The specter had not stirred in some time. She had not seen her family in months, more than that really, though it was impossible to tell time while stuck in the beyond. None had come calling for her here which would lead the deceased woman to believe that they just simply didn't know they could. Her appearance within Ecrosia had been unexpected, to say the least, and the timing could not have been worse. The knowledge that she arrived in Amaryllis just as the fates would take away her own grandson from this world was a cruel punishment for the woman's absence. Even worse was the imprisonment she now endured within this grotto. Despite its picturesque appearance, all the Hodari could see was her own cage. Still, she supposed there were worse places to be tethered, if only she knew more about these lands to begin with. Feeling restless in her current state, though, Kito decided it time to take a little stroll and see how far her leash might reach as she simply meandered between the various pools of water for the time being.

Table & Reference by Amanda | Lineart by Kite | Background from unsplash

Whispers through the grape vine told her of a place where the dead rested. A small hidden sanctuary where souls could return if they so pleased, beckoned by family. Ashtoret was the only one of her blood here to her knowledge, the foremothers and elders of the pride she'd been birthed into in a land far from here. Regardless the pull to this grotto was true, and Ashtoret wouldn't deny the curiously that pinged in her chest with every beat of the heart. The dead of her homeland were returned to the sands, their souls cast to the stars and engraved if deemed worthy. She wondered if something similar happened here, or if there wasn't, what rituals took its place.

She finds the grotto well enough as she travels, hidden behind the waterfall. Its mists dampen the fur of her pelt, and the cold becomes real--winter was something of a new phenomena to the woman. She'd never seen snow, and considered it a curse. It was sand that melted and then refroze, shifting in dunes and able to kill. But cold, why the damn cold? So lost in her own griping mind that Ash nearly misses the sudden form of...something in the grotto. As the form paced between pools of water, she stopped. Ashtoret had never been met with those on the other side, but the prospect was true. This being could not be one of the living, judging by the near translucency of the body itself. Ash is cautious, her body is ready to flee if the entity becomes hostile.

"greetings" she offers in her rough yet still feminine voice. "May I ask, what exactly are you?"

code by corvus II Art by Drifty

Tag:@Kito
Cleric:
+5 Meet a Ghost, Spectre, Idol, or Guardian for the first time (0/2)

Had she better senses about herself, the silver ghost might have first scented the stranger's approach before the voice was heard. With hardly a reason to keep any kind of guard up, though, it mattered little if the Hodari was taken by surprise. At least @Ashtoret was kind enough to greet her before diving headlong into questioning the woman's identity. Not a question of who she was, but of what she was. It would lead the maned woman to believe that she might be the first deceased soul the stranger had ever met, or perhaps she had simply not seen someone so unfinished when compared to greater deities. It mattered not, either way, for Kito was happy to oblige the woman's curiosity.

Slowly, the spectre turned to face her new company, not finding any recognition in the woman's features. There was a tribal feeling to Ash's markings; that full head mask vaguely reminiscent of an old friend. "I am a lion, same as you," the Hodari would first offer a very simple and straightforward answer to the woman's question, as if it was so obvious to see. That's not what Ash meant, though, and Kito knew that, as a slight mischievous grin started to pull at one side of her mouth. "Though I imagine that's not what you meant." The silver woman's head tilted forward in a lowered gaze as her deep blue eyes remained trained on the stranger. Oh yes, she may be dead, but there was still life within her, and sometimes that life just liked to toy with the mortals a little bit.

Table & Reference by Amanda | Lineart by Kite | Background from unsplash

Ash relaxes slightly when the other does not present the same tension. The 'lioness' before her is bathed in grey and accented in red--vibrant eyes mounted in a skull. The mischievous grin caused Ash to smirk in return as she heard:

Though I imagine that's not what you meant

Ashtoret allows herself to sit then, tail coiling around her hind legs to mentally help stave off the cold. "You would be correct" she says, "I've heard this is a place for the dead. If what I've come to know is correct...." The woman trails off and ponders, before her eyes flit back to the curiosity before her. "You are of the dead? Do all the dead in this land come back such as you?" The possible prospect of meeting one such spirit as this, right before her eyes had Ashtoret nearly giddy. A burst of adrenaline dared to make her heart beat faster. "Or is there something unique about you that ties you here? Is it the rocks--or perhaps the pools?" Ash tilts her head as she rises, walking forward to examine their surroundings. She takes note of how the place is carved naturally, the sound of the water rushing rapidly at the entrence is nearly soothing. "Water was sacred amid my people, perhaps it is indeed that" She muses to herself b>"Or," she turns to look at the entity again "You are simply an incredibly strong force--the will, your will, ties you here?"

