Moonstone Quarry biggest & the best

During her trip back from the Copse where she had met Powergirl, the spirit had felt oddly grounded in the physical world. The Unknown and the Caretaker did not linger around her as much, the whispers of the Gods not as present in her head. There was, however, a tugging at her mind when she passed by the quarry. She'd never seen a place like this, and it was intriguing as she lingered near the western edges of the quarry and looked at the moonstone within.

But the tugging was not towards the moonstone. It was towards the north, where there was a strange pull. When she tried to identify it further it was the Unknown that pulled her. The spirit preferred to linger a bit longer in the grounded feeling, in the physical world, basking in her meeting with Powergirl... but she was also loathe to deny the spirits around her. The pale youth pondered a moment and then turned north, deciding to at least check out why she was headed that way.

Can we assume it's evening? If not, let me know and I can change.  :)

When last Teinaava had passed through the Teekon, he'd actively been hunting for signs of his missing sister. He'd crossed paths with a prime specimen then, purely by chance: a Dark Brother by the name of @Damien Melonii. One born of a band of assasins he'd been entirely unaware of throughout his time at Cheydinhal, but whose duty was bound to the same Dread Lord and Night Mother.

But a part of him was lost. Without knowing the fate of Ocheeva, the spider was reluctant to settle. He made no promise to return, but the intention remained at the forefront of his thoughts throughout the seasons he spent looking for his sibling. There were times that he was certain to have detected a sniff of her and he was sure to leave marks of his own should, but the temptress continued to evade him.

When he finally admitted defeat and accepted that his beloved twin did not wish to be found, he returned to the seek the beast who'd so intrigued him. It would bring him some relief to join him in those dark woods, Teinaava felt, to be part of a Brotherhood that need not know of the mystery behind his departure from his birthplace.

He was surprised to find Blackfeather vacant, though considered the strong possibility that it may have relocated for the cold season. Teinaava ventured West until the claimed mountains rose up before him, before turning North toward unfamiliar terrain. He hid himself away during the daytime as always and, when the sun began to dip for the evening, he resumed his hunt.

Sable guard hairs bristled momentarily as his platinum gaze found the Winter-white form of a young wolfess, though they were quick to smooth. The brute watched her quietly from a distance and, remaining to the shadows, opted to follow her on silent paws.

AAAAAAAH
Sorry, I had to jump in on this

Damien tailed the southern purlieu with Moonstone Quarry in what was supposed to be a quick mapping out quest to secure the borders of his kingdom, but heavy with memories Damien's strides took him further south than he intended. The quarry had been a place of inflection in his life, changing the path of things forever, and yet, there was still so much about the vents that had transpired here that he still could not remember or understand, so, naturally, he felt intrigued and tried to find the exact place where the princes of oblivion had sent their golden saint to rescue him.

And his eyes could not believe what they would find.

The little light that the waxing moon could muster reflected off her pelt like moonstone, and she moved carelessly, wisply. For a moment he thought this could be her, the exact same wolf his memories had brought him here to picture, but as he crept closer he realized this was, paradoxically, someone much less familiar. His actual niece.

Averna? he said tentatively, revealing his dark frame with a hopeful look in his face, but she was so much older now that it was hard to be completely sure. He looked around her in search for the one thing that would immediately confirm her identity, and while his bones told him they were not alone, the pale spirit's midnight counterpart was nowhere to be found.

The spirit was so engulfed in the world of spirits that she didn't notice anyone follow her. White eyes were clouded, swimming with the whispers of the gods and focussing on things here and there that were seemingly not there at all -- when one would look, they would see only the cloud above or the ground, trees, surroundings, but nothing remarkable. Nothing worth the stares the white-eyed girl breathlessly gave as she obeyed their commands.

The pale youth did not understand what they were bringing her towards, but she could not simply deny them; it would be unwise. Perhaps they were simply leading her away from somewhere rather than to somewhere, such was possible. Whatever the case, however grounded she had been previously following her meeting with Powergirl, now...

