Blackfeather Woods I will face everything, and rise!

@Aerenys and @Rowan! Forwarded to 3/26/2021 :>

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After a long journey back eastward, then south some, Eldritch finally returned to Blackfeather Woods, this time with Aerenys alongside her. 
The Seer smiles with what little familiarity she has, but a bond all the same. 
Looking first to Mati with an excited smile, the shadow lifts her head and calls for Rowan. 
Would he be happy she's returned?
Would they both be accepted back?

So many questions, so much excitement. All the time in the world.

A howl, once familiar, rose from his borders.
So, true to her word, Eldritch returned.
He smiled to himself, putting the bundle of sticks at the base of a tree and howled back before starting towards her. Maybe that other woman was with her this time.

He slowed upon reaching her, tail wagging softly.
"Welcome back," he grinned. The Daedra's pull was too strong.

sorry for the wait on this!

The pantherine priestess falls still and silent as the Void itself, likewise a stygian figure -- a reaper upon the borders of the Woods that had haunted her dreams though she had no desire to steal the souls of those who resided within. It was only the mambo's accursed air, like the quiet of a tomb. Bicolored eyes flickered to the shadows of the matted canopy high over their heads, watching the shadows of warring nightbirds as their flapping wings and feathered silhouettes warped with ringing curls of crimson and hellfire that shimmered with every caw that rent the air. 

Her eyes moved to Eldritch's composed pools of liquid mercury, turning away to watch the treeline of the blackwood as the hellhound summoned the one she had called Rowan. The earthen yearling that she vaguely recognized was quick enough to respond, greeting Eldritch warmly. Aerenys dipped her coal crown to him if his gaze happened to move towards her, hiding the curiosity that glimmered in her gaze of cool jaspers. 

"Rowan." She greeted warmly, tail swaying some, "We have returned to join your ranks." She wagged her tail excitedly, gesturing fondly to Mati at her side.

For this moment, Eldritch held her breath for his response.

He was glad they'd both made it back alive.
They both believed and would make their ranks stronger.
The nightshade pair were perfect for his shadows.

He didn't remember the name of Eldritch's companion.
"What's your name?" he asked, looking at her dipped crown. He could see her watching him. Every flutter of his nose was observed. She was sharp...however, if you sharpen your sword too much you'll cut yourself.
He'd be careful around her...but he wanted her to be more than just an Arae or Moirai.
Eldritch too, perhaps. If she was reliable enough.

The vodou queen's onyx features lifted to settle lapis lazuli and violet spinel upon his own citrines, measuring him with the same intense scrutiny he gave. "I am Mati Aerenys Melonii," the witch murmured, inclining her ink-dipped crown to him regally in respect. "Ye might call me Mati or Aerenys, as ye wish,  hmm?" she drawled in a warm rasp of whiskey. 

"I came to t'ese lands in search of ze ot'ers. T'ose who still believe. T'ere are not many of te Daedra's worshippers left. We returned here t'inking t'at it might be best for te last of us to join together here in yer woods," the dark gypsy explained herself softly. "If ye might have me amongst yer numbers."

As Mati introduced herself, Eldritch nodded in agreement. A confirmation as to their return.
"Aerenys is right. We haven't found anyone else." Eldritch nodded, tones of disappointment in her voice.

And the earnest was there, the wish to come back home.

Melonii? She mentioned others. Were there really more of that dynasty elsewhere?
He didn't bother hiding his surprise. Perhaps the Daedra's favour had diverted to these woods rather than their origins. Especially if there were few worshipers left.
"You're very welcome here Aerenys. As is Eldritch."

He liked her voice. It wasn't smooth, he didn't think. But it was soft and harsh in all the right places.
But a soft jab at his brain made him think: Blackfeather was second choice for these. They wanted to go on to be better.
Ivory Rose was better. That was proven now. So why couldn't they see that first?

"Eldritch can show you around." He'd assume she already knew what was expected of her here. If not he'd just have to remind her. Rowan wasn't Melonii, but this wasn't the Empire it was before. Rowan was making something different.
He eyed Aerenys up again. She looked like a fighter. A quick-witted individual, certainly.
"Where did you come from?" He turned with the tilt of his head, inviting them to step in.
He wanted to know where the MElonii were - and where that accent came from.

