Blackfeather Woods Rapunzel escapes

As Malice was left alone in the den of Burke again with no sign of Kendra showing up anytime soon, Malice got bored. Not the;"I want a nap" bored but the adventurous bored. Burke had said she could wander a bit, and Malice was curious to see if she could find Cicero. She hoped she could surprise the bi-colored eyed boy with her presence, if he hadn't scented her already or had been told about her. She was also curious to see what other wolves were in Burke's pack her new home, and if they were all as bad as Nemesis. Or perhaps they were more like Cicero; weird but likable.

She got out of the den she had shared with Burke for 2 nights now, back aching, and stretched in front of the opening. The glen sure was a nice place to be, but Malice was almost jumping to see what other things she could find here. Sure, it might not be as beautiful as before when all the green and plants were still there, but she had to warm up to this place somehow.

Without hesitation, she trotted away from the den she could now locate pretty well, her tail even wagging from side to side. She was in a good mood, and as long as no one would give her a reason to not be in said mood, she would stay happy. The aching in her heart had somewhat stopped, having been replaced by the aching of her back, now that she was forgetting what it was to be a Moonlit Wolf. She could start over here, be the person that had been tucked away under a layer of kindness and understanding. Or she could stay the potato she was, be the odd one out. She could be the daughter Lucifer always wanted to have.

After walking in the wrong direction around 2 times, she finally reached the Red... uuhh... What burke said. It seemed like a nice place to rest a bit and see what would come by.

I believe this thread has been waiting for me, @Malice, am I right?

Not a single hair in Damien's body agreed with Burke's handling of Blackfeather Woods ever since Moonlit Hills appeared in the Map. He was aware that there had been altercations between Nemesis and the wolves of the hollow, and that Burke had his own opinion about the matter. It all became even clearer when he brought the alpha of the pack herself to live in his own mother's den. But he watched it all from the shadows, waiting in silence. At some point a mistake would give him space to act, and eventually, a mistake did.

Malice would have been wiser to stay put in the den instead of roaming the forest like she belonged in it. Damien noticed her, and met her at the edge of the red grove to confront her for the first time, taking his very first step into the hot deal. He growled deeply, a challenge to her arrogant display of comfort through her tail position putting his own above it.

Eeyup!

It was a nice day, signs of winter even existing blown away by a nice spring breeze. While no rustling of the leaves above nor any bird songs to keep her company, she found this a beautiful place. It wasn't as dark here, not so claustrophobic as the rest of the territory. It reminded her much of the river that flowed inside Phantom Hollow. Quiet, peaceful and maybe even somewhat magical. She breathed in loudly, finally somewhat used to the sickening smell of the Dark Brotherhood that had haunted her most terrifying dreams after the encounter with Nemesis on her first day. She could recall that day like it had happened yesterday. It hadn't been Malice's first fight, having been trained roughly at Lucifer Peak, but it still was her first sign of grief. She shook the thoughts out of her head, instead focusing on the view. All was well...

Until a low, angry and hostile growl boomed trough the air. She had hardly noticed the other's presence until then, and so was quite shocked to see a young male, around Cicero's age perhaps, approach in all his well-deserved glory. Malice's eyes widened as she looked upon the scarred male, his icy orbs staring into her very soul. Had it not been for the fact that she was pregnant and that acting hostile on Burke's property was off-limits, she would've growled back. Instead, she froze, ears and tail lowering followed by her front body into a quite formal bow. She was not looking for a fight, not after having a fit with Nemesis that still didn't quite like her.

The female's response to Damien's provocation took him aback. From what he knew, Phantom Hollow was perhaps the only pack that could pose a threat to the Dark Brotherhood in the area, and he was expecting a reaction according to that from the alpha. That's when Damien finally connected the dots. What other reason could Burke have to bring an otherwise unknown female to the territory and house her in the alpha's den, than her being pregnant? The growl deepened as he realized the treason that it was for her to even step on those grounds, and he took one step forward as his instincts pushed him to kill the female, but he didn't. He stopped right in front of her before his teeth could even touch her.

"You don't belong here," Damien said holding his rage back.

Moonlit Hills was and would never be a threat to a pack that was so well-developed as Blackfeather Woods. For what threat did a pack that was just settling, with a big lake in between them, mind you, actually make? Plus, Malice had come to the Dark Brotherhood in peace after meeting Cicero, and a deal had been made. That deal had not been broken, and the two packs lived in peace, even after the locusts attack.

