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HOWL BY THE LAKE

Béchamel had come out of his trance as suddenly as he had gone into it, falling to his side and taking Zanrak with him. He had whimpered and licked their vuluri’s hands and face before he had passed out, exhausted. Rakhera had said something to steady Zanrak as the handler checked Béchamel’s vitals and then, after determining he should be fine after a rest, they had curled up into a camp right around him.

It was during Voev’s turn on watch that Béchamel finally woke. The dire had been licking his lips for one last taste of dinner when he saw the blue eyes pop open.

They had thrown themselves at the tawny piebald crying out in relief. Even Rakhera, in a rare show of affection, had rubbed her check against his, marking him. Now Zanrak sat closest to the still weak Béchamel, coming her fingers through his mane as he recounted what had happened in his vision.

Voev wagged his tail at the end of the story and sat up straighter. “We are stronger together – and we do need you. Both you and Vuluri did not give up on us when we were falling apart after The Avalanche.”

“Why did you fear going mad so strongly?” Zanrak asked.

Béchamel shifted, leaning into Zanrak’s hands. “Before I came to Rakhera and Voev’s pack I witnessed some family that did. It also happened that the Tokotas in the town I’m from were also falling to a sickness that took their minds before their bodies.”

“Where was that?” Voev asked.

Zanrak smiled at the youngest of their pack. “ ‘Where’ doesn’t matter, Voe. What matters is not all of them succumbed to the sickness, right Bé?”

He nodded.

“How did you come to us from that chaos?” Rakhera asked.

The others stared at the black Tokota. Then Voev wagged his tail eagerly.

“Yes! Tell us! Please? You’ve never told us that.”

Béchamel laid back his ears and looked at each of them in turn. It was not until his eyes met the ground between his forepaws that he spoke. “The sickness was fatal, and even if we were inoculated it did not mean we had immunity – especially the already mature Tokotas. As my fellows fell I stood untouched, too old for vaccination to be effective. My previous handlers chased me out, hoping to spare me. I always wondered if I took the madness with me regardless of their efforts.”

Rakhera sighed. “Ah.”

Zanrak twisted to look back at the black Tokota female. She heard the implied, ‘that makes sense now’ in Rakhera’s tone. “What?”

“When my pack first encountered Béchamel he defended his kills fiercely. If we tried to scavenge from him we found nothing. He even buried his marks. At first we thought it was to avoid offending us but he kept doing it for a while after he joined us. Some of the others made fun of him for it but…” Rakhera shrugged. “It was like he wanted to erase all trace of himself despite living.”

“I did,” Béchamel said. “Why should I be spared while so many had fallen?”

“We humans call that survivor’s guilt,” Zanrak said.

“Uh, guys?” Voev held himself rigidly where he lay behind Zanrak. “We’re not alone.”

The rest of them followed Voev’s line of sight over Béchamel’s back and between the trees. Weaving back and forth among the sleepy trees, and avoiding the last patches of melting snow, was a blonde she-wolf.

She came to a stop a few yards from them and assessed them with the lightest pair of yellow eyes any of the group had seen on a wolf. The bright gaze roved over all of them, but when it reached Béchamel the wolf sat down.

Béchamel sat up straighter. He recognized those eyes! The wolf tilted her head and he could feel her expectancy strung through the air like an invisible taunt web.

“What does it want?” Zanrak asked.

Rakhera looked between the wolf and Béchamel. “She’s waiting for Béchamel.”

“We’ve seen plenty of wolves. Why this wolf?”

“I was right. Our Golden Sun was undergoing a rite of dominance and this is his second test. She is waiting for what Béchamel has been waiting for since being evicted from home and since The Avalanche.”

Zanrak’s heart clenched. She understood. Béchamel had been so busy holding first himself then the pack together that he had never allowed himself to mourn. When bottled inside too long grief like that would make him frantic at the thought of losing anyone else. After their Tartok expedition the stress of it had become too much.

She nudged Béchamel. “Go on.”

When he turned to her the reluctance in his expression made her clench her fists to keep from throwing herself at him and keeping him on the ground.

“Stand up, Bé.” She gave him a watery smile. “Our turn to hold you together.”

He sighed – though it was more like a deflation of his lungs. With a great heave he hauled himself to his feet but did not stray from Zanrak. He gave the wolf his attention, hesitating only a moment more before felling the walls inside him.

The torrent of emotion threw back his head and pushed a howl from his throat. It was a mournful sound that matched the muted colors of evening falling on them.

Just like that the tension of the invisible web began to vibrate with warmth and Béchamel felt a cold spot somewhere inside of him melt at last.

- TO BE CONTINUED -

Import link and name (including ID) of Tokota: Bechamel 17558
Nicknames Used: Bé, Golden Sun
Chosen soul animal: Wolf (Blonde Wolf )
Prompt: 10. Your tokota has their first brush with their animal companion. The experience is unforgettable, but the way your tokota interprets this new-found connection is up to you.
Link to HP confirmation: admin confirmation
Bonuses:
+10 for somehow including a depiction of your tokota's soul animal
+10 for including a handler
+10 for a short story of at least 500 words

Previous tasks: RoD 1: Bechamel | In the Silence

Word Count: 920
Handler: Zanrak ev Raera

Included and Earning HP
Import: Rakhera 28584
Owner: AmaranthineRain

Import: Voev 29175
Nicknames: Voe
Owner: AmaranthineRain

Mentioned
not eligible for HP or bonuses this time
none

Commisisoned ARPG Art

Commissioned ARPG Stories

story © AmaranthineRain aka Kiri Rabina Ramdeo
all respective rights reserved

Description

"A to Z" PROJECT NAVIGATION

ARPG Master Tracker | ARPG gallery
| LAST>

scroll down for RoD form under literature

HOWL BY THE LAKE

Béchamel had come out of his trance as suddenly as he had gone into it, falling to his side and taking Zanrak with him. He had whimpered and licked their vuluri’s hands and face before he had passed out, exhausted. Rakhera had said something to steady Zanrak as the handler checked Béchamel’s vitals and then, after determining he should be fine after a rest, they had curled up into a camp right around him.

