Blackfeather Woods The darkness will rise from the deep

@Vaati ;)

She had decided. Seeing that Damien still showed no signs of returning to his old self, she had to take the reigns and lead their woods into winter. They would not survive without someone to watch over them; to protect them against the many enemies they had made in such a short time. They were at risk and, even though she was a fighter, needed advice for when a war would wash over them. Before her little talk with Ganondorf she had considered her father for this, but a new interest had caught her attention. Soon, she would be ready to produce a new generation of spiderlings, but her chosen sire was locked inside his own mind for now. A replacement, even just to feel secure, was needed. Vaati would be that replacement.

Somewhere around twilight did she call upon him, her voice clearer than a summer sky. She did not look forward to seeing him again, given how their last conversation had went, but she was sure she could talk him over to her side. Technically, as far as she could see, he was the only one still against her rule. She couldn't have a son of Potema as an enemy, so she would take him as any other thing she could. Her Silencer and potential suitor, if he dared to join her.

Yes, he obliges her call, but when he reaches her he doesn't submit and throw himself to the ground in respect to her rank. He likely never will, for she has done nothing to prove her worthy of the rank she holds, specifically, proved nothing to him more than her ability to take his uncle's throne. Instead, he looks at her with an expectant glare, reserved and cool as if she is no more than a page in a book rather than someone he is supposed to spend his life serving. Perhaps his judgments are the tiniest bit premature, after all, he doesn't know her personally in the slightest. However, he bases his conclusions on what he sees, and what he sees it that their numbers have gone down drastically since her takeover. He doesn't necessarily blame her for it entirely but he knows confidently that while she may not be doing something wrong, she is not doing something right either. He also knows that there is no room for error when being in the position of power she unjustifiably holds, and is quite certain that Astrid — or whatever she is presently calling herself — lacks the influence, the experience or the impressive nature he would associate someone titled the Dark Master with. Perhaps that could change, but he highly doubts based on what he has seen that she would ever have become their leader if not for Damien's mental illness, on her merit and stature alone. She just isn't meant to be there, and she has done nothing to prove otherwise. At least, in Vaati's knowledge.

She did not expect him to bow. No, after their encounter and everything that had followed, it was foolish to think she had even the slightest respect from the boy. Of course this did not please her, but she knew perhaps better than anyone that these things took time. She had not been promoted within a day at Damien’s side. She had earned his trust, served him far better than any other female could have, and had promised herself and her life to him. Vaati had done nothing for her, and still she was here – planning for him to be her Silencer, even though trust was out of the picture. She could not trust him, perhaps not even later, for Ganon had been clear about Vaati’s intentions. He wanted her title – Damien’s title, and she was not about to let that happen.

Her eyes rest upon the scar he had earned, feeling her fur bristle where it hid her own scars. His were far less meaningful, she assumed. Then again, it did look better on him than it would have on her. She was too pretty to carry around something so menacing  - so ruthless. She turned to him with a tight smile instead of the one she used on her ward, seeking his gaze while clearing her throat.

I have heard you have become quite the fighter. She somewhat complimented, already hinting that there was something more for him than just a meaningless conversation. Damien’s return has been a nice fantasy, but as we approach winter we need more than hope. We need good warriors, like you. She let a pause hit them both, feeling he slightest tingle in her tummy at what she was to do. We need a Silencer.

He has never considered the role of Silencer, neither has he necessarily entertained the idea of filling Damien' shoes as the Dark Master, but neither would he be in the mind to decline any of those offers. He is not power hungry, and while there is significant evidence to point onlookers in that direction, he has only ever acknowledged that one day he would become one of the leaders of Blackfeather Woods. It only seems natural, as the eldest son of the first Melonii litter, it is by his birthright that he take up the mantle his grandmother held generations before him. He knows he very well could at this point in his life and do a damn good job at it, but the trouble of simply ripping the title from underneath her seemed much too foolhardy in hindsight. Potema had been right in saying that with so little left of them, the dark woods and those within only truly had each other left. And he was not about to risk their stability over something he was destined to have for the sake of reckless desire. That is why his eyes widen a slight fraction when she explains her means for summoning him.

It seems all too suspicious, and seconds pass by before he is able to form the right thoughts. Vaati thinks of what could possibly be her worst motive for promoting him to such a rank, her darkest intent when it came to what to do with him. Death, he supposes, to eliminate perhaps the only one bold enough to challenge her. But that theory, it seems, is too easy for her. If anything, he figures, she has planned her actions out months into the future, arranging to play Vaati like a pawn in her plans for total control that would replace any ties Damien had to his former glory. Perhaps that is why, as he narrows his eyes and opens his mouth, the words feel foreign even as he speaks them. "And I suppose, you would like me to fill that space," He, suggesting he was perfectly willing, if not for the edge in his tone. "But what is the cost of doing so, I wonder?" His head tilts slightly as if to examine her, looking for any tell that this may be a ruse to trap his attention. Vaati is not a trusting creature, he is fickle and vain, and perhaps too early in his lifespan. But his distrust keeps him alert, unlike he had when the Cerberus had nearly taken his eye. Perhaps he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does, he is barely out of childhood, but he has learned enough to know that there is nothing a wolf won't do for the sake of ones own self-preservation and selfish desires. This is why he keeps her at a distance, unsure exactly of what to make of her.