Its a moment before the woman shakes her head "Apologies, in my excitement I have not given you a formal name" Its rare for Ashtoret to go out of her way to be polite, but the dead were sacred. "You may call me Ashtoret--what shall I call you?"

code by corvus II Art by Drifty

Tag:@Kito
Cleric:
+5 Meet a Ghost, Spectre, Idol, or Guardian for the first time (1/2)

Kito watched as the stranger seemed to relax once it became apparent that the spirit was not hostile. In this form, she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to, so why bother being a bitter, old hag. Instead, the silver woman was much more interested to continuing to learn about this land around her.

Many questions, this woman had. The Hodari was uncertain how much she could truly answer though. Ears flicked forward, content to listen and contemplate her answers as @Ashtoret filtered through her inquiries. "I am dead, yes," the maned woman confirmed with a slight smirk and nod of her head. By now, Kito had taken a seat herself, paws pulled in nearly beneath herself as her red tail tuff tapped idly against the ground. "I will answer as much as I can, stranger, but I'm afraid I'm also a bit of an anomaly to these lands. I never physically lived in Amaryllis when I was alive, yet here I remain in my death." The elder's voice was genuine as she spoke, but Kito was also careful about what she might say about her family that lived here now. She didn't know enough about them or where their loyalties lie in Amaryllis to feel comfortable saying much about them to just any soul that wandered by. Still, at least the maned woman could speak of her own experiences thus far.

The Hodari's gaze started to linger around their surrounds as her lips pursed in thought. "I don't know what it is about this space that collects the dead, but I have met a few others like me throughout Amaryllis. I arrived in a time when the spirits were free, but our freedom has since been retracted into this grotto. The land has its own Deity, and I think it is their will to make this particular alcove a sanctuary for the deceased that wish to remain." It was not unlike the tree that used to hold the spirits where Kito had once lived. If she must be tied to something, though, frankly she preferred the grotto.

The stranger mused over what could be the reason for Kito, or any spirit, to be tied to this place over anywhere else in Amaryllis. The Hodari had her own suspicions, at least over what brought her to the lands in the first place, but not to what drew the spirits to the grotto. "Whatever it is that ties me here, I am grateful to be in Amaryllis in any capacity." So long as she could still see her family. That was all she needed. Finally, and without even realizing that neither had introduced themselves, the stranger would be the first one to offer her name. "A pleasure to meet you, Ashtoreth," the silver lady accepted the name with a kind dip of her head. "My name is Kito Hodari."

Table & Reference by Amanda | Lineart by Kite | Background from unsplash

Ashtoreth listened intently, excited at the prospect of such an encounter. her ears were attentive, and the usual apathetic expression had melted away into genuine curiosity and inquisitiveness. Her tail flipped at it's tip, the white fur pushing some of the gathered snow to the side as she pondered. If what this creature says was true, then the magic at work here was extraordinary. And to be trapped here with out even living here? How could this be? Her gaze traveled around their surroundings as @Kito spoke once more trying to piece together this supernatural happenstance. "Truly?!"
b>"Any answer is a good answer" Ashtoret quips. "It helps piece together parts of the universe that still remain a mystery."

