Bearclaw Valley Who you gonna call?

She is odd so I am open to her just being chased off. But I'd like to try to see if she can fit in!

The spirits led her here, it was obvious by the way the wind blew and how the stars aligned. Whispers of a better life did not fall silent but only grew more loud as the sentient shadow wound through the stone wall pathway. Selena had traveled all night to come to this place, what place it was she did not know, but it was very obviously a place. 

"Okay, well this seems like this is it. Is it?" Endless black eyes looked to her left to take into consideration what the spirits would say. She didn't hear anything yet, so the girl continued until an opening to a valley appeared. "Pretty." Observing her surroundings, the witch felt the chill of morning wind ruffle her fur with excitement. She was here.

Bein' vague because of on-going raid threads!

Stryx was minding her own business, as per usual, and studying an assortment of plants growing near the valley entrance; that was when she heard a distant voice. It was far enough she could not make out what was said - but near enough to be a danger if it was the wrong person.

She sighed the world-weary sigh inherent to grandmothers who were tired of the young. It wasn't very far at all, once she got going. There was someone standing by the boulder that served as the gatekeeper to the valley.

Pretty.

Aye, I am, but you can't expect a little compliment to get you far. She piped up, choosing to be obnoxious and angsty, rather than her usual (which would've been old and angsty so not much different).

Stryx stepped in to the stranger's path and gave them a look over. She sniffed emphatically and wore a grimace. State your business, kid.

Lo and behold, the girl found herself with what she immediately assumed was a sort of welcome wagon. Well, at least if she had a pack she would have a welcome wagon. Maybe with a small trinket for new members to ward off evil. It was an essential for any den.

Selena giggled softly at the joke as her thoughts of a hypothetical pack rolled down a steep hill and crashed into a rock when there was a follow up question. "The spirits told me to come." Selena's soft voice spoke matter of factly, proud of her beliefs. "I think this is the place I am meant to be. I get a good vibe here." The dark wolf trailed off to take in the valley once more before looking into the older woman's cloudy eyes with wonder. "Where am I?"

As soon as the girl mentioned spirits all hope was lost. Cue eye-roll (except not really, Stryx had the feeling attached to one but her bedside manner wasn't that bad).

You got a... vibe. She answered flatly, trying to understand the lingo and failing. Was it like indigestion? That was something Stryx could at least treat. Maybe it had something to do with the spirits the black-hole of a girl was talking about.

Mental issues, then. Nothing the physician could do there.

The old woman sighed and, in the manner of an over-worked-under-paid tour guide at Disneyland who had never once seen a Disney movie, droned, This is the valley of the bears. The people call it Ursus. You want in? They're totally your type.

Not that it was Stryx's call to make. She eyed the vantablack girl over, one last time, and waited. Better be certain, kid — or who knows how you'll end up.

Bears? The girl let her head tilt slightly to its side while taking in the droning welcome wagon before her, completely unaware that this woman absolutely did not care whether she joined or not. “I’ve never seen a bear before. I’ve only heard of them.” Selena thought out loud more often than not. Selena was not good at being quiet or staying on task. 

“I’d like to join.” The day dream of what a bear might look like and if she could befriend it dissipated, the older wolf before her coming back into focus. This was something the spirits willed for her, of course she would join.

This girl did not appear to know what she wanted. She went on to explain her curiosity about bears, and Stryx gave a long sigh when they spoke of joining. Well, it isn't my call.

If this was what the kid wanted, she wasn't going to stop them. Let them figure their own path out. She tilts her head back and with her rasping call, seeks @Arielle or @Merrick there at the valley mouth. The sound dies away and Stryx is left waiting alongside the girl.

You good at anything? She asked, more conversational than interrogative, and even then, only half-interested.

fully aware that his daughter in law would scold him fiercely for being up, merrick lifted himself to answer the call after all. aventus was mending and she herself had been brutalized.
aside from the soreness of his body, it was his forepaw which plagued him most, even weeks after the raid. yet merrick only set his jaw and forged on, keeping to the path of red dirt.
when he arrived, it was to find stryx with a young dark wolf. her black fur hurt his eyes; he saw for a moment only his raven queen. "who comes to ursus?" the bearwolf growled, moving to flank the physician. his single eye burned into their guest.

It took Arielle a little longer than normal to make her way to the stone opening of the valley. Her hind leg was slightly better, less swollen, but she still had a significant limp. If she were her own patient she would be giving something stronger for pain, but she needed to keep her mind sharp so that she could continue to monitor the progress of the rest of the pack. She was glad for Stryx's help always; it meant she could rest sometimes too.

