Blackfeather Woods Exploration is key

Open. :)

Kendra stepped out of the den, her eyes squinting against the light. She was hesitant to leave the den because of several reasons. Outside of the den it was too bright, especially with the white stuff that her father called snow on the ground. The other reason was Pietro. She disliked leaving his side, though now that she was over three months she was really keen on exploring more. Her dark body stepped into the snow, her baby blue eyes were slowly fading to the color of her father. Just like she had the same light colored dots in the dark fur. Her father was away again, she realized that he was important. 

She remembered having another wolf around one with a sweet voice and dark like her. But she was sleeping forever as he father told her. They had to say goodbye to her, although the rest of that memory was foggy. She stood in the snow with her tail up. She wasn't as playful as her brother, she would often watch before engaging in play. She knew there were more wolves like her around, all big like her father. Slowly she walked more into the center of the Spiderlings' Glen. She hadn't been much outside of this clearing without her father but she decided that it was time.

With quite the control in her step the pup walked towards the edge on the other side. She vanished in the shadows of the trees, to her surprise there wasn't as much snow here as in the clearing. This pleased the princess and she quietly stepped on, sniffing certain things she knew the names of now. She knew tree, and bush. Ground and earth. She was keen on learning more, if only her father wasn't so busy...

I hope you don't mind I join this..

After the aftermath of what went down with the fox, she had isolated herself for a while to get back into control of her own being. She wasn't to slip up like it again, the cost had been to damagingly last time. Without her medicine, she needed to learn her own self control. The poppy seeds she could get without much debate but it would put her to sleep, something she could not afford. She had stationed at the borders once again and her fully awareness was needed for what her job was to do. But it wasn't just that.  Burke had trusted her with something precious, and she needed to have the right mindset to do it. She needed to be calm, patient and without the anger that harboured her soul. Something like what she was asked to do, she just couldn't afford to mess up. Not then, not ever. 

While she deemed herself 'off duty' she took to exploring the great and dark land of Blackfeather, hoping to find more secrets the land held. There was always new places of interest to scope out, to take as her home, for the borders would not help her survive the winter. The river had been a good place to start, from her previous investigation, yet she had to pass Redgrove, the resting place of the Dark Queen. The last time had been to hard, so she sought out a better way. The Web was a decent means of travel, yet most of it was too flooded to journey. There had to be another route around the keep, near the Alpha den. She had been there once before, but knew perfectly well Burke liked his privacy. And she would respect it. Her nose reached the chilly breeze for the scent of him, hoping to find him somewhere else. She did not want to be accused of snooping. Instead, she ventured near the Glen, for a better distance. 

As she walked, a new scent hit her. It was familiar yet different at the same time. It could only be one, she realised as her eyes widened, She contemplated just turning around instead of facing it, but the irresponsibility seemed too great. Either way, she had to meet them. Up ahead, she seen the small, dark figure of the pup. Kendra? She didn't exactly know. She had glanced at them only once before at the funeral, but never made contact. Yet, something seemed off about just leaving her there by herself. Surely Burke wouldn't approve of her haste to get away, for her future job was to babysit them. 
Clearing her throat, she walked closer to the pup. She didn't want to scare her nor give off the wrong tone. "Hello there" She greeted, rather pleasantly than she was accustomed to. "I'm Nemesis" She didn't know what else to say, or if the child could even communicate. Ultimately, she was clueless but she had to learn soon.

OF COURSE! <3

Kendra walked further, having the calmness of both her parents in her way of walking. She had the elegance of her mother, though she would most likely be a bit bigger than her. Plus she had Meldresi's coat color, although maybe it was a bit lighter now. Her father's grays mixed into her fur light. For the normal wolf she would pass as a black one. Her eyes pale like her father's accented by the lighter dots. She sniffed a mushroom growing from the ground before looking up at the arrival of another wolf. She was black in color like her. For a moment the girl looked mesmerized. Had her mother woken up?! Then she talked and her voice was not the same. Instantly disappointment grew. She was named Nemesis and not Mama. She still had to learn Mama was a term like daddy. She knew she could call her father, daddy, dad or father. But other's called him Burke, or Alpha. All so complicated.

