June 30, 2019, 05:24 PM
The dreams hadn't meant anything to her at first.
She'd all but forgotten that Maegi had prayed for them, on her behalf, when they'd met... But they'd started up during her pregnancy and following the birth of the children, they'd grown in frequency as well as clarity. It occurred to Parvati early on that the dreams were meaningless, that they were just dreams - but in the past week or so, the sense of reality-versus-dream had begun to blur, and now she couldn't be certain. The woman had stopped trying to differentiate between what was factual and what was fantastic, which led to a very confusing morning.
She'd woken in a haze. The babies were not where she'd left them. They were mewling and calling for her, squeaking with their tiny new voices, but as she looked around the cavern (which stretched around her like an immense wasteland, a desert of deep red) they weren't there. After struggling to her paws she began to hunt for them. It felt like her limbs were lined with lead, as if each step upon the iron-rich soil was burning through the pliant flesh of her paws. She wanted to look back upon her route but couldn't quite get her head to swing in accordance to that whim, and after a few seconds of standing, swaying, she forgot all about the need.
Parvati thought she could hear the cawing of a child — a shriek, a needy demanding little voice calling to her. Soon she was walking - running - but going nowhere. She looked down and saw jagged stones blocking her passage and with a whisper, they parted, disintegrating in the wind, swirling, storm-wrought, and then - she was standing in the light. It was blinding and Parvati winced back from it; the mouth of Wolfskull was around her but she couldn't tell if it was dream or not — and then the voice came again, clear and commanding:
It wasn't morning, it was night.
She wasn't in the cave - she was deep in the woods.
The children - where were the children?
The woman focused on that voice, but it didn't remain with her for long. As it faded she began to hear the true sounds of the forest: the scraping of branches against branches, trees leaning against their neighbours, the shudder of a brisk wind to cut against the warmth of the sun that penetrated the canopy in shafts of light. Her head was swimming, and as the dizziness overwhelmed her she pressed herself down among the leaf-litter and curled herself in to a tight ball, unaware she'd left her babies alone in the cavern during her manic sojourn.
She'd all but forgotten that Maegi had prayed for them, on her behalf, when they'd met... But they'd started up during her pregnancy and following the birth of the children, they'd grown in frequency as well as clarity. It occurred to Parvati early on that the dreams were meaningless, that they were just dreams - but in the past week or so, the sense of reality-versus-dream had begun to blur, and now she couldn't be certain. The woman had stopped trying to differentiate between what was factual and what was fantastic, which led to a very confusing morning.
She'd woken in a haze. The babies were not where she'd left them. They were mewling and calling for her, squeaking with their tiny new voices, but as she looked around the cavern (which stretched around her like an immense wasteland, a desert of deep red) they weren't there. After struggling to her paws she began to hunt for them. It felt like her limbs were lined with lead, as if each step upon the iron-rich soil was burning through the pliant flesh of her paws. She wanted to look back upon her route but couldn't quite get her head to swing in accordance to that whim, and after a few seconds of standing, swaying, she forgot all about the need.
Parvati thought she could hear the cawing of a child — a shriek, a needy demanding little voice calling to her. Soon she was walking - running - but going nowhere. She looked down and saw jagged stones blocking her passage and with a whisper, they parted, disintegrating in the wind, swirling, storm-wrought, and then - she was standing in the light. It was blinding and Parvati winced back from it; the mouth of Wolfskull was around her but she couldn't tell if it was dream or not — and then the voice came again, clear and commanding:
Parvati,it boomed around her, and she became aware that the earth no longer housed her body, it was the forest. The trees quaked, their bodies extending in to the dark sky like shadow puppets elongated by flickering lights.
It wasn't morning, it was night.
She wasn't in the cave - she was deep in the woods.
The children - where were the children?
Parvati, come home.The voice boomed, and as she struggled to look around she finally managed to look over her shoulder; the cave had become a giant wolf's head as its name might imply, but it was covered in thick green vines. Layered with triangular leaves that looked more like a carapace of shifting green scales. She felt dizzy. The voice continued —
You follow the wrong gods. Your children are not green-blooded; they are tainted, they are wrong.Was that why she couldn't love them? She was a child of the Green, but their father — Maegi's gods — this pestilence the wolves of the woods worshiped, had they ruined them?
Yes, you see it. You know it. They cannot be.
The woman focused on that voice, but it didn't remain with her for long. As it faded she began to hear the true sounds of the forest: the scraping of branches against branches, trees leaning against their neighbours, the shudder of a brisk wind to cut against the warmth of the sun that penetrated the canopy in shafts of light. Her head was swimming, and as the dizziness overwhelmed her she pressed herself down among the leaf-litter and curled herself in to a tight ball, unaware she'd left her babies alone in the cavern during her manic sojourn.
Just a dream,she slurred a whisper against the tail tucked against her snout,
Jussa dream, hadha lays haqiqiun...
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Messages In This Thread
its much too strong. - by RIP Parvati - June 30, 2019, 05:24 PM
RE: its much too strong. - by Tundra - July 04, 2019, 02:28 PM
RE: its much too strong. - by RIP Parvati - July 07, 2019, 08:39 PM