Ravensblood Forest Earthworm

aw but maybe an @Nox?

For the first time in a long time, Worm thought of home.

Did it even count as a home when she hardly knew it? Hell, she might've known this place better, and she was little more than a glorified prisoner. Still, she found herself weirdly at ease in this dark forest, in the red mist that settled over it in the early mornings and the swallowing shadows that cloaked it in the night, there was an odd sort of serenity that the vagabond had never allowed herself to feel. She was a creature made for turmoil, not for peace.

Not for peace. Worm held the skull of what had once been a muskrat on the bend of an outstretched foreleg, cold silver eyes staring into the empty holes that looked back at her. She grew impatient, hungry for the raid she was promised.

"What've ye got there?"

She was a curious thing, their bilge rat. On rare occasions did he think he'd been a little unfair on her, but when had Nox ever been a fair man? There remained an air of distrust around her that the Captain had yet to shake.

There wasn't much that scared him, but the way in which she cradled the skull made the hairs on his spine prickle in unease. Some more reverent than he would take her alliance with the otherworldly as a bad omen of sorts, but Nox approached now with more curiosity than anything.

Beneath her dark fur, he was eager to see what kind of wolf she really was.

Captain. Worm greeted him without looking up, craning her wrist to tilt the skull, grey dewclaws skimming the surface of bleached teeth. Disinterest, a cold bite on her tone. Muskrat.

and then she looked to him, letting a casual smile fall across her face, uncanny as it might've been, and all too unconcerned for a captive. Come for that eye? She leered in a bit, almost playful, tossing the skull to the side and pulling herself up to sit prim and proper in front of him. A Bilge rat of some class at least. ...Or have you got news? A slight, anticipatory grin to match the challenge on her lips.

Fishing was good and fine, plenty a challenge on the reflexes; but not so much a challenge on the mind, once one got used to the task. Worm found herself itching to morph into something she was not, playing an endless game of strategy through the boring, quiet nights.

The skull she introduced as muskrat, but what Nox saw instead was her own. A reflection of what lay within her, a darkness she had displayed since their first meeting in these woods.

"That depends," he rumbled, though his gaze lingered on each pool of silver as if to seriously consider it for a time. Following the arc of bone as it thudded unceremoniously on the leaf litter nearby, he sat feline-like before her, his own sharp-tooth grin matching her own. "On how this raid turns out."

A barely disguised threat, an outstretched paw drew the skull to his side. "I can make it easier if ya like, give ye a real broken bone if yer not ready to play pretend."

She grinned something hardly perceptible as he uttered his threats, as his eyes roved over her as if he wished to tear her apart. She liked it. She looked at him the same way. Oh I'm a decent actress, don't you worry Cap'n! I don't need extra motivation, I've got my own. She mimicked their way of speech, maybe more of a mockery but who's to know for sure. Like... let's say, a promotion.

If, the raid goes well, that is. Otherwise I suppose you can chop me up and toss me into the sea. She looked now to the ocean, hardly visible between the dense trees as they sloped downwards, the lapping of its waves always heard.

It was like a game to her, life and death. She toed the line, a born tightrope walker.

A promotion - the gall of her! He snorted then, even as she voided his offer, for as much as he hated to admit it, it was a wise choice. "Bah! I make no promises," though the seed of doubt had been planted. She had potential, but could she deliver? "Means findin' another stray to do our dirty work, an' who's got time for that?"

Following her gaze to the ocean, never far in their seafaring home. "Yer more use to me alive than dead." It would be easy to overpower her, feel the crunch of her bones beneath his teeth. Would he enjoy it? "But I'd be comin' for that eye." A small piece of her, his mark on her body. 

Dare say he would enjoy that even more.

Wouldn't I still be doin' your dirty work regardless? She queries with a coy muse, rising to slink around him like some dark, sea-serpent, her shoulder brushing his own. N' who says I can't find ya some strays. She says as if it is obvious.

Feather-light paws glided across the ground, round back in front where she started, her haunches meeting with the damp grass. So he still wanted her eye. Good. She liked the stakes.

and she wondered what it would feel like, carved from its socket. Half anticipated it regardless of the raid's outcome. Violent men were a dime a dozen, but she couldn't help but wonder what kind of violent their dark captain was; what he and those of his same ilk brought to the land.

Well, don't think I'll make it too easy for you. Silver eyes narrowed, a jest and a challenge all wrapped up in one. She would sharply look back to the water, coyish ears pricked, eyes swallowing the moon, she let its light bathe her features.

Unafraid. Would he remedy it?

The touch of her fur was electric, sparking a warmth that he was hungry to keep. Paw raised as if to hold her near, hesitant though, and soon she had slipped from his grasp to leave him with the cold air again. 

"I'm sure they'll come fawnin' at yer feet." More strays, more crew; part of him was interested to see how she would handle recruitment. But that required responsibility, trust, that she wouldn't ditch them and run off into the sunset. He'd take her other eye for that too, if it came to it.

Similar thoughts raced through his mind, teeth, blood - would she scream? It was his turn to approach, eyes drinking in her lit features, almost pretty they were. "Would take the fun out of it, no?" Nose to nose now; "I'll let ye join the ranks as rookie. Or are you after something else, something...more."

Or maybe they'd come kicking and screaming. Worm would not be limited.

In a moment, he came close, his nose met with hers, cold to the touch; yet it was his eyes she focused on. Dull, ghostly silver locked with intense, blazing amber, unwavering. Her words came hushed, like it was a secret to be locked away. I'm always after something more.

Cold, sea breeze rolled through the night, whistling against the silence, soon to be broken. Simple terms laid out. Keep me happy, n' I'll do the same for you. I'll even make that a promise.

But what good was her word?

Like a curse off the lips of a sea-witch; her word came as a certainty, all wrapped up in something uneasy.

She remained still, a frigid meeting laced with a feeling Nox couldn't quite describe though he wished it would last longer than a careless whisper. More, they were all after it. All searching for a semblance of purpose amidst the dark of these woods.

Contrasted was his desire to see them thrive with the violent urge to keep them malleable, supple, squashed beneath the heel of his foot so they would obey. Was that happiness? "A promise, aye?" It was about as reliable as a riptide, but now he had an idea of what she wanted. "I'll hold ya to that, then." 

A flick of his tail and he pulled away, making to leave their rendezvous in search of other preparations to be made.