I will face my fear

Salvia Eternity · 07-02-2011, 03:22 AM

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+10 :: This takes place after The Last Supper, and carries over to the next afternoon.

She had kept a calm face when Sirius had taken her aside after the meal, smelling of meat and smoke and the tangy musk of a male in his prime. Salvia had listened intently to his vague instructions and vaguer still warnings. Bring me something from the heart of Inferni, he had told her. The risk was great; she had heard stories from her father about how terrible the coyotes were, and Eris would never speak of the place. Sending her into the lion’s den would have been suicide—save the fact that Salvia was not an ordinary child.

As soon as night had fallen, she had gone to the river. While no amount of water could wash away Salsola’s scent, the stronger ones from Supper came off. It did not surprise her to find her mother’s cat out. He often favored the water for hunting, citing it for easy prey. Salvia had spoken to him about her task, and the ocelot proved his loyalty to her family by suggesting something she had not thought of.

A noisy raccoon had given her an easy target. She stalked it and took it without a sound, breaking the neck with one solid shake of the head. Though he watched her with disgust, the cat informed her plainly she stunk like the animal instead of Salsola. Pleased, Salvia had left him the meal and crossed the river.

Her travel was silent and unfamiliar. She encountered no one for hours, and thought over and over what it was she was expected to find. Inferni was vast; how would she know what its heart was? These thoughts did not stop when she saw the first skull, a grotesque thing standing on a pike at the edge of the coyote’s territory. It frightened her, in the darkness, to imagine what had been done to the living wolf. Larkspur was right; these coyotes were savages.

She slunk through the Waste, pelt only slightly darker than the tall grass. A fresh trail caused her to balk and turn away from going south, and so she crept through Inferni’s heart and towards its eastern expanse. Trees gave her ample cover, and it was here she spotted what she imagined her uncle must have spoke of.

A Gothic mansion rose out of the gloom, covered in vines and surrounded by a black fence. It smelled strongly of coyotes and a yellowish flowering vine that covered many parts of the building and fence. A few faint lights glowed from within, warning her that she was intruding on the home of the clan. Dry fear filled her mouth, but she could not turn back. She swallowed that fear and let her mind focus only on the task at hand.

Salvia stalked the perimeter, silent and clinging to the shadows. She was not so bold as to walk in the front gate; but she was too large to slip into the fence elsewhere. Frustration grew until a large patch of that vine gave her more than ample cover from the stirring of horses. It was here, where the honeysuckle clung to her pelt and further hid her scent, that she found the hole. It was only slightly larger than the fence itself, but she believed it would be more than enough. Slipping through was easy, and once in, she found herself facing a smaller building. Something from inside this would have to do; she was not about to risk her safety by invading the larger house.

The wood made faint sounds under her feet, but to Salvia they sounded like thunder. She could smell a potent musk from one of the rooms, but no one stirred from within as she passed. It was, in truth, the scent of flowers that drew her further into the Guest House. This she followed until it led to a closed door. In her lupus form she was helpless against such a thing, but with the newfound ability to shift forms she gained an advantage. Hands worked the handle until it swung open.

She was met with a menagerie of drying herbs and medical supplies. Wandering through she looked for anything unique, anything that might impress her uncle. This went on for a few minutes before a stirring in the room next to this one startled her. Panicked, she grabbed a nearby jar of herbs and bolted away as quietly as possible. Getting through the fence in her Optime form proved trickier. She snagged her fur on the iron bars as she slipped through, and fearing she might have been discovered, ran eastward towards the border.

Once crossed, her panic slowed and eventually faded. The wide circle she took around Inferni took several more hours. Exhaustion sunk in when she found the field of sunflowers, and with the sky lightening, took her chances and slept there. It was a short rest; an hour or two at most. Salvia woke and yawned widely, finally taking the time to observe the jar she had stolen. It was dirty glass, containing some sort of greenish herb. Opening it told her little aside from its earthy scent, but she reasoned it had to be useful if someone had collected it.

