peace will win and fear will lose

OOC: That's right! Ruiros is based off Bear Moon from SWB. The rest of the SWB seasons are on this site, under Rituals, along with all the other info! You can prefer to use the Bon Dye seasons by name if you like, if you have access to them, since I've lost that information but it'd be what Hawkeye learned in BD.

IC: Although Jinx was annoyed to be corrected - what harm was there in deception, when it better served Sos? - there was a wry tug at the corners of her lips, as though she had realized something funny, but didn't comment on it. Hawkeye had been a Bon Dye wolf, she reminded herself, and the seasons had been the same, if not cast under different monikers. Jinx would return to her older beliefs, just as her mind had returned to that of her ancestral wolves, away from the compassion she ordinarily showed. She could abide a tense truce, but there was no love lost for wolves who did not like her. Not like there had once been.

"Bear Moon, yes," she purred in the darkness, letting her lips pull into a tight grimace. "A time for contemplation and being born anew. But I have missed the bloodletting and the hunt of Amarok. I need make amends for that, and so, my shrine stands. It is Crow Moon for me, so long as I stand short of Sos' demands." That said, Hawkeye departed, presumably to make her contributions. As the moon rose to illuminate the sky, the pale wolf sat vigil over her shrine, unsure whether it was because she was compelled to remain, refreshed to once more be instructing of her faith, or because she didn't trust Hawkeye alone with her carefully constructed shrine. Sos was not terribly unforgiving of missing Crow Moon, since his appetite had been sated by the blood of Atka, and yet... The world had not descended into darkness. The goddess could not truly be gone, only spurned.

Hawkeye returned just as Jinx was yawning deeply and considering returning to her home. The dark furred Blacktail Alpha bore a sea star in her mouth, a good enough offering for a first go at it. She would have chosen something more lively, but she had been living under her god's care for her whole life, so her reverence and practice were more attuned to him. "Good," she said somewhat begrudgingly. She was weary of the feud, and the loa had made clear Sos' intent for Hawkeye. She could not bring herself to be hateful, not while Hawkeye was at least listening. She had Pied to deal with already.

"What words you speak come from you," she said, "if you speak them. They are not always required." She stood and stretched languidly, keen to be out of stressful company and back in the embrace of her sequoia den, where comfort came easily. She would return to tend the shrine every few days. She did not expect Hawkeye to make the trip, though, so she said, "you may build your own if you feel up to it. Find ground you consider sacred. This isle is like an isle back home, upon which our altar of sacrifice sat. I thought an isle fitting." After thinking a moment, she said, "places bears walk are best suited. Sometimes a bear will eat of your offerings, and this is a joyous sign. Bears are sacred children of Sos and Atka and must never be harmed. You never know when the gods look through their childrens' eyes." A soft sigh, and then, "I ought to get back. Akhlut will expect me."

Upon realizing she had mentioned their sacred Bear Altar, Jinx paused in turning to head away, and lowered her head almost ominously. "I will warn you," she said by way of parting, "that Sos and even Atka have a preference for true sacrifice. The sacrifice of a wolf's life will win their favour, protection, and blessing for a whole year for a pack. But it must always be a sacrifice done willingly, or the gods will curse you and yours to die perilously by year's end." Lecter had known of ways to make even the most frightened sacrifice victim feel completely willing to go to the gods, but it was a difficult and trying thing, and even Jinx would not attempt that trickery without full assurance. It took a naive wolf to make a willing sacrifice; wolves were too proud, and courageous, and fearful for their lives.

And, hypocritical as it was, Sos' direct followers (even Atka's) would not offer themselves for sacrifice, such was the nature of their desire to survive. The way she said the words even seemed to suggest that Hawkeye should not attempt such a thing lightly. With what she'd needed said, said, she turned for the ocean as if to leave, but paused in case Hawkeye had any other questions. She longed for home and privacy and respite from this woman she believed to be full to the brim of arrogance, but she had said much already, and could not deny explanation now.