Blackfeather Woods the watcher

Though Cicero yearned to see Damien again, it was mostly his shame that had kept him from looking up his brother in person right as he returned home. He had only seen Kove so far, since he had returned. After their encounter, Cicero had mostly slept to recover from the tiring journey he had made and everything that had happened upon his journeys. He wished that Akela was still a part of their pack, for he would have enjoyed the opportunity to spar philosophies and work out life's tragedies with a mutually intelligent philosopher. There were none in the pack, and whilst normally Cicero would be glad enough to philosophise alone, now he yearned for another's wise words and tantalising questions, for he had run all out of both.

Cicero slipped through the dark forests until he reached the frays of the clearing that previously harboured @Burke , @Kendra and @Pietro . It smelled like they were still around, and Cicero settled on his haunches, watching from the shadows while tongue ran absent-mindedly across the smarting cuts along his lips. He had promised Burke that he would proceed watching his children, after all. While Cicero longed for interaction with all three of the rendezvous site's inhabitants, he remained in the shadows for now. Perhaps because he feared that they would ask him too many questions that would dig up painful memories and shameful secrets. Perhaps because they feared they would not.

Kendra was curled up by the den entrance. She normally would sleep underground, as she was often found underground. But she had been waiting for her twin brother Pietro. He was probably busy with their father or maybe just exploring. She did miss him a bit. When she heard footfalls she woke up from her light sleep. She soon realized that it weren't Pietro's footsteps.

Kendra sat up and then her eyes registered her older brother. The girl frowned lightly. She had not seeing him often or at all. Her father had said Cicero would help her with her plants and knowledge there of but the male had never been around. Maybe he didn't like her. The girl kept the frown on her face before laying down again, not seeking too much interaction.

The boy was sleeping soundly before he heard a noise, and Kendra moved. His head moved up, as his saw his older brother? he squinted his eyes angrily. Why hasn't he seen them? It seemed like no one came to see him and Kendra recently, and he still wasn't happy about his run in with Sebastian.

From the shadows he watched, wondering what occupied them when they came out of the den. Cicero knew that he had been gone, though the exact timeframe escaped him; he did not know if it was days, weeks or months that he had been gone. Truthfully, Cicero did not mind overly much if they adored him or not, for he was still loyal to them and would help them if ever they needed help with something and sight him out.

He noticed their eyes upon him, and yet he stayed in the shadows, where he belonged. Cicero wondered if Damien was near, but he did not catch his brother's scent, so he was probably not.

In silence the watcher started at his protectees, wondering if there was anything they wanted from him. Looking over Pietro, he had grown so much since they had last played hide and seek. Would he even still like the game?

Lets say that Pietro kept on sleeping...

Kendra watched her brother who did not even come to greet her. As it turned out Pietro was right there in the den with her. The girl scowled at her so called brother. She was not going to let herself be treated like he was treating her. The girl pushed herself to her feet and trotted towards him. "Why do you don't like me?," she asked bluntly. The young witch was certain that her brother disliked her, why would he otherwise keep her distance. She was still young and naive. She worked hard and already had a trade, so she found that she at least deserved to be talked to. She realized she did not even know her brother except for his name.

It broke Cicero's heart when Kendra came towards him and asked him why he did not like her. He only wished his siblings well. When they were smaller he had occasionally played with them, but in time he had perhaps estranged himself from them; often watching them only from the shadows. He stared at his half-sister while he tried to piece together a response, his face neutral.

"Cicero likes Kendra. Does Kendra wish to do more things with Cicero? " Cicero was unsure if this was really the source of her discomfort, but he had to try something, at least. He would find out soon enough if he was not correct.

Kendra stood before him with a scowl but it vanished when he instantly spoke about what she felt. She frowned a bit which looked a bit like a paw. "Father told me you could teach me about plants and toxins but you never came to me, or were around to ask you things," she returned. Hence why she went to Venus about this, or talked the ears of Pietro's head about plants. She looked at Cicero. "Why are you always gone?," she questioned.

She then eventually nodded because she did want to do more things with her brother. "I do like to do more with you and learn from you," she spoke to her brother, hope in her tone.

Cicero had been around before he'd left to try and retrieve Desna. In the shadows, but surely available, and so the answer to Kendra's initial disappointment was easy for him. "Cicero was around, watching, and waiting for Kendra to come forward." In her viewpoint, he had perhaps not been around, but in his own, he had been available; had she called him, then he would have come to her. "There is no use to dwindle upon the past, however." It was useless and a waste of time, in Cicero's opinion, to focus on what might've, could've or should've been. They could start their lessons now, if Kendra still wished it.

"Cicero is a scout and spy for Blackfeather Woods, and so he must be gone much to gather information." As of late, he'd been gone above averagely so, he had to admit; and it was not just because of Kove's children and his mission, or because he wanted to scout lots. It was in part because of Damien. How he longed to see his brother again and share with him the intimate moments they used to.

