Dragoncrest Cliffs mare lannwit

coming of age ceremony for @Chani, @Ravin, and @Astera! open for all pack members to gather <3 @Chacal @Val @Suzu @Theo @Coraline @Maleah @Raelle Miette @Chantale @Tousaint @Thibault @Svalinn

their words had tangled, had mingled; it was decided that their young ones reaffirm their bond with the salt which bore them all through an event which would introduce those chosen to a night of the long tide.
not far from the edge of the baywaters was a stone which rose from the sea at all times, its lengthy surface wide and sunwarmed, flat with few impressions. the tide retreating swelled the waters around thoughtstone so that for several hours it became its own island.
it was here that the young wolves among the seapack who had reached the age of nine months would be placed. the saltbrine here was shallow; a walk to the stone or back would not be difficult.
but all night they would remain, and in time a dream might be given them. she felt her mothers here as she called for the pack this frigid evening, the lap of surf at her back and the singe of ancient urge inside her. the wolves of sapphique stood ready, ready to see yet another generation rise into sanctified communion with the sea.

val did not begrudge the three chosen, as their path to the thoughtstone was made clear. he smiled affectionately to astera, stuck out his tongue to chani, and waved off ravin as they collected near mireille.

he would watch from the baystone, but this was their torch to bear. the night was theirs to witness.

come morning, the ritual of the long night would be completed.

and each of them would have grown just a little older with this novel life experience.

Theo approached to watch the ceremony

not going to consistently post w him so just assume he’s here and don’t wait for me on rounds ^^

Ravin approached the ceremony calmly, but intrigued, as he wasn’t quite sure what to expect during it

the hunt had enlivened changing and bestowed upon her a wide range of skills that she wanted to put to the test on the plains.
considering a certain redtail boy who might want to go with her, chani's attention was demanded at once by the lowlight, the surf, and her aunt's pleased expression.
she sauntered closer to theo and glanced around in warm curiosity, sticking her tongue out with a pleased squeal toward val.

Her three children would no longer be Pearls when the sun came up the next day. The thought of this made her yearn for the ability to turn back time, so she could see their earliest moments again. But here, only what felt like a few moments after their birth, they now stood, having each received a pearl and now ready for their coming-of-age ceremony: a new tradition that might draw the pack closer to spirituality.

She watched them, her eyes delighting at each for having grown so much.

one post cameo so i can get this in her threadlog <33 same will be for coraline! both are skippable!

maleah had grown to truly appreciate the art of sapphique's ceremonies. the sea took and the sea gave; the sea chose who she wanted. the sea had chosen maleah upon her arrival, and now it would take the hand of sapphique's brood.
windswept and tired as the sky above churned to a soft magenta flare, maleah made her path to the frigid oceanfront. she kept a pelt wrapped around her shoulders, one freshly cleaned that would surely smell of seasalt by the morning's arrival.
she was content to perch along the searocks and let the crash of waves lull her to sleep alongside her family.

coraline had been robbed of moments like this.
she had her pearl now, yes, and she held it close to her heart, for it was her birthright. she was a daughter, one of the last from the mothers of sapphique.
but she hadn't gotten this. and there were two, two outsiders who got it, who got to lie before the thoughtstone. she hadn't been called for that. she never got to know if she even would have been.
she had been too selfish. she knew this. and so she decided, against the firing bitter thrum of her heart, to not do so again. she came with a curled smile, with quiet chatter in the tongue of her maman, and she settles somewhere alongside her sisters and their children.
but at some time in the late hours of the night, she weeps for the wrenching fear that the sea did not long for her in the same way she longed for it.

The seasons changed, and with it came new ceremonies. Suzu enjoyed the pearl ceremonies, but was curious about what was going to happen now, for the children who came of age. Her mother had been tight-lipped, and had not dropped any hints about what this celebration might involve. She had not been asked to prepare anything, or to help dive for more oysters. 

Curious, she was drawn to the shore at dusk, and looked to her leaders with a wondering glint in her eyes.

What was this? Asters had no idea about what kind of ceremony this would be. Another pearl ceremony? That seemed unlikely. She joined the crowd, scanning the gathering for any sign of Miette. Was she here?

round two! no posting order! <3 here is the thread for rolls. initiates: for this round, post ur characters going to the thoughtstone and talking to one another as the sun goes down, playing, meditating. the dream round will begin after that!

