Gathering for Thorn and other Fangs killed after large assault on caern, Dec 1995
Burial Mounds(#3207RJ)
This wide clearing in the midst of short, dark pines is obviously a burial ground of some sort. The air is a bit cooler up here in the foothills than below, and the majestic peaks of the nearby mountains rear up over the eastern treetops. There seem to be several separate groups of burial mounds, somber rows of graves marching back eastward into the forest perpendicular to the trail by which you entered. In addition to these, there is a vine-covered boulder ringed round with a circle of graves standing under the edge of the somber evergreens to the east. Finally, in the exact heart of this area open to the sky, a single black finger of stone is sunk into the grass.
Each mound has a small flat stone inset in its surface, carved with a name and three glyphs. The air is preternaturally silent and somewhat eerie.
(+view to examine the markers.)
A faint path leading downhill to the west is the only exit from the clearing.
Contents:
Sky's corpse
Anubis
Always Hungry's Corpse
Thorn's Corpse
Thom Crowley's Corpse(#2654C)
Obvious exits:
Path
l always
A young and wiry wolf, Always-Hungry is almost at her full growth having thrived in recent months. She stands a full three feet tall at the shoulders and is in excellent shape. Unblemished silvery fur almost shines as it covers her lupine form. THe sleek muscles, triangular head and long nose are evidence of the purest of wolf and garou lineage. Her blue eyes flicker with a sharp intelligence and eager curiosity as she watches the world about her. There is a bit of confidence in her stance that comes from a growing knowledge of the world. A small scar adorns her left shoulder where something appears to have taken a thin strip of flesh at some point. Always Hungry has a huge rake across one shoulder and down her side and her underside is totally ripped open with half of her guts hanging out of her dead body.
l thorn
In death, Thorn retains much of the dignity that was his heritage in life. His massive Crinos frame with its pure white, smooth skin is marred only by the gory wound at his throat.
l thom
Once tall, with long, shoulder-length hair, and just reaching the frame of adulthood, this young man studied the world through what dark brown, haunting eyes, his profile aquiline and strong, his coloring pale and dangerous. His bearing and demeanor were somehow more aloof, yet engaging, something compelling in his occasional smile and casual stance. A deep heaviness shrouded him in the end as with a mantle of black.
Thom's face is streaked with dirt, blood, and tears, his clothes torn as by briars and brush. His throat is split from side to side, as if the young man turned it open willingly to the executioner's blow.
l sky
The large timberwolf's coat was the palest grey of the winter sky touched with darker grey markings which neared black toward her tail tip. Now it is brownish with dried blood matting the fur. Her coat bears the many scars of her years, and her right forepaw is disfigured from past burns. Those who knew her well may notice the absence of a leather pouch which used to hang about her neck.
The face of the Singer of the Blood Songs was ruined in her last battle, her left eye taken by the horns of her foe and her muzzle torn. Her scent is that of death and drying blood, its source, the large opening of her throat.
Anubis sits quietly at the far end of the clearing, back to the path.
Sepdet circles the burial mounds once, sniffing them over, before slipping over to address the old Strider with a quiet glance. Is there anything else you need for tonight, Rhya?
Anubis blinks once, slowly. He turns his head to look at Sepdet for a moment before saying anything.
Quiet comes up the trail from the west.
Quiet has arrived.
Whitestreak comes up the trail from the west.
Whitestreak has arrived.
Anubis says, ~No. All of the Dead are here except for Horus, and I believe I can work with that. We await the Living.~
Anubis sits at the far end of the clearing with Sepdet. Anubis' back is to the path.
Whitestreak comes up quietly and slips over to one side, carful not to interrupt the Striders.
Quiet pads in not far ahead of Whitestreak, her breath a white cloud in the chilly air. She moves towards Anubis and Sepdet.
Anubis stands slowly and turns toward the center of the clearing. He gives a grave nod to Quiet and Whitestreak.
Sepdet lifts her nose at that, eyes half-closing, seeking a remembered scent. Her tail raises slightly, a half-hopeful gesture, and then she moves forward to greet Quiet and Patrick with a quiet lowering of head and ears. She licks Quiet's muzzle and returns to her place.
