Ouroboros Spine let me guess, someone stole your sweet-roll

@Damien <3

murgash had originally gone off for marigolds, but true to his nature, was incredibly errant in his errand and before he knew it he had no idea exactly where he was. the coast was a far ways yet, but he could still scent the brine when the wind favored him. he was not overtly pertubed by his loss in bearings; as far as he was concerned, everywhere was murgash-land and he'd make do just fine.

what was bothering him was the complete lack of mother-flipping daisies; it was daisies the atoll wanted, right? murgash had been so excited by the suggestive nature of doe's words that his inward boner had interfered with his hearing. he muttered to himself as he picked his way down a rock-blasted hill, swinging his ugly muzzle to and fro as he searched for the stupid posies. marigolds. whatever infernal name they went by, they were in the way of him getting laid tonight (or so he thought) and he was very, very surly.

<3 :D

Without mind his legs had carried him away from Blackfeather Woods that cold day. He was growing worried about his younger sister's fate, fearing that she was perhaps too young to be out there alone. Although her trail was long lost, Damien was sure that he knew what road Kendra had taken that day. He walked past his own barriers, further in that direction that he'd ever walked, and then kept walking some more, but Kendra was nowhere to be seen.

The wraith was about to turn back, defeated and hopeless after days of searching, about to draw on the last hope that the last daughter of Meldresi would one day find her way back home. But a foul scent clouded every thought. Damien looked around, seeking the emitter, to find an equally disgusting looking creature walking down the hill. Damien squints at the beast, instantly getting a bad feeling about him, and his fur bristles as a response.

"Where is she?" he asks, his face stoic as he steps on his way, verging on the edges of rage. His clouded mind could think no further than that he was sure he'd find his sister here, that he would take her back home, and the only thing standing between himself and her was the quag and his smelly drool.

sullen and no better for wear, the drudge picked his way down the slope. it was rocks, rocks, and more rocks - and not a flipping flower to be seen.

but there was something else to be seen, and instantly murgash drew the conclusion it was a thing better off not seen. a male, far bigger and meaner looking than he, had come his way directly. murgash slowed to a stop, which was a difficult thing to do when one was going downhill -- never the less he looked the stalwart male right in his captivating white eyes, unflinching.

there was something ominous about this male, something downright aggressive -- murgash felt what little remained of his fur prickle along his spine in self-defense. he had not seen damien's shoulder yet, and as such, remained guarded.  "oi don't know where she is." he said in a thick brogue, uncaring if the male was unable to understand him: "now, cueld ye be so koind as to point me in the roight direction for mary-goulds; would be roight 'precciated, mate."

there was a twinkle in the miscreant's eye as he awaited the male's reaction; as far as he could tell, the wolf was in no mood to play games.

that was murgash's favorite mood to play with.

would Murgash have a mark too? :0

The reeking one comes to a stop, and stands in self defense with what little he could. Damien lets out a soft growl, reinforcing his previous statement of dominance as he takes one bold step closer. But it's all of little use, for the rat gives not a piece of information about Kendra away, and instead asks Damien to point him in the direction of some Mary he didn't know. It grinds Damien's gears, and puts him in a worse mood than before.

"What on Sithis' name are you talking about?," he snarls, wondering whether he'd even got the creature's words correctly. "Tell me where my sister is or I will unleash his wrath upon you," he warns, holding the other's rotten gaze with stark eyes.

the merry twinkle in murgash's eyes remained, even as damien closed the gap with a damning snarl. murgash was not intimidated, though if he had an ounce of good sense he would have been -- instead, he lifted his mangy, scabby chin and returned the stare ruefully.

he was sizing damien up, quite visibly -- and the odds were not stacked in good ol' murgash's favor. luckily for him (and unluckily for damien) murgash didn't play fair -- and he was in the process of mentally drafting up some sort of dirty maneuver when the wolf's words gave him pause.

sithis.

murgash's muzzle contorted in a sneer; what did this wolf know of sithis? marigolds and this kendra wolf were immediately forgotten.

he pulled himself to his full height, though his lack of fur certainly made his posture seem less daunting. no other wolf had mentioned sithis -- was this a trap? a trick from the mainland? murgash rallied himself inwardly -- if only he had not been face to face with the stranger, perhaps he would have seen the red hand on damien's shoulder. alas, he did not -- with a quiet yet dangerous tone to his voice the blackrock wolf queried darkly: "wot is loife's greatest illusion?"

