Greatwater Lake I'm unstoppable today

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@Slade and @Makaro prolly - set on her way back from Northstar Vale ♥

From the mountains she went back, spotting the great lake with her sharp vision even as she descended. It glimmered like a diamond in the setting sun, much like her one blue eye. She smiled, finally not feeling the burning sensation of the sun's rays on her midnight coat. She'd be back home around night and did not wish to wake Damien to tell him all she had discovered, and so she took her sweet time. At the lake she stopped, dipping her muzzle in the cool water to lap it up, liquid running down her chin and into her silky mane. Her speckled ears swivelled, ready to pick up any sound that would put her in possible danger.[/tr][/td][/table]

Through the glade of fully hung branched oaks, Slade watched the woman with something one could label as interest, though he was more apt to call studious. The mammothian wolf refused to be upsurped by the hidden presence of this broad, and it showed how keen he was to flip the table. He hadn't exactly snuck up on her. He was nowhere near her. The surreptitious embers remained on her sleek form, dissecting her movents, sip by sip she had removed from the lake. The Nightmare King was softly gazing, his view purposefully detached on something ever so near her, but without the direct contact that would connect the hook to the line leading to him. Watching without watching. 'Peripheral watching' to be more technical if giving the blurred vision an actual name, but he didn't care dor all that.
He moreso wondered what his Apprentice was thinking as he too, was taking watch with him in the shade of the shadows.

Lurking in the shadows...

                      ...who has time for that?! Yeah, of course Slade, father, or Alpha or what ever Makaro called him now adays was wanting to recon this lone wolf for good reason but Makaro hadn't seen another wolf for what seemed like ages. When Astrid's scent crossed both Slade and Makaro the younger wolf stuck close to his Master though inching away to the rear with an ulterior motive in mind.

Flanking the lake he moved in with a whirly smirk taking sweet care not to make a sound. The cool water filling his senses as if a second coat tore through his own. It was here he got a good look at her... strange eyes reflecting in the sun as if the sky, of blue, met the earth of green in perfect union. The black of her pelt reflected the sun's rays to bring about a small shimmer of glint coloring a star back drop around those same eyes. Makaro wasn't hooked but curious all the same and couldn't help but wonder how best to proceed. Slade taught him from the time he accepted him into the gloom den that to be trusting spelt only doom as it was better to strike first and ask the important questions to the dead.

Still... Makaro was not his father...

-Yet Slade was right. This female was young and full of something that turned makaro's stomach. That mornings squirrel mutated into bile all too suddenly right as the male wolf caught the scent of what he only described as "the spirit". He saw a look of kindness and that alone was mortifying. 

Makaro washed himself to shore within spitting distance of the female treating her as if she were no concern at all. "Strange..." He commented openly as he forced the water from his pelt with a violent shake. Dribble drops of water lashed out in the direction of Astrid before he breathed a sigh and began to trot away from her completely, "Though I found something interesting." 

Today Makaro was let down... "I guessed wrong."

[table width=80%][tr][td]The rippling of water was enough to whip her head up to see who had simply sneaked their way to the lake, surprised to see a rather young man bathing as if it were his lands that Nyx had found herself on. Still, she was not in a position to rebel - home was still quite a way away and she carried a fairly slim form - not something as brutish as that of her brother's nor that of Damien. She peered at the other, squinting when a shower of flying droplets fell near and atop her.

Strange - I had not realized that I was a mere thing. She copied his tone daringly, watching the egotistical boy turn his back upon her and the lake. I guess you are not much more than a simple distraction either then. Her slightly accented voice rung through the stilling air that came with the setting sun. She ought to get home before any other weirdoes showed their faces to her, for she felt the undeniable urge to rip faces again if this were to continue.[/tr][/td][/table]

Slade had felt the breeze shift, and immediately he knew his little shadow was now aloft within it. Downwind, yes, but he knew full well his apprentice blew against protocol, as easy as the breach in the wind.
A sigh left his lips, adding to the lush air.
One day, the boy would listen to him. He only seemed to take what he wanted to learn. More often than not, MAkaro was saved from doom that Slade had pulled strings for behind shadows that the whelp hadn't seen, but one of these days, Makaro would see exactly how foul life was. dependence was a rancid tool, and the yearling, though trained combat and vocally by Slade, had the persona of rebellion. Heeded whatever words whispered more to him in his heart, than those from Slade's own maw. So much resemblance to his failed student, Cry.
He could have been something great, someone worth ruling side by side with him in the world of Shadow Borns. In the new birthed pack of Nightmares. It was a dream, his dream, his only dream, but reality had other plans.
Was today the day history would repeat?

