Neverwinter Forest I guess I'll just go home.

When Ibis woke up she was, at first, too sleepy to realize that the warm body next to her wasn't @Okeanos; she smelled the sea, which struck her nose sharply, and then the petrichor of the morning's rain and chilling dew across the grass. As she lifted herself free of her bed in the grass she angled her body for a stretch, and noticed the warm red coat of @Ereshkigal beside her; it took a moment for her to remember the night previous. She felt immediately bashful and awkward, groggy from sleep as she was, and nearly tripped on the prone body beside her.

Eventually the two of them were awake and on the move - the awkwardness of the morning mostly forgotten. Ibis didn't want to bore her new friend with any tales of home, nor did she feel confident that she could speak of Lost Creek, or Elysium and her mother, without feeling the loss of either her parents or Lily - so she was unnaturally quiet for the duration of the hiking. They made their way through the ruined forest to the south until it opened up to a broad meadow just beyond, and the drizzling rain had finally ceased.

There - beyond the meadow, that line of trees. That's home. Ibis finally shared, and with a thin smile upon her face she began to lead the way across the expanse. She wondered if her brother would be there waiting for her - or maybe @Mal would be lingering in the woods instead. That thought made Ibis almost miss a step; she didn't want to drive away her new friend because of Mal's poor people skills, but... For now, she'd trust him. They needed the bodies and, for what it was worth, Ibis liked Ereshkigal. Something about her was alluring - but something else, a subtle edge, told Ibis that she'd be able to handle Mal's typically dark moods.

She glanced often to Ereshkigal as they roamed, and called out when the pair were closer to the forest's edge: Okeanos? Mal? I'm back - are you here?

Ereshkigal hadn't realized how tired she was until she drifted into a deep, dreamful slumber; when she awoke next to Cerulean — whom she almost didn't remember at first, before it hit her — she felt more than refreshed. The journey passed without incident, the two keeping mostly to themselves. The rain was cool, sweet, invigorating. . .and when they draw close to the dark, verdant tree-line, the Seductress feels like a new woman.

I hope your friends are as sweet as you, she breathes, turning a grin upon the pale young fae. It isn't a lie. The sweet naivete of Cerulean makes her an ideal disciple, and to have two more such souls close by is a fantasy she almost is hesitant to entertain. How well things are going, here! Already, she has a friend — a follower.

How many more will surrender themselves to the will of the One; rouse themselves to their destinies?

Her destiny is here, she thinks, returning her gaze to stare determinedly at the evergreens. Here, she will do her mother's, her sisters', her ancestors' work. Here, she will build something greater than all of them, something to last past the last beat of her heart, and the grave beyond.

The forest was home to one particular animated monkey-wrench that went by the name Mal.  At the very least Mal had started to understand and accept some of the jobs that would come with leadership -- he'd been out on patrol making sure that nobody else was going to encroach on their home.  So far, it had gone pretty well.  Nobody had bugged them.  It should keep going that way.

He heard Ibis in the distance somewhere, so slightly adjusted his path to intercept.  She was usually quiet, so this was sort of out of character.  Or something like that.  Maybe he was just associating quiet with "doesn't usually come heckle him too much" but maybe that was because she was gone a fair bit.  As the dappled man prowled his way out of the dark shadows beneath the trees, he noted she wasn't alone.  Hm.

Of course, Mal was about as sweet as a pile of thumbtacks doused in lighter fluid, so of course, his sharp question without an introduction was, Who's she?  Sidelong muzzle-point in the coywolf's direction.  She looked rather cartoonish to him -- or like a mutant or something.  Weird was always untrustworthy, wasn't it?  He didn't hide his suspicion, but it ran deeper than showed on his face.

The girl's comment made Ibis' belly fill with butterflies, and she smiled as she thought of her brother - imagining how great it would be for Okeanos to meet her new friend. Surely they'd get along! Ereshkigal was charming, and pretty, and around their own age, which made her more than suitable. Just as she was opening her mouth to say something about her dear brother, another voice split the air - and there was the other wolf living in the woods; the sight of Mal would've normally made Ibis a little nervous but this time, she was resolute and to-the-point as the boy demanded some information. He wasn't charming about it, and the look on his face wasn't pretty at all - which made Ibis wonder why she ever bothered attempting to reconcile with him, or be his friend at all. 

