Blackfeather Woods Ward of the Shadows

@Burke !

Quiet was intrigued by the inhabitants of the dark forest. Not only the wolves, but the fauna that they fed on. The dark crows and ravens, the bats, the glowworms, and most of all, the deer. The pale-furred deer that seemed to glow in whatever light spilled in through the thick canopy attracted her attention, stealing her away from her tasks and compelling her to sit and stare at them. She did this now, hunched in the thickness of a thicket, silent as a small herd of them nibbled on the growing foliage. How and why would deer be this pale escaped her. Wouldn't it be detrimental to their survival to be white in a dark land?

But they were beautiful nonetheless. Quiet trailed them as they moved slowly through the dark forest, careful not to disturb their feeding. Were these the creatures the pack killed to feed themselves? Quiet felt a strange guilt at the thought, but food was food, no matter how beautiful.

Burke walked through the forest, curious what his members were up to these days. He had been busy with his children and patrolling the borders. He figured he should check upon them or at least have a patrol through the forest to see if there were some members around. The alpha trotted through his territory. He felt a bit better after laying my his mate's side and just mourning about her loss. He caught a whiff of a recent scent and then realized he was tracking the quiet one. He was most definitely in need of a talk to her. Seeing that she was sticking around it was time for to choose what she wanted to do. The male trotted further until he saw her.

"Quiet," he greeted, seeing that this was a mutual agreement that they would call her that, she could not voice out her name anyhow. The male nodded in greeting standing before the coy wolf.

The hybrid watched the herd - 3 females and 4 fawns, as they began wandering away from her lookout position. She began to move forward, slowly, foot by foot, following the movements of the herd as they stole away, as quietly as her, towards a new browsing spot.

Quiet turned away from her spying of the herd, her eyes sliding over to the gray wolf as he approached and called her name. She walked towards him, bowing reverently and licking his chin in a greeting that befits the ruler of the Blackfeather Woods and her pack. Her posturing finished, she backed away from Burke, silently asking what he needed of her.

Burke approached the female. His body so large compared to hers. Burke didn't pay too much mind to it. The dark colored male had nodded to her in greeting in which she returned that greeting with her body language. The male sat down. "I wanted to talk about your future here in this pack. As jou know we aren't just a pack we house the Dark Brotherhood. You have potential as a spy and I was wondering if you would be interested in perusing that branch." She could really be a priest and Burke didn't think assassin would fit her. He would just offer het one since that would be the easiest.

Quiet's body language shifted almost immediately, her whole body expressing the delight she had towards the thought of being trained as a spy. Her ears perked, her eyes brightened, and the little hybrid nodded, accepting Burke proposal. She had been idle for too long - she needed to spy again. It had become a career for her, a love that she had internalized within her mannerisms and thoughts, it felt strange not having it in her life anymore. Becoming a Dark Brotherhood spy would give her that thrill once more.

Burke was pleased to see her whole body language turn into that of a pleased wolf. Correction, she looked more than pleased. Burke nodded more seriously. Certain that she would make a good spy. The large male now had to figure out how they would communicate well. He could scent a mute wolf on a mission but he was not sure how he was going to get all the information he needed. Hmm. "Good. You will be working towards being a spy then. Any ideas how you are going to tell me what you have seen?," the alpha male wondered.

Quiet was honored to be a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Of course, she wasn't a fan of the whole dark gods thing, but the spirit was the same. To be a part of something larger where her talents were actually needed: that was all she wanted. She'd follow these dark gods if she had to. Perhaps they weren't even all that bad.

But now it came to communication, but Quiet was certain that she had a method that would work. When she first became a spy in the truest sense, Quiet had been taught symbols - shadowmarks her mentor had called them - that served as a rudimentary way of communicating. Little did she know that it was a Dark Brotherhood convention that had been spread to several organizations and wolves, like her.

Grasping a stick, she drew a diamond with a circle in its center - the sign for her home pack, which she would also use for the Dark Brotherhood. Dropping the stick she gestured to all around her, suggesting its meaning: home, Dark Brotherhood. She would use this symbol where ever she went, its presence suggesting that a member of the Dark Brotherhood was here, or had been here.

I know @Damien was going to pick this up, and I don't want to skip Anthony in this! So I will have Burke somewhat understand it but then later let Damien explain the symbols? Since Burke never learned about them officially! You know what? Anthony feel free to have Damien in this thread! :D

Burke was instantly answered with the girl grabbing a stick and forming a simple pattern or symbol even on the ground. The large male had seen them around the woods but wasn't sure what they meant, there were a few different ones. The mark was quite visible with the white snow being moved and having the black soil under that snow. Burke slowly nodded. "Signs. Yes," he spoke, mostly in thought as he was thinking what this could mean. He was the self acclaimed head of the brotherhood after Meldresi left, but he had the feeling that there had been a few gaps in what he had learned. "I've seen these before," he admitted.

The male studied the mark closer. "I'm afraid that I don't know what they mean, my studies weren't that far when my mate died," he explained to her. "But, I have a feeling she would have taught her children. I could ask them and then we could communicate more deliberately." Burke then howled for Damien, to be a translator. If he was around Burke was certain that the male would come to help them. It was good for the future of DB after all.

