Blackfeather Woods Where the wild things are

@Keyx :3

Her mind had been flooded with thoughts of all kinds. Meldresi, winter, survival, borders. All things sour had come rushing back at her with no hesitance to slow. While the loss would take time to heal, she needed to get the show back on the road. It wasn't that she was heartless, but there were some to mourn and others to to carry on as life insisted. She would not be weighed down by grief. Nobody needed her grief. 

This would be the first winter with the pack, a real pack. Her home. Their numbers had dwindled drastically recently, much to her disappointment. They needed every working body to fight the harsh winter, as all packs did. Yet, it had dragged out the weak ones, the unloyal and those who would not benefit them at all. For that fact, she was grateful.

Looking up, she noted the sky above. The clouds were a murky gray, as if mimicking the emotions whirling down below. She would have to make the hunt quick before the rain came. With tensity, she bolted forward, to anywhere. Any onlooker would move out of her way for the manner in which she ran was dominating, her mind focused on itself without any other distraction on her thoughts. It was all comando now, no time to mess around without intent.

Winter was fast approaching, but the boy had yet to prepare for it. He did not seek out any permanent shelter like he knew he should, but instead focused on exploring the wilds. Things had changed since his last stay in the land, that was for sure, but that just meant he had more areas to look into. There were more creatures to meet, too, including some owls that had taken up residence within Teekon. He was glad to have met the two, he really was, but understood he could not stay with them all of the time. Keyx was a navigator, and was practically built for exploration. Tracking food sources and weather patterns, plus much more—it was child’s play to him. Yet, the simplicity of it all did not dull his attraction to the lifestyle, but, rather, it strengthened it. There was nothing that could make him give up the title he’d obtained, as far as he knew of. Anything and everything was nice for a while, but in the end, he would always return to the skies in order to carry on with his journeys.

That day, the darkly coloured tyto had been called away by a sudden urge to relocate for the night. Previously, he’d been hanging around in the Haunted Woods due to the shelter it provided from the sun, but it’d grown boring. He needed something new, a place he’d never visited before, and thus the owl had set off through the skies. He was weary in his flight, wide eyes unable to miss the greying of the sky above him. It was sure to rain, he could both see and feel it. When the gloomy attitude of the clouds had appeared to worsen, Keyx knew it was time to seek out cover from the impending rain. It was that need that hand landed him within Blackfeather, though he wasn’t too pleased by the situation. The calls of crows and ravens alike could be heard from all around, forcing his usually wide optics to narrow in disgust. They were thieving birds, never against the idea of attacking for no good reason. He hated them, all of them, and he’d never met a single one that could discredit the stereotype most owls held against them. Despite that, he could not change the situation. The rain would hit soon, he knew, not providing him with the necessary amount of time to relocate. Thus, the boy had to suck it up, and then tucked himself away into the hollow of a tree.

At one point or another, Keyx must have dozed off, for his optics snapped open at the sound of thundering steps. He recognized the footfalls as belonging to none other than a wolf and, out of curiosity, peeked his head out of the hollow in order to zero in on the noise-maker. With his excellent vision, he caught sight of her with ease, and noted how she appeared to have a strong purpose for running, based off of how quickly she was moving. With his curiosity growing, he departed from his hideout and took off after the lupine, his flight silent. It took only a few moments to catch up with her, and he lingered close by as she pressed forward. Unable to keep himself silent any longer, he opened his mouth and asked, “What are you doing?” Whether she would be able to hear him or not, he could not be sure, but hoped for the best.

Short post :P

A screech from above her caused her to halt in her steps and survey the trees above. The branches of the trees provided a thick canopy above, almost entirely blocking out the sun. For a wolf like her, this guaranteed satisfaction for she always hated how her fur was set aflame under the sun's scorching rays. On the downside, it was also a way of camouflage to any and all birds that lingered up there from her strained view. 

To the trees she responded, finally catching sight of an owl resting in the hollow alcove of the tree. She had never spoken to an owl before, surprisingly. Not like she ever had wished to, categorizing the species under the "waste of time" list. Yet, she had to admit, their senses we're admirable. If only wolves had the same level of accuracy and intelligence.
"What does it look like?" She replied, not bothering for courtesy. An owl was an owl, and a wolf was a wolf. The tension was inevitable, regardless of hidden emotions. She wouldn't pretend to like anything for the sake of 'kindness'.

Just a note, but owls don’t ‘chirp’, aha. If anything, a barn owl’s voice can be described more as a screech. c:

The feathery creature was taken aback by the tone his response was met with, but quickly wrote it off as something to be expected. He’d been taught that most predators had an air of arrogance about them, considering themselves the best of the best and looking down on other species—even if said species was, like themselves, an apex predator. Not wanting to allow the harshness of her words to get to him, he decided to move the conversation along. Before doing so, however, he positioned himself on a lower branch, but remained far enough away so as to avoid the woman’s jaws if she decided to attack. Keyx knew better than to test such dangerous waters, and was even more influenced by the reminder of the crows that lingered in the woods. He knew not of what type of relationship they held with the wolves, and wasn’t about to have himself handed over to those pesky birdbrains.

