Blackfeather Woods In the Shadow of the Moon (Pack Activity!)

Nemesis stood quietly as the ceremony carried out, not in any way conscious of herself. Her thoughts had been put on hold as she listened in on the conversation happening. Akela was as cocky as ever, it seemed. Though his remarks could be taken as disrespect, she knew it was all in good humor. Not that she would ever even attempt such a thing. Humor had never been her comfort zone, but her most urgent area of improvement.

She found herself urging for the day when her turn came. Let it be years from now, she did not care. Her only promise was that one day, she would rise to be what she aspire. With the red mark on her shoulder and a ceremony quite like this one for her. She was proud of her packmate, and gave a quiet "Congratulations" directed in Akela's direction. 
Her attention refocused when Meldresi mentioned returning to her work. She knew of the pregnancy taking a toll on the priestess, as any would. It was only moons away until their children would arrive and the pack would completely flourish. Life was looking prefect, for now.

Potema didn't know if her brothers were satisfied by such an answer, but she did not care now. Her mother was going to mark them; to show to the world who they were and who they belonged to, and that was what she was excited for. Her brother Damien was to be marked first, she supposed that it would be in birth order; fine then, she could wait. Save the best for last, of course.

@Damien @Burke @Cyn @Nemesis @Cicero @Akela

Next round will end October 27th

She strode to her eldest son first, the sharpened bone in her jaws. She looked at Damien, silently admiring what her eldest son had grown into. He was stoic, quiet, but fierce and loyal to her and the pack. He was growing large too; not yet reaching his first year, but already towering over her. She felt a rush of pride, before she moved over to his right shoulder, positioning the bone on his shoulder. "Are you ready?" She asked, her voice muffled before pressing the tip of the bone in, smelling the blood that was already drawn.

The process was painful; to truly carve a permanent mark into a person's side meant pressing the tip of the bone in deep, but she was certain that her sons and daughter could take the pain with barely a cry. They were her children after all. What she worried about was if the wound would become infected; that was what terrified her. But she pushed that thought aside and drew a rough circle into Damien's shoulder, beginning the mark.

Burke kept himself a bit back, there wasn't much thing for him to do since Meldresi seemed keen on doing the ritual herself. He glanced at Akela, pleased to have him as his Beta, that would definitely help him out in the future. The male had proven himself after all. Burke watched Damien who was getting his permanent mark. Burke studied the ritual, knowing that they had to preform it again after all. Meldresi's belly was bulging. 

Burke looked at Cicero and then at Potema, the latter seemed to look rather excited with the prospect of pain. Burke admired all the pups, just like Meldresi was doing. It did take a lot from Burke to admire other wolves, but these spiderlings had shown they were worth his admiration.

Meldresi explained that she planned to return to her Alpha duties once the new litter was old enough to need little from her. It satisfied Damien knowing that mother would return to her place once the time was right, but it worried him that Burke would also be too focused in the pack, and only Akela would be there to fill the leader position. Damien did not trust Akela enough.

But mother interrupted his thoughts as she guided the meeting into the next matter to attend. She called him forward, and he stepped into the light, face blank of enotion, but feeling empowered and ready. His mother took the bone Damien knew would mark him for life, as an adult, as someone who could finally join the dark brotherhood in all right. "I'm ready..." he said with conviction, and without even looking he allowed his mother to start cutting through his skin. The bone was unnaturally sharp, and mother did not need to put too much effort into what seemed like a hot knife cutting through butter. The pain invaded him, but Damien didn't even bat an eye. He would wear his mark with pride

The circle formed, she grabbed a wet bundle of moss, pressing it against the wound and soaking up the blood before grabbing the bone again, carving eight lines at the sides of the circle, the legs of the spider. In between each leg she dabbed the wound with the moss, cleaning up the blood as it easily spilt from Damien's side, the action tedious as she made sure each line was even to the next.

When she finally finished she wiped the wound again with the moss and looked it over. It would be raw for quite some time, but it would be easy to treat. She wiped off the bone, restoring it to its white form (though it was still stained from the blood, naturally). Meldresi moved to Cicero next, repeating the process which was easier now than before as she got used to using the bone. A circle formed in her second son's shoulder, slowly forming into a spider as the bone tore through his skin.

On Potema, the mark was the most prominent, the raw spider wound bright red against her white fur, but the mark was left just the same. The Queen cleaned the bone and put it aside, grabbing another bundle of herbs and rubbing them against the wounds to prevent infection, but she would properly treat them later. The meeting was still on.

