Ouroboros Spine aeons exist in a myriad cast

For @Kyrillos anddd *punches the tag to work pre-emptively because sometimes it's hateful anyway*. All welcome for any OS wolf.

At the near center interior of the Spine lied the lake, its broad and deceptive depths a testament to the age of the land itself. Mordecai did not know how it formed, or how the basin-like realm didn't fill up like a bowl. Maybe it seemed a little marshy along the banks, but he attributed that to the predawn rain that had come in the night. Thunder rumbled low as he worked his way through the brush, but the rain remained light and steady. Any hope he had of tracking game were now washed away like the days old dirt that had clung to his summery coat.

A low fog lingered the closer he ventured towards the timberline, just as it covered the topside of the lake. It left an eerie feeling about the place, but that feeling was lost entirely on Mordecai. He did not fear the unknown void around him; this day was just one of several that had come about with the change of the seasons. The trees had yet to adopt their full autumn coats, but he knew it was coming. He had felt the chill, had seen the game stirring and migrating, and had set to once more weighting the options for the Spine.

agalloch — vales beyond dimension

Sitri had seen the lake from afar, now that he was no longer at the top of the hierarchy, he did not care to help out any of the pack really. He was merely existing, he still caught food, and he would patrol the borders, but he became even more introverted if it was even at all possible. His mind keeping himself to himself, his mind in turmoil and the voices back after weeks of being gone, no again they plagued his ever waking existence.

Sitri moved closer to the lake and an involuntary chill slid across his body, prickling the back of his neck, the fur standing on end. This was a place between places, life and death existed together here, and it was eerily odd. He didn't say much of anything, just studied the surrounding area. As long as they kept to themselves and did not disturb the area, all who ventured here would go unscathed.

He drew the damp air strongly, but found even this part of the Spine had stayed partially vacated. It was surprising to him that no one had tried to encroach on their territory, with as small as their pack had dwindled. It was also a blessing, because the last thing that they needed were thieves slipping in and taking what they had done to keep precious. But Mordecai could only cover so much ground on his own, and did not know where many of the caches lied. It seemed that they had become even more scattered following the fiasco rally, but he hoped it would improve, and quickly.

His solitude was broken the moment that he pressed on and found Sitri meandering through the glades. Mordecai offered him a chuff to catch his attention, but he also kept his distance from the scarred figure for a change. Though in light of recent situations, Mordecai knew he could lord his rank over him, but he also knew better. The tawny Ostrega did not have the best ground to stand on either, but not so much from Ptarmigan as it were the rest of the pack that seemed to reject her crude attempts and bringing them together.

Aware that he had been seen with her on more than one event, he did not know what to expect from his fellow hunter. But he did note the dejection that had filtered into Sitri's very being, and that became very curious to him indeed. Did he regret his actions? He did also see what they had become? Or maybe it was something more.

Sitri did not think anyone would bother them this far away from all who existed out there. They were far too closed off and away from the daily grind. Even the pack that had formed further away, did not venture to near them. He shifted his large weight and moved onward, paws sticking into the foul mud that adorned the lake. A large sucking, squelching noise everytime he took a step. But it was as if he did not know it was there, where there had been recently a keen gaze, now was glazed and inward again. Too much change for the Scarred slave, so he had done what he had always done and slid into the dull lifeless wolf that was Sitri.

Sitri heard the chuff as if from far away, and for a moment he stopped trying to move sightless eyes back into being. Momentarily blinded by his own dejection, he had not even seen another wolf near him, far too hidden within his own fathomless depths. He shook his head once twice and looked around with red gleaming eyes catching sight of Mordecai, he dipped his muzzle to him. Hello Mordecai. Why do you walk among the living and dead? Where there's bones and dust?