Quiet inclines her muzzle in return, a stray moonbeam catching the diamond glitter in her right ear. She splays her ears at Sepdet as the smaller wolf comes in toward her. After being greeted, she says, I have thought on your words.Soulcatcher comes up the trail from the west.
Soulcatcher has arrived.
Anubis closes his eyes and sits quietly, waiting.
Sepdet dips her eyes at Quiet wistfully. Good. You can tell me what you have learned, after tonight.
Quiet turns her head as another approaches, settling down on her haunches near the two Striders. She looks mildly pleased at the approach of the Wendigo, whurfing softly.
Mike comes up the trail from the west.
Mike has arrived.
Soulcatcher's soft tread into the burial mounds is near silent. He lingers away from the gathering ntil he hears Quiet's welcome. Making his way forward, he greets the others with a chuff of his own.
Mike contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Mike shifts into Lupus form.
Whitestreak stays quietly and (unusually for him) anti-socially away from the others, a short distance from the mounds in the direction of the Story Tree.
Blinks-at-Fire comes up the trail from the west.
Blinks-at-Fire has arrived.
Anubis opens his eyes and stands. He looks around the clearing for a few moments.
Anubis looks at his two packmates. Shall we wait for Chaser?
Blinks-at-Fire trails in after Anpwhotep, and stands behind him, out of anyone's way.
Whitestreak chuffs non-committally. She needs to say farewell as much as any, but if she chooses to show it in her way, then that is her business.
Quiet's expression becomes faintly pained. She glances at Whitestreak, then lowers her eyes in an uncomfortable lupine shrug. It is as Whitestreak says. She may choose to say goodbye alone.
White Veils comes up the trail from the west.
White Veils has arrived.
White Veils pads in, lurking at the edges of the gathering. Her scent gives her away immediately though.
Anubis nods. Chaser will appear in her own time, I am sure.
Anubis contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Anubis shifts into Crinos form.
Sepdet licks her teeth, tasting the wind. Her eyes flicker between friends, tribe, family, but she keeps still and quiet for now, standing at relaxed attention below and a few feet to the side of Anubis.
Anubis walks over tothe side of the clearing, picks up something from the snow, and returns to the center of the clearing, near the bodies. He sets a small earthenware jar down by the bodies.
Long distance to Quiet and Soulcatcher: Sepdet winks sadly. The wind's been blowing from the east steadily ever since Sepdet told Arcadia about Da Plan. A good omen.
Anubis pages: The jar is covered in heiroglyphs concerning the beginning of the path of the dead, and the Ba and Ka going their separate ways.
Anubis lifts each of the bodies in turn, spreading them out in a radial pattern of sorts, the head of each garou pointing toward compass points: Thom south, Justice west, Thorn north, Always Hungry east.
Blinks-at-Fire keeps his eyes down or on the bodies, avoiding the gazes of the others gathered here. He hides behind Mike as if afraid someone will single him out and ask what he's doing here.
Anpwhotep tilts his head curiously, reading the words on the jar...
Anubis sits cross-legged beside Thorn's body, and waves Patrick and Quiet over.
Whitestreak pads forward slowly to get a little closer to the ceremony as it starts.
Quiet stands, her tail held in a neutral position angled away from her body. She raises her head slightly as she pads toward Anubis.
Chaser comes up the trail from the west.
Chaser has arrived.
Brian comes up the trail from the west.
Brian has arrived.
From afar, to Anubis, Whitestreak, Quiet, Anpwhotep, White Veils, Soulcatcher, Sepdet, Brian, and Blinks-at-Fire, Chaser's not a new presence. Really. Nor has she come out of the woodwork, yet.
Anne comes up the trail from the west.
Anne has arrived.
Anubis looks around at the woods one more time, as if giving Chaser just a few more minutes.
White Veils has disconnected.
Brian walks, slowly, into the area surrounding the burial mounds from the direction of the caern. He does not proceed into the clearing past the shelter of the pine trees.
Brian walks through the wall a few times.
Anne slips out of the woods, not from the path, and pauses in the shelter of the trees to look at the area and the people already within it.
Anpwhotep contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Anpwhotep shifts into Crinos form.
