Great Bear Wilderness Nightfall at Daybreak

@Fang

After spending some time in the Vale, Meldresi headed south to Blackfeather Woods. She wasn't sure if Fang was there yet, but she did want to go around the perimeter of the dark forest to map out where their borders should go. Passing the Lake, she stopped right at the edge of the darkness, nose sniffing for any scent of wolf.

Without a scent to tell her if anyone had entered or exited Blackfeather, she patrolled around its edges, trying to gauge how big her pack's lands should be.

Sorry for the delay on this reply hectic weekend

The hybrid had travelled, slowly. The wound inflicted by his packmate was beginning the slow process of healing though it still proved tender when he put too much pressure on it. None the less, he managed to make his way to the area that Meldresi had described. The landscape was rapidly changing to a dark woodland, the canopy thickening overhead to slowly begin blocking out the sun. Faint calls seemed to echo about coming from all directions at once. Fang was often a brazen creature, willing to jump into oddly dangerous situations with little regard for the consequences, his small, speedy frame gave him a boldness in the opportunity that he could escape the most precarious situations easily. This however was not one of those times. Before he travelled too far into the warring woodland he decided to try and investigate, looking for the previously met female. It didn't take the male long to pick up the vaguely familiar scent of the dark fae. Having decided she'd been nearby recently he let out a short howl, an inquiry to see if she was close before setting too as rapidly as he could in his condition he began following the faint trail. Speech thoughts

Her ears twitched at the sound of the call. Turning towards the sound, she trotted over to Fang, who was just entering the dark woods known to its avian locals as Blackfeather Woods. The priestess approached the male, keeping in the shadows to observe him. As he stood, he leaned to one side, favoring a leg it seemed. On closer inspection, it looked like he sustained an injury there from not too long ago.

Parting from the shadows, Meldresi walked over to Fang, eyes gleaming. "So you came," she said, though she wasn't surprised at all. Her attention turned back to his injured leg. "What happened? Were you attacked recently?"

The hybrid was already on edge because of the natural darkness that shrouded this new area, so when Meldresi seemed to appear from shadows with the obvious statement he felt his skin crawl. Doing his best to not physically jump at the words he turned his eyes toward her, a wry smile on his maw. Don't miss much, do you. His normally affable mannerisms had changed to snarky, sarcastic rebuttals. He shook his head lightly. One of my uhh, Packmates. We had a disagreement. I guess I struck a nerve, so she struck back. He left out the fact that the lambda had outright attacked him, he felt he deserved it a little. The half-breed looked around the immediate area, taking a few steps closer to the black maiden. Well, it certainly does seem to be mysterious. Golden eyes fell on the female after his brief observation of the woods. The woods, I mean. He offered with a familiar half-smile Speech thoughts

Fang claimed that one of his own packmates had given him the wound. The priestess stepped closer, sniffing the wound. It was a deep wound, the flesh torn, from pulling; either from him trying to pull away, or the packmate in question pulling. It was healed a bit, but he still favored it. She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Physical fighting between packmates is bad for the pack. It is the beginning of discontent within. I know, I have seen it many times."

Stepping back, she turned her head to look at the dark forest Fang was mentioning. "It is mysterious. I have travelled within it many times and yet I still do not know everything about it..." The forest was vast, as was the tunnels underneath it. There were dark parts of these woods she had yet to explore, but she wanted to bring her pack her as soon as she could regardless.

The hybrid rolled his shoulders in a shrug, it was an obvious statement, and it was being made to a creature that no longer cared about the possible discontent of that particular pack. There were any number of reasons he disliked having to live their any longer but the foremost would be the troubles he was apparently having with the eve male that caused his injury. Dismissing any further enquiry about the matter, to him it was a moot point.

He once more looked around the immediate area as she explained her own lack of knowledge of the woodlands. He was not in a position for serious exploration but he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to investigate this ominous place. "So how about we find out a little more about the place?" Turning back to the female with a eager smile, his tail giving a soft flicker behind his bulk. The idea of an expedition into the dark woods was something he wasn't about to pass up.

