Phoenix Maplewood the healing of nations

hopefully using for naturalist or chronicler, open to anyone! shes so far from home lmao.

she delved onward. the more north she went, the colder it got, even the marginal change in the wind was enough to chill her to the core; it was a warm spring in the southlands, yet here the heat of the sun seemed to be sucked away. the land beyond the marsh was barren too - a sight hosannah had grown accustomed to by now - but she saw a stand of trees on the horizon, and sought them out. whether they were barren too mattered little; she felt comfortable with the trees around her now, having lived within the forest with the roses. the familiarity of those trees would be mirrored here, in this foreign forest. that is the hope, she thinks, and slips in among them. hosannah's head bows as she begins to scour the dirt for any signs of life, eager to find something to take back home.

Having secured a small meal days prior, an unlucky goose who thought it wise to pick around for the remaining locust carcasses, Reek's strength returned in droves. The apathetic haze that had been the last few days faded away with this renewed energy, however, a momentary ceasefire in the hungry war in the pit of Reek's stomach did little to raise his spirits. Though he was no longer trapped beneath the cover of his cave: bound by his disinclination to move -- Reek was trapped in the darkest annals of his mind. His guilt -- it tore at him until he felt rubbed raw.

It was this lingering shadow of guilt that told Reek to stay away from the maplewood. Each time he returned to his former claim, it only brought him heartbreak and strife. He tried to seperate himself from the sentimentality of it all by telling himself he was only returning to see if the hunting grounds within the spawning forest (which were once prosperous) still harbored enough prey to provide for the rest of the wolves of the grotto. If anything remained, he would claim it for them.

As Reek cut a swath thought his former home, his question regarding prey was answered. The wood was ultimately barren— nothing remained that harkened back to its former glory. In Reek's heart of hearts, he felt defeated.

With the bounty of his search coming up barren, Reek felt it wise to return to grotto, but the scent of a strange wolf (neither Dragon or local) caught Reek's attention. Perhaps she was searching for the same thing, he thought. Too bad she would only turn up empty handed just as he. Strangely, it was curiosity that guided Reek forward, away from the grotto and toward the stranger.

there was nothing here. for all the beauty she had seen among the trees - their stark white bodies, the great spread of their boughs - the leaves had been devoured, and everything that once littered the forest floor had been erased. the dirt held nothing. so the woman continued her search, but it was clear to her that such efforts were futile. she would not find what she sought here. a disatissfied chuff ebbed from her lips, causing a line of dirt to rise up as dust and coat her face. she recoiled from it and squeezed shut her golden eyes, and waited a second before resuming her hunt. when hosannah looked about again, she saw the flicker of movement between the trees, and grew still with rapt attention; but she only needed to watch for a moment before realizing it was not prey, but another wolf. she sighed again, and licked the dust from her lips.

you look hungry, she commented vaguely. assuming this dark creature was hungry was like saying a fish was wet - and the troubles of the world would continue unabated. she slunk towards him with a curious twist of her body, as if she had been going one way and then changed her mind mid-motion. snake-like and sinuous, hosannah watched him readily. is this your forest?

She was a small thing -- yet she possessed a particular swagger, a gracefulness, in her smooth gait. Reek moved in closer and allowed his sad eyes to fall upon the woman's features: sharp, angular, but not without beauty in their arraignment. Perhaps there was a time when Reek would have fawned over such things, but now-a-days, beauty intimidated him. Like all the good things that had walked into Reek's life, beauty was doomed to fade away into nothing. Just as his marriage had frayed at the seams— just as Tavi had walked out on him.

He watched for a moment in silence until the stranger spoke. A question to which he only responded with a confirming nod. Though he was in no present danger of starvation, having had a meal the previous day, the pains of hunger were quick to return. The next question she levied required a bit more explanation. "For a time, yes," he answered. The claim he once held over the maplewood now felt long distant to Reek -- it was like looking at a snippet of someone else's life. "—but it's nothing more than a graveyard now."

He paused and bit his lip. The remains of his fomer family surely lurked within, hidden away deep within the annals of the maplewood. "What is it you hope to find among the headstones?" He asked, motioning to the barren branches of the wood surrounding them.

a sorrowful beast indeed. simply looking upon him gave her cause to worry, not for her own safety mind you, but rather for his health. she did not care for him, this stranger. but he was a brooding, afflicted thing. something to be used. his answer is vague but it catches in her ears, and she turns to survey this so-called graveyard with a touch more sympathy. no longer does hosannah scour through the dirt for things unseen — his admission leads her to believe that only the dead of her own kind lay here, and such things were not proper items for any menu. when he questions her, her ears shift and then she turns to look upon him again.

life, she murmurs first, and sighs the tiny, all-encompassing word.

obviously this pursuit would not end well for her, so she must give up. perhaps further - further, and further still. she would walk the many avenues of the world in need of her own survival. but he is here, and he is alive, this wretched man; perhaps the shadow holds a secret? so the flame dances towards him, slipping closer, but not so close that he could lash out easily upon her. hosannah is protected by her lord, but she will not tempt the darkness of this man any more than she must.

if death is all i will find here, where do you lay your head at night? spirits make poor bedfellows, sir shadow. she cants her head, quirking it slightly like an owl would when faced with a mouse. he is hardly a target to her, being larger, stronger, and all manner of corrupted - but he knew things of this place. and perhaps she could appeal to whatever good nature was left among the murk of his sadness.

