#shikaka

So. This is why I've been quiet for a while.

I am...honestly super fucking proud of myself. And in love with pastels a bit. Now for detail shots!

This is an example of a traditional headdress worn during ceremonies of this kind. This particular one features the head of a pale widow (see pg 123 re: vampires and insectoids) and the sensory petals of an arachas.

The elder bleeds herself as a form of sacrifice, giving her life-sustaining blood to fuel the ritual. To do this she pierces herself with arachnomorph fangs in the ears, and endraga warrior spines in her nose and nipples, leaving them in to keep the wounds open. Later the blood will be gathered in a jade spoon to be burned in order to transfer the offering to the metaphysical world.

'Elders eyes' are often strung around places of religious importance to keep malicious auras away, and are seen as a way for the elder to 'watch' a space when they aren't physically present.

Here we see a triad of excarnated ancestors, brought from their usual resting spots in richly decorated niches in the cave walls to act as both symbolic witnesses and displayed in a totemic context as participants. Around them are various ritual objects; the red and white braided cord and jade medallion are symbols of prosperity and health, and the clay effigy at the center has been decorated with the petals of a sacred flower and the red moss of this world. After the ceremony it is destined to be buried as part of a separate ritual.

I did my best to fuze the traditions of Romania-the origin of so much of vampiric myth used in the witcher-with the symbology of Mesoamerica, the home range of the very real vampire bat, and a little of the flora from what we see of the potential vampiric homeworld. Idk about you, but a terrain that's very difficult to navigate if you don't have wings or the ability to make huge leaps from one spot to another like garkains exhibit, is overcast in perpetual dusk no matter how long you meditate and has little fluttering flocks of bat-like things just roaming around? Yeah, strong contender there. Probably just me though.

Chapter 219

“Maa, someone looks a little gloomy.” 

Shisui looks up just as the shadows around him coalesced in to the shape of a fellow shinobi. Not one he recognized, although that wasn’t so much of a surprise. He wasn’t in ANBU himself so it stood to reason he wouldn’t know which mask belonged to who. The silver hair automatically made him think of Kakashi, of course, but the infamous last of the Hatake line was far from the only person in their village with white or silver hair and Shisui had learned his lesson the hard way a dozen times over not to make assumptions. 

With a slight shift of his weight he made room on the bench for another body only to quirk up one side of his mouth in a reluctant smile when the ANBU chose to perch on the small edge of the backrest instead. How contrary. And entirely unnecessary. He very much hoped he was friends with this man outside the mask because that was just the sort of ridiculousness he enjoyed. 

“I’m alright,” he tried to protest. A heavy and very pointed silence followed until he sighed in defeat. “Okay I’m not alright but I’m not injured or anything. Just...worried.” 

“Sometimes it helps to talk about it.”

“Oh. Um. Are you sure? You probably have something a lot more important to do than listen to me whine about my personal problems.” 

The mask of the Hound tilted to one side. “My duty is to care for the people of this village in any way they might need my protection. Even if that means protecting you from whatever’s going on inside your head, I suppose.” 

A little bemused, Shisui let out a quiet chuckle. It was a very roundabout way to make the offer but he was grateful all the same. Maybe the two of them really were friends. He couldn’t think of any other reason one of their most elite would reveal themselves and take the time just to speak to him over a gloomy expression. And maybe it made him a bit too trusting to consider opening his heart to someone without being totally sure he could trust them but Shisui had always had a strangely open heart for an Uchiha. 

“If you want to listen to me blather on then more power to you, friend. Just let me know if I make you uncomfortable. I know a lot of people can be squirmy when someone wants to talk about their soul words.” He peeked sideways just to check that his companion hadn’t disappeared and was pleasantly surprised to see the other lounging comfortably. 

“Nah, doesn’t bother me. If you want to spill your secrets then be my guest.”

“Yeah. It's just...I get worried sometimes, you know? The words have changed a couple times over the years but they’re never...great.”

The ANBU tensed ever so subtly. “You think you might be matched with a missing nin or something?”