Anubis looks at Patrick and Quiet, and nods. ~Chaser is nearby, I think. That, perhaps, will have to do.~ He pauses. ~Crossing has been together since the reawakening of this caern.~
Anpwhotep stands more easily, able to more comfortably pay his respects in this form.
Anubis says, ~Shortly after our formation, we lost one of our members. Now, long afterward, we have lost another. Such is the way of our people.~
Quiet shifts upward fluidly as Anubis begins to speak, a yellowed shadow behind him.
Quiet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Quiet shifts into Crinos form.
Anubis says, ~Thorn was unique; a Silver Fang born of Garou parents. Despite such a beginning, he proved his worth before Luna and Gaia in service to this place. But more so, I think, he proved it in his service to the Garou of the caern, and of Crossing.~
White Veils has connected.
Sepdet reaches upwards, taking her stepfather and former alpha's elbow in a light touch as she listens.
Sepdet shifts into crinos.
Anne pages: Been officially declared, then?
You paged Anne with 'Yep. :('.
Anpwhotep gently covers Sepdet's hand with his own.
Chaser watches, silently, a shadowy presence in the woods beyond the clearing's edge. A faint rustling betrays her position as she moves forward a few feet, toward the open area of the dead and toward the figures of her packmates.
Anubis says, ~This pack is, as much as anything, family to me. I have spent most of my Garou life as a child not only of Owl, but of Raccoon. Harbor Park still bears memory of the times that we came together. Thorn was, as much as Crossing ever had one, the Alpha of Crossing. His death is a painful blow to this pack, sept and caern.~
Brian slouches one shoulder against the dead trunk of a deciduous tree sheltered by the close-grown pines. He does not watch the proceedings, merely listening from a distance.
Edwin has connected.
Whitestreak turns slightly as he hears the rustling, but doesn't quite turn enough to see Chaser, just enough to acknowledge her presence while watching Anubis.
Anubis lifts his head. ~However, it must be remembered that Thorn, born Metis among the Fangs, had a personal struggle of his own. His was a scorned birth and upbringing. He was, as far as his original caern was concerned, not worthy even to fight in Gaia's honor. And yet in the end, he died in the most honorable way any Garou can hope for: defending the sanctity of one of Gaia's sacred places and giving his life in its service. We are here to mourn his passing, but also to honor his bravery, honor, courage and strength.
Edwin comes toward the mounds, yet doesn't step fully free of the treeline. He hangs back, staring over the gravestones.
White Veils shifts her forepaws a little.
Anubis reaches over and lays a hand on Thorn's forehead. ~Buffalo, Magpie, and Cougar, I am sure, are proud of you this day. You have called Mother Rat to return to this place at last, a fitting show of your strength. And I know that Raccoon is with us; sad, and yet honored.~ He falls silent, looking at the ground beside Thorn as he retracts his hand.
Anubis frowns, and looks around the group, and those gathered on the fringes. ~Without Thorn, I would not be the Garou I am. I will miss him.~ He takes a deep breath, and looks at the remnants of his pack. ~Quiet, have you anything you wish to say now?~ His manner is oddly informal for the normally by-the-book Philodox.
Quiet glances at Anubis, taking a deep breath. She steps foreward, to his side, next to Thorn's dead body. She again shifts fluidly as she steps, now shrinking down to homid. Though she has no jacket, she doesn't seem to notice the cold.
Quiet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Quiet shifts into Homid form.
A wry smile touches the theurge's lips as she looks down at the corpse
with a fondness. Andrea shakes her head, saying, "Thought I should say
my words in the form you always seemed to prefer, since you said the
two of us were mixed on our breed forms at birth. I had to go to the
city after you died. I went to Harbor Park, like we did so long ago.
It's clean now, and still beautiful The ghosts are still at rest. I
took a book, and I found something by someone named Masters that I
thought I'd like to share with you, here at the end."
Andrea tilts her head upward as she recites. Her eerie gaze does not
seem to look at anything in particular.
"They have chiseled on my stone the words:
'His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him
That nature might stand up and say to all the world,
This was a man.'
Those who knew me smile
As they read this empty rhetoric.
Fire-Eater comes up the trail from the west.
Andrea's lips tilt upward as she finishes.
My epitaph should have been:
Life was not gentle to him,
And the elements so mixed in him
That he made warfare on life,
In the which he was slain.'
