Disheveled tendrils curl against her smoooth nape; a slender neckline, shadowed by obsidian boas. Her hair, were matted silk; glossy, luxurious curls, layered in their heavy and feathered decadence. The spider-witch unruled pelt, drapped the slenderness of her toned shoulderblades; creeping sinsiterly, the stars being her only witnesses. Her slender bodice oozed with a deliciously, feral grace. Svelte, and shuddering with the renewed groans of hunger. She wanted it, wanted blood. In the half-light of midnight the swamps were eerie. It wasn't just that it was night and mist and fog that could not be cut with a knife if one tried; the air simply didn't move. The land was bereft of noise, as if every murmur and rustle was stolen away in the night. The sky was empty, not just of birds, but of clouds also. There was no weather at all; even the moonlight felt cold. The stillness of the air seemed to suck even the sound of her massive pads into the nothingness of the graveyard. Her lips curve in yearning; her gaze, reflecting the coldness of moonlight as the predatorix stalks for her next meal. She needed blood, she was a walking skeleton at best. The spider-witch was about to take a left when from the distance came a series of tinny clangs. It was like the sound of an old can bouncing down the road after a wedding car, but without the engine rumbling or the hiss of tires on wet asphalt. It grew louder, then softer, then louder again. At first it appeared to come from in front, then from behind, then from the front.. In only moments the noise was coming from every direction, getting closer, then further, louder, then softer, then more frantic... Sso clossse. Her eyes were soft, and dark yet her voice was anything but. Gliacial, ice cold with heavy tints of malica, her timbre was more of a hissing snake than wolf and she creeped through the night. I can ssmell it. They are here, Where are they? she snapped her skull to her right. Here. Here. Here. she snapped it to the left. A glacial chill, against the stark beauty of her face. The black eyelashes unfurling over wintry azure. It was the witching hout, when ghosts and ghouls came out to play. Her expression were shadowed by a cheshire smile, ear to ear, all fangs and gums, yet her demeanour remained, cold, apathetic as she started to creep forward again. One, two, I am coming for you. You will never sleep again. --- Heed, and listen closely.

Chasing Twisters In The Canyon

Mist swirled around her limbs, twisting out the way as the goddess moved through the swamplands. Pyralis was headed back to Auster, winter nipping at her heels. It seemed a winter storm had been following her, only lifting when she passed over the mountains of the maw. Hopefully the storm would dump its moisture there and not further burden her journey with biting winds and bitter cold. She'd been wandering and exploring the north, hoping to find some sense of direction. She hadn't found what she was looking for. Ashiel was troubled and she didn't know how to comfort him. She wasn't sure what to make of her grand-daughter. She felt distant from her beliefs. In the end Pyralis decided to head home and see if she could turn her mind to her duties. She was an expert scout. It was time for her to start using her skills to benefit the empire. But even so, she found herself tempted to go further back, to the land of her birth to check in and see how her brother was doing.

The call of a screech owl gave her pause when it was suddenly snuffed out. The scent of blood reached her nostrils but she was not concerned. She was a skilled predator and warrior. She was prey for none. The killer soon made her presence known and Pyralis grinned as her companion, Alkali, settled into the branches above, digging into her meal. A break then. Pyralis leapt onto the base of a great tree, long since felled in some mighty storm. Here she stretched out her elegant form and bathed in the moonlight. She welcomed the silence. The stillness was soft and heavy and she let it envelope her.

Alkali ate away at the flesh of the screech owl and for a moment Pyralis wondered if she drifted off to sleep when she thought she'd heard a hissing voice, not far off. She tucked her limbs beneath her muscular body, coiled taut like an elegant spring. She spied something moving in the dark. It seemed almost as though a piece of the darkness had come alive and was slithering through the nice with bright blue eyes and the form of a wolf. A wolf with an exceptionally long tail.

"What a treat. I wasn't expecting to find a ghoul wandering about her business tonight." Sultry tones spilled from her lips as her golden eyes flitted about the stranger's decorations. Azure beads and bird skulls. Pyralis had to admit, her curiosity was peeked.