Eldritch listened with attentive excitement as Mati introduced herself, and Rowan welcomed them back with open arms. 

The hellhound slowly answered Rowan's beckon, falling into step by him and trusting Aerenys would do the same. 
Here, she would be silent while the two got further introduced.

Watching him with unblinking calculation -- still uncertain as to whether he could be trusted -- the dark woman allowed a faint smile of gratitude to grace her lips, though her mismatched sapphires fell to the ground once more. The expression felt odd on her face, her cheeks straining though it was true enough that Eldritch had seen her smile or even release a breath of laughter on rare occasions. 

Still, a concern murmured beneath the hum of voices in the partial mute's infected mind. Boethiah's words resounded in a whisper of an echo and Mati wondered if they held any weight. Was the rusted wren before her a worshipper as Eldritch had claimed, and if so, did he truly hear the gods as Mati did? 

More importantly, was he as kind as he seemed or did he still think the Priestess to be a thief?

"I t'ank ye," the wisp of night whispered regardless, ears lowered as she moved to follow him -- pressing closer to Eldritch subconsciously, clinging to the familiarity of the hellhound. "Darkwater Crossing was me first home, but ze most recent group I belonged ta was a coven nearby ta zem -- Bittermoure Bayou," the witch answered in similarly hushed tones, dipping her head once in affirmation.

The pair had certainly grown close. It was no surprise when they were probably mostly the only company each other had all that time.
A brightness was held in those night sky eyes. A twinkle of something Rowan couldn't place.

He gave them both a warm smile. He wouldn't mind having the shadows roaming his woodland.
She spoke of her dwellings. Fond memories of placed roamed and perhaps had a special place in their own in her heart, even if the wolves were unsavoury. The places she spoke of sounded beautiful and exactly the types of places the Melonii would live.
He wondered if she ever wished to return, or if Ivory Rose was favourable.

"Sounds beautiful," he mused, looking up to the trees. Some of the trees were budding in the spring. Soon chicks would be hatching and flowers would be sprouting. New life to the woods.
"I'll leave you two to it then. I'd like you to get into the patrol pattern, fit in when you can. I think mid-morning needs to be patrolled more heavily."
With a grin, he trotted off to hunt again. As long as they pulled their weight they'd be fine. He didn't have any doubts.

shall we wrap this one up? <3

 


Eldritch listened as they walked, taking in the details of Aerenys' previous homes. 

Considerately, El also wondered if Mati would stay permanently in the Woods. 
Rowan then announced his departure, leaving the shadows alone once more. 

"Now that we're here, I'm considering starting divination practices." 

A wry grin was her only response to the assumption, a rueful and secretive twist of her smirking lips. The Bayou had been no more beautiful than this dark fortress of foreboding timberland and swamp but there was a certain ilk of wolves, Mati had come to find, that preferred the darkness and were keen to walk amongst shadows. Her own kin and kith were one such clan, the girl could not recall ever hearing of a Melonii that had not been drawn to the darkness as a moth might be a flame. And she had reason to believe that Eldritch's family tree might bear similar rotten fruits -- for she saw much of herself in the darkling she had grown to love.

There was a certain undeniable beauty in the pitch of the Void, in the mawing abyss of insanity and broken things -- if one could see things through the mismatched gaze of the addled worshippers.

Caplata dipped her head in understanding, sapphires of cobalt and violet watching the russet-kissed silver melt back into his Woods before she turned back to the Nightwish -- ears perking alertly as her partner spoke of divination.

"I have dabbled with da art of scrying, yah, but neva have I truly delved into da craft," the witch drawled softly, eyes alight with fascinated curiosity. Her inky tail began to wag, walking along with the hellhound as they delved deeper into the territory, she asked: "Would ya teach me?"

gonna go ahead and wrap up here, assuming that they're just chit-chattin as they head into the Woods? But we could totally do a divination thread sometime if youre up for it! @Eldritch :)