Blackfeather Woods Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!

He arrived to the forest with the young man @Damien, and from the moment he saw its dark silhouette on the horizon, he knew his sister had chosen well. It was almost as if it was made just for them. 

Their journey continued with little conversation. Miraak spent most of his time contemplating Meldresi's death, and wondering after the children she had bore. How many and with whom? Were they alive? Were they living in these Woods still? Those questions he surpressed for now, until he reached the borders of the Woods.

He breathed in the scent of the borders. You are few, He observed, without condescendation or disappointment. Mephala has guided me here to help you, hasn't she? He wondered, more to himself and the air around him than the black wolf standing next to him. Damien's answer made no difference to Miraak's opinion. He was here now. He would stay through the winter and make sure they were strong.

Damien was grateful for Miraak's comprehensive silence during the journey. For now, he didn't want the man to know who he was, and feared that carrying a conversation for longer than absolutely necessary would risk that secrecy. The facts about their relation would be reserved for a more appropriate moment, or rather for when Damien was sure the older male wouldn't leave them.

And that moment seemed to get closer every second.

He was quick to notice the pack's reduced numbers upon reaching the borders, and Damien nodded his head yes without shame. It was true, they were few and it seemed their ranks grew thinner as they got closer to winter, much to the dark prince's dismay.

"Perhaps she did," Damien forced himself to comment, noticing Miraak's conviction in his own words. The young leader knew that he was probably not doing great in his new position, but admitting it was not easy.

"Follow me," he said then, delving into the depths of the forest, directly into the main keep of Mephala's Web where he was sure he would find @Potema. There he let out a howl for @Cicero, who believed would also be intrigued by the older Dark Brother.

Potema ran into her brother as she tried to the leave the Web for the surface. Her ears pressed backwards as she saw the black wolf behind Damien. She didn't recognize the difference at first, instantly curious as to who her brother would so readily invite. Who is this? She asked, stepping closer to get a better look. Immediately she gasped, stepping back as she recognized the dark blue eyes and pitch black fur.

A woman answered the call, and while there was another who was summoned, he did not arrive. For the moment he focused his attention on the pale woman, half-blind with red blood? dye? running from the blinded eye. On her shoulder was the same spider mark as Damien, as well as a red pawprint. The Dark Brotherhood already the print, why the spider mark? My name is Miraak Melonii; Meldresi's younger brother, He introduced himself, not waiting for Damien to do so for him.

Anxiously Damien awaited for his siblings' arrival. He wanted both of them to be there when he revealed to Miraak that they weren't just common wolves in Blackfeather Woods or some random Dark Brothers. No, they shared blood.

Only Potema seemed interested enough to show up, wasting no time to ask who the older male was. Miraak took the word before Damien could even try, and when he did the dark prince held his breath, staring at Potema, anticipating her reaction. He was sure that neither him nor his siblings knew anything about Meldresi's life before Blackfeather Woods, and this could be a massive revelation for the witch as it had been for him, but he could only watch.

Potema's eyes widened, Melonii? She stammered. Didn't Damien tell him about them? Wait, why didn't their mother tell them about their outside family? She knew that Mother was secretive, but this? Especially if he would come to find her? Had she forgotten? My name is Potema Vaermina Melonii. I am Meldresi's daughter,

He blinked at the woman; he could see it now. She had Meldresi's frame, and the shape of her eyes, but not much else. Her fur was pure white, and her eyes a lighter shade than Meldresi or his. But the resemblance was there, nonetheless. He turned to Damien questioningly, putting the pieces together. You could have told me, nephew. He wondered how many others were Meloniis here.

The truth was told from both ends, and Miraak as much as Potema reacted along the lines of what Damien was expecting. Their ties had been hidden to the Spiderlings since birth, probably long before to those that resided with the priestess before them, so finding out about their heritage was no minor thing.

"I wanted you to come here first, uncle," said Damien in return to Miraak's reaction. Damien didn't know where to start now, knowing that Miraak was desperate to know how Meldresi had died. He deserved to know. "Meldresi didn't live long after giving birth to our siblings," he started, deciding that there wasn't a more appropriate beginning than his mother's end. "We were born along a third, Cicero. But the other two are no longer with us. Pietro died shortly after Meldresi, and Kendra couldn't cope with the grief. She's abandoned us since," explained the dark one, maintaining his composure all along despite how sad the situation was.

He listened to him, Damien, his nephew. His niece. He had another nephew, no two, and another niece. The boy, Pietro was his name. He was dead. His sister was gone. Miraak sighed, his ears flattening. He didn't bother masking his expression; they were family, after all. Who... He began, Who was the father?

She peered at the man, looking at how he responded. He seemed to have cared for Meldresi; whether or not that was the same in their mother's perspective...they would never truly know. He was quiet, only asking after the father of both them and the twins. Our father was named Bane Blackfeather. He disappeared long ago, She had met him some time back, but never saw where he went. Apparently he had returned for one moment, confronting Meldresi and Burke, before disappearing once more. Pietro and Kendra were fathered by Burke Rochester. He left sometime after Mother died; we do not know where to.

Damien observed his uncle's reaction to the revelation of their kinship, coming to be strangely pleased by the pain he knew he'd seen in the older male's face. That meant he cared, about them, about Meldresi, about Pietro and the rest. He could be trusted (to some extent, at least) and Damien was relieved to have made the right choice by bringing him home.

Potema explained the family tree further, giving details that may or may not have brought a frown upon Damien's face. Bane deserved no mention, no recognition least of all the name Blackfeather. But it was true anyway. Their father was a deserter, as was the twins'. Both scum of the worst kind. Perhaps Meldresi's offspring had been cursed like that, which wouldn't surprise Damien at all.

"Both of their heads are to be removed... Nothing personal," slipped through, to which he reacted by looking away, ashamed and enraged.

Potema, his niece, explained it to him. He was surprised by it — what did they even look like? They certainly did not have the dark traits of Meloniis — black, iridescent fur, dark blue eyes. He was not surprised by Damien's form — though his white eyes were an interesting feature — but the only trace of Melonii in Potema was her blue eyes. And even one of those were gone. He had no idea what Cicero looked like, but it was certain that Meldresi's children did not live up to Melonii standards. He doubted the other two missing ones, Kendra and Pietro, did either.

Regardless of their genetics, they were known enemies of the pack. Miraak chuckled, trying to relieve Damien of the dark feelings that twisted his face. It's never personal, is it?

Damien spoke with derision at the thought of them, their fathers. Bane had responded with confusion when they met, slowly realization growing between them. Perhaps it was amnesia, or split personality, but Bane, Keith, wasn't entirely to blame. She couldn't fully bring herself to call for his death, unlike with Burke, but it did not matter. He was not their father; they had none, except Sithis.

Their uncle joked gently, dancing around the topic. Potema shook her head. No, it never is, She said softly.

Despite Miraak's intentions, Damien felt his face grow hotter after his uncle's comment. He looked away, simply too uncomfortable to look at his face or put a response together, and it only worsened when Potema replied to his question. He wouldn't admit it, but both Bane and Burke had hurt him deeply when they abandoned him, and up to that day Damien upheld his promise of ending their lives for their treason. Damien wasn't one to take such things lightly.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable," he said after an awkward pause, and then he turned to leave his sister to get acquainted with their uncle. If he was anything like Meldresi, Miraak would harbor valuable knowledge for the young witch, but most importantly, he wouldn't run away like the treasonous bastards that had had the guts to call themselves their fathers. If he was anything like Meldresi, Miraak would be their guide.