Blackfeather Woods the devil kept an eye on me

@Maegi

scylla was beginning to get the impression that the other younglings thought less of her. it made her blood boil.

from venamis's disregard of her to rowan's glare during maegi's teachings, she felt an innate need to put them in their place. sure, one might be slightly older and the other was clearly the know-it-all of the group... but she'd find a better thing to be than ordinary like they were. her nose crinkled up in disgust as she mere thought of it. scylla, despite her youth, held herself on a pedestal that would only continue to grow as she aged. finding herself huffing and puffing with internalized anger and no means to let it out, she ventured on deeper into the woods. at least in the darkest reaches of the shadows, nobody would be able to witness her temper tantrums.

at first, she didn't even hear the crunch of bones underneath her feet. held up in her own mind, scylla was pulled out of her daze only on account of nearly tripping over a much larger pelvic bone, causing her to look down. a scattered trail of remains leading her deeper and deeper into mephala's web was laid before her seemingly inviting her in, and readily did she follow. as the air became damper and the light grew dim she did not halt her little adventure, following the bones as they became more and more apparent.  

large eyes stared bewildered as she drew upon the most fascinating sight. hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of corpses all dumped beneath the ground. they ranged from no bigger than her paw to much larger than her, all heaped into one mass grave. it was oddly beautiful; they were so silent. she didn't know what to do but simply stare, unaware that the chambers and tunnels leading away from wolfskull cave were known quite well to the other dwellers. for now, it remained her own little secret.

She rarely came down here since Parvati had died. This was her place, and Mou's place, and where they'd kept the fire girl—nothing but ghosts and memories to be found within the tunnels. But they were part of her home, and Maegi couldn't neglect them forever. She slipped through the darkness, wraith-like, feeling her ex-lover's breath on her nape.

It's just the air, moving past you. Just the air, and each sound just your pawsteps. Yet. . .Mou lingered.

Maegi drew up short with a breath sucked sharply in as she nearly barrelled right into the girl, standing near Wolfskull Cave. Scylla, she gasped, heart pounding hard against her ribcage. You startled me. Sorry. . .was thinking too hard about something. . .

Bones. Too many of them. Maegi had intended to take them to the Altar, but gods, there had been so many— It was a project much too large for her to handle alone. She hobbled to stand alongside her niece, giving the pup a sidelong glance. Relics of times gone by, she muttered, shaking her head. Terrible things done by those who came before us.

she didn't expect to almost be barrelled over by her aunt, but had made no move to duck out over her way or make her presence known as the woman neared. perhaps maegi would pass right by her if scylla remained absolutely still, like a mere shadow against the wall. but the sudden gasp of realization coming from the other indicated that her plan was foiled and she let out an inaudible grumble. 

"it's okay, i do that too." she offered after her aunt explained, knowing that she also underwent long moments of deep thought, internally complaining about whoever had instigated her wrath that time as she walked through the forest alone. 

"what do you mean?" she piqued, gazing curiously around the site. "what terrible things?" scylla hadn't considered that perhaps the bones had landed there due to unfortunate circumstances or terrible reasons. but what did it matter? mother killed things all the time... wasn't that just the way it worked?

She let out a quiet snort of laughter in response, pleased to hear the girl was of the same mind. She supposed she had been a little vague about the 'terrible things' and Scylla had every right to ask. Still, it just now occurred to Maegi that her niece's father had been a part of those wrongdoings, and, well. . .

Best to keep it on the vague side, for now.

Some of the wolves who lived here before. . .messed up, Maegi explained. They'd keep prisoners, torture them. . .kill them. It was a living hell for those kept here, and it also ruined our reputation. Everyone thought—still thinks, really—that Blackfeather is evil. Cruel. Twisted.

Her own mouth stretched in a frown as she tasted the words, bitter and cold. I wanted to change that, when I came to be leader, she continued, staring at the bones. So I moved them out of that cave, said with a brief gesture, and they just ended up here. I got too busy to move them to the Altar, which I intended to do originally.

Maegi looked at Scylla, then, sizing her up. Wondering just what she thought of all this. Wondering if she'd take after the more peaceful spirits of the forest, or become more like Vaati. Damien. Cicero. Crazed, dark, twisted. Flawed.

And, if one took a step back and examined the situation from afar. . .Maegi, herself, fit those categories as well. But that's the fun of third-person limited, y'all.

scylla never considered herself to be evil, cruel or twisted, so naturally, it came as a surprise to hear that others held that particular viewpoint about her and her family. at least it was a better reputation than being considered stupid or cowardly, she figured, before going on to contemplate exactly what kind of 'living hell' blackfeather could possibly be. but regardless, if these bones had once belonged to prisoners, didn't they deserve to be punished for doing whatever caused them to be prisoners in the first place? if scylla bit her sister, their mother would punish her... was that not the same concept? however, the girl didn't pose that particular question to her aunt, picking up on the feeling that the older woman did not agree with the concept in its entirety. 

there was only question the curious girl feel the need to ask. "what is torture?" she stared up at the woman with a blank gaze, unfazed by the immoral connotations of the act for such a thing had not been exposed to her just yet.

Out of everything Scylla could ask, Maegi hadn't necessarily expected that. It took her aback, and she paused, lips firming. Staring at the bones, trying to find an explanation that conveyed the horror without necessarily making it larger than it was.

Hurting someone when you don't need to, she finally said quietly, glancing back at the girl. Or beyond what you need to do. They might have done something wrong, but maybe not so wrong that you need to inflict pain. It'd be like. . . Gods, what? Beating up your sister for accidentally stepping on your tail, she mustered, the effort weak.

Maegi's mouth twitched in a half-smile as she gave Scylla a gimlet stare. Don't beat her up for purposely stepping on your tail, either, she said gravely, though with wry humor in the mix as well. Punishment doesn't fit the crime. She knew that Cass's kids were quite fond of physical wrestling, after all. Best to preempt that.

The man who gave me this, she explained, turning the tattered side of her face to Scylla, did so for no good reason at all. Just because he wanted to. . .wanted to torture me.