"Hi," she greeted back, looking over her shoulder. She wasn't too worried about her father being mad. She practiced her words with her father, but hadn't really talked to others yet. She had been been curious about them. She lifted her head trying to look up at the wolf. She was like her, meaning that she was... female. That was the word! Her father and brother were different, they had things by there belly while she had nubs on hers. As she looked up she fell on her butt. "I am Kendra," she introduced herself then. "Burke is Father,' she then announced for if this wolf didn't know that. The way she used her words it was clear that Burke didn't really simplified his words for her and her brother. He used adult terms with them, though she was pretty sure that her father didn't mind her calling him daddy instead of father. This Neme-something was probably in their pack, she smelled a bit of the ground and these lands.

Omg she's soooo cute :3

Kendra looked much like her mother, in colour and in figure. No doubt she would grow to be a spitting image of the Dark Queen herself but time would tell if she harboured the same talents. Yet, a piece of her father seemed to shine through on her pelt, she noted. The same gray was hinted there and there, her brother probably had the same features as the Alpha. For now, the child was a child, innocence was still present in her eyes and seemingly in her soul. Yet soon, that would be gone and replaced with whatever Blackfeather made her to be.  

Nervously, she breathed in deeper to find the scent of Burke near, yet failed to find it. Where they allowed to roam on their own? There was no reason why not. In truth, she was paranoid. What if something happened? A replay of what happened with Lusa's child flashed in her mind. "Really? Well then, you must be a princess" She replied, with a little smirk of amusement. She knew that Potema was the said 'princess of blackfeather' but what was the harm in fooling around since the ivory female wasn't currently present in Blackfeather. With any luck, she could escort the girl back to the den, where it was safe; and she would be on her way.

Right now, she guessed the girl was far too young to know what was truly out there and what danger lied ahead. The next thing, she would be over the territory line into the arms of an enemy. Yet, she wouldn't be the one to ruin a childhood; she would let the girl have her fun as long as she was watching. "You can call me Nem, if you'd like" She helped, guessing that Nemesis was too many syllables for the girl to handle. The boy Xan had already gotten accustomed (on his own accord) to calling her the shortened name, she had grown fond of it.

Pietro can leave if you want. I had nothing else to post. :D

Pietro snuck out of the den, not currently knowing Kendra had to, and she had already met a pack mate. Lucky. He basically drug his tiny nose on the ground, he couldn't tell scents apart, but he tried to look confident. He heard voices up ahead. He puffed out his chest, and went into the sight of the wolves, just to see his sister. The other wolf he hadn't met. He went up to his sister and ran his tongue up behind her ear. "Why leave Ken?" he asked. He hoped not to be questioned by the other wolf, for they probably shouldn't be out and about without their father. He looked in admiration at the other wolf. He looked at her, wondering about the territory, the things she has done for the pack. He looked away after staring for a while. She probably thought he was an idiot for staring.

Of course you are welcome! :D And yes, Kendra is cute!! 

Kendra's light colored eyes looked at the female. Her gaze was rather skeptical at the comment the female made. Kendra was still learning the meaning of what were names and what were terms. It was quite confusing. She knew Daddy was a term now. But with princess, she hadn't heard that one before. The little female was a little peculiar. "No. I am Kendra," she corrected the female before her. Kendra talked a lot with her eyes when she didn't know the words to speak it. And now they were clear of disapproval. They almost looked like'I-just-told-you-my-name-woman'. Then her brother came and Kendra instantly transformed. Her tail wagged and she licked her brother over her cheek.

"Want to see around!," she stated to her brother, which basically meant she wanted to explore. She could have asked if he wanted to join her. Kendra just felt like that if he wanted to her would follow her and he did. Her pale eyes then focussed on Nem. "This Nem," she spoke to her brother, who was bigger and lankier than her. It was clear Pietro took after his father, if he was going to buff out like him he at least would have his height. Kendra was pretty normal sized. She gave Pietro a little nudge with her shoulder to introduce himself. They were exploring so Kendra was pretty keen on continuing, it was her brother who wanted to meet other pack mates. Kendra was clueless that Nemesis wanted them back to the den. She was pretty stubborn like her father so it was probably quite difficult to get her to some location she didn't want to be.

