dream_catcher (dream_catcher) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2009-12-28 23:16:00

Entry tags:

inactive - danielle hrimharisdottir, inactive - dream catcher

Of Wolf and Man
Its a little before dawn. The circles are drawn, the spirits have been called. There's food and drink laid out for family and any friends who want to witness the ritual and who have been invited by Danielle, though everyone except Danielle has been instructed to remain outside the circle and keep any talk quiet and between themselves.

Lucas has been in meditation for over an hour, communing with the spirits of the area and one in particular, preparing the introductions and making sure he has the stories right.

At ten minutes before sunrise he looks to the gathered. "We have a few minutes. If there is any questions or concerns, now is the time. When Danielle steps into this circle, I must request we have no further interruptions or it risks everything. You may talk among yourselves, but not to either of us, and neither of us can leave the circle for any reason or the ritual will fail. We'll be here til sunset. Feel free to come and go, but please keep it quiet once the sun is rising. Everything is ready, and we have a few minutes. Any questions?"

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 06:41 am UTC (link)
	The family have all been in wolf form, the better to nuzzle reassurances with Danielle. They listen and shake their heads. Lucas's explanations to this point have been sufficient for everything they can think of. Danielle's done everything she can to get ready. After a little more reassuring contact with her family, she gets beside Lucas. (Reply to this)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 07:01 am UTC (link)

Lucas nods his gratitude to the family. They'll be critical when all this is over, and are needed to watch over the proceedings and make sure there's no disturbance.

Then he looks to an area next to Danielle and begins to speak first in Cheyenne, then in Sarcee, then in English so as many spirits as possible can understand and be acknowledged, before the family and participant is made to understand. Yes, this takes a long time, repeating each phrase three times, but this isn't a thing to be hurried, and the spirits of the land are as important as anything to the success.

"We are gathering upon this, the day when the moon is strongest and the wolf's hour holds great strength to bond two beautiful spirits. Tehya Sockalexis of the Penawapskewi lands and tribe has agreed that the form which was once hers shall be lent to Danielle Hrimharisdottir of the Wolves of Asgard, that she may walk among men from one span of the sun to the other in each day, before returning the form when the sun next turns each day so it may rest. This is not a favor lightly given or received, and she has asked that her story be told, and some small favors be granted that this favor and bond might be maintained. It is my honor as Shaman of the Cheyenne people and the First Nations to do this service, and communicate between the living and the worlds beyond. Danielle Hrimharisdottir of Asgard, do you acknowledge and honor and welcome the presence of Tehya Sockalexis of the Penawapskewi, and will you hear her story, and hear what she would request to give you her legs, her hands, her voice for such time as the pact is maintained?"

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 07:09 am UTC (link)
	[Yes. I will.] (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 07:19 am UTC (link)

Lucas nods solemnly, repeating Danielle's words in the native tongues and communicating to the spirits before speaking aloud again, then begins the story, eventually coming around to English again.

"Tehya was born in the days when the white man was first settling this land. Her earliest days were full of the freedoms known to the people of the descending ledges. Especially she loved the water. It was said that her first laugh was upon seeing her reflection in the clear waters near her home, when her aunt took her to bathe, and in doing so, they knew that she and the river spirits would always be friends, and they would never harm her, and bring her comfort in her difficult days. And the Penawapskewi were people of the waters, so her early days were full of learning to swim and boat and gather water. She is sure that if taken back to it, her arms and legs will remember the way, and the water spirits will remember her and will not harm her. So for her first favor, she would ask that you will take her form into the water and help it remember to swim, and so that her friends the water spirits will remember, and know that she is alright. She understands that right now, the water is very cold, but hopes very much when it is warmer, you will take her body swimming when you might be able. Will you agree to this favor, for she very much has missed her friends and worries that they have not known where she went."
By the end, its clear its a struggle at times to keep any wavering out of his voice, the direct contact between worlds not easy, and the story, at times, a difficult one.

