Soul Searching

[Darragh Harper]

Darragh felt Finny’s fear of him weigh on his heart, and the stoat looked none the happier as he listened to Madam Lorelei in silence. He had expected a little more fight from the kit. What he’d said had been more or less the standard Dad Is Annoyed speech he and his brothers and sisters had heard a hundred times on family outings. Behave, or I’ll beat you black and blue! The Harper kits never were truly well-behaved until threats were made about going to bed with no supper. Finny on the other paw… it occurred to Darragh that the little fox didn’t have a gaggle of siblings to diffuse and spread the Adult’s ire around with. And really, hadn’t he been so harsh because it had been him that Finny was copying in the first place?

Mentally noting to make it up to Finny later, Darragh took off his rag-mask and wrapped it up. Once Silvie was on the mend, perhaps he could give the kit a coin to go buy a treat, a reward for a job well done. Better wait until they were out of this shop for that, though. Darragh suspected Kaii at least would be none-too-thrilled if the youngest Foskateer decided to spend it on a cursed amulet or an eyeball in a jar. Thank goodness Madam Lorelei herself seemed unfazed by the unflattering names Finny had called her. Darragh sniffed the candied chestnut he’d been given. Satisfied it was coated in something sweet, not poisonous, he popped it in his mouth. Everybeast knew it was apples that old witches poisoned, anyway.

Considering amulets though… Darragh’s paw went to his mouth in shock as Swifttail tore the black stone pendant from his neck, and rushed to Silvie’s side in distress. Tears stung at the poet’s eyes as his heart, so sensitive to romantic gestures (particularly if they were twisted into tragedy) felt even heavier. The amulet that Silvie had given him, in protecting Swifttail, watched over its original owner no longer.

Darragh put his paw on Finny’s shoulder to move them both forward to comfort Swifttail… then Kaii’s firm tone froze him in place. The stoat’s grey-blue eyes looked up at the taller, commanding presence of the marble fox, and grew moist. They seemed to yearn at Kaii, surely, there is time for a hug?

Seconds count, when your loved one is in pain, came the imagined reply, an unforgiving truth as sure as two and two made four.

Darragh patted Finny and gave him a nod, indicating they should get closer to Swift, and the distraught Madam Lorelei. He wasn’t sure what to make of the idea that a malevolent spirit had invaded Silvie’s body. In the world of the infirmary aboard the Golden Hide, the body was filled with fluids and flesh, and Darragh had seen enough of both while helping Dr. Barrett. He had a feeling neither the surgeon nor Kaii, the scientist among them, would accept such an explanation, especially since Silvie’s body displayed such physical symptoms. Yet Darragh had never seen the scalpel dissect ailments like melancholia or mania, and those were as real as cuts and bruises.

“We’ve brave hearts and stubborn minds all of us, ma’am,” Darragh said, straightening his back. “I know I’d not be alone in thinkin’ there’s no risk I wouldn’t take for every beast in this room.”

Brave words that the poet was more than ready to turn into courageous action.

 

[Madame Lorelei]

As Swifttail’s paw made contact with Silvertongue’s chest, it was hot to the touch. Painfully so. The amulet started to grow warm in his paw, and Madame Lorelei grabbed his wrist to pull him away.

“I’m sorry. The amulet is merely a preventative measure. It can not reverse what has already occurred.” She said, sighing heavily. The old vixen stepped back and sat back down in her chair, reaching for her tea once more.

“It’s all my fault. I did not impress upon him the full extent of the danger he was in. I feared he would not believe, or worse, throw away the amulet, his one source of protection.”

She looked at all the other beasts before her. “You see, it started many seasons ago, well beyond any of your own years. I was born into a coven. A sisterhood of seers, soothsayers… occultists and witches. When I was but a kit, it was said I had great potential, and I was carefully trained to make the best use of my power. By the time I was around the same age as you young beasts, I was made the High Priestess of my coven.”

Madame Lorelei took a deep sip of her tea. “I know it all sounds strange, but do be warned. There are stranger things yet to come.” Her eye suddenly became dark, and her gaze haunted, looking at something a thousand miles away.

“On certain portentous evenings- carefully selected for their astrological potency, I would gather my devotees around an ancient onyx table, and, joining paws with them, I would send my spirit out into the void. Safely tethered by their vital energies, I was free to wander the Spirit Realm in search of dark communion and impossible power.”

Her paws started to tremble as she held the teacup.

“On one particularly fruitful venture, I found myself in a vast expanse of windswept dunes. Ahead, the stone spires of a pyramidal temple called down jagged bolts from a roiling, angry sky. Undaunted, I crossed the threshold of the towering aperture, settled myself upon the central dais, and prepared for the coming sacrifice. Back then, I was not yet wise enough to know fear.”

Well, she clearly knew fear now. The old vixen seemed reluctant to continue the story, or- her truth, as much as a fairytale as it may seem. Taking another long sip from her tea, she spoke once more.

“I could not see it, but I knew it was there. A shapeless, nameless, lifeless entity of unimaginable power. The thing I had been searching for, for so many years. I offered everything I had. Every virtue. Every vice. But it wanted none of that. So, I offered the soul of my firstborn child. That, and only that, seemed to please it, and yet it still wanted more. It seeked to breach out into our own world, using my body as its host. So, drawing vitality from the assembled mediums, I held fast against the thing, and stole a portion of its power!”