While I lived I could not cope with slanderous tongues,
Now that I am dead I must submit to an epitaph
Graven by a fool!"
Andrea drops her eyes to Thorn's body. She says, more softly. "We're not
fools, Thorn-yuf. We remember all you were, not only the glory. Rest
well, and may you soon return to another life, with a more honorable
start than you were granted in this one. I will try to fill your shoes
as best I can."
Andrea steps back, shifting back into her ritual form, the warm fur
covering her blue-pale skin.
Sterling comes up the trail from the west.
Sterling has arrived.
Andrea contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Andrea shifts into Crinos form.
Anubis looks at Patrick. ~Whitestreak?~
Whitestreak pads forward, shifting into his birth form as he reaches Thorn's body.
Whitestreak contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Whitestreak shifts into Homid form.
From afar, Sterling hugs tight, is late to this of all things. *sob*
Patrick looks down at Thorn, then up into the sky, his words barely loud enough to be heard through the clearing. "I remember you from that damn Coppertone tee shirt to the pure white robes of a noble Silver Fang. From the cringing, apologizing metis to the Ritemaster of one of the biggest caerns and biggest septs around. From a tattooed albino to the pure white nobility. We've been through a fuck of a lot, all told, and a lot of changes. I'm gonna miss ya, Thorn. Have a good trip, with Falcon high overhead and Raccoon playing at your heels."
Patrick backs off again, shifting back down.
Patrick contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Patrick shifts into Lupus form.
Anubis's mouth curls upward slightly. Without looking in any particular direction, he calls out, ~Chaser!~
Chaser slips into the clearing quietly, winding from the shadows at its edge and pausing there, hesitant. Her movements are uncharacteristically slow, and uncertainty marks her posture--but, after a moment's pause, she closes the distance between herself and the pack, living and dead.
Anubis watches Chaser quietly.
Edwin leans silently against a tree.
At first, the she-wolf does not look at any but Thorn. She is silent as she makes her way to the side of the Crinos, bearing herself with only a faint ghost of the Get's usual pride. Leaning down, she touches her nose to the pale, color-marked muzzle, perfectly still for a moment, eyes closed. She straightens slowly, a little stiffly; as she meets the eyes of the pack she remains silent, but the dullness in her gaze and the uncollected posture of her body betray the grief behind the silence.
Chaser draws back a few short steps from the body, and ducks her head away slightly, taking her eyes from her packmates. The unspoken signal is clear: that is all.
From afar, Bambi nuzzles you softly. Don't be sad, little one.
Long distance to Bambi: Sepdet isn't really sad now. Made peace with it last week. Just sad watching Crossing.
From afar, Bambi hugs you tenderly. "Good. You take care of yourself, now."
Anubis stands quietly. ~Mask, I think, should also have a chance to speak. Will you speak for him, Moon-Laughs-Quiet? Or give his thoughts to those who listen?~
Edwin has disconnected.
Quiet tilts her furred head, the expression more than vaguely lupus. She then seems to drift off, her eyes again seeking the play of shadows in the nearby trees. She smiles, the expression odd on the crinos face. ~Mask says that he will miss Thorn and his music, and we must all give him twice as many shinies from now on.~
Quiet sobers as she says more seriously. ~As our totem said when Thorn died, more shinies, less death.~
Anubis smiles, wolflike, and nods. He stands, and lifts the earthenware jar from the grass. He removes the cover and begins walking among the graves, leaving the others for the moment.
Edwin has connected.
Anubis sprinkles a black powdery substance from the jar over a grave here, another there, another there. The powder itself seems to suck in the light of the gibbous moon, casting something of a pall over the place. Oddly enough, some kind of electrical energy seems to build with each grave he so sprinkles, about 10 in all.
Chaser's gaze strays, again, to the still body of Thorn. She remains silent.
Anubis returns to the circle of dead, and gestures to those on the periphery. ~The rest of you should join us, now. We must wish farewell to all who have gone to Gaia.~
Sterling strides forth, rippling into the Crinos form that holds Honor amoung the Garou for this solemn occasion.
Sterling contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Sterling shifts into Crinos form.
Oaken comes up the trail from the west.
Oaken has arrived.
Eligio Sacateca comes up the trail from the west.
