Blackfeather Woods Beneath the red scarf and a chapeaux

Just for the puppers - @Euron @Maegi and @Ramsay <3

After she had found (or not been able to find) Vaati, she went to wander the woods. Of course she had heard of the new litter of misfits - the freaky things had not drawn the mistress' attention in the time she had spent in the web, but now they must at least be walking already. So, she went to search for them. Perhaps all of them would be together, that would help her a lot, but if not - oh well, guess she'd have to pick a favorite at some point anyway.

The three littermates had not spent much time around each other as of late. Euron and Ramsay seemed to venture further and further outside the woods with each passing day, while Maegi, drawn to the whispers in the trees and the darkness of the shadows, stayed put, spending much of her time at Nightcaller Temple or exploring the tunnels below.

The sleek white-furred girl, nearly three moons old now, was slipping silently through the trees, looking for things--or other wolves--to occupy herself with, when she caught sight of the dark female.

At first, she thought it was Cass, and her heart did a small leap for joy. But as she rushed forward, her steps slowed in disappointment as she realized that this was not the long-lost Cass. No, not at all. Both of Cass's eyes were green, and this woman had a blue right one, instead. Maegi's own bi-colored eyes blinked once, twice, before she approached, head lifted curiously to regard the stranger.

"Hello." Her voice was quiet, emotionless. This woman smelled strongly of the woods, and moved through the dim light like she knew the place well, but still Maegi did not know her. Who was she?

The rushing of paws onto the dense forest floor was not a usual thing to hear in their quiet woods, so when it did happen Nyx noticed rather quick. It wasn't a normal sound of rushing either - as if there was something off with one of the walker's legs, but she paid it little mind as the sound abruptly stopped. She looked around, finally spotting the small white blob of fur that made her mouth go "o".

Greetings. She greeted without her usual cold tone and a rather surprised face. Excuse me for asking, but which child are you? It was a rather different way of asking for her name, and she had no idea if children her age could understand her rather proper sentences yet, but she tried anyway.

To her surprise, the stranger reacted not with shock or disgust but with a genuine greeting, an inquiry into her name. A little taken aback by the normalcy of her response, Maegi stood silently for a moment before replying, "Maegi." Her tone was still flat with wariness, but she had an iota more trust in this woman than she had carried before. . .for now.

The woman was cloaked in a variety of scents, most of them Blackfeather. Among them, her brother Vaati. . .and her uncle, Damien. She had not seen Damien in quite some time. Maybe she knew where he went!

"Who're you?" she continued, cocking her head. "You reminded me of someone. . ." Her voice trailed off, growing sad as she thought of Cass. Come to think of it, the female resembled her older sisters as well, and they had been absent as of late. Why did everyone in her life disappear?

She decided her tall form would not bring the child much comfort and decided to gently lie down, front paws lined up perfectly in front of her, speckled in stardust. Nyx smiled. Maegi - that is pretty. Did your mother pick it? She asked. Though she somewhat knew that Potema did not like her children, she had yet to be informed of details of the whole situation. Oh, what Nyx wouldn't do for a litter of her own with Dami... She guessed her former spouse was out of the picture now, but her longing for her happy ending would not simply go away.

It was no surprise the child did not recognize her. She was far too young to have memories of the time where the Dark Mistress' reign held supreme. Somewhere, she was glad she was not accountable for the pack anymore, but being stripped of her title also angered her slightly. I am Nyx. She introduced herself, knowing kids cared little about former titles. At least, she hadn't shown much interest in what a person was before when she was little.

She chuckled. May I guess of who? She asked, having met Cass herself and having also noticed how they resembled each other. Of course, Nyx found herself to be the prettiest of the two - the more speckles, the better, right? She was, or so she believed, a reincarnation of The Goddess of Night of whom to her was told about moons and moons ago.

Her small face hardened as the woman--Nyx--spoke of Potema. "I don't know," she snapped, her tone acerbic. "I just. . .it's my name." She looked down, shuffling her feet. "Sorry. My mother and I don't like each other. That's all."

Maegi's eyes rose to meet Nyx's once more, as she slowly got over the slight the woman had given her by even bringing the priestess into the conversation. "Okay, guess," she said smartly, one corner of her mouth lifting in a crooked half-smile.

"She might not live here anymore, though," Maegi added, after hesitating for a moment on whether to voice the clue or not. "I looked for her, but I can't find her."

