Ravensblood Forest Give me the burden, give me the blame

There was a time she thought she would live and die among the trees of Ravensblood Forest. For awhile, she had lived - flourished, loved, grown, done the things she'd dreamt of doing and then she had died. 

Palisander had grown to mean more to her than she'd ever thought possible and without him her brash temper got the better of her. She had stalked the cat, with her small size it took months to claim her victory. In the end, true to her talents, Isley had undone the beast with hemlock buried within the breasts of a fat hare. Isley was worse for the wear, her brilliant appearance now marred by the claw marks of the monster she had staked her revenge on. 

Still, she pressed back into the lands she knew and to the forest she loved, if nothing else her family needed to know that her mate was avenged. She dropped the skull of the cougar down and lifted her head, calling for @Arturo - she did not need an audience with anyone else at the time. 

i am sorry this is so short! :-(

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A familiar call rises through the air for him. For a moment in unnerves him, if only because he has not expected to ever hear her again. Isley. He knows her voice immediately. One of the first he recruited to Teaghlaigh and without delay he makes his way to the borders. As his fiery gaze rests upon her, taking her in as if he is seeing a ghost, he is torn between disbelief and relief. Her flesh is marred, he sees, moments before his gaze flickers down to the skull placed near her paws. “Isley,” Ceannasach breaks his silence, silently beckoning her to speak. To explain. Where she has gone, why, and if she intended to come back to her Family for good.

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She didn't have to wait long to see the masked leader, his piercing eyes met by her expectant gaze for a mere moment before she placed a paw on the cougars skull, picked clean and preserved not only to Palisanders memory but as a gift to the Family as well. She swallowed back a sound, lips pressed together over her teeth as he said her name. "I stalked and killed the cat that took Palisander from me - from us." She said softly. "But.... Isley... Feels like a whole other woman. One we buried." She had not made the choice before she heard her name from another mouth but it seemed wrong. "Call me Hemlock." 

She could not quite put to proper words how she felt. Still hollow. Still broken. Still aching. But the vengeance she'd hoped for had not softened the loss she felt, she did not find any sort of comfort in the minor victory over her husband's murderer. She gave a soft sigh, blinking back the distant look in her gaze and the sadness that rushed to fill it and Hemlock lowered her head. "I broke my word to you - to the Family. I do not ask for forgiveness, nor do I expect it. I brought back the hellcat's skull as an honoring to you and Teaghlaigh." She no fool - even in her anguished, clouded mind she should have done something more, should have reached out and shared her plans. She had not. She did not have the hope of coming back home, but she had the desire. 

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Once upon a time Arturo would not have understood her absolute desire for revenge against the cat that had stolen her love’s life …but that was a time before he fell in love with Lotte. Of course, he would easily move with that single minded purpose when it came to his children but someone not of his loins? It had been foreign, once. Now, he understood. He does not question. He merely accepts it with a sage nod of his head, glad to see that while she is not unmarred that she is alive. He had feared that they had seen one another for the last time after she left. She corrects him, explains that she no longer wishes to be called Isley. “Hemlock it is, then,” Ceannasach murmurs her chosen name. It fits her. “I did not expect we would ever meet again, Hemlock.” Surprised he may be but he is undeniably glad to see her.

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Thus far no one had ever addressed her by anything other than Isley. A name given to her by her mother, some long gone mistress of plants and a promise of what her future would hold. Hemlock felt foreign still, but it was how she had killed the cat, and so it would be who she was. "To be honest, I did not expect to survive."  Maybe she hadn't wanted to. Maybe she'd hoped for something different - for death to being her to Palisander and to the familiar comfort he brought. "I.. I am happy to see you. To see the forest. How is Chusi? And Olive?" She she becoming more animated, the slightest wag of her tail given at the mention of his daughter but she stilled herself, sobered up. "Sorry...That probably is not appropriate."  Still, she worried over them - she cared for them, even with the distance. 

She did not know how she felt now, on the cusp of the lands she'd helped to claim, but it left a chasm wide and deep in her. She missed her home. She missed her family. 