And what threat was Malice to the Dark Brotherhood now, without her pack, without a body capable of fighting? Surely they had all realized by now that the daughter of Lucifer had no malicious plans for this land, nor the wolves that lived upon it. She was just here, so what? She wanted to learn, wanted to help, wanted to follow. What more did they expect? She showed no signs of hostility, unlike the male before her and Nemesis, and wanted to work with them, not against. She was no threat in any way, and well, if it was about belonging, surely they were right. She did not belong, not yet. But times and thoughts changed like the weather.

He came closer, his growl deafeningly loud, and all Malice could do was submit- body and mind. She moved back again, her body lowering even more. If he were to attack, Burke would not like it. She was carrying his off-spring after all. If she were to die, Burke had gone out of his way for nothing, and she was sure the boy before her would get a well deserved beating. Her back was aching even more in this position, but she kept it, feeling nauseous and somewhat scared.

Affirmative. She spoke softly in that gentle tone of hers. Though I have no ill intentions, nor reason to harm both this land and the wolves upon it. She muttered in her own defense. Perhaps Kendra and Cicero were the only nice wolves here, she thought.

The mere idea of Burke trying to replace Meldresi with the likes of Malice was disheartening and unbelievable. Damien refused to accept such thing happen in his home, and refused to watch Burke do as he pleased with the pack his own mother founded under divine command. Burke may hold the position of alpha and mentor of the brotherhood, but none of those titles gave him the power to be disloyal to the pack's morals nor the Night mother.

Perhaps Malice was right. Cicero and Kendra were peculiar beings, driven by their own motives and most likely ghostly voices in their heads. Perhaps those two would be the closest thing to pleasing Malice would get to know in Blackfeather Woods, because in Damien's eyes, the rest of the Brotherhood and it's acolytes would keep their oath of loyalty. Even Cicero would, as it always did when it came to backing Damien up.

"You could do us no harm," pointed Damien out fully convinced of his words, almost laughing at the mere thought of him feeling fear of the female, "but that does not mean you will get my approval." he said coldly. Then he stepped away, his point had been clearly stated, and he feared not any form of defense the pregnant female could enact.

Malice did not fully believe that Burke had any kind of feelings of love toward her. Sure, he had shown he greatly cared about her to the extent of letting her join his pack, but love? Perhaps he only wished for his new offspring to live happily, be part of a true family, instead of just being a consequence from that small mistake that was made that hot spring day by the Greatwater Lake. She did not know about Meldresi, not about any kind of religion instead of a small part about the night mother and what not from Kendra. The reason for that was not because she wasn't willing to know. She had even asked Nemesis if she could tell more, but the answer was suspected. She would not get any great details until she would prove herself. and prove herself she would do.

Malice also didn't know about the relation between Damien and Cicero, for if she would've known she wondered how in the name of Lucifer those two could be related. Cicero was so wise, so well-spoken and maybe even kind, while this young warrior was filled with hatred yet loyalty. Emotionally unstable they all were, that was for fucking sure, though it was no reason to be picking on a pregnant woman who had already gone through enough. Besides, wasn't the rule to respect the elder ones? She could tell this male was an adult indeed, though he lacked the years that made one wiser, less judgmental.

Well, then that's settled. She snorted. He was right, in this state she really couldn't hurt anyone. But once the squirmy balls of fur were born and she was back to full strength and her pups could somewhat fend for themselves, she could be a threat indeed. She had trained for the biggest part of her life, and that showed, even while her body was swollen with unborn pups. She could hurt greatly. She watched him as he showed signs of leaving, but she felt she wasn't quite done with him yet. Hell, she didn't even know his name yet, though that was besides the point. What would satisfy you then, besides me leaving? She questioned. She had not thought about it or the words had already left her pretty mouth. She kept her position throughout this whole conversation; submissive, to the ground, scared for the well-being of her little ones.

It did not matter what kind of rules Malice was used to follow, or impose wherever she came from, but elders did not mean a thing to Damien if there wasn't a valid reason. An elder could be as wise or stupid just like anyone else, and youth could sometimes bring more wisdom than knowledge. If Damien was wise or not did not matter either way, for his reason to 'pick on' the female had to do with loyalty and morals (for as wicked as they could seem) rather than bad intentions for once.

