Blackfeather Woods i have almost forgotten the taste of fear

paging @Euron, @Maegi & @Ramsay if u have time :)

He has made up his mind, for the incident near their borders has left him rattled. Euron, Maegi and Ramsay are his siblings before their title as the 'next generation', and he will not risk the threat of them being plucked from the borders right under his nose. The fact that he loves them more than he does the woods itself is his greatest weakness, a weakness that he will not have being put to use. Sounding a call for them and them alone, he sits patiently for them to arrive whilst milling over the wording that would inform them that they are no longer allowed to leave Blackfeather Woods. Not even venture near the borders, in fact. It is his will that they obey his wishes for the sake of their own safety, but if they are anything like his own litter of siblings, they will not go quietly.

Maegi was among the roses when Vaati called for her, imploring that she--and her brothers--join him somewhere close nearby. Slipping away from the thorns, which she found quite intriguing, she found Vaati quickly, waiting for them in a small clearing.

She loved Vaati, more than anyone else in the world save her littermates. She felt a strong sense of kinship with him, perhaps because of their fur, so startlingly white against the dark forest. Potema had that trait as well, but Potema was nothing to her--merely a memory, a feeling. She had not seen her mother in days.

"Hi!" she greeted the Dark Master, hobbling down the gentle slope to meet him. Her excitement diminished considerably as she caught a glimpse of his face, suffused with slight worry and a small note of. . .what was it, anger? Fury?

He waits for Ramsay or Euron to arrive, but he does not; instead facing the sole audience of Maegi, slight disappointment etching his features as he stares off into the shadows, as if they were simply lurking nearby. But they are not, and he returns his gaze to his sister with a light smile. She had listened, she was loyal; it was perhaps why he favoured her out of all his siblings combined. Even Kotake had proven flighty in the end. Leaning in and drawing his tongue up her cheek, he settles upon the notion that he must limit her freedom in the same manner the Cerberus had limited his. Fear. "Listen. There are many enemies lurking beyond the dark woods, those who gave me this," He indicates to his scar, "And those who would do much worse to you if they got the chance. There may be a war soon, so I want you and your brothers to stay far from the borders. Do not leave the woods, for now. It is too dangerous and I will not risk your safety." It is then he sees a flash of purple eyes blinking in the shadows, indicating Euron had come but chosen not to include himself. The boy was strange in a way that mimicked the habits of his father, perhaps why Vaati, despite proclaiming their innocence, had never really taken to the boy. "Do you understand?" He looks to the girl, doubting she would refuse his command. Not that he could ever truly command her, she owned a piece of him that was yet to be discovered, but all the while still there, knowing quite clearly at the back of his mind that he would kneel over and do anything to keep her happy.

She smiles at his kind touch, though she does not miss the disappointment that flashes momentarily across his features before speaking. He had called for all of them, and only she had shown up. Well, and she would hear him out, and do her best to carry out whatever he was to have her do.

Vaati's words ended up bewildering her, though. "War?" she parroted, confused. She thought on it for a long moment. "That's like a big fight, right? Scary and bloody?" Maegi had heard it mentioned in tales before, but the thought of it coming to life--right here in their territory, no less--sent a frisson of fear down her spine.

She was confused, further, by his warning, though perhaps it had been crafted for all three pups. She had barely even poked her head out of the trees; it was too bright outside for her tastes, the blanket of snow gleaming in the unfettered sun. Maegi preferred the dank darkness of the woods, where the gods spoke loudest.

"Okay," she said, her voice unsure. It wasn't as if she were planning on disobeying him--quite the contrary. Maegi was beginning to learn the usefulness of rules and laws, social hierarchies and all that. But this war was something she'd not heard mentioned, and now she was frightened--for herself, but more for her family. Vaati, who already bore a scar. Her brothers, far more inclined to wander past the borders.

He nods stiffly at her assumption, "Yes. Blood, death, that is war. But not scary. We do not fear death, because Blackfeather does not loose." They will not. They have not, and it is the reason they still stand today as the oldest, standing pack the Teekon has seen to date. Vaati fears what damage the war may to do his home, but he does not fear extinction as extinction is not an option. 

She agrees to heed his warning, much to his satisfaction. The other's -- his brothers -- were much less his problem than her. To Maegi, he felt a sense of responsibility for the was the only girl, the one who he felt resembled the image his mother once held more than the others. But he was neither her father nor the keeper of the boy's. He was their brother, and if they chose not to listen, then that was not his problem. Vaati could only be glad that she did.

