Change comes from the people

Swentzle Byström · 11-19-2011, 04:20 AM

Swentzle had set up camp last night in a clearing that, for all intents and purposes, was exactly twice as large as he needed it to be. There was enough room for Hamza to graze near the trees, and a high roost in the darkness of the branches had proven perfect for Citlali. Despite her odd level of activity during the day, she was an owl, and prone to nodding off at all hours--except, of course, when he was asleep. Fovea had gone off to hunt somewhere, leaving Swentzle sitting by himself--and yet not alone--in an admittedly small clearing, setting about his task of building a fire. This clearing had probably been a campsite before, as there was already a pit dug and circled in stones when he'd arrived; he'd discovered that when he fell flat on his face just after dismounting Hamza.

Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he took the flint and a large rock in one hand each, and began striking them together, always away from himself, sending sparks onto the carefully arranged pile of branches. Luckily he'd found dry wood; there had been rainfall recently, so he hadn't been certain. After a long moment of careful, precise strikes, there was a sudden crack and sizzle, and a light began dancing before his eyes. He set his tools aside, bending to blow the flame brighter, and then sat back, satisfied. He rubbed his hands together for a moment, before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hamza, adeste." "Hamza, come here." The bison's head lifted lazily, and then heavy footsteps indicated his approach. Hamza settled a few feet away, beginning to graze in his new spot, and flicked an ear as if to say, "I've come." Swentzle rose and patted his hearty flank, before his hands drifted to the bags slung over Hamza's broad back. In them he found a bowl of what he knew to be red powder, and his Awk. "Boni pueri, Hamza." "Good boy, Hamza." Swentzle patted the buffalo again and settled before his fire, crossing his legs and beginning to shake the Awk rhythmically. A bit of the red powder thrown into the fire turned the resulting smoke a burnt orange color, and the smell of chile and cinnamon began wafting around him. Swentzle began chanting an old prayer, shaking his Awk as he did so. The words by now had become so familiar that he felt a great comfort in them, almost as though he were at home, in his own hut, with his daughter playing outside.

"Benedictus domum benedictum qui alligat obligat. Benedictus spiritum ducit, benedictum sit cibus." "Blessed be the home, blessed be the ties that bind. Blessed be the spirit that guides; blessed be the food that provides." And then, more quietly, "Blessed be."

Mordecai de Fonte · 11-20-2011, 02:09 PM

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Hi, welcome back to 'Souls. I hope you don't mind an awkward Mordecai joining here. [: He's in Lupus form, and I wasn't quite sure what time of day it was, so please tell me if I am wrong! / +421

What led Mordecai to the clearing were the strange smells wavering from the open pit of the fire.

Before he detected the alien odors, the boy was relaxing near the lake. Sadly, he deemed it too cold for him to go swimming that day, but at least he could enjoy how the morning light reflected off the water like a rippling mirror, and how the fish seemed to tease him by breaking the surface from time to time as if they knew they would not be hunted upon for a time. Though he did feel a little chagrin towards the fish, since he believed that they were actually making of him, he did not allow the creatures to spoil his simple ease. He thought that perhaps soon he should go into the nearby city—Halifax, if he remembered correctly—to search for reading material while he was still close to it. But being a humble wolf with even more modest beliefs, he lazily put off the venture and set his less extravagant desires first.

It had rain recently, and most smells around the forest were masked with wetness that dulled their scent. So, it was a surprise to Mordecai to discover a vivid, unfamiliar aroma clinging to the air, traveling along the wind. What he could tell, something was burning, releasing musk of sweetness and spice, but it was nothing he ever came across before. Curiosity got the better of the young man as he got up from his position and followed the smell with a careful gait. It took him only fifteen minute to reach the source of the smells, but he did not approach directly at first.

The Luperci that was softly chanting and moving some object in his hand was what not made the dark coated wolf hesitate, but the large beast. It seemed docile, munching on the grass near the man, but Mordecai did not know this creature, and he quickly became afraid of it. But, the smells were really attracting, and the boy really wanted to know what they were… With a somewhat shaky nod as he came to a conclusion, he let out a small yip to make his presence known, if the other did not know beforehand. Uh, hi there, he called out, peering nervously over the bush which he hid behind while his ears twitched anxiously. Green eyes darted to the horned brute and back to the wolf as he continued with a quiet, polite tone, What is it that you are doing?

