Skill: Seer 1/5

Backdated to Elli n Co's arrival at Elysium / Vitus

Strangers at the border, strangers from Northfall. Dimitri showed his face for a moment to get an idea of their faces and then disappeared as quickly as he came. Now he's made his way back towards the mountains, ready for none of them to seek him out. He's still of the mind that he's an enemy of that pack, even though the messengers seem to be little more than yearlings. Still, he's sure he can get trounced by a yearling.

He stops to observe a skull he's been cleaning. This skull will be the conduit for his bone-reading, hopefully a mouth to amplify their voices. It's a bit hard to clean it, given that the bugs are all hibernating. Bits of viscera still cling to it, and he's likely to have to wait until spring for it to properly decompose.

But it speaks well enough with flesh. Turn around, is the message he gets. It's followed by the sound of footprints in the snow and the smell of another wolf. He turns, noticing the Northfall yearling boy with the silver-gold fur. His gaze is neutral. "Are you lost?"

It took him a bit to get away from the others, while they settled in for however long they'd stay the yearling examined the Elysium wolves. He knew enough about them to know they claimed to excell at divination but....

Frankly some of them were intimidating, or too busy with other things, but he hadn't seen the one wolf he caught a glimpse of when they arrived since he slunk off into the trees. So maybe he'd ask him? If he didn't know anything, Vitus would simply have to suck it up and ask one of the scary ladies.

It wasn't that hard to find Dimitri , as he lightly padded through the forest, the older wolf turning towards him before he could even clear his throat to get his attention. I'm looking for a teacher he answered plainly. There's no other seers in Northfall, and there's only so much I can discover on my own He's had feelings but know way to tell what they were about until something happened, and he was sick of it. His side mission for this trip was to find someone to show him something proper other than looking for potential signs everywhere.

Everything could be a sign, for fuck sakes.

---

Seer 1/5

Skill: Seer 2/5

The boy wants him. It's not an accident. Dimitri isn't sure how to respond at first, settling for staring off the distance and contemplating. "I know nothing of Northfall's gods," he says after a time. Then he turns down to the skull, circling around it to put it between him and Vitus. "You will learn of spirits, and likely the Five, but I cannot teach you in Northfall's tradition."

And what an issue it would cause, if he were to give their seers guidance that does not match their culture. But, he supposes, if they had an issue with that, they would have had a tutor for their ways for this boy.

"For what cause do you seek such power?" He supposes he should make an effort to remind others that his work isn't so simple. He will teach anyone that asks, and he's already decided he'll teach Vitus what he wants, but the starting point has to be determined somewhere. "The world of spirits will devour those that seek power for power's sake."

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Seer 2/5

The older man looks off into the distance, while the boy patiently waits for an answer, his tail lightly wagging as he stood there.

It seems I'm to be the one making Northfall's traditions now in any case, I can adapt your spirits to the old gods It's not like they worshipped the all father now, anyway, and aunt Wardruna would be able to teach him the rituals that he doesn't already know.

And it wasn't like Dimitri was going to be his only teacher, in any case, just his first.

But then he asks him what cause it's for, and he frowned, looking at the skull between them. Wasn't it obvious? To protect my pack he finally answered after a moment, a moment of silence and seeking within himself to see if there was any other reason. To avoid what happened to my grandfather happening to anyone else, if i can.

Skill: Seer 3/5

Another moment of silence, mostly in order to be mysterious. In truth, the boy had failed his first test. "You cannot prevent death," he says softly. "Not truly. The Sight comes in images, in fragments, in suggestions." His head lowers. "But if fate decides, its decision will always resolve. Your actions taken will simply push fate along its course."

He puts a paw on the skull. "Fate is not a straight line, but a branching path. Some destinations you are destined to reach. Forks in the road, as it were." His paw lowers. "Tell me your name, then, so I can give you your second lesson."

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Seer 3/5

To be young is to fail, unfortunately. As Dimitri broke the news that he can not, in fact, avoid or redirect fate. His posture lowered somewhat, as teenage rebellion tried to rear itself up and say Yes I can, you just haven't tried hard enough. Vitus felt it, but the boy was never the one to say the first thing that came to mind, unlike some others in his pack. I didn't mean... not to prevent it. To warn others that it'll happen

Smooth

He continues though, and Vitus listened, pushing himself to accept. That in itself was going to be a long road to travel.

Vitus, Vitus Kinsey Because mother never got to marry father before disappearing, and he hasn't been given Stormborn. He has not asked, either. So whatever.

Skill: Seer 4/5

The lesson is hard to learn. Dimitri doesn't suspect it's fully sunk in yet, because even he still feels the struggle against it sometimes. But is that not the way of mortality? To want the impossible, to desire greater than you can achieve?

"I am Dimitri," and he gives no title or surname. His name will work. "I will teach you what I can of the ways of the Otherworld, but you must return to me in spring. It's too cold now to collect the tools you might need, and my supply will not be enough to sustain a learning Seer." He glances down at the skull. "I started weathering this Speaker too late. The bugs are asleep. Its flesh still clings, with the mortal thoughts in-tact. It will not speak for me." It could go missing and he would not miss it overmuch.

"And it's important you collect your own bones and herbs. You will have a spiritual connection to everything you use. It is important you make sure that it's all your own."

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seer 4/5

The otherworld... it already sounded different from what he knew, but perhaps it was the same, different names, same faces and all that.

What tools do I need to look for, would I be able to collect something for later use? he questioned, and it made sense that they would have to wait for spring, but... How late in the spring, don't the bugs and the scavengers need time to wake and get to work?Though, would scavengers leave their teeth marks? What would that do to the spirits?

Come to think of it, this would be his first spring in general, so he didn't...quite know exactly what to expect, how long the bounties of the tiaga would take to grow and flourish, or even how long it takes for the flesh to be taken. As for herbs, he figures he'll learn which ones as they go, perhaps he could even raid Jasmine's old den if his aunts haven't already.

Questions, questions.

Skill: Seer 5/5

"As soon as the snow starts melting consistently, you will know the rot will work." He pauses. "You can cultivate beetles, if you know where to find them. You need to feed them, of course. Full corpses work best, too, as the bones that are not taken are the bones that will speak for you. It's a simpler process than it sounds. Reading your bones is the hard part. But each mark and break on the bones will speak to you, if you know how to listen."

"As for the herbs," he looks over the boy. A decent size. A yearling. Old enough to start... "They are mind-altering ones. Various mushrooms. Types of root. I can offer you a taste, but it seems you'll be moving on soon enough." He frowns. "I assume you have news to tell many people."

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Seer 5/5

You can cultivate beetles? That sounds....hm. Vitus squinted in thought for a moment, he'd have to find a warm enough place to keep them through the winter in the mountain, perhaps a deep enough cave would do the trick. That would be something to figure out later though, when things have settled, when they've returned home. He could probably find himself a new den, one with deep enough tunnels to keep the bugs and....mushroom growths.

Ah, he's going to need to learn how to tend to those as well, there's more work into this than reading and translating signs.

Soon Vitus agreed, pausing for a moment. How long does the mind-altering last?

It might prove useful, if he has to have any lengthly conversations with his cousins.