you say it was this morning

Claudius Aston · 06-30-2011, 06:07 PM

[html]

Read only. Spirit guide journey for Claudius. Lasts April 1 until May 31.

The day after Dawali came to visit Claudius, he woke up refreshed and full of sorrow. He could not explain why exactly, but he felt a number of reasons crop up. He had no family to speak of, no real friends to rely on, and no real purpose. He kept to himself, he read books and researched his trade, and when he was feeling particularly brave, he sometimes – occasionally – went on a pack hunt, but they were far and few between.

He rested easily on the slope next to his den, lying down on his back. He had his fingers woven together cradling his head in his hands. He watched the clouds as they floated by overhead, moving quickly with the wind. It dipped and yanked the clouds across the pristine blue sky, leaving swaths of cerulean hues in their wake.

Claudius yawned and then sat up. He pulled his knees up close to his chest and rested his elbows on his knees as he peered over the river and into the nearby forest. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of movement, but it disappeared just as quickly. He frowned, and decided to return to his cave. He began packing his satchel with ceramic jars, a book with pictures of plants, and his favourite wooden stick which served as a ladle.

He slung the bag over his shoulder and was about to head out when he paused, frowned, and then turned around. He set the bag on the ground and stepped back out from his den. For the first time in what had to be months, he began transforming into his Secui form.

As he shifted, slowly because he did not do this often, he thought he saw the flash of movement again. He couldn’t frown mid-way through the shift, but he dismissed it again.

With that, he began to walk. He walked north and then east, heading toward the borders of AniWaya. After a few minutes, he broke out into a comfortable jog. He kept up the pace for five hours, travelling north and north and north.

His impromptu jog brought him close to the borders of Crimson Dreams and Cercatori d’Arte. He didn’t want to bother anyone, so he continued north, skirting around the fringes. As he moved north, he began thinking about food. He slowly shifted into his lupus form, and after twenty minutes, he was ready to find some food.

By this time, the sky was growing dark, threateningly close to twilight. After an hour, Claudius managed to locate a rabbit and its young. He followed it to the dug-out den of a home and waited. He waited for an hour before he saw a pair of eyes, at which he quickly reacted and jumped. He didn’t catch anything, because the rabbit retreated into its home. But the weight of Claudius’ jump brought him crashing through the weak roof and on top of a rabbit. He drove his muzzle down and caught one of the rabbits as it tried to escape and bit down harshly. He tossed the dead rabbit aside and paused, wondering if any others were left. He hesitantly lifted one paw and a rabbit dashed out from under him, too fast to catch. He pawed around in the dirt, but it seemed as though the others had escaped from an alternate exit.

He frowned and turned to grab the dead rabbit when he noticed a fox inching closer to steal his kill. He snarled at the fox and the animal dashed away. He took the rabbit in his mouth and ate it whole. It was still a very young one, but it would have to do.

With his belly full, Claudius continued north again in search of a place to sleep for the night. After ten minutes of searching, he found a thick bush under which to curl up. He wound himself into a tight circle and was soon fast asleep.

The next morning, Claudius awoke, still a little hungry, but feeling well enough to continue on. He shifted into his secui form again and continued trotting northeast. After four hours, he found himself north of Cour des Miracles and south of Dahlia de Mai. He recognized these parts from when he had visited Addison in his youth. He thought about the necklace he still had for Addison, waiting in his cave. He paused just long enough to feel that sadness constrict his heart before he continued on.

He caught a pheasant and gobbled it down like a ravenous wolf. Given that he was indeed a wolf, it made sense. He had been lucky this time: with all of these packs around, he didn’t know how none of the other wolves had found it first. He had to scare off some foxes, who had already been eating it, so perhaps “caught” wasn’t the best word… but it had been his and it had been absolutely delicious.

He found some berries a few kilometres east of the pheasant and chewed on them thoughtfully. He wondered if a fox would make a good meal; he’d encountered a few of them already. For a moment, he wondered if his spirit guide was a fox: sly, cunning, and probably the coolest character he’d ever know. Wouldn’t that be something! He chuckled and then decided to continue on his way. He trotted for another four hours and found himself in The Sugarwoods, a place he’d only ever heard of, but to which he had never ventured forth. He knew there was a way to get something called sap from the trees, but looking at them, he couldn’t figure out how. There was no way someone could get candy from a tree!

Claudius decided that it would be good to rest and save up his energy for the next day. Soon, he would venture over the mountain and to what had once been Bleeding Souls.

It took him two more days to get over the mountain and to the foot of the northern side. When he did, he couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t like what he’d thought. It wasn’t burnt or broken or bruised. It was healing. And it was invigorating.

As he stared out over the landscape, he heard a sound behind him.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” came a voice from behind. Claudius frowned, but couldn’t find anyone. He didn’t want to turn around again and risk having his back exposed.

“Y-y-yes,” he replied slowly. “Ve…very. It’s… ch-ch-ch-a-a-anging,” he explained.

“Quite,” came the tart reply. This time, it was from his left side, and not his right.

Claudius turned in search of the voice, but all he could see was a long-necked deer. It regarded him boredly and then took a few steps down the ridge.

“Well? Are you coming?” it asked him. Claudius tried not to gape. “You’re staring,” it informed him.

“I-I-I… c-c-c-can’t sp-speak… low… speech,” Claudius explained.

“And you’re not,” the thing replied. “I’m your spirit guide, you idiot.”

“Yo… you’re… not a… v-v-very n-nice one,” Claudius pouted. The thing rolled its eyes and flicked its enormous ears.

“Yeah, and you’re not very articulate. So lets go. We’ve got a lot of self-discovery to do and stuff,” it explained.

“Oh,” Claudius replied. “Wh-wha-… t… a-are yo-you?”

“I am a gerenuk,” the animal replied proudly. It stretched its giraffe-like neck and flicked its ears back in pride. It examined Claudius and then stated: “and you’re a wolf. You’re my wolf now.”

Claudius gulped.

#1249+

Login




Remember me Lost Password?