Keyx set his obsidian gaze on the wolf’s face, head tilting slightly, but not even close to how far it could truly go. “It looks like you’ve stopped to speak to me,” he answered, knowing full well that wasn’t the response meant to be given, but not bothering to care. It’d been a long while since he allowed himself some fun, so what would the harm be in tampering with the affairs of the wolf? “Do you often stop to speak to owls? Is our knowledge something you seek?” It was true that most owls possessed intelligence far beyond that of any other, but he doubted any wolf would actually go out in search of one just to ask a question. Alas, he did not care about such things, wanting to provide himself with some amusement if permitted to.

Oops sorry! I wrote it so fast I wasn't thinking about it XD

Looking quizzically up at the owl, she pondered the question for a minute. She wasn't really looking to find answers for anything in particular. Yet, she did see this as a good opportunity to learn a few things. It wasn't every day an owl asked if you wanted to learn something. Things about the world, she had no interest in, but secrets about wolves were another. Yet, she had to know what the owl was offering before she walked blindly into a deal.

"What do you know and what are you offering?'' She asked, almost too professionally. In any case, the bird was most likely just going to end up screwing her over. While she had never interacted with owls before, she go the feeling they thought very much of themselves as he explained his 'knowledge' like some higher power. It was the one species she knew she couldn't compete with, intellectually and tactically. Owls had too many advantages for her even to testify against, one of the reasons she hated looking up to them.

The wolf responded to his query with one of her own, which amused him profusely. No matter where one went or how much land they traversed, the fact still remained that the wolves of the area would want something. He couldn’t blame them, really. He knew his own species was the superior one, what with the knowledge all owls seemed to harbour and even the way their minds processed things. They were sophisticated creatures, far more advanced than their barbaric counterparts. Not to say all wolves were dastardly creatures hell-bent on dominating anything and everything they came across, of course, but most were. Even so, the young tyto could not bring himself to despise them. The presence of their species as a whole was important to the wellbeing of the environment, and some had proven themselves beneficial to him in the past. It was those very same past experiences that led to him remaining atop his perch, rather that flying off and leaving the shadowy lupine to wonder.

“I know many things,” Keyx began, intentionally remaining as vague as possible without diminishing her interest. “In exchange for a taste of what wisdom I have to offer, what could you provide for me?” Nothing that was truly free existed, thus he would not act as if he believed it did. Besides, bartering was an activity he rather enjoyed.

The offer seemed stable enough, no demands of any kind. She could offer a service, but what would an owl use of it? Her knowledge did not extend beyond his, so intellectual value would be of no use.
"Call on me if you need something. Information, protection, or a darker service" She offered, hinting what exactly she was capable to do. On behalf of anyone, she would kill a wolf without thought. It was one of the main reasons the title Assassin agreed with her. "Do you know anything about herbs?" She started, not even sure why she was trusting the owl with the certain information. "There is a remedy I must take, a priestess made it involving a series of herbs I cannot remember to control my darkest emotions" She explained. It was stupid of her to forget, and not ask sooner. Now, the only chance of her saving herself relied on the bird and it's knowledge. 

Now, her chance had passed. The Dark Queen had fallen and a gap was left in Blackfeather that would take long to heal. Everything was different. They were without a healer in the absence of Potema and the children were without a mother to care for them. The strain required everyone to pitch in more with not space for the weary. The coming winter would prove to be even more difficult as the would have to rely on each other even more, something she had never done before. And with her unpredictable emotions, nothing was certain.

There's a list of ingredients in my Thread Log, a thread called "Advice for the young at heart" if you decide to agree with the terms :)

The tyto’s inky gaze seemed to glisten with a silent show of understanding as the woman spoke, as well as a hint of curiosity. He had nothing against anyone, yet the offer for a life to be taken on his behalf was… tempting. He made note to remember that little detail in case he might need her physical abilities in the future, but said nothing on the topic. Instead, he squinted ever so slightly as he thought over the exchange, making sure the services to be provided would be of equal value. There seemed nothing wrong with either end, and so he gave a slight nod of his head. “I know enough to get by,” he said, answering about as vaguely as possible. Keyx knew a little bit of everything so he could survive on his own, thus making him the perfect little helper—when a deal could be met, that is. If crossed, he would gladly return the favour, though perhaps to a more extreme degree. Whether it be another owl or a wolf, he didn’t care. Honour was important to him when it came to keeping up your end of a bargain.

“Do you recall what the herbs looked like? There’s plenty of things out there that could serve as a relaxer, so the more detail you give can really change what you get.” The owl’s head tilted as he listened for an answer, mind already preparing itself to take in whatever she might say next. Of course, if she could provide no real details, he would simply mix together his own little cocktail of herbs. No harm in experimenting, he believed. After all, the woman only said she wanted his services; if she couldn’t provide specific information, he would just take matters into his own talons. Even if some experimental concoction of what he could find didn’t work, or had a negative effect, at least his end of the deal would have been upheld.