With the sun rising to its peak she traveled westward, reaching the river by noon. This time she found the water more enjoyable, but did not linger for long. Still smelling of Inferni and the raccoon, she traveled to the area she reasoned Sirius would be. Her step was taken with ease now that she was home, bolstered by the fact she believed in her heart that she had passed her test. There would be no way to link the theft to Salsola, given her deception of scent. While her paws were indeed large for her age, she was still small and likely could pass for a hybrid coyote if her tracks were discovered.

Sirius’ scent wafted towards her, and taking a breath to steel her nerves, the girl called out to him. “Uncle?”

Sirius Revlis · 07-02-2011, 12:52 PM

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His stomach was still slightly swollen with the excess of food it had stored from the night prior. Although the man detested laziness, he had allowed himself a peaceful morning - Rising with the sun as always, but remaining within his throne room.

There was much to be thought about. Things he wanted, things he needed - Things Salsola would soon need. The Supper had pleased him, for with all its frivolity it was a practical ritual, one that served the purpose of ingraining pack structure within its members, and sharing information. Eris and Larkspur were mated, and although on the shallow surface this might had irritated him, deep within the Thistle King knew it to be an important step forward. It concreted bonds within the pack, and made them stronger, more secure. Already they had had children, and perhaps he should have been less lenient with the out of wedlock offspring, but they were near to his thorny heart also - None more than Salvia.

She had blossomed. It was difficult to describe how the girl's two-legged form changed her, but it had; Her value had increased immensely. However, that was not to say that the child had been less than worthy as a pup; Before he had donned the title of Boss, Sirius had used some of his time to school the girl in the art of the Hunters, as he had with her mother. Unlike Eris, who was passable at best, Salvia possessed true form to the skills of survival. She was fast becoming the most dangerous weapon that Salsola possessed.

This was one of the reasons that, as midday passed mildly by, Sirius' thoughts circulated on her. At the supper, Salvia had requested of him her passing into adulthood, and as he believed necessary, the Thistle King had presented her with a challenge. It had been a merciless challenge indeed, and one that he would have given to no other, not even the strong boychild Pan. He had asked the girl to do what grown men could not - To steal into the very heart of Inferni, and take from the clan something worthy of attention. However, the item she stole mattered precious little, and was more for sake of proof of the task complete; It was whether she returned with her life or not that marked the real test.

Warm afternoon light did not dissuade his increasingly anxious thoughts. Perhaps he had asked too much of Salvia - But she shows such promise, such skill - Perhaps she had been discovered - Eris will never forgive me for the death of her daughter... Irritated by the unruly turn of his thoughts, the Boss left his crumbling stone chambers, and strolled out into the mild warmth.

Her call brought his attention, and at once Sirius was in motion - With the swift movements of a fox, he leaped over a crumbling stone wall, using his hands for balance as long legs swung agilely over. He took a few paces, rounded a corner and there she was.

A smile crossed the man's maw, but it was genuine, and felt strange on his mouth. "Salvia," Arms were held out wide, beckoning her increasingly adult body forth into a rarely offered hug. "Come to me."

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Salvia Eternity · 07-02-2011, 01:06 PM

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While terror had driven her home, she was equally afraid of her uncle. Sirius had never harmed her, but she did not doubt he would be capable of such a thing. The way he hunted, the way he talked, she had learned that he was indeed terrible. Yet she loved him as she loved her brother, her father, her mother. So while she tasted fear she dismissed it—she had survived. She had succeeded.

His form appeared before her, hewed from the earth itself. It startled her to see his face and his body offered to her in such a manner. It excited her, too. She recognized quite suddenly that she was set apart from the others. This filled her young head with warm light and dreams of grandeur. Bright Kelly-green eyes deepened as her pupils widened in a manner much like her father’s, sucking in the image as to always hold it. Salvia would never dare to try and capture Sirius with her eyes as she did with the sheep, but this image, she sought to hold onto.

