Wolf RPG

The sunrise over Blackfeather Woods was beautiful. A dark indigo sky shot through with veins of orange and pink as the sun began to peek out from the horizon, bordered by the silhouettes of ancient trees. The waking caws of the resident murder broke the stillness of the forest, along with the crackle of twigs and debris as Ramsay moved carelessly along a game trail. It was early, but he was already late on making a report and couldn't wait any longer. He ought to have done it immediately, but part of him believed the threat was as empty as the brain that conjured it.

Still, empty or no, @Maegi needed to know about the company she kept. The dwarf paused in the most open part of the forest, near the Melonii's former entrance into the web beneath the woods, and lowered his hindquarters so he could tilt his head up and issue a howl for his sister's attendance.

the boy moved carelessly, and behind him abraxas stalked, shadow to his every step. he knew the wood intimately, and each footfall was met with silence, each movement careful. the boy was headed toward the part of the wood where the canopy opened and the trees grew further apart; abraxas stilled. he shifted and became utterly motionless, gaze settled on the boy as he waited for the audience to appear. until he knows the wood's new residents almost as well as he knows the wood itself, he will stay out of sight, out of mind.

There was an insistence in Ramsay's call that had her coming as quickly as her gait would allow, and her brow was furrowed when she finally came upon her brother. She padded up to him, tail beating uneasily against her hocks.

Hey, what's up? Maegi asked, canting her head slightly to one side. She wondered if he had found something disturbing or vile—vile enough to cause concern. Who knew what lurked in the depths of the woods? Part of her was afraid to find out.

Ramsay was more perceptive than most gave him credit for; he'd had to be, growing up alongside a master sneak for a brother. He recognized the prickle at the back of his neck that meant he was being watched almost instantly, but didn't particularly care enough to try to see who it was. His business with Maegi was too urgent and not exactly private, so Abraxas went unseen and unknown in the shadows, but not as wholly unnoticed as he perhaps thought.

Maegi's arrival was swift, as Ramsay knew it would be. She approached with an amount of uncertainty that pleased him, for the news he bore wasn't good. Your friend, Flicker, he said, wasting no time. She claimed to be your protector but I believe she is trouble for us. When I didn't agree to her terms she threatened the woods.

Her face, already pale, drained of all color as Ramsay spoke. Are you serious? she asked rhetorically, jaw hanging open slightly. It took a moment for the words to really sink in, to really make sense, and then her bi-colored gaze grew hot with angry fire.

Betrayal. It wasn't an emotion she'd felt in a long time. Not really since grappling with her mixed feelings about her mother. She had thought Flicker was someone to count on, someone to trust. Evidently, she had been mistaken.

Fuck, Maegi whispered, with feeling. Well, she's not welcome if she's working with Damien and threatening the woods. I won't put up with it. She might as well be dead to me. She did not make friendships easily, nor alliances lightly. Treachery was unforgivable in her eyes.

Are you serious? I'm afraid so, Ramsay confirmed, his expression growing grim at the look on Maegi's face. It was difficult for him to relate, since he had no real friends outside his littermates. It had been a long time since he placed his trust in anyone else, so betrayal had never stung him, not since Cicero's death placed he and Euron in the custody of strangers.

She claimed to be seeking a place with Damien and our other blood family, he said, having assumed this to be Koume and Kotake and the rest. Maybe even Potema. Wanted us to speak with him. I told her we will not treat with our dear uncle and sent her away, seeing as her designs are clearly counter to ours. She promised to be back. "Whether you like it or not", he quoted, his lips tugging down into a frown. He was sure she would only have continued her strange efforts had he allowed her to stay. He even thought she might have resorted to force with Maegi. He couldn't have that.

Poor tactics aside, as empty as I think her threat is, we need to be careful. I don't recall him wanting anything good for us, he warned. He didn't have any earthly idea what Damien wanted with them—nothing that would benefit them, he was sure. He may not have many memories of his uncle thanks to limited contact, but the man's disdain for his inbred niece and nephew, mirroring Potema's, was chief among them. As for Flicker, he agreed wholeheartedly, and had a mouth full of teeth ready to greet her should she return.

She was absolutely flabbergasted by this news. It also dealt a serious blow to her already-deficient sense of trust. If she was wary before, this latest revelation built the wall even higher around her heart; she would not let anyone in who hadn't been thoroughly vetted over a long period of time. Nobody. Maybe not ever again.

Damien is a traitor, anyway, Maegi answered, teeth slightly bared. He and Nyx left the woods and now I guess they have their own pack, elsewhere. He doesn't deserve this place. You and I may have left, but it was never with the intention of betrayal.

Maegi spoke loosely, for she really didn't know her brother's motives, but she felt confident in making a snap judgment. After all, snap judgments were kind of her specialty.

Her mouth puckered in a stressed, furrowed frown. I'll tell Mou to keep an eye out for Flicker, she murmured. And the others, too, although I don't know if he knows what they look like. He— Something prickled at her, something uneasy, like they were being watched. Is there someone there? she asked, wheeling around and wondering if she was just simply crazy. Mou?

Ramsay was surprised about the news regarding Damien, though he supposed it made sense. Flicker had implied as much, but the dwarf assumed his uncle had started his clan after Blackfeather disbanded. It seemed otherwise. I don't even remember him, Ramsay admitted, except that he hid in the tunnels and raved. Ramsay had often heard the delirious prayers floating through the caverns as he tried to sleep next to his siblings at night, away from their loveless dam, and shuddered against them. But he and Damien had never met properly besides judgmental glares from the dark, and he wasn't about to change that.

