from dust we come, to dust we return

Gravedigger skill.

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It felt like it always rained here, mountains unlike his where the snow fell heavy and steady relentlessly, his thick outer coat only dampened as he moved about the small hole he'd dug and buried within it a rib bone from his latest kill: an old hare, its scarred fur as neatly tore from the flesh as much as wolven teeth could manage, the flesh half-torn into as he took his time covering the bone. M'Jakuna had said the farewell, harvested, once he patted the last of dirt into the hole—he returned to make use of the meat.

Unlike the times before, his ears twitched to the sound of footfalls, and dark eyes lifted from muddy paws, blinking through raindrops, and met those of honey. "Hello?"

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Paws digging into the earth, discovering treats buried beneath? No, leaving. Meresankh decides she's going to pretend she doesn't know the location, though it lasts as a wound in the earth. She knows it would be rude to dig up someone else's kill. She can make her own. But she stands there, feeling duplicitous and deceitful. She could wait until this man leaves, then take it...

No. She's been spotted. Heard, rather, as her stealth isn't quite as good as she'd like it to be. Instead, she puts on the face of someone who isn't waiting to steal that which is not hers. She pretends she is Good and Righteous, as she never has been. She's always stood in defiance of morality, of the Gods, of Proper Behavior. But is she a thief? She is not quite so sure. "A chance encounter," she says, voice thin from days of travel. "Worry not about it. I don't come seeking a fight."
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His brows furrowed a little, adjusting his body where he could better face her as she approached a little, and he stepped forward, space between them respectful and the dip of his head one of greeting. "Chance indeed," said M'Jakuna, tail tip flicking as his eyes slid over her, tilting his head. "May I be so bold as to ask you what you do come seeking?" A pause for breath, and he went on, "Are you well? You sound... well, as I did before I found this place to settle for a bit."

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He asks, and she almost feels silly for the reply. "I've been looking for my children," she says, a wry smile crossing her face. "They're old enough to hunt, but not alone. Not quite old enough to be without me." Well, one of her sons... Their relationship has always been strained, since the life where he had ripped her throat out. She's trying not to take it out on him. He's not coping with eternity as well as the others. Perhaps that's the reason she needs to be near him now. "I... have not rested much, no. It is rather urgent." She peers over his shoulder at the scar in the earth. "Were you blessing that patch of ground?" Her gaze becomes curious, as if to change the subject from her missing brood.
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Oh, he shook his head, feeling rather low for the woman—when he appeared on this land, in this world, it was alone... he wondered if she knew yet how odd this place was. M'Jakuna wouldn't find it his place to tell her, knowing better than to stand between a mother and her children whether or not it made sense where they now stood, instead he'd tell her, his voice rumbling deep, "You have my condolences... I never wander with a place in mind, perhaps if you wish for another set of eyes, I can offer mine."

M'Jakuna knew a hint when he saw one so subtly presented, followed her gaze to the hole he'd dug, then back to her. "No, no... I didn't bless anything, I was putting my kill to rest—respecting the hare's contribution, without it I'd hunger and for that, I thank it by allowing it a proper burial. That's all, blessing is not what my people do," he explained, stepping aside to reveal the meat of the kill. "Come take some, urgent as you must be, there's only so far one can travel with no food."

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His condolences are taken with a smile. "I wouldn't shun the help, no," she states. "I'd be a fool to do so. I'm sure they'll survive some time without me, especially if they're close to each other... But Mother Worries, and that's the best I can offer." Then the smell of rabbit hits her nose and she exhales smoothly. "I wouldn't say no to a bite to eat," she says, before addressing the spirituality of the situation. Or rather, the lack of it. There's no words about gods, and she almost feels relaxed. No need to explain that the gods are callous children on the anthill, holding magnifying glasses to the sun. And the creatures below will burn to death in its rays, without concern for the gods above.

She's been burning for so long. Her health should fail her soon. Last time she drowned in her own lungs. This time? Who's to say. But she's alive again, defying the gods with each step.

She digs into the hare, taking a few precious mouthfuls and savoring each one. Then she speaks. "Do you claim these lands, then? You mentioned your people, and I did not think myself intruding on claimed land."
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"As any mother should—your children, they're lucky to have you... your concern," he said, allowing her to step past him and reach the hare without a word, settling down on his haunches as he tilted his nose from right to left, watching their surroundings rustle and flow with the wind, the rain making funny little puddles of impressions in the dirt—allowing her the respect of eating without prying eyes. "Tell me when you plan to move, I'll follow."

At least, until she beckoned it with words, questions. "Oh, no, not here... Habit, maybe—before these lands, I led a pack, the Juh'harah. We don't subscribe to... religion, blessings, what have you. It's entirely unnessecary, not when the earth is under our paws and deserving of our focus," he said, flicking an ear. "I'm seeking to rebuild my pack in this world, though. Slowly. That's why I'm traveling is all, for the time being."

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She listens with one ear perked, glancing towards him with interest as she takes another few bites of rabbit. Then, despite years of living, she still refuses to speak with her mouth full. She waits to chew and swallow before responding. "I had a pack as well, but not quite a large one. Just myself, my mates, and our children." She had been the one chosen to carry the children, and for that, her blood curse had returned two souls to her. The third, a new soul, would yet to learn the truth of immortality.

