A giant cave system that stretches deep underground, formed by an ancient sinkhole. The cave is like a honeycomb, with layer upon layer going deeper and large openings to the sky above.
The afternoon sun burned in the sky above and Caedwyn had spent a great deal of time over the last week searching for the supplies they would need for their Harvest celebration. He had gone in search of traders and crafters to procure many of the items and finally the last thing was to find the perfect location. That had been the most challenging part. Finding items was easy enough if one searched long enough. It was all about talking to the right people and making a good trade, but finding a location was different. He had to actually travel around and go see with his own eyes. First he had gone around the mountains near their den. The hills that overlooked the valley had a good view but with so many trees and rocks, it wasn't quite right. Next he had gone down to the Silver Lake. It's clear water sparkled both in the sun and under the starlight. But again, this place wasn't right. It was too out in the open and too many creatures travelled down from the surrounding hills. He didn't want their offering spoiled by hungry beast looking for an easy meal. Still, Caedwyn kept searching. Finally going to the northwest, where the air was slightly cooler and the hills were broken by bluffs and plateaus, until he finally came to the the sinkholes.
Two days ago, he had ventured closer. His eyes met the cave opening with skepticism. A dark and dirty cave didn't seem like a worthy place to build an altar to the goddess. But something pulled him to investigate. These were no mere rocky mountain caves or tunnels. As he traversed within, the walls around him rose up toward the sky and great open caverns opened within. At the top, large rounded openings let the sky shine down from above. It was like an entire world within, with trees growing inside and high above he could see grasses and roots hanging down from the opening at the surface. He moved quietly through the foliage, coming at last to the center of the cavern. His head tilted upwards to look at the clouds and sky above. He imagined the sun slowly setting and the sky becoming dark. Eventually the stars would rise and the moon would overtake the night sky. Yes. This was the place. Here, where the sinkhole opened and the moon could shine down clearly from the sky. He looked around, making note of several large boulders and there appeared to be a circle of lush grass that had been favored by the sunlight, growing thick and soft underfoot.
Two days ago. That was when he decided that this would be the place to build their altar. He had yet to show Enya the place he had selected and hoped it would meet her approval. He had only mentioned to her to arrive here at the sinkholes on the day before the full moon, so that they could prepare. The timing had been thoughtfully selected as he'd watched the moon grow larger each day as the Harvest drew closer.
And finally tonight would be the night of their celebrations. Their night to dance beneath the light of the full moon and sing praises to their goddess. So now the day was here and Caedwyn had arrived with a sack draped heavily over his back, full of the many items he had gathered. With a thud, he tossed the sack down near where they would build the altar and his rump lowered to the ground in a relaxed sit. He wondered if Enya had somehow arrived before him or perhaps she had gone down the wrong tunnel and was exploring somewhere else. Or maybe she wasn't here yet. He moved his foot around impatiently in the dirt as he waited, his thoughts making him anxious. Maybe he should have given her better directions or escorted her her directly?
He threw his head back, his jaws parting toward the sky and his voice cried out. A howl echoed around the chamber, reverberating across the stones as his voice announced his location, hopefully summoning Enya too him if she was near.
Since the hunt for their home in the north, Enya had been sporadically preparing for tonight, when she and Caedwyn would give thanks to their Goddess by making a sacrifice and offerings as praise towards her. As she roamed the realm, checking in on various parts of her kingdom while making herself known to the inhabitants, she collected berries, barks, muds, and clays to bring back for tonight's event. In addition, she carefully collected the skulls of each of her kills, wrapping them in leathers and cords and stashing them to the side. None were too impressive, but they weren't collected to be impressive. They were collected to ask thanks, ask for Her favor, and to ask for a blessing. The day of choice grew closer, and Enya worked more frantically to ensure that she had all of the ingredients necessary for the ceremony. Any help Caedwyn offered her she took up gratefully, but she also made efforts to go out on her own. It was part of the ceremony, she felt.
