Stavanger Bay Spirit cold

A jellyfish she truly was, flaccid and spineless and near to quivering with the fear she felt; the bitter scent of it assaulted Szymon’s nostrils and he wished to see it gone. If only she had given herself wholly over to the Sea! Her spirit guide, spurned by her rejection before the bond had ever been forged, might have helped her and strengthened her — yet now that she had turned her back on the Sea, she would be lucky not to be cursed by it. Whether or not the golden child wanted to sit through the lesson, Szymon would see it done — he would not have her fester in ignorance when perhaps explaining this could open her veiled eyes to the glory that she remained willfully blind to. The black-banded Cairn, for all his prowess in battle, was woefully inexperienced when it came to the inner workings of a puppy’s mind. Having endured abuse throughout his childhood, he had found succor in the Sea, his spirit guide, and his brother, and he could not understand why this small creature did not feel the same.

Having gathered his thoughts, reassured that the blue-eyed girl was as comfortable as she would ever be given her anxiety, “Y-You are y-y-young, but old enough to know — w-w-wolves are b-born of the earth. F-Few wolves are b-b-blessed by the S-Sea as y-y-you are.” He cast her a sidelong glance but did not look overtly at her, unsure as to whether she understood how lucky and fortunate she truly was. “The S-Sea g-g-gave you to this l-land; now, it is y-y-your birthright. Sk-Skellige and Amayo care f-for you though y-y-you are not of th-their b-bodies. Th-The c-c-ceremony asks f-for the blessing of the S-Sea for all w-wolves who inhabit this land.” He paused for breath, and to silently loosen his jaw, his tongue flicking reflexively as though he had something caught in his throat. Long passages of speech could create within the young wolf a feeling of needing to gag or retch. “You are s-s-small and f-frightened; I was the s-same when I was young,” he murmured, his voice reaching a new level of quiet. He was not precisely ashamed of his past, but he preferred to bottle it up and lock it away.

“Y-You were to r-r-receive a s-spirit guide, to h-help s-strengthen you,” he told her. “A c-creature born of the S-Sea as w-we c-c-could never be. The b-b-blood is c-cleansing, to p-purify you.”