She smiled at the child with both empathy and understanding. How many moons ago was it that she had still called Nemesis "mother"? Far too many, she decided, but it bothered her no more. She had Kove for every parenting need she could ask for, which weren't that many. Besides, she was nearing adulthood. I am sorry, I should have been more careful with my words. She excused herself, her tone meant and truthful. My mother disowned me when I was not much older than you are now. She didn't recall who disowned who again, but it mattered little now did it? Nemesis was long gone and there was no way for Nyx to ever restore their bond.

Nyx chuckled - a foreign sound, one she did not make very often. Perhaps the child had put her in a good mood, or perhaps it was because of the weight that had been lifted off her shoulders with her title and lover being gone now. She felt free. It is Cassiopeia, is it not? She questioned with a knowing smirk. How could it be anyone else? The girl had been the first one Nyx had ever seen that shared her speckled appearance. And if it wasn't, she would be in for quite the surprise.

Her ears flattened a bit as Nyx told her about her own mother, feeling suddenly quite sad. Weren't mothers meant to watch out for their children, through thick and thin? The Night Mother, after all, was their eternal guardian and caretaker. Why had these mortal women left Maegi and Nyx behind?

"I'm sorry. That sucks," Maegi said simply, frowning. She wondered if Nyx's mother still called the woods home. She hadn't met any older females besides her own mother. . .then again, she hadn't met Nyx until this day, either.

Maegi nodded as Nyx gave her the correct answer. "Yeah. But your eyes are different. Two colors." A small smile returned once more to her face. "Maybe you can be Vaati's new best friend! I think he's sad that Cass left."

Seeing how she had never felt the true love of a mother, she could not miss it. The lonely road was her only one now Damien was gone, even though she had Neo to take care of every now and then. She had never been good at making friends either, only at scaring others away, but she complained little. I was not the best daughter either, it is quite alright. She tried with a small smile. I suppose it did give me the freedom I had requested. She informed hopefully, not wanting Maegi to think the lonely road was the worst one.

She chuckled and nodded. They were indeed, and she rather liked them that way. She would hate to resemble Cass even more. She chuckled again. Vaati does not like me much, I do not think I can replace Cassiopeia for him. She had no real desire to do it anyway, but it would be nice having someone to share everything with.

She thought a minute, wondering. Maybe she wasn't a good daughter, either. But how could she have been? True, she hadn't tried to reach out to Potema. . .but she knew that if she had, she would have been rebuffed every single time. Maegi thought Nyx was just being polite to her own mother, and wasn't actually telling the truth.

"Why doesn't Vaati like you?" Maegi asked, perplexed. She knew her brother to be sort of grumpy, but this woman didn't seem like the type to get under his skin. She was a child of the night, a denizen of this dark place. Surely only outsiders deserved his ire.

One ear twitched, dismissing the thoughts. Nyx would answer if she liked, and if not, perhaps she'd bother Vaati about it. "So what do you do?" she queried, curious. It was something she asked everyone; she was obsessed with knowing what uses people had. "Everybody does something. What do you like to do?"

She smiled a sad smile. How come a conversation with a child felt better than with any of the adults part of their grim existence? Maegi, she found, was extraordinary in caring, in asking the right questions that brought even Nyx's guard down. I am not Melonii blood, and yet I held the crown of the Woods for quite som time. Vaati did not like that much, and as such, does not like me that much. She speculated, knowing that not all was true. She was not sure if the way Vaati treated her was the way he would treat her now, nor if it was just how he treated everybody. It was quite judgmental of her, but she thought she had him figured out.

She chuckled then. What did she do?  Well, I believe I am an assassin.... and I scouted for a short while for... She cut herself off, not wanting to think of Damien and the short but dramatic history they shared. As a child, about your age - perhaps a bit older - I also wanted to become a temptress. She informed, hoping such a fate would not befall the little girl of Potema as well. Although, Nyx found her pretty enough.

And you? What would you fancy to do?

"Well, I have Melonii blood, and my mother doesn't like me," she offered tentatively, feeling bad that Vaati had treated this kind woman poorly. "So. . .yeah."

Her ears perked up as Nyx described her profession. "An assassin? Cool. So you sneak, and kill things, right?" That was her best approximation of the information she had been given about that word before. She knew Cicero held the same skill, and that her brothers may one day follow suit.

"What's a temptress?" she added, confused. It sounded pretty. So absorbed she was in what Nyx had told her that she missed her question completely.

Do you hate your mother for that? She asked carefully. She knew she had when she had been younger. Even now there was a part longing to scream at Nemesis that she should have been there for her only daughter. It was childish, she knew, and she tried her very hardest to not think about it for long, but the heart wanted what the heart wanted.

