lazare.

Yes, yes! That is her. She doesn't realize that the whisper had come from a real throat; she does not realize that it is hekate who called her name so sweetly. Real or imagined it doesn't matter, it's accepted with the same loving arms and its all the permission she needs. There is permission but at first there is no further explanation but that, too, comes. In quiet, hushed voices that seem to make the grotto even more holy.

Her skin flushes beneath the electricity in the air.

Finally @Hekate explains and the mottled girl's mind whirls. They wanted to.... summon a spirit. This must be a word she does not recognize. She has no such concept of such things; for a girl who has killed before, her grasp on death itself is awfully flimsy.

But lazare is good at lingering in these in-between places. Understanding, and not. Believing, and not. It was all the same to her -- she, who saw too much and too little. There's an eagerness to her as she slips forward, moving to sit at hekate's free side. Taking up watch, here, as the girl begins to chant softly. Words were offered first and then another woman offers blood while another still offers trinkets. Lazare has nothing to give, here. But she watches and she waits, her lungs frozen in her chest. Her hand inches forward, hoping to gently grab hold of hekate's -- the same one that had been stained before with her blood.

She might not know exactly what was going to happen, but she knows it will change her. Change everything.

BG — ART — CODE

She had guessed right! But of course she had.

This cavern is unique in its ability to capture starlight, to weave it into shape and give it a voice. And for once, Hadiya is not the only one who sees.

The voice of a girl - @Hekate, who bears the familiar perfume of Ecrosia - beckons them all forth to gather in a circle. Naturally. Circles were such powerful shapes (even if she personally like the feel of spirals more), reminiscent of the endless loop of the universe, the most natural way to channel energy through a soul. Father would approve, surely? The seeress feels her way forward, entranced, foggy eyes staring intently at nothing as took her place amongst them, @Hero's bulk a muted warmth at her side.

She listens to the hushed words they speak, ears pricking at the sound of offerings being placed. Her nares flare with a sharp intake of breath that smells of iron. Here, in the charged air of this spiritual, secret place, the slow 'drip...drip' of blood against stone seems like the most sacred sound she has ever heard. As if untold power was being unleashed with every splash.

Ah, if only her foresight was keener, Hadiya might have thought to bring her favored seashells (the spiral ones) with her as an offering.

Oh! But she does have her herb pouch with her, so perhaps she can make do. "I never learned the name of the soul I found here." She whispers aloud, bending her neck to rummage quietly through the leaves tucked away. "But I think that she was terribly lonely." Nearly everything about Banshee remained a mystery to the seeress, most of all the sinister nature behind her true intentions. Hadiya had not known enough to fear her - but she recalled enough to wish she had been able to help the restless spirit still.

"I did not forget you. Please, join us if you wish." She murmurs, though her words are no longer intended for mortal ears. Her own offering is added to the collection, frilled leaves fluttering away on her exhale.

Frankincense.

If anything could truly bind the physical and spiritual realms together for a glorious instant, she imagines it would be the sap of the frankincense plant.

ART COPYRIGHT ERA / CODE COPYRIGHT ANALESE

He can feel it, the familiar pull; the one that only happened whenever he was being summoned. It had been such a long time since the Guardian had felt the almost tingly sensation, the way his body is drawn to the living that were in the grotto. They were within the territory he haunted, being able to appear and disappear at will. But this was different. His body moves through the softest of breezes, a light shimmer glistening in the night sky. A fog almost, as his body begins to slowly come into view with the lightest of sheens outlining his colossal form. Yellow eyes that were once closed now open, staring at the bodies around him. His shoulders roll, as if he had been stationary for so long and his body needed to stretch.

"Well greetings." His rumbling voice greets the crowd with a rather bemused expression. Ears twist as the Viking ghost listened around him, giving each of those gathered a glance in greeting. "I have been summoned?" Attention finally falls upon @Aelynthi, brow rising. He remembered her, his expression softly once he recognized the woman. Why did they call him here?

@Hekate @Marja @Lazare @Hero @Hadiya

Upo, bibi? Though the silver woman had already heard her name spoken in the grotto, it was being called grandmother that truly stirred the spectre. How long had it been since she last saw her family here? His voice didn't sound so little anymore.

The tiniest little wisp of smoke started at Hero's paws before moving off towards the center of the circle of lions. Quietly and subtly, the smoke grew, barely shifting shades before the grayness evolved into the form of a lithe lioness. As Kito's body took shape, it was quicken apparent that she was much less whole than @Valhalla, setting out a textbook example of the differences between Guardians and Spectres. Still, the silver woman smiled kindly to those around her, offering nods before her gaze fell upon her grandson. He was hardly recognizable from the little boy she had first met here so long ago. These were not her family surrounding him this time, but strangers. All except for @Marja, however, recalling the woman tagging along with the grand Hodari clan that day.

"Hello, dears," the elder woman spoke gently to the congregation as she tucked her paws neatly beneath her. It was a far cry from her younger days as a bit of a wayward spitfire. Catching the guardian's words, Kito smirked to herself as her own gaze fell to the one who had summoned her. "As have I, it would seem?" A brow rose out of curiosity. She knew not the other lions present, was barely even familiar with the other spirit (because Amanda was dumb and let that thread die), so why was she here?

@Hekate @Lazare @Hadiya

Table by Amanda

Pypar wasn't used to there being so many lions in the Grotto at one time. He had been what one might consider napping looked like for a spirit. It was the sound of his name and the voice of a friend that drew his consciousness. How could he possibly deny a visit from a friend.

