The Darkness Life Conveys (Kavala)

[Charon]

Collecting himself and realizing his hind right hip felt sore, the pup pushed the thought of weakness aside and lunged once more at the neck of the Zith attacker that remained and that was apparently intent on finishing off the second canine life-form it encountered that day. As the young dog commenced his next assault, the Zith nimbly rolled and moved to his knees while catching the the excess skin and fur on the back of his neck with both hands. Suddenly the dog was helpless as he thrashed his head around, snapping his jaws and making saliva fly in stretched lengths onto the ground. His peril became obvious as the Zith simply allowed the pup to tired himself before relaxing his muscles and hanging limp in the grasp of his soon to be murderer. His mother was gone and there was nothing he could do to avenge her now.

As if his dying wish were granted, the pup instantly felt the creature's grasp loosen from his back and before he could react or determine how or why this was happening, he collapsed to the ground in a heap of confusion. As he landed, pain shot back through his right rear limb but the pain was again ignored as he attempted to collect his thoughts and figure out his new situation. It was after the Zith screamed and staggered to his feet in a dazed and agitated demeanor that the dog saw the most timely arrival of the woman who was aiding his mother just moments before. Grasped within her hand was something shining as it caught the moon briefly but his gazed shifted back to the stumbling Zith. Judging by the curdling screams emanating from deep within the creatures throat, it was in agonizing pain and it was then that the pup saw the vast amount of blood left on the ground in the wake of his stampeding rage.

His wing was sliced and evidently the cut was large enough and in such a vital spot that the loss of blood was affecting its basic ability to control its direction of travel. The painful screaming turned into gargling as blood erupted from his mouth and garbled his voice. Falling to his knees, the Zith lifted both hands that were now stained crimson and stared, voice calm. Muscles failing him, his arms fell weakly to his sides as his gaze slowly shifted upwards and toward the Konti and the canine. Wavering from his kneeling position, the fading daggers that comprised his stare caught Kavala in a trance of fear and hate. But there was something more laced within the fabric of the feelings the Zith was trying to convey to the woman. Stitched loosely like a wandering thread that seemed misplaced on a quilt, the Zith was pleading with her in a difficult to follow transformation of feelings that, even considering her considerable familiarity with the race, the Konti had never experienced before.

That moment seemed suspended in time as the three shared the slowly passing rhythm of life that pulsed through the Konti's veins, maintained the exhausted pup, and coursed violently at first but now calmly from the Zith. To Kavala, it physically felt as if the life leaving the gruesome creature before her was pouring into her own body, making her full on the substance and leaving her desiring a way to purge the excess before her soul burst with it. It was uncomfortable for the Konti but she ultimately knew there could be a means of relief staring her in the eyes.

[Kavala]

The healer's curse, they called it - outsiders who were not absorbed in the level of dedication Rak'keli's followers gave to their art. They could fight to defend. They could wound to protect. But when the stem of the battle turned and that which was a threat no longer was, everything changed.

They were required to heal.

It was not a conscious choice. But yet again it wasn't something Kavala would fight against if she had time to truly analyze the sensation flooding her. Wearing Rak'keli's mark meant one thing - embracing the war between life and death - even if you were the cause of it - and becoming a warrior for life. She'd defended her friend, the pup, and in doing so had defended herself. For the zith was surely enemy to both. But she hadn't realized how vulnerable the winged creatures were were alone. And though the Zith to Kavala were the stuff of nightmares, this one suddenly diminished in what it was as its strength failed it and the crimson of its blood stained the grass as it went to its knees.

She felt overfull and inundated in that moment. Its life force poured from the Zith's body, fluttering like a thousand butterflies, in raw energy and flooded into her form as if it bore some sort of butterfly net. Kavala caught it, held it, and was consumed by it. She knew... in that instant, that it wasn't hers to keep nor could she without loosing something of herself. And as if driven by compulsion, the Konti took one step forward, then a second, and in the way that Konti greet each other, she reached forth and snatched the Zith's hands.

Cool, revolting grey skin met smooth white scales. Fingers intertwined up until the webbing interfered. Kavala sobbed slightly, containing the energy too much for her small fragile mortal form. She felt energy within her, through Rak'keli's mark, and she drew from that energy as she would for any normal healing.... and pushed.

She'd never pushed so hard in her life. It was like forcing hardened honey out of a jar that had too small of an opening. All that did not belong to her and belonged to him she rejected, forcing out through her hands and into his body like moving water in a waterskin from one end of the skin to another simply by pressure.

HIs. Not mine. His.

