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+--- Thread: AW 'Til I rot away, dead and buried (/showthread.php?tid=7423)
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'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Morwenna - 4/24/2025
AW, but attn Tsukikage
the gulls had found it first.
their shrieking led morwenna down the slope toward the lake’s silver mirror, and there — tucked beneath alder and bone-white driftwood — lay the elk, bloated and half-claimed.
not a clean kill.
but it was fresh enough.
with no pride to weigh her down, the black queen stepped lightly over the reeds, nose wrinkling as she tested the scent. she moved with purpose, picking through what remained: a haunch untouched, sinew stiff with cold, and a foreleg still worth the effort. her teeth sank into it. there was marrow here.
the water lapped the shore behind her, and morwenna did not look back. her thoughts were on meat, and what dreamless sleep it might allow.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Tsukikage - 4/24/2025
Spring was supposed to be a time of rebirth, of new life and new beginnings. Yet all he had left was the fact that she was gone. It had taken him some time, but he finally managed to get as far away from her death site as physically possible. The loss of his past mate, Aerys, had taken a lot out of him. On the plus side, there was nothing else tying him to the southern lands. Now he could come back to the north where he felt most at peace. Maybe here he could forget about all of the losses that he had to endure since coming to this strange land.
Tsukikage had taken a liking to the vast open tundra. His massive frame patrolling the shoreline of the vast lake before him. It was a quiet and somewhat peaceful place, with the occasional washed up animal that he could feast on while he got his priorities in line. So when he had taken to following the seagulls this time around, he wasn't quiet expecting any company along with it.
Yet there it was, the stench of someone taking their own fill from the water's bounty. The wolf of moonlight and stars proceeded with caution, ice blue eyes catching sight of a large wolf in the distance. A woman with dark tones and grand stature. With a scent that seemed exotic and foreign. No matter, he still kept up his guard. After all, even roses had their thorns. And he was not about to play gardener.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Morwenna - 4/25/2025
the fish had been stripped nearly to the bone, the carcass no longer warm. morwenna’s tongue swept past her teeth as she stood above the remains, gaze casting outward toward the silver blue lake stretching like a sigh beneath the cloudy sky. gulls wheeled above, their cries sharp, unkind. she welcomed them.
so few creatures fed without taking something else.
the scent reached her before the sound did—brine, iron, the faint bite of tundra. not local. not saatsine. her chin rose, regal as ever, though her pelt was wind-worn and her eyes hollowed with the stretch of many nights.
her voice, when it came, was low and measured.
her gaze did not challenge, but it did not submit either. the man was tall, built like those born beneath colder suns. she took him in, noting the sharpness of grief he wore like a second skin. it was not a scent, not a look—it was the way he moved, the guardedness, the restraint. a man who had known loss and had not yet finished burying it.
there was no softness in her, not anymore, but there was a gravity to her that held the same weight. something like respect. something like recognition. two wolves with too many ghosts behind them, standing at the water’s edge.
so few creatures fed without taking something else.
the scent reached her before the sound did—brine, iron, the faint bite of tundra. not local. not saatsine. her chin rose, regal as ever, though her pelt was wind-worn and her eyes hollowed with the stretch of many nights.
her voice, when it came, was low and measured.
you walk quiet for a man of your size.
her gaze did not challenge, but it did not submit either. the man was tall, built like those born beneath colder suns. she took him in, noting the sharpness of grief he wore like a second skin. it was not a scent, not a look—it was the way he moved, the guardedness, the restraint. a man who had known loss and had not yet finished burying it.
i am morwenna,she said simply. no titles, no flourishes. those belonged to another life. she turned from the carcass and stepped once to the side, offering space.
if you hunger, the gulls have not yet picked it clean.
there was no softness in her, not anymore, but there was a gravity to her that held the same weight. something like respect. something like recognition. two wolves with too many ghosts behind them, standing at the water’s edge.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Tsukikage - 4/25/2025
A studied gaze watched her soak him in, processing every sense that he had to give. Overhead the gulls continued their cries to no avail. They would have to wait a bit longer for their supper. The woman of great presence and standing moved to the side, offering him a bit of food. It wasn't out of pity or sympathy. No, she didn't seem the type. More out of a show of respect and dignity then anything else. It was something to take into account and appreciation, an act that he would not soon forget.
Being quiet sometimes gets you where you need to be in life. Sometimes, it leads you to destruction. Takes practice to get the outcome that you most desire.
His voice was deep and gruff, filled with a type of self misery one felt when dealing with the loss of a loved one. But he was doing his best to move on.
A pleasure, Morwenna. I am Tsukikage. I am new to these parts of the north. Thank you for the meal, no matter how big or small.It was best to show appreciation to those that did not have to share something, that were not obligated to. And he knew exactly when to recognize that.
