Iridescent Lagoon dance in the graveyard

He was wading through the edge of the lagoon's waters when he heard it - a voice, or some such noise. Something called. The shadow paused but did not look to the trees, he barely even shifted a muscle. Only standing stagnant within the chilled water while the clouds continued to drift overhead. Cleophas knew what he was doing, but it required concentration; more importantly, it required passage from his dear gods, admittance which he had been too ignorant to plead for. And now, with the day half gone, his hunger grew. If there was anything within this lagoon that could be fished out, it would be his - but the cost was great. 'I have been foolish,' He thought as he stooped his head, dipping his lips close to the surface so as to feel the current. His eyes flicked open suddenly, bursting forth with a temporary fire, before the clouds passed over the sun; he was cast in shadow, and the amber of his eyes fizzled and became a void. 'I see no fish because I have been blinded by my greed, oh,' He lifted his head then, ponderous, curious, and pulled himself to shore. 'I am deserving of this punishment, of course, my beloved.' The water dripped from him in black rivulets. By the time he had worked his way to shore, Cleophas felt the chill of breath upon his body - and the sun once again resumed it's vigil. It was a sign. He would not fish from this source - not until a sacrifice could be made, and adequate supplication performed.

Wouldn't mind some weird religious stuff in this thread. ;)

Titan had managed to gather enough courage to visit the place where his sister had drowned. Over the past month or so the dark Thorben had somewhat overcome the grief that came after finding out that Malia had died. The shadowy wolf had been dutifully patrolling Whisper Caverns borders and gathering herbs for Kassander's medical den. He'd even been able to smile and laugh while hanging out with @Danica, and although he had asked her to come with him to the lagoon some time ago; Titan had decided to come alone. He felt that it was better that only he came to see his sister off. However every paw step he took closer to the lagoon brought the grief back. A weight began building upon his wide shoulders as the yearling made his way to the place he had last seen his sibling.

Not expecting to see another figure near the shore, Titan paused and brought his head up to look at the dark furred wolf. His nose began twitching smelling the stranger as he would an herb to identify it. A loner... the thought flashed across his mind before Titan slowly began picking his way towards the shore. The black yearling kept his tail held out behind him aligned with his back to show neutrality towards the stranger.

As Titan scanned the shores of the lagoon he sighed at the summertime beauty of the place. It looked much different now than it had in winter when ice thinly covered the waters.

Titan shivered at the thought of ice. There was no way in hell he would EVER go out onto ice again. Even if twenty large wolves were out playing on the slippery surface. There's no ice now though. he reminded himself silently before sitting at the shoreline about ten feet away form the stranger. As sadness took over, Titan kept quiet not even managing a "hello" to the other dark wolf who stood not too far away."Speech here."

The wind stirred, bringing with it a scent that he had not tasted before. It was familiar in the sense that all wolves were familiar; the bestial musk brought a tremble to his guard hairs, but did not stop his desire to watch the lake. For a few moments the shadow was silent. His attention was clearly pointed away from the stranger, but gradually he warmed to the idea of company - and pivoted his ears, as if this subtle cue would alert the other wolf that Cleophas knew he was there.

When silence prevailed he was forced to turn his entire head, and half cocked it with a curious expression directed towards the foreigner. A sigh - some might call it a chuff of greeting - passed through his nose along with a tiny nod of his head. Hello he was saying, without a word. Cleophas studied the stranger for a moment longer and was growing bored with the effort, but then.. He saw something in the stranger's expression. A sadness, a longing. Had he found a worthy sacrifice? 'Perhaps I am meant to meet this one,' He pondered further, and then began to stride closer.

"Kànga pade," The shadow greeted, his voice as warm as he could muster it to be; as frigid as a glacier, and heavily accented. "Ya h'art be gripped by grief. I can... Help ya wid' dat." 'Or at da very least, help myself.' His gods would be overjoyed to have such an offering: young, virile, fresh. Everything about the stranger made him a prime target for such a ritual. Cleophas tried to size up the stranger with a careful, scrutinizing eye; however, it was hard to mask the hungry glint of fire that nestled within the darkness of his face.

