wall of ice, warmth of speech
[ voodoo, trigger; drug use ]
With winter's chill, Torben didn't expect there to be fireflies. He heard from around this was a grand expanse of water, with flickering lights from the insects in summer and autumn. Walking slowly, leisurely, he caught sight of a young woman ahead of him. It would be easy for him to ignore her and continue on his way, but he didn't like to do that. The massive wolf approached her, stopping a distance away. Just in case she wasn't friendly or felt he was not friendly. A soft smile crossed his features. "Lo there" he greeted her, dipping his head. His thick baritone reached her if allowed "s' a nice night, aye?" He only traveled at night due to his albinism. The moon hung overhead nicely enough, clouds parting to allow light "won't be winter fer long." He commented for the sake of breaking the ice. |
The cool night air felt nice against her ruffled fur. She disliked the way the winter made her feel, though she knew why. Voodoo had been over emotional lately and that was never like her, not that she thought it was at least. She kept to herself but recently she had met new.... friends? If that's what you'd call them. She had met Wren and now her thoughts had been taking an odd turn. Now she wanted to concentrate on her schooling however tonight had dragged her to the lake. Surprisingly she saw some lightning bugs roaming around. It was out of season for them making Voodoo stare curiously as she turned back to her recent tincture made from the left over Marijuana plants she had. She had debated taking it, but, it was all she had for the winter and normally it was only under stressful situations where she took it. Then her pelt spiked as a large white male approached her.
Voodoo relaxed, she wasn't usually this jumpy. Perhaps it was because she didn't want a pack mate catching her with this. The tall lady noticed how MASSIVE this man was she was tall but for a moment she imagined her father being that big not that she even knew what he looked like. She tried to put on a smile for him, "I for one can't wait for the Winter to go." she stated with a nod. "But since the fireflies are out, must be a good sign." she used to love Winter but now it made her feel.... funny. "Voodoo. It's nice to meet you, care for some?" she then gently pushed the tincture towards him. Held in a wooden container with a makeshift lid it had been popped off. A soft sludge sweet smelling was filled halfway up. "It won't harm you, I haven't taken any if you want to just partake with me.... I could use the company." she felt awfully lonely for once in her life.
She didn't jump at his approach. A good sign. The male rumbled a 'nice to meet you' before walking closer. He didn't like to speak a lot if he could help it. No reason, he just thought actions were better than words. And he was leisurely with his actions anyway. "Torben" he vocally added, sitting a bit away from her. The woman, Voodoo, would push a tincture toward him. He eyed it curiously "what is it?" he asked her honestly. There was a sweet smell from it. "I ain't against takin' it" he continued "just... wanna know what it is, aye?" He didn't want the woman to think he was some sort of coward or even a stick-in-the-mud. Torben gazed around them, spotting the signs of spring in the wind "spring'll make the others travel more" he commented "but..." he hesitated briefly "I know what it's like, to be part of a pack... and also be lonely." He had been lonely since he arrived in Boreas. Torben took a guess on this. Voodoo smelt like she belonged somewhere with many wolves. He did too. "I just arrived here, not a few weeks prior" he added for clarification "joined a pack, but don't rightly feel at a place there. Not yet." |
Somehow, his soft muttering made her happy. She thought she was the only one to tend to be quiet. At least she THOUGHT she had been, but these days not so much. Torben, she wouldn't soon forget his scent, face or name that was for sure. When he asked what it was she grinned widely. Of course it would've been more fun for him to guess after he was high but she didn't like the thought of tricking him. She dabbed a bit of it with her paw and placed it on her tongue letting it sit there for a moment before she swallowed and then dipped a little bit more on her paw but this time it was a bit more than hers after all he was huge. "Marijuana. I made a tincture before Winter started I use it when my head becomes a bit too much to bear. It's mixed with Honey and Lavender for flavor though still a little bitter. Here open." she smiled. In her head she thought she was crazy. Here she was offering to feed a stranger by her own paw. Well what was the worse that could happen right. In a few moon shifted moments they would both be laughing and opening up to each other.
