Redsand Canyon Let that lonely feeling wash away

How am I supposed to react when I yell at someone and they just walk away?  What does that even mean? Fennec waited for a moment, but her only response was the gentle feeling of teeth wrapping around her paw as Quick began wrestling with her foot.  Thanks, oh wise guide.  Despite the sarcasm, she rolled him over and began to gently play.

Another day.

They were starting to meld together, a little.  It was harder to keep track without the bustle of a pack around her.  There was peace in the quiet, but there was a solitude that she was starting to find overwhelming.  Even with the boy who had visited, she wasn't sure if she liked this.  It was a dream come true, and yet.

She could try another howl.  Fennec considered it, but her reach was not great.  What could she do that would reach farther?  It wasn't as if she could just leave and take it herse..... oh.

Hey, bird-brains!  She smirked as one of the crows let out a sharp caw in response.  Affectionate insults were her thing, deal with it.  You mind taking a message for me?

She would have no way of knowing if they actually did it, but she did hear a few of them flying away after she'd told them the message to carry.  Let anyone you meet know there's a witch here, and that the Wraith deals in healing and curses, for a price.

When that was done, she sent up a call that was similar to before.  It advertised her services and would hopefully draw another here.

WC: 268

The call was indeed heard. The illusive Rache-bastard caught the howl that rang through the canyon, calling him to her as he made no effort to close the distance quick. It had been quite some time since he had been here in the wilds, coming and going was his game, forever wandering until something catches his fancy to remain a little while longer than usual. Has he changed during his time away? Hell if he knows, he was getting older, that much was sure. 

Eventually, the young man did stumble upon the pretty little thing. Sandy in colour, with large ears. He assumed her to be fragile, and so far, he was unaware of the girl's blindness - for now. Sliding up next to her, just out of biting distance, he smiled casually and let his silver tongue do its thing. I've never met a witch before. A simple ice breaker, to test the waters and see what kind of woman she was before he dove in further.

Someone came.  He slipped up behind her quietly, and she let a bit of ice fall over her at the tone of his voice.  Fortunately he kept his distance (somewhat).  She wasn't sure he liked how familiar he was being and she knew the Wraith would agree.

And you still haven't.... yet.  Not unless you have something to offer the Wraith.  She replied, rounding so that she faced him, tail tucked behind and head erect.  She kept her expression aloof and distant, as though she were sightlessly judging his worth.  Internally she was doing just that.

WC: 96

Prancing around the young lady, less of predatory skulking and more so a joyous swagger. Strutting his 'stuff' so to speak as if he was trying to peacock his presence to get her to "look at me" from every angle he could offer. Plush snowy tail proudly curling over his hips as he eyed her the same way he desired to be stared at, studied. That's a little strange to say. He pointed out. Why would I bring you anything if not promised a witch to satisfy my desires? Seems counterintuitive. he tried to poke holes into her logic. 

Hmm? And let's say you were a 'wraith' - he mocked. Shouldn't the price match my wish? "Wish" he says, as if a witch or wraith was any different than some genie or something rather. Frankly, he wasn't certain he wanted anything from her. The prince of gore was simply curious to see what the call was all about and what was at the end of that rainbow. 

It was only now that he spotted her eyes... brows shifted skyward with a curious glance. How strange. He couldn't be certain, but she seemed blind at a glance, despite how well she carried herself. A blind loner? It can't be.

He was on the move.  She could hear it and tried to track it, but stopped when a warning twinge in her side told her she'd moved too abruptly.  He was certainly a different sort of wolf and Fennec was immediately intrigued.  The Wraith... she was unimpressed.

I don't have anything for those who cannot pay.  For a price, however, a witch can give many gifts.  Fennec smiled wolfishly.  Gifts that could hurt or harm.... depending on the preference.

She was not interested in using this wolf to spread the word.  She needed to found a reputation, and reputations were not built on handouts.

With his suspicions, the specter took care with his steps upon the sand. Floating around as quietly as naturally possible as he observed her movements with even greater care than his footing. Studying to see if she truly was as blind as she looked. If she was blind, she was good at acting as if she wasn't. But without sight, she was bound to fuck up eventually and make it obvious enough. He was intrigued. A new toy to figure out, to puzzle through and try to understand - maybe even use in some way if he could come up with something. Everyone had use in one way or another.

