down to the river to pray

Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 01-01-2012, 04:04 AM

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Tal came home after a little over a week. All welcome Smile

His mother and Soran were going to move to a new pack. He had been gone for just over a week now, and he wanted to return home. He paused at the border tree, resting his hand on the bark. Up higher was a small butterfly carved into the bark, and the white scholar felt his heart freeze. He stared at it for a while, feeling depressed. He had a long conversation with his mother about everything, about Liam, about Tameri, and about the fight that led him him to flee. They had differing views on the fight. Tal still felt that Sky had cheated on him with this Sanja character. The matriarch of the family, however, told him to give Sky a chance to explain, to give her a chance to repair the rift.

He pulled his gaze away from the etching, wondering for a moment if Liam had carved it long ago. He let out a breath, pulling the bundle of sage out of his pocket. It had been a gift from his mother, along with instructions on how to use it for purifying an area. There wasn't enough to do the whole border, but there was enough to do key places. He used a match to light some of the sage, blowing on it until a thin wisp of smoke drifted up. He began wafting the smoke from the sage toward the tree, murmuring a prayer of cleansing. "Let not evil walk in front of me. Let not evil follow behind me. Let not evil be within me or within others around me. Let negative energy disperse and leave these lands alone. Rhiannon, fill our lands with light and hope. Protect us from evil, protect us from harm."

He watched the last bit of sage crumble in his hand, the tiny embers stinging him for a moment. He let the ashes drift to the ground, then continued onto his next destination. He halted at the exact spot where he watched his life crumble. For a moment, he could see that hellish day again, Tameri's body torn to pieces, Liam covered in blood, both hers and his own. He let out the breath he'd been holding, and began softly repeating the prayer of protection. Again, the ashes and last embers stung his palm, and he watched them drift away on a chilly breeze.

He walked the small distance to the girl's grave. He'd finish his little rituals later. Right now he felt the need to visit his daughter's grave. He knelt, laying his hand on the cairn of stones. After a moment, he began talking to her. He thought he could feel her spirit lingering nearby. "Hey baby. Sorry I left without telling you first. Mommy and I needed a few days apart after our fight. Your grandma cried when I told her about you, and what happened. I'm still so sorry I couldn't protect you better, baby girl. I'm in the pack's council now, and I'm in a good position to protect your baby siblings. I'll keep what happened to you from happening to them."

He bowed his head, closing his eyes. "I miss you, Tameri..."

wc: 529

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Erzulie Guffawri · 01-01-2012, 07:18 AM

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OOCOOCOOC!

Legba worked in mysterious ways, so maybe the prankster spirit thought it was funny to orchestrate a chance meeting just when the girl was convinced that the spirit had abandoned her. Erzulie walked alone – alone, a thing she was so unused to – through d'Arte's forests. The creamy adolescent was often found wandering paths that seemed to have no focus, yet a point to it there was. If you chose your path... if you allowed a rocky road or a shaded route to determine whether or not it was the one you walked, you would certainly miss out on the opportunity the lwa created for you. This is why Erzulie moved around d'Arte so often, down so many roads that have been lost to time. If she moved down the roads without discrimination, eventually she would walk where Papa Legba wanted her, and the spirit of the crossroads would come to her again.

Yet as her eyes peered upon the cotton form who prostrated his spirit before the border tree in some sort of ritual, she couldn't help but wonder if this was Legba's way of speaking to her. It was no secret that, to hear the lwa, she needed to be alert to all signs.

Before her was the man, Taliesin, father of the murderer, and father of the murdered. He had been missing from their pack's territory for days now and his disappearance had not gone unnoticed by the Capitana's daughter. Tameri's killing had significantly impacted her life beyond it's clear effect on their pack. It was around then that she noticed Legba had gone silent.

One hand propped up on a tree as she turned, looking behind her as if searching for someone... someone who was not there. She couldn't help the pang of disappointment. When she turned back to Taliesin the man was muttering something low, as if speaking to someone, but there was no one else that Erzulie could see. This made the girl perk up, her ears erect and excitement in her eyes. It would have been so dreadfully rude to interrupt, though.

“Who are ya talkin' to?” She asked, having moved from her observation point and now approaching the tree. Yeah, it was rude, but Erzulie didn't see it that way. She waited in anticipation of his answer. Did Taliesin walk with the lwa too?

But even before he said anything, before her words were even complete, her eyes dropped to see the marker of the little pup's grave and her spirit sank. It looked more to be a ritual of speaking with the dead than speaking with the spirits.

WC: 439 :: Image © Outdated Productions@Flickr

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 01-01-2012, 08:57 PM

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^__^ Forgive the rambling. LOL

He lifted his head as a voice sounded. While young, the voice held something, some quality of both mother and father. He racked his mind, then remembered. Erzulie, daughter of Skye and Bangle. Her question was a fair one, though the company of the female was unexpected. The scholar spoke, his voice soft but clear, a deep sorrow in it that would never quite fade entirely away. "I was praying, Erzulie. I don't know what you and your family believe, but I was raised to revere Rhiannon and the good spirits of ancestors and family past."

