Blackfeather Woods Why so serious?

@Atshen

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He knows he's not supposed to be here, he knows the witch will find out sooner or later, he knows that what he's about to do could put him in grave danger; but there's no turning back now.

Keelut looks over his shoulder before entering the keep, making sure the witch's good eye is not already on him; but instead what he finds are the dark eyes of a single raven perched on a branch above him. Keelut holds its gaze for a couple seconds, feeling it looking through his intentions, judging him, but there's no turning back now.

He sighs as he turns around, and with quick, silent steps he breaks into the witch's keep.

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It was in the midst of his meandering that he had caught the fleeting form of his sibling. Intrigued, as he had not seen Keelut out and about for quite some time, he decided to follow. Though he wasn't the most stealthy, Atshen was diligent in his following. Out of all of his siblings, Keelut was the only one that Atshen did not feel challenged by this sibling. Abraxas and Astrid were a whole different story, though. He would silence them one day and cease his uncertainties if he had anything to do with it. 

Not reaching out to his brother, Atshen followed, curious to what his pearl-haired sibling was up to.

In the dark of the night, all Keelut had to guide him inside the cave were the glow of the worms and the scent that drew a path to the infirmary. He remembered them perfectly from the time he'd been given a tour by the white witch, and he easily found his way around the pond and inside the chamber. But all the while he'd ignored the fact that the raven had not been the only being who'd come to be aware of Keelut's mid-night activities. Atshen was behind him, stalking his moves as he delved deeper into the infirmary and searched in the barely sufficient stash of herbs for what he needed.

The pair, who were distanced in the tangle, move by the light of the glowworms. All too accustomed to his lighting, Atshen followed after his brother, keeping his molten-like eyes on his brother. There was a faint smell of herbs in the air, but Atshen ignored it in favor of whatever Keelut was doing. He would not announce his presence and, rather, waited for his pale sibling to notice him-- that is, if he ever would.

The low content of herbs was upsetting compared to the amount Potema had before the winter hit. Keelut couldn't even recognize any of the herbs that were left, and knew that there could be dangerous ones among those he could pick from at the time. He remembered that the white witch had told him that not all herbs were useful for every purpose, but Keelut was reluctant to leave the herbstore empty handed. He picked up a couple that he thought he'd recognized by scent and turned to hurry out the chamber, only to find himself blocked by the barricade that was Atshen's body right across the entrance. Keelut didn't have enough time to halt, so he collided face-on with his brother, sending herbs flying left and right, and bouncing off backwards from the much stronger and broader Atshen.

Unexpectedly, the two brothers collided, and Atshen looked to his sibling, who he had not expected to turn so quickly, with wide eyes. Herbs were scattered everywhere and Atshen looked over the area briefly before turning his attention to Keelut again.  "What kind of herbs are those?" He asked, with little intention to help his brother pick up the mess that had been made.

Keelut gets up in a rushed roll, facing his brother with evident fear in his blue eyes. Atshen, Keelut knows, is now mother's second in command, and he has the authority to reprimand him should he deem it appropriate. Mother would agree with him for sure, she was evil. They were both monsters.

"For the mind," is Keelut's answer to his brother's accusative question. Despite knowing all of the above, Keelut had never been the most rational of the bunch. The information in his head was often twisted, bent to weird angles, and the output was almost unpredictable even to him. "Potema is teaching me," he added. Oh yeah, that was an important piece of the puzzle, and perhaps, if Atshen had any respect for the residing priestess he would forgive his brother's break in.

Intrigued by his brother's response, Atshen's brows rose, and he tilted his head as if to further annunciate his confusion. "What do they do to the mind?" he asked, his eyes watching his brother's as he spoke. He did not respond to the information that was given in regards to the Priestess, and instead, he waited for Keelut's response.

Keelut's fear buzzed, morphing into laughter, nervous as his brother asked further about Keelut's dealings. His eyes almost twitched, but Keelut's smile was ever present, always communicating something completely different. This time there was an unusual air of discomfort about it, for unlike any other time Keelut felt judged in that moment, and Atshen had the tools to do him grave harm.

"Enhance it..." those were the words he carefully picked as a straight forward answer. They revealed nothing of what the witch boy planned on doing with them, but merely reproduced what he'd learned from Potema. If his statement was correct, though, was still to be proved.

Atshen usually felt most unsettled when Keelut's rolling laughter escaped. Unlike other laughter, Keelut's was a different breed. The noise was chilling, sending waves down the length of his body. Despite what he was feeling, the Silencer leant forward, feeling quite frustrated by his snow-coated sibling. 

"Enhance.. how?" he asked with a snap of his jowls as fire danced around his irises. He had very little patience for these games that Keelut liked the play. Keeping himself close to his sibling, while adjusting himself to stand a little taller by rolling his shoulders forward, Atshen waited for Keelut's response as the fuse to his patience withered quickly.

Keelut's eyes danced around the fire in his brother's own as a low chuckle filled the air. He couldn't simply repel the amusement that he could see in the direction their conversation was taking, and Atshen seemed just as interested as he was determined to find out what the plants did to one's mind.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he teased, beaming at his brother with vile intentions. He collected some of the fungi that had fallen closest to them and nosed it towards Atshen encouragingly before taking one himself and mashing it up with his molars. He swallows and licks his lips, staring at Atshen expectant to see whether he'd try something himself or reject his brother's dangerous proposal.

Teasing notes gentle caressed the delicate hairs of Atshen's inner-ear, and out of irritability his ears hastily flicked forward in response. A fire ignited in his chest as a feeling of annoyance overcame the beast in wolf's clothing, and he stared down his sibling. Atshen's anger continued even after Keelut had ground up some paste for him and offered it; a kind gesture despite the differences the two had faced. But, despite this, he rejected it with a low growl, given how strongly he felt at that moment. "Tell me," he demanded, hotheaded due to the fury that quickly consumed him. He would not wait to see the the effects of the drug, and instead, if the information were withheld again, Atshen would take the proper procedure to ensure the the answer was beaten out of his snowy sibling's mouth.

Laughter ensued while Atshen's fire rose. No words were uttered, no sounds other than that of Keelut's amusement. There was nothing that his brother could threaten him with, not a single way to bring him back to sanity... The shrooms were making effect.

The poor lighting became even worse, and a pump of light in tandem with his heartbeat made every image so confusing that Keelut chose to shut his eyes off. There were only sounds and scents, his brother's voice became a blur of echo and a pink velvet tune started sounding. It was a female's voice, it was singing. It was Anna, Keelut was sure, and her presence suddenly made everything serious again.

The laughter stopped, Keelut's breathing was inconsistent and he was still, staring off into the distant darkness with blank eyes as he muttered her name in a botched stutter.

The series of emotions that Keelut underwent drove Atshen the the brink of insanity. The fire of Atshen's rage tempted the Silencer's motions, demanding that he bring his snow-kissed brother's antics to rest. Not even caring to recognize the sudden silence from the Spiderling. No, Atshen was far involved in his own anger to realize what had happened and there was nothing to bring him out of it. It was as if he had been blinded by a red veil, seeing only the target of his rage through it. 

Swiftly, Atshen lowered himself to a crouch as he readied himself to leap. Not finding any time to hesitate, as Atshen wanted to stop whatever Keelut had gotten himself into, he sprung, hoping to clash with his younger brother and bring him down so that the Silencer could knock some sense back into him.