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 07:44 am UTC (link)
	[Yes] She'd have to ask, really, when it was safe to swim. She didn't know enough. But she'd find out, and of course do it as soon as possible. Danielle's rather touched by what she's heard already; she'd rather want to help a little if she could even were a deal not being made. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 07:56 am UTC (link)

Lucas nods again, once more translating her agreement, speaking to the spirits, and then he reaches down to the hand made clay pots in front of him, coating his fingertips in a light mix of pigments, ending up a dusky red shade. He lightly brushed the color over Danielle's left cheek and the side of her muzzle. "The first promise is made, the first part of the bond established." he repeated in each tongue.

He pauses a long while, listening to the next section of the story. Its one he's heard and practiced many times, but it still must be told first by the spirit.
"And as she grew, Tehya's relationship with the water grew. Though she was not a shaman, she thought she heard its voice, its strong voice in the spring season, rushing from higher lands. Its soft babble in the summer and fall, and the near stillness, soft whispers beneath the ice in the winter time, and so from young, she tried very hard to learn its song so she could sing back to her friends. And she found she loved to sing, for it made the gathering of water a friendly visit. The time of mashing food and cooking a joy, for when she burned her fingers she would sing the songs of cool water, and it would ease her pain. When she was long at work, she would sing the song of rushing waters and they would lend her their strength. And she learned the songs of her people, and the songs of the white men alike, only for the joy of singing, and to go to the water side and sing to her friends, trying to teach them the songs she had learned, just as they had given her their gift of song."

He takes a deep breath, eyes a little misty, hands shaking just slightly.
"She is sure that if she lends you her voice, it will remember how to sing. The words are not important, but she should very much like it if you would raise her voice in song on some days when you feel like it, for she is sure it would comfort her friends, and they have not learned new songs in a very long time. Danielle Hrimhrisdottir, for the second favor, she asks if you will come to the water and sing when it suits you, and perhaps sing when you are sad, or joyous, and need comfort, or to give voice to your joy, that her voice can remember how to sing again?"

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 08:14 am UTC (link)
	It's a slightly odd feeling, having it brushed against her fur, but nothing too odd. She listens. [I will] (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 08:29 am UTC (link)

He dips his fingers into the pigments again, and leaves a near identical mark on the other cheek and side of her muzzle. "The second part of the request has been answered. And for this favor, Tehya has agreed that for the span of the sun or moon each day, she will lend the wolfdaughter of Asgard her voice."

He again chants for a time, speaking stories and listening to the spirits and recovering his composure for the next part of the ritual, continuing to carefully channel the bond between worlds. At last he begins to speak again.

"And while her many days were filled with happiness and song, the white men settled the same lands. Though the Penawapskewi often moved from one camp to another, one year they came to find their spring homes near where many fish grew and spawned surrounded by houses, and the river dammed and channeled to best use by the white men. And so for the first spring she could remember, her sixteenth, she could not visit her friends and sing to them and hear them singing back. They camped in a colder place than usual. For a time, she was still happy. The white men had a great church where she could listen from the woods and hear new songs. She had new places to explore, and the church gave them blankets. Despite this friendly gesture, not all of the people were friendly, and often they warned the Penawapskewi not to come to the waters and steal 'their' fish, or gather 'their' water. At first the Penawapskewi were amused, for how can one own a fish? How can one own a river? But the men kept them away by force, whatever the church said. And so long away from her friends and their songs, and knowing her friends were bound and claimed by these men who did not sing, did not thank the fish, did not praise the waters, Tehya grew very sad. And then she grew very sick. And all the blankets and warmth would not take her sadness from her, would not take her sickness from her. In her last days, she remembers only her mother crying often, for in delerium, Tehya would ask to visit her friends, and her mother and father could not take her there. She died on the first day of summer, when the strong waters flowing from spring runoff turned to the quiet babble of summer, and even from afar, she could not hear their song. She asks then, the greatest favor, that once each season, with my help, we visit the graves of her people and their neighbors. That we start with her parents, and bring them cool water and clean graves, that I teach you their songs so we can sing to them, and so I can tell her mother that she is ok, and there is no reason to be sad for her. I swear on my oaths as a shaman of many peoples to accompany you in this, and see this task done. Will you attend with me, to carry out this greatest of favors she will ask?"