Sitri seemed to be half the creature he had been when they had first met. Mordecai tried not to let this bother him, but found that it did all the same. A wolf that had once been his superior had settled beneath him some time ago, but to what depths the extent went he had never kept track of. Involvement had something to do with it, as did the things that had transpired. Those things, Mordecai did not hold against Sitri. What was done, was done. Instead he found himself perplexed by the statements that rolled out of him, and the fact that he did not seem to hold any transgressions Mordecai had made against him.

“What? Are you talking about the fog?” he found himself asking, stepping closer to the dark-coated wolf. Wherever the concept of walking among living and dead had come from, he had no idea. Mordecai was tempted to ask if Sitri was all right, but found that it was obvious to say that he wasn't doing well. Still, the level of just how off he was feeling, or what he was perceiving in the world around him was more like looking at an iceberg; Mordecai only saw the tip, not the possible monolith beneath the surface. Canting his head with concern, the tawny superior prompted him gently for explanation.

so i'm thinking musky or some other fresh water fish that lives in lake is what Sitri is talking about and they do bite. I remembger a story here on our own lake where a poodle was eaten and another boy lost his foot.

Sitri was still there, the wolf he had been becoming deep within the mahoghany depths of the monster's chest. But he would keep it to himself, and let the small ember fuel into an inferno, before he let it out again. He had been reduced to ash, back to being a slave, the lowest of the low. And though he didn't really mind, he did have to protect himself and since he couldn't lash out, he had to go inward. Sitri's a slave again you know. He goes down down down in the depths that is Sitri. Since Sitri always had the mindset of a slave deep down inside himself, the words that had been spoken at the rally had not hurt him, and he did not hold them against anyone. Having been conditioned to not let things like that lift his ire.

Sitri's eyes snapped to Mordecai's face quick as lightning and the fire that was still there beneath the surface, turned his eyes a deeper red and he spoke softly. quickly averting his gaze and tucking his tail[/i] No there is death here, where the water meets the land, something stirs in there and it takes no prisoners, only death. But you and I are walking, so there is life and there is death.

Oh man, I used to hate catching muskies. Between those and gar, I've lost so many hooks and lures to last a lifetime. Now I miss fishing. ;_; Unrelated, but speaking of watery things that eat things, there's a huge rumor about someone having set an alligator loose at a lake about 45 minutes away from me. It keeps eating deer. One photo that's been circulated around, you can tell it's definitely an alligator but the state was all THAT'S A LOG which prompted me to go GUISE GUISE LOGS EAT DEER.

In spite of his concerned, the submission that Sitri gave him did not bother him. It was a peculiar thing to receive, even more so when he did not press for it. He knew there wasn't much that he could do about the way he spoke about himself either. He wanted to, but fought that urge down. Whatever had happened to Sitri years before had resurfaced, and Mordecai wasn't really the best therapist there was. Truth be told, he didn't know what it was that he could have done anyway, and instead he found himself looking out to the still surface of the lake. In the shade, the water itself looked dull and unappealing with the cover of fog.

But according to his pack mate, there was something that lurked beneath it. “Do you know what it is that lives in there? Plenty of us have crossed that water to the isle in the middle, nothing's ever happened.” He considered the possibility that the scarred wolf's psyche had been broken, that maybe he had become delusional in light of all of the chaos that stirred within the pack. But he was also reminded of Lecter's loa, and wondered if one of them lived beneath the waterline, laying in wait for them to take notice of it. To believe, even.

[size=x-small]MM I love to fish as well, I've been lucky enough not to catch muskies, but definitely have caught snapping turtles nasty things anyway. We actually caught an alligator in our local Lake/River this summer it was over 6 foot long. Someone had let it go, it was like front page news here in our little town. Do you want to say alligator here then? Perhaps it got washed down with a flood or something years ago? Or just play it off as a figment of Sitri's imagination I'm good with either[/size]

Sitri had always been and would always be a broken man, but he was still alive in there. He would overcome it, now that he got a taste of the freedom being his own wolf allowed. At the moment though he had much to figure out, and much to fix. The water looked calm, tranquil, but there beneath the surface Sitri knew something lay there.

