Chapter 124: The Bloodmark Burns!
Selka looked over at the pack elders, Nyra and Syra. The two older wolves nodded solemnly, stepped inside Selka’s den, and returned carrying a flat stone slab and a collection of strange, primitive ritual ingredients, placing them carefully before Selka.
Selka looked up at the sky, waiting for the very edge of the silver moon to peek over the trees. She sat down cross-legged on the dirt.
First, she placed a chunk of raw, bright red ochre onto the flat stone slab, using another heavy, rounded stone to crush it into a fine, blood-colored dust.
Then, she pulled out four thick, weathered wolf claws and began grinding them down with ferocious pressure.
Nuan gulped, her sensibilities suddenly taking a hit. "Uh... whose claws are those?" she whispered.
"Hm? Oh, they belong to my late husband," Selka replied casually, not breaking her rhythmic crushing. "It is necessary to add the powder of the clan’s strongest ancestors to ensure the mark takes hold. Don’t worry, Furless."
"Wow... I—I thought those would be incredibly precious to you!" Nuan murmured, her eyes wide.
"Haha, they are, but he left me twenty of them!" Selka chuckled warmly. "I can easily spare four for you, dear. It is a ritual."
"Hm? Yeah... cool... I guess," Nuan mumbled, her inner monologue sweating profusely. Note to self. Primitive mourning customs are metal as hell.
Once the claws were reduced to a fine white powder and mixed with the red ochre, Selka poured a thick, sticky dollop of glowing tree sap into the mixture.
Then, without a single second of hesitation, she brought her own forearm to her mouth and bit down hard.
"Tsss!!!" Nuan shivered violently, her hands instantly flying to her own arm. "Miss Selka! What are you doing?!"
But Selka simply held her bleeding arm directly over the stone mortar, letting a few bright, thick drops of her own blood fall directly into the paste. "It is the ritual," she repeated calmly, her eyes fixed on the mixture.
Nuan swallowed hard, her eyes glued to the stone slab. The fuck... literally everything about this ritual is turning out to be super weird! she thought frantically.
Suddenly, the red paste began to violently bubble. A strange, wispy purple vapor started releasing into the air, and the mixture rapidly transformed from a bright crimson into a deep, swirling, almost blackish-red.
"Why... why is it reacting like that?!" Nuan gasped, taking a half-step back on the boulder.
Down in the crowd, Koda jumped up and chirped enthusiastically, "Because it burns like the red evil when it touches you!"
"WHAT!!!" Nuan’s head snapped toward the pup, her jaw dropping in sheer horror.
I’M GETTING A TATTOO OUT OF THAAAAT?! NOBODY DID WARN ME ABOUT THE CHEMICAL BURN INGREDIENTS!
Nuan looked down at Kael sitting right at her feet and shook his shoulder. "Kael! Tell me that thing doesn’t actually burn! Give me some emotional support here!"
"Hm?" Kael tilted his head, completely relaxed. "From what we have all heard, everyone who receives this mark says it burns like the red evil. But the red evil kills you, and this mark doesn’t. So they must be lying!"
"Like that explanation helps at all!!! Oh my god, I am so screwed!" Nuan whined.
Selka looked up at the sky, noticing a few stray night clouds temporarily blocking the moon. "Let us begin," she announced, her voice turning deeply solemn.
The entire pack shifted, gathering in much closer around the rock as the ritual commenced.
With a soft poof of mist, Selka transformed smoothly into her massive, elegant wolf form. She stepped forward and dipped her front right paw directly into the bubbling, steaming dark-red paste on the stone slab.
"Nuan, come closer."
Nuan took several incredibly hesitant, trembling steps forward until she stood right in front of the big wolf. "So... where does it go?" Nuan asked, nervously swallowing as she knelt down on dirt, tilting her chin up.
Selka didn’t say a single word. With one deliberate, powerful movement, she brought her wet, heat-radiating paw up and pressed it firmly against Nuan’s bare skin.
The placement was exact—the upper center of her chest, right below the collarbone and just beneath her neck.
"Awaaaa waaaa wooooo!!!" Nuan screamed at the top of her lungs, her hands instantly flying up to hover over the spot. "It burns, it burns, it burns!!!!! It stings like a thousand wasps!" She chanted frantically, closing her eyes tight and forcing her head back as she tried to gulp down the intense, searing chemical heat.
Right at that exact second, the heavy clouds up in the night sky cleared, revealing the brilliant, glowing orb of the full moon.
Seeing the celestial cue, every single pack member threw their heads back, stared straight up at the moon, and let out a massive, synchronized roar of a howl!
"Awwoooo wooooo wooooo!"
I am crying in actual physical pain right now, and these dense guys think I’m just enthusiastically joining in on the howling?! Nuan hissed internally, tears pricking the corners of her tightly shut eyes.
The heat continued to sear against her skin.
Finally, Selka lifted her heavy paw away.
Left behind on Nuan’s chest was the perfect, vivid imprint of the wolf paw, complete with four sharp, distinct claw marks radiating a deep, magical crimson light.
With another soft shift, Selka transformed back into her human form, wiping the remaining dark-red paste from her hand before turning toward the crowd.
"From this moment on, the good witch Aestra is an honorable, permanent member of our clan!"
"Awoooooooo!" Kael howled proudly, throwing his chest out as the rest of the pack—and Selka herself—joined back into the thunderous celebration.
Nuan, still catching her breath, looked down at the center of her chest.
The burning sensation was slowly fading into a warm, comfortable hum, leaving a beautifully detailed, reddish-light paw mark permanently etched into her skin.
"Cool..." Nuan sobbed happily, admiring her brand-new prehistoric ink. "Awwooo..." she let out a very soft, tiny exhausted howl to herself.