I am the lethal enemy of your light My maw calls you into the abyss

+10 Cast a blessing over a character or group - (1/2)
+10 Hold a rite - (1/2)

Darkness fell, but the bright eye of the moon stared ever watching, casting a beautiful white light over hundreds of thousands of sweet smelling blossoms. The gardens was always beautiful at night, the way the gentle wind made the flowers dance; sending fireflies flickering through the air to try and find one another. A sights to see, indeed, one the peach witch always had missed since leaving these lands.

But now she was here, and the view took her breath for a few moments. Around her body, the coiled form of Rawkshi shifted, tightening and readjusting his length to better fit himself across the lioness. Around her haunches, vines secured "bags" of herbs and various materials that she may need, the sound of stones from one of them making a soft clack each step she took, until finally she reached where she had in mind. Atop a hill, large white flowers bloomed towards the moon, reaching desperately for it's light. It had been quite some while since she had come here to properly pay homage to the night. And so, she bowed carefully between the plants, placing her forehead on the ground, feeling soft grass brush her fur. She felt wonderful here in the dark with the moon casting it's loving light upon her- the only mercy she had been born the always have. She whispered, her hushed voice quick and airy, each breath almost like she hadn't said a word at all. But she knew he would hear. خونشو ، إله القمر ، رحالة الليل ومعالج من يستحقون - لقد جئت أشكرك على نورك الهادي. مقابل ألمي لدي طلب واحد .... Khonshu, god of the moon, traveller of the night and healer of those deserving- I have come thanking you for your guiding light. In return for my pain, I have one request to make... the witch began, paying no mind to the world around her as she spoke her rite and began asking her blessings.

@Nox

art by Rabbit - code by loki

Nox had always been of the night. From the evening of her birth and throughout her younger years she had believed it to be a part of her, so close it had chosen to mark her eternally. While the lights did not dance across the sky here as often as they did at home she did not need them to; they were with her, always, in the whisper of color across her rump.

In summer she spent even less time out in the day, preferring to emerge when the white chariot of the moon drove across the sky. Shame that Helios became so greedy in the summer months, spending so much more time on his daily drive.

As ever she comes to connect with the endless stretch of stars; what she does not expect is to find company. Most preferred to sleep through the night, and as she watches the uniquely marked woman she feels an immediate kinship. It felt wrong to interrupt and so she sits, silently, careful not to disturb the ritual she had stumbled upon. Without shame she watches, curious about the strange language being spoken and which Gods were listening.

@Arachnae

code by dee + background credit

And it'sx my whole heart, xxweighed and m e a s u r e d xxxxxxxxxxx i n s i d e And it's an old scar, trying to bleach it out

+10 Cast a blessing over a character or group - (2/2)
+10 Hold a rite - (2/2)

Her body felt chilled despite the warm air around her as she prayed, a feeling like having your soul looked into and observed. She was used to this odd feeling, she felt it every time she asked for blessings, for it was true she was being looked upon. They always searched her true intentions, the gods.

لقد انتقلنا إلى منزل جديد ، مكان أخيرًا لنا ، وأتمنى البقاء هناك لفترة طويلة قادمة. أسألك أن تلقي نعمة الحماية والشفاء على الكبرياء وعلى القادة البواسل الذين يحملون تيجانه. We have taken to a new home, a place to finally ours, and I wish to stay there for a long time to come. I ask you cast a blessing of protection and healing upon the pride, and the valiant leaders that hold its crowns. the witch finished her prayer, lifting her head to peer at the moon once again, only to instead pause to look at the physical manifestation of the sky itself.

A deep midnight colored lioness, the very borealis itself had given kisses upon her pelt, and the varying hues that shifted like glowing stars shone in her eyes. Had a goddess come to speak to her? Had she done something to somehow earn the direct attention of the divines?

Arachnae blinked, hard, confirming the woman was in fact there and appeared quite solid. Hello. She managed, still slightly concerned at the presence of such an ethereal being, but a warm smile would lift her maw regardless. The moon offers many blessings to those who seek them. She would state kindly, as she usually greeted those who stumbled upon her in the night. In a way, it was also an offering.

@Nox

who's a heretic now?

code by loki - art by Aurora

While the language may be unfamiliar to her the feeling was not. Nox could recognize a prayer when she saw one, and the intonation used was not much different than when she whispered her own wishes to the Gods. There was the vague sense that she should leave the woman to her meditations, but for some reason she remained rooted to her spot.

Rooted long enough that @Arachnae eventually spotted her, and while some might have offered a sheepish grin Nox does not. Instead she blinks calmly back at the woman, before a more serene smile creased her lips.

