Returning Ghosts of the Morning Calm Land

Yi TaeKyung · 06-19-2012, 08:53 AM

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I’d like a few days (4 maybe?) for either Libri or Mel to see/respond to this; assume that she is in the cabin with Pan or Salvia. If not, then it is AW, and just assume an empty shack! …Hope it’s not too confusing! Just ready to get started after a long vacation! ^w^;;
WC: 510

Night had fallen with a suddenness, as if the day had been a shining debris swallowed by the depths of the great Sea. The Night’s coming was silent, or perhaps there had been a sound—a deep rumbling like the stirring of some great, dormant beast. But the world in Darkness took on the silence once more. Where the sounds of night should have been, around the black wolf there was nothing. She lay resting upon her back, white orbs gazed at the thick darkness of the night-shrouded cabin. Those eerily lit eyes seemed to watch nothing, and there was a strange emptiness about them. Deep within her soul, the Korean hybrid had learned to close off the world from her soul. Within her soul perhaps raged a deep, black creature—a Pied Raven, a black, breath of air upon which a pied dragonfly flew. In there, the source of her passion for taekwondo lay, for that martial lifestyle that allowed her to build a body nearly perfect for unarmed fighting. And yet, within that Darkness so completely closed off from the world, her dreams arose. Now, in the Dreadful, welcoming silence, she contemplated those dreams.

Always the dreams—when she did dream—were the same. She lay in the darkness, an empty world with neither earth nor sky. She could never tell what it was upon which she lay. But a sound would rouse her. The sound was strange, like claws grating against stone. She did not know why, but the sound caused dread to leak from her heart, and an irrational fear would follow. Why was she afraid? Always she would rise, her eyes still closed—tightly against the ever approaching sound. Suddenly, the sound stopped, and the silence was more frightening now—a silence that was not like the silence of the world but that was like… she did not know what it was like. She could not say. But curiosity made her wonder, and slowly her eyes would open. A strange figure—a human perhaps? Would stand beside her, long hair covering the face. But the eyes—somehow she could see them. In the irrational logic of the dream world, she could somehow see them. They were wide with fear, and not fear felt by the thing but fear that seemed to emanate from it. Realizing that truth, she would awake abruptly, her body jolting as if startled.

With a sigh the taekwondo warrior pushed herself up. She wondered why she was afraid—such things did not frighten her in the wakeful hours. Very little did. The black fae shrugged it off. It was nothing. Nothing that she should worry about. Having rested, the white-eyed wolf slowly pushed herself up, the sinew within her body performing with grace and balance—a martial beauty. For a moment more, the Slave of the Flame allowed her mind to contemplate her dream. Perhaps she had been afraid because the creature was a being that could not be defeated by means of combat. The empty fathomless gaze wandered to the dark corner, expecting Him to be there. But there was nothing. It was just a dream.

Salvia Eternity · 06-26-2012, 02:59 PM

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(306) Assuming she's seen her wake from dreams before or such; sorry this took so long! Also, this is before her rank swap. :>

The wound was healed now, but she felt the ache in her chest none the less. It had prevented her from being of much use except for that final battle, when she had gone and ripped asunder the world of their enemies. Yet the losses were stark and unwelcome, and at night, she heard her brother’s voice screaming her name. Sleep was something that suited her ill. Instead she turned to the endless work, the endless tasks at hand, and hunted.

Darkness gave her cover and Abendrot was the ghost she followed. The lynx could see far better than she, and she trusted him fully to guide her. His size allowed for them to hunt as if he was a wolf, and oh how they hunted. This night it had been a young buck, still green and unsure of himself, who had fallen. They had feasted in the shadows, gorged until satisfied, and then Salvia had taken to her two legged shape and hoisted the bloody carcass onto her shoulders. It was a long walk home, but the weight was welcomed. It grounded her.

She arrived to hear movement inside, and pushed the door open with a foot. Of the two slaves that lived with her (for she did not trust her mother with Axi and did not trust TK around the other slaves) it was the warrior who was awake. Axi had hardly known how to sleep when she had first arrived, but Salvia had made it clear that she was not her mother. Still, the coyote peered from her bed at the noisy arrival of the blonde woman and her feline companion. Salvia gestured for her to return to bed and set the carcass on the kitchen table. Blood clung to her shoulders and hair.

