Blackfeather Woods home, home again

set for this morning

Maegi didn't have the benefit of a calendar to tell her when spring was, but on the day after the vernal equinox, things felt different. New. The air had slowly been warming up, with the exception of some frigid days, and the early bloomers were starting to spring from the ground. She didn't mind winter all so much, but it would be good to have some decent weather again—and even better to refresh her depleted caches.

The girl was by one of said caches when a distant fluttering sound caught her attention. Her ears folded back; so in tune she was with the ravens here that she knew instantly when something was. . .off. She lifted her chin, turning slowly to cast her eyes up through the canopy, looking for the source of the disturbance. A predator? An intruder?

He was only yards away from her before she saw him, and the ecstatic, shocked shriek she let out startled the bird enough to dive away before coming up to land on her shoulder.

Blue!! Maegi exclaimed; the bird ruffled his feathers once more, clearly perturbed by her hollering. Sorry, she whispered. He gave her a gentle squeeze of his talons—she swore he was fluent in wolf—before sailing up onto the nearest branch, peering down at her with his gleaming eyes.

I'm so glad you're back, she told the grackle, beaming. I hope you had a better winter than I did. She had been so devastated to lose her avian companion. With Ramsay, Mou, and now Blue here, things felt absolutely right.

Blue!! The sound of Maegi's joy emanated through the wood; Titmouse heard it and reacted, perhaps reacting more to the sudden break in the quiet than to the tone of her voice, but he moved to intercept her. He'd spent the pre-dawn hours trying to warm up his limbs in preparation for all their hard work, and by the time he reached his beloved he was realizing he hadn't stretched enough. His limp was more prominent. He made it to her position slowly, and sat almost immediately.

She was still talking to something - someone? - and Titmouse leaned around her to get a good look. When he saw the small bird, his own face broke in to a smile. Boo! The boy exclaimed, not as a means to startle either of them but he couldn't quite slur the bird's actual name. Heddo 'gain.

'boo' brb dying

Mou sidled up to sit next to her, and his cry of happiness warmed her heart. Blue was, obviously, a bird, and a lot of wolves just wouldn't get it—a bird you didn't eat? What was the point of that? But the grackle had been an instant friend, and Mou loved her enough to understand that. His acceptance of Blue meant more than she could ever express.

The grackle startled a little at the shout, but recovered quickly enough, staring down at the two pale wolves with an inquisitive (well, as inquisitive as a bird could look) glare.

Now it really feels like home, Maegi said, looking over at Mou and smiling. I missed having my little shadow, following me everywhere.

He watched the bird for a minute or two before drawing away and watching Maegi; she was so happy with the creatures return, and the feeling was infectious. However, Titmouse needed to speak with his friend. He knew the news would ruin her mood and was not keen to do so.

Rather than delve straight in to news of his blunder - of being found by the Cerberus - he withheld it, and merely basked in Maegi's radiance. Still, Tit couldn't help the serious shift of his expression nor the agitated manner of his observation as he looked about the wood, as if expecting danger.

Caught up as she was in her happiness, it took Maegi a couple of moments to notice the way Mou's eyes scanned the wood, as if looking for someone—and not a good someone, either. The joy slowly ebbed from her face, replaced with a wary expression that could have been made of stone for how still and blank it was.

What is it? she asked in a hushed tone. Blue shuffled uneasily on his branch, put off by the change in volume. Mou, what is it? What's wrong?

She knew her friend too well to ignore the sudden shift in emotion. It sent icy chills down her spine, as she waited with bated breath for what he had to tell her.

He didn't want the happiness to end. He spent so much time and effort to keep up with his beloved, to protect her and their shared home, and perhaps he thought she would lose her faith in him if she knew - but he couldn't withhold the news either.

With a deep sigh he averted his eye from the wood; then, speaking as clearly as he could, he explained the previous few days. It occurred to him that she might have sensed his absence for those hours and to that, he owed an explanation.

I remember da Caldeera, so... I went. Saw. Not alone doe. He swallowed a lump as he looked at her. Moonpea... two, um, sisters, ones take eye. Tit worried he wasn't being clear but he couldn't say much more; he was frightened and that made it harder.

