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+--- Thread: Blackfeather Woods Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. (/showthread.php?tid=37593)
Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 18, 2019
Hoping for @Maegi
Their return to the woods should've filled him with something other than dread, and he knew it. Continuing to maintain a distance from the wolves who were supposed to be his pack-mates, Venamis lingered in the loneliest sections of Blackfeather that he could find.
There was comfort in the quiet and the darkness, something he'd come to often seek. If Maegi looked for him, he managed to evade her. He doubted she would anyway; despite a loyalty to her that he would've once considered unwavering, he didn't feel her deserving of the fondness for her that'd faded over time.
Blackfeather Woods had been a home to him, a place he'd sworn to protect, but the proximity of Midar filled him with uncertainty and bitterness for Rowan roused a new longing for change. Perhaps he'd been optimistic to think he might find a place among these wolves, that he might someday be looked upon as something more than "Damien's kid".
He padded toward the territory outskirts with solemn determination, focus fixed on the satisfying crunch of frost beneath his heavy and reluctant paws.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 18, 2019
She hadn't exactly been avoiding Venamis, if that's what he was hoping for. No, the deaths of her sons had merely pushed her away, away from everyone. Scarab was easiest to speak to, after they'd shared their darkest moments with each other on the voyage to Rusalka. And Mou's company, of course, was always welcome, even if it was silent. And her co-leaders. . .leader? Jakoul had been scarce, lately. Moonshadow was still new.
But it was none of these wolves but Venamis that appeared on the path ahead, heading at an angle toward her. Grimly remembering their last interaction, Maegi was tempted to walk on by without a second glance—but damn it. She had to take the high road, here. She was the adult. The leader.
Jaes, it had been so much easier to be a selfish child.
Venamis,she chuffed in greeting, her manner casual and easy. He could blow past her if he wished and she wouldn't care; he could curse at her and she'd have words, but ultimately wouldn't care; the truth was that she didn't really care about anything, these days: so have at it, you little shit.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 19, 2019
He saw her move between the foliage, and looked right through her.
Venamis was sure that his heart might leap from the ribs that caged it, so certain he felt Maegi might have finally decided to turn on him in favour of her little bitch. Wasn't that what he wanted? A reason to disperse that meant he wasn't to blame, something he didn't need to be responsible for?
He blinked at the pallid she-wolf, his frown deep and alabaster eyes sharp beneath his furrowed brows. Pausing to stand before her, Ven failed to respond to her greeting with any of his own, instead choosing to announce a bold: "I'm leaving."
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 20, 2019
His frown didn't surprise her, nor did his words. In fact, Maegi respected him somewhat for actually announcing his departure, rather than vanishing like all the others had. It showed integrity. Perhaps if she hadn't come across him today, he may have disappeared without a word. . .but then, he could have lied, just now. And he hadn't.
She fixed him with a gimlet stare, tilting her head slightly as she queried:
Why?
Her voice was calmer than she felt inside. There was turmoil, angst at potentially losing yet another wolf. Their relationship had been built upon misunderstandings; maybe if she corrected him— No. It was too little, too late, like always. Right?
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 22, 2019
Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he wanted from her. Part of him wished for her to let him go painlessly, while the other half yearned for her to request that he stay. Venamis was not a boy who openly admitted relying on anyone or anything, but he loved Maegi in his own quiet, platonic way.
He needed her, and he knew it. But what was that worth if she did not value his affection in the same manner?
"Because I’ve understood that the sun shines differently when something changes," he lifted his muzzle, felt the tightening of a muscle in his jaw, "but I’m not in the axis of those changes." In other words, in some roundabout way, Rowan was right. He'd been right all along, and Venamis had stubbornly withstood for long enough.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 22, 2019
Her brow furrowed at the roundabout way in which Venamis spoke. It was markedly different from his normal childish curses and taunts. She didn't like it. It was as if something foreign had taken hold of the young man, and she thought of the daedra—
Leave my forest!—
I don't know what you're talking about,Maegi responded, shaking her head.
Tell it to me straight, Venamis. Is Rowan still bothering you?She hadn't noticed any more trouble in that regard, but then, she'd been distant. She might have missed a new development.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 23, 2019
She frowned at him, mismatched eyes confused beneath her wrinkled brow. Was this not the time to be serious? To grow the fuck up? Venamis felt he would have to, if he were to venture out into Winter's chill all alone. He had wanted this farewell to be a meaningful one, yet beneath her scrutiny all he felt was the budding pressure of embarrassment for such an attempt.
Maegi made a simple request: don't tiptoe around it, just summarise the reasons why. The young Melonii, with teeth gritted and ears smoothed back, could only look upon her for a long pause before he glanced away to the side.
"No," he answered her question regarding Rowan. He'd been a thorn in his paw since the first day he met him, a pest more than anything, but there was a danger far greater that spurred his desire to move on, "I just don't want to be around when Midar makes an attempt on your life."