It is my fault! I've been too slow on that other thread with Quiet D:

Damien was probably doing something strange as he was, but let's not worry about the backstory today. Damien was summoned by Burke, and quickly Damien responded letting him know he wasn't too far away. He found that the alpha had company, the silent hybrid he met the other day, and acknowledged both their presence bowing his head in greeting.

It didn't take long for the young male to understand why he'd been summoned, it didn't require an explanation. He saw the drawing in the ground, and was a bit agitated by it. "The Guild..." he read, and then his eyes fell upon the little hybrid, "How do you know these?" he asked with a little concern, all he knew about them was, besides their meaning, that there weren't many who knew about them.

The coywolfdog was surprised to hear that these signs, these shadowmarks, were not exclusive to her and her mentor and those that employed her. It was coincidence or the cooperation of the players that they both knew of this system. Burke was less knowledgeable in this system, but others of the pack knew them well. With a throaty howl, one of these wolves were summoned. The black-furred, white-eyed wolf she had met before answered the call. His reaction was aggressive (though everything this wolf did struck her as aggressive) and suspicious, and he asked her where she learned the signs. Quiet shrugged in her way of answering, but it was clear that she did not learn it from a Dark Brother or Sister. Unless her mentor was. That would explain a lot.

It didn't take long for Damien to arrive. Burke was pleased to see him. Damien muttered something about 'the guild' when he saw the mark. HA! So he did know them. The alpha male looked at his son and then tipped his head a bit. "Is that what it means? The guild? So that means us? The Brotherhood?," he then questioned, looking at the two of them fro a confirmation.

Burke was also curious to know how this female knew the signs but she couldn't talk to explain it. Maybe she would explain it in signs. Now Damien was there to explain them. The alpha male looked from one wolf to the other. Quiet shrugged which didn't reveal much. "Maybe there are other brotherhoods in other locations? We might never know," he then spoke. "What I do know is that this is a great way of communication. Can you teach me the signs Damien?," he wondered.

The hybrid shrugged, but that was not even close to being enough information for Damien. The only way Damien thought this could be explained was that Quiet, unknowingly, had been taught the marks by someone from Nightmare Elm, perhaps the shadow king himself. There were a lot of questions bouncing in his head, but he decided not to voice them.

"There are definitely other branches of the brotherhood," Damien clarified, "Potema left looking for one that could teach her the ways of our priests, without Mother we don't have that knowledge," he said fighting back the melancholy for the sake of the conversation. "But these are not property of the Dark Brotherhood. They were brought to Blackfeather Woods by one of the first wolves my mother named a Dark Brother. His name was Slade, and I believe he was the only one with knowledge of the shadowmarks." he said, looking at Quiet suspiciously. Could her mentor have been Slade? They would probably never know.

"There's nine of them," Damien said putting his questions aside once again, and one by one he drew them in the ground with one of his sharp claws as he explained their meaning...

I'm lazy, see here!

... "There are still some of them drawn around the forest, but I'm afraid no one besides me and my brother, and maybe Kove, know their meaning." finished Damien with thoughtful eyes. "Perhaps it is time to bring them back..."

Quiet fell back, wondering if her mentor, or the wolves she had been with when she first became a spy were Dark Brotherhood members. She did not remember paws of blood red on their shoulders, but reexamined her memories of the group, but she did not know for certain. They had mentioned something about different branches of the Dark Brotherhood, but different branches could have different traditions for all she knew. And it was not only the Dark Brotherhood who used it, these marks, so she could be mistaken. But she would never know.

Quiet recognized the marks, nodding as she examined each drawn mark on the ground. They were the marks all right. And this Damien knew each one? Splendid.

Burke nodded and listened intently. He would need to practice carving these marksz he had no skills with writing with a stick but it might do it with his paw. He nodded seriously at Damien and the Quiet one. "I can only agree to this. This way ... Quiet here can tell us if an area is safe or dangerous or if there is anything else. I am pleased. I shall practice them myself until I know them by heart and then we will start teaching the brotherhood and then the ones that show promise to join. Candidates like Quiet. She wants to be a spy for us Damien. Maybe give her a quick catch up you could use it for your trade."

Burke was more than pleased about this. Quiet had brought in an new piece of communication that would be only there for true dark brotherhood wolves to understand. The alpha male nodded. Yes. This was good. They were getting a step further, developing into something better. This plan was coming together. And then there was still that other plan... Hmm.

Quiet, content in knowing that she had been helpful, looked towards Burke with the intent of excusing herself from this conversation. Burke now knew that she would be trained in the art of espionage, and these marks would continue to be used in the Dark Brotherhood as a means of communication between her and the pack and within themselves as well. She had nothing else to add to the conversation (even if she could speak).

Burke was pleased with this progress and nodded to the both of them. "Good work. I will start learning these marks throughly, so we can communicate better," he spoke, finalizing this meeting. He had given Quiet some advise and learned something himself in the process. Burke was pleased. He dismissed them both, he could always ask Damien to test him on his marks. This was a good start. Burke studied them for awhile, coming back over the next few days to practice 'writing' the signs.

-end thread-