Firestone Hot Springs Sweet mother, Sweet mother

@Dante

She had travelled around the land known as Teekon Wilds for sometime now. Her goddess, Mephala, had sent her there on some business with a pack here, but she did not know which one. Mephala rarely revealed much. The priestess looked for a place where she could perform a seeing ritual, one that would let her see a part of her thread in the webs of life. It was a simple ritual, one that did not involve the heavy tattooing and sacrifices of other, more complex rituals. All she needed was nightshade, her goddess' sacred plant, and a hot place, like a fire or a warmed stone.

Or a spring.

The dark priestess happened upon the springs by chance. It was a perfect place to summon her goddess for a brief amount of time. Meldresi dropped the nightshade into the steaming liquid. It would not affect any other creature who drank the liquid (if they were stupid enough to do so, the water was scalding), since the plant's poisonous qualities would be burned away by the heat.

She breathed in the fumes of the nightshade-water, her indigo eyes rolling to the back of her head as she spoke the seeing words. "Sweet mother, sweet mother, reveal my life's thread to me....Sweet mother, sweet mother, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear..."

Dante was exhausted, mentally as well as physically. The pack's turmoil was hitting him hard, moreso than he'd like to admit, enough to make him take a rare jaunt across the borders. He needed to get away from the sorrow. It was selfish, yes, but he knew he would be the better for it when he returned. Besides, he wasn't going to go far, and the borders still needed protected. Now more than ever.

He was headed for the perfect spot to escape for a while; the Firestone springs. There he could unwind for a bit, forget himself and the pack's troubles, then return ready to throw himself into it once more. For a wolf used to silence, saying the oppressive gloom of the Plateau was too much was truly saying something.

It seemed he wasn't the only one with the idea, however. When he arrived another was already there, a gorgeous she-wolf who seemed to be chanting something. She finished just as Dante approached, but he hung back. He didn't want to interrupt or bother her if she were using the place for her own sanctuary. She was there first. He could find another spot.

A series of images reached her then: two white wolves, one large and strong-looking with orange eyes and black paws, the other older looking, ragged and blood stained with ice-blue eyes. Then she saw the mountain, proud and strong, silver-tipped. Finally there was a circular mountain range surrounding a green valley, with a large lake and an island. Then it all faded to black.

Her vision cleared a few moments later and the black-furred priestess shook her head to clear it further. She knew where to go now. Meldresi flicked the nightshade out of the water and then prepared to immerse herself in the hot springs when she saw another wolf. A male, silver furred and silver eyed. The priestess smirked and slid into the water, noticing his reluctance. "Come on in, there's no need to be shy....the water's fine and I won't bite..."

The silence hung, not completely awkward but a little uncomfortable, as he tried to decide whether to attempt to find another spot or take a stab at this one. Before he could come to a definite conclusion, however, she called him out on his reluctance. He stepped warily over, her smirk setting him ill at ease for some reason.

"I'm sorry for intruding. I just needed a place to think." To forget, more like, at least for a while. He didn't state that last part though. It was none of this stranger's business, the troubles of his pack. Old habits died hard and Dante would never even hint at his own pack's state of affairs to a wolf of another pack. What would have brought death in his homeland could still cause dire consequences here. He wasn't willing to take that chance.

Picking a pool next to the one that she was in, he stepped into the water, closing his eyes in appreciation as the warm liquid soothed his tired muscles. Maybe once Peregrine was feeling a bit better he could be convinced to tread across the borders as far as here. It would probably do wonders for his leg. Opening his eyes, he studied his newfound companion, trying to get a read on her. It wasn't easy.

"No need to apologize." she said, sinking deeper into the water. The priestess sighed a bit in bliss. It had been a while since she felt this relaxed. But she mustn't keep her guard down. Who knows who is watching.

Her eyes were half-closed when she noticed the silver wolf studying her. Well, trying. She hid a little chuckle and fully opened her eyes. "Where are you from? Are you in a pack around here?"

She caught his eye and he couldn't help but look down, knowing that he was being rude. He was just a bit on edge and mistrustful of strangers, especially now with the pack going through such a rough time. She had given him no reason to treat her inconsiderately.

"I do hail from a pack, Blacktail Deer Plateau. My name is Dante. If you don't mind my asking, do you? Or are you just passing through?" He wished to know for more reasons than simple curiosity. She was pretty close to plateau lands. Her answer might let him know why.

(Sorry it's brief, posting from a phone is no fun)

"Not currently, but I am looking to join a pack called Silvertip Mountain." she absentmindedly stirred the hot water with one of her paws. At the time she didn't know that most of the packs didn't like Silvertip for their aggressiveness. But she hadn't even met them yet. "My name is Meldresi." The priestess swam a little closer to Dante. "Tell me, how are the Silvertip pack? Are they good or...?" she left the question hanging.

