Vivarium
GO when their backs are turned - Printable Version

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when their backs are turned - Rinon - 11/29/2024

He had wandered.

Again.

Wandered far from Vesp's side when he slept in the night and Rinon's mind was awake with ideas and fantasies of the galaxies that he could not shake. Things were starting to come back, memories, thoughts, concepts that the youth barely understood.

His long legs carried him into nowhere, into oblivion, toward the mountains where he hoped to get a better look at those that beckoned him. But when he got to their edge, the base his slender snout pitching skyward he scented the barrier markers of the pack that lived here and he froze. Legs locking him into place, his ears rotated backwards slowly, crimson eyes blinking as he contemplated his next move.

Maybe he should just trespass, it was worth it to be able to understand that which pulled at his heart and soul, but he couldn't get his legs to move his body knowing that the danger might be greater than the reward, so he sat, and stared up at the mountain peaks.

❝ ❞


RE: when their backs are turned - Valeska - 12/5/2024

Amaranth had been gone for - several days? Was it a week now? Was it more than a week?

Too long already. Although they often enjoyed each other's company in silence (or Amaranth would sit and patiently listen to her mate's incessant babbling), the mere absence of her familiar silhouette wandering the packlands was enough to leave Valeska wanting. There was the usual ruckus of pups and yearlings and awkward young adults, but...

Without her, it was lonely.

So the High Priestess buried herself in routine.

She rose with the sun and started off with a slightly less cheerful gait than usual, heading toward the borders to refresh the scent markers that denoted Elysium's presence within the Respite. Everything seemed fairly normal, barring the recent stranger at their doorstep -

Valeska squinted.

Was that another one?

Oh - it was a kid.

Oh no.

Her mind flickered back to Gamma and the fiasco surrounding Avon's holy pet rabbit, and she hesitated. Maybe if she turned around, she could pretend she hadn't seen him -

But it was too late, and they locked eyes.

Valeska heaved a ragged sigh and approached.

Hello, she said, discreetly taking in his scent to see if any pack-scent lingered upon his fur, Are you lost?

RE: when their backs are turned - Rinon - 12/6/2024

Crimson eyes heavy with his burden of confusion and untangling memories flickered up as the flash of grey swam across his vision. Unsure at first if she was real, or he was seeing things from sleep deprivation he blinked.

And blinked again when she got closer. Oh. She was real.

"Hello" definitely real. "Are you lost?" he blinked, considering her words for a moment. ❝ I...think so, but not in the way most become lost ❞ the words weighed heavy on his tongue. ❝ I...do not have a home...anymore. ❞ he couldn't go back. Surely his mother would accept him should he return, but in his mind he'd been gone too long.

Nearly three moons. Far too long. Too long to change his mind and go crawling back to mommy. He was dedicated to this decision, whether he liked it or not. And besides, the change had brought with it an age of transformation for the young man, unlocked parts of himself he apparently had no access to before.

Maybe it was the loneliness that had brought them on, maybe the independence. He couldn't decipher it just yet, but Rinon knew one thing for certain, that the stars called him.

❝ I think - I need to start anew. ❞ maybe he shouldn't have come here. Rinon wasn't even sure where here was, just that the peaks were his access point to the beyond.

--

❝ ❞


RE: when their backs are turned - Valeska - 12/12/2024

Fate's Respite was no stranger to lost souls. He didn't offer much beyond a vague mention of no longer having a home to return to, which meant he was either a) a native of this land who had come upon sudden misfortune, or b), yet another wayward transport from another world unceremoniously dumped upon their doorstep.

Elysium seemed to be a landing pad for both varieties, but it brought her comfort to know they could remain a safe space for these unfortunate individuals.

And thank god he didn't smell like another pack.

Minimal dramatics - she hoped.

I am Valeska, the High Priestess of this place.

She offered him a welcoming smile.

You may stay within the Respite for as long as you wish, she sai. No one is a prisoner here, so you may come and go as you please. All that we ask is that you help contribute to our welfare and replace what is taken from the cache.

Valeska motioned with her head to encompass the greater portion of the mountain range and the glistening lake that lay nestled beneath them. He could recover there, taking his time to get his bearings and perhaps seek out a new purpose for himself - maybe he would have an interest in the gods, she thought wistfully - but there would be time enough.

What is your name?

RE: when their backs are turned - Rinon - 12/14/2024

"I am Valeska, the High Priestess of this place." he dipped his head, as respectful as he knew how to be. The yearling was hardly raised, his mother was overprotective and overbearing, but that's about all she was. "You may stay within the Respite for as long as you wish" he was grateful for it, "No one is a prisoner here, so you may come and go as you please. All that we ask is that you help contribute to our welfare and replace what is taken from the cache."

"What is your name?" ❝ Right ─ sorry. I've been on my own for a while now, ❞ he gave an ashamed shake of his head with a lighthearted smirk ❝ Rinon, ❞ he withheld his surname, for now at least.

He paused then.

❝ Valeska? I actually ─ I am seeking someone to teach me of the stars, constellations, how to read them...you wouldn't happen to have anyone here like that? ❞

anything. anyone.


--

❝ ❞


RE: when their backs are turned - Valeska - 12/24/2024

Rinon. Well, not many strangers led with their full, gods-given name, and it wasn't as if she introduced herself as Valeska Mikaelson Callosum either, so she didn't find any fault in that. He seemed nice enough, if a bit bewildered.

It seemed as though he dabbled in spirituality. She approved of this, naturally, being fond of mysticism and all the ways that faith could be so closely intertwined with the ordinary - even the stars themselves told the story of the Five, and if one looked close enough, they could tell one's own tale, too.

At least that was what she'd been taught.

Many in Elysium follow the mystic arts, she said, My daughter Sreda follows the... darker side of it, curious about death and the un-death.

Who else...

Amaya reads bones, and believes that bathing renders one weak and ineffectual.

It was like going down a list of every mental illness in the family, had she recognized them as such. Instead they were simply her beautiful, perfect children, following their own varied and fascinating interests. She was so proud.

Dimitri tries a little of everything, although he is tortured. Perhaps the gods try to speak through him too much. He is probably tired.

Valeska pursed her lips. Stars, constellations, patterns in the sky...

Amaris! He is my youngest son; pale silver and white, she said, visibly perking up. Yes; he would be the one to speak with regarding such matters. You should seek him out. He is a little shy, but always gazing upwards, and I am certain he may be able to aid you in this pursuit.