What has gone on before:

After returning from retrieving Beatrice from the clutches of the Cult of Klynn, Sue went to reassure Rael, her brother in all but blood, that she was indeed well and safe. He revealed his intention to confront Jeremiah Creed, the Ronin Ragabash who had raped his wife and threatened his children. Seizing the moment, Sue all but dragged Rael from the Fruited Plain's garden rooftop and into her Sanctum...

The present:

July 2, 2000 - Evening - Full Moon
Sue's apartment - The Fruited Plain
Manchester, NH

Full of ornate and exotic detail, this room strives to mimic the majesty and color of the ancient Hindu temples of India. A six-foot high mural is centered vertically on the east, west, and south walls, melding into a semi-circular curtain of bone beads painted black, white, and a deep red. This curtain serves to obscure the doorways to the other parts of the apartment and as a backdrop for a simple altar placed at it's center upon a black lacquered table. The floor is equally ornate, composed of triangle-shaped tiles picking out the geometry of a yantra in colors matching the beads.

Faux columns of Eastern style stretch from floor to appear to fade into a vaulted ceiling, an illusion cleverly contrived by fading both walls and columns to black and painting the ceiling in that shade as well. A glittering of what appears so much like stars also hangs there, spattered across the 'sky'. The only other light sources within the chamber are sconces upon the columns, two slender torchiers on either side of the altar, and the small brazier upon it. Furniture is also scarce, consisting of a low, low bench that runs the room beneath the mural's edge and a low table off to the side seated with black cushions. From somewhere there is the gentle, tranquil sound of falling water, and perhaps a hint of flute.

Rael follows.. a trifle bemused.

Sue finally releases his wrist, closing the door before she begins to speak "You know that we are not truly brother and sister... "

Rael nods. "Not in this lifetime, any road."

Sue nods a little, trying not to bounce, but there is just this bit of excitement bubbling under the surface "I know a way... it will not make us physically related. It is sort of an... adoption. In the ritual, we declare our relationship to... to whichever entities we follow. For me, that would be Kali."

Rael quirks a brow.. but supplies, helpfully.. "Ptah. Amongst others. Though.. Owl is probably most appropriate, and he'd appreciate it."

Sue nods once "It really does nothing, but tell them, and ask their approval. Whatever they choose to do after, is up to them. If you are willing...?"

Rael nods. "Of course, dear one." Curious.. and intrigued. "You /are/ my family, after all."

Sue smiles a little, then turns to her altar "If Owl approves, perhaps he will tell me if something happens to you." She glances back once, as she lays out her knife "You do not mind a scar, do you?"

Rael just.. sighs. "You mean to match the fifty dozen others?"

Sue says "We can ask for an indication of approval in another way..."

Rael grins. "I'm teasing you, dear." He moves towards her.. a trifle uncertainly. "none of.. well.. /most/ of the ones I have don't really mean anything important.

Sue smiles back over her shoulder "I don't have any... but I will keep this one. I might not be able to remove it!" She chuckles, striking a match and dropping it into the brazier. Before it can get hot, she lifts it, turning to set it on the floor. She lays her blade over the grill, then bends back up for the bottle of murky water and a few sticks of incense. Gesturing across from herself as she sits, she offers "Become comfortable... I will make it so we will both be heard."

Rael nods.. and just settles across from Sue, relaxing. He's good at relaxing, lately.

Sue, though, does seem to be having problems concentrating. It takes quite some time for her to focus her will enough to reach her goal. Perhaps it is the excitement, but at long last, the result begins to become apparent. At first it is the merest of shimmer, a resistant vacillation that can perhaps be detected, which grows in strength and glow. It envelopes Sue, then reaches towards Rael, distorting the appearance of this plane with over lay of the next, much as the center of a Caern. After several long minutes of sweat-breaking manipulation, the Gauntlet finally gives... and parts beneath Sue's power, both worlds overlapping and meeting in congruence in this one place, where the both sit.

