The Heartwood i am the self-consumer of my woes—

ash beneath snow, embers long ago drowned into oblivion.
relmyna had wandered far, and now the winter winds of eventide lashed at her patchwork fur. but in the last week she had grown more hale on the blackfeather caches and what rodents she caught for herself — no longer a ragged skeleton, but bearing a thick pelt more suited for snow. her frame had remained slight, though the scarring along her muzzle had finally found its fading from raised red to the mere twist of her lips above exposed teeth on one side.
she had ranged far, and stood at sundown in ruins. her rock-of-tongues through which sithis had whispered rested on the snow between her forepaws as relmyna surveyed beneath the dying light what remained of a forest's hope, and what had been destroyed.
in time her light haunches settled to the earth and she tightened the stone between her forepaws, giving herself over to what she now knew to be beyond herself; her breathing steading and relmyna turned into her mind.

Now with the safety of her group within calling distance, Wraen felt safe to wander the area of Heartwood, where she had run into the mauled Redhawk wolf. For a long time she had not dared to return here, the memories of his ravaged face haunting her, but now - as she explored the same place, there was no sign of the said wolf, nor any sign of other creature. Fresh snow with hardly any tracks, which was a bit curious, but the young wolf paid this fact no mind, because she had caught scent of a stranger. 

It took a little time to locate the exact source, but once within the scope of her radar, she moved swiftly towards the place, until she came to a very peculiar sight. A white wolf lying on the ground with a stone placed between her forepaws. Was she playing? If she was - a rock was a strange choice for a toy. Intrigued, but not feeling brave enough to interrupt, Wraen settled on her haunches and watched the other quietly.

enough practice with the stone told relmyna that the whisperings would stop when she ceased to be alone. and so, when the voice she knew to be sithis faded from earshot, the priestess pulled herself from her trance with a low moan and a muzzy blink. directly after, she set upon looking for who had disturbed her, and soon her cobalt eyes alit on the striking form of a young wolf with piercing green eyes.
had relmyna been completely herself, she might have fled then, but as she still heard the echo of the god's voice, the evoker remained as she was, curious about the other's presence here. a gentle smile followed in the next moment.

Had Wraen been a human and watched a one too many horror movies, she would have definitely identified herself being in one now. Though the wolf, when observed from afar, looked more intriguing than intimidating, things changed, when it turned and fixed it's gaze on her. The gray she-wolf froze, unable to turn her eyes away from the other wolf, who most certainly had climbed out of a ghost story, because no other wolf she had met up until now, had ever looked like this. 

"Ahm..." Wraen sought for words and shuffled uncomfortably with her paws. "Hi?"

relmyna scarcely noticed her own visage these days, except in passing. and of those days, few gave her pause or pain; she was ugly, and this awareness no longer dragged at her as it once did. the young wolf stared fixedly at her, and the evoker gazed back. the mumbled greeting brought a smile to her ruined mouth; relmyna swept her thin white tail against the snow in response, and invitation. 
however, her eyes lingered only a moment longer on the surprised yearling before the rock recaptured her attention, and the evoker fell to pondering it.

Though the shade of other's smile was scary, Wraen picked up the invitation behind it and, when the wolf shifted it's gaze back to the rock, the yearling drew the courage to leave her spot and walk carefully closer. One step after another and another and she was at a distance, where the object of the pale she-wolf's interest lied and was easy to examine in better details.

"What is it?" she finally asked, when she could not find a single curious thing about it.

the bright-eyed thing drew near, and as most, the focus of her attention was the stone of which potema herself had spoken so powerfully. relmyna extended a trusting forepaw and nudged the clear hard surface closer to the girl. long hours spent inside the transparent chaos had taught the woman discernment — this one was of no threat to her. to the yearling's words, the evoker gave a roll of her shoulders and put her head to one side. it was a vessel of the gods; that was all relmyna knew to be her truth.

Wraen took a wary step backwards, when the pale she-wolf pushed the odd stone in her direction. Nothing bad happened though, therefore she let the curiousity win again and leaned down to sniff at it and eventually bump her nose lightly against it's cold, hard surface. This was not just a stone, but a very unusual one. She had hardly ever paid any attention to geology in her lifetime, but she could tell that this was a true rarity. 

