Blackfoot Forest Here I am, I've come so far.

For @Merrick

It was not Blackfeather Woods. No, this one was far better than anything his previous home could ever have given him. Venamis revelled in the security it provided, the comfort of its deafening silence - the darkness. A deep inhale confirmed to him that this forest belonged to no one and, as he moved smoothly forward to breeze between its frosted evergreens, he considered the faraway possibility that he could make it his own.

His. All for him.

Snow fluttered from a pale sky above, but the spider cared little for the cold. He simply prowled his newest haunt, jubilant to have found such a place after a lifetime of misfortune.

he hunted.
having caught a vole and searching for another, merrick padded through the misted forest. it bloomed with snow, a cold beauty that set him to marveling, but it was not the valley of bears
and so, much as when he was faced with a pretty but ultimately dull member of the species, he was disinterested.
a shadow, moving among the heavy pine boughs. merrick drew up, retreating into a fragrant hiding place, and watched with a single eye as the dark wolf stepped into view.

There was an itch between his shoulder blades, a familiar discomfort that he knew was not the source of some flea. No, something was probably watching him again - maybe even following him. Venamis flared his nostrils, breathing deep the scent of the forest's proud evergreens and fresh snowfall, and exhaled in a low growl.

A gut feeling, perhaps, but he trusted that more than the word if any wolf.

He shook out his thickened Winter pelage and pressed on, trying to shed his uncertainty by assuming a hunt for any prey that might've taken shelter among the woods.

he followed, prowling the hunkering masses of snowcovered vegetation. tail flicked behind him; merrick padded lightly over the snows, using his coyote heritage to keep hidden. one lantern eye glowed, dipped over with a shadow, darkened, and then burned between the leaves of an alder.
merrick pitched his voice low. "we see you."
a little velveteen shimmer of chuckles, and merrick's voice dissipated.

Silence. Eerily quiet, and a chill begun the prickling of guard hairs behind his raven ears as he struggled to shake the discomfort of being watched. Teeth gritted, Venamis felt the toughened hide at his nape shudder in attempt to rid himself of the feeling, but it simply trailed along the length of his spine.

Fear was real and, despite his smart mouth and  pride, it tightened it's cold grip at his chest. He did not stop when a low voice spoke up from behind him, instead quickened his stride with fresh determination to get the hell away from whatever spooky bastard saw fit to fuck with him.

the stranger did not respond, did not even slow. merrick felt a nip of irritation. what good was a game without a player?
and so the boy unveiled himself, following the other wolf. "hey, sorry," he called lamely, for once feeling the emotion that colored his words. he need not pretend at it today; the other's rebuff had left the one-eyed child feeling rather foolish.

When the mystery voice spoke up again, the tone was... different. Venamis eased his stride, shifting his weight to turn in a loose semi-circle to face the direction from which he'd come.

At first he did not see the shadow-creature, until a single eye reflected what dim light the forest had to offer. The young Melonii narrowed his fierce gaze then, exhaled a ghostly breath in a frustrated snort, and lashed his tail to communicate such.

"What the fuck was that about?" Ven asked, his words sharp as he stood his ground and waited, unwilling to close any distance should this strange character decide to experience yet another personality shift.

the man that came to to regard him was fierce and dark with savage eyes. merrick found himself intrigued despite the clear awareness that he could be beaten senseless, and easily, by the onlooker he had sought to frighten. "i get bored," merrick lamented, feigning an apologetic expression as tattered ears dropped along his skull.

As a cub, Venamis had dedicated much of his time toward such trickery. He would taunt any wolf who'd present such an opportunity for him: parents, siblings, pack-mates, strangers. How long had it been, since last he tormented a victim?

Too long.

The young Melonii watched quietly as the rogue's rugged ears splayed backward, a silent apology in the glint of his singular eye. He didn't like being this guy's target, but he could appreciate the desire to take hold of such opportunities. Curious, but still somewhat anxious, Venamis reached forward with a tentative step to test his boundaries. "Who took your eye?" Venamis asked, thinking back on a similar question he'd asked of Maegi when first their paths had crossed.

The Hunter had been a powerful wolf, but there was a dearth of them within merrick's life now. it seemed this one had come at a rather opportune time.
he thought once of ulysses, smirked.
"i hurt a man's son. he took my eye. the man hunted me. i took his life," merrick whispered in a giddy little singsong, singlet orb roving the tense strength of his companion.

Although his anxiety remained, he felt an odd pull to better see the one-eyed wolf who spoke to him. Venamis, cautious and uncertain, maintained his bristled appearance as he shifted closer inch by inch and nostrils flared in attempt to familiarise with his scent.

All this merry talk of hunting and murder was enough to cause his raven ears to spring forward in surprise, and he ceased his ginger steps. "Cool," the youth drawled, fearful of being turned on but intrigued to understand what spurred this bloodthirsty behaviour. "How did it feel to kill someone?"

"terrifying," merrick rolled, approaching to fall into a long step with the other man if so chosen. "mortifying. humbling. arousing," the boy revealed, a bemused arch of brow accompanying that little bit of information.
"it was like being reborn," merrick breathed, but now he had no thoughts for The Hunter. only mother's blood, mother's dimming eyes.

Honestly, those words meant to describe the feelings that committing murder could rouse, made very little sense to Venamis. He was not the sharpest of youths, having relied on brawn over brain to survive this far. Still, they enraptured him. His pale eyes glimmered with newfound intrigue and he allowed the mysterious wolf to creep nearer, though he was sure to stay just out of reach.

There were several in the Teekon that he felt he would enjoy killing: Maegi, Rowan and his useless sister, the pallid bitch from the mountains. So many who had wronged him and got away with it. "Will you teach me?" Venamis asked, hushed.

a teacher. to be that —! 
a pure, harsh trickle of shocked, proud laughter.
"i've never had a pupil before." breccan had not taken to it well, his skinnings, the screaming of the little animals. but there was a dark and bloodracing lust in the feral creature before him. 
perhaps,
yes,
we shall teach him
"yes," merrick replied breathlessly, single eye glinting with delight. "there is nothing like it."

The beast shared that he'd never taught anyone before, which was something of a disappointment yet made his heart thrum faster with excitement. No experience in teaching meant his lessons could very easily flop, and Venamis had never been a fan of being used as some sort of Guinea pig. The whole idea sounded messy with plenty of room for error, but he felt willing to risk it.

A prickle at his withers then, as he considered it: standing there, slick with the vivid crimson of his enemy's blood, hovering over to observe that delightful final breath leave their lungs. It trailed along the length of his spine, dissipating at the very tip of his dense raven tail. "My name is Venamis," he tacked on, an afterthought, obsidian ears pricked forward in a hunger to hear the name of his new mentor.

fade w ur next post? <3

venamis. it fit the sable man that burnt deep below the bedrock of spirit and heart with an igneous evil that the boy wanted only to nourish.
"merrick," he offered, excitedly, jovially.
"let me catch a rabbit for you."
he gathered to his limbs to hunt, ready to show venamis all bearclaw had to offer.