Eligio Sacateca has arrived.
Oaken slips in quietly.
Lucas remains characteristically silent, where he and Fire-Eater stand.
Eligio Sacateca slips in right after, almost as quietly.
Anne takes a few steps out from under the trees, but does not join the members of the Sept to which she is only a guest.
Anubis holds out the jar as he waits for the others to gather closer. ~I honor Thorn, in the end, with the company of those whom he now joins, for a last time at the doors of Death. But it is his memory, which you all will aid me with, that will bring such.~ He pours the last bit of dust onto a pile of bone fragments atop a leather pouch on the snow.
Brian, perhaps surprisingly, does not speak, merely remaining where he is and watching the prodeedings through his own grim silence.
Brian has disconnected.
Anubis says, ~Crossing has spoken of Thorn's passing, and what he meant to us. No one has to speak, but those of you who wish to say a farewell to Thorn, do so now.~
Edwin remains where he stands.
Sepdet glances at her stepfather and releases his arm, drawing a step closer.
Anubis looks around the group, waiting quietly.
Slowly, a mist begins to rise from the graves around the group and the bone fragments at Anubis' feet.
Sepdet walks forward and crouches down next to Thorn, ducking her head unconsciously even though she doesn't have his gaze directly on her now. ~When I came to the Wheel, you were the most amazing thing. I remember Horus making you my Moon Elder, first night I was here. You were like me! I couldn't believe it. But I watched you, and learned that here, at least, we'd be able to make up for mistakes not our own, and serve Gaia.~ Her hands cradle the air in half-signs as she speaks, she's so intent on what she's trying to put into words.
Sepdet says, ~It was only through many moons, working with you, getting into trouble with you, talking to you about Phoenix, sharing spirit's talk, that something changed. It was only after you took me into your cave, when I was healing, that I realized the elder that was once a role model was now my friend. It was good, sharing your fire.~ She lifts her head. ~It was good talking to you. It was good working for you. Sorry Coyote gave you trouble sometimes, rhya.~ She grins. ~Somehow, even after that challenge, you're still rhya to me. Go quick and easy on the road you have now; you've more than earned it. And I brought you a little somethin', like I promised.~ She sets a small, incongrous rectangular carboard object down in the snow beside the body. ~There ya go.~ Then she straightens and drops back to her place.
White Veils has disconnected.
As Sepdet speaks, the mist thickens, and forms slowly begin to congeal out of it, over the graves and the bone fragments in the background. For the moment, they are indistinct.
Anubis looks around the group, waiting for others to speak if they wish.
Anpwhotep steps up to Thorn's body and crouches, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Sterling steps forward to speak, eyes alert to those who know him better to go before.
Anpwhotep says, ~You were one of our best while alive, and I'm certain you'll always be that. If wishing could make any difference, I'd wish to be there as your friend when you return to us. You were one of those who *desrerved* respect, rather than demanding it. If only more were so wise.~
Eligio Sacateca does not make any attempt to speak, only bows his head out of respect.
Anpwhotep bows his head for a moment, then returns to stand beside his daughter.
Sterling's form alights in a spiritual, muted nimbus, reflecting Luna's own above. ~Thorn-Rhya, Ritemaster and chosen to represent the First Tribe as Elder amoungst this Caern, our time together was shorter than it should have been. Last of our tribe to be welcomed by you, I am now the last to see you as you leave. Fly high on Falcon's wings, and may your return be unburdened by the shame of your sire and dam: You deservee no less."
As Anpwhotep and Eligio pay their respects, the forms begin to take on substance. The first to appear is a young girl with a fierce face, her form shaowy but distinct. For the first time in years, Crossing stands as the whole it once was.
Sterling steps away, glow fading as does her presence. The floor is for others, now.
As Sterling closes, other forms appear in the mist, Maury, not long dead herself. A short woman with blue hair standing in a mohawk with a snide grin on her face. A tall metis with deer antlers atop his head.
Chaser's stance tenses, subtly.
Anubis looks around at the others, waiting to make sure he does not move onward before all have finished.
Soulcatcher senses "Sepdet glances over at you and back to the dead, a bright light in her eyes at the blue-haired woman's appearance."
Quiet's stance, in contract, becomes more welcoming. Her lips shape the words silently. ~Jumps-Fences.~
Anpwhotep gazes at his missing friends and smiles openly.
Whitestreak relaxes slightly, in an odd mixture of relief and confusion.
Soulcatchers' eyes move to each of the apparitions in turn, as if memorizing them.
Annie Jumps-Fences' face does not alter -- though her form is here, it does not appear that she can hear Quiet's soft greeting. She watches Those gathered silently, as do the shadowed forms of Toxic, Maury and Actaeon.
Oaken blinks away something and stares, almost glares, at one of the mounds.
Anpwhotep murmurs softly, his eyes glistening as they drink in the forms gathered in the mist....and looking hopefully for another...
Anubis closes his eyes. ~For those who are not hear to speak their remembrances, we wish you speed to Gaia's comfort, Thorn-Slowly-Wins.~ As he falls silent, another form fades into substantiality over the small pile of bones beside Anubis: a tall man with white hair and a red bandanna.
Edwin's eyes wander over the apparitions, recognizing most of them, though not all.
Anpwhotep stiffens slightly at the newest figure, then his head bows.
Eligio Sacateca raises an eyebrow at this latest apparation but keeps his place and his silence.
Anubis says, ~Also tonight we commend to the mother the spirit of Justice, great one among the Silver Fangs. I knew her, and she too is a great loss to us. I remember challenging her as she claimed the Alphaship, and proved her worthiness. I honor her now, and ask those of you who knew her to speak at this time.~
A soft, pitched sound escapes Chaser's throat, and she very nearly takes an involuntary step toward the last arrival. Falling silent, she merely watches--sometimes studying the Strider, sometimes watching the faint apparition of her lost packmate of years past.
Lucas Moonblade nods gravely at the spirits, his glacial-blue eyes respectful as he lowers them a fraction in shared respect.
Horus' apparition seems the least stable, and begins to fade almost immediately as Anubis moves onward to Justice.
Sepdet glances with faint guilt at Horus, trying to concentrate on each of the others for a moment with a fond glance. Then she returns her attention to the new-fallen, eyes bright.
Sterling's only comment to the fallen Alpha is a lift of her Klaive, tip to brow, and then lowering from the salute. There simply aren't words.
Eligio Sacateca pages to Sepdet and Oaken: There goes Loki's desire to keep the 'Can a Garou's spirit show up after (s)he dies?' question unanswered.
From afar, Dragonfly peers at your doing, and finally, after weeks of speculation, asks you just what it means. :)
You paged Dragonfly with 'The last thing Thorn said to Sepdet, when she was staying with him. She'd just told him she had seen his death. He was upset, and covering for it by bustling around. Lit his fire with a truly spectacular bit of hocus-pocus, then mumbled, "I really need to get matches sometime."'.
Long distance to Dragonfly: Sepdet left a book of matches next to him, just now. Lucky Strike, of course. :)
From afar, to Eligio Sacateca and Sepdet, Oaken will fall back to the ol' fortified 'there's a soul *and* a spirit' position and make a stand there until and unless one of them starts piping up about the afterlife. No Sneetches--do you think Magpie eats their souls?
Edwin hugs his jacket around him in the cold. He says simply from the back, "Thanks."
As people pay their respects to Justice, the shades of Thorn's old friends begin to fade, and others begin to solidify -- apparitions of the dead Fangs. Aubrey. Hand-of-Gaia. Horatio.
Whitestreak contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Lucas's only response is to bow toward the corpse of the dead alpha, a deep bow of respect from the waist. His klaive glimmers almost sullenly in the moonlight, then is lost in shadow again.
Whitestreak shifts into Homid form
Sepdet lifts her hands, palms-forward, to Justice. ~Honor from one who honored you, Rhya,~ she says simply.
Eligio Sacateca remains characteristically silent.
Patrick steps up again. "Okay, so I won't shut up. She was a bit stiff-necked, but she *could* take a joke, eventually. And she kept the sept before everything, even her own stiff neck. For that, even disregarding everything else, she should be honored."
Patrick contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Patrick shifts into Lupus form.