When Caedwyn had told her two days ago to travel north to a grand crater through a network of tunnels, Enya had wondered just why he had picked such a location. She, in her head, had thought perhaps a mountain top would be proper - to gather closer and more near their Goddess. Then again, she supposed it didn't really matter how close to the sky they climbed. Tsillah wasn't stuck in the heavens above. She was all around, everywhere, inside each and every one of them. Besides, she wouldn't dare question Caedwyn's judgment for the location of the ritual. He was more knowledgable of Tsillah and more of a believer than she was, being born into the faith. If Caedwyn figured that a crater through tunnels was the best spot to be, then so be it. She would trust and put her faith into him.
As the sun started to set over the mountains in the West of their cave-like home, Enya rushed to gather the rest of her items. She had a long journey ahead, and if she didn't leave ten minutes ago, she would be late. She gathered the sack full of paints, bones, furs, teeth and claws, a large bottle of pink liquid, and whatever else she knew Caedwyn hadn't taken with him and strapped and tucked all of the various items to her saddle bags as best she could. Her armor was rolled up neatly and strapped over her rump. Right before she departed, she grabbed a leather strap and pulled the knot free, dragging along the lamb she had cornered and roped prior in secrecy.
By the time Enya arrived to the crater, winding her way through the tunnels and fighting with the lamb she towed along through the whole ordeal, the sun had already settled behind the mountain range to the west. She had briefly gotten lost in the caverns on her way down until Caedwyn had howled for her, helping guide her the rest of the way. When she emerged her eyes looked to the sky to realize that she was late, but she wasn't too terribly late. Hopefully Caedwyn hadn't been waiting long for her to arrive. The lamb she tugged behind seemed eager to escape the caverns as it bolted forward into the grassy field. There was nowhere it could escape to, so Enya let the lead go and watched as the lamb ran and tripped over the rope. It would settle down in due time, and besides, it had earned it's last meal before the ritual began.
With the lamb released, Enya's focus returned to Caedwyn, smiling and wagging her tail as she saw her mate staring back at her. Her heart swelled and a sudden surge of excitement coursed through her blood. The night had come at last. To Enya, this was more than simply making a celebration to their Goddess. This was her and Caedwyn renewing their faiths together. After her gaze lingered on Caedwyn's for a moment too long, it shifted and took in the scenery as it was realized before her. She had noticed the downwards slope of the caverns on her descent, but she hadn't realized just how far down they had gone. Up above reached tall walls with trees and foliage draped over the edges, the tops of the trees seemingly leaning in to watch and observe the duo. The cascade of sunset colors painted the parts of the sky she could see in dark blues and purples, with hints of pinks on the western edge. Within the crater, it was littered with boulders and fallen trees - but also foliage that had decided to thrive within the confines of the tall walls. She saw Caedwyn sitting in a clearing of grass with large boulders decorating it and approached him with a casual walk, her breath still puffing from the journey and weight of the stuff in her bags.
Enya lifted her muzzle up to Caedwyn and pressed her head into the area between his jaw and neck, rubbing her own face against his fur as she twisted her head beneath him in a strong touch of affection. Her tail wagged harder behind her as she pulled away from the embrace, lifted her muzzle, and quickly snipe-kissed his cheek before pulling away out of his reach, her items jangling in the bags on her sides. Bones rattling. "I approve of your choice of location, Caed." she praised with a grin as she undid her snaps on her saddlebags and stepped out of her belongings. "Let's hope that Tsillah will as well." She turned to shift into a sit, pawing at her bags to dig out the bottle of pink liquid she had procured. "But first, drink!" She had taken his advice and tried her crack at wine once more. Whether or not it was good... well... that was yet to be seen. Out came two empty carved cups of stone and before Caedwyn could even think to refuse, she had already opened the bottle and had poured both of the cups. "You first" she prompted, grinning and watching Caedwyn. He had made fun of her cactus juice, so now he got to be her taste tester. Lucky him!
Special: Wine Quality
Success: Wine is decent! Doesn't taste god awful. Won't cause massive hangover.