A deep voice followed by a dark face ripped her from her thoughts. As she looked up, the spirit knew why the voices had drawn her here quite suddenly. He spoke the name that some of them used for her -- the name that the gods had given her, she supposed -- though it wasn't a name that she associated herself much with. If it was convenient for them to use, then she would not stop them, however.

Grim, a word she spoke as if it were a greeting, the name of an old acquaintance or maybe even friend. Grim lives here now?

The Unknown whispered and her pale ears twitched as he did. She seemed distracted by something somewhere not far from Damien's face, pale eyes glossing over and seemingly out of focus as she stared at it.

Pewter gaze narrowed dangerously beneath a furrowed brow as he prowled after the ghostly figure ahead. There was something strange about this pallid youth that drew him in, as most unusual things did. His stride was low and careful, maintaining enough distance that he could just keep her within his sight.

When the presence of another interrupted the spider's pursuit, the dark Velothi's form swept low to the ground. He sucked in a deep breath through flared nostrils, detecting an aroma that he recalled vividly as that of the wolf he'd been seeking. Teinaava's muscles slackened somewhat and, lifting an obsidian lobe, tentatively pressed closer to savour the baritone of Damien's voice.

His heart fluttered at the familiarity of it, even though it was not his own calling that rolled from the Sovereign's tongue.

The girl answered, their focus on one another allowing the raven to creep along the shadowed edge of limestone that towered above. He was reluctant to be found just yet, wanting first to feast his eyes upon this reunion with growing curiosity.

'Grim' she said, and Damien frowned in utter confusion. Did she not recognize him? Well, he couldn't really blame her since he'd barely spent any time with the girls when he was in Blackfeather Woods, instead focusing on his arrangements with Nyx, and they had been so young when he left that it was unlikely he'd made an important enough impression. But it was Averna, he was sure of that. He could see it in her eyes, white just like his own, and the similarity to Relmyna was undeniable. Through her lived Cicero's legacy, as chaotic as himself, and the night king wanted his niece to be home, with him, where he believed that she belonged.

It occurred to him that, perhaps, 'Grim' was her name for him, and he took it. He had never really given them his name anyway, but he had made sure to tell them he cared for them. He could only hope those things had stuck somehow in their young, playful minds. Yes, this is our home. he answered, and it wasn't without a well-thought purpose. It can be your home too, Averna he said, but he noticed how the pale child's eyes had drifted from focus. He looked back, wondering if she had identified the presence he was feeling behind him, but there was nothing. Feeling uneasy, Damien tried to approach her in order, eager to bring her under his protection.

It was confirmed that Grim lived here now, and he said that it could be her home, too. She smiled with a hint of sass in her expression, one that might reminisce one of Cicero's younger days, and shook her head. The woods are our home, she said, answering not only for herself but for Shadow, too.

It was then that her attention was drawn to presence that dances through the air, which she swiftly identified as the Unknown. She allowed Grim's approach, fully focussed on the spirit, though as Grim stepped, the spirit moved along, too. He meant much to you, said the pale youth quite suddenly, and her eyes snapped back to Grim as the spirit seemed to fade away into thin air near him. Pale eyes focussed back onto Grim, she asked: Do you miss him?

It was eerie looking at her directly, but the feeling reminded him so much of Cicero himself, hardly ever making much sense and always on his own dimension. Averna was worlds away and in front of him, and he had no doubt that it meant she had skills for supernatural contact. She had the sight.

She claimed that Blackfeather Woods was their home, and Damien could not contradict her. It is all of ours, he agreed, with a deep nostalgic tone to his ever softer voice. Then her eyes shift to his side and Damien follows, as though he was going to find someone behind him. 'He meant much to you' she said, and Damien's skin chilled instantly. He turned back to check, and her eyes were so focused, so lucid, that it was almost undeniable that she was observing something as though it was among them, and yet, there was only dark and silence. Was she actually seeing Cicero there, behind him? Because it sounded like she was talking about him. I miss him dearly, he admitted, and then wondered: do you?