Her large feet picked up the pace and in a terribly controlled manner, she closed the distance between them and gripped his waist firmly, shoving her nose into his chest before lifting it to find his billy-goat chin. She said nothing, but a faint whine of pleasure escaped her as she sucked in his scent and felt his fur against her own not-yet-a-woman body.

Sirius Revlis · 07-02-2011, 01:45 PM

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He saw within her gaze the slight disbelief, the hesitation, the fear - Things he read as respect. The crocodile smile widened.

The girl came to him quietly, a wraith as she always was. He was larger than her now, but perhaps it would not always be so - With children of Larkspur, it was difficult to guess. There was a joy within her as she approached him, and it was contagious, filling him also with a pleasant warmth. She had succeeded, and in doing so, she had made Sirius succeed. Salsola's weapon was precious indeed.

She did as was asked, and came to him solidly, wrapping arms about the man's leanly muscled torso. He immediately did likewise, folding her into a steely embrace as the sharp crocodile smile remained. The corded muscles of his arms tensed about her as the girl snuffled against him, and only when she whined did he loosen his grip.

Hands fell to her shoulders, and gripped her upper arms tightly. He held her at an arms length so that fervently poisonous olive eyes could look her up and down, checking for any injury that showed she had betrayed Salsola. But apart from smelling strongly, she was clean. "You have done well, my niece," Came the caramel purr, his narrowed pupils lost to a mass of excited, feverish green, only a few shades darker and shallower than her own. "You have pleased me greatly," He shook her once to reinforce the statement, breath hissing in an exhale between clenched, yellowed teeth.

Then, abruptly, he released her and took a step back. The cunning, calculative mask slid into place, leaving only the heated emotion to circle ebony pupils. "Have you completed the task in all entirety?" One hand was held out to her, palm up, seeking. "Where is the item you retrieved?"

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Salvia Eternity · 07-03-2011, 10:37 PM

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Under his skinny frame there was steel coiled muscle, hard and compact. She felt this with his embrace, half hug, half trap. Subconciously she recognized the danger within and knew he was not a man she wished to cross. Yet she felt something new and far more exciting titillated her senses and filled her head with wonder. She sucked in his scent before he drew away. Rough hands gripped her thin but growing shoulders and she stared up at him with cat’s eyes wide and not yet old enough to be wise—but they gleamed with the threat of cruelty she had not yet recognized within herself. She had practiced it, oh yes; with every animal she caught and toyed with before they died.

She remained still as he spoke, listening to the words and his tone, observing even as he reinforced her success. With a smile to match his own, the girl held out the jar she had carried in her hand since the night before. The jar was small and milky, with a handwritten piece of paper wrapped around the base. It had been kept on by some sort of glue; Salvia was too young to understand how the task had been done. The black ink spelled out what it contained, عراف للحكيم scrawled in what looked to be ornate scribbles, was foreign and unknown.

“I found their medic’s room,” she explained, passing the jar to him. “This is from it.”

Sirius Revlis · 07-03-2011, 11:08 PM

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There was a fire within the girl, heated flames that coiled with green sparks in her eyes. So much potential - Larkspur's strength, and Eris' inherent canniness. Sirius was pleased with his efforts in teaching her, for her skills as a Huntress would surely one day challenge his own. With this thought came the prickling sense of wariness; While Salvia may eventually surpass him, she must never be allowed to know it, believe it. Her loyalty was crucial, and the Thistle King ingrained it into her even now, when his body radiated with prime health and prowess. Salvia Eternity belonged to him, just as her mother and father did, and while he held her in 'special' regard, her subservience to him was the only thing that kept the girl in a position of learning and bettering herself.

That was the trouble with crafting a brilliant weapon - The fear that one day, it might be turned upon its creator.

The tawny girl held out her palm, and within it, the strange bottle. Pupils narrowed, observing the bizarre scripture upon it. He knew the human language when it was presented in English, the way the twolegs living in London had used it, but these scribbles were strange and unfamiliar. Slowly, the Revlis man took it from her, weighing the bottle in his hand. Her explanation was given no sign of heed, but for a single curt nod to show that he was satisfied with her actions.

