Blackfeather Woods The Color Out of Space

Joining, but Eldritch isn't currently at the 50 post/30 day mark, so not labeled as a Joining thread <3 @Rowan and/or @Zephyr 

They had split up, she and Kali. The two had decided to go seperate ways in hopes to find their sister, Nyra. Little did Eldritch know, Nyra herself had been in the same woods she stood outside of, prior to winter setting in. 
Eldritch approached the border of the trees with a calmness akin to a spirit, watching. 
Her white-silver eyes peered curiously into the depths of the dark trees, an inquiring tilt to her hound-shaped head as she noticed the many eyes watching her from the branches above. 
Ravens, crows.  
"Hmmm..." The seer hummed to herself softly, eventually deciding to send up an eerie, ethereal howl for whoever claimed these woods.

You can join a pack whenever, we just need 6 wolves with those requirements to form, but everyone else is welcome!

A howl drifted in from his borders.
A visitor, perhaps. Or maybe someone who was to be a new member.
The howl was soft and wraith-like. He wondered if it were a ghost. A trick of the woods.
But as he neared the borders, his lope slowing, he spotted a very real form.

He puffed his chest and stood tall, letting a smile grace his features as his tail waved high. Friendly, but ascertain of his standing.
"Welcome to Ivory Rose, I'm Rowan Blackfeather."
He swept his gaze over the older female.
"How can I help?"

As a man came from the depths, she noticed him pull himself tall as he neared her. Eldritch tilted her head again, picking up his every word. 
"Greetings, I am Eldritch Nightwish." The tall wraith responded with only this at first. 
A pause before she spoke again.
"I wish to join your pack. It is clear from the markers you have numbers claiming this land." She added, swaying her tail softly while it stayed level with her spine. 
"I pursue a bond with spirits, and with nature. I wish to be a healer, in both body and in soul." Eldritch smiled softly as she said this, an assurance to her tone, which was already calm, perhaps as soft as her smile. 
Specifically, she saught to be a Seer and a master in plants, especially toxic ones.

She had cold, calculating eyes.
He didn't think there was a warmth to them, but he wasn't entirely sure what that looked like anyway.
Eldritch Nightwish eh. Sounded fancy. Culty.
Like Melonii, he guessed.

He waited for more, and she delivered.
She wanted room in his pack. Rowan smiled, "yes, of course. As long as you can abide by my few rules."
She spoke of spirits. And medicine. Naturally, both were accepted.
"Blackfeather Woods is a place for your interests. It seems your spirits may have brought you here," a soft touch of a smile. The Daedra came in many forms, he had learnt. But so many ended up here. Even those who didn't know what spoke to them.

"I'm Rowan Blackfeather," he offered up his name. It'd be rude not to after she gave hers.

Her eyes seemed to slways be cold, but in truth though her being had been dedicated to solely spirits before, Eldritch had a caring nature for all life, save for the lives she needed to take.
"I am sure I can abide by your rules." She agreed, perking her ears some "I am a listener of all spirits, those of gods and those bound to this realm." She confirmed to his other words, offering a bow of sorts to his returned introduction instead of more words. 

And then she would wait to be invited in, to walk beside him into her new home.

He smiled, his posture relaxing. He wasn't one to keep up the facade he was an all-righteous master overlord. It was just to make sure whoever was at the border knew this wasn't their land. It was his.

A quick smile. Everyone else had abided by them so far.
One who served the spirits certainly could too.
She seemed too ready, though. He wondered if it was just eagerness for the Daedra, or something other.
He pushed the thought aside.
"In these woods, you are to not harm the birds, and in this pack, you are to provide safety to those who need it." 
He tilted his head, watching her for a moment more, wondering what the Daedra wanted with her.

He turned inviting her in silently.
Keeping a golden eye trained on her.
"There is an altar for the Daedra. There is a tree blessed by them too, so they can talk to you clearer than ever before."
These woods seemed to be the epicentre for Gods.
"You can talk to them all you like. Just follow those rules," he smiled softly.

