Blackfeather Woods only to trip at the sound of goodbye

set early tomorrow morning, or whenever the forecast snow (!!!) begins to fall

It was snowing. Snow meant Blue would soon be on his way south, and she would be alone again. Well. Not so alone as she had felt before, when he'd gone last winter. She had her children, now, and her pack—no lack of company. But she would miss her grackle desperately and did not look forward to the day when he decided to take wing for greener places.

Thinking about this and a thousand other things, Maegi was restless. She couldn't sleep. Instead, she paced her normal trails, mulling going to the Altar and eventually deciding against it. She stayed within the non-swampy part of the forest on this foray, sorting each thought out like someone doing laundry. Clean, dirty, clean, dirty, dirty, dirty. . .

The dirty was all that needed washing, at least of a sort. The thoughts that needed tended to, rather than the irrational musings that could be shoved away. Those weren't the clean, those were. . .beyond repair. Beyond cleansing.

@Rowan. That was a dirty bit of laundry that called for her attention. Maegi shifted course and began padding toward the space where Moonshadow slept. Would he still be around there, even if things between he and his mother had grown tense? It was worth a try, and so the Nona kept her eyes peeled for the boy, parsing out the words she had for him. The things she meant to say.

The snow fell, creating little damp spots upon her pale pelt. She barely felt the ice.

Ice fluttered from above, and Venamis chose to observe in silence. A springtime cub, the Winter's drifts had thawed by the time he and his siblings ventured from the helping den for the first time. This was another first for him, a bitter cold to conveniently follow the shaking of earth and felling of their foliage.

When he happened to cross Maegi's path, he moved to join her. Stride quickened, he padded quietly through the trees and peered through gently falling snow in search of her pale form. He went to her soundlessly, a shadow stepping alongside her so he could just brush the fur of his shoulder to hers - assurance to them both that they still had each other.

"Where are you going?" Venamis enquired after a time, continuing to stare ahead as he canted a dark ear toward the pallid she-wolf in anticipation of a retort.

He was far too intrigued by the falling snow to go anywhere yet. He wasn't late for his patrol, but he was ready to go. As soon as he figured out what this stuff was.
The season was turning cold. Colder than he thought it should. What was up with this rain anyway?

The voice though. That fucking voice cut through the air to him.
He immediately faced the direction, hackles bristled and ears flattened. He didn't know why Venamis hated him so much or why he kept attacking him. But Maegi was with him. What was this?
Had she brought him here to apologie or some crap?
He looked at them, ready for Venamis to suddenly turn upon him.

It wasn't Rowan she found first but Venamis, who settled in beside her with a question. She gave him a kind look, replying, I'm looking for Rowan. I wanted to speak with him about something—but I suppose it could apply to you, as well. She was a little surprised by the touch he gave her. She had never thought she'd bond with a child of Damien's. Perhaps it was the Nyx within him; Maegi had always liked the woman, at least when she was loyal.

Then Rowan appeared, ears flattened and staring at her companion. She frowned: was this part of the bad blood of which Moonshadow had spoken? She cast a glance between the pair, eyes steely as she came to a halt.

Look, whatever grudges you two hold against each other, you need to let them go, now, Maegi commanded, her voice soft but stern. There are too many enemies outside the woods for us to make enemies inside them. You don't have to like each other, but you have to get along, at least.

That said, she turned to Rowan in particular, face relaxing into something more like sympathy. I'm sorry you had to deal with Serem, she murmured. She's a cruel woman, not to be trusted. If you see her lurking around here, please let us know. Hopefully, we can deal with her once and for all. And she'd be the one to do it. Rowan could have a crack at her, perhaps, when she was incapacitated.

Rowan. The mere mention of that little pond scum caused a muscle in his jaw to tighten, and he chose to fall silent for the remainder of Maegi's search. He would follow her dutifully, hear what she had to say that might ridicule the younger cub into accepting his lower status, maybe gloat for a while, before being on his way. Venamis had done nothing wrong but try to fit in, after all.

When at last their paths crossed, he lifted his pale eyes to find him glaring daggers in his direction. Ven's hackles lifted at once and he emitted a soft growl, a communication that he didnt appreciate how he glared his way. It seemed that Maegi was quick to take notice of the very obvious bad blood between both boys, as she spoke up to announce her disapproval.

