peace will win and fear will lose

OOC: I remember when the faith was first introduced and Jinx was first born I struggled with what was right and not, but it's all sort of open ended so really anything is right. Most wolves had a spirit animal guide or totem back then. :P Jinx thinks loa do what the gods consider beneath them, so you could play like Hawkeye is possessed by Sos or by a loa, and Jinx will always think it's a loa, everyone differs. It's sort of up to you how you play it! I could dig up the old guide to their religion - before Jinx turned away from Atka and the light part of it, that is - if you would find that useful too!

IC: To Hawkeye's query, she could only lift a shoulder in a sign of uncertainty, as if to say, he rarely makes clear his true purpose. Even Lecter, his devout servant and shaman, had often been befuddled by Sos' guidance. They all sometimes saw the bear - any black bear could take the visage of Sos, they being his divine vessels and children as well as any wolf - but Sos was adept at secrecy. He told wolves riddles and half-truths, and waited for them to figure it out themselves.

It was for this reason that late at night, she wondered if leaving Shearwater Bay to Kaskae, to correct the balance, was the right thing. She wondered if it was instead all part of Sos' plan to overtake the goddess of light... But these were at best momentary concerns cast in the doubtful shadows of her mind, and discarded.

Hawkeye suggested they might as well learn to tolerate one another, and though Jinx saw no reason for them to spend any time together and tolerance was unnecessary, she remained in stoic silence, feigning agreement. Her seawitch was not here to cast bones for her and advise her. Jinx would have to decide alone; she knew the art of bone casting, but hadn't done it since her days heading Shearwater Bay next to Atka's warrior. For now, she could only do as Sos advised, which was to lie in wait and scrutinize for any slip-up revealing a farce on Hawkeye's part, and if she found none, then continue to wait.

"He was not necessarily displeased," Jinx said. "My father was murdered by my aunt when we came squalling into this world. By my mother's account, and Lecter's, they were both Sos'. My father was devout to his cause, faithful to my mother the Warchief, and respectful of Atka. My aunt was a deserter who rose an army to defy my mother." The truth, where Koios had been slain by a Kermode bear (the start of Atka's stand against Sos, perhaps?) had never been told to his cubs. Even Nanuq was skeptical of that claim, and all wholly believed Siku had slain him. "If we are to claim Sos is a righteous and just god, then my aunt would rot in her grave and my father would walk still. He is no such thing. He is Lord of Souls and he covets them to add to his realm, and he is unforgiving and fearsome. He does not even show mercy to those who please him if he chooses to target them; he acts unpredictably, but remaining in his favour makes you valuable, and he will spare you for that. Your brother may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time; Crow Moon brings Sos near our realm, that he may seek the souls of those he deems unworthy, regardless of their inclination toward or against him."

She turned now to her shrine, giving a sidelong look to Hawkeye. She couldn't pretend to understand why Sos had sent Hawkeye here, but it was not to have Jinx teach her sacred words of worship, because there were none. Worship was heartfelt, and no recitation of words would suffice if they were not from the heart, and the heart of Sos' wolves told them what to say. If not for that, which was an impossible thing to teach, then she suspected it was for the simple act of prayer.

"Crow Moon is upon us, as it is every year." The sun had completely disappeared now, leaving the pair in all-consuming darkness. "This close to its end, it is bad luck to be out long beyond dark. Sos hunts weak souls in their dens in the dark. You would do well to leave offerings at his door, to sate his insatiable appetite so he does not consume yours." She had spoken more by now than she had in months, and felt her throat growing dry and hoarse, but continued nonetheless. "This is a shrine to him, to appease him for Crow Moon. Perhaps he guided you here to pray, or add to it. He is especially fond of sea creatures; they are of Atka's realm, and lately they have been at odds." Crow Moon was traditionally in October, but the god and loa were uneasy, so it was not bad to tell Hawkeye it was now, if only to ensure she would act accordingly, if she truly believed she was chosen. Jinx was still skeptical, and selfishly annoyed, but shared her knowledge nonetheless; she could only privately hope Sos would make madness consume her as it had her brother.