“Oh no! Actually that never crossed my mind, although now I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it out. What I meant to say was that I worried for them.”

“For them?” The naked surprise was easy to read in just those two words.

Shisui waved his hands vaguely through the air as if they could illustrate his point. “Well yeah! If the most common opinion about them has been negative my whole life then I’m guessing they probably haven’t had an easy time of things. Imagine everyone around you thinking you’re a demon or something? Or that you’re going to turn out like someone else. I hate being held to someone else’s standard.”

He knew he wasn’t doing a very good job of explaining himself but his mind was a bit of a jumble from treading the same worries over and over again for the millionth time. Before looking up he paused to rake both hands through his hair and grit his teeth, grinding them together like that might relieve some of the knots in his chest. When he did look over he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. Somehow the sight of loose shoulders and the weight of a heavy gaze wasn’t it. Clearly something he’d said had been surprising but after going over his own words a few times he still couldn’t figure out what he’d done to cause such a reaction. 

“Are you okay?” he ventured. The question seemed to jolt the other back to reality.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just a little startled. You’re quite the selfless one, aren’t you?” 

“Eh?” Shisui rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck. “I’m nothing special, I don’t think. Aren’t soulmates supposed to worry about each other and stuff?” 

“I just meant that most people would worry about themselves first but not you. Your first thought is to wonder if they’re okay. That’s...nice. Not a lot of nice people left in the world.” Although he couldn’t see the ANBU’s face, Shisui thought he could almost hear a smile behind those words and echoed the expression without thought. “You know, I don’t think you need to worry very much. I’m sure when they find you your soulmate will have everything they need.” 

Shisui beamed, his chest oddly light as though a burden had been lifted just like that, but there was no time for thanks. Before he could do more than part his lips the ANBU had lifted a hand in a two finger salute and then melted in to the shadows. Either he’d been summoned or realized the time or perhaps he’d just grown tired of their conversation. It didn’t really matter. Whatever his reasons for leaving Shisui was just glad the guy had taken the time to sit and let someone dump their troubles on him. Even if they hadn’t really had time to get too deep in to the subject or anything, just speaking what was on his mind and getting a little reassurance in return had been the one thing Shisui didn’t realize he needed. 

Maybe, he thought, he would get the chance to thank the other someday. He really hoped so.

Far beyond the other side of the village a figure broke out of the shadows with fumbling steps to catch his weight against the closest tree, breathing hard. Leaving so abruptly when they were clearly still in the middle of a conversation was definitely rude but he consoled himself that at least Shisui couldn’t be too sure who was behind the mask. Not to mention with such a constantly positive outlook he was fairly sure the other young man wouldn’t think too unkindly of him anyway.

Reaching up to frame his own cheeks, Kakashi pulled away the face of the Hound and tilted his head back, closing his eyes to the sunlight streaming through the trees. Several heartbeats passed in utter stillness. Only when his thundering heart had finally slowed did he bring his chin back down, eyes drawn to the glove covering his left hand like a magnet drawn to a lodestone. He didn’t need to peek. The words underneath were branded on his heart just as every other word he’d ever borne was. Still he dropped the porcelain mask carelessly to the ground and tugged at the clawed fingers of his left hand. It was hard to remember how young he’d been when he first started wearing his signature gloves even outside of duty but next to the mystery of his hidden face not many people had ever questioned such a practical fashion choice. 

“As bright as the sun,” he read aloud. 

Then Kakashi smiled. Laughed a little even.

“I can’t say they’re wrong, Shisui,” he whispered to the trees around him. “About either of us. And I’ll tell you about it very soon. There’s been hints that the Sandaime wants to remove me from ANBU. Maybe it’s a sign that I need to stop hiding behind all these rumors.” 

Lifting his head once more, he brought a hand up to cover the sun above him and let its brilliant light halo around the precious words that had kept him sane and whole through the darkest of times. No matter how deeply he delved in to the shadows, no matter how many whispers of demon and just like his father had followed him through life, Shisui’s words had always been positive, waiting patiently to draw him back to sanity with reminders that there was good in this world, that there was someone out there waiting to find him.