Are you of this land? Or are you a ghost from somewhere else as well?Glacier blues looked over to her momentarily before looking back at the carcass and carefully peeling away some meat still left on the old bones.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Morwenna - 4/25/2025
a ghost,she answered with a dry, amused breath—her voice lower now, rasped by the saltwind and years of knowing better than to trust first glances.
do haunt these lands, tsukikage?morwenna’s pale gaze flicked from him to the carcass again, then out across the lake. gulls wheeled above like spirits she could name if she thought too long.
she was tired, and yet the way he spoke—hearty, weighed—piqued something in her. not caution. curiosity. perhaps recognition. there was grief in him. she knew it by scent, by how he moved. heavy like stone and silent like water over grave-marked earth.
i am of many places,she said, slow.
some i buried. others buried me.she did not ask his story; she already knew enough. men like this didn’t arrive with fire. they carried it within, smoldering, trying not to burn. her gaze returned to him, unreadable but no longer cold.
but this place is real.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Tsukikage - 4/25/2025
Tsukikage noted the way that she spoke, the way that she moved. As if every action had a purpose, a way of helping her to understand. There was probably a motive to be sure, but that was not of his concern. It was possible that he would never see her again after this encounter, so why worry. If there was anything to worry about.
Myself? A ghost? There are moments where I wonder. But I do carry the memory of one, swept away and long gone.It was becoming harder and harder still to forget, though he longed to.
Black tipped ears moved to listen to her further, taking a great interest in her point of view.
As real as I've ever felt. Buried? Well then, perhaps you were meant to rise again for something greater, not meant to be a ghost.He gave a curious and intrigued glance her way, wondering what she would do with such information. Perhaps thinking him an odd or awkward man, but none the less she had interested him so. And it was becoming harder to disregard her completely with each waking moment.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Morwenna - 4/25/2025
morwenna watched the lake with a stillness that made her seem carved from it — not just a queen dethroned, but a relic smoothed by years of wind and ruin. her jaw tensed with the faint strain of memory, but she did not turn to tsukikage yet. not until his voice lilted toward her again, threaded with the ache of what he, too, had lost.
only then did she speak.
she stepped forward slightly, paws brushing against stone and silt. the scent of rot had faded from the elk bones now, leaving only marrow and memory.
at last, her gaze slid back to him. a man of the north, a man of frost — and maybe, of purpose. she didn’t know yet.
only then did she speak.
the earth does not hold what was never meant to die.the words were soft, but final — as if spoken to herself as much as him. she did not clarify what she meant, nor soften their weight. instead, she let the wind carry it to the water, where it would ripple and vanish like all things eventually did.
she stepped forward slightly, paws brushing against stone and silt. the scent of rot had faded from the elk bones now, leaving only marrow and memory.
some of us crawl out of the grave not for glory, but because the grave refused to keep us,she said. her voice was cool, steady.
i do not believe in ghosts. i believe in what survives them.
at last, her gaze slid back to him. a man of the north, a man of frost — and maybe, of purpose. she didn’t know yet.
we mourn,she observed, not unkindly.
but you are still here. so the question becomes—what will you do with that?
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Tsukikage - 4/25/2025
Her words were heavy with a multitude of deep meanings, almost riddlelike in the way they were constructed. He still listened with great intent, finding the woman's views on the world equally enlightening and otherworldly. Tsukikage didn't look back at her just yet. His teeth still working on what was left of the marrow in the bones, Morwenna proposed a new question at him as he did so. What was he to do with the misfortune he was given? How was he supposed to move on in this world, without her?
Ghosts are but a figment of imagination, concocted by those that have no further explanations for the mysteries in their lives. Or the response to predicaments they may be facing.Blue eyes looked out at the water, vast and open as the sea itself.
I must finish my mourning for a life that is no longer with me. I need something to guide me, to fulfill me. What ever that may be, perhaps I will find it here.Tsukikage finally looked back to the dark woman before him, an interest further peeking as he wondered what further machinations remained behind those ethereal eyes.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Morwenna - 4/25/2025
SKILL Orator, 2/5
morwenna's mouth curved, a thing too sharp to be called a smile. there was something old in her gaze — a sorrow so deeply buried beneath will and ambition that it no longer softened her, but steeled her instead. she watched the man, the way he gnawed down to the marrow, and thought of all the others who had broken their teeth trying to survive.
then maybe,she said, voice low as a wave gathering just before the break,
i have a task for you.
she stepped closer to the water's edge, her paws sinking slightly into the wet sand, yet she remained as unbowed as any mountain. she turned her pale eyes onto him fully now, the weight of her regard something nearly tangible.
can you fight, tsukikage?
no gentleness there — no false kindness. it was not a question meant to flatter, but one that demanded truth. the world she had walked had no use for men who clung only to the past. only those who could wield their grief like a blade had a place at her side. the sea roared behind her, a steady drumbeat against the land, and still morwenna stood, expectant and unyielding, awaiting the measure of the ghost who would not let himself drown.
RE: 'Til I rot away, dead and buried - Tsukikage - 4/25/2025
The dark raven of a woman seemed to ponder for a moment, her grey gaze watching him with a contemplative look. She then responded in such a way that caught his attention further.
Yes, I am a born fighter. Taught by the best of my past pack before coming to these lands.Tsukikage finished his small meal of meat and bones, rising up on to his feet like the behemoth he was.
What fighting have you need of? I assume you have a purpose for such things.He was not a fool, though not really one to push away a certain level of opportunities.
Especially if it was going to benefit him in the future.
What ever it may be, know that I am the hammer, no, the sword that cuts down those that oppose. I am both judge and executioner if need be. Tell me, is this something that you desire?A near empty shell was he now. A mental shake and throwing away of the woman he used to love. She was dead and gone now, taking away what good might still be left in his heart. Or is it truly gone?