My Cathedral Is The Badlands

On this moonless night even the silhouettes are gone. The usual friendly smattering of stars is obscured utterly by dense cloud. The blackness engulfed her thoughts. Stretching out in front of the spider-witch like a map, the unknown studied her fears, her courage and her knowledge. She head fear like any other living being, no mater how much she enjoyed to study them, eat them, and pervertize them, she was not a corpse and she will not be one for a long time, unfortunately. She wanted to though, alas she found delight in walking the thin line between the living and the dead. For now. She could see clearer in the night time due to being day blind however she still was taking tentative steps, the infinite exposure of the human flesh dawned. There was no life here, she came to the conclusion. That was simple, no thriving population, no signs of past living. The darkness had overcome any sense of purity, consumed all hope of cleanliness and had wiped everything out. How was it possible not to encounter one living being upon her arrival into these strange lands and the dead to have such a spectacular influence. This place was oozing with enegry and spirits and yet no sign of life. Until now. It took a moment to feel that creepling sensation, the sensation that you are being followed, watched. Oh how she enjoyed it. She was, after all, a star. The moment she heard the sultry voice her skeleton body rotated towards the source and it was then that the azure optics of the witch caught the sight of another creature. Finally! We told you they were here She is not my brother but she will do. Come closser. Let me see you. she commanded in her dark, edgy tones, the minimum hint of hisses were present within her timbre. Use her. Informations. Yess. she responded to the ghouls, a low sound like a serpent hiss present in the back of her throat. --- Heed, and listen closely.

Chasing Twisters In The Canyon

Poised like a sphinx, her supple body taut and ready for movement while at the same time seeming still as stone. Pyralis watched the strange creature before her turn. Her eyes fixed on that curiously long tail, unable to decide if she should feel pity for the inconvenience of such a limb or wonder. Her sharp golden gaze met unusual pools of blue. Pyralis was certain in that moment she'd met some sort of darker spirit that had either manifested this way or had inhabited and twisted some poor victim.

Alkali had fallen silent, the great hawk intent on the going ons below. She watched with her own golden eyes, examining the strange wolf's frame should her mistress require assistance, but she rather doubted it. Pyralis was a maelstrom in her own right, even aging as she was.

She is not my brother but she will do.

Pyralis slowly titled her head to the side. Something was definitely off with the woman. Perhaps this wolfen form was inhabited by a number of spirits? She grinned, delighting in pulling from obscure stories she was told as a child. She did not know what lay before other than it was out of the ordinary and that thrilled her.

"Come closer. Let me see you."

She doesn't move at first, still drinking in the others form and fixating on eyes that might suggest a hinderance in sight. Though that could be because Pyralis' own pelt had a tendency to melt into shadow apart from the markings on her legs and the bright white patch around her left eye. She rises like a cat, slow and smooth, taking her time as she languidly stretches her body. She had her own reasons for wanting to get closer. Nimbly leaping from her perch she took a few steps forward but sought to maintain a good distance. Her nostrils flared, taking in the scent and sifting for anything familiar of which she found nothing.

Chest forward and tail raised high, she stood in a strong and dominant pose. A mischievous grin fixed to her face, moonlight glinting off her teeth. "Do you see me now miss ghoul? I hope there is a name I can call you."

My Cathedral Is The Badlands

Disturbance. Yes. New energies were a disturbance to her, especially energies so powerful as the woman before her possessed that were able to shake the spirits even when shackled in its chains, to rattle them in an abysmal echo through the void of her Soul – or, better yet – lack of one. It was a disturbance indeed to feel so many energies at once, spiraling down on her only to collapse like the Babylon, tower clashing upon her, every stage of it. The metaphor of it, tragic comedy in its own right – Oh, how much she tried to control her Greed – She wanted a drop of her blood in order to taste those delicious energies that disturbed her peace. Her cerulean lenses washed over her bodice, lean and riddled with muscles, atheltic, like a well oiled machine. Cordelia is the name you seek, ma'am. a cheshire grin spread across her pretty face, from ear to earm, splitting it in two symetric pieces. She would approach further, just a notch closer, crouching awkwardly, imitating a tarantula's scuttle. I am known as the Oracle, within my clan. she offered slowly, her hisses ever present like a defect from birth. Who might you be and what do you know of these last? --- Heed, and listen closely.

Chasing Twisters In The Canyon

Alkali was still and silent in the tree as Pyralis kept her gold gaze upon the stranger. She loved the mystery that quivered in the space between them. Meetings in dark corners of the world could tilt so swiftly from amiability to violence. A dichotomy that was so much like her own nature. It helped to have a back up and she trusted her hawks eyes and quick voice to alert her to any underhanded maneuvers.

Cordelia is the name you seek, ma'am.

Ahh… so formal. Pyralis grinned, dark lips pulling back over her ivory fangs. "A lovely name and a pleasure." Cordelia went on to explain that she was known as the Oracle within her clan. The goddess' ears flicked forward. "Oh? What a strange little twist of fate. My son is an oracle in my clan as well, though he shies like a horse from a serpent when it comes to his gifts. Do your gifts also cause you to suffer?" Pyralis knew little of visions and lucid dreams. Her mind was a blackhole that tended to trap such things and devour them the moment she woke, leaving her only with fragments of feeling absent of cause.

Who might you be and what do you know of these lands?