Again she dives into her thoughts, taking her gaze away as if tracing threads unseen through her mind. Eventually, blue returns to the grey for of Kito the spirit. "If you did not exist here, do you have kin here then? Ones who remember you?" Her inquiry is innocent enough, remembering tales of her foremothers about why the dead must be honored. "What were you, Kito? A warrior? A shaman? What great deeds have you done while you still drew breath?" Indeed the mystic's mind is wandering to all the endless possibilities--to stories of warrior queens, bandit kings and wise elders both benevolent and corrupt. She wonders what she will be like, once her time among the mortal realms has come. Will she be tied to this place? Or cast among the stars and sands like her ancestors? Or, perhaps, she is destined to walk the in-between, like the chosen few. Death does not frighten Ashtoret. She does not cower, nor does she ignore its existence. Death has always been a point of morbid fascination. There is power in those fleeting moments a soul separates from a body. A thought crosses her mind then, after she considers for a moment "You say you were once able to walk freely?" She muses "Perhaps, with some effort on my end, I can allow you to do so once more?" Ash raises a brow at the vision in her mind "I am unsure of any exact laws that must be followed, if you know of a way I would appreciate the knowledge" she continues "However, if it is unknown I am willing to begin experimenting to see what results will produce viable results."

code by corvus II Art by Drifty

Tag:
Cleric:
+5 Meet a Ghost, Spectre, Idol, or Guardian for the first time (2/2)
+5 Learn the history of a Ghost, Spectre, Idol, or Guardian (0/2)

Despite Kito not knowing much about Amaryllis or how the spirits in this land seemed to work, what she did have to offer seemed encouraging to @Ashtoret. The silver woman chuckled to herself at the woman's excitement throughout their conversation. "Truly," she smirked with a light nod of her head. The Hodari wondered how much different, if at all, the spirit world was in Amaryllis than it was where she had grown up. Maybe talking with this woman who was clearly so interested in the deceased souls would help Kito piece together the bigger picture as well.

It was an easily expected question for the masked woman to question what might have connected the Hodari to these lands in the first place. "Yes, I do," the maned woman nodded. "My two youngest children live in Amaryllis with their own families now." It almost felt strange to call them her youngest children now as Dero and Furia were fully grown and even edging into their own elder years. They had children and grandchildren of their own, which only led Kito to wonder about what had become of her eldest children by now.

A more objective question would come her way next, though, as the cleric pondered the spirit's worth while still alive. It was always a question for spirits. What had they done during their living years to warrant being remembered in such a way? What caused them to linger between worlds like this? Kito wasn't one to boast about herself, but she had inklings what achievements she might have collected throughout her life. "A little bit of both, I suppose," she mused in thought. It had been a time when lions weren't so limited in their desires, though anyone who knew Kito knew of her healing endeavors more than anything. "I was a healer mostly, but I had also been a queen on two occasions. I was not afraid to fight for what needed to be fought for." The silver woman spoke openly and honestly as she sifted through her memories. The world had been a much more patriarchal setting back then, though, so there was only so much a woman could fight for. "And what about you, dear? Is this your calling? A bridge between the living and the dead?" Kito's curiosity was genuine. While she knew sometimes the spirits just happened to cross paths with the living on random occasions, she also knew that there were many who were more drawn to believing in the afterlife and welcomed its embrace.

An ear flicked at the change in subject when Ashtoret suggested that maybe she could find a way to set the silver woman free of her chains again. It was always a thought on Kito's mind ever since she was forced into this grotto. With her own experience with the dead, it was not a farfetched idea to have, however. "Yes, it was a strange time when I arrived. I was not the only spirit to walk freely, but I don't think it was a common occurrence." She had her doubts that the woman could find a way to allow Kito to move by her own free will, but perhaps there was still a way to allow her to leave the grotto, even if she might always need to be summoned by the living. "If you are up to the task, though, I am willing to do whatever I can to assist you," the maned woman mused with a slight bob of her head. "While I am not familiar with Amaryllis's spiritual laws, there were those who could summon the dead away from their beacon in certain ways. Either by making some sort of sacrifice or blessing. I don't know if my presence in Amaryllis is strong enough yet for that, but I want to teach you something that might help. Come," the Hodari instructed for Ashtoret to follow her as she made her way over towards an untouched patch of light snow.

Table & Reference by Amanda | Lineart by Kite | Background from unsplash