Lion Head Mesa things replace things
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#1
All Welcome 
@Maegi but aw! let me know if you need the location changed

sascha has been up to nothing. while this indulgence in sloth appealed at first to their hedonistic tendencies, the young melonii has grown bored with spending their days lazing and picking at the bones of rabbits. their fathers would be quite displeased with this showing. yet when they'd finally made their way to blackfeather forest, the place had been largely deserted, speaking of some conflict their lazy ass had managed to miss entirely.

all the better, then, but it does not solve their current problem. with a sigh, the soot spot lowers themselves against the flat surface of a rock they've procured, drinking in the faint residue of heat from the sun overhead and waiting for an opportunity to present itself to them, bowtied.
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#2
Once upon a time, Maegi had never wanted to set foot outside the woods. And sure, she still preferred to remain within the trees, against the backdrop that was so familiar to her. But the flight to the Bypass and the subsequent trip back had given her a little taste for adventure, and so, the girl put a tentative foot outside their southern border, wondering what new things were close by to explore.

Though it was cold and blustery, the snow-blanketed expanse was much better camouflage for her white pelt than the darkness of the forest, and she slipped clumsily through the plains without any creature giving her much notice, if any at all. Soon she came upon an expanse of rock, breaking jaggedly above the prairie. In the distance to her left, she saw a towering mountain, and even higher peaks beyond that.

It was truly a very wide world, outside Blackfeather Woods. And she'd barely seen any of it.

Hobbling through the rocks, Maegi kept her black nose low to the ground, wondering if perhaps prey lurked in the nooks and crannies here. Kove had taught her a little about hunting, and she was getting better at it; might as well practice, right?

Before she could pursue the scent of a vole she had picked up, movement ahead distracted her, and her bicolored eyes shot up, narrowing as she tried to make out the shape. It moved, transforming into a dark wolf with bright eyes, bathing in the light of the sun. She cocked her head curiously, limping boldly up to the rock where the stranger lay and peering intently at its face, wagging her tail in wordless greeting.
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#3


thoughts drift aimlessly behind their closed eyes, not quite dreams but half-formed, pleasant things. except for the weird sensation they're being watched. when it continues just a second too long to be nothing sascha's own bicolored eyes snap open, landing on the mismatched gaze of the child currently staring at him.

sascha starts, an inelegant "gwah" escaping them as they scramble into a defensive crouch, the fun along their dorsal ridge raised. the last of their grogginess clears with adrenaline and they actually process the small form - some kid with a messed up foot, wagging its tail at them. not a threat. sighing, they relax and stretch back out, their expression smoothing out into an annoyed frown. "jeez, kid, nobody warn you not to creep up on strangers?"
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She jumped when the other did, taking a few clumsy steps back and nearly tumbling backwards in her haste. The stranger's perturbed words reached her ears, and she shook her head as she took a deep breath, trying to get her heart back at a normal rate. "No," she admitted. "Sorry."

Maegi shrugged her shoulders, looking up at the wolf, which she thought was a man, though with very fine features. Maybe about Vaati's age, or a bit older, with orange and yellow eyes.

"I'm Maegi," she introduced herself. "Who are you?" The mesa was quite close to Blackfeather Woods, and while she didn't catch the scent of the invaders on this wolf's pelt, the sight of an unknown face so near her home put her on guard.
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#5


they blink, a line appearing between their brow. at least she's honest. "well, don't," sascha says pointedly, making no effort to extract themself from the conversation or end it. on the contrary, they straighten up a little as she introduces herself. "sascha melonii," they return evenly, gaze flicking toward the forest nearby as they ask,"you from blackfeather?" it would make sense, or else this kid's just wandering around with no parents or anything, in which case, ugh, sascha would probably have to take care of her or something.
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She frowned, feeling bad once more for startling the stranger, and was about to open her mouth to apologize again when the wolf gave a name. Her ears cupped forward eagerly, eyes widening as she stared at him--looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Did you say Melonii?" Maegi exclaimed softly, tail thumping a couple times against the ground. "That's my name! Maegi Melonii." She tilted her head, staring at the dark-pelted form above her. "And yeah, I'm from Blackfeather."

Maegi felt a rush of excitement course through her as she realized what this almost certainly meant. They were family! She had family, outside of the ones she had met. Of course, she knew that--knew that Meldresi had relatives all over the place--but she had never expected to run into another. At least not one from outside the Woods.

"So you're related to Meldresi, right?" she pressed eagerly, grinning. First finding Cicero alive, and now this! After weeks of darkness, the light had broken through the clouds at last.
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#7


there is a certain panache they expect dropping the name melonii around here, but the girl's reaction still takes them aback. at least until she explains that she's also a melonii, which does not surprise them, all things considered, but is probably worth noting. 

"she's my aunt," sascha answers, and rises to their feet to stretch before stepping down next to the girl. they're not gonna get back to their name any time soon, might as well lean in. "say, what happened to you all? last i checked the forest, it was basically deserted." their ears prick forward as they speak, curious. they'd learned a little bit from potema about blackfeather, but nothing that would indicate, say, a preference for seasonal migration, or a giant underground cavern they occasionally all vanished in to.
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Maegi looked at Sascha in wonderment, a stunned smile still stretching her muzzle. At his mention of the abandoned Woods, however, her mouth drew downwards once more, eyes clouding over with grief. "There was a war," she murmured. "Some died. We had to run away."

