Cors Ossum my baby's good to me

@Kerebos
January 22nd
Partly Cloudy -21F/-29C

Something about the area screamed for Gitano to get out, but unlike the previous time across the mountain the teen knew that he couldn't. The atmosphere around him was shrouded with mysteries of what had occurred, spirits still walking through the trees. Now, Tano didn't have a lot of experience cleansing old spirits from the physical world into the spiritual one but he had been taught the basics of course. He had dragged what he thought the area's talisman was to the very center and cleared out everything around it including the snow. The large skull looked ominous against the dark backdrop, the almost black earth it sat on now exposed.

Gitano had stepped back several feet, so he sat on the very edge of the cleared circle and closed his eyes. Doing his best to clear everything from his head, including that he felt like he was failing @Karina by taking the time to do this and just let his mind be open.  He pushed every thought that tried to worm it's way in out, leaving it all open for the spirit or spirits who still resided here to say their finale piece.

Behind closed eyelids the world was dark with a faint warm glow of red when the occasional ray of sunlight filtered down. Suddenly he gasped as the red twirled into purple, sure that he had actually made contact with something. As soon as he had gasped however Gitano lost the violet shade and everything went back to as it had been. Keeping his golden eyes closed the teen held perfectly still, breathing shallow as he coaxed whatever it had been to come back.

  

He had come out in here in hopes of finding something. Maybe a herd or a few hares. Perhaps he could find a plant or two still holding on through the winter to bring back to @Naira. He doubted there would be plants growing in this nasty place, though. Not to mention so far he hadn't smelt much wildlife that wasn't already bones.

Kerberos had an off feeling about this place. More bones became apparent the closer he went in. It was kind of scary. There was hope perhaps. The scent of something alive was found. Thanks to @Maera he trusted his nose a lot more. He silently crept to find out what someone else was doing out here. He hoped they'd offer him some advice on where to find any food or plants.

His eyes were wide as he saw the scene. It was nothing he had ever witnessed before. There was some male sitting in the middle of a cleared out circle with his eyes closed. Was he alright? Kerberos stood behind one of the trees with half his face peeking out. Only half interested in seeing what was about to happen. The tawny male was ready to flee at any moment and warn the others that there was trouble in these northern woods.

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Breathing continued so shallowly his sides barely rose and fell to the naked eye, Gitano's vision began to swim behind his eyelids. A small smile crept upon his lips as the woozy sensation started taking over, to him it was nothing but a door to the other worlds. Once again the haze turned purple and it was almost as if he could hear footsteps moving towards him. Careful not to move or gasp this time the teen urged whoever owned the footsteps to move closer, to come into his full view.  Instead however they stopped before the male could see anything other than the purpley haze and perhaps a dark shadow.

Then the scent hit him.

It wasn't a spirit his guides had been bringing him at all but instead it was a live wolf they had drawn in. Dull gold eyes flew open as they sought out the owner, landing on a tawny snout just looking through the foliage. A warm smile spread across his face and it took him a moment to realize that he would need to use his physical voice now instead of his spiritual one. "Come forward friend, there is nothing to fear." Okay, that might not exactly be true as he hadn't cleansed the area yet but he wasn't going to hurt him.

  

There was no movement from the other wolf that Kerberos could detect. But then a smile spread across the stranger's face. "Oh no, oh no. No no no. I need to go." He couldn't get away now, though. Dirty gold eyes had spotted him as Kerberos's own pale yellow eyes refused to blink. He was scared if he missed a second he'd become a part of some scary ritual.

Then the other wanted him to come forward. Like a complete push over, Kerb followed the directions. His legs shook with each step as he tripped over a skull. Stumbling with a yelp as he hit the ground. The skull looking at him as if to welcome him. "Oh please don't kill me! I have people who will miss me and count on me!" He laid there with his belly exposed to the branch covered sky. If Maera saw him now she'd be so thoroughly disappointed in him.

"Please." He whined softly as his tail took a soft place against his underside for good measure. The tawny male was positive he'd become one with these bones. What would the male make him into? A meal or just a sacrifice? Kerberos could never recall being so utterly terrified in his life.

(This post was last modified: Jan 22, 2017, 09:12 PM by Kerberos.)

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Gitano was completely oblivious that the reason this stranger's legs shook so heavily was that because he feared that the teen would kill him. Instead, he only assumed that it was because he too could feel the spirits in the air and frankly they were rather intimidating. The smile grew wider and his tail thumped on the ground at the few feet his did move but faltered as he fell to the ground. Tail stopped at the plea and his expression became rather crestfallen as he registered what had been said to him, "kill you?" The tone was filled with utter confusion, why would he want to kill him?

A sudden realization dawned on him, this wasn't a real wolf after all but he had summoned the strongest form of spirit! Excitement and pride filled him at this accomplishment, even the elders could only do this some of the time. Still he had to smother all of that away so as to not frighten the poor tortured soul any farther, obviously something horrible had befallen him in these woods already.