"Selene can be most generous indeed," she offered by way of agreement, finding kinship in this woman despite their differences. Carefully she closed the distance between them, stepping closer in order to encourage easier conversation. "I am Nox." Followed by an expectant look, waiting for a name in return.

code by dee + background credit

And it'sx my whole heart, xxweighed and m e a s u r e d xxxxxxxxxxx i n s i d e And it's an old scar, trying to bleach it out

A soft lift of the dark woman's lips would be given in return, the witch's ears flicking as a new name met her ears that she had not heard before. "Selene" was this woman's moon goddess, a woman named quite appropriately for her appearance as her own alias was given. It's lovely to meet you, @Nox. She said, watching as her form strode closer, like a piece of the sky walking through the field of flowers itself.

The weight of the mamba around her body drew her attention back to matters at hand, introductions not yet complete between them she would continue to speak warmly, I am Arachnae, and this is my companion Rawkshi. The witch would say, A beautiful night for prayer and blessings. What do you wander for? Arach would ask.

who's a heretic now?

code by loki - art by Aurora

It is only when introduced that her attention is drawn to the serpent coiled around the woman. However there is little surprise to be found on her star-marked features, only a small inclination of her head in greeting. "Well met, @Arachnae and Rawkshi." There is warmth in her voice and a smile at her lips -- or at least as close to a smile as the enigmatic woman ever wore.

"Guidance," she answered, "and direction. I have come here with my soul-sisters and yet we are now scattered, all of us. The stars have never led me astray..." Her gaze flickered to them as she spoke, comforted even as she spoke of the worries that lay heavy across her shoulders. Lost and chained and disorientated; this was not what she had wanted for them.

code by dee + background credit

And it'sx my whole heart, xxweighed and m e a s u r e d xxxxxxxxxxx i n s i d e And it's an old scar, trying to bleach it out

+5 Tell someone's fortune - (0/2) ?

The starry lioness would return her greeting, both to the witch and to the dark serpent coiled across her body. She seemed very kind, though soft-spoken, and when she began to speak of what drew her into the night Arachnae's heart strings tugged, bringing a deep ache into her chest. It seems this woman too had lost the ones dear to her, and now seemed to be having difficulty finding direction.

Reaching around to her side, she would tug a bag from her haunch where many were tucked beneath vines, setting it on the ground before her. An onyx paw would rip the small sack over, spelling smooth river stones from within, dark stained symbols on each one. Perhaps you would like a bit of insight to the path ahead? Though I am not able to pull specific events, I have somewhat of a fortune telling gift. The peach woman offered, her smile soft and welcoming.

@Nox

who's a heretic now?

code by loki - art by Aurora

It was not the first time she had seen such stones, nor was it the first time she had been offered a fortune. Nox did not necessarily put much weight in such stories, but she saw no reason to deny the woman her skill. Perhaps the Gods could guide her to glean some truth from the stones, or at the very least a way forward.

"I would be honoured," she answers honestly, putting her own doubts inside and reclining on the soft grass of the gardens. Her gaze is intent and focused, ready to hear whatever it is @Arachnae has to tell her.

code by dee + background credit

And it'sx my whole heart, xxweighed and m e a s u r e d xxxxxxxxxxx i n s i d e And it's an old scar, trying to bleach it out

+5 Tell someone's fortune - (1/2)

The dark woman of the night seemed happy to receive guidance from the stones, settling before the witch as she straightened out all her stones, flipping them to where the symbols were hidden against the ground and mixing them to new places. My god, Apophis, is a deity of chaos and darkness. Though there may be evil in those things, there is also balance- for without chaos there is no peace to keep, without darkness there is no light for the oncoming day. The future I'd chaotic, ever growing and changing, like a tree that sprouts many branches and grows many leaves. There is no telling where the final leaf may have grown when it falls- she would begin, but there is always a set path up, the trunk of your tree has a destiny to grow into. With these stones, I can try and see the path that trunk may take. The priestess smiled. The symbols are painted with my blood and nightshade berries, life and death. I am connected to them, all I need is a single drop of your blood over the stones to direct their energy towards your future. She explained.

@Nox

who's a heretic now?

code by loki - art by Aurora

Oh how similar their beliefs ran. Nox listens, but a small smile appears as @Arachnae mentions her Gods. "Eris is my Goddess of chaos. There are some who believe her to be the daughter of Nox, the very Goddess of night for whom I was named." Bold, perhaps, for her mother to choose such a name; the burden of it was the very thing that eventually led to her leaving.

"Harmonia is the Goddess to balance Eris; it is the key to everything, is it not?" Nox's voice remains hushed even as she lifts her foreleg while she speaks, offering it to the fortune teller without hesitation. While they may follow different systems there is enough similarity to make her curios, and spilled blood has never given her reason to pause.

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