It wasn't the introduction she expected for Ereshkigal, but it was better than it could've been. Maybe Mal was trying to at least contain some of his bad attitude? For now that was enough; but there was a slight edge to Ibis' voice as she responded, This is my friend Ereshkigal, and she'd like to live here with us. I invited her, and I vouch for her, whatever that's worth, she thought but didn't voice.

The girl glanced over her shoulder to the ginger and smiled, feeling those butterflies fluttering. Ereshkigal, this is Mal. He wants to own this forest one day. No further comment necessary; he was a surly boy and Ibis was far more interested in the pretty girl she'd brought home to care about further explanations. She wasn't asking Mal for permission anyway - rather, she wanted to flaunt the fact she'd met someone new. Besides, what had Mal done lately except grouch and moan?

Without waiting for the anticipated rebuttal of the century (or indifference, he was a mutifaceted creature after all), Ibis side-stepped to be closer to Ereshkigal and said, Come on, I'll show you around -

The young man that greets them is undeniably intriguing, with his eyes of different colors and his dappled pelt. His curt attitude markedly less so, and Ereshkigal gives him a brief smile and a raise of her brows before turning to Cerulean, listening with keen ears to her introduction. She is curious to see if she will be welcome here. Her friend seems to think so, though there is an undercurrent of doubt to the situation that seems to belie the girl's confidence.

A pleasure to meet you, Mal, Ereshkigal purrs, tail swinging slowly behind her. She gazes into the trees with mock surprise, features turned sharply upward in a jesting grin. This whole forest? I'd imagine you'd need an army for that. I would love to help.

Cerulean insists that they go forward, though the Seductress is still unsure. She hadn't received an invitation yet from this presumptive ruler of the forest, right? She is still for a moment, glancing between the two wolves. Her eyes finally settle on Mal, quietly interrogative. I will accompany you, as long as Mal thinks it fit for me to enter, Ereshkigal remarks, her rose-gold orbs fixed firmly on his face.

He'd been scrutinizing the stranger, and had opened his mouth to say something when he was preemptively interrupted.  Ibis's dismissive attitude sent a ripple down the fur of Mal's spine as he refocused onto her with quite a bit of intensity.  No.  They'd done that to him his whole life, that part was over, and he was going to get the respect that was owed to him.  If they didn't like it, they could piss off and go back to that hellscape they came from.  Ibis, it was said sternly, coolly.  Like for a brief moment he might actually be a responsible leader -- or at least an actual adult.  He took a couple of steps to sort-of intercept and paused, frowning.  This is not Elysium -- that isn't how a pack works. People don't get to come in unless they're gonna join, and they don't get to join unless they talk to me.  It's not like she's a kid.  In his eyes, Ibis had zero grounds to try and do anything around his totally reasonable orders, mostly because he believed she'd be far more likely to get walked over and bring in someone bad because of whatever starry-eyed daydreams she believed in that differed the cold hard reality Mal was so familiar with.  Sure, she could verbally challenge him, but he was sure she'd fold in a heartbeat if he made it about teeth.  This was his pack, he'd protect it, duh.

He lingered and watched her a moment longer before shifting his gaze snappily to Ereshkigal, We need people who can do stuff.  What do you do?  See, Ibis? This was what you were supposed to do!  Also if it wasn't obvious, he was totally oblivious as to why she might be wanting to ditch Mal in the first place.  He is not a smart boy, double plus that when it comes to feelings.  Also he wasn't sure he necessarily liked being watched so intently on Ereshkigal's part either -- but he was totally gonna prove to be better by toughing it out.  Or something.  But if she wanted to help (which he was pretty sure she'd said before he got mega distracted by Ibis), then she needed to say how.

She was all set to head off and show Ereshkigal the territory when her friend interjected, and then Mal, with his infuriating -- well, Malness. Talking down to Ibis as if she didn't know what she was doing; just like everyone else, finding faults where there were none. She knew how a pack worked (probably with more confidence than Mal himself) and felt her body's short coat begin to bristle in an uncharacteristic expression of her irritation. Once Mal was done explaining the obvious he turned to Ereshkigal and - rudely, thought Ibis - demanded information from the sweet girl beside her.

Ibis huffed and stepped forwards as if to physically block Mal from the girl, and cut him off.