No stay! This will be interesting XD

As a smaller version of Burke arrived on scene, she couldn't help but to mentally groan. One pup was something, but two? Either way, she had to get used to it. Baby steps were apparently overrated. She caught a look of admiration coming from the boy, something different to what she had been accustomed to. His frame was bigger than his sister, like the tank of a male the Burke was, and he looked destined to be a replica of the man, once he grew. Kendra, however, had spunk. It was clear in her eyes that she could grow to be quite stubborn or even a warrior of her own, yet those things were too far away to be certain. 

Pietro seemed confident, yet not overly. Giving a small nod of greeting, she chose to treat him like any other adult, with respect. She found that children didn't like to be treated like children. 
A red flag when up in her mind as Kendra shrieked something about exploration. Her reply would have been, 'Let's not' if she had any chance of stopping them without hastle. Yet, she would not be the one to ruin their fun. "Alright, but don't go too far" She made clear, with a little sternness in her voice. Yet, she was not liking how motherly she sounded. A small shiver made it's way down her spine at the thought of it, not liking the idea at all. She was not their mother, and had no desire to be one. "And stick together!" She added, something that they would have to remember as the got older. The absence of their mother would leave a gap, she knew from experience. As they grew in mind, they would wander farther, but the danger would grow closer. She would follow them, not to close in threat of their independance but not to far for them to feel alone.

You can choose, this can be drama free, and Kendra showing up, or Pietro getting lost for the first time. If yes to the drama, Pietro will be fine, he won't get hurt. It's up to you. :D

Pietro scampered off, only catching a bit of what the newly found friend said to the siblings. His tail was wagging as his bulky body awkwardly ran about. The cold winter chill made his nose sting, but he ignored it. He turned back to see if Kendra was behind him, but she wasn't. He let out a little woof, calling for his sister. Her whipped his head back and forth, scanning the woods for her. Hopefully, she would show up. If she didn't, he would have to find his way back home. Alone

Kendra looked at the adult before her. She clearly didn't know but Kendra always stayed close to her brother otherwise he did silly things. She needed to stop him from doing those things. He really needed her sometimes. When she turned around Pietro was gone, making her frown. Instantly she let out a whine. She disliked being away from Pietro, sure they had their times that she was annoyed by him but especially being away from the den is something that she wanted him around. She heard his little woof and perked up her head and ears. "Pietro!," she called out and then started running off in the direction that she heard his woof. The girl let the other woman be and just rushed after her brother. One second she didn't have her eyes on him and there he went!

Kendra looked around. "Pietroooooo," she called out for him and tried to look around. Maybe she ran into the wrong direction? What if he wasn't here? She wanted her brother around!! Kendra wasn't one to panic quickly she just disliked being away from him. Maybe it was also because she only had one sibling. She was close to Pietro. She looked around the dark forest but there was no Pietro. She started to be upset. She hadn't ran that far so Nemesis could easily track her down. She let out the softest sniffle. "Pietro! Pietro!!!," she called out, half howling for him. "I don't like!"

Oooh drama ;)

In an instant, a gray dart; Pietro sprinted away. The only words she could utter was an "Oh sh*t" Before running after the siblings. She had underestimated how difficult and how fast they could run out of sight, but their scents were not too far away. Well, at least Kendra's wasn't. Faintly, she could hear the small cry of Pietro. Her ears flickered, , searching for another sound as she walked closer and closer to the assumed origin. 

Meeting up to Kendra, she instantly felt responsible. All thoughts of 'babysitting' were out the window as this was now a search and rescue mission. "Kendra, hush!" She silenced the girl whose wails were over riding her brothers. "We will find your brother, but we can't whine now, that won't do us any good" She explained, not wanting her tone to upset the girl even further. "Listen, if you try you might be able to hear him," She whispered softly, knowing that she was far too young to have a good sense of smell. But, they liked to feel special and the situation was a lesson in what to do if separation ever happened again.

