WM [30] The Need To Commune

WM [30] The Need To Commune

The morning started the same way it normally did. Joha led Tanisha and Bjorn through stretches and breathing techniques. Followed by a detailed accounting of all of their goods in preparation for their sales. Tanisha didn’t sleep the previous night and instead took a concoction she made to keep herself awake. Bjorn knew she was trying not to think about the werewolves tied up in the cellar. Especially after he stopped her from using her seiðr infused fist to execute Adelheid.

He wasn’t sure why he did it to begin with. He didn’t care about either of the assassins that threatened her life and even agreed with killing them. If Bjorn was there when they attacked, he would have used every available ability he had to ensure they were put down permanently. Something about Tanisha executing them just felt wrong to him in a way he couldn’t quite put his claws on.

Is it because they were already beaten? Did I feel like it would change Tanisha somehow?

Then the memory came to him. The execution of his mother in his past life. The memory was so vivid and intrusive that Bjorn reared on his hindlegs and fell backward. Tanisha and Joha ran to check on him and he did his best to show that he was fine.

“We will be staying together in town today.” Joha said. “There is a chance that the rest of the pack will come for their missing members.”

“Okay.” Tanisha said in a whisper.

Joha was hitching his horses to his wagon. “If you aren’t feeling up to it today you can stay in my wagon. Alfred will find us if there is any sign of Sabec.”

Tanisha was silent, letting the words hang in the air for a while before she finally spoke.

“What do you think I should do? If you were me,” she said.

“That is a difficult question to answer. Firstly I am far older and far more powerful than you. Moreover, I am capable of living with my choices. Fact of the matter is there is no right or wrong here at least when it comes to demons. In my homeland if someone attacks us or our loved ones we attack back with just as much furocity if possible even more.

“They killed your son, you take their family. Then they escalate and take your hometown and you take their country. It never ends, it is just constant bloodshed and pain. Even so, to them it is a game. Maya numbs pain; it protects us from the things we fear and what we fear to lose. If I told you I would kill them, would you? If I told you I would show them mercy would you do that instead? The Way of The Rakshasa is a path to power and freedom. In this case you have the power and the freedom to choose.”

“What if I choose wrong?” Tanisha questioned.

“Then at least it was your choice. I told you once power has a habit of changing people. It gives us shortcuts to solutions that we otherwise wouldn’t have. It is good that you are questioning the choices you make. However, when you make them be ready to face whatever comes with that choice. You are my apprentice and I will have your back and I will help you stay the course you choose. For now go get your wagon ready.”

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot about those. Didn't she get like venom or something from you?”

“She said her venom is different from mine. She doesn't have fangs or anything, it's literally her saliva and it's necrotic instead of–– actually of what did she call ours again?”

“A neurotoxin, it means that it shuts down the nervous system. Hers on the other hand will break down cells causing the body to die. Now that I think about it I feel sorry for her future boyfriend.”

“Why?” Bjorn asked.

“She won’t be able to kiss them or anything.” Failsafe said.

“Wendigo don’t kiss as it is. They do that nuzzling thing. Their teeth and tongues are too sharp to kiss each other. So kissing isn’t in their culture; they consider it a human thing.” Bjorn said.

“Their tongues are sharp?” Failsafe questioned.

“Yeah something like that.” Bjorn said then shifted to get back on track. “Anyways, she got the ability after I bit her during the fight with Thyra so maybe the other abilities will work if we expose each other to the magics.”

“If that was the case shouldn't she have the Poison Cloud ability or something, she's been around you while you've used it multiple times now. What would exposing you to the magics entail? I will admit that I am intrigued, but I don't think she'll actually survive if you target her with the majority of your magic.”

“I'm not trying to use Plague Fire or anything like that on her, but this isn't about her gaining my abilities, this is about me gaining hers. Specifically the Wind Hands. When I used my venom on Tanisha there had to be some kind of trick as to why that gave her venom.”

The two were silent for a while as Bjorn followed Tanisha into her wagon where she quietly went through her various goods to take inventory. She then took out an apparatus he had never seen before. It was her cold infusion basin. She meticulously set up the device and once it was done she rolled her neck.

“Okay, let’s figure this out.” Tanisha said.

***Author Note***

Things got pushed back because of the hurrican in the Eastern U.S. but we should be back on schedule now.