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 08:55 am UTC (link)
	[I will] Had she a human voice, it would be thickly emotional. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 09:12 am UTC (link)

He nods one more time, dipping his fingers in the pigments and running a single streak down from between her eyes down to just above her nose, so had she a human face, she'd have markings down the bridge of her nose and across each cheek.
"The third promise has been agreed upon, and for it, Danielle Hrimharisdottir has been promised hands that she may do this work, from one sun or moon span in each day. And for it, the people of the land will be remembered, their names sung. The water that was taken from them will be brought to where they lay and gifted to them from the hands of Tehya. And for this, she hopes she shall no longer hear her mother crying, and the people and water alike will know that she is alright."

He spends a few more hours now that the three favors have been asked and answered telling the stories of Tehya's life, remembering her favorite days, her first love, her earliest memories, her recollections of the trees and hills and rocks and always the waters. He sings the songs, quietly, that Tehya gives him, the songs of the water in each season, and the times they were sung. He sings the songs of cooking and dancing and celebration and sadness, then translates them into English, taking his time and being very precise with every word, though he almost visibly grows weaker and less steady with every hour that passes as he maintains the difficult channel and listens to the voices of the real and ethereal at once, translating between them.
When the stories are told, some happy, some sad, some funny, some very hard for him to tell, he returns to the chanting and ritual, speaking in one language, then another, then another.
"If you are still in agreement, you will have Tehya's form as she was the day she died. This body shall not age, but it will hunger, it will thirst, it will tire, as any other human form. You may take a wolf's form at any time you wish, but if you do so in the span you have chosen to take her body, you will not be able to become human again until the next day. You must now choose, with the sun at its highest point, whether you wish to be able to take human form from sun-up to sun down, and wear the wolf's skin at night, or if you wish to be able to take her form from sun down until sun up, and wear the wolf's form during the day. Do you wish to continue, and which do you choose?"

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 09:31 am UTC (link)
	And Danielle listens attentively. And outside the circle, her family do the same. And suffice it to say that no one is unmoved. [Yes] She answers, then gives her decision. [The day.] It feels more right. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 09:42 am UTC (link)

He begins the chant again, his mouth long since dry, fighting the shakes occasionally now, but forcing his voice to stay strong. The day long ritual in many ways is as much a test of endurance for the shaman to show his devotion as anything else, acting as conduit of two worlds.

He spends considerable time chanting again, speaking to the spirits, soothing them and promising his devotion and speaking and singing the old prayers before the next words in English come again.

To make it easier for her, he switches to speaking in the wolf's tongue for the next part, after explaining to the spirits what he was doing.

[Please repeat after me. I have spent a great deal of time trying to translate the prayers of the people to terms acceptable to the Wolves of Asgard, so I pray I will not offend.

Gaea, the Earth is the mother. She provides and sustains. She loves her children, and for this love she gives them her bounties. We thank her as is right, for her gifts can be as quickly taken as given, and in thanking her, we remember the old oaths and ways when men remembered they were but children before the mother.
The Sky is the father. He gives us the seasons, the spring that we may celebrate life anew, the summer than we can know warmth and light, the fall to harvest and remind us of the beauty and changes in all living things, and the winter that we can be reminded his gifts are never to be taken for granted.
All that is, all we are granted are born of Earth and Sky. We only live between them and behold their wonders with awe, and know that this ritual is but small magic before the wonder of each new day.]
He'll repeat it as often as necessary to help her along if needed.

