Blackfeather Woods i'm gonna bring it all back to you

AW

prowling among the thicket, astara watched as what appeared to be a tranquil forest came to life. beneath the snow, insects whirred and clicked, marching to some unknown conquest down dark dirt halls far outside of any eye. in the leaves the crackle of rot, the slither of sightless worms -- and in the trees an old yet ageless sighing, as their boughs heaved to and fro between the wicked claws of a blustery northern wind.

above the trees a black canopy ensued, its mass ever shifting -- for it was alive, and the racuous calls of its denizens sounded harshly through the air. occasionally the dark shadows on the woodland floor would lift, as a segment of ravens pulled from their blotted perch and alit on some other distant tree.

the girl watched all of this solemnly, breathing in the forest -- her forest -- and knowing that so very soon, all of this would be well beyond her control.

The woman knew of the Listeners demise. Realised that the borders were not holding. That the woods were dying. 
And yet she saw life in the murders. The birds that dragged up the smaller creatures: beetles, worms, sometimes flying insects. But the lack of her kind in what was once a kingdom of the Melonii unnerved the cream woman. It was the lack of socialization, the absence of a pack. The worry for her friend. And where was Tundra? Where did she go? Enchantress, the witch that had searched for these woods, did she still stay? 
Perhaps she’d go with her to find Maegi, but what they would find would end up being The Melonii. 


A black form rose up with harsh calls in a flurry of beating feathers to reveal the shadow-touched child. The one that spoke not but was just there. A shadow that often fought back. The woman smiled softly, glad to see the growing wolf still here. But was it safe when Blackfeather was rumored to have so many enemies that would gladly eradicate the remaining population, no matter how small? 
It wouldn’t be a fight. It’d be a massacre of those who fought. The ones who’d run wouldn’t survive long being hunted by a unit. 

The woman bowed her head, walking towards the girl. The shadow was the owner of the woods as far as Flicker was concerned. Born and raised here, daughter to the Listener. If there were still ranks, she’d surely be above despite age. Entitlement was more powerful. “Shadow,” she greeted with the name she bestowed on the girl, for lack of a real one. Perhaps today she’d get it, but didn’t expect the girl to speak; it perplexed the woman.

The forest was still the forest. Some things were different, but the spirit did not care much that her safe haven was breached. Neither did she miss the caretaker overly much. Her mortal coil was gone, but she was still around this forest. Her spirit would never wane, and even if a mortal form was convenient, that much the spirit could not deny, there was something peaceful about dying within the confines of this forest. It was one of the better places in the world to rest for all eternity.

With a slight hobble in her gait from the wound inflicted by the silver boy on the other end of the mountains, the spirit approached the dark one as she heard someone say 'Shadow'. The pale youth vaguely recognised this wolf; she was one of the Blackfeather wolves that had served underneath the caretaker and the master. The spirit joined by her sister's side, looking very much like her sibling's missing half had just been completed, and stared at the wolf who had called her 'shadow'. She had half a mind to say that her name was Squeaky, but then again, the dark one was overdue for a new nick name, anyway.

as she glanced upon the darkened canopy, a figure slid into her peripherals. pulling her gaze from the mess of crows above, astara recognized the form to belong to flicker. her ears fell minutely -- the barest of greetings that seemed to say hello -- but she said nothing, for that was her way.

she was still morose, and a melancholy grief had overtaken the nightcub. where averna understood that relmyna's body had gone but her soul remained walking alongside them, astara mourned their dam's corporeal loss. she saw the world of shadows and saw the new figure that walked among them -- but gone were the physical traces of her dam, which had once been so present in the forest.

averna joined them shortly, and astara rose to greet her sister. presently, averna seemed occupied with studying flicker -- astara spared the female a brief glance, before she pulled alongside her pale counterpart, regarding the forest behind flicker with a tired, almost desolate solemnity.

The woman's ears perked a the arrival of a white spirt -- the pale counterpart to the shadow. Did she speak or too was mute? So, there was two of the young. The pale looked like Relmyna would if she were younger; aside from the eyes. The dark master surely couldn't support the pair alone...and yet why should it be her duty to stay?

The division split the woman; was it a choice of morality? So many questions without answers, always asking questions.  "Will you both stay here, or venture from the woods?" She had to know, at least if they wanted to leave she could ask them to stay by her. Find Maegi. Perhaps return and rebuild but...surely the pale girl was still alive.
It seemed almost hopeless, yet the woman still hoped. Hoped and prayed.
But if she had the chance to keep these two safe and find Maegi, surely the Melonii had a chance in these woods.
Surely...