Kendra seemed protective, something she admired in such a young age. If anything, she would be the rock of the two who kept her brother on a tight leash no matter where they went. It was something special, having the unbreakable sibling bond. She never had siblings, at least none that she knew of. Something like that was sacred, beyond what they would understand.
When a sound didn't reach her, she began to worry. Instead, her nose did the job by picking up Pietro's young scent, leading ahead. It was faint and scattered, like he was running in random directions. And afraid. The suggestion made her anxious, be she calmed, not wanting Kendra to be scared for him.

"This way!" She called to Kendra, who was not that far behind. She moved faster, but not too fast that Kendra couldn't keep up. Up ahead, a gray splotch moved. "Pietro!" She called out, in hope that he would hear her. She really didn't need "lost a kid on my first day" on her resume.

200th post woot woot!

Congrats on 200!!

Out of confusion, he ran the opposite way, going away from the searching pair of girls. He couldn't hear his sister calling in the distance. As Pietro was running, he flinched as a group of black birds flew above him. His eyes were wide and scared as he flashed his head back and forth. He took off running, only to stop and see a circle of roses, faintly covered by snow, not yet killed by frost. He walked over, carefully stepping on the petals, avoiding thorns. He laid down, his tiny body almost out of sight. He whimpered, a single tear falling from his eye. He missed his sister. This incident, he would never forget, he would never leave his sister out of his sight. This would change him. Pietro knew he could have fun, but he would have to protect Kendra, he would never leave her again. This spook would take him awhile to recover, and he wouldn't be fond of leaving without Kendra, and even that would make him weary.

He stifled out tiny, crying whimpers. His ears and tail were flat against his body, trying to save himself from any predators. Hopefully, they would find him, but he didn't keep his hopes up. "I miss you Kendra. He said, after one last sniffle.

Kendra scowled at the female that came to 'rescue' her. But all she did was telling her not to whine. Why wasn't she allowed to whine? Her brother just ran off without any reason. She was more than allowed to cry. Kendra decided not to listen to this female and threw her head to the sky and howled for her brother. It wasn't a loud howl but at least it was something, it was definitely high pitched. She did listen to the female about maybe hearing him but her ears couldn't pick up anything. The girl's pale eyes looked up at Nemesis as she was telling her to go in a certain direction. She decided to follow. Kendra had to run next to the female but then she saw a speck of grey too!

She put on some extra pace on her running. "Pietro!," she called out. Soon her surroundings turned into what looked like red bushes. Red Grove. Kendra didn't know this name but she knew there was something special was about it. Then she saw Pietro. He was crying. She scrunched up his nose. "Why you run?!," she let out and then licked over his cheek. As she looked over his muzzle she spotted something in the middle of the red bushes. She stopped what she was doing and looked at it. It was the most strangest structure she ever seen. Kendra had not learned to be scared of bones and flesh but this was something else. This was half eaten. More Bone was revealed than that there was flesh. Unbeknownst to her it meant that she was looking at her mother. She stepped forward, head tipping. "Woow," she breathed and took a tentative step forward. "Nem.. was that?," she asked without keeping her pale eyes of the laying form of her mother's skeleton.

Uh oh, Nemesis, u in truble. (:P)

Nuuuuu why you do this to me??

Her attention had been focused on Pietro and where he was too notice Kendra wander where all wolves were forbidden to go. The call of the girl sent her in a shock of panic, she almost stumbled on her words. Instead, she approached slowly not wanting to cause the girl to explore deeper into the grove where she could not go. The image of her mother like that was one to scar he deeply, and Nemesis wouldn't let that happen.

