Blackwater Islands surreal

the listener stood upon the bridge of souls. water swirled around her elbows, dark fur churning with the motion of the waves. minute by minute, the water receded. above, the sky was a dark writhing entity with a single fiery eye half-closed in malevolent boredom.

the prophet stared out across the bridge, watching ankyra sound. waiting. already she had summoned two souls to her. had they heard her calls? when would they come?

short post just to get this started. for @Sobo (& co.) and later @Mireille but feel free to hop in sooner if it suits you <3

This was not the kind of day to go swimming, but there was Sobo, legs churning in the writhing sea, clawing his way out to the island from his dream. It loomed larger in person. His breath came in great gasps whenever he wasn't spitting saltwater from his mouth. For the first time, he understood his da Njord's ordeals at sea.

This was for Mireille, or he might never have found the courage to do it. The ocean dipped and his paws struck solid ground; he scrabbled at it for a second, but then a wave came and knocked him off course. Spluttering, Sobo swam harder. Again the sea buckled. Again he found the sandbar.

Eventually he made it far enough along that the swelling of the sea did not dislodge his paws any longer. There, he noticed the dark sentinel barring his path. The sky and sea both were dark, but this creature swallowed what little light there was. The flat, faraway cast of the mismatched eyes was unsettling. Sobo coughed once, stood straighter, and made out the form of wolf. Not Mireille.

Who ya be? he called above the seawater roar, absent his typical timidity.

coraline typically took little notice of the comings and goings of her family; she knew many of them preferred to travel further down the coast often, or even leave the coast entirely sometimes. mireille's disappearance had changed that. now she was hyper-aware of every absence, no matter how minute — and when one of her littermates left the territory, she found the impulse to follow was too strong to fight.

by the time she caught up to him, sobo was in the water. the sight of it stopped her heart for a moment, until she realized that he wasn't drowning. he was swimming. he was... calling out to someone?

a dark silhouette. a wolf? a burning, dread-tinged curiosity swallowed the last of her reservations, and coraline plunged into the water in pursuit of her brother. she had to make sure he wasn't running into danger. she had to be certain he would come home. she just couldn't bear the thought of her mothers facing a second loss. she didn't dare think of her own feelings, lest she lose her nerve entirely and retreat back to the shoreline.

something pale swept in with the dark water as the tide withdrew, something wrought in a familiar shape. a wolf, the prophet saw as the distant figure fought onward, thrashing against the waves. a wolf like moonlit sands; a flash of scarlet there and gone again; a voice in a striking lilt, an unmistakable resemblance in it. only once had she heard a wolf speak in such a manner.

mireille of sapphique.

i am the listener, the prophet called out over the waters. and you have come here for mireille of sapphique.

i thought this assumption made sense but if it's too much for your preferences shoot me a pm & i will change it <33

Water sluiced from Sobo’s belly into the sea, which swelled to soak his fur once more. His legs were sturdy despite the waves. He wished to step up onto dry land, but the nameless sentinel of the island standing there was enough to keep him right where he was for now. He did not want to intrude, only to find his missing sibling if she was here.

She spoke, giving a title rather than a name. He did not realize it functioned as both for some wolves of esteem. She was right to the point of his coming here, so direct that Sobo’s eyes widened. The loa worked in mysterious ways. Could it be... How do ya know dat, Listener?

Somewhere behind him, his other sister bobbed in the waves, making her way to the isle. He did not yet know he was followed.

more than just one followed sobo that day. bored of the ennui in the dragonkeep, loko trailed after both of his siblings.

the water lapped cold against his belly. loko braced with an inhale, squinting against the wind and salt. ahead, his brother conversed with something akin to a sinister shadow. loko eyed the silhouette distrustfully, coming to coralline’s shoulder in silence.

coraline swam steadily, so focused that her other brother's presence caught her by surprise when the sound of his approach alerted her to his presence.

loko, she acknowledged him, swallowing the shame she felt at having been followed without realizing it. she paused for a moment to glance at him, wondering if he knew anything about this, and decided against asking. she didn't want to know. if she didn't know, she couldn't feel left out.

instead she continued to move through the water, intent on getting close enough to hear whatever words were being exchanged.

he questioned the prophet, as many did.

i summoned you here, she told him simply, beckoning him closer. she is ready to go home.

beyond the pale wayfarer lurked a youthful pair wrought in similar seaside shades. siblings, perhaps. the listener beckoned to them as well, waiting for whichever of the trio dared approach to reach the shoreline before she turned.

then she would lead them past the shores, into the twisting mossy forest of fog the druids called home. she would lead them to @Mireille.

she waited.
and her breath caught when she saw sobo.
mireille felt tears sweep across her face as if it were storm over water.
first to him she ran, then coraline, then loko, crying softly and silently as teary gaze then turned with wordless gratitude toward the listener.