You could put it that way. She honestly didn't know what to add to it. Sneaking and killing summed it up rather well, though somehow she thought there was something more to her profession. Perhaps the fire required to be in one's soul to follow the path of an assassin, but that was vague and probably sounded stupid.

She chuckled. A temptress is a pretty wolf that seduces others to get what he or she wants. She summed up, hopefully not having to describe just how one seduced another. You must please to be pleased - like sharing a meal with someone. One day, they will share their meal with you too.

The girl gave a shrug at Nyx's question, blinking up at her. "I dunno," she said softly, mouth twisting in indecision. "I don't really care."

She hadn't ever really thought about Potema in terms of love or hate. The white priestess was such a non-factor in her life that no emotions came into play when Maegi thought of her. How could you care about someone who'd never been around? Even if you did feel hatred, you hated the absence of them, not them as a whole. You couldn't hate someone you'd never met. . .right?

Her spirits lifted when the pretty girl explained the art of the temptress, and though some of the terms flew over her head--seduces? she thought blankly--it seemed a rather interesting way to live one's life. "That sounds cool," Maegi said in a blithe manner, smiling. "Maybe you can teach me more about that? Miraak is teaching me prayers."

Maegi had somewhat of a mature way of looking at it. Had Potema really cast them all out? At least her own hatred had stemmed from a place of jealousy since her siblings had gotten the attention she had so desperately desired. She sighed softly, eyes wandering a bit, making clear she was pretty much done with the topic. She did not need more bruises of the past to still hurt and this was going nowhere anyway.

Nyx giggled then. The child truly reminded her of herself, yet somehow a better version. More mature and wise than she had been back then. I would love to, but - and I know this sounds rather silly - let us wait until you are a bit older. She did not feel comfortable teaching Miraak's lessons to a child yet, no matter how comfortable he had been with her.

"I suppose," Maegi responded with a rueful sigh. She felt as if her life was composed of waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting for the time to come. When would she grow up and finally get to know everything that everyone spoke about but never explained to her in full?

A question rose in her mind, but she pushed it down--perhaps it would be upsetting. But it gnawed at her as she sat in silence, and finally. . .finally. . .she burst out quietly, "Where's your mother?"

She closed her lips tightly, regretting it. Her eyes blinked apologetically up at Nyx, tail thrashing in agitation. "I-- I'm sorry," Maegi whispered. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Or if she didn't know. What if her mother was dead, gone to the Void?

But maybe it would be better if Potema was dead. She basically already was, to her younger litter.

She could relate to Maegi's frustration. Growing up either went way too fast or way too slow, depending on the individual. For her, it had been too slow. Becoming an adult felt really easy, but the world only took you in as such when you were a certain age. Even now, Nyx didn't feel counted as one of the adults.

The question surprised her, but she didn't get mad. If anything, it made her wonder. No, no - it is fine. I have no idea to be honest with you. She answered, speckled ears lowering in thought and somewhat sadness. Nemesis had left without a trace if she remembered correctly.

Maegi let out a little hum in thought. Potema leaving without a trace was also quite agreeable to the girl. But Nyx seemed a little sad at the fact that her mother had left, and Maegi gave her a small bump to the shoulder with her snout, wagging her tail.

"What about. . .do you have a father?" Maegi asked. She didn't really know about any fathers besides the Dread Father himself; she certainly didn't know hers. For all the absence of a mother in her life, the other role was even more deficient. She supposed Vaati and Cicero had done an adequate job filling it. . .but it wasn't the same.

She supposed the pups were turning out all right, regardless of having no parents. After all, they were Blackfeather babes, born crafty.

Sorry for the short reply- trying to clean up all my threadlogs

Kove. She nearly answered immediately. She sort of liked him, but he wasn't a real father to her anymore. It was like they were childhood friends who grew apart but still stuck around one another more than anything.

She shrugged, shaking her head. Kove wasn't a familiar name to her; he must be one of the scents adorning the forest she didn't recognize, or else he wasn't here at all, just like her mother. Feeling more than a little empathy for Nyx, she cuddled up next to her with a wistful sigh.

"Tell me more about being an assassin," Maegi pleaded softly, looking up at the girl's pretty face. "Have you killed anybody yet?"

A dark query, from a wolf so young. That was, though, the way of Blackfeather. And it wouldn't get any brighter than this.

again, sorry for keeping you waiting. fading here