She sought life. Reek sought the same, yet his search was also peppered with the strong desire to find emotional peace in the hopes that it would bring some fleeting sense of closure. They were one in the same in their goals, Reek felt, in that neither of them would find what they were looking for within the specter of the maplewood. There was nothing but a barren wood. A shadow of its former self.

The stranger stepped forward, slow in her approach. Reek's eyes remained closely trained on her form as she inched closer -- tantalizing as she may appear, Reek was wary. Once more, she levied a question. There was once a time when Reek was careful when divulging information about his own pack, but the longer he led, the more he realized it was uniportant to keep secrets under lock and key.

"I lead a pack that calls the Grotto to the northwest home," he answered. "We get by thanks to the lake." In fact, as far as famines went, the wolves of the grotto had done quite well. If it weren't from the fish that were readily available (and the lingering birds who preyed on said fish), Reek and Co. would have starved long ago. However, "—The famine," he continued, "it's made things difficult for us." 

He paused and his gaze trailed downward. "I'm being punished," spoke Reek, voice riddled with guilt. The timing -- it was just too well placed. He had pissed off whatever higher power there was. This plague was an angry response. As a result, Reek, who had been an adamant non-believer for most of his life, had begun to question himself.

ah, a leader. but what sort of leader could a broken man be? and surely he was broken. he mourned losses that hosannah could not fathom, and she pitied him, pitied the sundered soul that rested inside of him. of all her wanderings and meetings with the natives here, hosannah imagined this man to be the most corrupted; he looked and sounded as if he had been deconstructed and laid bare, a scab which could not heal. when he murmured something about being punished, hosannah knew what must be done.

she had come here seeking life, seeking value for her pack; yet here was this man, and here they were, together, in a forest that was trying so hard to reignite. perhaps, she drawled quietly, sorrowfully, and hosannah crept up close to him. she did not touch him, but there was a subtle leaning of her body - offering physical comfort should he want it - and as she settled nearer to him, she continued.

or perhaps, tested. the lord has His own desires, and we are but fodder to Him; yet maybe He will save those worth saving, her tone was light, but faint. she spoke slowly, rhythmically, a true snake-charmer before him. are you worth saving? do you want to be saved? they were two very different questions, but she looked upon the dark man still, her eyes bright and inquiring.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the cracked dam that kept Reek's sorrow at bay gave way. He felt the hot prickling of tears beginning to form in his eyes. She moved closer, offering just enough space for Reek to reach out and touch her willowy body -- and reach out he did. A brief moment passed before Reek close the space between them and his approach was wary and slow, but his face soon found itself buried in the warm scruff of the stranger's neck as he began to emotionally unfurl like a wilting lotus flower. Thought contact, he was grounded. He breathed in deep as he listened to the smoothness of the stranger's voice.

She spoke of some higher power -- a divine test -- and in a way it somewhat confirmed Reek's suspicions. However, if he was being tested, Reek thought he was failing. Flailing. Drowning in an angry sea brought forth by a displeased God. He wanted nothing more than the saved— offered some sort of life raft, but he did not know if he was worthy. Eventually, Reek found his voice.

"I want to be saved," he answered, voice cracking with emotional strain. "I just don't know how."

not every soul who she encountered was so easily swayed, yet he was malleable. made so by his sadness, perhaps. was this what drew her forth from the forest of the dark? truly? had this been His plan all along? the swarm had left nothingness, it had been a purge. and now she was picking up the pieces of what was left - who was left - and making the world anew. yes, yes, this must have been the desire of raas all along! she smiled plainly at the dark man, feeling a jolt of energy pulse through her skin when he touched her, and breathed softly through her parted lips.

his voice was pitiful. it was perfect - he was perfect.

let me help you, she murmured, brushing her snout upon his dark fur as softly as she could, to give him comfort, but not too much. she could be the carrot on the stick. the daystar must have brought me to you for a reason, as she uttered one of the many names of her beloved god, her voice paled, and she bowed her had briefly, her cheek tickled by the darkness of his nearby fur. i was meant to find you, you poor thing. i will help you see the light. He must want something from you. you would not be alive otherwise, dear shadow.

