"Ghede LaVeau...." The name hissed on the wind, followed by the hollow rattling of bones, wood, glass, and rock. A crude hut, crafted of driftwood and thatch, perched on the rocks and mangrove roots, on the edge of a rotting river that emptied out into the sea.
A man stood in the doorway, ancient and gnarled by years forgotten. His hair hung in strands that appeared as unkempt and knotted as the mangrove roots. There were small, pointed bones pierced through his ears, and he wore a necklace of sinew, strung with rib bones. Ringlets of dried grass decorated with rat skulls were tied about his ankles, and a dirty brown and black wolf skin hung front and back, covering his loins - the only clothing he wore. The body itself was thick-skinned, leathery and wrinkled, but the mind was sharp and powerful yet.
The inside of this home was decorated similarly; shelves upon shelves held various items of deep curiosity. Bone powder, teeth, skulls, lizard skins and fish scales. Perhaps the most curious of all were the human heads, so strangely small and shriveled. The hut, and the man, smelled powerfully of fresh grass and salt.
"What ya dare, comin' here alone, small one?" The wolf, indeed very small and very alone, was enraptured. She had never seen or heard anything like this before, and now strange feelings were shocking through her veins. The words she couldn't understand, but the feelings... the feelings were not her own.
The youngling crept closer, wary of the water between her and the startling creature in its den. Quietly, the man stepped outside the den and stooped to move a small log. As he did this, a larger log fell across the narrow river, creating a bridge. When the man was satisfied, he turned and re-entered the den, moving deeper inside, and out of sight.
The sun had long gone down by the time the pup was flattened to the log, halfway to the other side. Her eyes were still wide with wonder, even more so now that a flickering dull-golden light was spilling out from the den's opening, and cracks in the walls. However slowly she moved, the light, the man, and the den were beckoning her. Through tiny niggling bits of fear, she pressed on. Her ears flattened to her head and her tail laid flat as well, pressed against the log.
As the wolf neared Ghede's end of the log, the man rolled onto his belly. He was laying in his bed, a driftwood frame lashed together with sinew, deer hides stretched over the top and covered with a mat of thatch. From this angle, he could peer just outside of the doorway, and would be able to see her the moment she finally passed his threshold. A pale green mist seemed to hover around his eyes, as if he were wearing a mask, and the expression held on his face was one of patient need.
Finally, the pup cleared the log and regained purchase of solid ground. It was surprisingly dusty and dry for being so close to water, and she once again felt unsure of herself. Small dust clouds arose as she padded towards the strange den, resolute to enter, to find the man she had glimpsed last sun. Boldly, the pup stalked around towards the den mouth, standing stock still as she arrived at dead center of the entrance.
They saw each other all at once, and the mist around his eyes cleared. "What are you?" she asked of him, though all the man heard was soft whines and yips. They had the same color eyes, he noticed - the same green of the cleared mist. All at once, Ghede cleared his mind and envisioned the pup resting on the ground beside his bed. He focused on feeling calm and safe, and he focused all of this towards the wolf. "We are kindred." he muttered as he projected all of this onto the youngling.
The youngling cocked her head, still standing in the doorway. "Family..." she uttered as foreign feelings invaded. She suddenly felt that it would feel very nice to rest now, and that this was the safest place to do so. As she cautiously placed a paw across the threshold, painful memories came flooding back to her. She didn't have family anymore. They had gone in the night and not come back, and thusly she had set off wandering... until now.
All of these feelings and small bits of the knowledge of her parents abandonment rushed into Ghede's mind, and he jerked with the sudden and unexpected pain. He had not known loss in a very long time, and now he struggled to keep the feelings between himself and the wolf calm, safe, and warm. He watched as the wolf slowly crossed through the doorway, paw after paw. "Tsh, tsh, tsh...." he whispered as she drew nearer, tilting her head to look up at him as she passed by his bed. She circled twice and pawed at the dirt, keeping her eyes on him always. "If ya stay, ah'll give ya your own nest." he promised, softly. With that, the pup layed herself down and, closing her eyes, drifted off to sleep.