Swentzle Byström · 11-21-2011, 01:09 AM

Hi! Thanks, I'm glad to be back! And not at all. He's really cute~ <3

He'd only just finished his rituals for making camp when a yip brought to his attention a stranger in the area. Though the smells from his fire made it difficult to pick out the scent of the other wolf, Swentzle's keen nose could not detect the scent of any particular pack--a loner, most likely, as Swentzle himself was. He set aside his Awk and folded his arms before his chest, lifting his nose to the spiced air to see if he could discern anything else about his unexpected visitor. The voice that spoke a moment later was friendly, though Swentzle couldn't help but think he sounded somewhat anxious. His head tilted slightly in curiosity, but a smile nonetheless made its way across his maw, and Swentzle replied, "Salutations, stranger." And performed a sitting bow, straightening a moment later and gesturing to the other side of the fire in invitation.

Hamza flicked an ear lazily at the appearance of the other wolf, and then made a half-snorting grunt, lumbering to the other side of the clearing and bending his head again to the grass. Swentzle turned his head slightly toward the noise, but there was nothing aggressive in the sound, as there would be if his mount was troubled by the stranger's presence. As the wolf spoke again, Swentzle turned toward the sound, squinting slightly to get a better look at the fuzzy shapes on the other side of the fire. He was fairly certain he faced the right direction, though the other wolf didn't become immediately apparent to him; his eyesight became more of a curse than a blessing every day. When no wolf-shaped--or colored--objects became immediately apparent, Swentzle turned back to the fire, deciding not to worry just then about the unknown whereabouts of his company. It was likely they were just shy, or wary, as he was whenever approaching someone else's camp.

"I am banishing malicious spirits that would prey on us while we are weak." He explained, folding his hands into his lap again and tilting his head, inhaling the smokey fragrance that reminded him so much of home. "This way, the camp will have no night terrors, and our food will be plentiful and sweet." He paused, and added, in a somewhat more friendly tone, "Would you care to join us for the morning meal? Such precautions are wasted on Hamza, whom enjoys his grazing with or without my rituals." He gave the buffalo a somewhat exasperated look, though it was also a fond one. He'd gotten the bison from the Chikaree tribe, on his way north, and had traded several herbs and a horse for the honor. Though it had taken him a while to get used to the odd mount, he'd come to rely on Hamza to be his eyes--as well as his judge. If Hamza disapproved of someone, or seemed skittish when approaching the borders of a pack, Swentzle would turn away. It had gotten him out of more sticky situations than he could count.

Mordecai de Fonte · 11-22-2011, 01:26 AM

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OOC: / +322

The man turned to the sound of his yip, and at first Mordecai found his smile somewhat unsettling with the way he tilted his head; then again, he found many odd things unsettling, and his fear of the hoofed beast muddled his thinking to make it turn for the worse. When he spoke calmed the boy’s nerves, though, lacking of any malicious intentions his imagination formulated. He followed the man’s beckon, shifting out of the protecting undergrowth and over to the Luperci’s side. On his way, the creature made some sort of snuffling sound, which scared the wits out of Mordecai, but luckily before he could flinch or run away, it hobbled away at a peaceful rate. Hoping that the other did not caught his pause, he quickened his trot to complete the distance between them.

He sat about a yard away from the bi-pedaled form, and listened with an interest in his explanation to his ritual. In his pause, he piped up, My family does stuff like that. Except we leave a little part of our prey so the spirits can have a meal, too. Though he never saw a nature spirit before, the boy strongly believed that they were just shy and wary to show their faces. After all, they were probably scared of the wolves like they were with the destructive humans that killed so many of their trees, their homes.

The de Fonte boy blinked as the man offered a meal, and said with pleasantly surprised tone, If there is enough to go around. Then he paused for a moment, and added hastily, Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Mordecai. He hoped that the other did not notice his absence of manners, and did not think of him as some misbehaved wolf looking for a free meal. Also, I was wondering, what were you burning as a sacrifice? It smelt really good; that was what brought me here.