She arrived and limped to the bear king's side, her gaze moving over the stranger. She assumed questions had already been asked, so she said nothing yet.

Good at anything? Well, she did do things but did she do them... good? As they awaited the rest of the welcome wagon, admittedly the spaced out girl hoped they would be more exciting than the front line, Selena took a few moments to think and then answered slowly, thoughtfully. "I know my way around herbs. Along with that, I know rituals of my homeland in which I use what nature gives." The girl smiled at her acquaintance, appreciative of the kindness she had been shown by her.

A growl adjacent to 'who goes there' and Selena's shark eyes swiveled to take in a war battled male of deep forest colors. He was missing an eye with both old and new wounds. The sight drew the girl forward absent minded, but only by a step. She wanted to know what had happened but before the question could be asked, another appeared. This time a female limped next to the rest, silent but watchful. The new wolf's coloring reminded the shadow creature of dying sunlight caressing an old dead tree. 

"I am Selena." She was not nervous, her eyes met each and every one of the strangers'. Selena rarely felt nervous or embarrassment.. or regret. Sometimes she felt like she felt nothing. Instead the loner aimed to be an empty vessel for the spirits, the clarity that came with the numbness helped her connect to them better. This of course was a practiced skill. "I was brought here by the will of the spirits. They told me to come." A moment for the young wolf to take in the extent of the battered. "Do you need my assistance?"

The girl was an idiot. She had as much sense as any whelp given over to Asklepion; this thought came so suddenly that even Stryx was surprised. She thought often of the mother superior and the teachings of the physicians, but never out in the open like this. Still, her instinct felt right.

As soon as the girl had said her piece, others appeared. Merrick first, Arielle too; they observed the dark girl and Stryx wasn't keen on hanging around. It wasn't going to be her call either way. The girl could speak for herself - and went on to do so.

Do you need my assistance? She had asked.

All that Stryx saw was another would-be healer, who could very well learn to replace Stryx herself. Maybe someone to feed the cult of the bear, which would no doubt thrill Merrick; he seemed eager for fresh blood of any variety.

Depends on them. Stryx motioned between the two superiors and the girl, and backed away.

black fur black eyes white teeth —
she spoke of spirits and in the lightlessness of her, merrick saw averna somehow.
she spoke of spirits. she had stepped toward him; no he had not missed that little tidbit. his stare swept to stryx then to arielle, then back to selena.
"what spirits? what did they say?" he was interested; it showed in every line of him, injured or not.
they all answered the call of the bear. who commanded this one?

She was a healer, too, which pleased the bruin-heart; they certainly needed all the help they could get right now. Not that Merrick would listen. Clearly he wasn't resting now even though she had instructed him to rest as much as possible. She was almost certain his middle toes were broken, but what did she know. Regardless, she wouldn't scold him for it in front of a stranger.

This woman claimed that the spirits guided her here, and this made Arielle slightly wary. She decided the stranger was too close to the bear king and took a step forward, ensuring she would be the bearer of an attack if it turned out this woman was here under false pretenses. 

Stryx deferred to them and Merrick asked for more information on these spirits that had spoken to the shadow. Her gaze stared into the woman; the briun-heart would know if she lied.

The spirits said many things to her as well as bestowed visions and allowed the empath to fill her voided chest with the emotions of those around her. But the man did not ask about all of this, so she refrained from over sharing.

In the matter of how she got here, her companions said very little but instead physically pushed her with the force of a mighty flapping raven whose gusts blew Selena in the direction she was meant to go.

“They don’t tell me their names… but they told me that I must hurry. To leave. That there was a better life for me and that I could be more. The strong gusts of winds pushed me here. I was sure to keep them at my back so I knew where they were meant to push me forward.”

nameless spirits. a wind who pressed and pushed. the girl with black eyes was not lying that merrick could see.
arielle's step was not missed. perhaps if he were more spoiled he might have felt entitled to her protection. as it was, merrick was only, ferociously proud, both of her and of his son's choice for mate.
they had chosen correctly for one another.
merrick smirked. "can you kill, selena?" he looked at stryx, at arielle; he turned to show the stranger the new lacerations and contusions and slashes and wounds he had earned. "can you go to war if i order you through the bear, not your spirits?"

The spirits had guided her here, which the bruin-heart thought was interesting. Maybe she confused the bear with whatever these spirits were to her. But Arielle felt as though one would know who the bear was if it spoke to them. Maybe the spirits were handing her off to the bear then? Time would tell, assuming she could learn to serve the their spirit over her own.