“Another dream?” She asked the Slave of the Flame.

Yi TaeKyung · 06-27-2012, 08:33 PM

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Thanks for joining! I know you’re busy, ^w^ Also, I made something for you (don’t know if you saw, ^w^; Wink

Gift~
WC:515

A forceful sound brought the tenebrous female from the brooding world of spirits. The fathomless white orbs flickered as if becoming truly awake, sharpened now by a cold aggression that mulled in the depths. The sound was familiar. Black, horn-like auricles swiveled, making as if to rise in a respectful greeting. But her master gestured for her to remain in bed, and the slave grew still, as if the hand of her master had cast a spell upon her. To the Korean, Salvia’s bidding was done without question. The shattered mind was grateful only for the freedom to fight, and so she had fought for Salvia. The slave, white orbs watching the bloodied feet of the hunter, gave a respectful bow of her head. The golden septum ring glinted dully for the movement. Smelling the blood, the slave grew hungry—an instinctual response the scent of food. But, trained as much as a slave as a warrior of taekwondo, the female was still. And as Salvia’s voice sounded, the sinewy woman shifted down to her natural shape. It was a thing she felt to be reasonable when in the presence of her master, for in her natural shape she was smaller and her head lower. That was not to say that the black wolf was any less dangerous.

Another dream? The wolf was still. It had not been a dream..... She believed that sincerely. For her aggression, the Korean was a superstitious creature. “No dream,” the accented alto replied, her voice quiet though not aggressive in anyway. “Korea ghost eat heart.” Her strange and simple reply was left hanging, and no explanation followed. The Korean spoke very little, and she spoke English even less. Her broken English often was very brief and, at times, difficult to understand. Salvia spoke simply with her, and the Korean understood more than she could speak. There was much, still, about Salsola that she did not understand. But the shattered mind did not care to understand. Her life’s end was to simply fight and live. And in Salola, she lived as a slave.

The Taekwondo fighter put her shadowy head upon her paws. In the night, the unperceived scars upon her body itched in a way that almost felt pleasant. Her fur would rise and fall in response to the strange pleasures of the long-past memories of fights. White orbs drifted over the lynx, and to the carcass, and to Salvia. Her master had suffered many wounds from the battle. Briefly the broken mind was able to consider whether Salvia would punish her for inadequacy. TaeKyung did not fear her master, nor the pain of punishment or death. The fighter desired only to be free to fight....The silent question seemed to hang openly in those moments as the frosty orbs traced the healing wounds of her master’s body. Perhaps the Jindo-wolf’s Korean tongue did not grasp the skill to wonder aloud those thoughts. Or perhaps it was something else.... Always stepping too close to the line between tolerable and intolerable behavior, her empty gaze fell upon her master’s green eyes.

Salvia Eternity · 06-28-2012, 01:24 AM

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(305) My internet just hates me. ;-; I will try and be faster with this!

The blonde girl—who was a woman now, and a princess at that—was perhaps more kin to this brutal, savage slave than her own people. She had been crafted from an early age in such primal, instinctive ways. While TaeKyung had only the will to fight, Salvia had the will to rule. It was a part of her, in every way, but because of her inadequacy and her inability to use such silver-tongued ways, she was not her mother’s daughter. All sense of mercy or love had been cut from her at an early age. Still, she was not entirely without the concepts of these things. Amongst the slaves, she did not need to pretend. This was easier for her, and she flourished in such earth.

Salvia stood over the carcass, listening to the voice of the Korean. Her hands worked with raw power and dug, elbow deep, into the bloody pit of the beast’s chest. They had eaten most of the innards, but some remained. This was what she dug for, hands working greedily. There was an audible crack as the ribs split from her force.

Green eyes lifted from her work as the slave spoke of ghosts. It was outside of her realm of knowledge, and while she did not believe in magic as her parents did, she held a healthy respect for spirits and gods. For a long time she simply looked at the black wolf, admiring her the way one might admire a prized racehorse or dog, and then let her eyes fall back to her work.

