Larksong Grotto Burn the witch

Looking for @Hosannah, but all are welcome! 

A son. A surviving, healthy son -- the news of which that had been brought by strange travelers stilled Reek's heart. Though Reek did not have the means to seek his child out and claim him for his own, he felt himself blessed. He had believed the famine to have claimed the lives of both Tavi and her unborn. The weight of this belief hung heavy on Reek's back as a guilty burden. The news that Tavi and child were safe lifted the bulk of this burden from Reek's already heavy conscious.

The timing of which -- directly after Reek's conversion -- made him believe this message to be a blessing from Raas himself.

However, the joy Reek felt to learn that his son and Tavi were alive and safe was bittersweet. Like his pups that had been born of the maplewood, Tambourine was a child he was doomed to never know, but at least he, unlike Reek's first litter (or so he believed), had a chance to life.  Perhaps someday, he would see his son and be the father he hoped to be.

He set out in search of the Seer and followed the trail of her scent. There was much to discuss, and also, much to learn.

Charley was out wandering the grotto aimlessly, worrying about Emory and wondering where Aspen was. With his twin sister gone, he now only had the silvery female to dote upon, and his thoughts were ruled by her as he padded along silently. 
Reeks scent smacked him suddenly in the face as the wind switched pace, and at once the multicolored male turned towards his old friend. With Emory's influence far from the two of them, perhaps they could catch up without jealousy welling up in the Pryors heart.
         "Reek!"
He called out to the lanky alpha as his carribean eyes caught him from afar, picking up his pace to catch up. He didn't know of Tavi or the son sired by his best friend, or the new religion taking him over, but that was why the scruffy man reached out to Reek. If the thin rift separating them could be sewn before breaking them apart completely, then perhaps they could be true best friends again.

hosannah had fled the hollow heart of the grotto. she moved towards the lake nearby, at first just because it was there; then, as she drew closer, she paused at the edge and looked at herself. inspected the fresh cuts which were bestowed upon her by the witless, frightened mother. the bleeding had stopped and the red tint it had added to her fur was easily masked; still, hosannah crept in to the lake's shallows and was bathing when she heard an unfamiliar voice — but the word, the name, she knew.

ears perked, she withdrew from the water. tendrils dripped from her figure as she sought the owner of the voice, and by proxy, reek. she was still a bit shaken from her encounter with vuk, and so she regarded this new stranger with some trepidation. she slunk around him and to reek's side, and once there she administered a covetous rub of her cheek upon his shoulder. a part of her was curious but she was far too skeptical of these strangers to speak freely, or to even remove her gaze from the stranger's figure. she watched him, but her attention was glued to reek primarily.

The scent of the Seer grew strongest by the lake, but as Reek continued along her trail, her ultimate location remained unfound and a mystery. What he did find -- or found him rather -- was Charley Pryor, who called out for him from atop the ridge. As he made his approach a rare smile crossed Reek's face. He attributed it to the sense of peace that had settled over him with the arrival of the Seer and the revelation of Raas. Or perhaps it had been the fact that Reek hadn't seen his old friend in a proper manner since he arrived to the grotto.

"Charley!" Replied Reek, shouting with uncharacteristic excitement. Just as his excited exclamation passed his lips, the Seer whom he hoped to find arrived from further down the lakeside and pressed her snout into Reek's shoulder. His body swayed slightly. 

The woman -- this important woman -- whom Reek had brought back to the grotto was surely unknown to his old friend. Taking it upon himself to provide an introduction, Reek spoke. "—Charley, this is Kesheph, Seer and servant of Raas." There was a seriousness to Reek's tone, as if to emphasize how important the Seer was, that she was not some normal subordinate. "She's come to save us." To save them all, he figured. The Seer would guide the grotto into the light of Raas, of that Reek was sure.

It seemed today they would not catch up, as a smaller female had come to press into Reek's side. The wary look she gave him made his lip twitch, as if he were going to bare his fangs, but obviously thought better of it. The scrawny black male seemed excited-too excited for their usually dull alpha, Charley noted- and the emotion seemed to be explained by the new girl. 
       "SAVE us? What in the bloody hell do you mean, SAVE us?"
His carribean eyes sought for Reek's, questioning. Was there a real trouble here, one he would need to defend Aspen from, or was Reek finally just loosing his mind? The alpha seemed genuine, and the unsurity caused the Pryor to look around for danger.  Raas was another unknown thing to him, but the con master assumed that it, too, would be explained.

the dark one was forthcoming with introductions, but the other - this dark-faced stranger - seemed to take the leader's words poorly. his exclamation caused hosannah's pointed ears to shift back upon her head, and she narrowed her eyes upon him. before reek could speak further, hosannah leaned her long snout close to his nearest ear, and whispered swiftly: this one doubts, he does not trust what you have done, bringing me here, and then hosannah passed a quick look unto reek, fleeting, filled with confidence and knowing, as if she was privy to the depths of this stranger's heart. her short fur bristled, and she pulled back again, sliding next to reek for comfort.

