Dove's Blood: The Bonding (WIP)
The Bonding
Chanting began along with a thrumming, rhythmic thud. The wolf was laid into the circle and chanting began. The wolf had Mariska’s teeth powder dusted over it by the tall, thin man. The robed woman sprinkled fur and blood on Mariska in the same sort of weird way. The bloody marks on the floor started to glow at some point. They felt warm and comfortable.
Her hands and feet were released and the stakes pulled out so she laid next to the wolf free to move once more. However, her heavy limbs and distorted senses refused to work together in any coordinated way. It was easier now to make out the shapes of people and tell that the lights in the kitchen were no clouds. As her mind cleared, Mariska leaned up. The glowing ritual circle was now burned into the floor of her home. The tile blackened and pitted were the blood once was painted. A steady glow of fiery light streamed up from the floor and inscribed its pattern in reverse on the ceiling. Around her figures of various sizes in ritual robes chanted. Some held drums, others knelt with a pot of blood before them. Two had chunks of meat in baskets before them. She thought she noticed Jek, the tall, thin man the woman called ‘the Alpha’, and that woman as well.
Mariska narrowed her eyes and lifted her arm against the glow. She saw only shadows beyond the light. Slowly she lowered her arm, paused, and stared at it. No… not at it, but through it! Her arm was see-through, ghost-like with fog-like streamers trailing off as if she were dissipating or made of smoke. She lifted both hands to her face, then inspected her whole body. It was the same. She followed the trails with her eyes. They led to the wolf’s prone form. Her body was also see-through, however her trails were coming towards Mariska. She didn’t understand any of this.
The chanting increased in tempo and the thrumming of the drums rose in volume. She felt a tug at her heart, forehead, navel, bladder, hands and feet all at the same time. These spots on the wolf glowed as well, and its body slowed slid towards Mariska. Its head lifted and its eyes opened. She felt a mental touch brush her consciousness. Pain, sorrow, anger, hatred, anxiety, and curiosity that had an alien texture to them. Mariska gasped. It was the wolf’s mind she felt. It was weakened, dying, and wanted to survive.
Again the rhythm of the drums and the chanting rose.
Impulsively Mariska reached out a hand, wanting to ease the poor creatures suffering. They touched. Suddenly she felt an increase in the pull and watched in dismay as her hand faded into and blended with the wolf’s paw. She tried to pull away, as did the wolf, but the force pulling them together was powerful. Panic set in for both her and the wolf. They struggled to push away from each other, but where ever they touched each other they merged.
Chanting began along with a thrumming, rhythmic thud. The wolf was laid into the circle and chanting began. The wolf had Mariska’s teeth powder dusted over it by the tall, thin man. The robed woman sprinkled fur and blood on Mariska in the same sort of weird way. The bloody marks on the floor started to glow at some point. They felt warm and comfortable.
Her hands and feet were released and the stakes pulled out so she laid next to the wolf free to move once more. However, her heavy limbs and distorted senses refused to work together in any coordinated way. It was easier now to make out the shapes of people and tell that the lights in the kitchen were no clouds. As her mind cleared, Mariska leaned up. The glowing ritual circle was now burned into the floor of her home. The tile blackened and pitted were the blood once was painted. A steady glow of fiery light streamed up from the floor and inscribed its pattern in reverse on the ceiling. Around her figures of various sizes in ritual robes chanted. Some held drums, others knelt with a pot of blood before them. Two had chunks of meat in baskets before them. She thought she noticed Jek, the tall, thin man the woman called ‘the Alpha’, and that woman as well.
Mariska narrowed her eyes and lifted her arm against the glow. She saw only shadows beyond the light. Slowly she lowered her arm, paused, and stared at it. No… not at it, but through it! Her arm was see-through, ghost-like with fog-like streamers trailing off as if she were dissipating or made of smoke. She lifted both hands to her face, then inspected her whole body. It was the same. She followed the trails with her eyes. They led to the wolf’s prone form. Her body was also see-through, however her trails were coming towards Mariska. She didn’t understand any of this.
The chanting increased in tempo and the thrumming of the drums rose in volume. She felt a tug at her heart, forehead, navel, bladder, hands and feet all at the same time. These spots on the wolf glowed as well, and its body slowed slid towards Mariska. Its head lifted and its eyes opened. She felt a mental touch brush her consciousness. Pain, sorrow, anger, hatred, anxiety, and curiosity that had an alien texture to them. Mariska gasped. It was the wolf’s mind she felt. It was weakened, dying, and wanted to survive.
Again the rhythm of the drums and the chanting rose.
Impulsively Mariska reached out a hand, wanting to ease the poor creatures suffering. They touched. Suddenly she felt an increase in the pull and watched in dismay as her hand faded into and blended with the wolf’s paw. She tried to pull away, as did the wolf, but the force pulling them together was powerful. Panic set in for both her and the wolf. They struggled to push away from each other, but where ever they touched each other they merged.