Sitri shook his head, Never saw it before, don't know what it is. Sitri thought about it, he supposed he could just be imagining it, maybe he had finally been thrust into the realms of crazy town, by the fact that he was shoved back into a station he had not wanted. He had not thought of loa, forgetting in the light of deaths the talk of such things that he had with Jinx and Lecter of them.

It blows my mind that people just release critters into the wild like that sometimes. An alligator might be a little too much for this little lake in OS, but I'm OK with it being some muskies in the water! Up to you whether or not they're seen and all since you had the idea. :D

Listening as he kept his eyes focused on the water, Mordecai saw nothing that suggested anything lurked beneath the murky cover. Of course, he had never ventured to the island in the middle of that lake, so it was possible such a thing may have existed. Maybe it had simply been slumbering, lost to the depths that no wolf could feasibly reach (at least in his mind). Mordecai turned his head back to Sitri after a few moments, canting it once more.

“You've never seen it, but you know it's there? How do you know that?” He didn't sound as though he doubted it, as he trusted Sitri's judgement to know if something was off in the world. The scarred wolf had certainly been through many things, if his overall state was meant to mean anything. If there was something dangerous living in those waters, Mordecai wanted to know what it was that had set off warning alarms in the first place.

[size=x-small]Did you ever watch freaking River monsters? It could even be a dang catfish or some shit....those fish get huge![/size]

Sitri did not know why anyone had not seen it, he didn't know why no one had been bitten, but he did know it was there. He had watched as a turtle swam across and then just disappeared in a flurry of water and then bubbling blood. It was eery how it happened and it was a bit disgusting and it made him to never want to venture in the lake again, not knowing what was there gave him the willies.

Sitri looked back up at Mordecai and motioned with his muzzle. I saw it take something down with it. It took the turtle in a bunch of bubbles and blood, but I couldn't see the creature. It was a big turtle and it was gone in one bite, no bits and pieces left. He grew quiet again and just stared at the water a little wary.

Omg when I lived with a friend of mine a couple of years ago, we used to binge watch that show. And Cake Boss, which I'm pretty sure her teenaged girls *still* want to go to Hoboken to visit that place lmao.

So, it was something big enough to take a turtle down with it. Mordecai had seen a few of those, though admittedly he had noticed the absence of them around the shoreline of the lake. Of course, maybe it was just late in the season for them. Or maybe whatever lived in that water had devoured them all. He sniffed and cleared his throat, shaking his head.

“That sounds like quite a creature, Sitri. Not that I don't think it exists, I mean… turtles must have predators too. Never thought about it like that before.” He paused then, giving a cursory glance at the shore beyond them, not that he could see much of it. No turtles. “Maybe it just eats turtles.” The added comment was an afterthought, but enough to keep the thought of something that just liked to eat passing creatures from being a fear.

[size=xx-small]I like it, but it makes me never want to swim in rivers again lmao[/size]

Sitri agreed with the sentiment of clearing throat and sniffing. There were no turtles around, actually most of the lake around was devoid of life, a warning sign to the male if anything. At least he hadn't heard any frogs or toads, but they came out at night and it was not night time.

Sitri shrugged, I don't know but I will not chance it. and he wouldn't maybe it did just eat turtles. Maybe not, but he wasn't about to stick his paw in and find out. All he knew was that something was in that water and it ate things in one gulp and all that was left was life blood in the end.

Lmao, that's like me watching The Towering Inferno and deciding I want nothing to do with high rise buildings. (yet i really still like the vistas they provide, sigh) >_>

Well, so he wasn't a risk taker. That was fair enough, Mordecai decided, though he would have at least assumed there was a small part of Sitri that would have been. Mentally, he sought to rephrase that, because in a sense they were all small risk takers on a regular basis. But thankfully none of them had been gored by animals or otherwise involved in any real significant quarrels. Yet.