Oh I can pay. he cooed softly. A lie? Perhaps. It all depended on what kind of demands she had for her "witchcraft" if he was being honest. Being the lazy bastard that he was, he wasn't about to just go out of his way for something that didn't do anything of greater or equal value at the very least. But you must give me examples my dear. His sultry voice continued. For what am I to do with you if your craft does not pay in return? He stops, fire and ice focused on the sandy damsel with a devilish grin - wondering if she could see it and how maliciously it curled around his pointed snout. Ears folded back akin to his father before him; pointed in a pair of pseudo-horn-like protrusions at the right angle. 

The things I'd do to you if you're a fraud. The sweet flirtatious tones turned sour, a toxic hum, and vicious with malevolent intent.

:DDDDD

She could not read his mind to know that it was conscious, but she heard when his steps shifted and he began to disappear on her.  The sand of the canyon was not something she'd bargained on, and until now, she hadn't noted what a disadvantage it set her at.  All at once, warning signs knelled, but she quieted them with a silent confidence with little to back it up.  If it came down to a fight... she'd manage.  She always managed.

She stopped trying to track him and let her ears do the work, falling silent as he retorted with more doubts as to her skill.  She let her smile fade.  I do not have to give you anything.  She responded, indifferent but cold.  If you do not believe it, then you are free to move along.  I called for customers, not bored free-loaders looking for a show.  She let the last word bite.

His tone was dangerous, and by rights she should be cautious.  Fennec was nervous, but she'd also committed, and if she gave up the persona she'd crafted on only the second customer, that hardly rated anything.  He could try to press her but the Wraith would not give in.  She was sure in her craft - a practiced witch, clear in her arts and unwilling to accept insults.  Her craft in healing and poisons would pay - her craft in curses and fortunes?  Well.  Now that was a trickier subject, but if she played her cards right, she doubted he'd ever truly know for sure.  

Another thought occurred, however, as the shadow of his threat hung between them.  If she was to be a witch, then perhaps it was unwise to settle in one place.  Unhappy customers were bound to return in time, and if she allowed them to, likely her term would be shorter than she had anticipated.

WC: 312

As her smile faded, his simply grew. This little dance of theirs was proving to offer quite a bit of information for him. She had to be blind, he finally concluded as her eyes no longer even attempted to track him as he floating among the cold, drifting sands. The faded grin upon her face and the saucer ears trying to track whatever steps might still echo in her sharp auds. He heard of this, if someone lacked in one sense, something else would sharpen in its place. What a curious thing. 

Oh but I am a customer. He sings slowly in a low hum. I have a curse you see - and I would like it lifted. I can only imagine a true witch would be able to do such a thing. A curse indeed... one that had killed his mother and many others who fell prey to it before he managed to perfect the bite. 

Tell you what. Why not indulge in this? If she truly was a witch, then he was cured! If not, well then, there was no way she could escape him. Not for long. Cure me of my ever-lasting thirst, and I will tend to your every need for one whole year. if she couldn’t? Well, he supposed she would rather be confident in her abilities as a witch rather than even hear of the “if factors”. It would only waste her time after all, wouldn’t it?

Now he was talking.  A curse of his own, and a promise of service if he could be cured.  Fennec didn't necessarily believe in what she dealt. She bought it in an idyllic manner, and hoped that the curses she attempted stuck, but she put more stock in her poisons to get the job done.  

Tell me more about this curse and I'm sure I can rid you of it.  I need to know what you want before I know if I have a cure, and if I get tired of your help, I can end the deal early.  Your presence might be more curse than gift itself.  She answered, ending flatly.  Those were her terms.  Tell her what he "thirsted" for (though her assumption was the typical male desire) and allow her to tell him to get lost.  If not she could always put him to sleep and dump him here while she moved on.

WC: 156

Blood. He began. Already simply thinking of it his maw started to water. I crave it, I need it. How it drove him insane if he went long enough without that sweet copper-y taste, the red ooze staining his porcelain fur. Specifically of our kind. He corrected, it wasn't from prey, it wasn't like he was filling his belly for sustenance... no, it was a sickness. Even as she mentions of possibly letting him off early barely phased the now entranced man who focused on the crimson liquid, even eyeing that jugular on the small woman's neck and how easy it could be due to her blindness. 

I have always had it. Not a day since birth had I not craved to even bite at my mother's tit for the sweet crimson liquid that ran with the milk. As his earliest memories that's all he remembered. How she cried from his teeth digging into the soft flesh, even the milk teeth he simply bit and chewed until finally getting what he wanted. With that said, he waited for her again... to speak, to react, to judge if she would bullshit her way through this or actually come up with the cure he needed.

