Blackfeather Woods Se gīda gō se jelmāzma

@Relmyna Backdated to last night

Only she could help him.

With Potema gone, Relmyna was the only wolf that Damien trusted enough to ask for help, for what he planned to attempt was not exactly an every day activity. The scar-faced woman was regarded as blood by Damien now that she had bore Cicero's whelps, and since he needed a high level of confidentiality to keep his plans and his lover safe for the time being Relmyna's inability to speak was only an advantage.

So he sought her out that night, walking silently through the redgrove to the place where her scent was strongest. The place was also damp with the sisters' scent, which brought up a homely feeling on the dark prince.

cicero had left a great deal of herb bundles in relmyna's care; she knew their names and properties, including those of the poisons he had tested upon both himself and her own body. yet she held none of this against her memory of sheogorath; it would not do to bear anger toward a dead man. and they would be of hope and growth for blackfeather; soon she would entrust even their dried secrets to the youngest melonii babes.
she sat in red-tinted moonlight, face uplifted to what of the stars could be seen through the interlaced canopy. and when damien's broad sable form drew into view, relmyna did not start, but lay her soft turquoise gaze upon the dark prince in welcome.

Slowly, Damien approached her allowing her cold gaze to settle upon him. She was where he had predicted, watching the stars as she put guard on her darlings. She was a good mother, something that Blackfeather Woods had lacked for years, and the dark prince was glad that she was with them.

I see you've moved the pups away from the glen, says the dark prince as he walker next to her. He liked it, that was he could be closer to his nieces. They grow fast, but not fast enough. He couldn't wait to train the girls in the dark arts and appoint them to the brotherhood. Soon they would be old enough.

But the girls was not why Damien had come. He had one thing in his mind only and he hated wasting time. I need to ask you a favor, he said not long after his last comment, I know you kept my brother's stash... I need to borrow some herbs but I wouldn't know what they're called, he mentioned knowing very well that Relmyna wouldn't be the one to teach him, but hoping she could be of help identifying them.

"ame."
there was a change in the dark prince; relmyna noticed it as he moved beside her. it lurked in the shadowed places of his words; while the ragged she-wolf did not doubt his love for her children, damien had a purpose of his own. and perhaps he would reveal it. one dark ear flickered atop her head; relmyna granted the brother her gaze but kept the other trained on the place where her children slept. a smile curved the untorn side of her mouth; they were her entire heart.
herbs. cicero — sheogorath — had left the bitter little bundles in her care. he would want his brother to have them also, the woman decided, nodding her head and gathering herself to her feet. she had moved a good deal of the plants, but the majority were where cicero had left them. 
silently she led damien through the darkened wood to his brother's herbstore; there she glanced with moonlit eyes at the man, seeking a description of what he wished. borrow? what will he bring in return? she thought in some small amusement to herself.

Hearing Relmyna try to pronounce his name brought a nice feeling to Damien. He could see the woman begin to grow empowered of herself, which in contrast to the submissive and belittled Relmyna that he'd known under Sheogorath's charm (which was still unknown to him), they were two completely different people.

In silence Damien followed the scar-faced woman to his brother's herbstore, and although his scent had long evaporated he felt as though he could still feel his presence in that cursed place. His eyes are found by Relmyna's cold, curious gaze and he assumes she's requesting some kind of description to be able to help. I've only seen most of them only once, but... I remember a purple flower with five pointy petals and a cluster of yellow filaments at the center... the famous deadly nightshade. Damien didn't know, but Cicero had already introduced him to it's deadly, magical effects long ago. The Wrath of Sithis, was what the brotherhood called it, but Damien was not aware of this. ... There was a red, pointy mushroom with a yellow stem... witch's hat. The most peculiar of the four. He only needed the caps for the ritual but he figured describing the whole thing was far more practical. ... Then there was a white flower with spiral petals... Jimson weed, probably the most beautiful one, and most definitely the one that had the most powerful effect on the mind. ... And the last one is definitely poppy, he simply said. Poppy seeds were commonly used as a painkiller and Damien knew the red flower from which those were taken alright.

it was burning withing her that she ask damien what he was planning, for as he described each plant he needed, her fear grew. but she said nothing, merely moved through her stores, gathering what the dark prince required. the blooms required were unsafe enough to warrant being stored apart from one another, each upon its own wide leaf. long-dried, their edges trembled as the priestess carefully drew them from the darkness and lay them at damien's paws.
in the center of four leaves, nightshade, witch's hat, jimsonweed, and a wide, curled sedgegrass blade of tiny black seeds. relmyna pointed each out to damien in turn, seeking his face to see that he understood, and then turned. tucked into a nearby rock crevasse, a rabbitskin she had placed there one long moon ago. ragged now, it nevertheless would serve their purposes.
gingerly she picked up each leaf by its brittle stem and lay them in a gentle stack upon the skin. a quick nosing of her muzzle, and a small grey-furred packet was prepared for damien to carry away.
careful, her gaze warned somberly.

In her eyes Damien saw the fear that he was expecting to see when the black-patched wolfess gathered Damien's required herbs. He knew that the plants with which his mother and sister used to work their magic were dangerous and demanded a high level of knowledge and carefulness to handle, but desperate situations called for desperate actions. This was the only way out that he could think of.

As the woman placed the herbs in a ragged rabbit skin for the dark prince to carry, Damien nodded with his head in a gentle sign of gratefulness. But despite having what he needed he couldn't simply take the stuff away without explaining to her what he was about to do. I can't lie to you, his heart forced him to say, and from his eyes poured a mix of anxiety and excitement.I have but one purpose in this world, and I won't see it fulfilled with the way things are, he said as his eyes sought her own with growing determination. I will attempt to contact my mother in the void, and what I find will dictate the course of the rest of my life. but what was important about all that was that... I want you and your daughters to be a part of that life. in his mind, it simply could not be any other way.

so he was leaving.
how accursed she was! not to have the gift of speech. relmyna's soft gaze searched the resolute planes of damien's face as he spoke. the way things are. quickly her mind worked; he had come home, only to gather strength for a spiritual trek. perhaps he did not wish the woods in the hands of an apaata. while kove's might had kept safe the home of blackfeather, he was not a melonii, not to her knowledge.
a black-tipped ear flicked; relmyna felt a tremble flutter tuggingly along her torn lips. it was such a honeyed offer the prince extended, to be taken into whatever fold damien would create. but her own resolution had always been that the daughters of cicero be reared in his birthplace. and so she could not pledge herself, only blink back the saltwater that had collected in her eyes and reach to touch his chin softly. go with my blessing.

His eyes would have filled with tears had he been born a human. But Damien couldn't do much else with the situation. He had expected more of Relmyna, hoped that she would find his proposal one that she could see herself being a part of, but Damien simply could not get himself to force her to fit his wishes in her agenda. It was sad that the possibility of not having his nieces and their mother under his care was such a real possibility, but he couldn't do anything but accept it.

I will keep you informed, then... he said, understanding, but refusing to close the door for her. There would always be a place reserved for Averna, Astara and Relmyna wherever Damien ended up. His eyes sought another chance in Relmyna's expression, but after finding none he took what she had gathered for him and made his way back to his den where surely Nyx would be expecting him. There were things to set in motion, and too little time for sentimentalism.