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“I am happy to see you as well,” Arturo tells her honestly glad that whatever her intentions when she had hunted the cougar that she had survived her tangle with it. “Chusi is well, still as defiant as ever,” He speaks with a fond smile and yet he is worried about her abilities. He wonders that he was too rash in making her heir. He is glad that she is her own person, that she has her own opinions but her blatant disobedience and defiance of him are not qualities he looks for in leaders. Regardless of what she is to him he is still Ceannasach and it is his word that is Law. He sets though minor troubles aside for now as he moves onto her next inquiry regarding Olive. Her and her mate have caused him much trouble recently and he cannot help the terse pull of his lips. “You are Family still, Hemlock,” And he trusts her as he did. “Olive has recently given birth,” He tells Hemlock, drawing in a deep breath. “she and her mate have committed crimes against this Family. They trespassed in Blackfeather Woods territory and have brought the wrath of the wolves of the Woods down upon us. They are disgraced, for now and my trust in them is broken.” He has shown them a kindness, for, by all rights, he should have tossed them out: but that is a decision that will come from majority of the Family and not just Ceannasach. His fiery gaze searches her face for her reactions as he recounts the grim events and where things stand, shaky at best, for them all. He is troubled but it is his job to figure out how to fix it and he will. One way or another.

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She trusts Arturo like she trusts no one else, now that she does not have Palisander to turn to. It had been in his forest she had taken shelter, it had been with his family she had proudly stood. No matter what happened she would always respect him and his cause. To hear that Chusi was growing brought a small smile to her face, even at the way he admitted her defiance. She was a willful child and in that, Hemlock could see strength. It would need to be tempered, lest she make the brash sort of choices that Isley had that had lead her to trouble. It is the next words that Arturo offers that takes her breath away, that she is still one of their wolves, and before she can take that as a balm to soothe her war-worn heart Arturo speaks of Olive and children. 

She had hoped to bring the first young into the forest, fire in their eyes and souls - but fate had not been so kind as to offer them the chance. It seemed so far away that she had spoken to Arturo about it, but then to hear in the same breath of the disgrace of the pair made Hemlock's body stiffen and her fur bristle. How selfish were they? "Do they seek retaliation from Teaghlaigh or from the culprits?" She asked, lips twitching a bit as her tail moved in irritation - she did not hide her emotions as she never had from Arturo. "If you have need of me, I could move as Furiosa did on your behalf. The scent of the Forest faded long ago from my pelt."  She cared little for danger, if he needed a scout, she could do the job. 

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“Neither, it would seem. They are affronted and upset they have been punished and seen as criminals. They seem to think they are victims.” Olive should have let Dakarai go and returned to The Family so they could work together to find a way to save him. It was what Arturo would have wanted Lotte to do if he suddenly became Riptide and ventured away. He would not want her to do foolish things, risk the lives of their unborn children or The Family. Despite how the pair wanted to spin it they were not the victims and the blame rested solely upon their shoulders. “Yes, but do not take unnecessary risks,” He will not turn down Hemlock’s offer of using her skills to Teaghlaigh’s advantage. Still, he wants to see her return to them safe and sound. “Blackfeather wolves are savage in their ways. Be discreet and careful.” For her own sake as much as Teaghlaigh’s. “I am relocating The Family. We are heading South, far away from the coast. I will be leaving soon to scout a new home for us, someplace secluded and fortified. Some place where we will not be found lest we want to be.” And right now, Arturo did not want to be found. He wanted to take his Family and go into hiding. Even if it meant he was a coward for it.

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Hemlock pushed a breath out, certain if she held it any longer she'd burst. The pressure was too great, a sensation starting somewhere in her heart up to her brain and her lungs felt like they'd explode too. She swallowed thickly, eyes fluttering for a moment before she turned her gaze back to Arturo. They acted like victims. Victims. When they'd betrayed their family and their pack and then they wanted to be considered the victims? They had everything! They had one another - their children!, Teaghlaigh, did they not realize their fortunes? A wild thought, tempered and wicked ran through her of the pair being discarded. Hemlock would have taken the children, protected them, raised them, taught them the ways of Awenasa and Teaghlaigh both. Inside she raged at herself for the thought of it but she could not turn away. She would not run from this. Inside her was a darkness she hadn't seen before but still, she had to decide how to progress herself.

Arturo told her that they'd be moving and the woman tried to steel herself. She had to be strong, she'd only just come home - literally just made it back to their doorstep but she would have to move on. They all would. "I will stay near the Forest to keep watch while you are gone." With new lives it was hard to take any of their wolves to scout on but perhaps if she was present, lurking as an outlier, it might help distract from any intruders. "What preparations need to be made before we move?" 