Rael straightens.. /this/ at least, he knows - and respects. And.. he seems somewhat startled, to tell the truth.

Sue waits until the scene firmly settles before opening her eyes, lifting her gaze back up towards Rael's single eye. She lifts the knife, carefully offering him it's haft "Call Owl's attention, Brother... make your request, and cut my left palm. Then I will do the same of Kali."

Rael says, simply, softly.. "I'm no crescent moon, Sue.. " He doesn't take the knife, yet.. "I will need your help."

Sue nods a little "I can cast your words further, but you need to speak them first, so they are yours."

With the boundary removed, it might indeed seem as though Kali is already present, in the multi-limbed shadow that seems to lurk just behind Sue's own, the figure of her Avatar, more clearly seen without the obfuscation of the Gauntlet.

Rael chuckles, then... and calls - "Brother Owl, keeper of the mysteries - I, Kinslayer, Ankh-ten-Anubis, beg your presence. Will you come?" Conversational, and earnest.

Sue repeats the words softly, though they yet resound through the room and beyond as she pours her magick into them, echoing exactly as Rael as spoken, save for pronoun, to the inflection even if it is only her own soft voice "Brother Owl, keeper of the mysteries - Kinslayer, Ankh-ten-Anubis, begs your presence. Will you come?"

At first, the words seem to elicit no response. Then with a fluttering beat of wings, Owl is there, flapping to the perch offered by the shadow-figure's arm. To Rael he directs his words, so only he may here ~~ I am here, Cubsitter. What is this? ~~

Rael smiles to Owl, and inclines his head. "It's been a long time, Brother Owl." He looks to Sue, then.. "This woman is my dearest friend, a sister of my heart, if not of my blood. She wished you to witness a promise between us.. and I would wish it as well."

The huge black owl turns his head in that oddly cocking way he and his children have, fixing first Rael with his piercing, golden gaze, then Sue. ~~ You have many brothers and sisters already. Why this one? ~~

Sue didn't miss Owl's arrival, but she respectfully holds her silence, feeling something more is going on then she is privy to, at the moment.

Rael looks up at Owl, then.. "Because her life is mine, mine hers." Simple. "We are not mates, but we teach each other, share each other's tears and laughter. She is.. family. And.. I have brothers and sisters, but very little family."

Owl twitchs his wings a little, settling himself a little more upon the shadow-arm held out for him. He seems to weigh Rael's words in those large eyes, before cocking his head in a nod, once ~~ Proceed. ~~

Rael smiles, and looks to Sue. He still hasn't taken the knife.. and, simply, he holds his hand out to her. Oddly, an aside to Owl.. in very rapid-fire Egyptian.

Sue offers her left hand in return, striving to catch the rapid spout of words... and missing most of them as she waits for Rael's part in this ritual to be complete.

Owl blinks once, and would look amused if an owl could ~~ Then she will need to leave me thirteen mice, one a day. ~~

Rael reaches out.. and takes the still-proffered knife.. then, a soft murmur.. "I'll let her know that." Now he seems.. well.. /highly/ amused. But, he sobers, slightly, as he cuts Sue's hand, as she asked him to do - as quick and painless as it can be made, an inch long, no more.

Sue's jaw clenches at the cut, but the dagger is sharp and thus quick to do it's work under Rael's hand. A line up blood wells up in the cut as she keeps her hand turned palm-up to the sky, reaching to take back the knife.

Rael hands it back, hilt first.. quite calm, really.

Sue takes it, her own freshly wounded hand reaching for her brother's right as she begins to speak. "Mahakali, Kalaratri, Great Goddess, Great Mother, Night's Mistress, please turn Your fierce eyes in benediction upon me, Your Daughter, and this, Your Son. We are brother and sister as all men and women, sharing You as our Divine Mother, are siblings, and more so through our devotion to each other. My life is his, my sister's-love is his, may You bless this union for all that it truly is."

With every word that Sue speaks, the shadowy woman behind her grows in form and figure until she appears to be quite solid, a giant woman of blue-toned skin supporting Owl on one of her many arms. Her black hair flows freely, and her hands bear various weapons.

