Bearclaw Valley [m] It's very easy to take more than nothing

@Pandora @Merrick @Aventus
anyone else is welcome too

She had brought the girl and the coyote to the altar. She was unsure how the witch had incapacitated her, but she didn't much care; she was here and she would be an offering to the bear. And they might gain a new skeptic out if it too.

She led the pair to the altar. It flourished even more now with various bones stained with drops of blood. The elder plant had spread over the top even in the winter—a sign that Ursus would grow and flourish in the spring. 

But the bear required a more substantial offering than the blood she had already given it, her own included. It wanted flesh to sit on the altar and rot away to bones. This is where the coyote came in.

She took a seat, noting the way the sacrifice grew even more wary of what she saw before her. It didn't matter; if she tried to run, she would gain at least one broken leg.

She turned to Pandora. Let's not keep the bear waiting. A smile curved her lips, not at all matching the violent, bloodthirsty feeling rising up in her heart. She could hardly wait to see the creature's blood slowly spill out over stone.

Cameo.

From a wooded spot where he would disappear into the shadows, Aventus watched the proceedings in silence.

He did not know what to make of the small white she-wolf at his mate's side. Had he encountered her out in the wilds, he might have pegged her for a coyote or oversized fox and made short work of her. Even now, knowing she must be at least part wolf for Arielle to bother with her, he had the familiar urge to grab and throttle that he always felt around coyotes. It would be... Difficult to live with such a thing.

Not at all helped by the fearful tribute at their side. Aventus gave the victim a cursory glance, then fixed his moonlight gaze back on his beloved Bruin-heart. He had no interest in disrupting her ceremony with his presence, so remained enveloped in darkness to watch unseen.

merrick melted from the darkeness.
the flame of his single eye fixed to each in turn: arielle. pandora. 
a coyote.
pandora, smeared with effort.
the bearwitch circled gently to the edge of the clearing, smiling at the one among them who would not leave this night.
"well done, pandora. the bear will be pleased."
his attention flickered slowly back to the coyote; he felt a deep and unending thirst rise inside him.
pandora now, commanding the bearwolf's focus.
the scent of arielle's blood was sweet even in the frigid air.

Pandora meets the lovely Arielle then, she urges her to take the coy to an alter. Which has the mutt quirking a soft, but curious brow to her. And alter? Are these wolves religious then? She couldn’t peg them as such, but that’s because doesn’t really know them at all. Even Merrick, who seems to be the only one here’s she’s actually seen before, but she would not claim to know him. 

Let’s not keep the bear waiting. She says and that’s what really concerns Pandora. A bear? Oh no. Pandora doesn’t fuck with bears. Or well she’s caught herself toying with a few because she knows they’re too slow to catch her, but she’s seen the damage they can do. She sincerely hopes a bear will not be making a physical appearance here at the funeral of this young girl. 

Still, she can see the poor coy girl become even more apprehensive of the situation she’s found herself in. Her tail is tucked tightly between thin, spindly legs. Her ears are glued to her skull and her eyes are as wide as saucers. She has fear in her gaze and Pandora thinks it’s just so sweet looking. Kind of gross though, fear wouldn’t look good on her own beautiful face. 

Only then Merrick shows his face, slinking from the shadows just as easily as he seems to always do. So dramatic. She likes the flare. His attention is strictly on Pandora and their sacrifice. And she huffs out a breath and smiles when Merrick praises her. Damn right he better praise her. She hates dirtying her beautiful fur.

Only the girl’s small voice shudders out between them all then. “What are you going to do to me?” She whimpers in question. “Please, I don-“

Pandora interrupts her quickly with a click of her tongue. “Ah, ah, darling. Don’t beg. It not very cute.” She’d purr for the poor woman. “Come this way.” She beckons then.

Pandora would tug on the loose skin of her neck and drag her over to the alter. “Be a good girl and stay put for me, yeah?” She’d order softly, brushing her tail beneath her chin as she moves back to grab her rabbit pelt of herbs. Surprisingly the woman doesn’t move an inch, too frightened to really compute anything that’s happening.