Flicker asked if they would stay here or venture from the woods. The pale youth did not look at her counterpart as she answered, voice a little rough from recent disuse, Why would we go? Would Flicker go? Perhaps there were not many wolves left now, and others may not call it pack, but to the spirit it was still pack. Why on earth would anyone wish to leave it? Head canted in question, and only then did she look at the dark one, the one that the dark master called Astara. She did not doubt that her dark counterpart would think the same.

drawing alongside averna, astara’s gaze lingered on flicker. since blackfeather’s demise, the female was likely in a peculiar place — stay behind and rot, or face winter and hardship for possibly better prospects. 

astara knew her own choice: to stay, alongside her sister where she was born and where she would eternally be bound... but flicker had no such tether to blackfeather’s dark realm, and the girl wondered if she would leave them behind. 

she said nothing, though an ear turned towards both averna and flicker as each conversed. it was not her manner to speak, and so, the shadow remained silent alongside averna.

"Because it is no longer as safe as it was here."
'Especially for you two', she almost added but didn't. She wasn't about to offend the new generation of what would be Blackfeathers legacy. 

She looked between the pair, frowning softly. She should stay, provide for them, for the Dark Master. Could one huntress do so for three wolves? Even with help, the winter would be hard. She supposed it was selfish: she was going to run away from these woods. For fear of her own life.
Again, she was running from a home she couldn't defend.

"I want to look for Maegi, perhaps bring her back here. If I don't find her, I suppose I'll return here myself."
She should come back anyway, make sure they were safe. Make sure they weren't starving...the woman's gut twisted at the thought. She'd blame herself if anything happened to the pair, even though they were grown now. They didn't have the experience. 
"You're welcome to come with me, I'll try to return and fill caches before I go too far to return often."

The spirit did not feel afraid and she scoffed at the notion that she should run away in fear of this place now that the caretaker was deceased. The outside world had proved just as dangerous, and she was unafraid of it. And if her mortal coil were to be shed, here was the best place. No wolf can hurt me, she said, sounding cocky, but in truth speaking not of her physical capabilities but those of the spiritual nature. She did not value her body as much as her spirit and she knew she would do great things even in death. She did not wish to die, but the forest would protect them. It always had.

As Maegi was mentioned, the spirit dove into her memory and canted her head in question. Oh -- Legs. The wanderer. Where had she even gone? She might wander back here eventually. Time would tell. It seemed as if she wanted to go, this wolf, but did not truly have the guts to tell the pair she would go. Or maybe she was truthful, and she was their guardian.

She remained silent and nodded. It did not matter to her whether she would return to the spirit, she would be fine either way.

one ear of astara's was tilted towards flicker and averna as they spoke, but the nightcub allowed her gaze to wander. the affairs of these wolves were of little interest to the spectre, and at length she rose and left the two all-together.

she had no interest in leaving the forest -- that was abundantly clear -- and as she slipped away, her form was easily engulfed by black shadows.. perhaps a testament to the fact she belonged here as much as the forest belonged to her.

Flicker schooled her expression to neutrality. They wouldn't go with her; so they must stay with the Dark Master. The woman looked down, dipping her head, "I see." She didn't understand what the girl meant by not being hurt, yet hoped she was right. 

The woman watched the Shadow leave, dissolving into the woodland. They would be safe here, the woods protected them. The pale girl was a ghost here, the Shadow, well, a shadow. Together, they would haunt the woods in their own ways, together the sisters would thrive.
She didn't bother to tell the girl to stay safe. She knew they both would be.
"I will go hunting then," and the woman moved off away from the cover into the snow and begun her hunt for their caches. It was the least she could do. 

The cocky remark was met with little repose, further solidifying the spirit's belief they were the truth. She watched as the dark one vanished into the darkness of the woods, following her and letting her gaze linger a little on her form until it was gone. She then turned back to the guardian and bobbed her head in acceptance of the words. Without a word of good-bye, she allowed Flicker to slip off and then the pale youth started making her way deeper into the woods, but in a different direction than her dark shadow.

Instead she found one of the altars deep within the tangle of the woods and she started to tend to it. An onlooker would notice that the spirit looked almost like its mother as it started to tend to the altar. Cleaning little snippets, placing bones and herbs in a different order, gather new herbs to place upon it.. all the work that was no longer done now that the caretaker was deceased. Someone had to do it.