Her need to heal was impossibly strong. Even though he'd tried to kill the pup, and probably would have tried to eat her as well. Blood invoked the promise she made to Rak'keli. Fight. Never give up. Be strong. Be passionate. Be a silent army no one saw as such. The world was full of death, violence, and madness. Rak'keli's chosen were the counter to that. Even, sometimes, if they didn't truthfully want to be. With her eyes locked onto his, and her hands buried in his own grip and hanging on... she saw the individual and not the race. She saw his life in his eyes - that he was someone with hopes and dreams and fears of his own. He had family, such that it was, and goals and dreams.

She almost staggered at the realization.

And still she kept trying to give it back, pouring his own energy back into him, tainted with what healing power she could pull from her mark. it couldn't be much. It shouldn't be much. But she could do nothing but try. And try she did.

[Charon]

Staring into the eyes of her fallen enemy, Kavala knew the battle had changed.

The enemy had changed. Having succumbed to his wound and feeling the life flow out of him with every passing moment, the Zith was no longer a threat to the Konti or the canine. His strength was strewn along the ground in crimson puddles, painting the grass with a contrasting vibrance lost in the waning moments of the life form before her.

The field of battle had changed. No longer were strategic cover and stealthy tactics considered when Kavala started moving toward the Zith. The element of surprise, though not an option now, was a principle lost in the furious attempt for the creature to gasp and draw in the air around him. The distance between the two, once providing a safety buffer to keep herself alive now provided an obstacle for the healer to overcome.

The terms of war had changed. Only moments earlier, the Konti was driven to consciously save the young pup from certain death and perhaps unconsciously take revenge for past wrongs this monster represented. Now the battle was being fought to preserve and strengthen what life remained in the suffering body before her.

The gap had closed between the two. The sufferer and the savior combined hands and intertwined their fingers. As a result, the pup collected his strength and picked himself up, barring his teeth and leaving his hair bristling. Feeling it was his turn to protect his partner, the young dog prepared to attack and pull the thing from Kavala. Before lunging forward, however, the winds shifted and the ambiance changed. Keenly aware something or someone was upon them, the pup slowly allowed his tail to tuck and he backed away while keeping his eyes on the strangely connect pair before him.

Attempting to return the loss which Kavala imposed, she made every effort to shove the life and energy back into the Zith. It was her debt to repay and she was compelled like never before to free herself of the burden. The creature had lost so much and it was everything the fair skinned woman could do to attempt to save him, but she would not let anything obstruct her determination. It was upon realizing she may not have everything required to save this one that her ears perked up and caught the winds that were guiding her.

Faithful follower, your efforts exceed your abilities. It was true. Kavala knew the deep cut in a vital location such as the wound she inflicted on the Zith was not one her abilities could mend. He had lost too much blood and was too weak, but she kept trying and kept pushing. She would not give up. But your determination far exceeds your despair. Kavala, your faith has been unwavering and you have proven your complete dedication toward healing the less fortunate. You do not hide from injury and the sight of blood does not disturb your senses. You have made me proud, Kavala.

She pushed harder. It was not fair for her to take away what was not free for her to have. She did not even want what was once within his soul and at this moment, she had completely forgotten about the fact that this monster was attacking the innocent pup mere moments ago. She would not let go. I can see within your soul that you strive only to save and for this and your history of similar actions, I will grant you the power to overcome this battle. It was starting to work- Kavala could feel the energy break through the initial resistance and begin to slowly flow toward the Zith. Kavala, take this mark and become one of my favored followers. Continue to fight under my name on the battlefield where life and death collide and I shall be beside you in your endeavors.

Her right ankle burned, flushed with heat and it felt as if the energy emanated directly from that sensation and erupted through her body and outwards toward her hands. Jumping from one synapse to another, the energy of life burst into the Zith and his eyes flashed with a momentary brightness. His stare, usually the crude and cruel gaze of a disgusting creature, now came alive with hope. His cold hands became warm, his head was held higher and his heart, Kavala could feel, started to rush. Beating with a force unknown even to himself, the Zith looked down as if something was awry. His wings took up motion, stirring the air that was hanging still only moments before. The vulnerable wound which was intentionally ripped open had now closed by the very same hands which made them bleed.

When the energy stopped flowing, their hands were parted by an unnatural and unseen force. The Zith took his hands and stared at them momentarily before lifting his gaze back at the Konti who had just saved him. The feelings of despair and loss had left him and he knew it was to her that he owed the change to. He stood, using his wings to help lift his body as if testing their strength. Never letting his stare leave her eyes, he paused before her with his hands by his side and his full, lethal body standing within striking distance. As if deciding what to do, the Zith broke the silence and the gaze by screaming at a piercing pitch into the Konti's face. The force with which the sound reached her ears proved his regained strength and before she could react, the Zith turned and ran into the darkness and the tall grass.

Taking a few steps toward where the Zith disappeared, the pup stopped in the same place the monster almost died. He glanced up and over his shoulder to the woman who had saved his life and consequently saved the life of his attacker. With an eyebrow raises, he let out a quiet whimper.