It is all of ours, he said, but he didn't make a move to come with her rather than invite her along. It was okay for her; but still, it was not her place to join him here. The woods were her place, and always would be.

Grim said that he missed the Unknown -- dearly. The spirit frowned with the sorrow of the departed on her face; a grimace of longing. That expression fell somewhat when Grim asked her if she missed him, too, as if she snapped back to herself. She shook her head quickly, but doubted between two answers: either because she had never met him, or.. I don't miss him. He's right here. She sighed lightly, a little sad that Grim could not see him; a sadness that she took from the Unknown.

'He's right here' she said, and a powerful chill ran down his spine, electrifying every hair down to his rump in eerie discomfort. They couldn't possibly be talking about any one else than Cicero, and Damien didn't doubt a second that Averna most likely possessed the same ability her mother had to see beyond this mortal plane. And the presence that he sensed near, stalking him from behind somewhere in the dark, only reinforced Damien's belief that Averna was actually seeing his dead brother behind him. He didn't know if he should say something to him or whether it would do any good. Somehow he knew that Cicero would always be there somewhere stalking him like he had all his life, and though he missed him he still feared deeply what kind of powers might have been granted to him by the princes of oblivion for his wicked services down here in mundus. For all he knew, Cicero might e laughing down at the world next to Sheogorath himself, mad as ever.

So he focused on Averna, she who was flesh in front of him, she for whom Damien still could make an effort to safeguard against the world and from who he already knew how much potential could be exploited. You are gifted, Averna Said Damien, concern tainting the tone of his voice. Please let me care for you, let me show you how to use your gift, and not let it be used against you, for he knew the gift of sight could as well be a curse. I want to help you, he said as he took a daring step forward, hoping that his niece would welcome him for an embrace.

The wolves who clung so harshly to their mortal coil that they could no longer see the spirits were always somehow impressed or touched by the connections to the spirit world that she provided. She did not understand it, but then, she did not have to.

As Grim said that he would care for her, that he would protect her, if she let him, she tilted her head. She missed the offered embrace, not quite understanding it to be that, though understanding the step forward was a physical offer to put force behind his words. You may help me, said the pale youth, but rather than stepping into his embrace, she then turned away, intent on making her way back to the Blackfeather Woods. She halted a moment, looking over her shoulder to see if he may follow her or if he would stay behind -- or, perhaps, needed to make amends elsewhere first -- and then she started heading away, back to her birth home.

She gave him her blessing, and Damien's heartfelt warm for a moment. All he really wanted was to see to it that Cicero's daughters had everything they needed, and now with Averna's blessing there was nothing to stop him. He was ready to take her home and eager to ask where Astara was to bring them together, but before he could invite her back to The Weald the spirit child turned around in the other direction. Wait, he said, confused about her actions, but then he realized where she intended to go. I want you to come to a new home. A place where you will be safe with me and I can help you learn, he offered, figuring he should try to sell the idea first. He knew how Blackfeather Woods could act like a magnet for their kind, and it hadn't been easy to pull away from it, but he knew it was for the best and he only wanted the best for his family. Please, give it a chance. if she didn't, then Damien would have to resort to a different method for putting the twins again under his protection.

A single white ear turned back towards him at his words, and a smile danced across her face that might be reminiscent of her father's. Then the spirit simply continued on her way, not stopping for his words for she was one her way back to the Woods, her home. She did not mind his help, should he offer it, but that did not mean she would live under his roof, at his home, for she knew only one home and it was the dark woods at the center of the Teekon Wilds.

With an eerie smile and an innocent blink Averna denied herself the chance of joining her uncle and the rest of her family in The Weald, and there was simply nothing Damien could do about it on the spot to turn the tides. She had always been a stubborn child, from what little he-d lived with her that he could remember, and that was the way things were going to be. Precisely: not easy.

Damien watched her go, leaving behind a chance at making part of the roots that would Make their family worthy of fear and respect after their softer years. But he would not let her disappear. As soon as he had a chance he would find her and Astara and work to get their trust to bring them with him back home... Unless home was already where they were.