The breeze he so keenly chose prove him right in his choice, as it blew the conversation between the dark wolves right to his waiting auds. His cue, well enough was heard. Though not official, he made it so.

Emerging from the darkness of the looming trees, Slade made his way forward, regal as a King should be, but his baritones were directed towards in a friendly manner. Standing in her mist, the behemoth of a wolf spoke.

"Apologies for the youth; he can disembowl a newborn with ease, but manners hasn't made such impression on him, yet. " A gentle chuckle left him.

"I never got your name the day I left you and that pup. I could sense your affiliation before you even spoke, and that in itself makes you interesting. To me, atleast." 

Makaro hadn't exactly gotten the lesson on how a smile was both a friendly gesture that was useful and easy to accomplish. He also hadn't come to learn how that very same smile was what freed your fangs for an easy snatch of whatever was before you. The Shadow Sire knew how fauxing some gestures only led to opening the doors for hidden intentions.

A twisted smirk...

           ...her words were childish only in the fact she couldn't understand just what Makaro had done. Irony delivered the truth with her words and that was the true amusement here as Makaro scratched his ear with a hind leg feeling completely relaxed. "Yeah see..." his tone was almost mocking, "...-I am just a simple distraction, aren't I?"

The question wasn't directed to the female but SLade now emerging from the bush ready to scold and silently criticize Makaro as always. Though to the young girl here was her lesson, sometimes the real danger is in plain sight...

Listening to the elder Male, SLade, the much younger wolf began to look Astrid up and down from tail to those separately colored eyes. Not much to look at now but the voice she gave had something of an alure. Instead of quaking in terror or snarling like a rabid hound she instead exchanged words. More over those words stung to the effect Makaro's had as well. If there was anything wrong with this situation it was in the fact Makaro didn't find her interesting. To be frank he did all be it on a level of minimal warrant.

As Slade took a breath to allow Astrid her own exchange it sent Makaro into Slade's gaze staring down the Alpha. If this was his little friend then he wouldn't care to both it less an easy meal presented itself. Laying down he licked his paws and scoffed only a little because as it stood this whole deal was pointless.

A stone-faced female turned her head to the youth, not amused yet not irritated either. Her expression revealed nothing, and she felt as if his words had only barely grazed her. The "mocking" words were as butterfly wings upon her nightly coat of stars, even if they may have caused a tornado elsewhere. He was not worth her precious time - not even the rip of his tongue would satisfy her. The boy barely had a bite, after all, and an unfair fight was not one she would fight.

It was then that another male entered the scene, a coat of black just as many she had seen before. She had yet to see one with the speckles of the night sky and was feeling more unique with every encounter. He is arrogant. Nyx judged, turning to the older one of the pair. She did not return the other's jolly tunes, instead offering him a softening of her slight furrowed brow.

My affiliation? And how could you possibly have guessed it? She answered the question with a question of her own, not comfortable sharing her name just yet with these freaky wolves.

Slade watched her reaction bemusedly with an emberous gaze, her explicit uncare demonstrated with ease. Seems she was one to take blows well. A good trait for someone, especially from the Woods.

"There are some times he listens as he should, as there are some where he speaks when he should not. But all youth have their moments."

It was a fact of life. Not everyone was simple and subtle in their ways; Makaro was simply more brash and snarky than most. However, none other be best to judge him than the test of Sithis Himself, so Slade let such folly pass as it may.

The baritones came forth again, the amusement turning into its own form of tone, as if she inquired how she was the darkest smudge against the pure white canvas of life, itself.

"Every Dark Brother knows a Dark Sister, despire conflicted timelines; especially if they were trained well enough."

Slade canted his head a bit almost, as if wondering why it hadn't been obvious. She was young too, quite so. But something that struck well from her was something that echoed, matching another's from the past.

"I also know of who sired you. Your heritage is unveiled by your lilt."

Words...

          ...too many really. Slade had his bit to say and Makaro simply didn't. This little girl was a lost soul in the woods easily picked up and dropped off the face of the earth yet for whatever reason Makaro was left to sit and listen. Not that it was rage inducing yet the irratation was clear as day. "Seems I ain't the only one."