She doesn't have to prove anything to you, Mal. I told you that I vouch for her. You can't control who lives in this forest all on your own, you know. This isn't a pack yet and you aren't the leader. Don't talk to me about what packs are like. She'd worked to prove herself in Lost Creek, befriended assorted wolves in neighboring packs with her skills, and what did Mal have to show for all his roaming? A sense of entitlement to some trees minus any support.

It was childish of Ibis to be this adamant, certainly. It likely wouldn't give Ereshkigal a good impression of their relationship or the end-goal of forming a pack here, but at this point Ibis was reacting, as she often did. This time though she was putting her foot down. Maybe you should be asking why she should follow you - and maybe I should too.

The man's rebuttal is both a surprise and a slap in the face, as far as Ereshkigal is concerned. She feels it, feels it deep in her bones, and turns wide orbs between the two of them as they speak, rendered speechless for now. There is a question given to her, but Cerulean responds, and she is less trapped and more enraptured by the debate — how will she respond? What is her place in this mess?

She must heal this place. It is clearly one of strife, and she. . . The One can remedy this. She must speak, though.

I can. . .do whatever is needed of me, Ereshkigal says, gazing at Mal. My mother taught me to hunt fairly well, I am experienced with child-rearing, I — Her pointed chin lifts, oh-so subtly, a sincere gleam in her eyes. What is it that you require? she asks, a corner of her wide mouth lifting. It is a smile, but not; more an offer;

And even when Cerulean defends the pair of them, she looks softly upon her friend, flicking her tail along the shoulder beside her. Not yet, says her manner, not yet. There will be a time. . . but not yet. Time enough, yet. For now, it is the time to blend. To assimilate.

Her stepping between them and speaking over him brought an instant reaction from Mal.  His lips pulled back slightly and he squared his shoulders.  As she continued speaking, he continued to morph towards a more dominant pose, eventually his tail arced up over his back.  While Ibis might have been putting her foot down, Mal had already done so.  This whole pack was Mal putting his foot down and damned if he was going to let some witch take it from him.   He didn't get any closer to someone he was beginning to seriously not trust, but he would stand his ground.

His voice roughened, This is my pack.  You suddenly gonna fight for it? he snarked sharply.  Yeah right.  He'd freaking pwn her just on strength of his spirit alone. Maybe you don't get it, but I left Elysium because I wasn't going to tolerate people treating me like trash and if you're gonna pull some kind of elitist garbage here too -- well, I didn't beg you to stay in the first place. You can always go back there if they're more your people.  He'd rather have nobody here than people who were trying to undermine him at every turn.  Elysium was just a bad place, and those who accepted it seemed far to willing to be brainwashed by whatever cult they had there.

But of course, right now he wasn't exactly operating with a cool head so when his attention snapped back to Ereshkigal it wasn't like he was being the kindest creature around.  Before he might have been abrupt, but now he was definitely pointed, Does it look like we've got kids around here?  Nah right now we gotta have people that hunt, maybe defend the pack, maybe help Okeanos learn more healing stuff or whatever.  What did Ibis do again?  Wander around? His gaze kept flicking back to her, now more suspicious of Ibis than the strange woman.  Get pissed at him for what he saw as no reason that made sense?  Seemed he wasn't going to mention her.  At least he'd actually been genuinely a jerk this time instead of just obtuse.

Mal went off - she expected it, so most of the noise didn't dampen Ibis' sudden expression of self-righteousness (if that's even what one could call it); she had been a doormat for too long and was at the edge of something new, feeling a flare of frustration burning inside of herself. As much as she wanted to counter all that Mal was saying she knew it wasn't the time or place to argue - she'd said her piece, and Mal retaliated with his posturing and his shouting.

It stung a bit to hear him speak of Elysium in such a way; she had no memory of such awful behavior within the willow forest, and took a deeply personal offense from the way he dubbed her elitist. Ibis didn't know the word but the way that Mal said it was infuriating. He was throwing a tantrum because Ibis didn't agree with him (or so it felt) and she knew she'd have to be better - and not fall upon the easy route of being childish right back - or she'd likely lose her place within Neverwinter Forest. But the more he spoke and the more she thought about it, Ibis didn't feel she was being treated fairly.

She had sacrificed her relationship with her own father to follow Okeanos on his quest, and Mal was at the heart of that quest. If being in the forest meant putting up with this, with being treated like this, and not having the opportunity to speak up when things didn't feel right, what was the point? That wasn't a pack; that was a dictatorship with a child at the helm. Ibis' pause gave Mal time to address Ereshkigal and his tone was a little bit different with her, although by that point Ibis had stopped listening.