We left for safety, said Ramsay, and stayed gone that we might learn more of the brotherhood as it was meant to be, away from here. Other branches weren't nearly so eager to parade their bloodlust around for the world to see. They were furtive and careful, dealing with their neighbours, double crossing them when it suited, and their marks never lived to tell the tales. Ramsay didn't love their way of life and had no cause to rekindle it here, but he respected them more than Blackfeather's denizens, who seemed to have craved fear so greatly they lost their heads to it. Relmyna and Kove had been the only sane ones left.

Maegi grew alert suddenly, and Ramsay let his ears twist toward the path where he'd felt the sensation of being watched before. He turned his stout form almost lazily toward the shadows, but couldn't spot @Abraxas hidden there. Their watcher was a skilled one, after all. Just because the two mutant Melonii were perceptive didn't mean Abraxas wasn't adept at sneaking and eavesdropping. Someone watches, he said quietly, then added, I don't think it's an enemy. Flicker just hadn't seemed intelligent enough to be that good at it and there was no way she could have got back to wherever she really came from and sent someone else that fast.

he listened, and weighed his judgements. damien was among the most interesting; he'd been a proud and stoic warrior when the Raven had last layed eyes on him. his sister, obsessive with her want for him, had gotten what she wanted, then. the boy's tongue slides over his lips, and hunger sits heavy. he knows what their talk means, for he's heard it before and knows its direction. war will come here. however long it may take, in whatever form it may arrive. he will pick through this information later, for gazes turn towards and past him. he is left with a choice; reveal himself where he lays, or leave as furtively as he's come. he's no desire to interact with them, for the work before him is lengthy still and they will as questions he can not answer. 

he stands on stilted legs and moves with the same odd grace as when he met mou. his place in the shadows is discard and the apparation moves to stand where to two may see him, gaze that glassed-over void that could have just as well belonged to the crows and ravens that watch from above. he stands a moment, two, and then his muzzle dips a fraction, the movement only made apparent by the stillness of the rest of him. not an enemy. and then Abraxas turns heel and moves back the way he's come, and if he is left to go he will vanish into the shadows as quickly as he's left them.

The shadow emerged, and Maegi stared at him for a long moment, trying to place him. What— And then he was gone, with a dip of his head, moving back into the trees. She was eager to follow, but stayed put for now, gaping after his retreating form. Back into the darkness. . .

I've seen him before, she murmured, turning back to Ramsay. Down below, in the caves. He didn't say anything then, either. She sucked in a quivering breath. A spy for Damien? Or a friend? Why wouldn't he just. . .

Kill us? Or flee? She was utterly confused by the man's reappearance, and it only added another layer to the quagmire they faced. Whatever, she shook it off, with a sigh. That's the least of our problems. I wish Kove was here, Maegi admitted, frowning. I wonder where he went.

There. Ramsay's eyes landed on the shadow as it rose and then departed, and flinched forward with the same urge his sister felt. His nape prickled, but once more he felt certain this wasn't someone they needed to worry about. After all, the only wolves who had presented them problems thus far were quite straightforward about it, and Abraxas' departure was anything but straightforward. I don't like it, Ramsay said, but you're right. I don't think he means to trouble us. Then again.

They could never be too certain, so he said, we will keep an eye out for him as well. Learn his motives as best we can. Should they be ill-intentioned, he is within our domain and at a disadvantage. In hindsight, Ramsay regretted letting Flicker go so easily, but he refused to take prisoners. It might have been better to keep her thinking she was winning whatever game she was playing. Subtlety had never been Ramsay's forte, though.

Maegi mentioned Kove, another name and face Ramsay had all but forgotten. Kove's advice would be a boon, he agreed, but if the man was gone then he was gone. They would need to make do without. Perhaps he went to seek out his family. Perhaps he is with Damien. We may never know, sister.

Maybe, she said vaguely. She didn't know the nature of her old mentor's relationship with Damien, nor even the extent of it. Maegi had to believe that if push came to shove, Kove would side with her; they had always been so fond of each other. But that was hypothetical, and hypotheticals had no place in a time of action.

Her jaw firmed. I'll keep an eye out for Flicker, she said resolutely. And I'll tell Mou to do the same. And for the rest of them, too. See if they come. I wonder if Nyx would tell me why Damien wants us. . . Nyx had once been close to her heart, too. Maybe nostalgia could be used to get some information. She doubted it, but it was worth a try.

"Clusterfuck" wasn't a word in Maegi's vocabulary; had it been, she might have looked at Ramsay and uttered it then. As it was, she merely shook her head, appalled by the events of the past few days. Thanks for letting me know, she said. I guess I have to be more careful with who I trust, in the future.

He didn't need to use words to mark his agreement; his coming here to warn her about her so-called protector was proof enough that he would watching and waiting. The borders were his domain. He went further into the woods more often these days, keen on familiarizing himself with the terrain once more, but still he spent most of his time at the edges of their claim. He would keep a vigilant eye outward.

If Nyx is even with him, Ramsay put in, but once again, Nyx was a wolf he knew precious little of, so he couldn't say what she would or would not do. His trust was not misplaced in those he hardly remembered. As must we all, dear sister, he said of her final words, as must we all. These woods hold many secrets and they are sacred to many. If we are to be its guardians, to treat it with respect and remove the desecration done to it, then we must always be on the lookout for those who are here for the wrong reasons. But Flicker could have fooled him, if only she'd played her cards closer to her chest. She would have been hard pressed to do it, for he was ever suspicious, but her dedication to Maegi could have fooled him.

I return to the borders, he informed her, there is much work to do there still. Take care, Maegi.

It could have fooled her, too, and did. Thank Peryite Ramsay was here; he had always been more grounded in reality, more perceptive to the goings-on of the world. She was lost in dreams, and it was both her greatest strength and her biggest weakness.

Take care, she murmured, and headed back to the cache she had been cleaning, a weight on her heart that hadn't been there before.