"One day, you will know. But now we we must bring you home. Your father will not appreciate you running off like that," She spoke softly yet knowingly to the girl. All she wanted was the cooperation from her, while Pietro seemed to be a more calm soul. And she hoped the fact that Burke would not approve resonated with Kendra for it was true, Blackfeather was a vast and dangerous place to get lost in and she doubted they could leave the den without permission.
 Carefully, she entered the Grove, farther away from the Queen and undisruptive of the resting spot. She did not look at her, nor approach but to tenderly nudge Kendra away. Not to forcefully, but enough to make clear they were leaving. "Come Pietro," She called, waiting for the boy to follow. He had been crying, to her dismay. She vowed to never let that happen while she was around for it put an unusual ache in her heart, a feeling she had not felt for some time. 

She understood then the difficulties a one faced when children were involved, a mistake she would never make again. Surely Burke had known how undermining her words were when she spoke so knowingly of a pup's behaviour. He could have warned her, yet he let her learn first hand, something she found particularly resonating for now she wouldn't forget it.

Pietro was to terrified to move when the girl called after him. He didn't move when his sister greeted him, or she was questioning about the bones that lay before her. He shivered when a cold wind blew through. He felt some kind of security about the place, and he didn't want to be unwrapped from this. He felt some kind of unspoken connection to the place, and he didn't want to leave. He watched as the two girls moved around him, and he continued to stay silent. His body hadn't fully recovered from shock, he would not be the best coper when he grew.

Kendra looked up at Nem with a frown. Her father wouldn't what?! She didn't know what 'appreciate' meant. The girl turned to her brother that wasn't moving. Her eyes fell upon the skeleton again. Kendra was usually the more calm one but being here it kind of pumped her up. Like there was a different energy she knew from before. Kendra stepped next to her brother and nudged him. Then the strange little girl stepped closer to the skeleton. She was clearly trying to get a scent from it but most of its scent was gone. Kendra was a curious little girl, and now she wanted to know what it was. Nemesis didn't have the authority yet that her father had over them. Currently Nemesis was just a stranger for her. 

The black little pup stepped even closer, she couldn't even smell her father here. Normally she could always get a whiff of her father somewhere but it wasn't here. That unnerved her. She stepped back. If her father hadn't been here then it might not be the best idea to step closer. Maybe this was dangerous. She stepped back next to Pietro. "Come Brother," she then encouraged him. She even tried nipping him in the way father would do it if they weren't listening, but she doubted she had the right effect like her father could have. Being this age it was mostly about mirroring and mimicking behaviors the adults showed to them after all.

They are stubborn xD

I've noticed.. xD

Sighing, she moved closer to the boy who was still frozen in the same spot as before. Her face lowered to his, knowing he would not move just by a simple command. They were too young to understand what she was saying or what she meant. In time, the respect would grow and their decisions would become more refined, she just had to learn to understand them and what they were thinking as opposed to what she wanted them to do. 

"Pietro, you are safe" She said, clearly so that he would understand. Her frame blocked his view of Meldresi's body, which was probably his main reason for being so terrified. "We'll get you home to your father" She spoke slowly, trying to use words they could understand. Hopefully, those words would trigger his emotions back and get out of there soon before someone else came. Without a doubt, they would feel comfort in their parent, a rock against the tide to whatever they were feeling. 

She wanted to tell them who that was, the skeleton that held such a close connection with them. But she didn't want them to see her that way, never would she let their memories of the Dark Queen be replaced by the image of her decaying body. 

Her tone was enough to know what she meant, that her insistence to go would all be explained. Directed to the both of them she spoke, "We must go now, we should not be here" Though it was mainly for her own confirmation. If Burke found out.. no, she would tell him. He deserved to know what his children had witnessed but also to know they did not understand what they saw. If his trust in her wavered, all she could say was that she did what she could to keep their minds safe and that her best efforts had only been put forward. She was new to it, pups, she still had a lot to learn. But, the excuse wasn't good enough to her. She could have done something, something better to keep them safe and to delegate her authority. But she would not lay a harmful nor rough intended force upon them for her past had been tormented by the extract thing; and she would not break that trust.