Nemesis watched curiously as Meldresi drew into her children's skin, and to her approvement, they did not cry out. It was an intriguing ritual, one she knew signified something beyond her comprehension. She held a certain kind of respect for Meldresis's children, them being the true princes and princess to Blackfeather. The thought almost made her jealous, for she would have done anything to be born under the dark canopy of Blackfeather. For their sake, she hoped they would choose the right path, whatever that may be, for what they were privileged to was too clear in her eyes. Yet, she had the feeling that the priestesses children were something special, and her curiosity only grew when she wondered who Burke and Meldresis's children grew to be in the light of their half siblings.

Yet, the meeting was not over, she suspected for non turned to leave. What other event's would take place that glorious night when the moon soaked in blood just for them? Only the Fates would allow such a spectacular night of dark reign, and in her mind itched for the flavour of blood on her maw and the scent of death in the air. But for now, she would take the time to be a witness before she hunted underneath the blood moon.

Akela nodded at Nemesis to thank her. His attention went then on the following events.  That must hurt like a good motherfucker, but it have its purpose. Markings like that, were not his thing, you carried that all your life. he was not ready for any commitment that long. Especially now. Beta was enough work , he'll see about the rest later. He as an adult did not do anything to ruin those three's moment, even if the thought played in his mind. He licked his lips and allowed himself to look up at the moon.  He hadn' yet and it was true that it was turning red. Strange thing that moon. Sorcery , message of the gods, he did not know but he believed and hoped this was not going to be a bad sign .

Damien was first to receive his mark, after which Meldresi moved on to himself and then Potema. Cicero squinted his eyes and tensed his muscles during the process. A smile twitched at the edges of his lips. Pain had not been a very present thing in Cicero's life, and this brought him back to when he was young, when Damien would waltz over him. The pain reminded him that he was alive.

The moon shone down upon them, and Cicero stared at the red blood moon in awe. It had to be a sign of Mephala, sent for their coming of age.

Burke watched as all the spiderlings were marked. Meldresi was pushing a sharp bone into them. One of them let out a cry. Burke was pleased to see it. He nodded towards Damien, even though the young male wasn't too fond of him it seemed... he did the same towards Cicero and Potema. They would carry that mark where ever they would go. Hopefully they would stick around. Burke wasn't too sure about Potema if she was going to stay or travel. He hadn't been talking much to Cicero either. Burke hoped that at least some would stick around.

The smell of blood brought back red-stained memories, though they were mere flashes compared to the episodes she had as a child. Yes, she was an adult now, and she would be marked, alongside her brother, as the first to be born and raised to adulthood underneath the dark canopy, under the tutelage of the Dark Brotherhood. Her mother moved as deftly as a pregnant woman could as she marked her brothers' right sides with a spider, the Mark of Mephala. When the time came for her mark, she underwent something magical.

The bone pierced her skin and for a moment she left her body. She saw flashes of places she had not seen, people she had not met, events that had not happened. Unbeknownst to herself she had cried out in pain, but she did not flinch otherwise as these images rushed past her mind's eye. When the bone left her body, she was stained with blood, but when she tipped her head up towards the sky and saw the moon being stained as well, she only saw it as a sign of Mephala's approval.

The images given to her told her of the future: she would be leaving soon. She would return in the future (something she hoped but was not told to her), but she would be leaving the pack before winter. To where, she did not know, but it would be a place where she would hone her skills, skills that even her mother was unable to teach her. But until then, she revealed in this night of blood and magic. awaiting the end of the ceremony.

Unlike his siblings, Damien's experience had been far from painful. He would never acknowledge feeling physical, nor emotional pain to anyone, and this wasn't about to be the first time he did. He was proud of his mark, he was proud to now be recognized as a fully fledged member of the pack and not like a useless puppy anymore. The mark meant that he could pursue his dreams now and nothing would stop him, it meant his life was just beginning.

Damien watched as his brother and sister got their own marks with pride. They had shared a womb, they shared this life, and they would always be the power trio no matter how far appart they were. But Damien had a sour feeling that Potema wouldn't be able to stay put for too long, and that the time for her to find her self, most likely away from Blackfeather Woods would come soon. It would be hard to see her go, and even harder not to stop her, but he knew that the forest was too small a place for her. Damien knew that as him, his sister's loyalty laid with the Guild, and it would never falter. She would one day be a Necromancer of the stature of Meldresi herself and even better, and she would need expansive knowledge of the world that she could hardly learn in this place; And Cicero, Damien's loyal brother and best friend, never stopped impressing him. Seemingly distant and silent, he was probably the wolf with most knowledge about every member of the dark pack and it's surroundings. A tactician with innate talent. Damien would bet that one day Cicero would become the best spy the Brotherhood could ask for, and Damien was proud of him.