In the comfort of the stranger's embrace, Reek felt utterly exposed. Unguarded and empty. This raw emotional outpouring that passed Reek's lips in the form of a dry sob was far too difficult to suppress. The yearning to be be pure, to be absolved of his guilt, overpowered Reek in a way unlike he had felt before. His knees shook -- his body quaked with manic fervor. She, this strange priestess, held the key to healing within her heart (or at least, Reek believed she did). He would devote himself to anything that came with the promise of making him feel whole once more.

Her voice was soft and sweet -- it lured Reek into a lull and he fell still. "Please," he whispered pleadingly into the scruff of her neck in response to her offer to help. "I want to see the light." Strangely, the thought that there was some sort of divine plan to the chaos brought Reek comfort. That somehow, this stranger had been hand selected to save Reek from his rut. He wanted nothing more than to be part of this plan— to have purpose renewed.

"Come back to the grotto with me," he spoke, still not daring to pull his face away. "I can offer you a place among my pack. You can teach me how to follow -- you can teach us all." Because surely, if it was good enough for Reek, it was good enough for the rest of the grotto.

at first she was glad, and enthralled, and even a bit charmed by his pleading. a tiny thrill worked down her spine and settled in her belly, a rumbling sadism — then his offer sounded in the air, and the red woman gave pause to her many feelings. she is loyal to the rose-wolves. but his offer tempts her in ways that cannot be expressed. what he offerse is exactly what she has been hunting for — a flock. she is mightily tempted, and thankful, but hosannah cannot accept. perhaps in time she can return to him and to his corrupted lessers, but not now. not while she is rooted to the roses.

but is she truly? her lord looked down upon the world, saw her false marriage, and ended it. he looked upon the beauty of the world itself, and the good fortune, and saw reason to wipe it all out; he was teaching a lesson to all creation! and she, surviving it, was humbled. perhaps this was His intention all along. that she use the rosings as a means of keeping safe, of staying alive in this physical realm, so that she may do more good upon the earth.

this sad man, this manifestation of all things wretched, she held him up with her spindly legs and her fleeting promises. this thing which was too far gone — hosannah knew in her heart that he was not worth the effort, that he would be purged by the daystar eventually, but she was eager to prove herself to her lord. deftly, she nodded.

and with that tiny motion, agreed to shepherd this lost flock back to the light.

Glad to have you back Java!

He knew nothing of her own internal struggle, nor the loyalty to her pack in which she currently resided that pulled against his offer. However, despite all this, the stranger's answer was clear as day. She nodded, accepting the offer and thus cementing the grotto and its wolves into the path of the divine and into the Daystar's light. He knew no more than what the stranger had told him about Daystar and his might, but for the first time since Reek had initially fallen apart, he felt as if the path to peace -- to reconstruction -- had been layed before him.

With a sniffle, Reek pulled his head away from Hosannah's embrace. A thin, broken smile played across his face. "Thank you," he whispered: voice still hoarse with emotion. This stranger, she must have been sent specifically to save him— his own gaurdian angel to set him on a righteous path. Soon after, Reek realized he didn't even know her name. And so he inquired. "My— my uh, name's Reek. What should I call you?" He asked. Surely, gaurdian angel wouldn't suffice.

After a quick beat, Reek made a slow motion in the direction of the grotto and readied himself to lead the stranger home.

reek. it was a fitting name for one so foul, but she would cleanse him. from the spirit outward, he would be renewed. yet her doubts remained, knowing she had betrayed aaron in this decision — but perhaps all was not lost. perhaps she could make this work for everyone. his question goes unanswered initially, for hosannah is too busy with her thoughts, but then as she begins to follow him, she murmurs a falsehood - something to keep herself safe in this place of darkness from whence he comes: kesheph. i am a seer, and follower of raas, He Who Redeems, her voice falters, and she licks her lips, thoughtful. it is good that she held back her true earthly name, as names held power; she did not wish to bequeath such power unto this beast, this half-man. together they would go to his hidden place, and she would begin the teachings.

I'll go ahead and archive this thread and start us a new one!

For a moment there was silence, but Reek was soon given a name. His mouth moved, mirroring hers after the word was spoken, but no sound passed his lips. Kesheph. It sounded foreign -- it was a name unlike any he had so far heard and it tasted alien on his lips. He nodded in response and fell silent.

She went on further, each word resonating further within Reek: especially the part about he who redeems. He needed that most of all, redemption— and would devote himself wholeheartedly to Raas and Kesheph's teachings if it meant he was to be made whole once again.

Without a further word, Reek beckoned for the seer to follow him back to the grotto -- to her flock.