Blackfeather Woods adventure time

The pale child grew, though her use of words remained stilted and little. The dark one @Astara did not often use words and neither did their caretaker @Relmyna -- and so, the ghostly child did neither. She was as most children are: easily distracted by little things, eager to explore and brusquely trotting into the unknown with no seeming sense of danger. She would babble at times but the words she spoke often made no sense. Some other pack mates would speak to her but while she sometimes repeated words, the ghost child seemed to have little interest -- or perhaps knowledge that it was a possibility -- in learning those words. Her eyes were becoming lighter, showing the signs that the last of colour she had held -- baby blue eyes -- would soon be faded too.

That day the ghost had been lingering near the glen in a bout of boredom as the sun created blotchy spots on the ground. After spending an hour catching the playful light the child grew bored and distracted and she started to make her way through the surrounding lands. She had visited the dark forests many times, and each time they brought something else. Soft whispers brought words to her ears that made no sense and yet all the sense in the world as white paws brought her into the darkness. Like a beacon she stood out in these lands, but there was something about the way she walked and stalked that showed she belonged. Every now and then a bird would fly up and she'd pounce for it -- missing, of course. As she came up to a tree there were signals carved into it, left there by someone at some time. Nonsensical signals that spoke to her in some way, that made the chanting whispers in her ears intensify. The ghost looked upon them and then she pounced for the tree before bounding further into the darkness with a playful growl, looking for the next adventure.

her children were largely silent beings. astara was the more spirited of the two, outbursts and small snarls appending her clear messages of dominance and exploration. averna was quiet, careful; she oft moved alone in the wood on little pale feet. that her daughters were silent was natural; that they moved in opposite directions perturbed their mother at times.
presently, the delta had gone off to follow her snowcub — she sidled forward, gazing toward where her daughter had looked until she too saw the cuts of odd symbols in the wood.
unable to spare a second glance before her worried maternal heart insisted she follow averna into the darkness, relmyna nevertheless shot a searching stare over her shoulder, seeking to spot astara should she also be near.

Unaware that the caretaker was nearby -- nor seeming to care -- the ghost child continued on her adventure alone. She galloped for some time, stretching her limbs and running until she grew tired through the dark forest and the paths that were lined with splotches of sunlight and old leaves. They rustled as she zoomed through. Eventually her gait slowed as she neared an altar placed here before her time, carrying heirlooms of older times.

She slowed to a trot and then a walk, and stood still to watch the dusty items placed all around -- rocks, shiny stones, assorted bones, herbs -- and admire the soft whispers in her ears and the feeling of home this place exuded.

relmyna followed, matching averna pace by pace. she allowed the daycub some distance, but could not halt the forward sweep of her dark ears. averna was the quiet explorative daughter, matched by astara's explosive emotions. and yet her mind returned again and again to the idea that her children would learn little speech. the aspiring priestess was unsure if she wanted such a world for them, and in her steps she paused, concern haloing her features. what then must be done? her turquoise gaze continued to track the child's trajectory, but for now relmyna was still.

Chest pumped hastily in the wake of the run she had had when she halted by the altar, though head and ears were erect in serious interest. The ghost child took a few tentative steps forward as she licked her lips and stepped towards the altar. She sniffed bones covered in old paint, colour gone stale over time; they must have been someone important's, a fact that she did not guess but somehow simply knew. There was magic coming from all of the items round this altar, colourful swirls of magic.

As she heard a rustle the child turned 'round abruptly to look upon her caretaker, only realising just now that he had been followed.

from the corner of her eye, as she did not wish to pressure averna with her curiosity, relmyna noticed the sharp movement; it told her she had been noticed. a small smile wreathed her muzzle as the woman approached, her own fascination seized by what the child had discovered.
here and there she took the scent of the old and sacred things — presently, relmyna reached to retrieve an old fetish from the altar, an ivoried bone wrapped in holy herbs. quietly, she glanced toward her daughter, to see what the spiderling made of the item.

The ghost child sniffed some of the items that lay scattered around; some covered in thick spider webs, some looked like they had been used more recently or at least they had been left alone by the spiders. The child turned 'round to look at her caretaker upon her approach. Her tail wagged a few stray beats before attention was turned back to the altar.

The caretaker reached for a fetish that the pale child herself could not reach. Ears pressed forward as she moved closer and nosed it. It tickled her nose and she giggled an "eeheehee" that might remind one of Euron's younger years before being abruptly interrupted by a sneeze and bowling over against the stony, moss-grown altar from the impact with an 'oof'.

indeed did the child's laughter resemble that of euron. encouraged by the similarity, relmyna gave a gentle smile, one that grew pained around the edges at the consideration that she would not see him again, nor cicero. refusing to allow the sorrow to drag at her today, the patchwork wolfess dipped her nose to see that her daughter was uninjured.

The pale child shook her head and looked around, a little dazed, to see her caretaker's nose come closer to inspect. "Mawb!" she called out with a giggle and pawed at the face in an indication that she was totally fine. She quickly got to her feet again turned around to look at the altar -- a large stone -- and reached up to rest her front legs on the altar so that she could have a better look 'round at all the assorted things on there. The first thing she noticed was some herbs that she moved towards, looking intent to grab them.

relmyna followed the trajectory of her daughter's curiosity toward the herbs. beyond a momentary hesitation, she held back until averna had presumably tumbled them down to where they were reachable. the delta stepped forward then, nosing through the dried things with clear vigor. 
she pawed at the green tatters, brushing them into piles; relmyna settled onto her haunches and looked to her daycub then, wondering with amusement if she was being paid any mind.

They made swish swish sounds as the pale child pawed through them, but provided little other point of interest for her. She put her mouth around one of the bundles the caretaker had made but the herbs were dry and yucky. Nothing like food tasted like. A small patch of colourful -- seeming very out of place in the dark forest -- wildflowers caught the ghost's attention and she dashed straight through the piles of herbs and pounced at the flowers.

averna was disinterested in herbs — perhaps another time. her mother chuckled, settling to watch the little one bat at the multicolored bouquet she had discovered. toxicologist or no, that the melonii babe had a love for beautiful things gave relmyna some hope that her daughters would escape the dark things that followed her lineage. 
vuk had been a common thing, a slight and shy creature who had ended in blood and in murder. and while relmyna did not recall all of what had transpired, she feared the combination of the shadows in her fractured mind and whatever iteration of sheogorath remained in her cubs might wreak terrible events.
she must then, the woman thought, falling pensive, be vigilant.

my last post here! feel free to tack on another or archive it as is :)

The pale child batted at the colourful flowers before her attention turned back to the caretaker. She tilted her head at the caretaker, gave a woof, and then started darting off down the winding path that had lead her here once more, ready for more adventures.