He would have Eris or Tlantli examine the contents of the mysterious container, and for now kept it sealed, the small paranoid voice within warning him of poisonous substances that could be inhaled. Piercing eyes lifted to the girl again, and the sharp Cheshire smile oozed from his features before disappearing into broodiness once more. "Come with me," Came the abrupt order, and the Thistle King turned on his heel and began to walk back the way he had come. There were items waiting for him in his Throne room, items that now had a belonging to the girl with the viper's eyes.

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Salvia Eternity · 07-03-2011, 11:58 PM

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Trepidation crept back into her body as he looked silently at her prize. What if she had been wrong? What if she hadn’t chose correctly, or had done something wrong? Only the slightest change in her pupils, widening slightly, betrayed this. Yet his order snapped her back to her senses and obediently, Salvia followed her uncle back into the room she had often snuck in but never been invited.

For all her training, Salvia made only faint noises against the cobblestone floor. She felt small within the large room, it so bare in comparison to the packed mess of her mother’s home or even her father’s. It smelled like him but more like the great bearskin draped over the stone throne. How she envied him, despite this empty room. Salvia made a note to find him more—a king needed to be surrounded by a horde of gold and jewels. The young girl continued to look about but only with her eyes, keeping still and attentive behind him.

Sirius Revlis · 07-31-2011, 09:53 PM

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ooc: ALAINE, Y U SUCKSOBAD. he's giving her the hunting dagger, like we discussed, and the leather and wool pouch/satchel thing too.

She followed behind him, a silent wraith. Sirius' sharp claws clicked softly against the stoned floor, but apart from that he too was silent. This was a natural thing, as much as it was a taught thing - Salvia had inherited her grace as much as she had learned it. Silence was something an individual had to be born with; A skill that could be sharpened, but not produced.

He entered his lair with an air of nonchalance, aware of how mighty and vast it appeared, but also well used to it by now. The high ceiling crumbled in some places, allowing rays of sunlight to pilfer through the mottled chamber and spill across some sections of the floor. Apart from these weathered gaps, the Throne Room was easily one of the most well-preserved in the Ruins; its walls were all intact, an effective barrier against all sound and sight and smell from the world beyond. This was a small world of its own - The world that Sirius retreated to for much-craved solitude and thought.

Towards the rear of the room was the throne itself, a large stone monolith with a high arching back and arm-rests that jutted from the spine. It was solid and thick, carved from the stone itself, and must have been as ancient as the castle, if not even older. His bearcoat was thrown haphazardly across the monolithic seat, used to add comfort where pillows should have been.

Apart from this, and a small wooden chest near to the throne, the room was almost empty. Without looking to his niece Sirius crossed to the chest, and flipped aside the broken lock to open it. For a moment, he rummaged within - The sound of items clinking and scraping against one another rewarded such efforts. Then he stood, and turned back to the girl.

In one hand he held a small bag made of cured hide and wool. It was soft, expertly made, with supple leather, clean white wool and neat, basic stitching. It had been made with the hide of one of Larkspur's beasts, and by the hands of the slavegirl Rowan. Regardless, it was a simple, but efficient object.

In the other hand he held a dagger, something of his own. it was twisted slightly, and the light gilded its keen edge a murderous silver. The hunting dagger was beautiful, as Salvia was beautiful - A weapon, a thing of elegant destruction. Sirius stepped toward the girl with the acidic tiger eyes, and with a solemn expression, held the items out to her.

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Salvia Eternity · 08-07-2011, 12:06 PM

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The walls smelled of old earth and rain, but it was Sirius’ scent that filled the room. He stunk of musk and a thick, powerful thing that dominated even the bear-pelt. She had learned to recognize his scent as one of protection, and so in this room she felt at ease—at least, to a point. Her “uncle” was an unpredictable man, and she was a girl not quite certain of her place. While her parents afforded her a luxury of rank-by-association, she was crossing the border between child and adult with each passing breath.