She paused as he continued on. Though she did feel he was assuming many a thing. "A foreigner then? I was born and raised in a pack on these lands." she began. "I'm currently staying in a different pack for healer training though.... my home pack is Habari. I was going to rejoin then after my training but.... things have been a bit complicated lately. I joined abaven maybe a week or so ago I haven't really adjusted either so I can relate to that." she nodded. "I'm sure if you give Valhalla sometime you'll feel welcome." she tried to note. She had memorized all the pack scents since she left Habari. Not that she knew much about any of them.
"Marijuana." He repeated the word, foreign on his tongue. Torben frowned, trying to remember if he had come across the tincture before now. Perhaps the shamans, the spiritual leaders of his tribe, had been privy? But Voodoo explained what it was more, causing a beam of light to lit his mind. "Our medicine wolves used it" he explained quietly "to explore the realm of gods. T' see things beyond our understandin'. Visions, prophecies." However, with the spiritual age coming to a close, most used the shamans as healers. On instinct, when she brought her paw to his mouth he opened it. A mucky feeling entered his mind. You shouldn't be fuckin' around with shaman herbs he thought this is sacrilege. No mortals were allowed to, save for them, dive into the spiritual world. If mortals were allowed, they would know too much. They would seek and destroy. But he did it anyway. Why? Torben didn't really know. Maybe he grasped trying to connect to his heritage. "Give them?" he asked, lifting a brow "is it customary to, er, give a pack som'thing?" His mind became foggier, and suddenly he felt a bit giddy. Perhaps due to the plant's larger dosage. Torben raised a massive paw to his brow, feeling a bit dizzy. |
Ah, so his english didn't translate all that well. Voodoo felt a little embarrassed she felt as if she had done something wrong. She never would admit it though. She placed the cap back onto the tincture and washed the remaining residue off her paw in the edge of the lake. Feeling her body become a little less weighted as she sat down beside Torben. "I'm not sure it's ever made ME see things. It rather makes me unsee them, I get happy, giggly, talkative. And the nightmares leave me alone." Nightmares. The one dream she had always involved that jet black wolf she had murdered. Her gut still twisted at the feeling, she... enjoyed it. She had enjoyed seeing the man seize and die from the herbs she gave him when he had begged for help. That made her bad.
Soon that was forgotten though as her head calmed and she relaxed more than she had. Even brushing her own shoulder up against Torben. Damn was he big, but he was definitely warm and fluffy too. "Er sorry, give time is a figure of speech. It means wait a little longer and I'm sure that you will settle in." she laughed then and gently pushed her shoulder into his. "How does a BIG boi like you come to Boreas anyway? Did you get stuck here?" Voodoo half hoped he had a sob story for her to listen to. At least it would be entertaining, hers wasn't as much. She had a good upbringing, sure no father but her mother had treated her kindly and had taught her all she could before she sought her own path. Voodoo had never been hungry, but she had felt sadness, anger, and many things through her own emotions. Maybe she felt too damn much.
"S' why guides are needed" Torben continued at her admission "wolves trained in it, help ye see what the gods' plans are for ye" That was how it was explained to him anyway. It was easy to eat a plant and 'see' things, but you needed someone to ground you. To make you safe. He had a fleeting panic about what would happen now. With both wolves here taking the plant, no shaman was here with them. Nobody to guide them toward enlightenment "s' what they told me anyway." He shrugged as she nudged against him, taking comfort that someone wasn't scared of him. Boreas had giants, he knew. Ardyn, his new king, was one of them. There were many wolves that were huge here so he wasn't surprised anymore. Some had said his blood carried half of jotunn in it. That he had been unnaturally large since birth, wherein he was used to smaller wolves in the community. "I slipped" he remembered his words with the young girl back north "into this realm" He decided to lean backward, falling and more or less slipping to the ground with a soft thud "t' gods carried me from one branch t' the next." Because he really did not understand how he got here. He stared at the stars above his head. Directly now in front of him, he could make out some subtle changes. He knew Thor's Hammer (Orion's Belt) but there were others here. Stars he knew existed in this realm alone. "E'vry root has branches. Ev'ry branch has roots. Each root's a new place. New name. New faces" He was really fuzzy now, as if he could hear sounds all around him but muffled. Torben glanced at the wolf beside him, finding her face in focus but the edges all blurry. "ye have a nice face." 1/3 - study the stars |
She found herself.... drawn to him. Though she had to force herself not to laugh at his beliefs. Voodoo had never been religious, she only trusted what was in front of her for now. "Don' u think it kinda strange. Somethin already deciding what to do with your life?" she softly commented to him though. After all sure some were more spiritual than others but what about their own freedom. The freedom to choose? When he said he had slipped into this realm though her eyes moved to his. Somewhat of a weird feeling ran over her. He was cute sure, but somehow she had found herself not even wanting a man in her life. Her mother had another woman, why not her. Then Voodoo shook her head, she wouldn't think of that right now.
