Blackfeather Woods Remember me?

It did not shock him that she'd been told stories of the woods, assuming them to have come from Scarlett. "You can't believe every story you're told," he'd pointed out, wishing to get her to ease up. To him, Blackfeather was home. There was no danger lurking in the shadows, no hidden beasts lying in wait... it was just home, the place he was there to protect, and the place that housed his family. Though, he knew, much of his family remained absent from the shaded forest. That was something he wished to change, in due time.

The message was delivered with minute finesse, the contents of it being enough to have him left speechless for a moment. Prior to their downfall, he'd always assumed that the day Scarlett died would be the very same day he died, too; whether it be literally or metaphorically, he'd never bothered to decide. That, however, was not the case. He was still very much alive, walking the earth and breathing in the air. Kove felt sympathetic towards his daughter, realizing just how much she'd lost, but when it came to her mother he just couldn't bring himself to care. The shock had caused his stomach to churn for a second or two, but after it'd settled, everything was fine again. To him, it would always be her own fault that she'd been met by such a terrible fate. Her fault for leaving, rather than staying to fight.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he'd eventually said, gaze shifting to Alexander briefly, but then flickering right back to Desna a moment later. "I know you loved your mother and sisters, and I know how losing them must feel—I wasn't much older than you when I lost my own parents and sisters, you know." Perhaps Kove knew far too well how it felt to lose one's family. "Are you doing alright?" His words were directed solely for her, Xan having been sent to the back of his mind for the time being. He could deal with the boy better when they were within Blackfeather once more, when a strong front didn't need to be put on.