Her eyes widened as he turned. Each treasure in his hands was meant for her. Hesitantly, the girl reached out for prizes. She recognized the wool almost as soon as she touched it, and knew where the bag had come from. It was the dagger she focused on far more intently, for this was a weapon and it was the first she had known. Sharp and jagged, it curved like a great tooth. An animal’s head made its hilt, and she was careful to sheath it with great respect. Though she understood the formal nature of this solitary ceremony, the girl suddenly was overwhelmed by it all.

Salvia closed the gap to Sirius in two steps and once again hugged him tightly, rubbing her face against his chest. It was a silent thanks, one she knew she would not be allowed to display in public. Once she walked out of that door, he would stop being her Uncle and become her Boss once more.

Sirius Revlis · 08-16-2011, 09:34 AM

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The girl took the items hesitantly, as though afraid they might dissolve to her touch, and reveal this small ceremony to be a false dream. But the items held, real and solid, and when her fingers brushed them in wonder the Thistle King's black lips twitched with mirth. Salvia did not know her own lure, but when she was older, he knew that beauty would sit well on her wolfish face. She would be beautiful, as Eris was - A powerful kind of beauty, the sort that left an impact far after the eyes had stopped seeing.

He allowed her to take the bag and the dagger from his creamy palms, and then watched as she donned them both, sheathing the glinting dagger with as much respect as the item was due. It was a fine weapon - Too slender, too delicate to sit easily within his masculine palm. But for her, it would be another tooth; Sharper and larger than the rest. A tiger's tooth.

Her sudden movement provoke him to a slight snarl, ears flattening to tousled, unruly hair. But his alarm turned quickly to confusion, as the girl merely burrowed herself into the fur of his chest. Olive eyes glanced down at her head, his hands hanging comically in the air, body stiff and wary. Slowly, palms lowered, and finally they too encircled Eris' daughter, one patting her awkwardly on the back. This was a secret show of affection, one rarely given by the canny Boss. Her nearness made him edgy, and uncomfortably aware of how adult her new body was becoming.

Having suffered the hug for what he deemed long enough, Sirius took a step back, pulling himself free of Salvia's hold. Hands rested on her elegant shoulders, holding the girl at an arms length so that he could study her with those wickedly intelligent eyes. "You are valuable, Salvia, and you have the potential to be great. Learn - Learn from anyone who will teach you something of value. Use what you know and what you have, and use it well," He smiled then, a truly terribly wonderful smile, all teeth glinting for her. "Do not fear or underestimate the Stupid, Salvia. Always be aware of them, for their stupidity will be what makes the Smart great." With such a riddle of words, he removed his hands from her frame, and turned back to saunter to the huge throne. One hand waved at her in dismissal. "Go, tell your mother and father. They will be proud." He sunk down wearily onto the bearcoat, and stretched long limbs across the stone plinth.

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Salvia Eternity · 08-16-2011, 02:57 PM

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Within her was a beast. Salvia did not know it yet, as she would soon, but the idol on the knife would become her power animal in all sense of the word. When she traveled by way of mescaline and peyote, she would travel as a tiger. When she went to kill her sister, it would be as a tiger. Terrible power existed within her, hungry and ever desiring more.

For now, though, she was still a little girl who was desperately seeking to be told she was right. Sirius, though stiff and unwelcoming, gave her enough leeway that she knew he cared. It was enough to prick her and plant seeds that she, ignorant of her body and what the heat her in belly meant, did not understand. Separated with little grace, Salvia resumed her attentive position, eyes bright and tail wagging behind her slowly. She craved attention and she craved praise. She gathered both from him, drinking in the poison eyes so that she might one day grow immune to such a thing.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and turned to leave. Her walk was swift and silent, and by the time she had returned to daylight she all but flew towards the places where her parents lived. She would find them, then Pan, and if he did not mind her presence, she would sleep through the day with him by her side.

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