Madame Lorelei laughed. “It was a thrill unlike any I had ever felt before! Imbued with strange currents of infernal origin, my apotheosis was complete... but power… power does not come without cost. Emerging from my trance, I was met with the charred, steaming corpses of my acolytes sprawled out about the floor. Even before I could begin to weep for them, I could sense the eldritch entity stalking the edges of my consciousness, probing for weaknesses.”

Madame Lorelei fondled the tea cup in her paws.

“I had become a beacon - a conduit to unknown regions... and have been assailed by those blasphemous forces ever since. I am shrouded by an endless night where the beast prowls and whispers to me all the secrets I could ever want to know and more. It is only with the use of my talismans that I can keep it at bay.”

The old vixen sat her cup of tea aside. “I took a vow of celibacy, and I celebrated- so foolishly I thought I had tricked the entity out of its prize. Little did I know, it would extract what it wanted from me one way or another. Over time, I learned more about it, and eventually it decided on a title that I would be able to comprehend: The Dark King. It constantly reminded me of my bargain, burning into my mind and very soul its terrible words and knowledge. My talismans kept it at a minimum, and I let myself get complacent.”

Madame Lorelei sighed, almost wistfully. “I met a handsome young bard named Darksnout Songfox. We flirted, but I of course never went any further than that, and eventually he found another vixen to start a family with. For whatever reason, I felt attached to Darksnout and I stayed around. Even helped with the birth of his son, Firetail. I was like family after sometime, without actually being family. I made sure to stay distant, but… I suppose I hadn’t been distant enough. When Firetail was grown, and found a vixen of his own, he named me as his child’s godmother. That was when I knew- the Dark King would have my ‘first born’. Wasting no time, I researched into various charms and discovered the Eye of Nattu Bazar. I tried to warn Silvertongue’s parents of the impending danger, but they dismissed my concerns as superficial. Superstition. Who would blame them. I insisted, however, and gifted the amulet to Silvertongue once he was born. I thought I had truly won then.”

She looked over at Silvertongue. “Right now, the Dark King is likely planning to take over Silvertongue’s body, and use it as a host for his own maligned form. There is a way we can help him… we must cast our spirits from our own bodies, and venture into the Spirit Realm. If we can find where Silvertongue’s spirit is, and if necessary, free him, he will be awakened in his own body… I hope. The Dark King will most likely try and impede any rescue efforts. It will not be an easy task, but I need the help of young beasts like yourselves, with strong wills and stronger hearts yet.”

She looked out at the assembled beasts before her. They were Silvertongue’s only hope.

@SwifttailTheFox @Kaii Nashirou @FinnianBrightfur @Darragh Harper

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

The moment his paw brushed Silvertongue’s chest, heat seared through him like he had touched a hot coal. Swifttail yelped, jerking back as Lorelei seized his wrist and pulled him away. The amulet in his other paw throbbed hot as iron. He stumbled, tail lashing, and half-fell into Kaii’s steady arms.

For a breath, he just stayed there... panting, trembling, clutching the chain as though it might burn through his pads. Lorelei’s voice carried on, heavy and strange, every word pressing down on him until his legs felt hollow. The Dark King. Bargains. Spirits. Sacrifice. He blinked, ears flat, heart hammering too fast to make sense of any of it.

This wasn’t sickness. This wasn’t anything he understood. And he was terrified.

He wiped at his eyes with the back of his paw, breath catching. Then he swallowed hard and forced himself upright. His gaze went first to Kaii, whose presence still anchored him, then to the poet and the kit.

“I don’t understand it,” he admitted, voice cracking low. “But I’ll not leave him to this. Not Silvie. If we’ve to walk through shadows t’get him back, then I’ll go. No matter what it takes.”

He turned to Darragh, eyes glistening but fierce with sudden urgency.
“Ye said it, mate... no risk is too great. We’ll bring him back, aye?”

And to Finnian, softer but no less sure, he offered a paw.
“We’ll need every heart we’ve got. Come with us, Finny. Silvie needs us.”

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

As Darragh and Finn reacted to his words, coming closer and cooling off, Kaii was content with the fact his words spoke to the group. Swifttail fell into his arms and Kaii, instinctively offered a brotherly hug to the platinum fox. In the absence of their lover who needed help, Kaii knew he had to step up to help the one who was closest to the bard.

And as the story offered by the older vixen unravelled, Kaii... was not going to argue or question most of it. He would've preferred if the vixen was more down to the point, instead of oversharing the history of her life in this situation, but the context provided was something. Albeit the issue was, said something was not at all helpful now.

Swifttail repeated the sentiments of the group. They all had to act, they all had to take a risk here, Silvie needed them.

Kaii straightened, though he still held Swifttail for their comfort, albeit not too tightly, basically showing that they can leave at will. He decided to chip in with the very same calm authoritative voice as before, albeit not demanding one. Kaii simply communicated in his way that this is not a matter he would compromise on.

"Madam, with the causes known, as you hear, we are all ready to help. But, I am assured, none of us know much about the occult force you mention. Would you mind giving us more specific instructions? How can we cast our spirits in order to fight that whole Dark King?" Kaii asked while looking at Darr and Finn. His expression wasn't changing, but Kaii had hoped that Darr would gather that it was the same look, asking for assistance, that he had previously gave the young poet in the Hide's hold during their (mis)handling of the Idol.

As for Finny? Kaii saw that the kit had a lot of questions beaming from their pose, so he raised his pawfinger in a sort of a warning. It was not the time, albeit Finn knew that Kaii would love nothing less than thoroughly explaining to this kit all that he knew. It just had to wait till later.