Failure: Wine is hot garbage. Tastes very bitter and sharp. Will definitely cause a hangover if too much is ingested.
When Enya appeared at the tunnel entrance to the cavern, Caedwyn jumped to his feet. His tail wagged excitedly behind him and he trotted over to meet her, pausing only for a moment to watch with curiosity as a small lamb went scampering past him, stumbling over the rope that dangled around its neck as it went by. He hadn't thought to bring a live offering. "I approve of your choice of location, Caed." He turned his attention back to Enya, pressing into her embrace as she met him. And letting out a little chuff of joy when she slipped a little kissing tongue across his cheek like a child getting away with doing something ornery. "But first, drink!" She had plopped her bags on the ground and had already whipped out a bottle of pink liquid, pouring it into cups as Caedwyn leaned in closer to inspect. "Not the cactus juice, I hope?" he teased but looked over her with a dramatic, concerned expression before sticking his tongue out and making a disgusted noise. "You first" Even as he spoke, she was prompting him to drink. He had no reason to distrust what she had presented him with and drinking definitely sounded like a good way to start off their celebrations.
He grabbed the cup in his teeth, leaning his head back to allow the liquid to slosh back into his mouth as he chugged it quickly. It wasn't awful. But maybe not the strongest he'd ever had either. But hey, booze was booze and he wasn't going to complain. "Ahhhh" he licked his lips, letting out a sigh of enjoyment, looking to see if she also was going to partake.
"We've cracked open the booze, now what else have you got hidden in those bags?" He said curiously, his eyes moving toward her pile of things. "Or perhaps we should start with mine first..." he spoke playfully, sidestepping away until he had come to stand near his rather oversized napsack of belongings. "Hmm... what's in here..." he continued, using his paw to flip open the mouth of the bag and rummage around in it. He finally pulled out a large jar. The outside was dark and dirty, making its contents unclear. He pawed at it, pushing it out of the bag and looked up at Enya out of the corner of his eye, a little smile curling up at the corner of his mouth. Glancing back to the bag, again he used his paw to push out another item: a large flat bowl. Moving his attention back to the jar, he used his teeth to grab the cork stopper that had been placed in the top to open it, spitting the cork out forcefully into the bushes somewhere (probably never to be seen again for all the care he gave getting rid of it). He quickly turned the jar into the bowl, a thick paste-like substance pouring into the bowl. It's color shone with an iridescent silver color and seemed to glow faintly.
A paint.
He dipped his paw into the bowl, coating his paw in the paint before lifting his paw back to his face. Using his claws he carefully marked across his face with 4 claw-marks, like war-paint. It shone bright against his dark fur. "The stars can't be the only thing shining tonight, right?" he smiled, moving over closer to her. "Would the Queen like to do her own make-up or shall I?"
Enya giggled at Caedwyn as he teased her, making a face at the thought of drinking her wine. She watched curiously as he dared to take the first drink, wondering if this one would taste better or worse than the prior. She remembered seeing bunches of round berries on the caskets in Casfura, and figured if she was going to make wine, she mind as well do it right. Luck was in her favor and she had spotted some ripened grapes, gathered and smushed them, and soaked them with sugar cane she had found. If nothing else, she hoped at least this version would be sweet. Caedwyn tilted his head back with the cup in his mouth and gulped down the pink liquid. She waited... waited... and his face didn't contort into one of pure disgust. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the wine as he licked his chops. That was all she needed to see. Enya lowered her own muzzle, gripped the cup and tossed her head backwards, swallowing down the liquid in her own quick gulps. She dropped the cup down on the ground, using her paw to ensure it sat upright for a refill, and licked her own chops with pleasure. It wasn't half bad! She readjusted Caedwyn's cup the same and topped off each one once more, downing her second cup immediately after.