While Malice kept a submissive stance all along, just her presence was disrespect enough for Damien to consider her insubordination made flesh. Her voice bothered him, and her question enraged him. He stopped walking, and looked at her over his shoulder with disdain. "Leaving?" he asked incensed, "What makes you think you will leave this place in one piece?"

Because... She muttered back, quite mad that he had not answered her question, but swallowed her words. This was a waste of time. If she were to stoop as low as the two enraged black pelted scumbags, her own pride would be hurt. No, she was going to act like an adult. There was no use in fighting, no use in shooting bullets filled with hatred toward each other. It wasn't even helping Nemesis and this male, for she was still here, steady as ever. And she would stay, in pieces or not. She would at least live long enough to give birth to Burke's offspring, for she knew he was excited for them too. After that, well, she wasn't quite sure. She would love to see her little ones grow up here, but surrounded by these hatred filled beings?

She sighed slowly, rising up again for her back was aching now more than ever. It was no use, no use whatsoever. She would be hated here, hated in Phantom Hollow, hated at Lucifer Peak. She drew negativity toward her somehow, though everyone's life was filled with sorrow and drama. She wasn't the only one, that was made clear by Sebastian. Though she had never felt more hated than here, even with the scarce affection of Burke and the short nice moments she had had with Kendra and Cicero. Everything was going shitty and she would have to deal with it, just as much as they had to deal with her presence.

I bet you look better when you smile... She whispered loud enough for him to hear. Fighting negativity with positivity often confused, and a confused young warrior was better than an enraged one. She let out another sigh. She was going to ask for his name, though why would she need that for? She wasn't going to tell Burke anything about this, nor the hatred that was spat on her everywhere she went. She wasn't going to be a baby about this all. If Burke was so interested as to ask what was going on, not even then would she bring this up. Instead, she would tell about how wonderful Kendra was, in her own way, and how Cicero and her had met up again after quite a while. Yes, happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

Burke was done with his patrol and made his way back to the den, when he realized that Malice wasn't there. Instantly he went out to look for her. Not that he was worried about her but ... maybe he kind of was. The male kept a brisk trot, trying to track her scent, which kind of stood out by now. The large male made some ground before her scent gotten stronger. 

That was when he saw Damien with her. Oh good. Damien would--- Wait.. It did not look like he was pleased with Malice. Burke frowned and instantly trotted forward. His expression was a bit confused. He appoached them both and nodded to Damien and then glanced at Malice. "Everything okay here?"

Last post! This was a lot of fun :D
And Mar, we can have a private thread soon! <3

Her strategy worked for a second. While Damien was enraged almost to the point of throwing all the patience out the window, Malice's statement made his curled lips relax while his brows arched in confusion. Why would she say that? What, was she trying to seduce him too, like she'd done with Burke? The rage started flowing through his veins right back, and he turned around to blow a strike on her bitchy face when Burke appeared to save her ass.

Damien stopped midway and looked at Burke with cold rage in his eyes. He greeted both of them like a perfectly normal day and asked a stupid question. How could anything be okay?

"Yes, all good." he said with a fake smile, "And it's about to get better." he said and turned around to leave, and walked right into the darkness without looking back. There was a lot to think about.

He kept quiet for a second, probably letting her words sink in, and with that Malice breathed out again. Her words had not been any kind of seduction, she would only - if at all- do it to Burke. Her words had been a fact; she found everyone look better with a smile on their face. Hench why she perhaps thought of Nemesis as quite ugly, especially when she was angry. But hey, who was she to judge the outside. It was what on the inside that cou-... Oh wait.

As soon as the boy turned around, Malice made a half-dodge maneuver, but she was quick to realize it hadn't been necessary. The gray mass of Burke, his calm and booming voice, had saved her from the claws of the wild beast before her. Her face revealed disbelief, and her eyes were spitting fire. Insulting her was fine, but smacking a pregnant woman? Was that the level he was at?

Fucking perfect, Burke. She huffed right after the white-eyed brute. Absolutely lovely. She rumbled, sitting down angrily. Physically hurting a pregnant woman. pff, even her father wouldn't have done it. She could hardly defend herself. As the boy walked away, her eyes rested on her saving angel, who was probably pretty confused by now. 

Burke stood there a bit confused, especially when Damien left. Burke's face turned grim, especially when Malice also cursed at him. The large male scowled at Malice before his inner therapist came out. The large male looked at Malice and tipped his head a bit. "Spit it out," he spoke to her, trying to be encouraging to have her tell what happened. 

The large male was worried about how Damien had looked, he did not look too happy with Malice being here. Burke really woul dneed to adress his members or do something it seemed. He nudged Malice now to coax her in to telling something. The male was not sure what he was feeling for her, but there was something, and even though he didn't like to deal with that he really liked her to talk to him too as he could talk to her.

Malice fire-spitting face turned calm, calming down at the mere sight of Burke. What was he mad at her for? She had been nice, even when insulted. Though she didn't say it out loud. She was sure he had figured out by now that not everyone was fond of her being here. Both Nemesis and this pregnant women slapping jerk wanted her gone, maybe even dead for that matter.

She sighed a long shaky sigh, still calming down from all that had happened. She hadn't meant to curse, especially not at Burke, but her blood was just boiling. Said I didn't belong here. She rumbled in the direction the boy had walked off to. Her gaze went to the ground as she realized that it was no use getting angry. Perhaps the icy boy had been right, though he didn't have to say it like that. She sighed again, Her eyes going to Burke. Sorry. It's just that, while I do like it here, it doesn't seem as I'm really wanted. She admitted. She didn't talk shit about the others, she would never.

Only in her head.

Burke looked at Malice when she started talking. He let out a long sigh when he heard what Damien said. Of course he would. The male slowly stepped closer and gace her a very quick lick over her muzzle. "Ah. Yes. Well Damien... He takes time to bond with new wolves. Most of the brotherhood wolves do," he spoke and then stayed quiet to let her speak some more. 

Burke tried to keep his couseling side in mind when thinking as this situation. Of course he wanted everyone to like Malice but that was not the case. "I think, most of the dark brotherhood wolves, do not open up quickly. New members are only officially accepted after two weeks, and well that ratio that stays... is not very much. New comers often don't stay which doesn't help with gaining their trust. You however, being so close to me is somewhat of a threat to them. I think. Or assume. You are close to me, and there for thing their closeness to me is threatened. If that makes even sense," he spoke calmly. 

He nudged her and quirked up his lips a bit which should resemble a smile, though it looked a bit weird. Maybe Malice would find it cute. "It will take some time," he admitted to her.

Pretty much Malice:

I'm sorry, but that's no reason to harm a defenseless pregnant woman... She muttered right after Burke's words. So Damien was his name huh? Quite nice sounding. Unlucky for the name, it was bound to a womanslapper. Didn't you see? If you weren't here, I would've ended up with more reminders of how I don't belong. She said calmly again. She sighed. I'm sorry, I'm sure he is a nice boy on the inside, but he hasn't made such a great first impression on me.

She hadn't thought that she would be welcomed with open arms, especially not by Nemesis, but this Damien hadn't even met her before. She could understand to a certain extent how she may be a threat, but wasn't it clear that's she wasn't here to take over or anything? She just wanted to give her children a home with a father. Was that so selfish as to deserve such hostile reactions? I know, I can understand... She sighed, removing her gaze from the gray mass that was Burke. It's just that I don't know what I'm doing wrong to get such rude comments.

She sat there in silence for a bit, until Burke touched her, and she didn't even flinch. It wasn't the first time they had touched, and yet it still felt like sparks were lighting up the exact spot he had just grazed. When she looked over, he was... Smiling? Was this a laughing matter? Oh, what did it matter. She had the great gray, his daughter and the mixed weird boy. The rest could suck it. Her lips quirked up at the cute sight, and she scooted closer to him in a submissive way. She gave a small lick on the underside of his muzzle, brushing up against him if he would let her. Everything takes time... She finally agreed, feeling just slightly better.

Burke let out a troubled sigh when he heard what Damien did. He could go an correct him but he had the feeling that it was going to be even worse if he would do that. "Damien is not a nice boy, he tolerates some," he explained to Malice. "Well Nemesis talked quite badly about your pack and we were all pretty upset that this moonlit pack attacked our Beta at the time. They already lack trust and you coming here would not soothe that," he explained with a long sigh. Sometimes others were pretty troubled with all of this.

Burke let her brush against her. The lick made his ears pop up cutely. The male hummed softly and pushed himself to his feet. He did not want to ruin the moment but they were in the open and he had the feeling if he would show that much affection the open that one might think that he was replacing Meldresi. He would really need to talk about that with Malice, so they both had the same view on it. Or at least she knew what he was thinking about it.

Malice snorted softly. She didn't even want to correct someone who was clearly all wrong. She would be wasting time on this Damien. Perhaps he was even worse than Nemesis. Hell, she knew he was worse. If she had to chose between a day with Nemesis or a day with Damien, she would go for Nemesis. But I am no moonlit wolf anymore... She sighed. You couldn't judge actions of the past. What mattered now was the famine and how the Dark Brotherhood could do to prevent it from controlling them. It was no use wasting energy on hating her, nor the other way around.

The feeling of Burke's body against her was as always pleasant, though not for very long. She looked confused at him when he stood up, though quickly had an "oh snap" moment. She smiled, picking herself up too. I bet it'd be best for me to stay in the den... She sighed, taking a few steps in the wrong direction for where the den actually was.

Burke nodded slowly at her. "I know that, but they don't. They live in a pack with spies and assassins. I think the fact that you could be a spy is what sets them off. Plus, Meldresi is still close to their hearts. Seeing me with another female instead of her might piss them off too," he admitted to her. It was all very complicated. 

Burke watched her go into the wrong direction and had to chuckle a bit. "This way Malice," he spoke to her on a gentle tone. The male kind of thought from the beginning that would have been wise but he didn't want to constrict her into staying in one den. "You can go out, I just don't know if it would be the most pleasant thing to do," he admitted to her, and started walking towards their den.

Very complicated it was indeed. A frown settled upon her already squinting face. Meldresi? She questioned, ignoring the other topics for now. How did he mean another woman? Was Meldresi Sebastian's mother? He had revealed no names, and now Malice felt bad for not asking. Why was she close to their hearts? Malice was genuinely confused.

At Burke's chuckle, she froze. What? Was their dirt on her behind or something? And then she noticed she didn't recognize that tree. Her ears dropped and she turned around again, embarrassed. Right, right. She chipped. Quickly trotting beside him. He was right, as always. Maybe Malice would just keep inside. She was due any day now anyway, and soon she would not be able to walk. She sighed. I'd rather avoid any more conflict.  

Burke froze while walking when she asked that. How could she not know? Oh god. "Meldresi is my deceased mate, Malice. The Meldresi. The Dark Queen of these woods," he spoke. His pale eyes looked at her. He was not sure what to think of her nt knowing about Meldresi, of course she knew about his ex-mate, but maybe not the name.

The large male let out a soft sigh. "I guess things can get confusing," he admitted to her and then continued to walk home. "Please try to, I think I need to adress the pack pretty soon about your arrival it doesn't seem that they are likely to like you as quickly as I thouht."

She knew Burke had had a mate before her (how would you explain all these kids if that was not the case) because Sebastian had told her so. So Meldresi was her name then, though was this truly the mother of Seb? Ughh, better stop thinking about it before you get a headache. She decided to just store the quite nice sounding name in the back of her head, as well as Dark Queen. Huh, funny, that was what she used to refer to herself as... Coincidence? Probably. She nodded, now understanding most of the conflict so far. 

Pretty confusing, yeah, though I'm all ears. She had said in the beginning that she would want to learn, and learn she would. She was determined to be a part of this pack, both physically and mentally. Though, that did not say the rest of them were willing to teach her. Alright. She agreed, though did not feel very convinced the rest would stop bullying her because of a simple talk. It would take some time, probably.

Burke realized that he had more children with females that were not his mate than ones he had with his mate. "Maybe we can keep it for another time," he spoke to Malice, close to being at their den already. The male had been rather tired from his patrol, which was starting to become a more regular thing. Burke did not think it was because of his age, it was just .. something else.

Burke wanted to apologize, because he did not want her to feel bad. But he realized that there was nothing he could do about it, even if he would apologize then it would not help her further. The male let out a soft sigh and then entered his own den. He just hoped they would turn around eventually.

Malice nodded. She hadn't meant right now, she just wanted to let him know that she was indeed willing to at least try to be a part of the Dark Brotherhood. And in a way, she already was. She had a rank, she was allowed in most of the territory and even slept with the alpha. What else did she want? Burke was enough company, and soon her children would accompany her too. A sudden kick in her belly made her slow down a bit, finally recognizing where the hell they were. 

It was not Burke's fault they hated her, it wasn't anyone's fault. They were all in the wrong, but sooner or later they would have to accept her or send her away. Getting sent away was probably the biggest fear for her, for where the hell would she go with her children? She sighed right after Burke, following him inside to nuzzle her scarred face into his fur. Today was not a good day, but perhaps tomorrow would be better.