The healer looked to Merrick as he spoke. Their thoughts were the same, not that she was surprised. Your spirits have no place here beyond delivering you to us. If you stay, you must serve only the bear.

The forest man spoke again, the one obviously in charge. No reaction from Selena could be seen, though she felt her stomach turn. Eyes did not blink as her mind became clouded, lost in thought. Immediately the shadow put herself in the position of a warrior wrapping her jaws around the neck of another. Another who had hopes and dreams, stripping them of their physical vessel and releasing their soul into the cosmos. She bet the blood was warm.  

Another gust of freezing morning wind pressed to her back, ruffling her nape fur. Selena followed the push again and took another step closer to the man, her eyes swiveling for a moment to the woman who offered him protection. She told her the loner would need to abandon her old ways. If the spirits willed her to connect with the Bear, then it would be done. Besides, this was at the end of it all, still the will of the spirits. She would never abandon them and she knew she wouldn't stop hearing them. 

You will not be rid of us.

"I have not killed, but I am meant to be here. If staying here requires me to do that I will do it." Whether she physically could was something else entirely. "I will serve the Bear."

selena spoke swiftly.
merrick approved.
but it was not enough to merely speak the name of the bear. no more in ursus could there be those who only spoke and did not walk in action. her jet eyes told the bearwolf that she could be molded by the savage force that worked in all of them.
but only if she prostrated herself in utter submission. 
he had seen her gaze shadow itself for a moment.
"i want to see with my own eyes," a sussurating, self-mocking laugh to speak in the plural! "what you are able to do. i believe that spirits speak to you." but would the bear?

The woman took another step forward despite the bruin-heart's protective stance. She would snap teeth at the stranger in warning. It would be the last warning.

She was always amused with how the bruin-witch screened potential joiners. While she came from a more serious perspective, his was more creative and quick to expose their weakness if they had any.

He asked to see proof of what she claimed before, and only then did Arielle's posture release some of its tension; she was interested to see how the woman responded.

if you would like me to change anything in this, if something isn’t allowed let me know!

Selena smiled softly at the guard’s intensity, appreciating her commitment to her leader. She understood the feeling. What was precious to you must be held dear, and what she held dear was massively injured. 

Selena paused, having never been asked to prove she could speak with The Spirits. She would undoubtedly have trouble conveying her gift, and this made the young girl’s smile fall. “You want to… see?” Her tone didn’t sound unsure, but instead defeated. The shadow closed her eyes in wait, noting the gentle wind that still wove through the group of wolves.

The Bear is here.

The strength of the beast at first fortified her small frame, but it’s breath then blew in her face from behind the ones who willed it. The strength of the wind was enough to push Selena back to sit on her haunches submissively instead of taking a further step, and would be enough to push the the others from behind if they allowed it. Paranoia gripped her stomach and pried open her eyes in time to see a shadow flee in the corner of her vision. The spirits always stayed out of direct line of sight. To see them fully would be a true gift.

I’m here.

merrick approved.
selena changed before his gaze; she sharpened. softened. her black eyes a conduit, her frame sinking to the earth as if beneath an unseen weight.
the bearwolf looked toward arielle. he wanted to see in her eyes that she too understood the girl's power;
the spirit, growling between his own breastbones;
"if the bear walks near, shed your own blood, selena. show that your devotion is complete." droplets poured to the ground of her own gifting.

For a few moments, there was nothing. The bruin-heart studied the other woman with an expectant look. 

But her face immediately relaxed as she felt the bear at her nape. Euphoria bloomed in her heart and spread warmth over her entire body.

She watched the spirit push the woman back on her haunches. 

Arielle felt the bear king's eye on her, but she couldn't take her own off of the stranger; it felt like they were glued to her, at least while the bear had control. 

Merrick demanded the woman offer her blood to the bear. The bruin-heart's mouth opened a little, her chest expanding and collapsing with each quick breath. The spirit craved blood the most, and Arielle waited for the scent of it to fill the air.

gonna powerplay this closed! <3 last post for me but feel free to add any others! @Stryx @Arielle

the bear was present.

but the bear did not care for its young conduit.

selena was dispossessed. the dark eyes were wide with fear.

in the next, she turned to run from the wolves of ursus. merrick rolled his shoulders with an amused grin. "not all who walk with spirits are able to walk with bears."

the bruinwitch studied the two of them, then wheeled about, trotting back into the sanctum of the valley.