He paused for a moment, feeling somewhat unsure, then he spoke again. "I... I though I could feel little Tameri here. I'm sure it was just my imagination, though. Wishful thinking and all." He lifted himself to his feet slowly. He hadn't realized he'd been kneeling so long, but his slightly stiff muscles said otherwise.

He looked at the young female, remembering the day he had assisted her mother in giving birth. Everyone had been different then, everyone had been calmer, more at peace. For a moment, he wondered if things would go back to the way they had been. They would, he knew, except for some things being vastly different. His faith in his mate had been shaken by her mention of Sanja. His world had been torn apart by Liam's actions. His house had been empty without Tameri and Liam. And yet, it wouldn't be empty much longer, since Sky was carrying a litter of pups. Would they work out their problems, their differences to someday try for more? He'd always wanted a house full of his offspring, his family. He'd had his wandering days, and now he wanted to live the idyllic dreams of his youth. A home, a mate, many many pups of their own. Someday, grandpups.

He realized he'd been staring at the younger female, and he gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, got lost in thought. How are you and your family? Haven't seen much of you lately." Did she know about Liam? Did she blame him as he felt so many others did?

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Erzulie Guffawri · 01-03-2012, 04:24 PM

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OOC Though what she's saying might be ignorant or seem dark, her demeanor is purely concerned/nice.

Her ears fell back in disappointment when he turned and spoke to her. He wasn’t talking to anybody, he was just praying. “Praying. Ain’t that talkin’ to somebody who ain’t there?” She asked, honestly curious and supremely stupid. She spoke to people who weren’t there all the time. But they were there in her world. She didn’t make the connection that to Taliesin the spirits were there in his. The thought of something existing other than the lwa was just preposterous.

“Mom and dad didn’t teach me much about that. I don’t believe in anything. I just know the lwa.” She stated the obvious fact as though it would make perfect sense to Tal.

“I have been well. Been goin’ to other packs a lot to sell so I ain’t been around a whole lot. Met some folks in Cour des Miracles and AniWaya.” She smiled, proud of her little self imposed merchant missions.

It only took a second for her to go back to the more spiritual topic at hand. In fact, her return to the thought was at breakneck speed and a little awkwardly placed at the end of her last sentence. Shaking her head, she told him, “You know, it wasn’t Tameri’s spirit ya felt. Can’t have been. Legba already took her to the other side.” She wasn’t trying to be mean nor dash his hopes of Tameri being so close, she just thought she ought to inform him of the truth. After all, wouldn’t the lost father be happy to know that his daughter’s spirit was safe and now at home?

“Ya might have felt a mem’ry though. They still have weight in this world long after we are gone. We make an impression on everything and the world remembers us, always.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “Sometimes ya can even raise a memory.” Did she mean raise the dead? Hell yeah, she did. But she wasn’t trying to say that she could do it, nor suggest that it would be right for Tal.

“Like when it hurts the living to be parted from the dead so bad that havin’ them back for just a little while will help their soul. ‘Til they can learn ta accept that they’re gone. Say their goodbyes ‘n stuff.” Okay, mayyyybe she was suggesting it, just a little.

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 01-03-2012, 11:54 PM

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Freakin' word stole this post four times. >.<

He wasn't going to argue with the girl about her chosen beliefs. After all, many others had many different beliefs. Hell, even he and Sky didn't see eye to eye on their ideological beliefs. "Perhaps my belief in Rhiannon can be considered like you knowing..." he stumbled over the unfamiliar word, "lwa." After a moment, he added, "Just because we don't believe the same doesn't mean we can't be friends. Different ideas are what make the world go 'round."

Her words about him not feeling Tameri, but the memory made sense to the male. It was most obvious in the house that he and Sky shared, in the empty beds where the children slept. It was partly that which had led him to flee in the wake of the fight with his pregnant mate. He opened his mouth to say something mundane and inane, but her next words made him pause, a catch in his throat.

“Like when it hurts the living to be parted from the dead so bad that havin’ them back for just a little while will help their soul. ‘Til they can learn ta accept that they’re gone. Say their goodbyes ‘n stuff.” He hadn't really had a chance to say goodbye to the child. Her last sight on earth was the hate filled eyes of Liam, her last sensation not a comforting caress from loving family, but agony beyond mortal understanding. His gaze dropped to the pile of stones he'd erected to keep Sky from removing the skull again. If he could see her again, would he?

It was said Rhiannon wouldn't grant a wish that someone couldn't reach out to claim for themselves. If he had the chance to say goodbye to Tameri, to beg her forgiveness, would he? If he had the chance to reassure himself she didn't blame him, she didn't hate him, would he take it? His mother had been haunted once by the ghost of her former mate and their dead son; would he want to risk the same for Tameri?

And yet, what would he give to have Tameri tell her mother she would reach paradise in Rhiannon's arms? But what if Sky was right? The snowy scholar was torn, his gaze not leaving the pile of stones that marked the pup's tiny grave.

After a long time of struggling with himself, he spoke to Erzulie, his mis-matched eyes drifting up to her face, his heartache and anxiety plainly wrote in his gaze. "What would you have to do to do that?"

wc: 423

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