Quiet's haunted eyes glimmer with a humor as Patrick speaks. She then says, in a low and carrying tone. ~May your paths be free of darkness, Justice. Mother guide you.~
Anubis looks around, waiting to see if any others will speak up. Other forms in the background remain indistinct, but present. No faces are visible, but it feels as though a crowd rings the entire group.
Oaken contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Oaken contorts and blurs as he slips into Crinos form.
Oaken licks dry lips. ~Join with the family whose loss you mourned, Justice-rhya. You will be avenged.~
Anubis moves on to the next body, Thom Crowley. ~Thom Crowley ended his life honorably. He died at my hand after killing Justice. We can condemn him for his failure, or we can honor him for his life before his corruption and for his knowledge that the right thing to do was to have his life ended for his failure. In this, I can command or advise no one. Each of you may speak to him as you wish.~
Eligio Sacateca does not speak though his eyes glitter darkly.
Sterling steps forward to speak of Thom.
The apparitions of the three dead Fangs look down solemnly on the occasion.
Sterling's body sheds no light for Thom the Black as she begins. ~Long ago, Falcon taught us that light was the only way to fend off the darkness, and ever gave we follwed this. Thom, foolishly brave Thom, thought he could find another way, that he could resist the whispers of the Wyrm. As mighty as we are, however, none are that strong. In the end, Falcon's light shown through, and he did let it be ended before it was too late. For this, showing us to be ever vigilant against a heedless approach, if nothing else, we send you to the rest eternal.~
Sterling steps from the speaking circle.
Eris comes up the trail from the west.
Eris has arrived.
Edwin lowers his head, hair obscuring his face. He reaches over and scratches his upper left arm. "We were alike in so many ways.... You always tried to be the honorble one, howling our victory.. Before.... And after? In the very end, you did the right thing. Go well brother."
Quiet's hands twitch and she rubs them together in a washing motion. She says, her low voice rough, "I will remember Preybreaker."
Eris comes in carrying a rose, notices everyone standing around and stops in her tracks and blinks twice.
Edwin eyes Sterling for a moment, then sighs.
Oaken contorts and blurs as he is transformed.
Oaken contorts and blurs as he slips into Homid form.
Eris breaks out of her silenced shock and sidesteps her way towards Sepdet, warily watching the shadows.
Anubis looks around the group for others who wish to speak.
Sepdet's face pales slightly at the sight of the Fury, concentration broken for a moment. She beckons her over to Michael, as discreetly as possible, but remains silent.
Anpwhotep notices Eris' arrival and subtly gestures her over.
Eris stops moving as she notices Justice's face amongst the dead. Her jaw drops and she stares.
Whitestreak chuffs once. We no longer nip at your heels, Preybreaker. You must make this last run, this Last Change, alone.
Lucas Moonblade allows himself a disapproving frown as others give even this much honor to one that turned to the dark. He shakes his fair head slightly at the Truthcatcher's questioning look.
Anubis steps onward to the last body in the circle: Always Hungry. ~I knew her almost not at all. Others must speak for her honor, for I knew her not.~ He looks at the Fangs gathered here.
Edwin still stands amidst the treeline.
As if to second Lucas' opinion, the countenances of the three dead Fang spirits seem to lighten as Anubis moves on to Always Hungry.
Blinks-at-Fire has connected.
You paged Blinks-at-Fire with 'Speak for Always-Hungry now? :)'.
Eris closes her eyes tightly and she turns, walking stiffly over to Anpwhotep.
Sterling's voice rings forth yet again, but this time tinged with sadness. ~The Lupus are rare enough amoungst us that the loss of any one of them is a crime as much as a shame. To have lost one as a cub, before her Falcon's Wings had yet spread, is the cruelest of mockeries. It shall not happen again. Rest beyond, knowing your sacrifice here will stand for as long as I.~ of his face. "Wish I could have gotten to know you better, but you would have thought that it was one big trick that I was trying to play on you huh?" He shrugs. "Never could change your mind. You were a Fang."
Eris leans over and whispers hoarsely to her packmates, then turns and abruptly leaves, her face ghost-pale.
From afar, to Anpwhotep and Sepdet, Eris leans over and whispers to you in a choked, harsh voice. ~Come talk when you're finished.~
Abruptly, from far deep in the heart of the forest to the south, a lone throaty howl picks up a dirge. Wolf cries join in, from yapping pups down to some of the oldest voices that sound like thundrous moans. The ghostly chorus continues for some moments, faint and indistinct, before the leading voice weakens, falters, and fades away.