Like Kesheph, Reek noticed the distrust -- the skepticism -- in Charley's incredulous response. He found the lack of trust disheartening, especially coming from the wolf he had once considered to be his best friend. Perhaps he needed the healing of Raas as well. Kesheph could show him the way and the healing light of the Daystar, Reek was sure. He turned his gaze back to the seer and whispered in response, "He will come 'round." He just needed to be shown how broken he was -- how much he needed the light of the divine to purge the corruption from his heart. "Once he sees the healing Raas will bring, he will know."

As she slipped into Reek's flank, he turned his attention back to his packmate/friend. "Brother," he began, voice barren of all hostility. "You should be mindful of your tone around your alpha female." Reek let his statement linger for a moment before turning his neck to brush his face against the Seer. He had assumed she would take the mantle of leadership to help guide the pack spiritually as she brought them into the light. The position was hers if the Seer was willing.

Charley was not deaf to the whispers, and though he only heard bits and pieces he was able to put it together. What, however, did Reek think he needed saving from? What did Reek think CHARLEY needed saving from. The girls reaction to him brought a grimace to his features, ears wilting back, and he was obviously going to react with slight hostility until the alphas words drew his attention. He could see the hurt in Reeks eyes,  and his words held no anger despite his actions. For this, perhaps, he would keep his temper in check, body relaxing. The new information brought a spark of surprise to his blue eyes, and with a tip of his head he continued to listen. He would give this a chance, perhaps if it seemed worth it, if Reek seemed to think it would help. 
      "Alpha... Female? I yield to you, Reek, but you must answer my questions before I blindly accept a strangers ways."
Like his friends, the patchy males tone held no aggression, just a firm curiosity. What did they need healed of, and who was this Raas fellow the dark male spoke of?

their whispers were not so private, evidently. perhaps this stranger had supreme hearing - but he seemed rankled by their discussion, fleeting and subdued though it was. and when reek turned to address this subordinate of his, hosannah only watched; she observed, her head raising slightly, filled with pride over the words which she had influenced, and then - then, he spoke of her as the alpha, and her ears folded back in surprise. it was a brief expression, but laid entirely bare across her face for that single heartbeat of a moment.

the subordinate began to question things, and she, emboldened and emulating the high priest from her shrine-born home, cut him off succinctly; in this way she assumed the role presented to her, accepting the offer without presenting such acceptance aloud. he must yield to no one, but to the will of raas. as you should, before you levy his rage upon us all! her tiny tail whipped to and fro, and as she spoke, as her words gained momentum, it raised imperceptively behind her. had it been its full length, she would have cut quite the silhouette.

you will learn - all of you, or none of you. it is the way of the daystar. but you will not question either of us. to do so is to invite catastrophe — she turned her head slightly, and peered at reek with a slide of her eye, and we have already suffered so much, have we not? if this man refused her, if he questioned too much, then hosannah would find cause to remove him. if she was to build her following here, she would not allow weakness.

As the Seer went on to rebuke Charley, Reek couldn't help but nod in agreement. Though he (and now Kesheph) led the pack in body, Raas was their spiritual shepherd -- and His will, spoken through the mouth of the Seer, would be obeyed by all. Reek had hoped the wolves of his pack would come to bask in the light of Raas on their own fruition, just as he had, but if Reek had to enforce the faith on his wolves then so be it. They would thank him later, once they had found the peace that Reek had found.

The Seer finished and turned back to Reek, posing a question to which Reek responded with a solemn, "We have." Himself in particular. However, there were few wolves who knew Charley as well as Reek did. Unlike most, he knew the skeletons that lurked in his closet and the life that they send to live. Deep down, there must have been some desire for forgiveness. 

"She's right Charley," he went on. "We need saving from ourselves— our sin. Raas is the Redeamer and the light all around us. In Him, we will no longer suffer. In Him, there is forgiveness." This pestulence and the famine would surely end once the Daystar's desires were met. "Have faith Charley— He can save you too."