Pietro lifted his head to the ebony female. He had already seen the image of the skeleton, he couldn't go back now. He look at the female, very seriously. His eyes were still wide and filled with fear. "Who and what was that Nem?" Pietro responded. His voice was serious, and very clear. He wanted to know who it was. Pietro was growing up, he wanted to know the facts. His father already explained to him about murdering those who crossed their borders. He vaguely understood death. So he awaited the females response. At the moment, he continued to shoot his eyes back and forth between Kendra and Nemesis. He didn't fully believe Kendra couldn't hurt herself on the skeleton.

Kendra looked at her brother who also wanted to know about the skeleton. She also wanted to know this but seeing that her father's scent lacked here in this place she dared not to ask too much about it. Her pale eyes locked on Pietro. "Daddy has not been here. Nem said we need to go," she spoke to him. She then looked at Nem who didn't want to answer their question. She slipped closer to Pietro, acting like she wanted his comfort. Even at almost 3 months old they were sly little things. She moved her muzzle to his ears to nip at it. "We just ask daddy later," she whispered to him. Though they were still kids, and when they were whispering things it normally didn't went so subtile. Kendra eyed at her brother mischievously, forgetting that Nemesis was around for a moment.

@Nemesis We can end the thread soon if you have too many on your plate! :)

Sorry this took so long! No need to end it now if you don't want to :)

Her eyes wandered to Kendra as she too urged her brother to leave. And again did the girl's words seem wiser than her own, leaving her to wonder, 'Why didn't I just start off with that?' Reveling in that fact only took a moment as she snapped her attention back to Pietro. It was an odd thing to say and no doubt she would probably regret it later but she agreed with Kendra, "Listen to your sister," Her eyes peering around to see if anyone else had spotted them where they weren't supposed to be.

Though they were clever, they weren't quiet enough for her not to hear the whispers about Meldresi's corpse. Yet, she did not reprimand the girl for going behind her back. Curiosity was a thing that could not be shaken free from the youth and it was better that Burke answered their questions than her. There would be no shaking the image from their minds so the interrogation would be unavoidable unless they forgot. Instead, she gave a knowing look to both before giving her final answer. "Like I said, it will be explained to you once your father feels the time is right," Her tone clearly ending the conversation right there. Any attempts to break her seal would be rewarded by a glare of silence and nothing else. Going behind Pietro and nudging him forward with her nose, she hoped it would be the last of the conversation from him. Even if Burke had not restricted the explanation right now, she wouldn't have told them anyways. She would not be the one to potentially ruin the image they had of Meldresi, not then, not ever.

Pietro stood up, still silence. He didn't want to talk, he wanted to go home. This place would haunt his dreams, he would find out what this was. It wasn't a natural thing for him to see. He was having less of an attitude of a pup. The curiosity that was expected was lost. He wanted to know the basic knowledge. They began to walk back, the smell of the skeleton made his stomach uneasy. He refused to talk to anyone. He had to figure this out on his own. The way the skeleton was shaped, a leg was pulled free and resting alongside the body. A few pieces of black fur still cling to the bones. No meat was left, the bones were stained with long dried blood. The skeleton was still in tact, the bones didn't dissolve yet. He would find out one day this was the last time he would see his mother. Pietro glanced at Nemesis, still refusing to talk. He was stubborn, and he couldn't register things and talk at the same time. He was scared enough to get lost, then to see the gruesome image of his mother. He vaguely remembered his mother. He knew his sister looked a lot like her. He continued on, he poor young mind still spinning a bit.

It is a pretty old thread so I am going to wrap it up right here! We can have a new one though! :3

Kendra looked from Nem to her brother. He was being her stubborn self again. She would let him be for now. She would talk to him later about what they had seen and what she thought it was. Her father hadn't told them anything and Kendra wondered if her father would ever tell them. Maybe once they were bigger, this seemed like serious stuff and Kendra had the feeling that it was something important. The girl trotted between Nemesis and her brother. He was totally doing that stubborn face again. Kendra looked to the side at Nemesis not knowing that she would be around more. She liked the idea of it though. Alas they were brought home after this rather eventful day. Kendra was tired. 

- thread end -