Fang only shrugged in response, a gesture that told her that he truly didn't care about the Sunspire anymore. Whatever had happened only served to help her gain new allies. His wound seemed to be healing fine, so she left it alone for now. "Don't strain yourself, Fang. We do not have to travel far now."

She walked into the forest, but she already knew this neck of the woods. For now she would let Fang get a small glimpse of the dark forest before asking formally if he wished to join Blackfeather.

feel free to PP wherever you want them to go in your post

Strain myself? The concern was if anything slightly wounding to his pride. Yes he had a limp, but he had managed to traverse the wilds with his wound with little difficulty, even if the journey took significantly longer and he may have been easy picking had he upset the wrong individual. Still, he was more than willing to impress that he was mostly fine.
Whether this was for his own vanity, or actually trying to impress the ebony clad female was anyone's guess.

"I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. So what's some nearby points of interest?" He began to follow her, doing his best to hide the still lingering irritation that caused his limp and probably failing. He was however keen to learn more about these woods, and of course this mysterious female. His golden eyes followed her as they began the adventure.

The wolfdog felt defensive that she had mentioned being careful. True, he had just come from all the way down from the mountains. But she was a healer. It was her job to be like that. If he truly needed it, she would give him some poppy seeds to help ease whatever pain he was experiencing.

She walked to the nearest tunnel that she knew of. The winding tunnels lay everywhere underneath the woods. She hasn't explored every part yet, especially the parts without light, but from what she has seen, it could serve as the communal den of her pack. The river was downhill, so if it flooded there was a chance that it would only reach one tunnel.

Finding the hidden tunnel, she pushed the bush that covered the hole. "There's an entire tunnel system down here. I plan to have the pack's communal den in there..."

When the entrance was revealed he was more than a little surprised at the explanation. An entire system of underground passages? And she wanted to use them as a communal den, and probably living areas. He edged closer to the tunnel his golden eyes trying to look into the gloom. "And there's nothing else living in there?" turning is attention back to the female.

He was once again struck by an odd apprehension caused by this ebony clad female. Though he had only spent a short time in her company the way she carries herself, along with the fact she was planning on starting a pack in a creepy forest with underground tunnels seemed both frightening and wonderful.

"Nothing major, mainly cave dwellers. Bats, for the most part. Some mice and rats in the higher parts of the cave. There's a river in there, so there are salamanders and insects too. Strangest of all are the glowing worms and mushrooms..." She had finally discovered what was the source of the hanging tendrils. Worms. Strange, glowing worms. The tendrils were silk, or something like it, and it hung down. For what, she wasn't certain, but they were rather beautiful.

"Come in, let me show you.." She said, slipping into the dark tunnel. It would only be dark for a few moments before a glow could be seen in the distance. Soon the glow would get brighter and brighter until it was almost as bright as a full moon inside of the cave.

Glowing mushrooms and worms? That was a new one for the hybrid, he wasn't about to call Meldresi out on being an imaginative liar, but the momentary expression of disbelief might have done it for him. He mentally shrugged the thought away, he'd seen some strange things so why would glowing worms be that much different.

His thoughts stopped when she invited him into the cavern. Spelunking was probably a bad idea given his current ailments but he wasn't about to give up the opportunity to see something new. He followed as quickly as was able, entering the dark gloom only steps behind the female. The finite darkness surrounded em and despite his attempts to blink the gloom away he was still momentarily blind. There was a slight build up of fear in the hybrids chest as he listened for the footfalls in front of him. Expecting any moment to disappear into nothingness.

Just when Fang was about to speak, questioning what insane creature would call a dark cave home, or at least ask where these bloody glowing worms were, he made out something ahead, a slight light. He quickened his pace as best he could to get out of the dark. When the light source was finally engulfing them he spoke. "For a moment there I thought maybe you were leading me down some dark tunnel for a twisted game of torture" a nervous laugh following his words as he breathed heavier than would be necessary if he wasn't a pansy that was scared of the dark. Between his wound and the apprehension he felt for this strange female he considered himself an easy picking for any sort of sinister act. Not that one was forthcoming.

