Her soul flew just beyond her reach within the limbs of the trees. Tavi's eyes were dry. No tear for Si gi na, it seemed. She felt no sense of direction, no tangible thought, only a picture of a girl floated in her head. She remembered a name. "Tovi" the dead girl sucked in oxygen she no longer needed but took in as a habit.
Bright yellow eyes shown in the otherwise pitch darkness and Tavi knew it was the Wolf. She stopped her shuffling and looked ahead. A low growl moved on the wind and fell upon her cold ear. Then the wolf spoke. "Your time here is over, Si gi na." The wolf walked from the brush and stood defiant.
Tavi's head was heavy and she pulled it up wearily. Her skin had become tight and ungiving and there was much effort to look at the beast. Her thoughts were erratic, filled with flashing pictures and strange sounds. The flying soul continued on its journey through the trees then came back to hover just above her. It laughed mischeviously. Tavi looked up at her lost friend and frowned.
"I have to find something." Tavi spoke then touched her face trying to remember.
"Something...Tovi."
"NO!" The wolf spoke without moving its mouth. "You cannot sit with her again. You are sisters no more." He seemed angry as he paced back and forth in the path. His paws sritch scratched the leaves that were scattered there. The wolf was impatient.
Tavi's confusion echoed in her hollow chest. She looked up at her soul with questioning eyes. "What do I do?"
The wolf paused and stared at Tavi. "You must take your soul and go to the underworld. Tovi must not find you or she will join you there. She is searching for you and I am feeding her lies to keep her from your people. If she returns to them, she is also dead." The wolf appeared almost angry as he growled once more. "But your soul is free and it is hungry and she would become as you are." The wolf seemed confused by his revelation. It was as if the Raven was trying to play through his mind. Raven sat chuckling in the nearby branches with an almost humanlike smile upon its beak.
Tavi caught a glimpse of a memory. Tovi hugged her and begged her to stay in this vision. Tovi loved her and she needed her more than anything. "NO! I want her with me, Wolf! Maybe I want her to join me there. There, we can be together...no more..pain.."
Tavi sobbed but no tears came. Her dry throat heaved and blood poured from the hole in her chest. "What...what..happened to me, Wolf?" Tavi gasped over and over. If there was any breath that remained, Tavi would have been suffocating.
Another vision flashed in her dead eyes from deep within her brain. Tavi stopped still and closed her eyes.
Chanting...there was chanting from many elders. Tavi was afraid. Yes, the Tavi that was alive in her vision was afraid. Chants and songs were sung as someone approached her. She lay stretched out...on something. Ropes, bound tightly round her arms, legs and her mouth. She felt so much fear, tears and sadness. People moved closer and closer as they chanted. Tavi saw it and started to panic. The knife was brandished before her. It was brought up very high. Tavi saw the moon behind the knife right before it dropped.
The vision faded as Tavi's dead lips emitted a horrible scream. She gasped and fell backwards. Her body floated to the ground supernaturally and turned in its mental agony. She screamed again.
The wolf stared and his face changed before her. An incredible sadness mixed with his noble anger and it soften his scowl. He grew tall and slender and the wolf changed to man. He walked toward the demon and comforted her. The soul floated close to the man's head. He could hear the soul's whispers.
"Tavi, they have betrayed you. You are dead."
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