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 10:10 am UTC (link)
	She listens attentively. If she could, she'd smile. While the Wolves are not terribly difficult to offend in general, she's become more and more sure that it would be rather hard for anyone who pays as much attention as Lucas. She listens carefully, so it doesn't require too much repetition on his part, and says the prayer equally carefully (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 10:19 am UTC (link)

He nods, then translates her words back into Cheyenne and Sarcee and to the spirits before continuing, so all could verify she has spoken the prayer precisely as asked.

He chants again for a time, praying to the spirits about, to the Earth and Sky, and to Tehya's ancestors that might still be listening. When finished, he looks back to Danielle.

"The spirits now wish you to tell your story, as you have heard Tehya's. Tehya especially wishes to know of you, and that your story may join the litany of history. I will translate, so please speak slowly and distinctly, and give me time to translate."

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 10:36 am UTC (link)
	And so Danielle talks, slowly and quietly, about her Forest and her pack. About crossing from one home to another every year. About wanting to be a healer, and trying to learn whatever she could, on either side of the Bridge. And about waking up one day to only half of herself. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 10:46 am UTC (link)

Lucas translates every now and then, causing pauses as he goes through the languages for all the listeners and spirits, then gesturing for her to go on each time. By the end he's obviously affected by the day so far. He's lost at least five pounds, maybe more. He's having to speak slower and take more time to catch his breath, and he can't fight the shakes, but he's still speaking crisp and clear, translating every word precisely and making sure that she does not stop until her story is done.

"Tehya wishes you to know she feels that becoming a healer is a most noble endeavor, and is proud to lend her hands to such work, and hopes they will serve you well. Now, this next part is going to be most critical. Please lie down and stay very still. I am going to bond your spirits that you can take on her form, and in the times that you are in human shape, Tehya will proudly run with the four legs of a wolf spirit. I wish I could promise there will be no pain, and I will prevent all I can, but it will be difficult, it will likely be painful, and many times you will feel weak or faint. You must stay awake, and you must try very hard not to make any noise you don't absolutely have to. Take five minutes to ready yourself, steel your nerves, and gain any support you can from looking on your loved ones. They must not speak to you, but you may speak to them. When you are ready, lie down, and tell me that you are prepared, and we will finish the ritual."

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 11:03 am UTC (link)
	Danielle breathes deeply for a while, and looks to her family and indicates that she'll be all right. When she's feeling as alert and focused and prepared as she can, she lies down. [Ready] (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 11:12 am UTC (link)

Lucas moves his clay pots to her side, and then settles in next to her, slowly adding lines of pigment to her fur, chanting to the spirits and praying in an increasingly hoarse voice, but he never stops.

After about fifteen minutes, the pain begins. This first time, every bit of the shift from wolf to human can be felt. Bones elongate and twist, muscles shrink or grow, claws flatten to nails, teeth malform then reshape. Each time a new mark is made, a new pain comes with it, but each time, Lucas chants a new prayer, and the pain fades, while spectral images of the same marks appear over his skin as he absorbs the bad medicine into himself, taking all of the pain that he can from her to ease the transition and reduce chances of her crying out.

"I promise you, the pain will never come again, it shall become as natural as breathing, but your body must learn its new shape. Remember, for the next night and day, you must not change form or it will forget again. From then on you will be human at sunrise each day." he reminds.

Eventually the pain fades a little, as the body is now more or less a wolf's skin stretched over a human skeleton - painful and horrific, but not as bad as bones reshaping and growing. He begins to massage the muscles, where his fingertips touch the fur fades to fleshtone, and slowly the stretched look becomes more natural. He apologizes several times when running his hands as briefly and politely as he can over more intimate regions, trying to keep it brief, finishing with the face last of all, with his final gestures being to tell her to close her eyes, and running his thumbs over both eyelids.

"Danielle Hrimharisdottir, please open your eyes." he whispers, voice a faint grating sound now. "And look at the sunset with human eyes." he tells the naked native girl lying in front of him.