“Are you haunted, TaeKyung?” Her pronunciation of the name had only improved marginally, but she still insisted it be used. It put her above the others, and by now, Salvia was well aware that the Korean had earned every right she now boasted.

Yi TaeKyung · 06-28-2012, 11:54 PM

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Don’t worry! I started my graduate classes so I’m pretty busy! I’m keeping up though…! OuO
WC:513

The crack of bones cut the air like fangs through flesh. A welcoming sound. But then another joined in the silence. The black crania lifted at the sound of her master’s voice. The lunar orbs seemed to glow in the half light, a dull and empty moon. For a moment there was silence. The dark fae considered the sound of her name. It occurred to her that her master chose to utilize her given name. Others of the pack did not care for her culture and gave her names like Phantom--whatever that sound meant. The shattered mind could not compute the gaze with which her master now placed upon her. Perhaps the enslaved one were still within good standing. Perhaps she would fight still. And that was the true anchor of her enslavement. No matter the strength of her ‘loyalty’ to her master, it was always the fight that kept her docile.

Haunted. It was a word that she had heard before, but it was one that she had only marginally come to understand. It took many repetitions of words spoken to her before she could more accurately connect them to her Korean vocabulary. She recognized, however, that the word ‘haunted’ indicated something that related to ghosts. For a moment, it seemed that an eerie, cold sneer would shimmer across her wicked maw. The lunar gaze turned as did her black crania, gazing at the dark corner behind her. It was as if she were checking—and indeed she was. To the Korean, the shadows of the corner were dark and impenetrable, but she knew that He was there. The black orbs of the Crow Wolf were watching her—imperceptible and yet so heavily and dreadfully upon her. She sensed a threat, and yet nothing ever came save for a strange and cold fear that came with the wicked and vengeful ghosts of her homeland. Black lips parted to reveal the promise of strong, white teeth within—a mirthless grin?—as the white orbs returned to the superior one.

“He is watch in dark...place.” The alto voice was heavy with accent as she struggled with the correct words, although she spoke the English sounds slowly and deliberately, as if those were indeed the words she sought. The ghosts of her homeland were not like the ghosts of the Western world. TaeKyung did not think that Salvia could fully understand, for Salvia was a Western wolf. The superstition and her mantra of taekwondo dripped from the cracks of her mind like a black ink that enveloped her soul. It made the woman into what she was, into the feral wolf that she had become. The Jindo-wolf did not care if Salvia were superstitious as well, if she would be punished for bringing vengeful shades into the master’s abode. The shattered mind could not even consider such things. His presence brought nothing, and yet, in the hours of the night, He was always there, dark and heavy, driving an indescribably inexplicable fear into her stomach. And yet, she had grown accustom.... “He watch us.”

Salvia Eternity · 06-29-2012, 12:11 AM

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(307)

These two were much alike, though Salvia would never speak such truth aloud. She lived for the conquest and the work that came with it. While she had been pampered and spoiled and taught of her own superiority, she had not learned this without a second and firmer hand guiding her. Her father and Sirius had seen to that. Salvia valued work, and her body craved it. To hunt, to kill, to fight—these were simple things that suited her. Despite her great intellect, despite her clear ability to comprehend and study and learn she did not find value in books or seek the knowledge of furthering her ability to read. She was capable of it because it was a necessity, but she could not formulate true understanding and she could not write. Her younger sisters had shown talent there, though Salvia knew little of this. She knew little of her siblings because she chose not to.

So while her work was her focus, it was mechanical and steady. Her mind whirled with the words and the ideas presented by this foreign woman. Ghosts as she knew them were beings that she identified with Tak, and therefore, with the shadows and the night. The broken speech only affirmed these ideas, though they were base, and broadly painted. There was more weight to them then she could comprehend, though she was aware of this fact.

The heart was ripped free from the deer. Salvia had been unable to reach it when the kill was made and the heavy muscle rested in her hand like a stone. She looked at it for a long time, as if considering the true weight of what it was, and then looked to the slave. “Do you know him?” Her other hand, bloodied to the elbow, gestured for the woman to join her.