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 24, 2019
Okay, so not Rowan; that was ruled out rather quickly, although Maegi still didn't fully believe him. The two boys had been at odds—
What?she blurted, not a second after the word life had passed. She paused a moment, the sentence sinking in, and repeated,
What?
This was why she had wanted Venamis nearby, when Midar had come. This was why she'd kick herself now, having not sought out the boy's knowledge of the man. Of course, there was a possibility that this was some sort of bluff. . .but why? What was to be gained?
Maegi fixed a gimlet stare on Venamis, ears pinning low.
What do you know?she demanded softly, steel in her voice.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 24, 2019
"I know that I don't trust him," he said at once, feeling deflated with the realisation that he could offer her nothing more solid than the feeling within his gut. Venamis had been present for so many discussions regarding Maegi and the wolves of Blackfeather, how his parents had plotted openly of their desires to take it for themselves to rebuild their lives there, but he'd been too little to focus on such politics.
He had not listened - had not cared to, as his childish attention remained with all the mischief he could get himself into. "I've been here for months," Ven rolled a dark shoulder, still unable to look upon Maegi's face, "and not one of my father's wolves came looking for me after I left. It's not like I went far." Did his dispersal mean that his relatives hated him? Probably. But Venamis' family had let him down long before he abandoned them and, now that he had grown, he realised just how little he must have meant to them.
"Why here, now, after all this time?" Venamis growled softly. "I dont believe for one second that Midar would've left my father, injured or not. I think he's here to see to a more sinister intent."
And I don't want you to see you bleed. Not for me.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 24, 2019
That was no evidence, and yet, it was sound enough for Maegi to latch onto. Venamis had grown up around Midar; for a boy not to trust someone who had been a fixture in his childhood was concerning. But it all was concerning, she noted, as he continued. It was true—no one had ever come for Venamis.
So you planned on dropping this on me and then running away?Maegi asked, a little acerbically.
Or did you not plan on telling me at all—let me find out you're gone and then get jumped by Midar?
She let loose a frustrated snort, like a horse bothered by flies. She was greatly disturbed, partially in her failure to vet the man properly. Partially that she was about to lose another soul and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She, too, couldn't look at the other wolf in this moment, instead staring off into the trees.
Was he lurking? Listening?
Fuck,she breathed, gritting her teeth.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 28, 2019
Her question caught him by surprise, and Venamis curled his lip in disgust. Seriously!? "Fuck you," the boy spat in response, finally finding the strength to lift his frosty stare and fix Maegi with a hateful glower, "you knew who he was to my father and you let him stay. You put me in danger first, so yeah - you are lucky I even said anything at all."
She had let Midar bleed what little resources they had, practically licked his wounds clean for him. Maegi had compromised the safety of those she was supposed to give a shit about, and made it perfectly clear to Venamis that he did not matter. No matter his loyalty and his affection for her, he'd never grow from the title of "Damien's son" for as long as he remained in Blackfeather Woods.
Fangs sheathed but fury continuing to bubble, the raven Melonii's frown deepened as he made to turn his face away. This dark forest had been a home to him and he'd hoped to find his true place among its wolves, but it simply was never meant to be. No matter his efforts or even his silence, nobody gave a damn. So why should he?
If she called after him, barked back in her own anger or even made to inflict damage to his hide, Venamis would already be well on his way to making a swift exit. He was done with Maegi and her band of misfits, and it was time to see if the sun really did shine differently somewhere else.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Maegi - November 28, 2019
Just as the question had surprised Venamis, so too did his answer surprise Maegi. Her ears pinned back, a thousand rebuttals swirling in her mind. She was about to utter the first of these when he began to storm away, headed out of the woods.
Okay, so you're not welcome here anymore,she called out after him, her voice brimming with angry heat.
Don't even think about coming back.
For his attitude, yes, he would always be Damien's son. Maegi didn't necessarily expect others to grovel at her feet, but she required some modicum of respect to stay in her good graces. Venamis, from the very first moment, had offered none.
She wheeled around once he'd disappeared and stalked off, looking for Moonshadow. One more face to add to the watchlist.
RE: Draw me not without reason; sheath me not without honour. - Venamis - November 29, 2019
She did not move to pursue him, and Venamis figured her mangled foot would prevent any chase. Thankful to be void if the shame that would come with being run from the dark woods, he stalked away with his muzzle thrust upward and his dignity maintained.
He didn't give a shit that he wasn't welcome to return - no one had ever extended such to him anyway. In all his months of residence, Venamis had lurked Blackfeather primarily on his own, eager for connection but unable to source one worthy of his time. For a while he thought he could find such bond with Maegi, but in the end she proved just as useless as her followers. Far better things awaited him elsewhere.