Hosannah cut him off, and his carribean eyes snapped to her once again. Already, the male was leaning more towards telling this woman to fuck off: if Reek had not been present, he may have. That and, well, he didn't want to get thrown from the pack as soon as he and Aspen started to connect. 
Sure, the spotted male had issues. He knew the bad things he'd done in his life, even felt bad for a lot of it. But no wolf, male or female, would command him to follow. Especially blindly, and in things that simply confused him. Raas? His rage? Daystar? Reek, too, seemed emerced in this crap: would nobody actually explain this shit to him or did he have to do it himself? 
Fully ignoring the female, Charley frowned at Reek.
                "I'll say it again: I have questions before I follow. You know me, Reek, I can't follow anything blindly. Can you just explain what the hell is going on? Redeamer? Faith? Is this a real thing, or something I'm never going to really see?"
He didn't mean real in a bad way, but a physical way. Was this Raas someone he'd be able to meet, one day? The brute knew nothing of religion.

the man is an obstacle she must overcome. presented to her as a test. he resists her, and she, frustrated, relents for the time being - it is clear that only reek can speak to his own lessers and control them. it irks her that there is such struggle, such resistance, but even the most clever of minds must take time to adapt. he doubts her, she knows that, has said as much. but it is hosannah's own zeal which causes her to grow so flustered at his repeated refusal to listen.

loosing a low rumble from her throat, hosannah feels a great swell of anger; yet she must contain it. she must sweep it aside, for anger serves no purpose here. instead she withdraws from the pair of them. she sidles up to reek and brushes close, murmuring, speak with him, he hears me not and pulls away from the dark man, intent on leaving the pair of them to discuss things themselves. obviously the transition will take time. her promotion in to this odd role was so sudden that even she has not let it sink it properly yet. there are other things to prepare, so she curbs her desire to combat this stranger's ignorance with her anger, and departs.

Once again, Charley questioned the alpha pair in a showcase of his own doubt and stubborn nature. Reek could feel the waves of frustration radiating from Kesheph, who had so far been unable to break through to the subordinate. This would be a problem, thought Reek. Perhaps winning the souls of his packmates would be harder than he initially believed. But still, if Reek could be shown the light of Raas, so could the rest of the wolves of the grotto. They just needed to see for themselves.

With a parting whisper, Kesheph takes her leave. Reek's eyes follow his coalpha as she trails away -- gaze trained upon her willowy body. There's an attraction he can't deny. While his heart was still set on Tavi, his eyes had gotten bored and found another distraction. She slipped away, and so Reek's attention returned to his friend.

He had a report with Charley -- their history went way back, and if anyone would have pull with him, it'd be Reek (or Emory, but it wasn't like any one had seen her for weeks). Reek would begin by addressing his questions. "I'll explain everything I can Charley," he began, keeping his tone calm. "Look to the Sun—" Reek made a motion with his muzzle. "That is Raas, the Daystar. He is the Lord of all and is in fact, very real. We are a part of his divine plan." It was all so obvious to Reek, now that the Raas had been revealed to him.

"The Daystar has been testing me Charley. He broke me down and stripped me bare," continued Reek. "But it was all necessary so he could reveal himself to me -- I had to break Charley, so I could finally see. He's always been there, but I never noticed— but now that I do, I see Raas everywhere. I feel him in the warmth of day. I see his light breaking though the clouds."

"Kesheph was sent to me," he spoke. "And we are to establish his church." Reek felt himself to be merely a pawn in a game much larger than himself— one of divine scale. All in all, it was comforting. "I've found peace Charley, and I want you to find peace too."

Charley, of course, couldn't help himself, couldn't help the smirk that split his muzzle in victory nor the slight chuckle deep in his chest. When he looked back to Reek from her departing silhouette, he too was following her with his eyes.... But in a much different way.  
So, Reek was only following this bitch because he wanted her then? What a shame. The brute didn't have time to question the alpha, however, as he began to finally try and explain all this to the silvertongue. His smile faded as did the laughter, trading in for a serious look towards his friend. Even if he couldn't understand what this was all about, he would give Reek the benefit of the doubt and listen to what he had to say. 
Charley didn't look at the sun, of course, but kept his carribean orbs locked onto the dark man. The SUN was a lord, a deity? He watched over them? He was ALWAYS there? Ignoring Reeks claims of peace, his own inner problems boiling up beneath him, Charley took a step towards Reek with confusion and a wildness in his eyes.
            "Is he supposed to protect us or something? Or does he find some twisted amusment in watching those he expects to serve him SUFFER? Is is plan to break us down to NOTHING and leave us there?!"
The only thing he could think of was his parents: His mother, an awful, lying, mean woman, living spoiled with suitors wooing her and taking whoever she wants whenever she wants. And his father, sweet and helpful and pure, lying six feet under the mountain, slaughtered indirectly by the cheating wife he'd adored even when she hated him. Their pups sent off in the world on their own, only just grown, turned bitter because of their mothers influence. Was Raas watching over them then? When food was impossible to come by and the twins were forced into the life their mother lived; lying and making people bend to your will?
Of course next came the memory of Reek asking Emory to come with him, leave the life they'd built with each other. Charley could come along, a second thought, but the true question had been for his sister. Would they have left him? Why didn't they?