"Marja!" The boy called out excitedly. He ignored all the others in the Grotto for the favor of racing towards his friend. He danced around at her paws in an eager sort of way. "For me?" He asked excitedly as he noticed that she had brought things with her. "Come! Come! Place twos!" He didn't even get a chance for affirmation that the feathers and stones were for him. Instead he moved over towards a small dip in the rock wall that was obscured by vines. "Put here." He instructed as he glanced about for another spot in which to hide his newest treasures.

@Marja

She tilted her head slightly to get a peripheral view of the giant lioness at her side, whiskers quivering at the revelation that she had someone specific to call upon. Some force glued her there to the stone floor, steadying her against the overwhelming aura of the hushed air around them. Hekate felt a wave move through her as her other free side was taken up by rose perfume and opalescent eyes, with electricity crackling through the air so her ears buzzed. She awakened to the scent of spilled blood but could not entirely tear her mind free of Lazare – not when she wanted to ask if she had dreamed of her again. There were too many eyes and ears. The window to heaven – or hell? – was already whistling open.

Hekate did not dare gaze down at the paw reaching for her own for fear of scaring it away. She swallowed thickly as the other clerics voiced their own connections with this other realm, revealing to the young fledgling that she understood far less than she had believed upon entering that rocky threshold. She tried to bite back envy's stare as they made their own offerings, chanted their own words, and she felt the smooth pad of Lazare's paw like the warmth of religion.

They came in a set of three, as did the holiest of things. Hekate's eyes went wide at the first sign of movement: a glimmering fog rolling into that grotto, so faint she wondered if she was imagining it. There formed the hazed outline of a lion larger than life, even more intricately marked than the striped youth herself. Her expression had fallen into utter amazement as she stared in bewildered silence, jaws parted yet unable to utter a word. What do you say to the living dead? Her vision seemed a blurred haze as time began moving more slowly, then – clear evidence that they had entered another dimension. Fog morphed into smoke, though the lack of burning scent in the air gave away the spectral nature of that cloud. There formed the suggestion of a gray, maned lioness, and her voice sounded more like a chiming in the air than anything. She was still gazing owlishly at the apparitions when a cub seemed to bound out of thin air, gliding toward the dark-pelted lioness and chirping eagerly about her offering.

I am dreaming. Some part of her mind wanted it to be true. The eye is but an informant for the mind, but Hekate could have sworn hers were feeding her falsehoods. Only then did she allow her lush gaze to wander down to the ink-dark paw placed atop her own, nerves settling slightly at the knowledge that she was still tethered to reality by that girl's feeble grasp.

"Is Aidoneus Peitho alive?" It was as if someone else had uttered the words. She clicked her jaws shut quickly, stomach turning over with the realization that she had not wasted a breath before demanding information of the underworld. She swept velvet ears back against her crown. "I – I am Hekate Peitho-Stärke. Can you see the dead? Can you see the living?" She introduced herself in a low voice that did not quite match the way it wavered in the air.

"Thank you," an afterthought.

Is my mother dead or did she leave me?

---

@Aelynthi @Marja @Hero @Lazare @Hadiya @Valhalla @Kito @Pypar

The sting from the wound reminds her of the sacrifice she has just given, the blood clotting quickly enough to leave her without worry for too much blood loss. She settles back down with a soft sigh, holding the paw close to her abdomen to elevate it for prevention. It gives her time to watch as @Marja provides her own offerings for the Pypar she spoke of, and the cleric is all to curious to watch and see if the child-turned-spectre would show as well. Peridot eyes soften as she turns to watch @Hero speak, listening as he mentions someone that he too, also knew. It would be the most curious turnout if all of these spirits did in fact show... and something utterly lifechanging for a woman so devoted to her work. They all take their turns offering, chanting, murmuring to their dear ones and those who have changed their lives. It was nearly something out of a fairy tale for her, and it would never be forgotten.

All of it fades away as they begin to show, the first being Valhalla. A warm smile is offered to the Guardian as he appears, his attention turned to Aelynthi. Yes.. it seemed we have some who are learning the ways of summoning, and you are the only one I have met in life and in death. Thank you for blessing us with your presence, Valhalla. She murmurs respectfully towards him, gaze softening as another shows themselves. Even with her history with clerical duties, Aelynthi had only met two members of the afterlife so this was a blessing in and of itself. She dips her head respectfully to @Kito as well, eyes widened in awe as both she and the child Marja had spoken of appeared before the group. The child behaved as she imagined and it only pulled more at her heart strings to know they had met a fate so young..

+ 20 - hold a seance with two other lions to summon an idol or Guardian (valhalla)
+ 10 - meet member of afterlife for first time (kito) (1/2)
+ 10 - meet member of afterlife for first time (pypar) (1/2)

When a spirit did appear, it is a male she does not know. Marja still smiles politely, but her attention is quickly captured by the innocent soul she had called for. @Pypar appears, and his exuberance is as refreshing as always. She beams widely to her friend, and moves as soon as he demands it- bringing the stones and feathers in her jaws to his indicated spot. She places the feathers and stones and beams up at her friend, laughing softly. "Gift for Pypar. Thank for come." She says easily in her broken English. "All summoners there. Summoners- Pypar." She introduces, because she does not know their names. Somehow in the arrival of Pypar, she had missed the ghost of Kito, and she speaks then. "Remember you much. Do well?" She asks, concerned of ehr welfare and wellbeing. ( @Kito )

@Aelynthi @Hekate @Valhalla @Hero @Hadiya @Lazare

always alone and unwanted

I don't mean to be so crass about the situation -- But it's easier than breaking down -- The reasoning your loose interpretation --
In a sea of motherfuckers, man, you were no salvation

code by corvus