Caedwyn turned to eye her bags and she playfully moved to put herself between him and them. There wasn't anything secretive within, but that didn't mean she wouldn't pretend like their was. He dropped the idea of going through her bag quickly enough and instead offered his own up for exploration. He dug around and Enya leaned forward, her eyes flirting between the bottle of wine and what he was pulling out. She wanted a third cup already. Did she dare? She could hold her own well enough... right? 'I should save it for the sacrifice' she told herself, trying to convince herself not to down more of the bottle. She steadied her gaze on Caedwyn as she saw what she thought was a jar. And yet he continued to rummage, digging around until he pulled out what looked to be a bowl. Enya's first thought was, of course, food.
Caedwyn pulled the stopper from the jar and Enya snorted at herself in amusement. He tilted the jar and out came something silver and shimmering. Certainly not food. As he dipped his paw down into the substance, Enya figured out what it was. He marked his face and she watched as it shimmered in stark contrast against his dark fur, painted. "They wouldn't be the only things shining tonight. My scales, I'm sure, will catch the moonlight well enough." She grinned at Caedwyn, before answering his question, "But I'll be more than happy to let you make me even more beautiful".
But, before he could start, she turned back to her bags and untied the roll across the back. Her armor tumbled free and she with practiced speed slipped into the pieces, pulling at leather straps where necessary. The bones of her armor had been scrubbed clean. Some of the bones were broken and had to be resecured - proof of her success as a warrior, but most seemed to still be in good condition - skulls included. Enya shook, her armor rattling, to settle the pieces against her body, then returned to Caedwyn and presented herself for him to paint where he deemed necessary. "I wanted to dress for the part." she quickly explained.
When Enya grinned, making a comment about her shining scales, Caedwyn smiled in return. She seemed to approve his request to do her decorations and he began to move closer to her - though he paused when she quickly turned back to her bags. He watched with amazement at her skilled movements, as barely a moment passed as she unfurled a roll on her back and quickly slipped into the armor that came tumbling out. The armor itself had a pristine quality and when she shook, a distinct rattle filled the air as bones clattered against bones. It sent a small shiver up through his legs and into his body. She looked rather fearsome in her ensemble. "I wanted to dress for the part", she explained, though Caedwyn stood staring at her - probably a bit awkwardly - a little awestruck at her presence. He certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath on the battlefield. Quickly coming back to his senses, he smiled a little bigger and took another step closer, nudging the bowl of paint over with his paw as he approached.
"I think I might be a little underdressed," he joked with a smirk, before dipping his toes into the paint and carefully lifting his paw. He lifted his paw to her face, hesitating cautiously should she pull away or reject the motion, then carefully began to draw lines with the paint. Across the bone skull mask, he drew out long lines and then moved to the corner of her jaw. Dipping his paw after each movement, he moved across the scales on her throat and chest, moving down her neck, making a series of tribal-like patterns. Moving on to her shoulder and legs next, he continued painting the designs. His motions were slow and steady, his touch lingering just slightly too long as he touched her in a subtly sensual way. He was both painting and allowing himself to feel the touch of her body beneath his paw.
When he had finished painting several areas, he leaned back and looked her over, admiring his work (though more truthfully he was admiring Enya). The sun had swung lower in the sky, moving past the opening of the cavern above them and long shadows began to stretch across the ground around them. Stopping himself from staring any longer, Caedwyn cleared his throat and glanced at the area around them.
”Should we prepare the altar?” he asked quickly. ”I think this rock here will do nicely.” He motioned just behind him, where a large flat boulder rested on the ground. The stone was smooth and had an unusual pale coloration. He looked to Enya for a moment to see if she approved before moving back to his pile of things scattered around the bag he had brought. He shoved his nose inside once again and this time pulled out a large pelt. With a twist of his head, he flung the pelt out across the ground and then reached into the bag again, pulling out several more pelts, some foxes tails, and began scattering some bones around the ‘altar’.