Swentzle Byström · 11-22-2011, 01:57 AM

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occ here

Word Count → 366

The younger male came out of the underbrush, and Swentzle focused on him, folding his hands into his lap again. His explanation seemed to interest the other wolf--at least, he didn't interrupt--and when he'd finished, even added something of his own. Swentzle tilted his head again, curious about spirits who could share in the meal, and said after a thoughtful moment, Then, of course, we must leave something for your spirits, as well. He rose, and made his way to Hamza, holding his hands out in front of him so that he didn't run into anything on the way. After a moment of rummaging in his food stores, he came up with three white mice. They were for Citlali, but he thought the owl would not mind sharing with the spirits.

He paused a moment to wait for the boy's answer, and said with an assured finality, There is always enough to go around. And only kept the thought that Fovea would disagree to himself. He grabbed a pair of rabbits that the mountain lion had caught yesterday and he'd skinned last night out of the same bag he'd gotten the mice, and returned to the fire, setting the mice aside for the moment as he didn't know how to prepare them and uncovering the bowl again. You may call me Swentzle. He said, and rubbed some of his Chile-cinnamon powder onto the exposed rabbit meat, before laying one on the fire to cook. He was about to ask whether Mordecai preferred his meat raw or cooked when the boy asked his question, and his head lifted sharply, his eyes wide with surprise.

Sacrifice...? He managed a laugh at the very thought, and shook his head, unable to help the smile pulling at his maw. It was rare he was ever so amused. That was not a sacrifice. Merely some ceremonial incense, which doubles as spice for our food. Would you like your meal cooked? His eyes positively glittered as he looked at his companion, holding the second rabbit by the hind legs in his left hand--ready to put it on the fire or hand it to the boy, whichever was preferred.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Mordecai de Fonte · 11-22-2011, 03:53 PM

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OOC: Sorry for the really simple post. ;w; / +298

The boy grew more and more relaxed as the minutes went by; even the presence of Hamza seemed to fade from his mind as the foreign incense lingered in the air and filled his senses now that he was sitting close to the fire. He watched as Swentzle straightened his posture to approach the giant beast, his paws held in front of him for some reason. But, Mordecai did not give it a second thought, smiling easily as the man commented that there was food aplenty and stared curiously as the male drew out mice, and a moment later, skinned rabbits. He returned to the fire, and began to cover the naked meat with some powder. It was not until his acquaintance placed the rabbit upon the fire and for the powder to start roasting that he noticed it was the same stuff he used earlier.

He felt a little embarrassed as his choice of words were laughed at, but he quickly overcame it, since he did not want Swentzle to feel like he injured his feelings. As he asked for how his food should be prepared, he took a moment to think over it. Cooked, he finally said, deciding it would not hurt to try Swentzle’s, and many other Luperci’s, way of eating; he never did dare play with fire, much less cook meat, and though he was not afraid of the substance itself, its capability in his inexperienced paws was not something Mordecai wanted to attempt. It’s edible, too? Now I must now what it is; does it go by any common name? The boy highly doubt he would ever come across such oddities ever again, but he at least desired to known their names; his simple aspiration of modest knowledge and pleasure was again showing.

Swentzle Byström · 12-02-2011, 12:21 AM

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I'm so sorry about the wait! My computer died. ><

Word Count → 243

He nodded and laid the second rabbit on the fire, turning the first and inhaling the smokey flavor. He would cook it the way he usually cooked his own--that was, until the skin burned only slightly in places--and then dust it with more powder, for the real kick of the Chile. It was mild, of course, as he was not a great fan of having his tongue burn, but the taste and scent mixed with that of Cinnamon was just heavenly. He sat back to let them roast and then turned to look at the dark figure of the boy out of the corner of his eye, the light blue orbs glittering slightly at the question.

It's a combination of two spices, Chile and cinnamon. He answered, and then pulled the rabbits off the fire to give them their final coating in the stuff, setting one before his temporary companion. It's quite common, where I come from, though there are varying ranges of heat to the Chile powder. This is mild, so you shouldn't have much trouble with it. He added, and took a bite, feeling the slight burn across his taste buds and savoring the delicate meat. Of course, he'd grown up with Chile powder, so the unfamiliar taste, combined with the heat and kick of the stuff, might still pose a problem for Mordecai; Swentzle could only thank his own foresight on not having used the hotter stuff today.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

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