When he began to read the stars though her gaze followed, spacily looking at them. She doubted she would remember any of what he was saying about them. Then though he stared at her and said she had a nice face. Voodoo couldn't hold it back she puffed her cheeks and then let out a laugh. Pushing her paws into the mud beneath her. "Tell me more, about the stars ther' ," she leaned her weight into his. she'd been doing this long enough she knew what to do if Torben could not handle it. "Guess' you could also call me a shaman then though. I' you feel like yur done I can fix you right up." she popped the p at the end of her sentence. No reason why.
Ah, but... "Ye can always challenge yer fate" Torben mused to Voodoo "that's why t' gods put us here" little more than amusement for the deities but they did enjoy a show "a blanket is woven, but it can be... unraveled" he peered at the stars, waving his massive paws about like conducting an orchestra. The marijuana was doing something funny to him. He had never taken recreational drugs, so perhaps a heavier dosage was overkill "by yer hands, or som'one else's." He finally let his paws fall to either side of him. He was aware of her laughing, and the noise was infectious. He chuckled too, his deep vocals more or less booming around them. "Wha?" Torben protested "ya don't think ya have a nice face?" He couldn't help the fit, how funny he seemed to think this was "ya makin' fun of my speech?" he added, wiping away tears from his eyes "that ain't very nice" She settled against him though, and a spark of something shot up his back. He willed it away. "aye, fine" he grunted, lifting a heavy paw to the stars "Thor's Hammer" he said to Orion's Belt. "Ye can find other stars from the hammer's thunder. It's like, er, a reaching effect..." Each cluster of stars from the Hammer's blow was a spark. 2/3 - study the stars |
Voodoo laughed again but she tried to contain her laughter. She wasn't trying to make him feel bad. "No." she shook her head. "Maybe I just like the way you sound Torben huh?" she smiled gently. "You don't seem to be someone who speaks often. So then, it's a treat to hear your voice." Perhaps she was going too far. Either way she nudged him, "Drink some water, you're probably really thirsty." she herself went to drink from the lake. Relishing the cool feeling of the night time water on her tongue.
When he showed her the stars though her lavender gaze sparkled. She could see it in the stars and that enough it made her want to listen to what he was saying. Nah, all that spiritual nonsense would just make her time harder. "Ey! It does!" She exclaimed then. So thor's hammer she would have to remember that one. "Say I just realized, are you a navigator?" she tilted her head at the question. Sitting at the edge of the lake where she could sink her paws into the cold water. It felt nice.
"Izzat so?" Torben felt himself tickle pink. It had been a long time since a girl said she liked anything about him. His fiancé seemed a distant memory now. She was... probably dead, that nice girl from the other den. Sigh. He saw her being cut down. She wasn't a fighter. She was kind, loving, and warm. She would have made a good mother. He knew she was dead, but the wound was still fresh. Aye, of course, it was... It happened not months prior. Regardless, he moved with Voodoo to get a drink. Torben felt parched, but he lapped the waves with dignity and as much grace as he could muster. She exclaimed she could see it, the splash. He smiled. "Not officially" he murmured "my people were settlers. I picked up observin' and scoutin' from my, ah, forefathers" He had a long way to go before calling himself a master "I've not done much with the knowledge..." he added. "But it's a nice thing to share" he recalled her admission about being a shaman "so ye... deal w' plants? If ye ain't religious, what sorta healer ye want to be?" Above them, Thor's Hammer twinkled the sky. He glanced back up at it, thanking the stars for their wisdom. Torben was not accusing her of anything, though. He merely thought it was odd for a healer to not be in touch with gods. It was just his culture. "what sorta plants live 'round here?" Like stars, some plants had stories to tell. There was one about Loki and Mistletoe. The only thing ever to harm a god and bring about the end of the world... 3/3 - study the stars |
She couldn't deny it, Torben was the best company she had in a long time. Minus Wren, god was that woman gorgeous. Voodoo shook the thought away, she didn't need that kind of distraction in her studies that was for sure. She smiled at him wiggling the sand in her toes. "It is too so." she muttered under her breath. Though in a quick moment she found herself growing a bit hungry she looked to Torben as he spoke and then in turn asked his own questions. Voodoo tilted her head, were most healers religious? She'd never thought about it really, she just simply hadn't been raised too much on that sort of thing.