Eris heads westward into the woods, following a faint path.
Eris has left.
Lucas's icy gaze softens to a mere chill as he turns toward the bravely-dead cub. His voice is mellow and carrying. "Wind to your wings on the way to the homeland, little one. May Phoebe's face shine bright on your way."
Anpwhotep bows his head to Always Hungry. ~You were open and honest and always eager to grow. May your hunger be fulfilled in the West. You were a light to us, little one. May those you are with now see your brightness and honor it, as we who never got to know you well enough do now.~
Blinks-at-Fire steps forward from where he has been lurking behind Anpwhotep, and looks on Always-Hungry's still form. I remember the first time we met. I envied your noble bearing, your confidence. Blinks smirks. You annoyed me, because you made things happen even though you were a cub, leaving me no excuse. I honor you for that lesson, Always-Hungry.
Blinks-at-Fire bows deeply and respectfully to Always-Hungry, as he never would when she was alive, then returns to stand beside Anpwhotep.
Anubis says, ~From the spirits they drew their strength, and to the spirits they shall return. Moon-Laughs-Quiet, Falcon, Cougar and Raccoon await. I leave it to you to commend their spirits to the journey.
Anubis steps back into the crowd of dark, shadowy figures of the long-dead.
Quiet contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Quiet shifts into Homid form.
Andrea nods at Anubis as she steps forward again, her form shrinking once more. She stops at each body and puts a small object on their respective chests. First Always-Hungry, a tiny silverish rabbit, poised as if to run. Then on Thom, Andrea's fingers almost hesitantly leave a small dark feather, tipped in white. Next to Justice, she places a few wilting leaves that remain a vibrant green. And last, on Thorn, Andrea gently lays down the match to the glittering diamond stud she herself wears in her right ear.
Andrea contorts and blurs as she is transformed.
Andrea shifts into Crinos form.
Anpwhotep nods to Blinks and murmurs softly.
Quiet calls out, leaning her head back toward the cold sky. Her breath is a white plume. ~Falcon, as you have watched their tribe, guard their winds. Cougar, lend your child your swift paws once more on her last journey. Raccoon, guide him so that he will not need your sharp talons, on this last path.~ A heartbeat pause, then, ~Eagle, if you wish, gift he who was yours a last time with the sight to keep him from darkness.~
Above Thorn's body the shadows shiver, a flash of bright eyes and banded tail. A distant screech lashes out from the treetops on Justice's side of the clearning. A flutter of wings sounds close by, with a bright flash over Always-Hungry.
Over Thom there is nothing at all.
Edwin steps forward slightly, blinking in shock.
Anubis closes his eyes.
Anpwhotep bows his head sadly.
Quiet bows her head, and says simply. ~Goodbye.~
Among the shadowy figures of the dead flashes of light begin to randomly appear and disappear, almost like heat lightning. An almost subsonic thrum of near-human voices carries through the area.
Sterling looks to Luna, nestled in the sky. If she were looking for a sign, it has alreeady passed in silent darkness.
Edwin gazes up into the sky, muttering, "Hypocrit...."
Blinks-at-Fire swishes his tail with a cool, controlled anger at the fickleness of the spirits.
Sepdet casts a hollow glance at Edwin and takes a quiet breath, focussing again on the three who go with guides. She stands easily as the spirits of the dead begin to flicker, strangely at home and grounded in this place, watching them go with a silent prayer.
Anubis says quietly, but with great authority, ~Enough. Their time here is done, and they will rest as they will. As all of the dead should.~ A flicker, and the figures in the fog begin to melt away.
The wind begins to pick up, swirling the fog rapidly away.
Edwin looksdown at the talon'd scars on the back of his hands, a scowl on his face.
Anubis shatters the earthenware jar to dust in his hands, and the wind fades away, leaving only the gibbous moon shining down on the clearing. ~Go now in peace. Gaia guide you, and Luna watch you,~ he says to those gathered.
Edwin shakes his head in disbelief.
Sepdet kneels and touches the ground with one hand, inclining her head to Anubis. Then she slips out.
