There's a song in your lung and a dream in your eye.
She recognizes most of them, familiar faces that have inhabited the jungle alongside her as they waited for the right time. For this very moment. She waits patiently, gaze lingering upon the now grown jaguar. Lagertha is speaking then, warning them of the potential outcomes should they conceal dishonesty and betrayal in their hearts. Joscelin has no fears in this regard. She had made her choice long ago. She would not change her mind now.
The red and white mare watches silently as others make their oath, as they receive the jungle’s gift. Behind her still features, her heart thrums a rapid tattoo, excitement and apprehension warring within her. The spirit seems to be speaking to them. She wonders what it might have to say to her.
Finally it is her turn. The jaguar is before her, gazes clashing as their eyes meet. Her voice when she speaks her oath is clear and steady, the words strong as they pass her cracked lips.
” To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life.”
The moment the last words leave her lips, the large cat is there, warm breath winding across her skin. The vine snakes up from her hoof, bleeding into her skin with only the faintest of tingling sensations. A dahlia bursts into bloom across her chest a moment before the tingling races across her back, leaving behind an intricate network of scrolling lines interspersed by tiny bright sunbursts.
Her attention is drawn back to the jaguar as it stares at her with unnerving intensity. Finally it speaks, the words whispering through her mind rather than the air. ”You know your purpose, Joscelin. Do not let them lead you astray.”
With that, it is gone, moving on to the next sister, leaving Joscelin to wonder at her meaning.
Joscelin
Tiphon x Elysteria