Nodding in a way that he hoped portrayed empathy a gave a small sad smile, "Yes I'm sure they do miss you very much, you're very important to them." Gitano longed to move forward and get a better look at the physical manifestation of the spirit but he did not to scare off the timid creature. Instead he lowered himself down into a laying position, a truce offering, "What is your name brother?"

 

"Yes." He practically wheezed the word at the stranger's question with fear.

The mysterious man didn't approach him in such an aggressive way, though. Instead there was a sad nod and then the man laid on the ground. Kerberos was speechless. The man didn't want his bones all laid out? Wasn't interested in pulling him apart? Oh god! He bet the stranger was saving it for later!

"H-how do you know I'm important to them?" He was still speaking through whines. "Do you know them? Who have you met?" No one had mentioned this man to Kerberos if they had met him. He felt a bit left out now. Pitied himself for being scared of someone he might call a friend. Without missing a beat, he stated his name to the now lowered tawny man. "Kerberos but they call me Kerb a lot, you know." If this man was familiar with his friends then maybe he heard him being addressed by his little nickname.

His pale eyes looked at the man from a partially upside down perspective. Kerberos was wondered if his face was genuinely so kind or if the stranger had perfected a look to lure in his prey. Either way, Kerb's nerves were not fully settled.

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The poor spirit was still speaking in whines seemed utterly terrified but at least he was giving mostly coherent answers to Gitano's comments. The shaman did his best to remember what he had been taught as a pup about manifestations. He hadn't been paying that close of attention as he figured this was something he would never get to but now he was kicking himself for not doing better. He wanted to move closer, press his snout into the fur that looked so life like and smelled so real but he remained where he was.

Nodding his head again he repeated the name out loud, "Kerb," of course now was the tricky part. Gitano knew enough that if the spirit starting getting too suspicious or didn't believe you there was nothing he could do to heal its soul. Thinking quickly he did was fortune tellers were never supposed to do; he bluffed. Doing his best to smile genuinely, "I have met them, and they care about you very much. A... A woman in particular, I can't recall her name now but she cares very deeply for you." That should have been broad enough to be able to have applied to someone in this spirit's time with the physical world shouldn't it?

 

As his name was spoken, all Kerb could do was give a submissive grin. "Yeah. Kerb." His tail moved across his underside. He hadn't dared move yet. He was still far too worried that'd he'd be next among all these bones. The skull of some canine (perhaps a fox) was still lined with his own head. It was a nightmare come true. If he could escape this strange place he might take the smaller skull as a souvenir of sorts.

The male's next words caused Kerb's heart to pick up. This man knew Maera! It seemed that his Mae even spoke about him to this stranger. "Sh-she's so sweet to me despite that hard exterior of hers." He swooned just thinking about her. "She's so kind and patient to put up with me still. Told me she loves me too." His face grew warm the more he thought about his love. She was his rose. A delicate flower with a bit of roughness to her. He grew to understand that roughness and work with it just like she worked with him.

The tawny man's thoughts on this mystery wolf were softening. If Maera hadn't warned Kerb about him or even hurt him herself, well, he assumed this guy couldn't be all bad. "Isn't she pretty? And she's all mine." The last part tacked on to reassure himself that Maera was indeed his and to inform the other wolf he wasn't fond of sharing his Mae.

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A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Gitano was quite proud of himself for making what seemed to be considerable grounds with the manifested spirit. While he was still flipped with his belly in the air it moved slightly and then his whole demeanor changed with the mention of some female. The teen almost let out a sigh in relief that his bluff hadn't been called and instead had done what it had been needed for. Now, he just had to figure out to get Kerb to come to terms with the fact that he was in fact already passed on, or at least come to peace that this woman may love someone in the future.

Tano had absolutely no experience with women, how the hell was he supposed to get this Kerb to come to peace with his turmoil?! Quiet for a moment besides the sound of the odd decaying forest around them he did his best to think of a game plan. Suddenly his eyes lit up when he had an idea, "She is very pretty Kerb, and she loves you very much and I'm sure she always will, even if sometimes it feels like she may not." Pausing for a second to gauge how this might for over Gitano practically held his breath.

But this wouldn't work if he couldn't say the rest and so steadying himself he continued, "and-and Kerb, I think you should know that wolves are very good at holding all kinds of love in their heart at once. Love for those who are in the past, or who have even passed and those who are still current, do you understand?" Now he had to do what his guides had brought him to do, help the spirit to let go of the physical world and go into what is next.

"I think it's time you go now Kerb, don't you agree? I think you know you're not meant to be here anymore, you should go." Muddy golden eyes watched intently to watch to see what the manifestation would do. One thing was for sure, Gitano was absolutely exhausted and would at least an hour or two of sleep after this one.