Meldresi stepped further into the brightened cave still awed by the glowing worms and mushrooms that lived here. Fang was equally intrigued, from the look on his face, but he was wary too. He laughed nervously, saying something about stealing him away in order to kill him. Meldresi chuckled softly. "I have no intention to, if that sooths you, Fang."

She found one of the tunnels that led to one of the larger caverns. Here mushrooms of the glowing variety outmatched the glowing worms, sprouting out of the walls like lanterns. "Here's where the main gathering place would be." She said to the injured male.

When they entered the entirety of the cavern, Meldresi's calm words fell on his ears but he was too busy looking this way and that to take much notice. The luminescent mushrooms sprouting about certainly made the musky hole a lot more comfortable. He returned his attention to the dark female when she spoke of gathering here. So tell me, Meldresi. You're seem to have this pack idea worked out. Safe place, certainly not lacking in interesting aspects. He spoke casually, still taking a few steps around the opened cavern before facing her again. Who follows you, and why? The hybrid had been intending to leave the mountain pack for a time, and it seemed this was an opportunity to fulfil that need. However he wasn't about to just jump into another group of unknowns, after the last time. Patiently, he waited for her explanation. Speech thoughts

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"Leatherface, a large male. He's a man of few words but he's a bit....slow as well." He was the first to join her, and until she started her pack officially, he resided in the Blackfeather Woods, alone. "Keith, is coming as well." She did not need to describe the silver male to Fang, since they were already acquainted.

"I am still looking for other members, but I am getting there" She said, walking towards the tunnel where the river was flowing past. Rahzie was another she considered, but she hadn't seen the coywolf in a while, even back in Ouroboros. Maybe she left? Who knows? But she still had other potential candidates, like the injured hybrid standing nearby her.

Keith? Amused at that revelation he let out a small heh of a laugh. He'd only encountered the youth once before, as Meldresi knew, but he found him entertaining and likeable enough. Even if he seemed . ..excitable. It seemed she was light on followers, though that didn't matter, the less wolves to contend with, the less shit he'd have to deal with. So, just so we're clear, you've got a yourself, a stump As he thought of the explanation of 'leatherface' And a man-child. Following her lead, they moved towards an underground water-source. I guess, at least you've got the protection of this underground, and the general foreboding of the woods above. As best he could he moved a few steps nearer to the ebony clad female. His golden eyes trying to glean as much information as possible, whilst he wasn't overly enthused about the group she had so far, he certainly wasn't turned off from the idea yet. And you'll be leading this misfit bunch yourself? Fang was a master at testing boundaries, and pushing things as far as he could. Of course he had no intent of actually upsetting the soon to be alpha, but he wanted see just how far she could be pushed. In a variety of ways. Speech thoughts

Meldresi sighed at the way Fang described them. True, it wasn't the best group to start with, but it was better than nothing. "I do not discriminate beyond appearances. They have their benefits. There are worst people, however." She needed strength now, and that's what both of them could offer. Leatherface had his own brute power, Keith was young and swift and could be fierce when the moon was right.

She chuckled at Fang's question. What was he trying to pull? Was he trying to gain a leadership position? "For the moment, yes. Although, when the pack grows larger I would pick one of the best to be Gamma or Beta." It was a necessity, but she did not know much about how Fang operated in a leadership role. True if she had to choose now, he would be her first choice, but what did she know about him? Close to nothing.