She opens it up to find some of her favorite herbs, but one in particular catches her eye. Ah yes, Lily of the Valley is what they’re called. Pretty little bell shaped flowers, but they’re so deceiving…and deadly when consumed.

She’d grab a mouthful of the poisonous flowers and a few of a smaller different kind. This might come to a surprise to any watching, but she starts dutifully chewing them up in her mouth, but not swallowing. Surely they’d think Pandora would be next to drop dead due to the poisons, but she does this all the time. She even takes the honors of eating some every other day to keep her immunity to said poisons up. 

With her cheek full of a paste she’s made, she steps in front of the girl. “Open up, dear.” Only she shoots her a dangerous look that basically orders her to do so. 

With a swallow, the girl actually feels less scared for a second. She saw the pale witch grab them. They’re just plants. It can’t be that harmful. So she does. She opens her mouth and Pandora eloquently baby birds it into her waiting cavern. Pandora watches expectantly as she chews them and swallows. A grim splits her pretty face then.

“Say ah.” Pandora chimes mischievously opening her maw wide in an imitation of what she wants her to do. 

The coy does it, still shaking in her boots. There’s nothing left in the coy’s mouth and Pandora chuckles with a shake of her head. Ah, stupid girl. Literally just poisoned yourself willingly. Could’ve at least fought it. She thinks. Oh well.

“Perfect. Now just sit back and relax and let the medicine do it’s job.” She purrs softly, putting a paw on her butt so she’d forcefully make her sit on the alter. “Should be in full effect in about five minutes and you’ll feel so much better. Sorry for biting you earlier.” She apologizes in a faux manner, sly smile curling her lips up the entire time.

Merrick arrived soon after they did. He thought the bear would be pleased and she agreed. She nodded her agreement at them both.

She watched silently as the coyote started to beg, the scent of her fear filling the area. The begging might have bothered weaker wolves, but it only made Arielle's heart beat more furiously in her chest. 

To her surprise, the coyote ate the plant willingly, even with all the violent gazes watching her. The coyote's fear made her weak and now she would be allowed to serve a purpose. It was a gift not only to the bear but to the one being sacrificed, even if she couldn't see it.

They all waited in a pregnant pause once the plant had been completely ingested. It was only a few minutes before the coyote started to stumble. The bruin-heart stood then and moved closer. Soon you will belong to the bear. She said this with excitement as the sacrifice finally tripped over her own paws and fell to the ground.

pandora took swift control of the situation.
merrick's face was impassive save for the leap of flames in his single eye;
the fear of the animal surrounded them; the bearking remained a silent observer. but his gaze passed over the dried scarlet that bathed the previously white bib and ruff of their intended newest.
he did not know the herbs that pandora chose to use. it was not his realm. merrick was not present to measure her skill as herbalist but as killer.
the coyote tipped toward the earth, slender muzzle upturned with an expression of confusion.
merrick waited.
five minutes.
he stared down at the sacrifice, steadily breathing.

Of course poison takes a minute to work, especially when being digested, but chewing it makes it act quicker. Plus the amount the pale fox-like creature used was definitely a deathly amount. She would be dead in longer than ten minutes and five minutes has already passed. Mainly spend with Pandora soothing the young girl with her fauxly concerned tone. Telling her that she will be better than okay, she just has to wait. 

And wait they do. Only another three minutes pass and she begins showing signs of the poison taking affect. She coughs incessantly, her eyes become hazy and distance — she’s dizzy. That’s good. That means it’s working just as fast as Pandora expected it to. So much so, eventually she begins hacking up blood. When she starts to gag with the tell tale signs of vomiting, Pandora urges her face away from the alter — off of the alter. 

And then comes the finale. The dance they all do when she poisons someone is usually the same and the girl begins quivering and shaking. Eventually it becomes so intense she’s forced onto her side, falling with a thump. It’s then she begins having a full blown seizure. Frothing from the mouth and convulsing violently and all Pandora does is watch with sick satisfaction. 

Ah, yes, another victim taken by her glorious poisons.