Shaking the sad notion of Damien from his mind, a smile gingerly breached Cicero's lips as Kendra admitted she wished to spend more time together. He got to his feet and offered: "Lessons can begin now." And he moved away from the clearing, waiting to make sure that Kendra was following him. He himself had learned much by simply ingesting small amounts of various plants. It would be nice if his half-sibling would not need to go through that process, if he could teach her instead.

Kendra looked at the male with a thoughtful expression. For her most wolves would come to her seeing that they all wanted to meet her. The young female was not used to step forward and ask for someone's attention when they hadn't come to her first. A good lesson for her that she could approach all and ask for advise or lessons. She nodded shortly taking it on quite well after the initial distaste for her brother. Kendra was not that resourceful yet. She was still a kid.

"ooooo," she let out, sounding impressed because she was. She did not have the ambition to be a spy seeing that she didn't really want to leave these woods. These borders are light enough for her it hurt her eyes, no she liked to stay in the tunnels where everything was dark and she didn't feel exposed. It was that plants needed light, and therefor she had to endure if otherwise she might have been living in those tunnels. They were her true home.

She nodded seriously at her brother. "Yes," she spoke excitedly and stepped forward. She instantly followed him, curious what he was going to show her. She was interested in anything plant related. She had decided that she would first learn all there is about Botany and then she would focus on her toxins since then she would be older and they would probably allow her more things.

A smile twitched at Cicero's lips as Kendra seemed to understand his position and withdrew her earlier harsh judgements in silence. He hoped that it would stick and that he had truly taught her something; that she would step forth to ask others next time. Regardless, he had been gone a lot and he was not the most forward wolf himself. He preferred staying in the shadows until summoned. And now Kendra knew to summon him if ever she needed him again or wished for more lessons.

Kendra seemed eager to jump into learning right away, which was a good promise for the lessons that were to follow. "Does Kendra want to learn first of good or bad plants and mushrooms?" he asked, deciding to allow his lesson to hinge on whichever she preferred. Poisons were his specialty, and so he hoped secretly that she would choose those — if Potema were to return some day, she could be the one to teach Kendra more of the healing plants. Cicero knew of them, but he just preferred poisons because they intrigued him more.

Kendra looked at her older brother, her eyes instantly lighting up when he spoke about bad plants. She wanted to know about them badly, but she had no one to learn it from. The girl started to wag her tail, the tip of it dyed red with the brotherhood dye she learned to make from Azul the Bat. She hadn't seen him in a while she realized. "I want to know about bad plants!!," she let out. "But Nemesis and Miss Venus didn't want me to be close to them yet," she spoke, scowling slightly.

She didn't want to ruin this for herself though. She put on her most charming smile, little teeth showing. "But.. Now I have my older brother around and you would always protect me.... right!?," she quipped. She didn't know that Cicero was rooting for her to pick the bad one.

While Cicero valued Nemesis' opinion as Beta and Venus' as pack member, he did not care much for their rules and regulations. He himself had often tried poisons and truthfully, he had been lucky as a child. Not that he intended to plant this idea in Kendra's head -- she had apparently not yet thought of eating every herb or mushroom she newly encountered, which was probably a good and healthy thing -- but if she could do it herself, then he may as well help and steer her in the right direction so that she would not eat any herself.

"Of course," he said, though it was clear from the mischievous sparkle in his eyes that he had not just yet himself be bought by a charming smile. He had intended to teach her all along. "The most important thing to know is that plants that are bad are not coloured a certain way, or look a certain way. Some mushrooms even look as though they are normal mushrooms, but with subtle differences. And most bad plants will not kill a wolf fast — they work slow, and when in small dose usually only cause vomit and pain. It is because a wolf's body tries to work it out before it kills or damages." Cicero looked at Kendra as they walked to make sure she was processing the information. He intended to take her to one of his caches, unless he was lucky and they found a place where poisons grew on their route.

Kendra stayed close to her older brother as he explained about poisons. The girl was extremely interested in this and took his words to heart. It meant that even if she wanted to poison others it meant she would need to use huge quantities. They could even look like normal plants. The girl nodded. That was definitely good to know. "Can you smell if they are poisonous?," she asked. "Or would that make you sick too?" It was a good question, at least important to know. She wouldn't want to get sick from sniffing a plant. One could never know.

Kendra was fully focussed on her brother and what he was telling her. It was for her good to know the basics. The dark female wanted to learn more about these things. It also made her realize that she should seek out her bat friend and learn more from him too. Hopefully she would find him between all the bats.

