Blackfeather Woods Rust to rust

@Iliksis

The Woods had grown quieter and quieter. It seemed that with the death of the caretaker, they'd all left. The spirit had made sure that the caretaker's flesh was put to good use. Her pelvis bone had been cleaned by the crows once the Shadow had stopped caring about it overly much, had grown too tired to stop the birds from doing their efficient cleaning job. The bones were of no use to the birds.

Now that the pelvis was cleaned the whispers of the caretaker's spirit were far more audible. She had taken her place beside the spirit of the unknown, named Sheogorath or Cicero by the caretaker. But just as the spirit named the caretaker not Relmyna, she preferred Unknown for him. Perhaps he would bring her a more suitable name in due time.

The night brought her solace. She sat by the altar that held the caretaker's pelvis. It would bring them fertility in due time, once they ran out of food. Soft whispers in old tongues filled the dreamy spirit's head, her ears twitching as she tried to understand what the caretaker was trying to tell her from the beyond.

some time had passed since the dybbuk had been so far east - the last he had ventured in blackfeather's borders, he had been turned away by the sharp intonation of fangs. for months he had nursed his wounds - more internal than external - and finding it within himself to visit the pale priestess that had the rare honor of seeing a more tender side of him, iliksis made for the sunblackened realm.

yet realm it appeared to be no longer - kove's claim was gone, and the scent of the white listener remained no longer. without such borders to repel him, iliksis walked once more among blackfeather, noting how surreal the forest seemed, once teeming with life and now abandoned.

in silence he drifted through, passing at landmarks he knew, his shrewd gaze flitting about him. while the forest seemed unmanned, he detected consistent scents within it -- and as he came to an altar, he saw a pale form sitting atop its grim face, with a bone between her paws. mistaking her at first for relmyna, the dybbuk's ears pulled forth in interest -- but it was then he realized the beast's youth, and his tail fell with a silent kind of disappointment.

With diligence did she rearrange the bones upon the altar. She turned around to grab some of the herbs she had put on the ground for later use when her attention ws caught suddenly by someone standing there. The pale youth tensely looked up at him, for it still felt wrong in some way that trespassers could simply traipse all over their territory, her and Shadow's, as if it did not belong to anyone. But they were in no position to let the world know that it was theirs, and so there was little to be done about it.

Still, the spirit was wary about the man's presence and she stared at him, waiting to see if he would turn out to be hostile or friendly, or, like most, somewhere in the middle.

averna dutifully was rearranging the altar's scabbed tableau, placing upon it in her own whims the whittled bones of their mother. her sister startled and astara instinctively glanced upwards, her hackles lifting as the knife-thin features of a wraith swam into view.

like her sister she wished the rest of the world would stay out of their home - it was no longer a pack but that did not mean they no longer occupied it, and a low rumble started in her throat as she regarded the sharp features of a beast she instinctively knew was malignant.

gradually, the assumed features of relmyna in this girl faded away. iliksis saw as her features came to light that while she favored her mother in color, her eyes were the cold color of ice. as she looked up upon him, he believed he caught a trace of misgiving -- but no words fluttered from her throat.

the male paused as a dark form just beyond the altar stirred, her growl making her presence distinct among the shadows. he paid the black youth no mind, though the two of them together meant he was unlikely to try anything. "where is the listener?" iliksis' voice, hoarse yet cutting, pressed through his thin muzzle, and his gaze fixed on averna with equal coldness.

Her Shadow was startled as easily as she was, and though the past had proven that being with the two of them did not give any guarantees, the spirit felt safer than on her own entirely. She looked upon him and waited for him to move. He did not seem hostile, instead asking for the listener.

While the caretaker had never been a listener to the spirit, she understood his words. He was looking for the caretaker. The pale youth turned back towards the altar, put her front paws up on it and nudged the pelvis bone. Here, she shared. She did not know if he had been enemy or friend to the caretaker, but she supposed it mattered little now that she had gone back to the spirit realm.

astara was ignored by the wraith, which was just as well. resentfully, she watched his every move, doing so in a pointed way that clearly conveyed she was just waiting for an excuse to sink her teeth into him.

it was a good thing averna was there to give the man some direction, for astara would have given him neither an answer nor any semblance of kindness -- unless an answer by way of her fangs counted. averna motioned to the altar and astara followed her gaze, disguising the brief flare of heart-pang she felt when she looked upon the cleaned pelvis of her mother.

he should have known, given no trace of relmyna remained -- but as the girl stepped upon the crude altar and motioned towards the pale arch of bones, iliksis felt something rouse within him to behold the bones of a wolf whose flesh he had coveted -- so it was, she was reduced to her simplest form.

his expression did not change as he regarded the grim news, though he processed it with calculative care. how long ago she had died, iliksis did not know -- though he was disappointed, perhaps, that he had not visited her sooner before she expired. it seemed her death either precipitated the death of blackfeather, or had followed it -- but either way, there was nothing here left that could be of use for iliksis.

he considered her daughters - they were young and nubile, and certainly alone, he envisioned he could come to enjoy their company immensely. but together, they were a problem -- and as skilled as he was at physical altercations, two against one almost never ended with the one disadvantaged surviving. allowing his gaze to linger just a little too favorably on the one that spoke, iliksis flashed a smile that lacked both depth and warmth. "a shame. give her my regards."

god, he was a douche.

and then, unless either of them intercepted the dybbuk, he would make his leave. he was at best, inconvenienced by relmyna's death -- without one wolf in which to excise his lust free of incrimination, iliksis faced uncertainty. he needed that one wolf in which to tether his insatiable urges, otherwise, his cover within rosings would be swiftly undermined and he would be exposed for the rotted, purulent grub he was.


ah well. perhaps his time pantomiming as an acceptable member of society was coming to a gradual close; perhaps relmyna's death was simply the catalyst to at last sign the end of his dormancy.

The male's gaze followed hers to the pelvis bone. His face remained cool, it seemed, as if he was not truly surprised. It did not surprise the spirit; the caretaker was gone, that much was clear. When he said to give her his regards, the spirit said, She already heard them. She gestured around her as if there was truly some sort of entity about them who was witnessing his presence. The spirit child was sure of the presence of the caretaker's spirit in that moment. But then, she had not really realised that his comment had perhaps not been intended so literal. While she was versed in words, the pale youth was not as trained as most of her age were in them. Especially sarcasm and common phrasing of things -- such as 'who are you' meaning 'what is your name' -- were totally lost on her.

After he had left she exchanged a brief glance with Shadow and continued tending to the altar in silence and peace, as if the intruder had never been there.

more than anything astara wished to lunge at this man's face, and rip his dull eyes from his equally boring face. his words barbed her, even if she did not speak them -- she recognized an insult easily enough.

luckily, her sister was far more disciplined. astara cast her a sharp glance as the male began to leave. about fucking time. pulling up alongside averna, astara's hackles bristled as she willed the forest to swallow the man's existence so they would never come across him again.