Rael blinks. Quite simply blinks. He does, however, have the good grace to remain quiet.. and settle in to watch Sue, specifically, his hand still offered, unflinching.

Kali does not speak, not even to Sue, resting one of her many hands upon the crown of Sue's head as Sue lifts the blade, cupping Rael's hand in her wounded one as she swiftly draws the dagger across his palm, opening an identical cut. Quickly she drops the dagger and moves her left hand to now press palm to palm with Rael's right, allowing our blood to merge and mingle as she quietly speaks "As left is to right, as dark is to light, as man is to woman, is brother to sister, apart but both a part of a whole."

Rael winces only slightly..and just watches Sue, calm.. and accepting.

Something curious happens at the joining of hands, after the last of Sue's words has echoed away. It almost seems like some sort of heat, and the way their hands begin to become translucent, it is like a light is being cast between them, even as joined as they are. The sensation of heat rises, approaching a burning intensity.

Rael bares his teeth - an instinctive gesture.. but it is, perhaps, a mark of his trust that he does not pull away, gripping a trifle tighter, instead.

Sue clenches her jaw against it, forcing a deep breath through her teeth, releasing it slowly through her nose. The searing heat continues to mount until nearly unbearable, the glow expanding to encompass both his hand and hers. Just when it seems it can get no more intense, it abates, vanishing as if it had never been.

Rael says nothing.. staying, perhaps characteristically, silent. He does not pull away - trust, indeed.

Sue gazes up at Rael, her dark gaze meeting his lone eye. Nothing further seems to happen for those several long moments, until Owl hoots ~~ I do not have all eternity, Kinslayer. Look at your hand. ~~

Rael grins at Owl.. and, dutifully, frees his hand, looking down at it.

On Rael's hand, there is a very red scar, far different from the simple line Sue's blade drew. It is a rather ornate symbol, actually, from a language alien to Rael. Sue looks at her own palm as Ra draws his hand away, puzzling over the glyph raised in reddish flesh on her own hand.

Rael quirks a brow.. and.. well.. is nosy. He leans over to peer at Sue's hand, as well.. he /is/ a Strider, after all.

What Sue's hand bears is instantly recognizable to Rael, even if his own marking is not. What is written on the flesh of Sue's palm is the glyph for 'sister'.

Rael grins, and looks to owl.. and Kali. "My thanks, Brother Owl. And you too, great lady.. this means a great deal to us."

As Rael peeks, so of course Sue must, her own curiosity burning. As with Rael, she can recognize the marking on his palm, not the one on her own. As he offers his thanks, so does she, her quiet voice rising after his "Thank you, Owl. Thank you, Mother..."

Owl ruffles his wings, preparing for flight ~~ Don't let her forget about the mice. The roof will do. ~~ He launches himself off the goddess's arm with a single, powerful beat of his black wings, taking off for places only he knows.

Rael chuckles, softly.. and looks to Sue. "how well do you handle live rodents?"

Kali's departure is much more sedate... and silent, raising a single hand in the gesture for benevolence and blessing, before fading once more into the shadow she sprang from. Sue glances up to Rael at his words, blinking once "As well as any other living thing, I suppose... why do you ask?"

Rael smiles, sweetly. "You need a few mice."

Sue gingerly feels at the mark on her palm "Whatever for?"

Rael says "You think Owl does /anything/ without a gift?" A soft chuckle. "He won't have to hunt for thirteen nights. I'd advise hitting a pet store for larger mice.. but it wasn't me he asked to feed him.""

Sue ohs. Then ohs again. "Would he mind if I... numbed them? So they wouldn't... suffer?"

Rael nods. "Yes." A soft chuckle. "It is the way of things, Sue.. but he gives as well. This building is going to be positively overrun in a month." Highly amused. "We once went looking for Twice-Born. Not necessary, now."

Sue murmurs "I know it is the way... it is also the way for an owl to find his own meals... but I will do it."