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“Thank you, Hemlock,” Arturo feels a rise of unbidden gratitude towards her. He has always trusted her and he has a very deep rooted feeling that it is for good reason. That she will not betray him. I don’t know, is what Ceannasach desires to say to her question. He has never uprooted an entire pack before. Admittedly, this was unfamiliar territory for the gangster. He draws in a deep breath as he contemplates. “Just help Lotte make sure that everyone is ready to move. It will be a slow progression, between covering our tracks, with the infants whose lives are being put a severe risk,” He wasn’t even sure they would survive the move as it was, even with the whole pack. They had to face the possibility that they might lose one or two of them. “And Lotte. As heavily pregnant as she is I am not sure how this move with affect her or our children,” He speaks, unable to mask the torment in his smoky, accented, deep timbre. He has considered that the very most. The risk he puts on Lotte and their children by this move. Neither choice is simple. Neither choice is ideal. Stay and possibly fall victim to harassment of Blackfeather Woods …or fall as a massacre, rather; or sacrifice everything, risk everything on a move that he hopes will find Teaghlaigh respite from enemies he has had no part in. He feels stuck in one of those “between a rock and a hard place” situations he had tried to mentor Chusi on months ago.

By trying to make the right decision Arturo acknowledges that he could make the wrong one. Yet, it is a choice he has to make, either way.

“I don’t like being backed into a corner,” He admits to her, his tail brushing against his hocks as it flicks with annoyance. And Dakarai and Olive have backed the gangster into a corner. It is not right. That their lives are otherwise perfect aside from the serious demotion they took. While Teaghlaigh sacrifices everything what have they sacrificed for their foolish actions? Rank, in hindsight, was extremely insignificant. “When we settle I am holding a Family meeting to discuss the punishment of Dakarai and Olive. We will decide what becomes of them together. I expect to see you there Leifteanant.” Arturo says to her with a small smile that does not touch his eyes. It is the rank she last held, the highest of the adult tier under Heir and leadership. It is a show of his good faith, of his trust in her.

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Pregnant. Lotte was pregnant. The actions of Olive and Dakarai seems even more reckless, even more wild and Hemlock feels the weight of the world suddenly swallowing her whole. How has Arturo stood this long with the knowledge? Her eyes closed for a few beats and she refocused herself, listening to Arturo. "I will keep her safe. I will keep them safe." She promised. She had no rights to do such a thing and make such a statement but she could not help herself. 

Hemlock took a moment to consider what he was saying - the Family would decide what would happen to Olive and Dakari. It was what they had done with those that had betrayed them, and idly she wondered if she had earned such a meeting. Her rank was reinstated as well and it suggested perhaps she had not warranted the severity but she felt guilty still. "I will be by your side." Hemlock promised, lowering her head in a bow for her Ceannasach.

feel free to reply once more or archive as is, sonia! welcome back! <3

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If Arturo were a man that believed in religion or some sort of higher power he might have deigned to take Hemlock’s return to them as a good sign. A sign that their fortunates were looking brighter than they had in weeks …months even. Arturo did not even know for how long this has been going on. It could have been years for as rapid paced as misfortunate slammed into Teaghlaigh. Ceannasach is resilient and so too is his Family. They will do what they had to do, they will remember so it is not repeated and they would move on from it. Good fortune might not happen as quickly as the bad had but Arturo is confident that it will get better. In time. “Good.” Hemlock’s words are exactly what Ceannasach wants to hear and his response is pleased but firm all the same. “Come, I’ll introduce you to Lotte.” Since he was sure that Hemlock was in no need of a tour. With a gesture of his muzzle he turns and heads inland, towards the heart of Ravensblood.

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Her heart beat wildly in her chest and for a moment as he called her closer - to his lady and love even - she paused in her steps. It was hard to come to terms with what she had done. She had left, pursued her rage, abandoned her family for the sake of a vengeance that had not helped them either. Still she had gone. She had pressed on. She had done what she had done, but her crimes had not brought the fury of another pack onto them. She licked her lips, glancing again to the skull before choosing to leave it on the border a grim marker before she joined Arturo and took her first steps into the Ravensblood again. After meeting with the Banrion she had gone off to visit Palisander, feeling burdened and uplifted and overwhelmed all at once.