The sea water was bracing where it lapped against his legs, and Sobo took strength in it then, for what the Listener said seemed like it must be impossible. The loa had gifted him dreams of Mireille and this island. A wolf could not summon another in their dreams.

There was no way to explain how he had heard that unearthly howl, though, or how she knew he would come. At once, Sobo looked to the Listener as something other than wolf. A spirit? A minor loa? Or perhaps even a major one wearing wolf’s clothing. Whatever she was, the shape she took was not her true one. It sent an unnerved shiver through him.

When she beckoned, he followed all the same, sloshing out of the water onto the shore but not wasting time to shake out his fur. It made him uneasy to leave the sea behind, but Mireille was worth it. She would always be worth it.

She came out of the gloom quickly and Sobo felt all his tension melt away. Sè, he said, crumpling around her in a tight embrace, then watching her slip past to see their siblings. Sobo turned his head back to the Listener then. It was too eerie to acknowledge her otherworldly presence and power, but the knowing was in his eyes when they held on her. T’ank ya for helping us find her. What can we do ta repay ya?

loko, coraline nearly whispered. he bumped his shoulder against her in silent return. his gaze remained transfixed on the silhouette.

she was young like them, but something in her gaze announced she was nothing like them. she beckoned for them to follow; loko, like sobo, felt certainty in the sea -- he was loathe to leave it.

but mireille! even he could not feign indifference to see his sister alive, tearful -- he embraced her too, turning to sobo's flank to deliver a silent pair of questioning eyes upon the stranger.

coraline shadowed her siblings, listening intently to what few words she could make out from the dark stranger. she spoke of summoning sobo here — and someone who was ready to go home.

mireille?

the dark girl led them across the island, and coraline saw that it was true. mireille was here, and alive. hot tears flooded coraline's seaglass eyes. she rushed forward to greet her, forgetting for a moment the mysterious otherworldly being who had brought them all here.

mireille, i thought... she trailed off, unable to voice her fears. they were not true. they would never be true. that was what mattered.

the siblings were joyful, consumed by their reunion except for their leader. the boy spoke of repayment even now. the listener nodded once, acknowledging the noble intent behind his words. she intended to use it to the fullest extent.

there is no debt between us. to aid others is our purpose. but i understand you may wish to show your gratitude; there is a way you could aid us, her gaze swept over the four siblings, slow and studious. your pack, sapphique; i wish to meet with the leaders to discuss a friendship. an alliance. when this time comes, i ask only that you speak. tell your family what has happened here. let mireille's safety be proof of the druids' intentions.

this, she asked of all of them. but she would only ask once; it was up to them to choose to show their favor.

sorry to hold this up! last for me <3

her brothers. her sister. sapphique all around her.
and the steady, eldritch voice of the listener seeming to guide even her own thoughts —
"i will tell dem."
if allowed, she would step forward; she would bow to the listener in silent thanks.
in prayer.
mireille was ready to return home.

Last for me as well and will probably archive it on March 22nd if no one else posts!

He learned, then, that this island was the home of druids. That they were a peaceful sort intent on helping others. That they would seek an alliance with Sapphique was only natural given their proximity, and Sobo could see no reason why Erzulie and Rosalyn would turn them away.

I will tell also, he vowed, but did not step forward the way Mireille did. The Listener intimidated him with a power he did not understand. He preferred to keep some short distance between them, but lowered his head in acknowledgement.

When they were all ready to go, Sobo returned with his siblings to the water, then to the sands, then to Sapphique proper to bring Mireille home at last.

last for me also <3

much like sobo, loko did not get too close to the listener.

he was overjoyed to see mireille; many questions pressed to his tongue. yet this was not the time or place. with coraline close and sobo speaking to the listener, loko assumed the role of silent guard and brought up the rear.

later, when they were shaking sea from their scruffs on ankyran soil, loko would ask more of the island, of the listener.

later still, when nyra came to the sound it would be mireille to break the silence and loko to hold his tongue, yet this was many weeks off, and for now the boy was immersed in relief and gratitude that his sister was still alive and well.