"He attacked me first, said I didn't belong here," he shared in his own defence, frustration fuelling his desire to say his view, "because this isn't where I was born. It's not my fault he's such a bitch."

gonna PP Rowan out of the scene -- @Venamis do you want to continue this? or fade since it's old-ish?

Oh, gods. Maegi's nostrils flared as Venamis accused Rowan, sending a curse flying his way. Enough, she snapped, eyes flashing. I mean it. Both of you need to get along. We're on the same team. She would have no more of these internal squabbles.

Rowan seemed to heed her advice on Serem and moved off, leaving her with Damien's mouthy son. She turned to him with a weary sigh, brow furrowing. You catch more bumblebees with flowers than with fangs, you know, Maegi remarked, ears swiveling in a tired sort of amusement. She'd been mouthy, too, once upon a time.

It had gotten her kidnapped, and given her the scar upon her face.

It's not worth it to lash out, she continued. Just ignore him. He's wrong, and you know it.

He fumed, continued to glare at the boy who flowered right back, and Venamis was determined to stand his ground. It seemed he didn't need to, however, as Rowan did not bark back. Instead he slipped away quietly, and the dark Melonii was not sure how to feel about it.

Disappointed? Probably. He did enjoy ruffling the feathers of others, after all. Angry? Obviously. That was nothing new. Mostly, he was just confused. It wasn't like Rowan to back down without at least spitting a few insults.

He blinked toward Maegi, who remained, and snorted in frustrated amusement at her comment about catching bees. She expected him to play happy families with this idiot kid, make friends despite his dickhead attitude. "Yeah, well," he rolled a shoulder in a shrug, "he can eat shit for all I care. He's a dickhead to me and I won't apologise for what I said."

Goodness. Maegi sighed, shoulders sagging. I'm not asking you to apologize, the Nona responded, but for pity's sake, can you just let it go? You belong here, he belongs here, we all belong here. Nothing anyone says is going to change that.

She understood harboring grudges. Hell, she had her own list of wolves that she despised and would kill without a moment's notice. But Rowan and Venamis were, at least for the time being, dwelling in the same place. Their objectives should be the same.

Winter would not be good for Blackfeather Woods if they spent the cold moons tearing each other apart.

Tell me about yourself, Maegi continued, her voice softening. What have you been up to, lately? Do you enjoy hunting, fighting, plants, stories. . .? Every wolf must have a job, and she had explored her own quite early. She wondered if Venamis was of similar precocious mind.

Much to his surprise, Maegi disproved his assumption that she wished of him to apologise for the anger he felt toward Rowan for his shitty attitude. Worse, she openly announced her preference on the matter: that he should simply let it go and move on. Venamis' raven ears pricked forward, fleeting, before they splayed backward to communicate fresh resentment he suddenly felt for her.

Of course, it was always easier for others to tell someone to shut up and get over something that affected them, instead of insisting that the offending party take responsibility for their actions. "Sure," the obsidian boy twitched his lip, sarcasm dripping from his words, "let's just pretend we don't have a real problem here. It doesn't matter that he continues to get under my skin as long as it makes your life easier, right?"

Bitch, he thought fiercely as he turned his face away, suddenly unwilling to even look at her as the realisation slapped him right in the face: he was Damien's son. It was a title not of his doing, one he would carry with him for the rest of his life, and one that was sure to burn him wherever he went.

Venamis had nothing to say to his pallid leader's small talk. She could go eat shit with Rowan too, for all he fucking cared. He ignored her feigned interest in his life and moved away with a huff, not bothering to glance back should she bother to call out to him.

She scoffed aloud as he gave his retort, completely steamrolling her attempt to smooth things over. Now wait a minute— but she was cut off as the boy stalked away, having said his piece. Outraged, Maegi took a few hobbling steps after him. . .and then stopped, nostrils flaring.

It would do no good. He was set in his mind as Rowan was set in his. But if they weren't able to get along, then they should just ignore each other completely.

The woods were plenty big enough for the two of them, in her opinion. She'd once lived here with her witch of a mother, after all.

Maegi gritted her teeth, eyes burning into the spot where Venamis had disappeared into darkness. She stood still and silent for a moment, mindlessly mulling what to do next. After a few moments that might have been seconds, might have been hours, she turned woodenly and retreated within the trees.

The snow kept falling.