they gathered, and mireille wakened with pride in each way to see their growing faces before her.
"it be an important night for @Chani, @Astera, an' @Ravin. tonight you will walk out into de water, to de t'oughtstone. t'ere, you will sleep and you will dream of de Lwa."
"dey be spirits an' elements of protections. goddesses. holy men. we will tell you who t'ese be when de sun has risen again, when you have come back to shore."
the water lapped; it would be cold, but nothing a denizen of the seacliffs had not experienced before. "dis be a good t'ing. do not fear. you willnae be alone. sapphique watches."
with that, the obsidian motioned her nieces and nephew toward the waterline. they could swim to the stone or wade there; what mattered was that they touched the sea with intent, to know and to be ready for that visions brought by the salt.

chani listened raptly, eyes widening here and there. when it came time for the young ones to wade into the surf, she kissed her mother and siblings goodbye, looking into their faces.
she was resolute in the water; born to it.
chani was the first to reach the sunwarmed rock, and she splashed water at whoever came next, laughing.
as the evening shadows rolled, she felt herself filled with adrenaline; it was not until the moon was high that she began to feel tired, yawning and curling across one edge of the stone as the water rose around them.
she blinked at starlight upon sea, wondering.

Ravin followed after Chani and was sprayed by her splashing. He playfully splashed her back before pulling himself up onto the rock. He sat there with her as the night fell

as night fell, as young voices quieted and gazes lifted sleepily toward the round moon, waves lapped gently at thoughtstone.
each young one would receive a different vision.

the first was for chani, who dreamt of thick pale lightning striking high over a calm azurite sea. every color was more than it was living; each sound magnified. at her feet rolled smooth round stones, and when she looked up, a wolf's head was looming in the clouds above the ocean. yet she did not fear. the wolf laughed. what has a howl but no throat? Sogbo asked, shimmering with his cloak of electricity. and it came to her. the wind, chani answered. very good! said the lwa, and showered her in pearls that gathered at her feet until the girl awoke with a start and a smile.

Sogbo is the Loa of lightning, and is a swift wolf who is almost too bright to look at. Sogbo is energetic, often overwhelming. Flashy, boastful, driven to want attention and loves a good competition or riddle. He covets smooth, round stones as offerings.

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the second was for @Ravin. he would dream of lightning too, though the waves leapt and roiled around a single pinnacle of stone upon which he stood. with each lift of his paw, the water rushed higher. above, the lupine head of Sogbo showed itself once more, accompanied by the floating, languid handsomeness of Bade. the wind whispered around ravin, lifting him into the air. what brings dreams but does not sleep? Sogbo asked, and after a moment the answer would come: the moon. Bade laughed, and whipped the waves into a torrent of power until ravin awoke, startled and pleased.

Bade is the Loa of wind. He often appears semi-translucent, with long silvery fur that is windswept and he is constantly in motion. He drifts upon the breeze, or rather, it drifts with him- carrying him about as he commands it. Bade is both whimsical and mercurial; curious, but not to be underestimated.

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room the agency/alamy stock photo,  #ab95ac

the third dream was for @Astera. she was led away from the sea, into a carpet of ferns and a tangle of thin green trees between which emerald eyes blinked warmly. where astera walked, the ground broke into golden butterflies with purple wingtips. here the seawind was not so rough, but the taste of salt hung in the air. the foliage rustled, glinting in shades of viridian and jade. you braved the sea before the sea was ready for you. and you have seen shadows beheld by no other, Loco murmured, voice filled with pleasure. the green eyes winked away, and only the canopy stirred with a breath of peaceful wind. she would wake comfortably from the dream, perhaps thoughtful.

Loco is the Loa of vegetation and land flora, largely associated with trees. He also has healing properties, which he gives to the leaves (herbs). He will appear as a wise, grey wolf with dark green eyes, who might smell of comforting woodsmoke. He may also appear as a butterfly. He is an excellent judge of character, and can transform into wind at will. He prefers his offerings to be left in the woodlands, covered with straw or grasses.

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when the children returned to the shore, they would be changed. assured of a new place. they would tell of their dreams and be told the lwa in return. a time of sharing would follow, wherein the young ones would be encouraged to find their first offerings for the deities who had chosen them.

lwa descriptions by jess!

as night fell, they would be with only themselves for company. but as dawn rose, they would find val waiting out of the surf’s reach, smile warm and welcoming as he escorted them back to the pack’s fold.

in time he hoped he would learn what each of them had experienced and dreamed; from chani’s vision of sogbo, to ravin’s handsome bade to astera’s seaworn loco; each of them a kernel of significant meaning that they would nurse the rest of their lives.

Ravin awoke from his dream with confusion and also pleasure. It was an interesting experience. He waited for Astera to wake from hers, before he swam to the shore where Val awaited.

the dream entranced chani, changed her.
she spun through ageless time and a space she did not understand, and when she opened her eyes, it felt as though the dawn had never been brighter.
val welcomed them, and as the wisdom of these dreams were explained, chani felt spreading within her chest a deep sense of contentment and grounding into the very earth of sapphique.