Nothing more needed be said as Makaro sat down and waited for it all to drag on and on and on and on... wait a minute was Slade going old Wolf on him? "Times... Moments... I know..." "by Sithis here we go..."

The Night made a mental note to simply ignore the yearling's strangely immature comments, given his older appearance. A slow learner, perhaps? Being abandoned at such a young age as Nyx, she had had to learn to grow up quicker than most and had forced her maturity to appeal to older wolves. Allies were her goal, even if they might not seem useful at the time. She'd rather have a net to fall in than a rocky surface, cold and abandoned. Her mother had done enough of letting her fall, it was time for her rise now. I did not. She lied, even though she did not realize it. Perhaps because she had disregarded that one time she had snapped entirely. Had it been her fault? No, it was simply a reaction to all that others had done.

She squinted slightly at the man, unsure of whether to trust him and his little, annoying minion he seemed to drag along. Where had she heard that term again, "dark sisters and brothers"? Honestly, with so much going on, she had little time to memorize most of what she learned, even though must stuck with her for a while. It must have something to do with the brotherhood, why else would he mention it? They had a Dark Master, after all. Very well, I guess I cannot hide it from such a keen eye then. She admitted her defeat, or, rather, she accepted that he knew much of her home and the wolves that lived there.

Perhaps you know my line of blood - my "family" as most call it - but do not think you know me nor my history. She made clear with a stern look, the rather brutish ways of Kove and the stubbornness of Nemesis shining through.

He could have misread her intentions of her claiming she had no moments of foolish decisions at her coming up, but Slade knew better. It was a fairytale for a wolf to live without error, and the Shadow Sire knew no such wolf exited. Not even Leila, the sweet and near perfect little girl he had trained in the ways of a gentle upbringing, was fully flawless. She had her downfalls, as did he. As did Makaro. So in a subtle way of backing up his newest Apprentice, he imperciptibly chided the youthful fae before him, ending the subject with a gentle but forced stroke. "Unfortunate." All youth needed their mistakes, as it was what made them realize how stupid it was to commit to the same decision repeatedly. For her to have missed this guide growing up, then she in fact, was the most misled of them, all. Makaro rather, was

"Not eye. Ear. Listening proves more worth than visuals in situations such as these. You learn more of who you are in the presence of, simply from hearing what leaves their lips. From the pitch and tone, and even the jousts of wordplay."

Slade kept his face a facade of amusement as she gave him a fair warning on the pages she held within her, informing him how unwise it was for him to attempt considering he knew what was written on the pages.

"Everyone has a story. Covers may lie, but the pages can not. I know nothing of your dam, but your sire was someone I had welcomed into Blackfeather, thus the accented connect between you and he. I claim nothing more, but certainly nothing less."

A more hinting pitch, lowered and telling, brought a truth that most troubled souls knew was etched deep in their books.

"Blood doesn't mean shit, anymore."

"amen..."

.     ...couldn't help the outburst as Makaro held no respect for blood families. Perhaps due to his own experience in life. Slade, after all, was his father and that beast was not blood kin to him. Listening to the pair Makaro held to some form of respect to remain silent. 

A bit out of place in view of Astrid being she may have already labeled him as nothing more then an arrogant, self absorbed, rogue.

Finally his ears turned to the female as it was her turn to speak less Slade have more to say.

She wasn't saying that she had not made mistakes - she was simply saying she had never acted in such a childish manner as the man's little minion. She did not have time to; she had to grow up faster than any of her litter to survive and become a valuable piece in their unstable ranks. Home was a mess and it was no place for children. Still, she disregarded the misplaced judgement, brushing it off her speckled shoulder. She did not need the approval of a loner nor of anyone but Damien.

Very well - ear then. But what am I to make of you in turn? You talk too much and talk nearly as sophisticated as I do. She said, tipping her head to her left a bit. Then again, I do not think we are much alike. You remind me more of my mentor. With mentor she meant Miraak, but she dared not speak any names from her home. She did not want to spark any left-over hatred.

You knew my father? From how long ago? Who are you? Her curiousity grew, and with it shrunk her fear of the man and who seemed like his son. And how did he not know Nemesis? Surely she had been around longer than her father... Or was her father just not someone who wanted to climb the ranks? Strange how she knew not much about either parent. I'm glad that it does not. She admitted slightly bitter. Her eyes flickered to the boy then, wondering if he had nothing better to do then soak in their strange conversation.