Charley moved forward with an intensity the likes of which Reek hadn't seen since he traveled with the twins. Once again, he resisted Raas. The Daystar would break through to him, Reek was sure -- it would just take some time for his light to sink through the cracks and furrows that had been created in Charley's soul from a difficult life. Reek remained calm: his sense of composure was unbroken as he began to address the problems Charley posed.

Unlike Reek, Charley's pain did not drive him to the faith. Instead, it pushed him away. "He protects those who believe, yes," said Reek, nodding his head. "But pain is sometimes necessary Charley. Like I said, the Daystar needed to strip me bare before he could fill me with His light. We are just a small part of something much bigger than ourselves— His plan is beyond our mortal comprehension."

"But in showing you pain, Charley, Raas has shown you life in His absence." Without the Daystar's influence, all that was left was pain. Of that, Reek was sure, because he had lived it. "Let Him in... and I promise you will feel whole. I only tell you this because you are my friend Charley, and I want nothing but the best for you."

The more and more Charley thought, the more and more he found blame towards the deity. He'd done this on PURPOSE? From before the time he could even care for himself, all through his life? Surely if He brought the pain to those under Him, He didn't want them to be happy. A life with Him only meant pain, so the brute thought. 
        "It seems that He's been hurting me a long damn time, and I won't let something that's caused a life of hardships into my heart! I need His ABSENCE more than I need Him!"
This time, the ragged male took a step back; a few, actually, away from the simple idea that had eminated from his friend. How could the male have let something so hateful into his being? 
It must've been that she-witch, that seer. She was leading Reek into this. A look of fear had taken up in his dark blue eyes, and Charley shook his head.
"Reek, how? Why could you follow someone so.... Hateful? Someone who HURTS those he claims to love?"

I'm assuming @Hosannah would have told Reek about the orgins of Raas and the Heartless on the way back from the maplewood. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong Java!

Charley had misinterpreted -- at least, that's how Reek took it. While his friend took a few steps back, thus widing both the physical and emotional gap between them, Reek shook his head. "No Charley," he spoke, still strangely serene. "You blame Raas for the actions of the Heartless..." Reek sighed. The Heartless had once firmly held Reek himself in his grasp, but now he was free. "He is the adversary -- the tempter. Without Raas, you give the Heartless control." He was darkness. He was pain. He was temptation. The Heartless was all that Raas wasn't.

"But Raas— Raas is the light and all things good.  Without him, there is only darkness." Reek's calm tone fell into one of sadness. Charley was a lost soul and the chances of saving him seemed slim. "If you deny the Daystar, you'll only be dooming yourself."

None of this made sense to the patchy man, and Charley simply couldn't accept that there was anyone willing to hurt such young and innocent souls. Reek added another deity, this one apparently bad, but in this brutes mind they were both bringers of pain. 
            "Raas did nothing to defend me, then."
His lips curled back to bare his teeth, but at this point the Pryor twin was no longer looking at his old friend. He snarled at nothing, shaking his head and trying to make anything seem okay. The only thing he seemed to want now was Aspen, but what if she converted to this as well? Would he be forced to live alongside these things that had hurt him so in his life? The sadness seeping from Reeks tone brought Charley's carribean gaze to him once again.
                               "How is that okay to you, Reek? Raas stood by and let you fall into the wrong hands, made you worm your way out ALONE. Just to follow him?"

Fade here?

As their conversation continued, it became ever obvious that Charley would not see the healing power of Raas or accept his light into his broken soul. It saddened Reek to see his friend react in such a way, especially one he held so close. But, Reek was forced to harden his heart.

Reek shook his head with dissapointmet. Following the Daystar was the right decision, not just for himself, but for the rest of the pack."You'll only be dooming yourself brother," he spoke before turning away to join the Seer.

Got it :3

Charley didn't speak again, only curled his lip and turned away muttering. It was not he who was dooming himself, it was Reek by following such a God and such a woman. Who else would follow this red seer and their alpha? What about those who didn't? Plans formed in the patchy mans head that day, plans to look into this further. Should he find the proper amount of followers against this newfound idea, could he find it in his heart to attempt to take Reek's title?