"The kind strong enough to heal my friends and family, and poison my foes." she said curtly. "Whatever path I take I feel like it could be bloody." that was the darkness inside of her that was for sure. Fear and anxiety mixed with her own self pride. "Hey Torben.... you think you'd remember my name... my face... my voice?" she asked all of a sudden. She felt like a tiny star that had found a planet to shine in its sky for as long as the light lasted. "I'd love to do this with you again sometime. Though maybe for now we can find something to eat!" she exclaimed and jumped up and down.
"Aye?" Poison, hmm? "then I ain't gonna get on yer bad side" While it was a joke, it was also a vow. While she was quite pretty, he knew better than to pursue friendship just for that. Voodoo was good to speak with. She actually listened to him, joked with him... Perhaps he was growing fond of her. Platonically. His heart hadn't healed from the loss of his family and friends. "there's darkness in all of us." He said this clearly, ominously. He had a feeling Voodoo did indeed dabble with poisons, if she dabbled in plants like marijuana. His ears piqued when she asked if he'd remember her. "Err" he paused, his mind still stupid "this stuff's strong..." Torben confessed to his new acquaintance "think I'll remember the beginning. Yer voice. Yer scent. Yer looks" But that was not flirtatious, just fact "but... I got a feelin' I won't remember much of the conversation. Is that... wrong?" But she did continue to ask if they could do it again sometime. He gave a nod, rising from his spot. "t-then let's git ye something to eat, aye?" |
So, she really had given him a bit too much. Voodoo frowned at the thought, after all she hadn't meant to make him that high. Perhaps he was enjoying himself anyway at least that was what she was hoping for. She laughed at him suddenly when he spoke about not remembering the conversation. "Oh that's normal." she waved a paw at him before leading him around the lake. She sniffed the air.... it smelled like a deer. Her eyes widened - a deer out here sounded like a great meal.
"When you eat, it helps throw off the effects. Let's catch that deer." she whispered gesturing towards the far end of the lake. A few cover of tree's seemed to hold a perfect habitat for a young deer travelling in winter. It was hard to see in the dark but Voodoo could smell it there. Her paws tingled it'd been a long time since she'd been in a hunt and what more of a natural way than to have two wolves team up and do it. She grinned falling into a crouch as she slowly began to make her way towards the scent.
Normal. That was good. He felt relief that she wasn't offended by his confession. Following after her, he gave a direct whisper in her ear as she attempted to move forward to the deer. "Chase 'em toward me. I'll bring it down." He did, after all, promise to get her food. Voodoo would be quite aware Torben was useless at stalking. His coat was too bright. Moving away himself, he tried to circle the deer. He could see clearer in the dark than her, perhaps due to his albinism. He hunkered down best he could, blending into the snow and trying to with the dark. Even if there was little light here, he felt exposed. He could almost feel prey eyes on him. He waited for Voodoo to strike. A meal sounded good. He was unnaturally hungry. |
Voodoo flicked her ears as Torben told her to chase the deer towards him. He was after all much large and his Albinism made him stand out. It lightly reminded her of her aunt Recluse. Maybe that was why Torben didn't really scare her. Regardless she shook the thought away trying to concentrate on the task in front of her. Considering she had to pay, special, attention to this catch unlike her day to day routine.