The creature was not responding to Damien's threats. He tried to make himself bigger, failing to match the shadow's height, but managing to deepen his anger. His snarl grew deeper too, and he took even one step closer to the rat. Murgash was getting more annoying by the second, and the dark prince was getting riled up real quick. But the words he spoke next saved his sorry ass.

Damien pushed every thought about Kendra to the back of his mind. Had he gotten the words right? His pale eyes immediately sought the rat's shoulder for confirmation, but they couldn't see whether the gremlin sported the dark mark through it's ragged, dirty fur. So they went back up to his own, foul eyes. The dark prince was now calmer than before, but skeptic to no end. Damien had not heard of other sects or branches of the Brotherhood in a considerably close distance, so the possibility of this being one of their agents made him wonder why he'd come so far.

"Innocence, my brother" were the words he returned. Only those words could confirm whether this was truly a dark brother, and if he was, things would have taken an unexpected turn.

murgash waited, breath raspy -- when damien's reply came without hesistance, rehearsed and confident, murgash knew. a visible change in demeanor came over him; he was among his kin, his brother -- while the hackles were slow to settle his shoulders and tail lost their stiffness.

he craned his neck, following damien's earlier movement and there upon the wolf's shoulders was the red brand of the brotherhood. murgash grinned, a goofy, strange expression -- he lacked the fur to carry such a mark proudly.

"roight - good answer. an' de color ov noight is sanguine an' all det shit." he replied, looking damien over. the marigolds were forgotten. "now - who it be ye lookin' for?"

omg sorry about this post...
it's weird

The creature was pleased with Damien's answer, and the change in his stance was evident. Damien's posture changed as well, and now his eyes looked at the other more calmly. They were brothers, after all.

Damien wanted to ask why he didn't have the mark dyed to his shoulder the same way he did, but he could think of a few good reasons not to sport it himself, and so the thought was pushed aside. There was no need to know more than just the necessary.

The wolf asked a question of his own, this time on a serious note to Damien's surprise. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as he was ugly. "Kendra," he replied, keeping their relationship to himself. "A yearling of dark fur and blue eyes. A silver dot over each eye, you will know it's her when you see her," he added, but also felt the need to say that "She mustn't know I'm looking for her, I only need to locate her." And with that he felt he'd said enough about her, he didn't want some fleabag harassing his baby sister, but knew that he could be of use to, at least, know her whereabouts.

"What about you?" he asked in return, feeling the need to give the creature something in return should he vow to help him with his own quest.

it's not weird!!

murgash had not seen a wolf that matched the likes in which damien described, and it showed clearly on his hideous visage in the form of slight disappointment. he was not certain what the missing wolf meant to damien, but somehow, possessed better sense than to ask.

"oi'll keep mine oeyes open, den." he said cheerily, regaining his normal bounce. he assumed it was an escaped captive, or maybe a sex-slave -- he liked that idea.. for a moment, his eyes clouded as he thought of how delightful such a possession sounded..

he snapped back to attention, feeling sad as the wistful thoughts of erotica slipped from his mind like smoke. "offishal bizness," he said quite darkly, canting an eyebrow in damien's direction. "a loight must be snuffed, see." he waved his tail as if gesturing with a hand something along the lines of 'it can't be helped' -- and a thought crossed his mind. "wot's de brutherhood doin' in dis part? oi was not aware oi would be coming to friendlee territ'try."

creepy AF!
<3

It appeared by the way the dark brother's face dulled down that he hadn't seen Kendra. But he offered his help, and Damien says "Thanks," with a courteous bow. It was only correct for the dark prince to offer his services in return. The ragged wolf stated that he was on an assassination mission, to which Damien responded with a comprehensive nod. That was the Dark Brotherhood's specialty. That was Damien's dream.

