(704) This table made awesome by Mel!
The first... four paragraphs = skipplz. Introspection. This post was massively helpful to write for Eris, btw. o_o
Eris was generally a straightforward canine, presenting one of two sides of herself: she was either sweet to the point of sickness, or downright mistrustful. It depended on whether or not she spoke to a Salsola member. Outsiders generally received the latter facade, the harsh and distrustful woman who, on rare occasion, introduced herself as Discordia. It was her Salsola who saw that first side, the mothering and smothering side of the dark hybrid. She was needy, and she did like to feel loved. Where was the problem in that? Eris did not think there was one.
This was why the Siv newcomer vexed her so; she did not understand the woman and her lack of love. Eris was not asking for so much as physical love -- she did not think of women this way -- but simply a sense of love, that closeness she experienced with so many of her other packmembers. There was none of it in Siv, however, and the dark-furred woman felt it would not grow within her, either. One could look upon Magnolia and the quick relationship between Eris and the pale Family member for an exemplary start to Salsola.
The sable Auxiliary did not think she would regret bringing the woman and her child into Salsola, but her integration might be more difficult than any they'd face so far. Eris had faced the darkness in the world the night she accepted Siv into Salsola, smoking some of her indian tobacco and chewing the tiniest of her mushroom caps, just enough to blur the edges of the world into meaninglessness. Her visions had been dark and terrible -- and oh, how strong they'd come for how little in the way of entheogens she had consumed. Such omens were rarely false.
These were the same thoughts she ruminated over again as she sat over the river. Shibboleth crept in occasionally, appearing brilliant and white in her mind's eye, but Eris always turned away from the girl. It was easier now that she visited the gravesite frequently, much to her surprise. She would have expected the opposite. Her private and quiet hurt should have been stronger with the constant reminder, but she would not question such subtle magic and miracles. Perhaps -- trite and impossible as it seemed -- the girl visited her, lurking around her mother in another realm entirely. The thought was comforting, but empty.
Though she seemed to look at a distant copse of trees overhanging the river, in reality, she gazed at nothing; she was entirely off in her own head. Her feet occasionally swung mindless, lazy arcs over the water below, and her tail still twitched on occasion. Her grip had loosened on the upturned branch she had previously used for support, but she leaned more heavily on it, nearly wrapped around the thing, When there was a strange sound, she came to from her thoughts, peering around curiously. She hadn't intended to daydream so long, and she was irritated with herself.
She saw the laden elk first, and this sight was strange enough to give her pause; she openly gaped a moment before her gaze shifted to the more normal encounter -- a Luperci. Presumably, he was the elk's owner. Sharp chartreuse eyes peered at him with curiosity, and she blinked, yelping her answer before she processed the question. What? Then, what he had asked registered in her mind, and she shook her head. No. Just sightseeing, she said. She had been startled and she was irritated with herself, and so, she was not at her merriest.
Eris, she responded, offering her real name without much thought. Use Discordia too close and too frequently to Salsola, and the whole thing was ruined. There should be a southerly dark wolf, a woman with a hooded cloak and oak-wood staff. That was Discordia, Eris decided, then and there. That's an elk you have there, she observed, tossing the tip of her muzzle toward the animal. Why not a horse? She was genuinely curious; what advantage did an elk have to a horse? The sable-hued woman was intrigued by this exotic thing, and she did hope he would entertain her question with an answer.
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