It was during Voev’s turn on watch that Béchamel finally woke. The dire had been licking his lips for one last taste of dinner when he saw the blue eyes pop open.

They had thrown themselves at the tawny piebald crying out in relief. Even Rakhera, in a rare show of affection, had rubbed her check against his, marking him. Now Zanrak sat closest to the still weak Béchamel, coming her fingers through his mane as he recounted what had happened in his vision.

Voev wagged his tail at the end of the story and sat up straighter. “We are stronger together – and we do need you. Both you and Vuluri did not give up on us when we were falling apart after The Avalanche.”

“Why did you fear going mad so strongly?” Zanrak asked.

Béchamel shifted, leaning into Zanrak’s hands. “Before I came to Rakhera and Voev’s pack I witnessed some family that did. It also happened that the Tokotas in the town I’m from were also falling to a sickness that took their minds before their bodies.”

“Where was that?” Voev asked.

Zanrak smiled at the youngest of their pack. “ ‘Where’ doesn’t matter, Voe. What matters is not all of them succumbed to the sickness, right Bé?”

He nodded.

“How did you come to us from that chaos?” Rakhera asked.

The others stared at the black Tokota. Then Voev wagged his tail eagerly.

“Yes! Tell us! Please? You’ve never told us that.”

Béchamel laid back his ears and looked at each of them in turn. It was not until his eyes met the ground between his forepaws that he spoke. “The sickness was fatal, and even if we were inoculated it did not mean we had immunity – especially the already mature Tokotas. As my fellows fell I stood untouched, too old for vaccination to be effective. My previous handlers chased me out, hoping to spare me. I always wondered if I took the madness with me regardless of their efforts.”

Rakhera sighed. “Ah.”

Zanrak twisted to look back at the black Tokota female. She heard the implied, ‘that makes sense now’ in Rakhera’s tone. “What?”

“When my pack first encountered Béchamel he defended his kills fiercely. If we tried to scavenge from him we found nothing. He even buried his marks. At first we thought it was to avoid offending us but he kept doing it for a while after he joined us. Some of the others made fun of him for it but…” Rakhera shrugged. “It was like he wanted to erase all trace of himself despite living.”

“I did,” Béchamel said. “Why should I be spared while so many had fallen?”

“We humans call that survivor’s guilt,” Zanrak said.

“Uh, guys?” Voev held himself rigidly where he lay behind Zanrak. “We’re not alone.”

The rest of them followed Voev’s line of sight over Béchamel’s back and between the trees. Weaving back and forth among the sleepy trees, and avoiding the last patches of melting snow, was a blonde she-wolf.

She came to a stop a few yards from them and assessed them with the lightest pair of yellow eyes any of the group had seen on a wolf. The bright gaze roved over all of them, but when it reached Béchamel the wolf sat down.

Béchamel sat up straighter. He recognized those eyes! The wolf tilted her head and he could feel her expectancy strung through the air like an invisible taunt web.

“What does it want?” Zanrak asked.

Rakhera looked between the wolf and Béchamel. “She’s waiting for Béchamel.”

“We’ve seen plenty of wolves. Why this wolf?”

“I was right. Our Golden Sun was undergoing a rite of dominance and this is his second test. She is waiting for what Béchamel has been waiting for since being evicted from home and since The Avalanche.”

Zanrak’s heart clenched. She understood. Béchamel had been so busy holding first himself then the pack together that he had never allowed himself to mourn. When bottled inside too long grief like that would make him frantic at the thought of losing anyone else. After their Tartok expedition the stress of it had become too much.

She nudged Béchamel. “Go on.”

When he turned to her the reluctance in his expression made her clench her fists to keep from throwing herself at him and keeping him on the ground.

“Stand up, Bé.” She gave him a watery smile. “Our turn to hold you together.”

He sighed – though it was more like a deflation of his lungs. With a great heave he hauled himself to his feet but did not stray from Zanrak. He gave the wolf his attention, hesitating only a moment more before felling the walls inside him.

The torrent of emotion threw back his head and pushed a howl from his throat. It was a mournful sound that matched the muted colors of evening falling on them.

Just like that the tension of the invisible web began to vibrate with warmth and Béchamel felt a cold spot somewhere inside of him melt at last.

- TO BE CONTINUED -

Import link and name (including ID) of Tokota: Bechamel 17558
Nicknames Used: Bé, Golden Sun
Chosen soul animal: Wolf (Blonde Wolf )
Prompt: 10. Your tokota has their first brush with their animal companion. The experience is unforgettable, but the way your tokota interprets this new-found connection is up to you.
Link to HP confirmation: admin confirmation
Bonuses:
+10 for somehow including a depiction of your tokota's soul animal
+10 for including a handler
+10 for a short story of at least 500 words

Previous tasks: RoD 1: Bechamel | In the Silence

Word Count: 920
Handler: Zanrak ev Raera

Included and Earning HP
Import: Rakhera 28584
Owner: AmaranthineRain

Import: Voev 29175
Nicknames: Voe
Owner: AmaranthineRain

Mentioned
not eligible for HP or bonuses this time
none

Commisisoned ARPG Art

Commissioned ARPG Stories

story © AmaranthineRain aka Kiri Rabina Ramdeo
all respective rights reserved