“But what if it grabs someone and you see it? You're just going to watch them get eaten and go with your day?” He queried with a sense of humor, and a smile turned up on his face. It was a poor attempt at trying to get a little bit of a side he wasn't sure existed in Sitri to show up, but he'd try anyway. Mordecai anticipated nothing more than a serious answer, which also went well with their conversation. And for all he knew, it was liable to come in handy if one of them did end up being grabbed.

It would depend on one's definition of risk taking, to whether or not Sitri was one. He had been once upon a time, and he would be again if his leader told him to be. However, he wasn't going to just dangle his footpaw in the water for no good reason. If he needed to go across he would do so.

Sitri cracked a cold smile on his indifferent face. I will try and help the other He would do his best to make sure that if someone got bitten, that he would get them safely back if he could. However, if they were already done then yes he would just go on with his day. He did not fear death, did not find it sad either. It was just that death, you ceased to exist and where you went was anybody's best guess.

To his surprise, Sitri offered him a smile. “Well in that case, why don't we see if we can't stir it up? You're here, I'm here, and I'm not about to let anything eat you. Or anyone else for that matter.” With that, Mordecai took a couple of tempting steps towards the water. Not so much to tempt the creature that possibly existed into biting him, but more in the sense that if it did exist, maybe they could catch it.

“I bet we could catch it. Most of the turtles I've seen aren't too terribly big, so theoretically we could probably pull it out of the water. And their shells are pretty tough too, so it's probably got a belly full of turtles that need rescued,” and without realizing it, he was being incredibly silly. But the silliness was needed in a time like that; their overall morale was laughable if anyone considered it high. “C'mon,” he prompted, tossing his head over towards the water. Maybe Sitri would go with him. Maybe he wouldn't. Still, he was willing to try.

Sitri was not a wolf without feelings or thoughts or opinions, he was just one that was slower to realizing them. And his emotions he stuffed down so deep he couldn't find them. Sitri tilted his head and shaking his head he followed behind Mordecai Okay let's get it. he didn't know what they would find, but what he did know was that to surge past your fear, you had to face it.

Sitri stepped towards the water and grasping a stick he threw it out to where he had seen the creature last, far enough that it was sort of safe, but also close enough that if they stood in the shallows they could maybe possible see it. After throwing the stick he watched as something grasped it and went back down followed by bubbles. And he waited.

He watched with curiosity as Sitri procured a stray stick from the brush. He stepped aside as the scarred canine passed him, and gave the stick a toss onto the lake. Within moments, something reached out to take it, though Mordecai could not see for the life of him what it was for the fog. Still, the ripples that rose strongly over the ones previously created suggested something of considerable size.

“Guess there really is something in there,” he murmured to himself, brows raised. Something else stirred several feet out of them and he bristled uncomfortably as something rose out of the water… but it only turned out to be the stick that Sitri had thrown in. Whatever the creature was, it had left go of the stick. “Okay, it doesn't eat wood,” he said to his companion. “Let's throw another stick in.” Maybe they could draw it closer, this way.

Sitri watched as the ripples grew large and tantamount and he stared overly long. A prickle of awareness skirted up his spine and into his neck ruff. It was a little worrisome this large creature. He wasn't sure how large it was, but even if it couldn't completely eat them, it could certainly maim them or drag them down to the depths where they would drown. And that was one way Sitri did not wish to die.

Sitri chuckled at his friends words and nodded. Stepping backwards he looked around with gleaming red eyes for another stick. Finding one he drug it over and with a quick shake of his head and a toss he threw it outwards, though closer and waited silently to see if the creature would come back to the surface again.

This time, as the stick was hurled out into the water, Mordecai took a couple of tentative steps to stand in the water. He only sank to the bend of his forelegs, keeping his hind legs on the muddy bank as he watched curiously. Mentally he found himself cursing at the fog for obscuring his view, but there wasn't a lot they could do about that unless they felt like waiting for it to burn off.

