Phantom Hollow To Drown the Dove •joining•

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Imprisoned, banished, into a nexus of my own design...
Now Time mocks me, and my sentence is Gravity.

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They had arrived! Relief almost consumed the Witch, but adrenaline kept her steadfast. And with urgency in her heart yet collective serenity in her voice, she called for whoever called these hollows home. This had to be where Marruz stayed- it smelled of ominous and bedraggled stories that stopped only as far as the chain which held the monsters at bay. It smelled of legend, but born in newly forged iron, freshly tanned leather, an infant grimoire rather than an older tome. @Marruz should have been here- if not, who was? 

Unaware that the alphas were @Nocturnal and @Damien, the Divine held herself at bay from crossing the threshold of this place without given word. Unlike the realm above, boundaries were put upon this plane, individuals rathering space to selfishly call their own while their Creators relished the energy combinations that came from two different  Celestials unifying. Energy was the ultimate ecstasy. 

Garnets garnished this hollow, dappling across aplenty to see in all of its forlorn sights, traveling where it was her and her escort could yet not. 
But patience, my dear.

patience.

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But every sky will build my throne.

 

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He stalked along the borders on his usual patrol, restless as ever and vigilant in his mission to keep unwanted traffic out of the hollow. By this point, there was no doubting that the pack had claimed these woods as their own, even if it was temporary, so the beast wouldn't tolerate any intrusion across the borders. So, it was much to his frustration that the scent of a stranger filled his nostrils as he inspected a rock to check the markers there. He lifted his head and scanned the horizon before darting in the direction of the scent. 

He came upon the woman not too far from where he had first scented her, and he stalked towards her, stopping when they were face to face. His cold gaze studied her for a few quiet moments before he finally spoke. You better have a good reason for standing at our borders, the beast growled. It better be a damn good reason, too; Midar wasn't in the mood for bullshit.

Unable to withstand the idea of leaving a pregnant female to her own devices, Eilonwy stalked behind her hoping that she knew what she was doing and had a remote idea of where she was going. She seemed lucid and healthy enough to make the journey, and so Eilonwy just kept her company, promising herself that this was all she could take from her (hardly) merry vacation, and that she would go back to Chusi as soon as it was over.

When they arrived at the place Zafina thought was the right one Eilonwy stayed back just behind the woman expecting to be met by the father of her unborn pups. But the male that met them didn't seem to recognize Zafina, or at the very least he didn't seem to want her near. Eilonwy said nothing, and instead kept back and hoped Zafina could handle it.

This will just be a cameo sort of post since Eilonwy is supposed to have brought her here but I don't wanna be roleplaying with myself lmao you can skip Eilonwy in future rounds

He'd was accompanying Midar in his patrolling duties when the Lieutenant seemed to catch a trail worthy of further inspection. Soon after, Damien too picked up the scent, and overly protective as he was of his family in these times he followed after his shadow-cloaked partner to better deal with whatever knocked at their door.

The trail led to a couple of females, which Damien would have simply chased out if it weren't for the pungent smell of milk and the rounded belly that the red-eyed one was carrying. Midar was quick to snap at the duo, but Damien didn't hold back on his remark. You're pregnant, he said. he would know it, he had just been through all of it with Nyx. But with that additional info, Damien was more than eager to hear out what the female had to say for herself.

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Imprisoned, banished, into a nexus of my own design...
Now Time mocks me, and my sentence is Gravity.

---

She and her escort had come and were immediately under two identically cold gazes. One, a beast of obscenely pitch colors, he could have been considered black hole. The aura he radiated was a selfish one, as all collapsed stars were, gurgling in a spiral demands and harsh grit that could bring ruin physic’s laws. It was Midar, and she could see the loss of something dear in his abruptly smooth indigo jewels. Silence was what he was met with, as the Witch was easily inspected by the larger of the two, a male whom was clearly related to something grander, near prehistoric as his girth made her question whether he truly was lupine, or a newly refound dire wolf. 
His irises reminded her of freshly born novae-

“With the spawn of Melphala’s taint, I am- and it is by the Dread Father’s purpose and my escort’s assist that I am alive, and well.” She would feed them the same names Marruz had fell upon her ears, and though they were no gods or goddesses, no daedric princes of her own, every Celestial and Ancient had multipurpose names...these were simply her friends, her family in the Above. In the stars, she had home. Here, she had to use manipulation, to enchant and possess to be free of the fangs of these mutant sized beasts. 

“Given to me by your Marruz, and I seek to lay them where their blood be strongest at.”

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But every sky will build my throne.

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His gaze shifted to the second female as she hovered behind the dark woman. His suspicion swelled, darkening his expression further. Damien was at his side then, pointing out what the beast had failed to notice at first, although now that his leader said it, he noticed the telling swell of her abdomen. It didn't soften him to her presence here, though, and it infuriated him even more that Marruz had bred without ensuring he had such a right. And now, the woman he had impregnated was here, demanding to be given a place in their ranks and for them to allow her children to be a drain on their resources. It was not his right to create new life, the lieutenant pointed out, his tone cold and accusatory. Perhaps the only thing keeping him from running them off was the fact that the life in question was Melonii. In the end, it was Damien's decision whether or not to allow them entrance, and so the beast said nothing more for now.