Eventually she would stop and her body would still. Her eyes left unseeing and blank. She’s finally gone, sacrificed to the bear.

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They all watched in silence as the coyote fell to the ground in a writhing heap. The only sounds were the gurgles and grunts from the sacrifice as she seized. It was fascinating. The bruin-heart used plants to heal, and Pandora used them to kill. Arielle was very interested in learning what the pale woman knew. 

When the coyote finally stilled, Arielle walked to her and stood over her—the eyes were wide open in terror, and a pained expression was frozen on her face. Bloody foam bubbled out of her mouth still. The bruin-heart walked behind the corpse and grabbed a hold of its scruff, then she started pulling the carcass up onto the altar, her steps careful and deliberate. If anyone came to help her, she would allow it. 

Once Arielle had positioned the body on the altar just right, she move to stand in front of it. She closed her eyes for a moment and silently called for the bear. When she opened her eyes again, she reached down, clamped her jaws around the coyote's throat, and the ripped it out. She stood over the altar and let the blood drip from her mouth, moving so that she could spread it all over. Blood spilled from the sacrifice's neck, still warm as it slowly covered the stone beneath it. 

Arielle placed the ball of muscle and trachea down behind the body. Then she dipped her front paw in the blood, lifted it, and placed back down on the stone behind the coyote where the oozing blood would not reach. 

The bruin-heart stepped back then and looked to Merrick with a nod. She wanted him to mark the stone too. Then she would nod to Pandora for her to do the same. If she knew her husband was watching from the shadows, she would have asked him to mark the altar too.

the scene was macabre. merrick watched the death travails with a coldly acceptant face, tongue passing across ragged lips as the coyote convulsed upon the sacred earth;
the blackbird queen returned. she stood beside him and merrick turned to look into the indigo eyes seen only by himself.
a sacrifice for ursus.
the scent of blood filled the air. arielle painted with it, was splashed with it; red soaking the earth and all merrick could think was that she seemed a feral priestess in this moment, that his son had chosen well.
pandora became part of ursus in these moments. merrick straightened at the bruin-heart's glance and strode to bloody his paw in the congealing warmth. the stone, marked with his own stamp.
the cunning white she-wolf now belonged to the bear. 
"ursus welcomes you," merrick purred, lifting paw to lap red from between his toes. 
he turned away, melting, melting.

Pandora watches as this other woman rips the coyotes throat out in a nasty display of blood and gore. The blood falls over the alter and she gingerly settles the disconnected flesh behind the body. Pandora watches easily. She’s seen this type of stuff before so it doesn’t truly shock her, she’s just not usually the one to do it. Can’t get her pelt all muddied up with blood of course…kind of like it is right now.

Only then, she places her paw in the puddle of blood and stamps her print to the stone. Oh, this is getting serious isn’t it. They are forcing little Pandora to pledge to their bear god it seems, because she’s nodding at her and Merrick to do the same next. Well, this wouldn’t be the weirdest thing she’s ever done, but for now she might just be a skeptic. 

When Merrick strides forth and marks the alter with his print he’s looking towards her then. 

Ursus welcomes you. He’s says then and Pandora smiles slyly back at him with a nod. Oh, how fun is all this!

So she would eventually move forward and do the same. Putting her much smaller print next to the two others and staring at it. Now is she tied to this pack? Probably. She wonders what they would think if she tried to opt out of her free trial. They probably wouldn’t let her leave then. Oh well, it’s too late now, but the wonder is still there.

So she’d check back with the other woman, hoping she approves of her mark as well and wondering if the ritual is concluded.

Both Merrick and Pandora did as the bear demanded. Arielle watched silently as they both stepped upon the altar, dipped their paw in blood, and then painted the stone with their print. 

The bruin-witch welcomed the petite woman to Ursus. Arielle agreed; this one deserved a chance to prove her worth. The bruin-heart hoped she wouldn't be a disappointment. 

Merrick slipped away quietly and the new skeptic lingered. The healer turned to her. Now I must be alone. She turned to face the altar, closing her eyes and letting the world around her fall away. She would remain there in that position for as long as the bear demanded it.