Silvertip Mountain... a pack that Dante had actually considered joining for a time. They seemed a strong unit, and while aggressive, he had met some whose company he had very much enjoyed who belonged to that pack. "A good choice," he said, nodding. "Though nothing beats the Plateau, I can respect that." Now that he was a member, he was fully loyal to the idea that his pack was the paramount of strength and cohesion. That was how it was supposed to be, naturally, or what was he even doing there?

"I have heard tell that they are strict and rue outsiders. Not a bad thing, considering a pack has to protect their borders. Just be wary on approach." He watched her paw circle in the water, eyes drawn to the distracting motion. Breaking out of it, he took a breath, then submerged his head momentarily, enjoying the warmth as it soothed the strained muscles of his eyes and shoulders. Surfacing, he blinked water from his eyes, then shook his head to rid himself of some of the wetness.

Then he placed a forepaw on the side of the pool, looking over at her. He had been trying to decide whether or not he should ask, but really, what did he have to lose? "What was that, by the way? The words you were saying when I approached?" He asked out of no malice, just sheer curiosity.

Meldresi hadn't heard of this Blacktail Deer Plateau pack, but she didn't hold anything against them. If they were a good pack, fine. But her goddess was not interested in the strong-willed, the good, the noble. And neither was she. Unless she was tasked to corrupt a good heart.

Silvertip Mountain was an aggressive, no nonsense pack. Just what she needed, they must be so aggressive for a reason. A betrayed trust? Paranoia? She would find out soon enough. Dante submerged his head underwater for a moment, then resurfaced, shaking the water from his head. She was going to question him further, but he had a question for her first.

"It was a prayer." she said simply. If he wanted to know, then that was it. She hoped that he wouldn't press further. Religion was a touchy subject for most.

Prayer was actually something that Dante had some experience. He himself still sometimes offered his thoughts to the great god Jupiter and his fellows. Mostly, however, to his patron Apollo, god of the sun, knowledge, and healing. His sister had sent her prayers to him so he had seen fit to follow suit. While he never expected a response, something in it soothed his soul regardless.

"A sacred phrase then. I apologize, I did not mean to pry." He looked at her, chagrined. "If it helps, I did not hear most of the words. It sounded lovely regardless." He had no clue what her statement had been about, if w had he might have seen them as less attractive. As it was, the tone she had used made the entire thing rather musical. Dante's were always more of random, uninteresting ramblings.

"There is no need for apology." She said to Dante as she waded in the water. "You did not know I was here." It was good that he didn't hear all she was saying. One might get suspicious.

Meldresi turned to Dante again. "Do you worship any gods?" She was curious to what false gods these Teekon wolves worshipped.

Dante was not at all put off by her question. He loved to have discussions about such things as long as both sides respected the views of the other. She did not seem the type to scorn his views, though he had been wrong before.

"I do. I hail from a land that pays it's respects to Jupiter, king of the gods, and his family. Though I have forsaken much about my homeland, I hold true to those beliefs." It is no fault of the gods that my father's ancestors so twisted their intentions, he added silently. "They are flawed gods, unlike many others I have heard of, but it is this that makes me believe all the more." What perfect deity could exist when such pain and suffering took hold? Besides that, he wondered how some could even hope to measure up in such a god's eyes. Or how such a perfect deity could begin to care about the flawed creatures that walked the earth.

"Do you pray to gods then? Or do they have another purpose?" He asked, not wanting to push but into the conversation now.

Sorry for the wait. > _ >

He spoke of a god she was familiar with: Jupiter. Or Zeus, as she sometimes heard. The gods of that religion didn't seem like gods to her. No, they were more like normals wolves with an obsene amount of powers, oh, and immortality. They were too wolf-like to be worshipped in her opinion. Her goddess and her kind were not perfect, but they were too removed from them to be ever considered wolf-like.

"I am a priestess of Mephala, a Daedric Goddess. There are seventeen of them altogether, Daedric Gods, some call them Daedric Lords or Princes." She said as a response. The priestess didn't say what exactly Mephala was a goddess of and left that to mystery, only if he didn't ask.

Totally fine, now I need to apologize. I tend to post slowly (obviously) so no worries about keeping up with a thread for my sake o.o

Edited to end!

Dante nodded. To some, seventeen may seem a lot, but in his too there were many who held the title of godhood. Always it seemed, however, that one ruled above the rest. He wondered if this Mephala was that queen.

It did not occur to him to ask what it was this goddess presided over. He was well aware that his religion was unlike many others in that. Many worshipped gods of vague domain, their gaze expected to reach all things at once. He wordlessly assumed that this was the case with hers. The other did not occur to him. "Daedric? Is that hailing from your homeland?" This was usually the case, though some would convert to beliefs that they came across if the lessons hit home.

At that moment, though, he realized how much time had passed. "I shall perhaps have to speak with you more later, if we meet again. I should be getting back." He would have liked to have heard about her home, but she didn't seem into sharing anyway. It was a bit of a travel back to the Plateau and he wished to be back before nightfall. "It was nice meeting you, Meldresi." And with that he departed.