[ P ] ice

i used to wake up with the moon

praying for the sun to die soon

Nyx quietly savors the moment, allowing her touch to linger, her paw to settle comfortably in its place. The smile on her face must look stupid — she tries to train it back into more of a smirk, but she cannot help her excitement. It isn't every day that she receives this kind of attention, that she is wanted so blatantly by a woman like this.

But truly the most novel thing is the subject of their conversation, about ancient goddesses Nyx had not heard of until tonight. Rhiannon indulges her nosiness, her curiosity quenched for now as she learns the other woman honors not only the fierce, dark protectress Macha, but a triptych of feminine divinity.

The word 'fate' makes Nyx's brow furrow very slightly in concentrated thought. So Rhiannon, too, is a believer in destiny and knows a wolf's fate is written in the stars. Nyx understands this goddess, Arianrhod, is not quite the same as the Moirai she knows from her own faith but she takes on their very same role and perhaps more.

”Cerridwen, however, is my familial deity, she who my foremothers revered. She is the white witch, who gifts magick to those she deems worthy,” says Rhiannon.

Nyx perks up in an instant, looking directly at the silver woman with wide, nearly wonderous eyes. "Magick? So you are a pharmakis? A sorceress?" she asks, the Greek term being the first to come out in her excitement.

Curiosity itches at her fur once again, her satisfaction being only temporary it seems. Rhiannon reveals she (they?) honors her patron goddess on the nights of the full moon... Nyx follows her counterpart's gaze upwards to take in the sight of it, still days away from its full phase. Of course. There is nothing more invigorating than to bathe and worship in the light of the moon, its energy the most enlightening and potent on the nights it's at its fullest. ”What do you do to mark the occasion?” Rhiannon inquires.

Not taking her eyes off the moon's silvery face, Nyx provides her answer. "Well, for me, the full moon is the time to meditate and reflect, to harness its energy for my rituals, to invoke Artemis..." She stops mid-sentence when she feels Rhiannon's warmth slipping away. Nyx straightens up and automatically moves to follow her, reaching towards her with a paw.

"What's this? Leaving already?" asks Nyx with a tilted head and just a ghost of a smile.

@Rhiannon

i used to get caught in the clouds, with blood on my face, with the strangest smile

hoping for the wind to carry me away

"M

agick? So you are a pharmakis? A sorceress?" The expression on the other’s face and her accurate assumption pleased Rhiannon, and she made no attempt to hide her enjoyment. What was the point of doing that? ”Just as the Divine, I, too, have many names ascribed to me.” And that was all that Rhiannon said to the subject, at least for the present night.


The sight of the other’s outstretched paw nearly weakened the silver woman’s resolve to go, partnered with the low octaves of the other’s voice: "What's this? Leaving already?" But Rhiannon smiled gently as if she had known Nyx for many months rather than a short collection of moments. ”Yes, dear Onyx, not tonight.” Leaning closer again only for a moment, she echoed the sentiment in a voice barely above a whisper: ”Not tonight.”


She was assured by her intuition that they would meet again, by one path or another, and that Nyx may sense the same; Rhiannon could not predict in that moment, but had little doubt she would see the handsome ebony wolf again in her dreams sooner than not. Her body still felt the pull, like the moon to the earth, to return, to stay. But everything within her dictated that some aspects of life were worth waiting for. Anticipation was part of what made existence so interesting. She had not expected to find such an alluring stranger that night, but she was grateful to the Feminine Divine, for whichever goddess saw fit to show the two wolves such generosity and kindness.


Candidly, she would add: ”There is an event in the Mainlands falling days before the next new moon, some foolishness of the king…” For a moment, she hesitated in her invitation. Who in their right mind would care to be so near the so-called monarch? Her visage hinted toward her disgust in the whole notion of a ruler. But Rhiannon was the adventurous sort, and she had mischief in her mind. ”I imagine it will be quite the spectacle. I have, by some strange coincidence, acquired entrance to a garden party, plus one guest of my choosing. One to whom passion is assured.”


”You will find me at the garden gate that night.” She did not wait for a reply. Instead, she offered a final smile and farewell before departing into the shadows once more. ”A pleasure, truly.” For both of us.




/exit Rhiannon

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck