Blackfeather Woods look to your kingdoms — i am coming for them all

the groups had set off and wanlida had rallied her compatriots ...her brothers-in-arms @Hush and @Colt to her side. she is calm despite the thrill of anticipation as the war that has been coming has finally breached the horizon. they don't just fight to soothe the injustices done against them, she realizes, as she leads the two men to the macabre borders of the looming darks woods. they fight for all of the teekons. if these wolves were allowed to continue they would only cause further trouble for the other packs. this day is heavy, it is electric and it is important. she does not know if colt is a warrior but she knows that hush is a hunter and that her mother had trusted the mute impeccably and gyda's trust is enough for eske's own.

she pauses quickly to assess the blood and corpse littered borders as the trio approach on the side of lion's head mesa, taking in the scent of their numbers to give her an idea of what they were looking at. "jus drein jus daun," eske murmurs to them in a low, quieted voice that only the two men would hear. "blood must have blood." she translates for colt's sake as she leads them over the borders and into the copses of thick trees, motioning for them stay close and alert.

today, she would bring truth to her rank. today, she would become the bringer of death.

Truth be told, this wasn't Colt's most ideal fighting situation.  They were going into lands he knew nothing about, and he was fighting alongside two he had met in passing once or twice before, but had not shared a lot of time with.  He did not know their styles, or how they would match his own, though the same could be said of most of the Caldera as well, so he supposed that was alright.

Eshe muttered something that Colt missed as they entered the territory, too caught up with the grim display before them.  What sort of pack was this? It was obviously a warning, one that they were clearly going to ignore, and Colt thought back to his conversation with Quixote.  Yep, this was crazy.  But here they were.

Colt nodded, his face neutral, and continued to follow her.  He hadn't met Wildfire, but he knew why they were all here.  He'd heard enough of the tale at least.  If there was a threat on his family, he was glad to help, and hopefully less of that blood would be his own.  Only time would tell.

Hush's nostrils flare at the stark stench of rotting blood and flesh. The darkness of the forest was intimidating. How could wolves live in such a place? It felt like something out of a fairytale: the lair of a dark beast that steals and eats naughty children.

Honestly correct.

Had he known that his dear sister was once a member of this pack, he would reject her immediately. No wolf who joined this pack was of a sane mind, especially if they stayed.

Hush itches to go ahead of Eske, to lead rather than let the Wanlida be ambushed by figures hidden in the dark. He moves ahead, snorting and tossing his head towards the unknown stretching before them. His baby blues gleam with a burning desire, hoping that she understands his meaning.

Just getting this up so I can follow along

Nyx was occupied with a bone she had found. There was some good meat on it so she had decided to keep it for herself now that they were in danger anyway. She could've guessed this would happen at some point. They weren't the most likable bunch of wolves, that was for sure, and it was just a matter of time before they pissed off someone with an army that could follow them. The starry female was hidden in her den, surrounded by brush but she had her head just slightly outside, holding the bone down with her paws.

When her mind could take no more of sitting around, she got up and made her way, slowly and noiselessly like the night, through the woods.

You can kill dis boye (also @Eske @Colt @Astrid @Moonshadow)

Miraak could not sleep well. The voices were louder than usual tonight, the whispers half coherent. He knew who was speaking — Meldresi, Mondrar, Missami, Mother and Father and so so many others — but not what. He rose, his bones creaking with the effort of raising his muscular frame upwards. Miraak stretched his body and yawned and went to the borders. He did not get far before he saw them.

He stared at the three invaders from a distance, in their sight. He had a nagging feeling gnawing at his belly. He did not know what it was yet. It was not nervousness, but...anticipation for something to come. But not for the thrill of battle and the taste of blood. Something else.

The old warrior pushed it aside for the moment and threw back his head, calling for all those nearby. He quickly moved his position afterwards, hoping to be fast enough to avoid their detection and throw them off.

Only minor wounds please, I rolled and she will get a small piece of her ear torn off and a nonfatal gash on her side.

Moonshadow had never been in a fight before and an undeniable fear crept inside of her chest as she made her way towards the scent of her fellow wolves. She was a healer, not a fighter but Moonshadow understood that there might be consequences if she didn't participate. If only her brother was hereabouts, she would feel a lot safer if he was alongside her.

last post for me & eske. we decided to wrap this thread up since most of it's participants are on ppc & it's a very old plot. @Colt, @Astrid feel free to reply once more or archive as is. i tried to leave things as vague as possible & i assumed that eventually moonshadow + astrid would retreat. if anything needs changed please feel free to poke me on discord & i'll gladly edit it. :-)

as hush moves to take point, eske gives him a rough nudge to silently communicate that she is wanlida and it is her job to lead him into battle — not the other way around. it's true that he is likely looking out for her but she doesn't need protecting. she has accepted the possible outcomes of the day, even the outcome where she dies. it's war and she knows full well and accepts that wolves die in war.

three blackfeather wolves make their appearances known and eske goes for the male, letting the other two for colt and hush. he is fairly well matched to her skill and though he is broad and larger than her she has the advantage of speed and youth. everything fades away, leaving just her and miraak in their own little bubble as they battle. near the end, her shoulder is sore and she is riddled with bite marks but eske gains the upper hand and grabs ahold of miraak's jugular and does not release her tightening hold until his body goes slack with certain death beneath her. for good measure she mutilates his throat, his blood splattering against her throat, chest and face, soaking her paws as it pools onto the earth beneath them. she releases her grip upon his corpse, her breathing heavy as the taste of his blood lingers in her mouth.

it is only then that she remembers colt and hush. she is the victor of her fight. she has killed one of blackfeather's own and if the two blackfeather women do not retreat eske would not stop until their corpses joined miraak's. today, she is truly the bringer of death and she is drunk on the high of battle and the lust for blood. when hush and colt's battles are done, when the blackfeather women retreat, eske contemplates taking his body with her but it would only slow the trio down in the end. she thinks his skull would make a nice edition to her den but that would take too much time to remove. though their opponents appeared to have retreated she did not like the idea of lingering in this spot. silently, with a gesture of her muzzle she motions towards where they are meant to rendezvous with the others. there would be time to fully asses one another's wounds and have them tended to, then.

cameo. you can notice her but no harming--this is backdated and she didn't have any injuries coming out of the war

The pups had been encouraged to stay below in the Web with Relmyna, but Maegi's natural curiosity--with not a little trepidation, either--brought her to the surface as the thundering sounds of battle sounded, cries echoing through the Woods. Keeping low and quiet, the girl slipped through the trees a pale specter, mismatched eyes darting constantly to and fro, looking for enemies.

Should they find her, Maegi knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill her. She was, after all, a child of this place, a inheritor of the scourge they had left on the world.

She had emerged in the southern part of the forest, and while Vaati's and Kove's scents were not to be found, she did discover that Miraak and Nyx, two of her most beloved packmates, were nearby. She flattened her ears, moving toward the sound of battle. She had no idea what her aim was--it wasn't as if she were able to help, in any case--but her feet kept her moving as she tried to move as stealthily as possible, despite her limp.

Suddenly, chaos was upon her, and her gaze fell upon a brown female with bright eyes, engaged in a spar with Miraak, whose own indigo orbs flashed with the thrill of the fight. Heart hammering in her chest, Maegi watched, wanting so badly to leap into the fray, but kept her distance, hidden in the shadows, her muscles taut.

The old Melonii was doing his best--oh, and there were Nyx and Moonshadow, fighting a pair of wolves over to the side, they seemed to be doing fine as well and--Oh, oh, no!

The woman had sank her fangs into Miraak's throat and clamped down her jaws, and her uncle was powerless to stop this newest onslaught. It was like when Ramsay and Euron play-fought, except this was for real, and Miraak was dying before her eyes. Her stomach churned and her soul felt like it was being torn in two, and she felt paralyzed in place, rooted to the ground. . .just watching.

She couldn't cry out, for they'd hear her. Couldn't weep, for the fear of being found. Fear had frozen her where she stood, so fleeing wasn't an option. All she could do was watch.

The enemy combatant dropped her uncle's lifeless, blood-soaked body to the ground, and signaled to her fellow fighters to leave. Maegi had dropped to a limp crouch, grief racking her body in tumultuous waves. Blood rushed like thunder in her head, and she hid her face in her paws, emitting a low, guttural moan that was barely audible over the sounds of the forest.

The nightmares began. She saw it over and over. From her position in the Woods, to the journey to the Bypass, to letting her brothers and Cicero go. Hell, the last thing she saw before being yoked to the collar was Miraak's corpse, stained crimson, his Melonii eyes staring wide and sightless into the Void.

Thus Maegi saw her first death, felt her first loss--and the slow shift into the wolf she would become had begun.

vaguey vague

And so they fought.  Colt barely even paid attention to who he was attacking; faces only distracted.  Instead he tore and they tore in return, a dervish of blood and snarls.

He hadn't expected it to be easy, but the fight was more evenly matched than he could have supposed.  At the end of it, the others were running, but he dropped blood from a good many wounds, the deepest of which in one of his legs.  He turned to appraise it but it would hold his weight for the walk home, which was most important.  He did not pursue; he had no interest in killing.  The goal had been made, and hopefully they would think twice before returning to threaten the Caldera once more.