A slight huff escaped when she reiterated her opinion of her followers this far. Of course he wasn't a creature to judge too harshly the choices made by others. He had no objections to those she named, of course that was mostly due to not knowing them but he chose to trust her choices. Of course, everyone's useful to some extent. She continued in a seemingly calm voice, he raised a brow, his ears perched forward as he listened to her speak. The best? Best amongst what exactly? Of course when others join they might have more choices of 'best'. He held in check his surprise at her placid response to him calling out the inferiority of the group she had chosen this far. She gave no outward indication that she disliked his observation, he was left wondering just how far he could push the insults. He quickly gave up on the idea of trying to push his boundaries further before speaking again. So, let's throw a hypothetical, if I were to leave the Mountains. Which he was pretty much doing. I assume I would have no trouble slipping into your ranks, but why should I? This was a little backwards, wasn't it, usually one pledged themselves and their abilities to the alpha, but here he was asking what she could offer him. So much for not trying to push boundaries. Speech thoughts

He asked a good question. What could she offer him? He was trying to test her, it seemed, but she didn't mind. "You already have your mind set on leaving the Mountains. But, after leaving the Sunspire, you would most likely be a loner, correct?" He did not seemed to be interested in the other packs nearby, like the Creek or the Plateau, so she was simply assuming from those facts alone. "Being a pack wolf is better than a lone wolf. You have safety from predators, a higher chance of getting food. But that's what all packs could give you."

She walked closer to the river, stepping on its banks, her paws half in the dark waters. "By joining a young pack, you have a higher chance of being in the upper tier, if you are concerned with that sort of thing." She flicked the water absentmindedly with her paw, watching as something swam closer. So there was fish in here after all. "I also offer a feeling of belonging for those who join. I will keep a close eye and ear on my pack. I will make sure that we act as a group, a family. If there is any strife between others, I will make sure to deal with it. I can't abide such internal struggles."

correct me if I'm wrong! but this is 3 followers? :0

They arrived at the riverbed, the hybrid opting to sit whilst the black female spoke. She managed to make some good, albeit obvious, points. When she drew on the last point a flicker of irritation rose inside him, his lips pressed together recalling the incident that had come about, due mostly to his current/previous alphas discontent, and cowardice to send a fledging pack member attack him. Right. He shifted his thoughts away from Kipling, and the spire. Turning his golden eyes on the black female again, watching as she pawed absently at the water. It seemed she had the right ideas. He dipped his head before speaking. well, consider me one of your loyal subjects. A small sigh escaped, it was probably going to be a little boring for the hybrid for the next few weeks, but at least he wouldn't be dealing with a hypocritical, vain, idiot. I guess that means I'll have to find a place to live in here? Lifting his head he looked around briefly, it wasn't exactly the most inviting home, but it could work. Speech thoughts

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You're my second, and I am almost done with my third. Keith I just put in there because I know he's coming but he wants to do his pledge thread later

She felt a smile flicker onto her face. Another follower! Though he was injured for the moment, he would be helpful in gaining them stability. He looked around, assessing the dark caves. "I would suggest it. It's safer down here." She moved away from the river, shaking her damp paw.

"There aren't any pelts yet, but the moss here is soft enough." After a few weeks of hunting they would have pelts for each member to sleep on, but that comfort would have to wait. "You could sleep anywhere you want in here, be my guess."

final post from me. :o

He continued his appraisal of the cavern. It seemed to be pretty well resolved, her invitation to stay was evidence of that. Whilst she moved away from the river he remained sitting, following a few stray thoughts. "If you don't object, I'll stay here a while. Might explore this area a little more." he gave a final glance, and a nod at Meldresi. Whilst she moved off a realisation struck the hybrid. "There is something I need to see too at the spire. Shouldn't take me long to finish up, seek me out here in a day or so, I won't be far." For now he'd rest, then move off to finish his business.

As she was moving, Fang had something else to add. She turned, listening to what he had to say. Before he could formally move in, he had to attend to some things back home. "Of course, I'll see you then." The priestess said, turning back and following another tunnel.

Meldresi felt a rush of pride. Another member! Certainly her goddess would be pleased with her progress. She was close to reaching her goal. She needed but another member..

End! I'll go archive this. Thanks!