Lagoon blue eyes stared blankly out at the ripples on the water while the dark wolf sat stiffly upon the earthen bank. Grass crunched under his paws every time Titan gripped at the dirt. He was dimly aware of the lone wolf keeping an eye on him, though the boy didn't exactly care who saw him right now. The only wolf he hoped was watching him was a female named Malia.

"Kànga pade," the strangers lilting voice made Titan's ear twitch. His blue eyes slid to the side to view the loner with a hint of suspicion. Slight annoyance at the other males strange greeting bubbled through his stomach. The young man didn't exactly want to talk right now. At east not to the dark stranger.

"Ya h'art be gripped by grief. I can... Help ya wid' dat." The heavy accent that came through the loners voice surprised Titan a bit. It was a much different accent from the russian wolf he knew and talked with often. For a moment Titan sat silently watching the stranger wondering how he could possibly help his situation. One second his hackles rose as Titan thought about chasing the guy off so that he could go about his own business. However a few seconds later his fur forced itself flat again as he sighed. The young Thorben didn't feel like fighting with the stranger. Not when he had last left his sister after fighting with her.

"How can you help me?" Titan asked the question out loud while narrowing his gaze on the landscape behind the man so as not to offend him any further than he might have.

At first there was silence. An uneasy quiet that was only broken by the shifting of wind through the boughs overhead. For a long moment Cleophas thought that the sad boy was going to ignore him - perhaps pass him by - but then the stranger spoke; his interest was peaked and Cleophas, charmed by his own allure, felt his face twist in to a confident smirk. "How can you help me?" The boy had said. He sounded unsure - and rightly so. Perhaps this wasn't the target that the shadow had been anticipating. Perhaps his duty was to truly aid the boy, and in tandem assist his Gods.

He would not doubt them. Nor would he fail them, in whichever manner of worship they required.

The beast turned his attention away from the boy then, and cast his gaze towards the lagoon. He took a deep breath of the crisp air and prepared to speak again - but before he could, there came a rumble in the sky. The clouds overhead split with the sound and began to dapple the earth below with drops; soft and sullen at first, but growing stronger as the wind picked up. A gust of chilled air pushed against Cleophas as he turned, using the dramatic flair of the surrounding weather to his advantage. "First ya must tell me what ails ya," He took a stride through the water, feeling the fluid drip off of his spindly limbs as he stepped upon the bank - closer to the boy, but with a feigned disinterest. "An' maybe, if it suit me, I help ya."

Titan growled once more as the man spoke answering his question without really telling him anything. Though as he noticed the wolf step through the water he couldn't help but see the how the water dropped off and through the lower end of his pelt in rivulets. Titan's eyes narrowed as he watched the strangers fur fluff outwards making him look rather impressive despite being a loner. Yeah and why should I trust a loner in the first place? the young man snarled in his head before remembering something. @Danica had once been just a loner to him. The same could be said for @Rook who the dark wolf had met outside his mother's border.

It was then that his conscious got the better of him. Any loner and stranger could become a friend if given the chance. He mused thoughtfully. The shadowy Thorben wondered what Malia would have done in this situation. Probably go right up to him and introduce herself... With the image of a ghostly Malia standing beside the stranger Titan heaved a sigh.

"My sister died here. Drowned after falling through the ice late this past winter.." He looked to Cleophas's right where the ghostly Malia stood staring angrily at him. "I never got to say goodbye, and when I left her it was after a fight." Closing his pool blue eyes, Titan tried to send away the ghostly image of his sister and concentrate on the loners presence.

"Honestly I don't think that you, Mr. Loner, can help with this. Nothing of this world can help with how I'm feeling, except for maybe time itself." Titan turned his head away from the stranger and opened his gaze to look out over the calming mirror of the lagoons surface.