Bearclaw Valley dream-land
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#1
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limited to those allowed in the den.

in her dreams, she counts and names the stars.

Avicus is deep in slumber, twitching and mumbling against her mother's belly. the world of her dreams has eclipsed the dim, bland setting of an ordinary whelping den. it's the most amazing feeling, falling asleep and tumbling head over heels into a fantasy.

dizzying, thrilling, terrifying—but at the end of the journey are shadows and stars.

Loqskry, the brightest of them all. a name she may forget upon waking; a nonsense word. its light is magnificent but not overbearing, serving to enhance its companions rather than outshine them.

Yurwen. Kjearie. Zazeem. Avicus names them all, dancing among the spiral of her invented universe.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#2
it can be assumed that merrick had not formally returned to the den following the explosive night of his children's birth. compelled by something that could not rightly be called paternal, he had kept up small hunts, angrily hurling the limp bodies of prey across the clearing toward the forbidden denmouth and leaving before his turncoat raven saw fit to scour him again.
she had left a ring of teethmarks around his remaining eye, and through the naked, half-healed wounds, he glowered now toward the silent shelter and its unseen inhabitants. glancing around for the woman, the mad boy slowly sank to his haunches a good ways away, seeking any movement at the stone lip.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#3
dozens of stars later, she rouses with a tiny groan-whimper, stretching out against Astara's abdomen. smacking her lips, she seeks to nurse, unaware of the malevolent presence just outside the den. except—

she is so disoriented from the dream that she cannot find the sustenance she seeks. mewling, Avicus wriggles and finds herself even further from everything familiar. heedlessly rolling toward the entrance to the world beyond. she is scrabbling, struggling, gurgling. . .

perhaps her mother will drag her back before she can really go anywhere. but in the girl's mind, she might as well have traveled a thousand miles from home. unmoored, untethered. she is alone and free and loathes the sensation.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#4
he blinked. there was a sound coming from the den, a tiny kittenish piping that brought merrick's ears to a forward thrust. he cast about for the corvid again, then began to creep across the clearing.
despite himself, merrick was curious.
perhaps if he beheld the pathetic little bundles once more, he might see why his rook had chosen they and not he; they were weak things, but consumed nothing he could ever touch.
he wanted only to look at them, for there had been two; to count to see to know — he looked around for any ursus wolf as he touched the base of the den and lingered beyond, peering into the darkness while his single eye adjusted.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#5
writhing, writhing — like some kind of slug (albeit dry and fuzzy) she continues to slide away from her mother. she has no sense of the growing light but can feel an empty coolness, a change from the warmth of the den. things are different, she is scared, whimpering,

and she bumps into one of her father's paws, coming to an abrupt halt.

Avicus makes an infantile sound of surprise, then falls silent. slowly, her mouth opens and then closes gingerly on one lump of flesh she'd later know as a toe. with no real teeth as of yet, she gums it, exploring the taste. it is different from the teat; no sustenance comes from suckling.

it tastes of newness, of everything she has never sensed before. in the moments to come, she may become frustrated with the lack of milk. for now, she is too curious to care.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#6
what a fucking
dumbass.
were these what he had feared? merrick stared down at the gumming child with a perturbing sense of nicety overcoming his latent feelings of murder. it was not enjoyable, the touch; he was at once filled with a profound anxiety that if he were to shift his paw and shove the pillbug away, he would hurt the small body.
not interested enough to gather the finer details of the kid's identity, merrick worked his digits away from the gluey mouth and grimaced. "nice," he hissed aloud, glowering at the wriggling tuber. but he crouched down again to watch  little rounded nose and closed eyelids, enraptured by the helpnessness of one who had stolen his rook away.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#7
her pacifier is taken away though she is not finished; her mouth is suddenly empty, and her faces scrunches up. she lets out a wail, only able to hear the barest bit of Merrick's remark (it comes to her mostly through vibrations). this is not Astara's teat, and even this offering has been denied her.

but she has no sense of direction or orientation. she wriggles, curling into herself at the breath so near her face. where is mother? where is her littermate?

this world is empty and cold, everything she has ever known ripped away from her. bereft.

and she wails.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#8
a strident baby scream, cutting at his eardrums. merrick's tattered auds clapped back against his skull; he grimaced as the child wailed and struggled closer. despite himself, the boy's senses were awash with the identity of a suddenly formed being, one that he was forced to recognize as daughter.
a girl. merrick had no conception of gender-based inequality; his rook remained just as savage as he. therefore he overlooked the fact that this child was female; she would be the same as the other in the eyes of the bearwolf.
"shh," he hissed, nudging her with a sharp poke.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#9
a big adventure for a little girl is bound to be exhausting, especially when it comes on the edge of a great sleep. though Avicus is still very much alone and afraid, she is beginning to tire. her wails are diminishing, both in volume and in frequency. she responds to the nudge with a little whimper that subsides into tiny, weary sighs.

her sire may not quiet her so easily as time flies. for now, all it takes is a new environment and the exhaustion that comes from exploring it.

still, she continues to wonder where her mother is—and how to return. for all Avicus knows, @Astara is a world away. . .and if Merrick does not return her to the den, she will drift once more into slumber out here, unsheltered from the sun and sky.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
i'm going to bring it all back to you
848 Posts
Ooc — Lauren
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#10
MY BABY

astara had no such dreams of soft skies and distant stars. motherhood was exhausting to the point where even her mind seemed to shutdown come slumber; she was out hard, and unaware that merrick prowled close until a sharp scream jostled her awake.

her eyes flew open, and on mother's instinct alone she could feel that naked, bare spot where a child was supposed to be. she rose silently, stepping gingerly over aventus -- her dark pupils darting around the den before landing on merrick hunched over one of their children.

astara froze mid-prowl, a low growl pressed from her throat. she did not wish to deny him his right to be father -- but if it came with any inkling of malevolence, his blackbird would not hesitate to find her pound of flesh.

»» they may promise you that the river ain't too deep. ««
»» player policies ««
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#11
merrick is pb&j 4ever

fascinating. she had ceased the mounting cry. merrick peered down at the child suspiciously, watching as her breathing began to slacken into —
his stormcrow wheeled suddenly before him, the fel purpled stare resting on him with warning. the boy's lips began to pull back, but he ceased the gesture and slid into impassivity.
but his heart betrayed him; the bearwolf sighed toward her with wistful gaze and removed himself away to the far edge of the densite, glowering brattily with his single eye.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#12
exhaustion has taken over. whatever dance between the bear and the blackbird occurs above her, she is wholly unaware. her eyelids droop; her tiny mouth parts in a yawn. she curls into a russet ball upon the grass, smacking her lips in contemplation.

mother will come, right?

take me home mommy
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
i'm going to bring it all back to you
848 Posts
Ooc — Lauren
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#13
astara's growl was enough to send merrick elsewhere; astara caught the wistfulness of that single eye, felt the pulling string of strangeness as it plucked and snapped like a cord between them.

but the child mattered more now; perhaps more than her, or her sense of pride. she lowered her jaws to the drowsy babe, her teeth gently gripping avicus' scruff. she stole one last look to merrick, before she and avicus disappeared in the gloom of the den.

»» they may promise you that the river ain't too deep. ««
»» player policies ««
this is my book
and i know how to work the spells and charms in it
i know them all
1,610 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#14
they left, and merrick stared at the shadows around the denmouth for a long time before turning in disgust, shoving through the old forest as he stalked away to some unknown part.
it would be a long time before returned again.