There was nothing more to be said. By the look on Ibis' face she wanted to speak up again, but she glanced to Ereshkigal and gave her the opportunity to do as she pleased; there was no point in debating further when it was clear Mal didn't respect or care about her.

Ereshkigal can fight, if and when need be. The prospect of fighting for this scrap of land, however beautiful, seems quite silly to her. She glances to Cerulean, wondering if the woman will take the bait. The words about an Elysium go over her head. In name, it sounds lovely; however, she knows she is ignorant of the situation as a whole and cannot pass judgment on any one place, especially that which seems to be one of contention between the two.

Then Mal addresses her again, firing another barb before moving into areas of usefulness she already covered. Ereshkigal runs her tongue over her teeth, rooting herself in the utmost patience and calm before responding, in a breezy manner, As I said before, I am a huntress, and have knowledge of healing. If those skills are needed, I can provide.

She looks to Cerulean again. What now? Mal's verdict will determine whether or not she can stay within his forest, but is her friend keen on remaining here, given the obvious bad energy between the two? If she is forced to choose between the two, it is no choice. They can stay, or they can move on—Ereshkigal is not fussed with either outcome.

That seemed to have shut Ibis up.  Good.  His tail lashed a couple of times in a catlike way.  He didn't trust either of them -- or rather, he didn't trust Ibis so why should he trust this new chick?  He squinted and looked between them.  He didn't seem sold.  At all.  Maybe some other group would find them enthralling and lure them into staying there instead.  Everyone would be happier.  Probably.

Well, she hadn't mentioned the healing thing before.  So what was she? Some sort of perfect potential packmember?  You would think there would have been some sort of no...  Perfect = suspicious.  So we'll see.  You'll have to talk to Okeanos.  See what he needs to learn and stuff.  Or see if she like... imploded or something in the meantime.

A pointed look back to Ibis, cool, as he was much more sure of himself and his decisions. And if you find someone else in the future, they will go through the same thing.  I will know who is in my forest, and they will only be here with permission.  There would be no more questioning him.  At least if they knew what was good for them.  He honestly wasn't asking for too much, was he?

The introduction complete, Ibis saw no reason to linger. She didn't move while Ereshkigal spoke nor when Mal commented his thoughts, although his attitude was seriously grating on her last grains of patience. She didn't want to be a negative person but Mal really brought it out of her; she couldn't envision a future here - or more specifically, a pack led by someone like this boy. When he finished sniping at her at the tail end of the conversation she was silent. Her ears turned subtly away as Mal made claims to his power and then, in silence, Ibis turned and stalked away from him. She paused and glanced towards Ereshkigal for only a moment as an invitation to continue her tour, but not a sound passed the stern line of her set jaw.

Okeanos. That was Cerulean's brother, she recalls, from their conversations traveling here. She hopes he is more similar in attitude to her friend than this boy-king of the woods. Still, she dips her muzzle in silent gratitude, letting not another word in edgewise slip from her maw. It is done; it is finished. She casts a glance at Cerulean at his message to her but then returns her gaze to Mal.

Thank you, she purrs, wondering if seduction is a finite resource, after all. An erection only bought you so much leverage — and with a man so already intransigent, Ereshkigal surmises she will have a difficult time rallying this one to her cause.

She lets her orbs rest on his for a fleeting moment more, then retreats after Cerulean, breaking into a jaunty trot to catch her up. Once they move in tandem, the coywolf fae pushes her muzzle comfortingly into the girl's shoulder, eyes soft. Thank you, she whispers, and the two travel deeper into the trees, exploring all this place had to offer them.

Well, since she didn't respond, he'd have to take that as an act of deference. And at this point he certainly wasn't going to blink.  He'd keep a stern face.  His pack.  She was not allowed to question it.  Still, his attention shifted back to Ereshkigal as she spoke, thanking him.  Hm.  Mal was a wolf that was hard to turn from suspicion once he'd set along that path.  Her softer words earned a bit of a squint from him.  He'd been put on edge thanks to Ibis and now he just wondered what the larger eared woman really wanted.  It was probably a trap.  Let's be real, Mal hadn't had anyone be nice to him in a way that made him feel it came without strings -- in his world, it always did, so why would she be any different?