After that, Caedwyn began rummaging through the bag, pulling out random bits and baubles, making small talk as he did so while decorating around the field and altar. The sun continued to drift further down toward the horizon and the light in the cave grew dimmer and dimmer in a gray haze. After several minutes, Caedwyn found himself staring into his bag of things (which was now rather empty) with a frustrated expression. ”Well this is no good,” he muttered under his breath to himself as he continued rustling in the bag - his face still holding an expression of disdain.
"Nonsense" she quickly retorted as Caedwyn mentioned he was underdressed. "You are perfect for Her just the way you are." She stood still as Caedwyn moved about her, applying paint across her body. She relished the lingering touch and savored the contact between them, noticing how something so simple, so normal for those of their culture, could suddenly feel so sensual between them. It reminded her of fighting, how an act of violence could also be an act of love. And... then she laughed at herself for equating Caedwyn's lingering touches to someone ripping their teeth into another.
When he finished and stepped back to admire his work, she lifted her chin up just slightly to pose for him. His gaze fed her confidence. In her armor, in her paints, beneath the rising moon and Her gaze, Enya felt powerful standing there. She felt like the Queen she wanted to be. 'Don't let it get to you head.' she internally reminded herself. Just because she felt like the Queen didn't mean everyone saw her that way. Politics were a dangerous plague.
Caedwyn suggested they start preparing the alter and Enya nodded in agreement. She inspected the rock he had pointed out and again nodded her head, "This looks perfect." As he pulled out items from his bag and around it, she returned to her own bag and dug into one of the pockets within. From within she pulled out a smaller leather pouch that rattled as she plucked it up with her muzzle and carried it to the alter herself. From there, she helped him organize items upon and around the alter, then roped the small lamb and tethered it to be on standby for the appropriate moment. It was when Caedwyn mentioned something being no good that Enya stopped fussing with herself internally and turned her attention to him once more. "What's no good?" She downed a third cup of wine as she approached the gathering of items and waited for his response.
Note to myself: Don't forget the tiny bag with the rattling thing inside in your next post W0lf!!!
They had begun to place items around the rock they’d selected as the altar. He had been staring into his almost empty bag of supplies and muttered under his breath, but Enya had managed to hear him. He looked over to her, his eyes glancing down to the small leather bag she had brought over. It seemed to rattle when she carried it,making him curious about what must have been inside. ”Oh, it’s nothing,” he sighed reassuringly. ”I brought some candles but it doesn’t look like I have a way to light them.” Using his mouth, he pulled on the cloth of the bag, dumping its remaining contents out on the group. A large amount of candle sticks of various sizes rolled out. It was an unforeseen complication, but not one he planned to let get in his way. He gave a little ‘oh well’ shrug and proceeded to start picking up the candles and placing them around the altar.
As he did so, he looked once more to Enyas bag with curiosity. He gave a little nod and inquired. ”So what’s in the bag?” he asked curiously, still shuffling back and forth to his pile of candles as he picked them up and placed them around here and there. He paused for a moment and let a sly smile move to his maw before adding, in a teasing voice. ”Anything for me in there?”
”Oh” Enya commented casually, realizing she didn’t have an immediate solution for his candle-lighting problem. ”Well, I’m sure She won’t mind” She could offer him reassurance, and so she did. As he dumped out the contents of his bag, she leaned forward and peeked to see what he had scattered about. Candles. Well… yeah that made sense. She wasn’t sure why she had expected something different. He caught her in the act, staring at the goodies and watching as he started to place them around and Enya froze momentarily. Oh right, she had a bag too.
