Exploring had always been something that stirred Enki, causing an itchy relentlessness in his paws until he would finally strike off in search of something new. The day is mild for winter and, while the sun is mostly blocked by clouds, there is no rain like one might expect. He had heard of a shrine, down in southern Boreas surrounded by trees as stark white as freshly bleached bones. Of course, that had peeked his interest and the young man had set off today in search of this place.

It does not take a genius to spy the land he is searching for, as the telltale white trees stand out against the rest of the darker world like a beacon. Enki easily slips in between the white barked trees, wide eyes scanning the bone white vines that curl around the trees’ thick trunks and bare branches, holding them as gently as a lovers soft caress while they slumber, no leaves to be found in these dormant winter days. Still, it is breathtaking and he slowly walks deeper into the forest, curious what secrets this place holds.


"Enki Klein"

Kotori hadn’t planned to come this far out but he wasn’t one who ever planned to quit.  He’d been hunting and the deer he’d attacked was injured but not dead.  The stag was fast despite the injury to his back leg.  Had the deer even felt the injury or was the fear too strong?  It had jumped into the water bordering the old lands of Ashen, back when the Armada had lived next door to them.

Kotori wasn’t going to let some water be enough to cause the deer to get away.  Leaping in after the deer he swam to the Ashen land also.  The deer was ahead of him now and Kotori picked up his pace.  Time passed and finally, the deer was slowing.  Kotori had been pacing himself and sped up when it was obvious the stag was fading.

Kotori ran alongside the deer, slamming his horns into its shoulder and then leaping back as it swung its antlers at him.  Kotori drew back, but only so far as to the deer's rump where he bit into the leg again, this time he heard a satisfying crack of bone.  The deer called out in pain and swung its antlers at Kotori again before it stumbled away.  It was standing, panting, and watching Kotori.  The chase was over, it was giving up.  Kotori just needed to take it down without getting slashed by its antlers.  A good meal ahead, though a long way to haul the leftovers now.

"Kotori Fatalis"

As Enki walks, the smell of death fills his nostrils, causing the man to stop and blink in surprise. A wind gently rustles the white branches overhead, causing them to creak and moan like an old man in pain which causes a shiver to race along his spine. Somewhere, not too far away a deer screams in pain and he jumps, wide eyes turning to the white barked trees in the direction of the call and he spies the first signs of the hunter and its prey that have passed this way.

There, on the bleached bone trees, bright red slashes across their thick trunks. At first, it isn’t much, a few drops here and there that mar the otherwise pristine beauty of the ivory ivy and trees but, as he slowly follows the trail, he finds more and more of the bright crimson splashed across, not only the alabaster trees but the green ground and dark rocks. The scent of another wolf and doomed deer reach his nostrils and, in this eerie place, it causes an unnatural chill to permeate him.

Suddenly, a soft glow catches his attention off to his right, pulling Enki from the dark spell that had been cast with the life and death struggle happening ahead of him. Hesitating, he turns his bright eyes toward the glow, realizing that that shade of purple, so soft yet bright shouldn’t be. Curiosity, pulls him toward the glow, his previous hunt now abandoned as he slowly winds through the trees in search of this strange light.


"Enki Klein"

It wasn’t much longer before the deer had gone from dying to dead.  Kotori lifted his head, licking some blood off his muzzle, scenting the air.  He hadn’t imagined it while distracted by the chase, another wolf was in the area.  This land was no longer owned by Ashen, heck, Ashen didn’t even exist now.  A strange notion and yet, whenever Kotori was here it felt as if it still belonged to Venom.  Anyone was now accepted here.

Kotori didn’t scent any animal likely to quickly take his kill, the faint scent of fox but even if it tried it wouldn’t be able to eat much with the time allotted, nor was it overly close.  Kotori made his way to where the scent of the wolf was stronger.  He recalled being here when younger, and he knew exactly where he was heading.  The pool had been a fascination the first time he’d seen it.  Now, it felt natural that it should be here, it was a part of the Ashen that was now gone.

“What brings you out here?” The words weren’t judging or defensive, more curiosity.  The wolf showed no signs of hunting, nor did Kotori smell any other wolves with this one.  He had been warned of the Syndicate and yet didn’t know who all the wolves were in that.  Doesn’t hurt to check.

"Kotori Fatalis"

The glow grows brighter as he moves through the alabaster trees, the light drawing Enki closer and closer until there is a break in the trees and there, he finds wonder. Ringing a pool of glowing purple water are ruins etched with things he cannot comprehended. Approaching the pool of swirling water, the pink man stops and peers into the glowing depths, watching as fish appear and disappear into the depths. He stares into the water, awestruck at the beauty that the water holds.

Standing in the rune etched circle, staring wide-eyed into gently bubbling depths, a voice pierces the silence of the shrine and startles Enki. Flinching away from where the voice orientated from, he turns his startled blue gaze to the earthen wolf and offers him an apologetic smile. A small shrug is offered as he says, “I had heard tales about this shrine and wanted to see it for myself.”

Gaze moves out over the ivory trees, roving across the bleached landscape as he muses, “It is beautiful here.” Enki looks back into the water, watching a colorful, fan-tailed fish move toward the surface to gently break it before darting back down into the depths. It really was spectacular.


"Enki Klein"

Kotori remembered seeing the place as a pup. He’d felt a sense of wonder when he first saw the pool but as a child there were plenty of things that had created the sensation. As a child, a lot of things are new after all. Even though it wasn’t new to Kotori anymore, it was still a lovely spot.

“This was once the land owned by the Ashen pack. So only those on good terms with the pack could see the beauty of this place. Of course, the location looked a bit different back then since it had the touch of other wolves caring for the land.”

The scent of the wolves he knew was long gone from this spot now, yet in his imagination he could smell the scents that should be in this space. “A land to respect.”

"Kotori"