She knew of Sithis, of the Void. Knew that death came to all wolves eventually, and it did no good to fear death. Vaati was supremely confident in the fact that Blackfeather would come out on top, and though the borders might be dangerous for now, he made it seem like they would be secure before long.

But Maegi, at her young age, still did fear death. Of herself, yes. . .but more for her family's sake. To lose her brothers, her uncles, to the Void, seemed a fate worse than her own demise. Not having them around, physically. It was a thought too much to bear, and she looked down, ashamed at her sudden surge of feeling.

"When?" she asked silently, eyes still fixed on the ground.

"Soon." Vaati eyes the horizon, the distance between where they stood and the Caldera. He can only anticipate them coming tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after that and so on. The wolves of Blackfeather Woods are prepared, he is prepared, it is only a matter of when they should be prepared for that leaves him slightly anxious. 

But as he sees her eyes cast down, he sighs, knowing it is pointless to try and talk a child out of fear. It can't be done; they don't understand what they do and don't need to fear. They won't, until they are old enough to comprehend existence itself, to understand that eternity awaits them in the Void. No earthly harm should strike fright within them as no earthly force can take them to the darkness unless it is Sithis' will. Touching her cheek with his nose, he seeks to ease her concern, playing into her believe of the Daedric deities. "Don't worry, you won't be harmed. The gods have not called you to the blackness, not yet. There is too much in store for you, Maegi Melonii, to fear what may come at the hands of these mortal filth who seek to take what isn't theirs to reap. Only Sithis and Mephala have that right and only they will decide the fate of Blackfeather Woods when the storm comes. Not them." Vaati says so confidently, perhaps too assuredly, but without a sliver of hesitance in the face of his sister's uncertainty. It is the Caldera's mistake to believe that they are collectively the Judges, the Jurors and the Executioners in the situation at play; as if they had any authority to decide what Blackfeather Woods did was right or wrong. Not even the Cerberus had that right.

In this, Vaati is not necessarily confident they will win, but believes wholly that they will survive. They will survive, by any means necessary; as is the Blackfeather way.

Her mouth broke into a smile at his touch. She took his words to heart, knowing them to be words of comfort and taking what strength she could from them. She did have something to say about his first statement, though, and her lips spread to speak.

"I'm not worried about me," Maegi said. It was almost the complete truth; there was a small sliver of fear for herself, buried deep underneath the compassion she held for her family. "I'm worried about you. I know you'll do great," she added quickly, eyes raking over his brawny muscles, cloaked in his thick white pelt.

"But Vaati, if you die. . .if Miraak dies, if Cicero dies. . .if you all die, who will take care of us? Who will teach us?" She shuddered at the thought of being left to Potema's devices. Death might be a better fate, after all. "Mother won't."

He has considered the possibility of his death and the similar fate of his family many times before, and who should take care of his siblings and the dark woods should none of the dark brotherhood be left alive. He has candidates in mind, however, only one truly stands out -- regardless of how little he knows him. Kove, at least, had not expressed his explicit disdain for his younger siblings distaste, unlike others. And unlike others, Kove had not proved problematic to the dark woods, nor Vaati's sanity. "I have not offered him the job yet, but I am hoping that Kove will take up the mantle should I or Miraak or mother prove incapable." He does not mention Cicero, as the thought of him becoming anything of a figure towards them is enough to put a sour taste in his mouth. "Plus, there are others. Should something catastrophic occur, I assume you and your brothers will be retrieved by our cousins of the Dark Brotherhood." And likely carted off to a much more darker place, but he does not say so. It is best to let her believe that survival is guaranteed, no matter what words he must use to convince her of it.

As Hydra had said, their defeat will be welcome only if it means survival so that they may see another day and eventually, return the gesture of war unto those who have it coming. It is a mindset that the yearling is slowly growing, a product of war and turmoil that holds no childish arrogance; something calculative and precise yet untamed and unhindered. It encourages him to see that Maegi does not fear for him, something he finds wise beyond her years. If all else fails, Maegi will become her own safeguard and he is more than certain that she, alongside her brothers, will become exactly what Blackfeather Woods needs them to be in the event that all else burns around them.

Maegi felt relief hit her as he uttered Kove's name. She was fond of the white-pelted priest, especially since he had taken up the mantle of teacher and mentor to her. Miraak had been a bit more scarce, as of late, as had Cicero, though the latter had only taught her about poisons, anyway.

"Cousins?" she asked, tasting the unfamiliar word. "I like Kove," she added, grinning. It was hard to imagine the dark woods without her family--it was painful to even think of the scenario--but perhaps things wouldn't be devastating, if she still had her brothers and Kove by her side.