With a sudden flourish to recover being caught in the act of staring at him, she turned, the bones on her armor rattling as she shifted, and yoinked the bag up with her muzzle. It clinked and clanked as she swung it around, intentionally making it extra noisy. ”Maybe” she smirked back at him, swinging her tail around high above her to prance to the other side of the makeshift altar. She took a quick swipe at her main saddlebags, quickly dipping a paw inside to grab at something, and continued until she stood opposite of Caedwyn, hoping he hadn’t noticed the motion. She reached forward and lowered the bag in her muzzle, nudging it until its content spilled out from within. Bones clattered across the rock of various shapes and sizes. Some were vertebrates, others knuckle bones or snapped rib-cage pieces, or canines and other teeth. She pushed them forward, piling them up towards the center of the altar. She imagined the way the candles would look with flames licking across them, causing the shadows to dance as the sky shifted to darkness. She wouldn’t dare speak it out loud, but she felt that it was a shame she wouldn’t see such a scene tonight. ”Oh, did you mean this bag? No, there was nothing in there for you, not in this one.” She tried to give him a serious nonchalant face, but knew he’d see through it as the corners of her muzzle creased with a held-back grin. She paused for effect, for the crushing realization that she hadn’t had a gift for him sink in…
… before she broke into a toothy grin and pranced over to Caedwyn, circling back around the altar before presenting him with the item she had grabbed prior: a pair of earrings. They were poked through a piece of thin leather, a dark contrast to the gold and teal of the earrings themselves. She had been forced to find a jeweler to help her make the design. She didn’t have the magic or appendages to work such fine craftsmanship on her own, to her dismay. So, instead of making the item for him, she decided to put part of herself into the piece of jewelry. ”Now you’ll always have me with you.” She held the earrings out to him so he could clearly see their designs. In the center of each earring piece was a scale of her own. It was polished and shined and preserved before it had been delicately placed into its golden setting.
”I hope you like it...” she spoke with a lower tone, a shy whisper. Would he like what she had made for him? Would he hate it? Would he tell her if he hated it? Was it too personal? Too soon too fast? She knew he wasn’t all about the flashy - he’d worn cloaks throughout most of her memories with him, so she hadn’t gone extravagant in the design, but should she have? ’No, it’s perfect for him.’ she affirmed to herself. ’Even if he doesn’t think so, I know so.’
”No, there was nothing in there for you, not in this one.” Her words said no, but her face seemed to say yes. She seemed to be grinning a little and he stood by, curiously suspicious of her. ”Uh huh…” he said, his eyes watching her carefully. His ears flicked forward with anticipation as her lips turned to a grin and she pranced over to him. She held something out toward him and he peered closer with eagerness. A pair of gold earrings. The metal was an intricate work, attached to a smooth, greenish-blue scale. It was the same color as Enya’s scales. It was Enya’s scale! ”Now you’ll always have me with you.” Caedwyn was unsure how to react at first. His tail was wagging, giving his emotions away. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been given a gift, much less by someone he cared for such as this. ”I hope you like it...”
Her voice had lowered. It was softer. Almost a whisper. It was a tone he hadn’t heard from her. Finally finding his words, he let a confident smile come to his maw before stepping in closer to her. He pushed his neck against hers in a quick embrace. ”It’s perfect.” he said before dipping his head down and tilting to the side to offer her his ear. Luckily his ear on that side was already pierced on that side or there might have been some blood offered to Tsillah a little earlier than planned. After allowing a moment for her to place the earrings (if she chose to), he lifted his head, his eyes looking to find hers. ”Perfect like you.” he said softly.
The sun had dimmed, disappearing below the horizon; and without him even realizing, the stars had risen above them in the sky. A soft blue glow outlined her form under the moon and starlight. The scales on her face caught the light just right, twinkling. It was perfect. He stood quietly admiring her, soaking in the moment.
The only thing that wasn’t perfect was those damned candles. The thought intruded his mind quite abruptly. Those fucking candles. It pissed him off. He’d somehow forgot to bring matches (or some other lighting device) to set off the candles. As beautiful as the moonlight was, he was endlessly irritated by the fact he forgot! As the anger rose in him, suddenly bubbling up, suddenly a warm light flickered off to the side of him. His head snapped over to look at it.
A candle had ignited on its own. What the fuck? A puzzled look came to his face. ”Did you just see that?” he asked, a bit startled. A singular candle rested, standing where he had placed it earlier next to the altar. Its wick was lit, clearly ablaze and flickering a little with the passing breeze. Its gold light burned bright against the dark of the night around it. ”The candle… it’s lit.”
