Blackfeather Woods that's not true--that's impossible!

set after this thread, so backdated a week and a half or so

Splashing through the swamp, Maegi quickly made her way to Nightcaller Temple from the glen, bewildered at what she had learned. She didn't quite understand it, exactly--but she knew it was wrong. Perhaps the gods could give her more clarity.

Cicero, her father! He was Potema's brother. She thought of having pups with Euron, or Ramsay. . .it just didn't come together, in her mind. How had this happened? Was this the reason Potema was so distant? And if so, why didn't Cicero keep a similar wide berth?

The girl finally exited the swamp and entered the clearing, the midday winter sun a calming warmth on her face. The hum of the gods grew stronger as she approached the rock, enveloping her in their noise.

"Māzigon, Maegi," they sang, drawing her ever closer. Like in her dreams. Closer, closer, closer, 'till her black nose touched the cool stone.

"Skorkydoso?" she murmured, one of the few Daedric words she knew already, her breath bouncing off the rock to warm her muzzle. "How?"

And they answered, but the words were lost on her. The tongue had not yet been mastered. Letting out a cry of frustration, Maegi threw her head back and sat on the grass. The voices quieted somewhat, and she looked around, wondering if anyone was close enough to hear her. Gods or otherwise.

hope you dont mind an ette!

He is learning to wear the shadows well, though he does not know if acclimation is his ultimate goal. Now that he has a face associated with the strife, it is easier to bear down and focus. It would be a fool's errand to return to Redhawk Caldera now and give away his position. He's much more valuable on the inside like this, close enough to Cicero to keep watch on him. But Cicero isn't what he expected at all -- a strangely meek looking creature, and while he wonders if that's part of an act, to make himself appear more harmless until he needs to strike, part of it leaves Argent a little disappointed. It will be easy enough to crush him, when the time comes.

Such violent thoughts do not linger in the titan. He walks through the forest in easy steps now, taking time to map the strange ins and outs of the dark woods. There are parts he cannot reach yet, but as he winds his way through the grotto, a tiny voice catches his attention. Curious, Argent pulls closer until he makes out the shape of a child. A small white thing, around the age of Ramsay - a littermate, perhaps? at the foot of a stone of vague import. Argent does not know Blackfeather's religion, beyond being aware there is a spirituality he cannot grasp yet, but the energy in the air feels... charged.

He approaches cautiously, curiously, but does not near the stones. For some reason, they weird him out. "Are you all right," he asks, his voice low and gentle in the air.

of course not :)

She had been so focused on the voices of the gods that a real live one behind her startled the girl. Wheeling around, her eyes caught sight of an interesting-looking cream-colored man, big and burly, with kind eyes. She hadn't seen him before, so Maegi immediately got defensive, hackles raising.

"Who are you?" she demanded, gaze flashing intensely. "Why have you come here?"

His pelt did smell of the woods rather strongly--he had been here for a time--but unlike the other new faces she had run into, this encounter was at Nightcaller Temple. Newcomers straying into the heart of their home angered her. . .scared her a little, too.

Perhaps he has underestimated the sanctity of the place. Glancing at the stones with a touch of nervousness, Argent pulls back, lowering his head slightly. "Argent," he answers. "I did not mean to intrude," he adds, looking down at her -- his eyes follow the strange curl of her disabled paw, but he does not comment or react, "I heard your cry and wanted to .. check up, I suppose." Less out of kindness than his natural tendency to follow the whims of his curiosity on impulse, but, well. That part doesn't need to be told.

Her gaze follows the trail of his eyes down her leg, to her paw, and she bristles further. "I've never seen you before," she countered. "Not here, not anywhere. Did Vaati let you in?" That had become her sort-of de facto question for newcomers. Her brother was Dark Master, after all.

She shook her head, shaking off his response. "I'm fine. I was just upset." Her heart pounded as she thought of it, of all of it, once more. The thing was, she really wasn't sure why she was upset. She just knew that something wasn't right. Something was off.

She's a bit more talkative than the other child. "Yes," he says to answer her question. Wonders if it will reassure her any, though she seems less snappish than a moment ago already. Her answer is dismissive, though he hadn't expected much, given he is a stranger in a place he is not, apparantly, meant to be. "I see," Argent says, not the type to push. "What is this place?" He adds, figuring he might as well know where he's trespassed, if it's caused any distress to the child.

Maegi drew close to the Altar, feeling a rush of protectiveness toward this sacred place as Argent stared her down. It felt wrong, felt off, for him to be here uninvited. He was no Melonii, no child of the dark woods. He should be scared of this place, of the whispers of the gods.

"The Temple," she responded succinctly. "We pray here." Normally ebullient and chatty when it came to Blackfeather lore, she had clammed up, unwilling to say any more. If he wanted to know, he'd ask. Frankly, she hoped he'd leave.

New faces scared her, particularly as the war Vaati had spoken of drew nearer and nearer. Would they fight, truly, for this place? Or would their stay here end in betrayal?

The temple, though of what he does not know. "I see," he says again, tone more serious. He does not wish to offend the girl -- both because this seems like a useful bit of intel and because he, frankly, finds himself unhappy at the idea of her being unhappy with him. "I am sorry if I trespassed in that case," he says, more gently, and takes a step back to indicate his apology. But he does not leave, not yet, instead curious. "What do you pray for?"

Wariness quickly evolved into open scorn as his question reached her ears. "Didn't Vaati tell you anything about us?" she asked, tone half-incredulous. Maegi found it hard to believe that her brother had let this man, with no discernible skill-set or darkness to him, into the Woods without at least a primer into their beliefs.

Then again, she had had to educate Moonshadow and Rouge on the ways of the gods. But the girl was still rattled by Cicero's earlier revelation, and was in no mood to teach. She knew that it reflected poorly on her, to turn away someone wishing to know about their lore--especially a new packmate.

But Maegi was a child, and children do not always think rationally.

"I pray to be left alone," she said coldly, looking away from Argent. She began to walk away from the Temple, with one last parting touch of her muzzle to the Altar's cold stone. The whispers stayed with her even as she left, the burly wolf just a small russet--and thoroughly inconsequential--blip in the corner of her vision.

sorry she's such a jerk lmao

haha its ok, i love her!

Didn't Vaati tell you anything about us?

No, although frankly, it would have been more useful to Argent if he had. He does not mind her reaction, really. She is a child, not a threat to him, and he has met with enough of Blackfeather's other members to know that if his outsider presence is an anomaly, it is at least a tolerated one. 

"Very well," he murmurs, more to himself as the girl departs. He thinks of Furi and feels a slight ache for her. Left alone, he lingers for a few moments more, watching the smooth stones of the temple with an unreadable expression, before turning himself and leaving the space. The details of Blackfeather's religion will not be useful in the fight against them, and so: better to show some respect and leave well enough alone.