A frown grew ever deeper as the red eyed woman spoke her reasons for seeking them out. It turned out that Marruz had found himself some relief with her and as a result of it she was now expecting his spawn. Midar was quick to point out the obvious: The litter had no right to exist, not by his law, not by his consent, but he couldn't help to think that, perhaps, it did serve his interests enough for him to hear the witch out.

My cousin is right, Maruz had no right to plant the Melonii seed on you he agreed, perhaps being redundant on the fact but he needed it to come across the right way. He alone had the power to decide whether the pups in question would survive, for regardless of the woman's roots the blood of his family ran through their veins, and he was the Melonii Sovereign. But it sounded as though the woman was respectful enough of their blood to seek them out for the litter's whelping, and that Damien could appreciate. You understand these pups are mine to claim, don't you? he said, ... Should I chose to accept them, he clarified. He was not a sheep anymore, he knew what manipulation looked like and he knew that words could easily sweeten an ear should they be the words one was eager to hear. This woman was no different than him in that aspect, and as that, her attempts at screwing him over were severely endangered.

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Imprisoned, banished, into a nexus of my own design...
Now Time mocks me, and my sentence is Gravity.

---

Silence. It was all she allowed to inhabit her mind on the forefront, as she wanted none of her usual mistakes to interfere with the business of a motherhood. She would need her internal magic to win this for her, her natural prowess in arcane jurisdiction. She needed this. 
Otherwise, her spawn would perish. 
If they hadn’t already, for her wretched sins could have come back to repay her the debt she had inflicted upon circumstance, alone. Karma, as it was called in this universe, and she knew the Celestial who ran it with a pendulum’s tick. What a bitch.

”At these accusations, I can and will say I did not ask for this litter. I did not ask for the moons that I was made to endure the aches and sicknesses that came with this burden. Yet,” she paused, turning a set of glowing garnets to the wilds from which she had traveled from with her escort. “I am pleased to have been chosen for such. Should they be accepted, you may keep the young. I am not fit caring for the spawn of Meldresi’s bloodline.”

Ah yes, she knew of Meldresi. The ebonian Night Mother who began the helix of spawn, the devil eyes of lavender amethyst, of shining hues of sealine depths across the scant of light within coat gleams. It was clear how inbred this family of wolves were, but it was something she could expect, and respect. That Meldresi was as close to Celestial livelihood that any mortal could achieve. She seemed to know that her genes would be strongest if they only stuck with itself, despite the mutual fatality or passive flaw of birth defects. Her instilling inbreeding within her family...Zafina was near sad for not having met with the wise demi-goddess. 
Especially for how Slade has spoken of her.

“Even with taking the pups, I will offer my existence under your claim.”
While it still sickened her to serve mortals.

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But every sky will build my throne.

 

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It seemed like a fair enough trade off--a place among their ranks for a claim over the unborn Melonii growing in her belly. She would get to have her brood in the safety of their claim, and they would get more future soldiers and followers of their beliefs. 

It seemed the decision was made, and so he merely stared at the witch, distrust still in his violet gaze but acceptance of her presence here nonetheless. He would be keeping an eye on her regardless until she earned the right to be here on more than the promise of the life growing inside her and proved she could be trusted.

Damien shot a sideways glance at Midar when the red eyed witch made her case. She started with expressing her indifference towards the pups, suggesting that it had been Marruz who had forced it upon her, which Damien found it hard to believe. It did not sit well with him that someone would reduce the chance of mixing their blood with his own to an inconvenience, and it wasn't getting Zafina any points.

Then came the mention of Meldresi, and Damiens ears perked up instinctively. At first he thought that maybe Marruz had told her about the night queen in their encounter, bit the young acolyte knew that he wasn't from Meldresi's bloodline. She had gotten that idea somewhere else, and if it was her impression that Damien would be so easily manipulated into thinking that he owed the pups anything because of their shared blood she was horribly mistaken. The fact that she would offer The Melonii her servitude had more weight in itself than everything else together.

It took him a moment to make a choice, but Damien wasn't stupid and could clesrly see the value of more bodies under his service even if they woukd have to make a bigger effort to keep them fed and well for a while. Phantom Hollow wasnt lush or abundant, but The Melonii were willful and they could make it up for the adversity.

Pale, icy eyes looked up and down at the dark girls, evaluating them coldly. Find her a place to whelp. We can decide on them later. he instructed Midar referring to the pups. Then he turned to the woman's younger companion with a cold stare and yet thoughtful merciful words: you will be better off elsewhere, a suggestion that woukd save her from having to find out how dreadful life could be for a wolf of darkness. She didnt have what it took to be recruited.

Without much else to say or hear Damien left the woman at the capable hands of his lieutenant, and went back into the den where his lover and his own pups expected him.

Fading for us!

 

Imprisoned, banished, into a nexus of my own design...
Now Time mocks me, and my sentence is Gravity.

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The Divine felt her heart lean for following the consort who had comforted her journey tricefold- but her spawn pulled her thoughts away with indiscriminate heave if contractions. They were hard enough to make the Goddess wince, and she felt her body shift a bit as the pups moved within her. One lasting look fell upon the woman who would be the last to have seen Zafina of sane mind before she fell away with the cult.

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But every sky will build my throne.

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