"My name is Pyralis Abraxas, a goddess trapped in mortal flesh. I know a great deal of the lands to the south, the lands of Auster." After all, she had explored every territory Auster had to offer but it would be impossible in her lifetime to explore every single inch of the continent. Still, she had a better understanding of it than most anyone. However, that wasn't really the question. "As to the lands of southern Boreas where we are now, I know of a few of the lands but I am still exploring them. Is there anything in particular you wish to know?"

My Cathedral Is The Badlands

This woman was peculiar in the eyes of the spider-witch and yet she felt comfortable enough in her presence to sit on her haunches in listen. The words about another Oracle did not came as a surprise but rather as an invitation. She knew there were other chosen ones in the world, or rather, she believed it. Maybe they had other destinies than her own or perhaps they shared a common one however one thing was sure, she had to meet this other Oracle and see for herself. The moment the woman mentioned pain and suffering the ever lasting cheshire grin began to appear, Pain lies like deep ocean currents, invisible, can surface with sudden brutal ferocity, sweep you away in engulfing despair. she offered in her usual hissing tone, You can either surrender to it or fight. Drown or swim. she pressed on in her verbal speech, cerulean gaze burying themselves in the woman with their intensity. Pyralis. Remember I will. she replied outloud, gaze falling towards her right before it returned to the female. Are there any establishments made by others? she questioned in a low hiss, her reptilian manners were a mere flaw in her speech, a birth defect nonetheless. Perhaps this woman, this so called goddess could share some light upon the lands they were in. She just reached them and she was fortunate enough to find someone willing to share. She called herself a goddess, trapped in mortal flesh even. She considered it a blasphemy to her own rights and religion and yet she shall silence these thoughts and shove them down where they belonged. Shed knew others shared different values and beliefs however she knew that her own was the only true one. --- Heed, and listen closely.

Chasing Twisters In The Canyon

Many might not find Pyralis the sort to be interested in the deeper meanings of the world but she was in tune in her own unique way. She listened to Cordelia's words, her statement on pain. Pyralis was certain her son would learn to swim, in may ways he already had. After all he had survived two floods in the canyon as well as the responsibilities of ruling his own pack. Perhaps the boy simply had not realized this. He was caught in the midst of his own struggles and was in need of an outside perspective which she could offer if she chose to do so. Pyralis supposed it had been a long time since she'd had bonding time with her son.

"Are there any establishments made by others?"

Pyralis nodded. Her head dipping gracefully, the moonlight playing off her golden eyes. "Many, though I do not know all of them. My family rules Auster the rest of the packs are here in Boreas. As for their names," she shrugged. Pyralis wasn't keen to just divulge everything she knew though she doubted any of it was information that need to be secret. "I don't keep up much with the going on's of mortal packs. There is one directly east of here across the river and another even farther east called Abaven. There is also one north of you though I don't know all that much of it. Do you look to join a pack or are you just seeking awareness of who your neighbors are?"

My Cathedral Is The Badlands

The witch knew nothing of this female however she was the first her cerulean gaze encountered into those strange lands her brother choose to explore on his own accord. She was a mere follower of his wish, that the family found their way to him one way or another and she would be a fool not to follow the heir and be of any service. She was content with her role as the family Oracle and as a weapon in his brother plan. I seek my brother. she shifted her gaze to the right agian, the hallucinations before her very eyes signaling a no however she was never one to take advices from others. Perhaps this woman could help her some more, perhaps she had encountered him somewhere and could point the direction. Hannibal Klein. Doess it sssound familiar? she hissed towards her, the vocal defect clear and thick on her venemos tongue. She knew very well in her unstable mind and heart that Hannibal was destined for the glory, the honor and the fame; she was destined to be the weapon within a name, their guide, their Oracle through the darkness of the abyss. Our family might fight like dogs but in the end we would die for one another. she mentioned with a shrug of her own shoulders, cerulean gaze returning towards the woman. Speech

Chasing Twisters In The Canyon

Cordelia sought her brother and Pyralis could understand something of such a quest. As she wandered and explored the lands of Boreas some days she hoped to see her brother's face, to see that he had returned from their old homeland to be by her side once more. She knew it was a foolish hope. Part of her expected that they would die separated. She'd often thought of returning home but she could never bring herself to do so. She'd left and never looked back as was her nature.

She listened to the name and wracked her thoughts trying to remember if she'd heard it before. Finally she shook her head. "I am sorry, I am not familiar with the name but I hope you find him. It is a shame for family to be separated." A call from Alkali alerted her to the hawk as well as the position of the moon. She had a long way to go tonight. "It has been a pleasure Cordelia, but if you will excuse me, I have much mischief to finish tonight." She dipped her head and slipped back into the shadows.

-exit-

My Cathedral Is The Badlands