Her eyes looked toward the mountains, the rugged crags her brothers and she had somehow managed to navigate. "They went that way," Maegi said, nodding in the direction of her gaze, "and I don't know when they'll be back. My brothers and I came to find our father."

She looked back at the other Melonii, her expression once again melting into something pensive--pious, almost. "Did you know Meldresi?" she asked, wagging her tail in curiosity. Or. . .or Miraak?" Her throat closed tight around the name, mutating it into a half-strangled, mournful sound. His death still hurt her as badly as it had that fateful day.

Should she tell Sascha? Maybe only if he had known Miraak. There was time enough to get her distant relative caught up with everything he had missed, especially if Sascha followed her back to the Woods and settled there.
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#9

war? thank the gods they'd elected to wander for a while -- they were wholly disinterested in involving themselves in something so droll as some pack war. undoubtably it was for some noble cause, religious conquest or punishment or what have you. undoubtably their fathers would have insisted they'd dedicate themselves to the cause if they'd been around, but, hah, they weren't. 

they think to make a slightly sympathetic face at the child. "i never met meldresi," sascha answers, tensing at the way maegi's voice chokes around their uncle's name. "i knew miraak," the melonii says, their voice dropping slightly, suspiciously, "he.. trained me some. before he left. why?"
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Oh, Miraak! Her chest clenched in agonized grief once more, as Sascha spoke of his knowledge of the man. Gods, he had even learned from her uncle, just as she had. Now he was gone, his body resting still in Blackfeather Woods. His soul was joined with his sister's once more.

"He died," Maegi said, voice flat as she tried to work the words through her throat muscles, drawn tight. "In the war." She looked down at her feet for an instant, trying to compose herself. It did no good to show any strong emotion toward Sascha, especially not when they had just met.

After a moment, she glanced back up, taking a deep inhale then exhaling with a sigh. "So why did you come here?" she asked, tail flicking in curiosity. "Just to find your family, or something else, too?" She was intrigued by the adventures wolves took part in, the stories she had heard from various adult members of her pack.

Euron and Ramsay loved to adventure. She was a homebody. . .but she loved the tales.
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#11


funny, they'd half thought miraak would be dead when they first got here, and the idea hadn't bothered him then. but he's gone off and died in some war when sascha was out taking a nap in the field, and that is just... it just won't do.

"oh," they say dumbly, watching the way her tiny form seems to close in on itself. are they expected to offer some sort of comfort here? presumably they were close? or... well, whatever, they aren't going to. and the child seems to want to move on to a different subject anyway. their brown creases for a moment and then smooths out. miraak's death is something they can process later, when they're alone.

"my fathers told me to," sascha answers, then realising how..childish that sounds, hastily course corrects. "i mean, they felt it would be a shame to keep me for themselves, and i agreed, as i am quite useful and talented and beneficial to all that i meet." ahem. much more impressive, sascha, you've really put the stars in her eyes. they suppose now is as good a time as any to commit to the thing.. even if miraak isn't there anymore. "so.. war's over, then?" they ask casually, glancing toward the forest with obvious intention.
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#12
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his self-praise. Besides perhaps proud Vaati, Blackfeather wolves spoke with their actions, not words. They were dark and deadly; they didn't have to spin tales of their own greatness in order to be great. Talented and useful this wolf may be, but Maegi would have to see it to believe it.

"Yes, it's over," Maegi responded coolly, flicking an ear to dismiss her cynical thoughts. She stared thoughtfully at Sascha. "Are you going to come live there? Be. . .useful for us?" There she let the barest hint of scorn enter her tone, though she delivered it with a bland half-smile.

The newest member of her family should at least see where the Meloniis had chosen to dwell for several generations, now. Mourn over Miraak, if he indeed had been this man's teacher. And perhaps Vaati would like him well enough to invite Sascha to stay.
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#13



they expect the question but until it's said they aren't sure how they want to respond. really what they want to do is continue to live out a nap-filled existence... but. one of the few motivating things in their life is guilt in disappointing their fathers. and now, fucking, miraak, who's dead and not around to scold them anymore or be the cool mentor figure they'd lowkey hoped for.

fuck it. "yeah," sascha says, only moderately resigned. there's no real excuse to linger now. "i'll go back with you." and so the melonii finally accepts their fate. maybe they'll even learn something from the experience.
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Maegi nodded once in acceptance. "All right," she chirped, her voice becoming cheerful again. She flicked her ears toward the edge of the dark forest. "Let's go!" Without hesitation--not even looking back to see if Sascha was with her, really--the girl stumbled off, clambering down from the rocks and making her way down onto the plains.

It was then she turned her head back to Sascha. "We can't go very fast," Maegi apologized, gesturing with her muzzle at her twisted paw. "Sorry." With a sigh of resignation, she stared forward again and kept going, her gait an uneven cadence on the snow-packed ground.

It was like a child, bringing home a lost dog. Can we keep him? She didn't see why not. He was a Melonii, after all. He was family.

Then again, so was Potema.
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#15
wanna close this & i'll start a new one at bfw?

whatever hangup maegi seemed to have about them vanishes as soon as they agree to follow her back to the forest. part of them already regrets this, but hell, they aren't about to back out of their word -- they're flaky and self-interested but they are not completely unreliable. 

besides, they kind of feel bad for the girl, what with her wonky paw and all. especially when she apologies for walking slow. "no big deal," sascha says in their version of a reassuring voice (flippantly). unaware of the girl's exact relationship to the melonii line, sascha secretly hopes they can avoid their cousin potema -- they had not made the best impression on her first go 'round.