Aside from that, she still could not comprehend, what was so amazing about it. Therefore she sat down and looked at the lady expectantly - she had not talked much up until now, but maybe she would elaborate on the matter.

relmyna smiled as the girl inspected the stone, as thoroughly the evoker had upon first seeing it. the girl was not of blackfeather; the priestess did not know from what pack the other hailed. but she would demonstrate all the same, for the curiosity that shone in the yearling also blossomed bright in relmyna's chest.
without the magick of the darkened woods, the woman was unsure of her ability to communicate through the stone with this one, but she would try all the same. relmyna resumed the pose she had been in when the young wolf approached: prone, the rock between her forelegs, muzzle pressed to its surface, and eyes closed. relmyna, she pushed into its chaos, willing it to be borne to the other's ear; she repeated her name over and over, sinking into the welcome and familiar embrace of the stone.

Wraen had not expected the pale stranger to go from being entirely silent to explaining the matters with the stone using very eloquent words. Yet, when the she-wolf pressed her muzzle against the stone and began murmuring words that either had some meaning or were a sound of pure nonesense to inexperienced ears, the girl felt disappointed. 

Out of courtesy to the lady, she did not let it show, patiently waiting and watching. She was not a child anymore, yet part of her sincerely believed that some sort of magic existed. And maybe this was just the case and, if she waited long enough, she would get to witness it.

the evoker was not sure of herself, but willed her strength to flow into the stone she believed had given her voice back. she confined the word to her mind, instead trying a different tactic of channeling her name through the rock toward the yearling. relmyna fixed the conception of tendrils within her mind and reached out for the consciousness of the girl, wavering little.
after a sustained short time, the evoker disengaged with a low sound from the hold of the churning chaos. her eyes closed for a single moment; relmyna drew a breath and then turned her gaze upon the girl, wondering if she had succeeded in her efforts.

Either it really had happened or because Wraen had wished for it to be so very, very hard, at the end of the lady's performance she did feel something ethereal pass her. A look of surprise and wonder appeared on her facial features and with ears cupped forward and searchin eyes she looked around for the source of the sudden feeling. Of course, she found and saw nothing.

Therefore she returned to looking at the lady, smiled and gave a little wag of her tail. That had been interesting - was there more?

relieved by the expression she saw on the younger face, relmyna returned the smile and tail-wave. there was more she could show the girl, so long as the other remained open. she turned herself then, nudging the stone between her forepaws as she sat up. relmyna placed one atop it.
the green-apple eyes of the other were given a last curious glance by the evoker; she lowered her scarred muzzle to the rock's clear surface and then back to the girl in a slow motion, as if to say that she too should put her paw over it, to feel there the churn of energy. despite her hideous visage, relmyna hoped fervently to the mother that she would not frighten away this disciple.

There was and Wraen gave even a heftier wag of her tail, when the stranger got up and invited her audience to come closer and try the magic herself. Hesitantly she closed the distance between them and first gave a curious sniff at the object, then watched the white she-wolf in order to be reassured that she was doing things correctly. Wraen decided to sit down, put slowly one of her paws on the stone and closed her eyes waiting.

to the delight of the evoker, the young woman drew closer and put her paw over the stone. she watched the apple-green eyes close; she too shut her own sea-blue gaze and sought to draw the chaos within the surface into herself, concentrating on sending her consciousness toward the girl again. 
relmyna.

Wraen would have let her mind wander, had it not been for that small, but very persistent voice of reason that reminded her of a very rational wisdom - never sit with eyes closed next to a person you don't know. Though the white she-wolf had seemed a little weird, but good-natured enough (if not friendly), the realization of her own stupidity made the younger one open her eyes and remove her paw from the stone. She also took several steps backwards in somewhat guilty manner. She did it for her own safety and yet she did not want the other think that she was rude.

"I am sorry, I have to go," she gave her a small smile. "Thank you for your time!" With this she hurried away. 

Thanks for the thread! I thoroughly enjoy characters, who do not use verbal speech, but have their own means of communication nonetheless.

thank you for the thread and for helping me develop rel more <3

it was not to be, their communication — the girl suddenly seemed taken with a spate of flightiness, and politely took her leave. relmyna too bore a smile on her twisted lips, dipping her head after the apple-eyed yearling and watching her depart before the humour left her features. 
refusing to consider too closely her failure, the evoker lifted the stone in her jaws and began her trek back to the grisly borders of blackfeather.