Slowly pawstep by pawstep she used the grass to gently disguise her movements. Getting closer to the tree's she finally made out a small shape. A doe drinking from the lake just outside of the safety of trees. This would be good! Her tail drooped as her body hung low to the ground. Voodoo tried to make her way to the opposite side of the creature. Stopping when it lifted it's head in alarm for a moment. Voodoo didn't move, carefully moving to one side of the deer and.... she pushed off to give chase. Her muscles bunching she bit for the deer making it scramble towards where Torben had been waiting. Voodoo's only job now was to make sure it didn't veer off track.
Voodoo's stalking worked, and the deer shot toward him. She ran after the prey, making sure it didn't stray from the path he was hiding in. Torben lifted himself to all fours when it ran at him. The doe, startled, tried to skid to a halt and change direction. It didn't work. With a massive paw, he cuffed the poor creature and it fell to the earth. He was on it in seconds. Lifting his head, his front stained with blood, he looked at Voodoo. "Lady's first" he offered, stepping back to allow her room to feed "I gotta wash this off..." he murmured, turning back to the lake. If he didn't, he'd stink for days with the scent of blood. Nobody wanted to be around him if he did. He'd look like a crazy person. Leaving the woman to eat, he marched into the waters. A cooling sensation, fueled by the drugs, made him sigh in relief. Everything around him seemed more at the moment. He chalked it up to the marijuana, if he had to guess. |
It had been a long time since she had been able to unwind like this. Voodoo had just realized how much of her mothers depression that she had carried on the back of. Doom and gloom was not all there. After all she was enjoying her time with Torben far more than she would have realized. The kill was swift and now in front of the two wolves lay a decently sized meal even for the two of them being on the larger scale of things. Voodoo grinned as he said he had to wash his fur off. So a man who cared about looking like a beast that felt like a new one. She didn't hesitate her mouth watering she placed a paw on the animal and tore into it. Letting the flavor soak her as she began to fill her belly.
Because of this she felt the effects of the drug beginning to fade. She wondered how long they had even been out here. It looked at if they still have several hours of the night left. Voodoo didn't want it to end, she wanted their little hang out to last just a bit longer if she could help it. Taking another bite she settled down further and gave a soft sigh. "You know I haven't had this much fun in a very very long time." she called her tail flicking. After all her moments of happiness seemed to have been few and far in between in her life.
He rolled in the water, making sure the lake ran red with the deer blood before being washed with the waves. "Aye?" he heard her beginning to eat and remarking on having fun "same boat" While his reply was simple, the effects of the drug were indeed fading. He felt more lucid, and the hazy mist began to eat away at his mind, his memory "canae say I've had fun for a long time..." It was a sad thought, but perhaps they really were in the same boat. Torben marched to shore, shaking off the water like a dog. His longer, thicker fur fell in waves around him. Not as long as some wolves, but still quite long. He bit back a sigh. "Guess we're the same, eh?" The massive wolf hadn't really been 'happy' for some time, despite faking pleasantries and such "nice to know someone else feels it too." Because nobody was completely happy all the time. If they were... they faked it. He hesitated, feeling a bit drawn to her. But something wasn't right about it. Maybe it was loneliness, but it could be platonic too. |
Voodoo wasn't quiet sure what to make of him though. Torben had been a stranger she intended on using for company. Now she found herself aching that the thought she had to leave. Maybe it was this damn season. She tried to hide a snort to herself, frustration bellowing in her stomach. She'd become so attached this winter and that was something she never did. It was because in this season she was vulnerable and could be giving off scents to whomever male wanted. Voodoo tried to shrink the thought away in her mind. Squeezing her eyes shut before she let out a defeated sigh. Maybe it was a good thing perhaps they had actually broken the ice.
"I can't help but to feel we are similiar." she noted a glint in her eye. She didn't eat more, wanting to wait until Torben partook. After all she did think herself responsible after dosing him. "I've had... trouble, trying to find where I belong. Despite being surrounded those who are blood related." she admitted. Voodoo never shared this with anyone, she had mentioned it briefly to her aunt Recluse but it was a conversation she had kept in her head. "Who am I if I can't make use of myself as a healer." she muttered half to herself.