"That is a good question." Cicero smiled as she asked if plants could be smelled or if that would make one sick. Reaching one of his poison caches, Cicero nosed around a pile of leaves, as though trying to smell if he was in the right place, and then started to dig away some loose leaves and dirt at the base of a large, crooked dead tree. It looked distinct, and that was why he used this particular location, so that he would always find it back.

Cicero gingerly nosed a piece of poison ivy towards Kendra and he asked, "What does it smell like?" The poison ivy was a dangerous plant in the regard of smell, of course, because it did not smell like much of anything, and if you pressed your nose too close to it, you could get the effects it caused — extensive rash with the pain and itch that came with it — particularly on a sensitive area like the nose. The sensitive side of Cicero's nose smarted a little with the familiar sting it provided from when he nosed it (though there was little rash to see from the outside), but he paid it little mind, finding the pain comforting in ways he could not explain.

Lol this is Kendra not Desna. I confuse them all the time too. XD

Kendra was pleased to hear that she had asked a good question. Her smile fell when Cicero didn't really gave her an answer. The girl frowned a bit and watched him dig away some leaves and dirt. The female tipped her head once he showed her a new plant she hadn't seen before. Kendra looked at her brother suspiciously and then brought her nose closer, hovering over it trying to get a whiff. But she didn't smell anything so she brought her nose closer. She let out a yelp at the sting on her nose. She instantly pulled back and tried to rub her nose against her paw while letting out soft whines.

Kendra did not like this at all. Her nose was itching and it was all because of her brother. She scowled at him, which turned into a long term glare. "Why you do that?!" she questioned. Though now the girl was most definitely going to remember the shape of this plant. "What is this plant's name?," she asked. She did not want to bring her nose close to it ever. She didn't think Cicero would actually have pointed her, but it didn't feel nice to be stung like that.

omg i can't believe i wrote the wrong name, rofl! :') edited it to avoid confusion :')

Cicero had not expected Kendra to lean in so close that she would get stung by the plant; his own nose smarted because he had touched the herb, but by just smelling it it shouldn't bring any trouble. However, before he knew it she had pushed her nose into it, probably because she did not smell anything. There was no time to even say anything or warn her, and so she would just have to deal with the consequences. At least pain was a cruel but good teacher, in Cicero's experience, so it was unlikely she would forget this plant.

He did not try to talk right what he had done or explain that he had never intended for her to get stung. Cicero merely answered her question in regards to its name: "Poison Ivy. It smells like nothing, and works best on sensitive open skin." Hair cushioned the problems it caused, although when confronted with it enough it would still work well enough, particularly on thin-haired wolves like himself. "It causes a rash, which can get very painful and festering if strong enough. But not to worry, Kendra's touch was only mild." She would have no long term problems of any sort. If she did, then he would have had some herbs to help her with, of course, but such a thing was not necessary.

Cicero looked through the rest of the cache to find a counterpart that did smell. He looked through jimsonweed, which also smelled like nothing, and then saw a piece of deadly nightshade. Cicero carefully nosed it out of the cache (making sure not to touch any of the other poison ivy in there) and said, "Smell this." Ingestion would be very unwise, but Cicero did not doubt that Kendra knew this and would not do so without prompted. It smelled much like tomato plants; when in bloom, it would smell fruity and fresh, but as it was dried both its scent and potence were greatly reduced. It carried only a hint of its normal bittersweet scent; but enough for a keen nose to pick up, especially compared to the scentless poison ivy.

haha it is alright. I also wrote Desna sometimes. It think it is the dark coat and some of the letters being the same! I now realize all my female characters end with and 'a' haha. Zaria, Desna, Kendra. :')

Kendra was not very pleased that she hurt her nose in the process but instead of complaining about it she turned quiet. As a pup she would have cried out but now she was growing up. Becoming more of a teenager as she was only one month away from being six months. Time went by fast. The girl sat down, teeth gritted as her nose itched. Poison Ivy. She was most definitely not going to forget. Her pale eyes looked stricter. If she was determined before then she was radicalized now. She was convinced she needed to learn this art of toxins if she wanted to work with plants.

Kendra stepped forward when presented with a new type of plant. At first she thought they were blueberries but as she stepped closer she realized that they were different. Instantly she thought of how this berry could be masked between blueberries. The itch in her nose reminded her not to stay close. She gave it a good whiff before she gotten a hint of it, but it was enough for her to tell the difference with the scent of a blueberry. She looked up at her brother and nodded. It proved that smell couldn't make her sick unless her nose came to close to it. She looked at her big brother's stash and then up to his mismatched eyes. "What is the name of this last one?" The girl had realized something while watching Cicero. "How do you carry these plants without being hurt or poisoned yourself?"