Though death was not her plan for Vaati, there was a deeper meaning to all of this. One that would only be discussed between herself and her inner thoughts. As long as Ganondorf kept his maw shut, no one but them would know about it. Then again, she found it only fair for Vaati to know what his purpose might be if Damien would fail to function until her first heat. She didn't know why she was this honest. She didn't know why she cared. Perhaps it was just another way to not be like her mother - just another way of showing those who knew her that she wasn't another tyrant ready to control their every breath. No, control came from trust. Stability. And currently, she had neither from the younger Melonii  in front of her.

His mannerisms, she saw, were minimal. He was like a clock; only seen ticking every now and then, the gears secretly twisting to make it seem like it was all magic. The seconds that span between the moment the words had come out of her mouth and his answer feel like eternity, and she couldn't say she was entirely pleased with it. Nor was she pleased when he didn't seem nearly as excited as Ganondorf had said he would be.

Damien was to be my suitor for when my body was ready to spawn the new generation of our woods. She begins explaining, almost thinking a smart boy would need to further words to know what she was getting at. If he does not return to us intact, I will take you as my suitor for when the time comes. It was a rather simple request, one that should be an honor instead of a burden. What bigger honor was there than to be asked to help her spawn more half-bloods? Her brows rose then, seemingly asking "Do we have a deal?"

He listens, curiosity and slight alarm growing rapidly as her words go on. For a second he doesn't know if he understands her right, that, knowing his utter distaste towards her regardless she wishes him to father her children. He wonders if she made the same offer to his brother before him. Seconds go by, consisting of blank stares and utter silence as Vaati deconstructs everything she has said in the last 30 seconds, wondering where he gave her the idea that he would ever consent to doing that with her. But he puts it into perspective, that this is what it will take to advance higher in the ranks. He can't imagine she will ever agree to have him serve close beside her if he were to embarrassingly tell her exactly how disgusting the proposition of having sex with her truly is to him. Then again, he supposes he isn't exactly above anything at this point; she is only a female with needs that match his own and he cannot blame her for that. She wants children, and as does he, eventually. Selfishly, he thinks of Cassiopeia and what desires he faces with her. Perhaps his brother had been right, on some level he felt indebted to her in a way he did not feel towards any other female. Certainly not the woman before him to the point he would ever consider impregnating her; not by his own free will, that is. Perhaps, his ideals on the subject would change in the many months he would need to... gain the ability to actually procreate. Perhaps in that time Damien would be restored to full health, or that Mephala would strike her dead and save him from the fate of carrying out what he would bindingly promise in the next five seconds.

It is sealed not in blood but in morality, an oath that cannot be undone with a simple refusal to carry out the task laid upon him. "Deal." He agrees one-wordedly, stoic, unable to formulate a better response to agreeing to give her children in exchange for her boosting his rank up a couple notches. Children, children that in the event the deal did go through, would be his to parent and nurture. It is a concept estranged to him, when he too had barely blossomed out of childhood himself. Perhaps he has made a big mistake, perhaps, he has further sealed the bond between the most powerful families the dark woods has seen to date. But at the back of his mind, he knows he has very little drive to honor the promise, not yet when he has not totally and completely received the reward for doing so. He is being selfish again, perhaps his greatest downfall; the image of another flashes within his conscious, warning him that he treads a very thin line in regards to the legitimacy of his choices. For when he does contemplate a future that exists of him creating young of his own, he sees a different female beside him, one that bears the same speckled-galaxy spots but does not answer to the name Nyx.

Even if she had known about his interest in that one particular captive she would've asked him to wake something inside her one day. She would not allow another female except for Potema to fall pregnant so their union would be relatively harmless. That would not keep her from having him close though. If he were to become hers, of course she'd share. She was not that selfish. She did not press further into the conversation for the moments of silence, letting him decide whether he wanted to do what she had proposed. If not, she would not hold a grudge. She'd simply have to wait for the new litter Potema was to pop out any day now. Surely there'd be a male present, and if not she'd even try for Miraak. Nothing would stop her from spawning the half bloods she so desperately desired.

Her irises dilated as the stress of an unanswered question glided off her like snow from a slanted roof, seeing now a future suitor instead of an enemy in the young Melonii. A smile was offered, one not unlike a true one, and the dip of her head indicated she was fairly happy with the decision he had taken. Then I hope our interactions from now on will be a tad bit less... aggressive. A near purr had settled in her cold tone, truly now wanting to explore their relation with a new piece of paper to write on.