"We could be of help," he offered promptly, "I lead a branch of The Dark Brotherhood, complete from Listener to Silencer. We reside in Blackfeather Woods, a dark forest to the Northeast," he explained, pointing in the direction of the dark patch in the panorama when a question came up.

"We're a dispersal branch. Our founder's goal was to extend the reach of the Brotherhood," he explained, grimacing as the memory of his mother touched his heart once more, and then a thought crossed his mind. "There's a place for you with us, if you wish to take it," offered the dark prince, leaving the decision entirely to the creature.

murgash wanted deeply to be back in the brotherhood's fold; there was structure, discipline -- while he was not the most obedient, he had always enjoyed a purpose.

but he had purpose out in the wild - a target -- perhaps once his task was finished.

"oi appreciate de offer -- very kind, very kind." he said, his tail waving behind him with cheeriness despite the darkness of the subject. "when all dis is done, eh? wot doirection roughlee, so oi's cen find ye when oi'm done?" he was aware damien might want to keep the location of their door a secret, so he lowered his gaze for a moment. "oi'm murgash by the way, living now et blackrock depths by de ocean if ye need to come foind me."

Want to finish this one soon?

Damien nods, understanding that the brother has delicate matters to attend before he can decide to take the offer. He'd shown interest and that was enough for Damien, who hadn't been expecting to find a prospective recruit for Blackfeather Woods in his journey.

Murgash asked for directions, promising to look for him once his deed is done. "From here you'd only need to go east until you find the great lake, and then north until you see Blackfeather Woods. You will know you've found it when you see it," he explains, trying to find the easiest way to do it.

Murgash was the name of the beast, and Damien repeats it in his mind to make sure it's not forgotten. "Damien," he offers in return, but picks interest in the latter part of the brother's introduction. "This Blackrock Depths... Is it a pack?" he asks, "Perhaps you could fill me in? Blackfeather Woods is always looking for useful information about the packs that surround us..." he suggested, seizing the opportunity before it was too late.

murgash couldn't promise he'd remember the directions damien gave. not because they weren't clear (they were) but because he tended to forget important facts and remember the useless ones. he nodded appreciatively, his brow scrunched as he tried to securely store the directions mentally. all for naught, i'm afraid.

he'd be happy to oblige any brother with whatever information he had - even if it came at the cost of making big stripey boss angry. "o yes, it's be a pack. beeg wolf runs it, stripey and grumpee. also leetle laydee, also grumpee all de toime. not egzactly friend-lee toiypes, though oi loikes dem. it's on the coast, all stones and stuff - ye would knows it when ye sees it." with that he offered a goofy grin and a stupid bow. "ye comes en foinds me enny toimes if ye needs somethin'. vale, damien." he finished the bow with a flourish and turned around, starting the first leg on his long journey home.

Coastal pack, stones and a grumpy couple running it. All the facts were securely stored in Damien's mind, for unlike his new rugged friend right there, Damien had impressive memory. He would also remember Murgash's face and voice, and unfortunately he would never forget his smell, either. But those were all pieces of information that, one way or another, could prove useful at some point.

"It'd be my pleasure," returned the dark one as the brother parted ways. They both knew now how to find each other, and being who they were they could rely on the other's support, to some extent. The journey, for that reason, had not been a waste of time despite the fact that Damien was returning home empty handed. Kendra was still out there, yes, but now there were more eyes looking for her, and a sense of tranquility washed over Damien's mind.