Yi TaeKyung · 06-29-2012, 12:17 PM

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OuO Writing between lecture and lab~
WC: 501

Her master spoke again, and bid her to be at her side. The Jindo-wolf hybrid rose from her place of rest, a place that was heavily marked by her own scent. She did not mark it deliberately, for that was beyond her scope of power as slave. But having slept in that place every night, her scent lingered there. Perhaps the ghost was drawn to that heavily scented place. As she rose, the sinew beneath her short, dense coat rippled with the strength she had gained from training. The Korean wolf was still lean, but since her enslavement, her weight had only improved marginally. The Jindo-wolf ate often, especially since Salvia had granted her hunting privileges, but she ate only enough to sustain the energy requirements of her body. She did not eat for pleasure or delight, but for survival. The lighter and stronger she could be, the quicker and powerful she could be, and, ultimately, the better fighter she could be. And the strength beneath that coat carried her easily from her place of rest to her master. Black claws clicked upon the wooden surface of the cabin, adding to the sounds of the carcass being worked upon by her master.

As the heart was extracted, the she-wolf lifted herself onto her hind paws, placing her front paws upon the edge of the table. The Korean fighter was without timidity, and did not think to wait for permission to place her slave paws upon the table upon which her master worked. The shattered mind did not think to consider whether the simple action would be considered rude. And upon the table, she could smell strongly the flesh and blood. Instinctually, she began to salivate, but swallowed her hunger. “TaeKyung no remember.” Vaguely she could recall from her past the images of her father, the Crow Wolf, who, unknowing to her, had caused much trouble for a woad-painted she-wolf. But for the cracks in her mind, the memories had begun to escape, and the distinct past became forgotten. The white orbs turned up to her master before the muzzle was averted to her left shoulder, indicating to the branded 無, or ‘emptiness’. “We make.” The only thing that the black female recalled was that the hauntings were connected to the moment she had found the brand in Halifax, when she had first arrived to these lands.

The black plume waved once behind her, carving a slow and sinuous path as if playing with the black, shadowy tendrils of the night. The shadow behind her did nothing, but she could feel him still. Instead she looked to the carcass, and to her master. She wondered why, after so long, that her master was suddenly interested in such things. She wondered why Salvia was interested in her at all. The fighter was accustomed to solitude and silence, and she was content with her solitude and silence. She obeyed, and Salvia commanded. Was there more required in the relationship of a slave and master?

Salvia Eternity · 07-14-2012, 11:19 AM

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(342)

When Salvia had first found the Korean, half-drowned and bedraggled on the beach, she had not known what to make of her. The concept of enslavement had come because she had fought—she had been the first to truly challenge her, to make her work for such a thing—and fought well enough to show use. Salvia was not like her mother, and did not value pretty things or trinkets. Even with Axi’s presence there was little for her to do; clean, prepare food, tend to Salvia but only when she asked. The Jindo-wolf had more tasks because she was better fit to them; she could hunt, fight, kill. She did not challenge authority (at least Salvia’s), and this suited her fine.

Green eyes trailed down to the four-legged shape. It always seemed somehow right that the other would walk below her. Salvia was tall for a woman, but compact. This weight was what kept her as TaeKyung’s superior. A part of her wondered what would happen if their roles ever became unbalanced. Would the slave turn on her? Yes, an instinctive part of her mind said.

The brand was as foreign to her as the language, but there was some magic in the shape, some ancient power in the strong lines. One hand lifted and brushed bloodied fingers over the mark; did she imagine the cold touch of the Void or was it truly there? She withdrew quickly, frowning.

“Many here,” she began, speaking openly because she knew Pandemic was not present. “Believe they have ways to the places of the dead. My mother tried to show me once.” Her expression changed. A savage, half-mad smile slipped across her face. There was base aggression there, but above it, something closer to true pleasure. “I tried to kill my traitorous sister. I became…something else. A tiger,” she looked at TaeKyung again, brows furrowed, as if some part of her did not understand this. “I do not believe your ghost has power here,” she concluded, as if this might justify her lengthy words.

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