But this time, the presence of Mordecai standing in the water did not stir the creature to take the stick that Sitri had throw back out to it. Forced to stand stock still, he watched the water for any sign that something was coming for him. But as the moments passed on silently, it seemed that Mordecai may have scared the creature off. Unless it really was lying in wait for him. Carefully, he took another step forward to the crisp waters, tempting fate to see what would happen.

Sitri had already found a spot in the water to stand, though he was a bit further out than Mordecai, but not by much. He stared at the water as it rippled and nothing moved or thrashed beneath it. For a moment he questioned his already light sanity, and wondered if he had finally gone to the darker side and his brain was complete mush. However, he did remember that Mordecai had seen it too, he had seen the ripples and the creature so he wasn't crazy.

Sitri watched as the water moved a bit and he backed up and a large snarl broke his maw as he got a look at the ghastly creature that stirred just beneath the surface. Long and full of muscle with a row of sharp teeth. Gods he continued to back up swifter than he meant, trying to get away from the rows of teeth.

Without warning, Mordecai caught the backpedaling form of Sitri through the haze. The murmured statement his companion made was unheard, if only for the fact that Mordecai beelined for where Sitri was. In the process, something brushed past him in the murky waters and he snapped after it… only to submerge himself more in the process. The crisp temperature of the water settled into him quickly, so he did not linger with his face beneath the surface of the water for long; Mordecai resurfaced unsuccessfully.

And disgusted, he was willing to add. “I felt it.” His eyes shifted to Sitri's form then. “What did it look like? You saw it, right?” It was only thing that Mordecai could think that would have gotten him to back off in a hurry. Unless he had seen something much worse, like a hundred turtle corpses piled up at his feet.

Sitri was momentarily surprised that Mordecai came towards him. He must not of heard the words that Sitri mumbled, to put himself in harms way like that. The fish was longer than them, but he wasn't sure if it could hold them down, but it could certainly give them a fight on their paws.

Sitri shuddered, I think Sitri prefers predators he can see all the time. He shifted his weight and backed up some more staring at the water like it was going to come alive. Yes I did it was long, and muscley and had rows of sharp teeth. he didn't know what type of fish it was, just that it was a fish and it was a nasty piece of work at that.

Whatever kind of creature it was, Mordecai could tell it was more than definitely safe to say that it was disturbing. Sitri's shudder almost seemed exaggerated in the low light, but it was still not quite enough to deter Mordecai from giving in. As headstrong as he tended to be, it was bridled most of the time. But little and little, those bridles were giving up the ghost. His eyes returned to the surface of the water again, but no trace of the creature bothered to poke its head above to view them. Nor did it return for another drive by touching, either.

“So it's kind of fishy, then?” which all things considered, it had to be. But he still felt the question was warranted, because it wasn't like he had felt something go scurrying past him. No, it had definitely felt more slippery than that, reminiscent of a fish. Not waiting for a response, he waded further out into the cool waters in the way he had felt it go. If nothing else, Mordecai hoped it was more scared of them than they were of it.

Sitri was not a fearful beast, he was many things. However, very seldom was he afraid. He did however find that these beasts beneath the water, they made him nervous and fearful. He liked to see his enemies, not wonder what they were and where they were. And this creature was definitely an enemy now.

Sitri found himself chuckling, Yes very fishy. Sitri did not see the creature anymore and he wondered if it was full, or as Mordecai thought if it was more fearful of them. He threw another stick and nothing moved so he shrugged. maybe it is gone now?

“Maybe,” Mordecai replied, shrugging. He lingered in the water for a while more, but nothing seemed to stir beneath. A frown creased his face then, but maybe it was better that way. It didn't seem like the scaly creature of the deep was all that interested in devouring them whole. But that wasn't really the disappointing part as not being able to catch it was; Mordecai would have rather enjoyed hoisting out that particular watery monster and carrying it to its grave.

“I don't think it's interested in trying to eat us, though. I think it's afraid of us. We're probably bigger than it is anyway.” He pulled the frown from his expression then, casting his gaze back to where Sitri stood. At a loss for what they should do next, he silently queried his scarred companion for suggestions.