"I understand." Eldritch confirmed to his request to his rules. She would not harm the birds. And she had every intention of protecting those within. 
She joined at his flank idly, a calm certainty to her air as they walked further in. 
"The Daedra are your gods, yes?" Eldritch inquired, both to get more information on them, and as confirmation. 
"The spirit world is a complicated place, but I will make it a personal goal to become a Seer of your Daedra." She smiled, certainty once again present on her face

A smile, easier than the rest.
He felt better now he knew that his woods wouldn't be harmed by a new member. A follower.
A believer.

They soon would be strong enough to lay formal claim on this land.
He'll send out missionaries to spread the word of his pack. And perhaps find more followers of the Daedra.
Ivory Rose was the haven they would savour for hopefully a long time to come. A time of peace, until it required war.
He was prepared for that. And would ensure his pack was too.

"Yes," he replied, wondering what could she tell them of their whispers.
She pledged to be their Seer. The Daedra's voice.
"Leave offering at the altar, they will take favour to you and will accept you then."
To make sure she didn't go rushing to the tree without protection of some sort. If she was going to stay a long tie she'd need to keep her sanity.
"Come, we'll go there now."
He tilted his head to invite her in the correct direction, tail wagging softly.
Ivory Rose will be just fine.

At his confirmation, she offered a soft smile and a wag of her own tail. 
"What are their names? If I may ask, and...what offerings are best, for the Daedra?" Eldritch asked, truly curious. She wanted to know everything she could, to become the best Seer she could be for those that wished to hear their words. Even now, she could hear distant whispers as she turned gently at Rowan's side, seeking the sacred tree to which he said they'd go.

Their names.
It seems they often called but didn't reveal themselves. Perhaps they truly had no name.

"Mephala, the Night Mother, the Goddess of the night and secrets. Sithis, the Dread Father, the keeper of the void. And there is Peryite, Goddess of pestilence."

He only knew those three, but he was sure there were more. And they might speak to this Eldritch if they so deigned to do so.
He hoped so.
He wanted to talk to them too, normally, but they didn't whisper their sweet nothings into his ears.

To his answers, Eldritch nodded in acknowledging acceptance. 
Mephala. 
The Night Mother. 
Sithis. 
Peryite. 
"I shall dedicate their names to memory." She confirmed with a soft tone. 
Walking still beside him, the witch asked her second question again. 
"What offerings may I give Them? To start my relationship working with Them?" 
The offerings she gave would eventually be tailored, no doubt, but before now a general idea of what to offer would do

A nod.
She accepted them, and he was sure they'd too accept her.
Especially because of her next question.

"For Mephala, stand before the Altar and tell her your secrets. For Sithis, feed him a soul but killing something upon the stone. And for Peryite, leave her a decaying form for her to devour."

The key to one's heart was food, and the Gods didn't feed on just mere flesh.
To think that they did would certainly earn you a black mark in their book anyway.

They came upon the Altar then. Resting in a shallow dip in the earth. The towering rock that was split down the middle, surrounded by smaller shards, now had one half upon the ground, flat and broken from when the earth shuddered and broke Blackfeather Woods -- and Maegi.
The rock lay bare, save for some stains of blood and tufts of fur.
"Here, is the place."

As they arrived, Eldritch looked upon the altar while Rowan spoke, eyes shining with awe and mystic wonder at the holy site before them. 
She slowly approached the flat stone surface, lowering her head to whisper softly a secret - an unintelligible muttering to those not immediately next to her: 

"My home's perishing was my doing." 

Only Eldritch knew this. The day her and Nyra's father had taken the palefur for his own and done his vile deeds, Eldritch had gone alone to the clan that wiped out the Direfangs. The hunt for offerings was planned. It was put through perfectly. 

But Nyra ran away before Eldritch could tell her the truth. 
And the beast of a woman hadn't been seen since. 

If Rowan heard her, she would explain without regret or apology.

He let her wander, drifting towards the altar.
He stood back, letting her connect with the Daedra.
She spoke - something he didn't hear. But the wind seemed to hum with contemplation. A few birds took flight, as if carrying her message.

"I'll leave you to it then. If you get lost just call for me." He smiled, looking around again, then leaving Eldritch to do what she wished. He had good faith in her.