time to talk to the bruin-jaw.