"I wouldn't say I don't believe in the gods," she continues, "but you're right to not give them reverence. What god has a mortal's best interest in mind?" She offers a wry smile. "We do things for them that make us miserable and do not improve our lives, and for it, they kill us without second thought." She stretches. "I am Meresankh. I hope you don't feel I'll be intruding, because I feel my ends and your ends don't necessarily disagree. I'd like to join you in rebuilding, since it seems like a good way to keep me fed while searching for my brood. It would do no one good if I moved on to the next life before everyone else."
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M'Jakuna nodded, he'd never personally seen what he saw as blood packs but they seemed compelling even if he preferred the likes of large numbers and the chore that came with them. "Those always seem cozy," he mentioned, never one to speak ill of another's preferences.

After a moment of pondering, he hummed. "To me, knowing something exists and believing in them are different things," he said, offering to her a slight smile, attentively listening to her—careful and purposeful in his response that he waited for voice to taper away to reply. "I've always found it hard to believe some great other is deserving of our attention, respect... It's never been a God or religious teachings that have guided me, or helped me—it's been my pack, the earth offering prey to eat and a place to call home." He offered, tone proud as his posture at the prospect of being able to talk of his beliefs. "That's what my pack has always stood for. Ancestors, wolves who've come before us, they deserve our attention, any praise, and the earth, the prey... each deserves the respect of what they give us."[narrow]

[narrow]It surprised him ever so briefly that she'd want to join him, a bare-bones pack consisting of only himself and his beliefs, but he didn't doubt that it was enough. The wolf who this pack was name for a lifetime go, Juh'harah, had once started only with herself and what she believed in when wolves fell victim to influence—abandoning their traditions. "Meresankh, I'm M'Jakuna... and I'd be more than pleased to have you join the Juh'harah. You'll stay fed... and we'll find your children. I'll be at your side as we do." Another beat, and he said to her, "I've been settling my bones at a lake further south for some time. I can lead us there soon as you're ready, we'll look for your children as we move... I'd also bring no fuss if you'd like to settle for the night, and recoup a little. It's quite a ways." Of course, he left this in her hands, He'd never place himself as the decider on what a mother chose to do.

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There's weariness in her bones, but she can keep moving for some time. She listens to M'Jakuna, taking in his name and committing it to memory. Perhaps it will be only this life where she roams with him. She'll tell him of her past lives later. It would be odd to tell him that she is technically her own ancestor-- and that she's had so many bodies and bloodlines that at this point, she has no connection to any of them save the other Khalduns.

It's a good sign he doesn't seem to mind that she mentioned multiple mates. She's never minded having more than two, and while Yosife has been her partner for aeons, she has had lives without him. Or lives where their relationship has changed, and she has accepted that. She's simply glad to have had him. No, for now, she worries more about the children.

"I am fine being a part of a pack that stands for unity and the life we carry," she states. "You're correct-- only the material matters. This life is all many will have." She won't get into reincarnation. "I am fine to travel. I think it would be safer near where you rest, for both of us. Do you have many others that have joined you thus far? I would love to meet them."
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Meresankh breathes as a wolf that lives to the point, not necessarily hurried but uninterested in hiding intentions behind words to soothe a stranger's palate. He rather liked that. M'Jakuna favored the world of blunt creatures and honesty at no matter the cost, so long as no teeth were turned. He listened, watching the way the river flowed and the sunlight fell like glitter upon the surface. "It's pleasant to find another with such a likened mind here, a relief—back where I come from, so few outside of the Juh'harah believe in the way of the wolf; the way of the now, of us, awh, it's a real relief to meet you. Absolutely," he said to her, voice sincere. "A few have showed interest but certain... beliefs, this honoring for one, it unsettled them some I believe... but they'll be as welcomed as they were if they return and if they do not?"

M'Jakuna shook his head, offering a smile as he rose to his paws with a crack of bones. "One wolf with a heart and mind of the beliefs is worth more than a dozen stewing in their hesitation," his tone wasn't ill, while some could take his words harshly if they did try, in fact he spoke with a carefulness that was telling of how highly he saw her already—not of how poorly he thought of one unable to return to their roots. He'd never force the Juh'harah on another, it simply wasn't pure and it simply wouldn't maintain. You couldn't force legacy or lasting. "Come, Meresankh, we'll make way for the lake. If we travel through the night, we'll reach it by the morning. At any point, if you wish to stray and search, tell me and we'll stray."

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And what else is there to say? To argue? She's already found a purpose, a pack even. She puts her bones to use, standing and heading towards where M'Jakuna beckons. "It would be good to rest," she says. "Even if we aren't many... If you build it, they will come, as the words are said. In time, I hope some wolves see the beauty and joy of life. That is all I wish to impart."

Her gaze turns up to the empty trees, noting their hard-closed buds. "In spring, these trees will bloom," she says. "And then this entire mountainside will be awash with green. I hope to see it." She offers a slight smile, thinking of the colors that it will bring. The animals it will waken. The blossoming green, the beautiful flowers beneath. She breathes deep the mountain air, knowing in due time she will know the names of all that dwell here. "Well, M'Jakuna, I follow."
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