:')

The itchy, painful feeling to the side of Cicero's nose was pleasant enough and he awaited patiently Kendra's assessment. He enjoyed the fact that she was so determined about this, perhaps even more so now that her nose was hurt. She sniffed it, and though she did not tell him what she smelled, she did ask him a coupel of questions. He decided not to ask her about the plant's smell, instead choosing to answer her questions.

"Deadly Nightshade." Even the name was sinister, which pleased Cicero; but it was dangerous to handle. "It is very potent." If any plant could ever murder a wolf (such a thing was rather difficult, in Cicero's experience, for many plants offered excruciating pain, but most eventually passed, and most bodies ejected poisons) it was deadly nightshade. He could not hide a small grin when Kendra asked how he carried the plants without getting affected. He didn't always take necessary precautions, enjoying the mild effects of some of these toxins. Knowing Burke would unlikely appreciate him sharing this possibility with his daughter though, Cicero chose the safer route.

With a paw he indicated some of the larger leaves on the ground. "There are different manners. One can wrap the poisons in a leaf, or carry them at a place where they are not so potent. For example, when the roots are poisonous to carry them by the stems, or when the leaves are poisonous to carry them by the roots." But to be able to handle poisons that way, one needed to know enough about the poison in case to know which parts were potent and which weren't.

Kendra nodded once again, this was the only thing she would do in reply really. This nightshade was going to be her new best friend she decided. The female sat by her brother and then listened closely to the next part about how to pick up the poisons. These were all the basics but these basics were very important, at least that was what Kendra realized. She nodded once more. For a moment out of questions until she looked at the berries and swallowed. "What are the symptoms of Nightshade? What happens? Can you fight against it with another herb, plant or root?," she questioned.

Kendra would have to start finding huge leaves then where she could wrap in the poisons. Maybe that would be a good thing to start and then slowly branch out from her Botanist speciality into that of the toxicologist speciality. The girl was very motivated especially with her naturalist trade. She was not sure if she was going to pick up another trade, maybe she would just only specialize in naturalist things, or perhaps she would leave one open just in case she wanted to be a medic after all. Be a healer like her mother was.

Nightshade was a particularly strong herb and while its potence was much less dried as it was, Cicero knew to warn Kendra about it: "It is better not to get to the point where it needs to be fought against. It is a tough one to ward off." One could always try, of course, but the problem with poisons — or, in his case, good thing about them — was that one couldn't really simply ward them off. One could ease the pain, but that was about as close as one could get to a solution to it. Ward off pain and hope that it was not potent a poison enough to kill one. "Relieving pain is possible, but there is no herb that neutralises it, as with most poisons." Well, that he knew of, anyway. Cicero never excluded the possibility that there were yet remedies as well as poisons out there that he knew nothing about.

As for the symptoms, he realised that he had forgot to mention them and tacked on: "Aches in stomach and head, problems with balance and sight and knowing what is real and not real. Vomiting, of course, but vomit comes with most poisons, for the body will try to expell whatever part of the poisons it can, even if it is often too late. And, of course, death, eventually. But to achieve such a thing one would need to make a wolf eat a lot of this, and there are better suitors for such a task. Nightshade is somewhat infamous, most wolves with little knowledge of poisons know of nightshade." It seemed that Cicero had never talked as much as he did now in his life, or so it felt to him. He added: "Cicero would choose a herb or mushroom that looks much alike a good herb or mushroom, with differences so slight that the victim will not notice."

Kendra was once again nodding quietly at Cicero's words. She was amazed that these berries could do this to a wolf. She was more than excited to use it, see the effects. Was that a bad thought? She really didn't care, as long as it was not a pack mate she poisoned. She was certain it would not be frowned upon. Kendra looked at her older brother and gave him a smile. "Thank you for answering my questions," she hummed. Kendra was still planning on making her own garden full of herbs and other plants where they could grow to be admired. Maybe she would plant some nightshade too, just to remind herself of the effects poisons could have.

"I'm going to check on my brother now, grumpy mess that he is. But I will return with more questions!," she let out, she was certain now that she could always go to her brother cicero and that he would tell her what would happen if the plant happened to be poisonous. The girl trotted forward to give him a lick on his cheek and then trotted off with all this new knowledge in her brain. She loved to learn which was making her very willing to explore more and more about certain subjects. With her head full to process she trotted in the direction her brother left.

Thank you for this! You can Archive after your post! Cicero is always so great! :D

Kendra seemed excited enough, and Cicero nodded in silent permission for her to go. She had learned more than poisons today; she'd learned to seek out others if they wished for their help, rather than to wait around for them to come around. A valuable lesson, Cicero thought, perhaps even more valuable than that of the toxins themselves.

After Kendra had left Cicero put the poisons back into the log and covered the cache again to make sure that no one else would find them and poison themselves. After that he lifted a leg and peed on the spot as a marking not only that this was his, but also so that his pack mates'd know enough not to get too close.