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 06:52 pm UTC (link)
	Her jaw is set, and essentially the only sound is breathing. There's no pretending the moments of pain aren't difficult, but she manages. She opens her eyes, and the sunset is in full color. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 07:04 pm UTC (link)

Steeling himself for one more prayer, when she is finished, Lucas rises on unsteady legs. He helps her up, supporting her as best he can while she finds her balance. He looks to the edge of the circle, in his current state looking impossibly far away even if its only a few feet.

"Walk with me, child of Wolf and Man, your family and friends are waiting for you, while I pray and thank Mother Earth and Father Sky for their new blessings and success in this day."

He takes a step, and with it chants in the three tongues.
"As I walk, as I walk."
A second step on the long journey.
"The universe is walking with me."
Step.
"In beauty it walks before me."
Step.
"In beauty it walks behind me."
Step.
"In beauty it walks below me."
Step.
"In beauty it walks above me."
Step.
"Beauty is on every side."
Step.
"As I walk, I walk with Beauty."

He stands at the very edge of the circle, holding himself up straight, hard as it is.
"Thank you Earth Mother, thank you Sky father, for giving the child of four legs and two new life and new eyes, and for honoring me so much as to hear my humble prayers. I am your child, your servant. Your every blessing is a wonder to me."

One more deep breath.
"When you are ready to walk on your own, Danielle Hrimharisdottir, in one more step, your family will be waiting for you, they have prepared a wondrous feast to celebrate your rebirth, a blanket and new clothes to warm you, and their love and support to reassure you. Step from the circle when you are ready, and I will close the circle behind us and follow soon."

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	princess_mutt 2009-12-29 08:33 pm UTC (link)
	She's helped up slowly. Every step feels so strange. And finally, with a deep breath, she steps over and is nearly pounced upon. She understandably has the family's full attention. Except Moira's. Not that she isn't simultaneously overjoyed and worried for her sister, but Danielle's in good hands. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2009-12-29 08:44 pm UTC (link)

Lucas remains at the edge of the circle. He's almost done, but not quite, needing to find strength for a last few moments.

"Mother Earth, Father Sky, your child and servant thanks you for your blessings and strength. Now I must go into the world once more, but I take your blessings with me, and see your world through new eyes in each new day. Please bless this ground and find it to your liking.

Tehya Sockalexis, thank you for your generosity, and I hope these gifts will please you, that your hands are put to good works, that your voice is raised in the river's song, that your feet walk once more upon Earth mother, that your face feels the caress of Father Sky.

Spirits who have attended, please see this day as holy. Do not look with hate upon the outsider given our gifts, but see the ways expanded, understood, and given thanks for. Give Tehya Sockalexis and Danielle Hrimharisdottir your blessings, that both may appreciate this union in all the days they share it. I thank you for your patience, and for your gifts. Without you I am nothing.

He turns to the North.
"I thank the spirits of the north for cold winds, to remind us winter always comes again, so we must be ready."
East
"The East for reminding us of the blessings of the sea, they cool and soothe us."
South
"The south for warmth and light and coming of new Spring."
West
"The west for fertility and bounty, the lands where things will grow in season."

One more deep breath. "I have been honored this day to be called as Shaman, to heal, to soothe, to bless. Thank you Earth Mother, thank you Sky Father, spirits of all the winds and ways. And with this thanks, I go into the world, and close this circle."

He rubs a foot over the circle's edge, blurring it in the dirt. The circle closed, his job done, he collapses.

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princess_mutt
2009-12-29 08:50 pm UTC (link)

Moira catches him -- he's hardly heavy to her. Shortly, if he' still conscious, there'll be some water -- just a little, she knows better than to give him too much at once. She'll also encourage the logical solution to the whole consciousness thing as soon as he's got something in him.

The two of them are going to be hovered over as much as they'll allow the next few days.

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	dream_catcher 2009-12-29 08:56 pm UTC (link)
	He's conscious, and certainly grateful. Just weak, exhausted, starving and dehydrated. He's definitely going to need her help, especially with all that's still being done for Christmas. Independent as he usually is, he's also definitely not minding the hovering. Especially when its Moira. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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