Would he stop bleeding others if cured? Perhaps not... but to be free of the need to do so to survive would be nice...

Blood.  Her ears pricked with interest but her expression didn't shift, not even when he clarified it was wolven blood he thirsted for.  It was creepy as hell but Fennec had long been fascinated by monsters.  She couldn't see the way he eyed her, and face to face with a self-admitted one, she felt no fear.  Only a fierce intrigue and a curiosity on what she might do to convince him the thirst was gone.

A heavy curse, especially to those around you.  A bold admission too.  She replied, unable to hide all of the interest in her response.  A curse as inwardly turned as this is better broken by the bearer, but I can set you on the path.  I'll take your honesty as payment enough for that.  He was dangerous, and she wouldn't be so bold as to claim she could cure him outright.  Not when he would wish to accompany her after for repayment.  Better to give him an honest reading, a path to success, and cut loose of him here.

She breathed in, slowing, considering what she knew as she listened.  A toying figure, playfully violent, who drinks the blood of others.  Born with the affliction, so no external triggers.  A solution without a cause, so any answer was bound to be vague.

It was his nature, but he called it a curse.  He wished to be better, asking her for a cure, not attacking her.  He's hurt someone he regrets.. A monster with feeling.

She breathed out slowly, then listened.  Wind, rustling through the fall leaves.  You want to change.  You are not who you want to be, yet you are what you were made to be.  It is not easy, however, to change your nature.  You will need to struggle and, if this is truly your aim, you will suffer for it.  Going with the wind is always easier, even if it does mean going alone.  Dry leaves, crackling as a raven cawed.  You have not grown beyond where you started.  In your past, I see death.  That one was easy enough, an inference she could feel in her gut was true.  To break this curse, you must transform.  A light breeze, geese calls from the sky above.  You must find wings.  A relationship in your future, strong, new for you.  You can use this strength to overcome, and they will fight it with you.  Her crows cackled behind her, spurring another thought forward.  You fear the silence that comes from passing unseen.  If you look within, you will find the connections you seek.  

She let the final words rest at his feet for a moment, then rotated an ear and looked at him with  a small smile again.  That's what the signs tell me.  Wrong or right, she didn't know, but based on what she'd read within him and what her surroundings had brought her, she thought the chances solid.  

I did a celtic cross <3 and omg
1) daughter of wands
2) hanged man
3) ace of pentacles
4) death
5) 6 of wands
6) the lovers
7) 3 of pentacles
8) mother of wands
9) high priestess
10) mother of pentacles

WC: 487

Perhaps it is because he wasn't as "receptive" as individuals needed to be open enough for this cure of hers. He was aware of the art of "bullshitting your way through life" and that is all he truly saw here, even as she spoke her pretty words of insight to try and guide him in the right direction - it all seemed like fake crap just to get whatever she wanted. It was almost admirable really, a good way for someone like her to get by in life despite the... flaws. 

With a sneer, he chuckled as she finished. Cute. He cooed condescendingly as if she was a mere child trying to play a game (even though she is absolutely right, it's all mental baby). At least this did one thing for him, it was entertaining. How she used the environment to build on her little incantation - if that is what she called it or whatever.  Even the crow was a nice touch and all.

It all sounds like bullshit to me. He sighed dreamily. So I don't think I owe you anything. And that should be payment enough in his opinion. He could do much worse... a snack would be nice. A little nibble. I wish you better luck with your next client. He turned to leave, a farewell for now until they meet again. Maybe next time he won't play her little game, or maybe she would have gotten better at being believable in all this horseshit.

Fennec was unbothered by his denial. If anything, her smile grew.  She wasn't sure where she'd gotten the entirety of that - it truly was bullshit pulled from thin air.  But that thin air (and the inspiring "signs") felt right, and she couldn't help but consider that the path she'd laid out was a reasonable one.  This was confidence she didn't need to fake.  For the first time, she almost half-believed her own bullshit.

I told you, you've already paid.  She responded with a patient shake of her head.  Whether or not you believe doesn't bother me.  If you want to break the curse, I've told you what I can.  And when it ends up being the truth, remember my name.  She fixed her sightless eyes in his direction once more, listening as he left.

There was a part of her that was morbidly curious... that was almost tempted to offer just to see the curse at work.  But the witch couldn't because Wraith would not, and she let the opportunity fade.

As a final motion, she lifted her head, inhaling deeply on a whim.  Instantly her nose was assailed with the scent (and taste) of something acrid.  She paused, then bared her teeth in a grin.  I don't think he's going to have much choice either way.