It didn't ring many bells for her, not until he mentioned the word 'eye.' Her own pair darted toward the place where his once was, and put that together with his obvious fear. You ran into the ones that took your eye?! she whispered fiercely, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She looked around, too, a brief moment of panic before rushing toward him, and then past.

Follow me, Maegi ordered, heading toward the nearest entrance to the tunnels. She looked back, imploring him to come quickly. Blue, who never liked to go underground with her, flew away to join his friends the ravens instead, giving a squawk of farewell.

It took a moment but she gradually understood, and her shock was tempered by brief terror, then a seriousness that made him react as soon as she commanded him to move. He felt himself pale; the thought of the wolves of Moonspear hunting him down was nothing compared to that look of determination on Maegi. He did as instructed, flitting after her and Blue silently.

But then they came to the caves and he paused. Of all the paths in the forest, all the holy places, Titmouse never delved close to the hollow spots. He was resistant at first, and watched enviously as Blue winged away. He watched the gap where the bird had fled, then ducked in to the dark.

Thankfully, though with a bit of hesitation, he followed. It reminded her eerily of the time before, when the Redhawks had come. The fur along her spine prickled at the thought. Things were different now—Relmyna, Kove, the others, they were all gone—but yet the same. It was always the same.

Running. Always running.

Once well into the depths of the caverns, Maegi turned to Mou, eyes glowing their double hue in whatever light was left. I brought you back here because I thought the tunnels could keep you safe, she said quietly, though her words bounced off the walls, just faintly. Our enemies could come, but they wouldn't find you here. You could hide. You could survive.

Her jaw firmed, and she paused, reluctant to give such an order. But. . .it must be said. You can't wander out anymore, Mou. If we stay here, you have to stay in the woods. You can't make your presence known. Maegi swallowed hard, thinking of Towhee's burly form sailing toward her. I almost died to keep you safe, she whispered. I don't want that to go in vain.

It was all too familiar; the walls flashed as clear as ice, then dark as the void. He could've been following Maegi or leading Fire in to the depths. His life was a series of dark pits; there was no escaping it, Titmouse had always had one foot in the grave. But this time he had Maegi to save him.

When she stopped, he almost walked in to her - but swerved quickly, and soon was face to face with her worries. It wasn't fair that he be forced to hide all the time; to be abandoned on and island, to be hidden in the dark pit of Blackfeather's underbelly... He couldn't help the sharp look to his eye when she made this clear to him. But she regretted it. She had sacrificed for him too.

But he didn't want this kind of life. I can't hide foreva.

She felt a pang at his remark; this was never going to be easy. She didn't want to hide him away like a fugitive, or a naughty child. He deserved to have the same kind of freedom as they all did. But the past was the past, and he had done terrible things. Terrible things he'd yet to be forgiven for, apparently.

It won't be forever, Maegi said, although her voice was weak. She couldn't promise that, not definitely. Only until they forget. Only until we make it clear that the woods now are not what they were before. That we're not evil or cruel.

She sighed. I'm sorry, Mou, she murmured. I wish it was different. And it will be one day. But for now, you have to stay in the woods. Please, can you do it for me? I can't bear to lose you—I love you. It was the most impassioned speech she'd made in a long time—perhaps in her entire life. She hoped it was effective.

She was right. He knew it, but resisted all the same. It wasn't a life that he wanted; but the ghost would eventually come to haunt these woods from the darkness of beneath, a beast of the void as Sithis desired. Perhaps it was always meant to be. The night would come and he would lurk among the trees in safety, but in the daylight -- like some sort of cryptid - Mou would be lost among the caverns. He remembered the darkness of the tunnels that brought him here - the teeth laying in wait, the hot breath of his pursuer - but it only hardened him. He was prepared to do what he must, if it meant he could be with her.

—I love you, Maegi sighed.
I love you too, Mou replied; but he turned from her, and in silence he slipped deeper in to the dark.

He was clearly reluctant, and why wouldn't he be? She was forcing him into a life of captivity. True, he would be treated better than any prisoner ever kept here; true, he was one of their own. But he was not truly free, not while those above sought to snuff him out.

Mou turned away from her, and she reached out in vain, face stricken. Even after he disappeared into the shadows, she did not go back up to the woods. Instead, she lingered in the tunnels, a pale wraith tracing the paths her mother once had.

Were they doomed to repeat, even inadvertently, the sins of their past?