[Kavala]

If someone had asked her later to explain how Kavala had acquired her second Rak'keli Mark, the Konti would not have perhaps had the words to explain just what had happened to her. Sure, there were facts - A Zith Attack. A battle. Choices. But it was so much more than that. As the Zith fled into the night, the Konti sank to her rump in the grass, drew her knees up, and wrapped her arms around her legs resting her chin on the top of her knees. And thus situated, Kavala lost herself momentarily in thought. Her mind was full up - overfull even - with the idea that the Zith were just people and the kind of power her Goddess had granted her with the realization of that fact. Suddenly the lines in her life were blurred - sides blended together. Those that were right or wrong, battles that would be fought and struggles that would come on a more subtler level. Kavala felt changed, dramatically, and knew that after this, things would never be the same.

Her outlook to the world had been drastically altered - as if in adding the second winged serpent to her ankle had given her a new set of eyes. Beasts were not just beasts, but there was a forced reckoning of culture and attitude and all the reasons for why things were. Her mind took time to absorb what had just happened and the violence she just found herself capable of balanced with a great measure of compassion. Life was about so much more than simply living.

Life was about understanding. If nothing else had happened, that was a lesson Kavala learned well. There was a subtle strength in the realization and an added awareness that her narrow world had just broadened out. For a moment, Rak'keli's presence in her mind had expanded her consciousness drastically enough that she felt the world and its interconnectedness. And she wondered in that soft alone time wrapped within herself that if those on the Grass that had created the great webworks and harnessed the power of webbing were healers too... for being immersed in Rak'keli's voice was a lot like being flung into the great web and tied too it. She was acutely aware, that she was just a tiny grain of the sand of life on a vast beach of the living. But a tiny grain of sand could make a difference... and she knew acutely that was exactly what she was going to do.

It wouldn't be wasted. It would absolutely not be wasted.

And as if to seal the conviction that filled her heart, Kavala offered a silent prayer to Rak'keli - a prayer filled with her thanks and the utter joy amidst exhaustion that infused her at the gift of being able to heal like she'd always wanted too. Kavala realized what an honor and responsibility it was - and what a heavy burden it could be. The compulsion would be worse - far exceeding her ability to refuse it. But that was the price of being a healer and wanting the ability to mend instantly that which was in ruins by damage or disease. There was so much now to do, so much left undone, and so many paths open to her. It was overwhelmingly joyful and terrifyingly frightening. Face to face with a Zith... and letting them live. Kavala never would have thought she could be that strong - strong enough to know when to save a life and not kill - even if that thing was something that would have killed in her place.

But she was shaken, exhausted, and though she just wanted to fall down and sleep, there was still both the living and dead to contend with. Kavala rose, shaky in the legs, and moved through the grass toward the pup. She called out softly and when she reached where he sat, she went down on one knee and stroked his head gently. "You were a brave boy today, the most courageous dog I've ever seen. I think I'm going to call you Savan if you don't mind the name and have no other. It means Courage in Pavi." She said softly, giving him one last pat. "You are a lot like your mother. She was courage too. Let us go and see to a nice place to lay her to rest. Then, if you like, we can go back to my home and if you want to you can make it your own as well. If you have another, we can see about finding it tomorrow... what do you think Savan?" Kavala said in a tired voice, rising.

Then, with slow but determined steps, the konti would retrace her steps back to where she left the mother's body and picked it up in her arms. She turned, looked at the pup, and whispered softly... "All things end eventually, Savan. Even the best of things, like your mother." And with that she turned and began the trip back to Sanctuary, escorting the both the living and dead as walked.

[Tarot]

It was a hard lesson for Savan, but one he would learn today. He would spend the following days in mourning, but gradually get over the loss. Kavala had done her best, and even the pup seemed to understand that. He followed her, gingerly at first, then with more and more conviction. He had nothing else left in the world, and Sanctuary existed for animals and people who had experienced loss and pain just like his. Together, Savan and Kavala found a quiet, protected site for burying Savan's mother. The pup would never forget where it was, and even later in life he would sometimes take his leave of Sanctuary to pay a visit.

As for the Zith she had saved, it was very likely that he would return to his animalistic lifestyle and possibly soak his hands in the blood of people and animals alike. Even without respecting a murderer, one could still respect the life that flowed inside him. It was a difficult path Kavala had chosen for herself, but she was committed not to stray, come what may.

Skills: +5 Medicine +3 Animal Husbandry +2 Weapon: Scalpel Lore: Canine anatomy Zith anatomy How to stitch internal organs Experiencing failure as a healer Healing one's enemy Using a poisoned weapon Gnosis: Second mark from Rak'keli. Storyteller Secrets updated. Comments: This thread is powerful in its simplicity. I especially loved how emotion is conveyed with barely any dialogue at all.