Blackfeather Woods Never fails, baby

He's at the border sniffing feel free to be mad at him

 


The lack of blood and gore and organic rot in the air as he approached his birthplace concerned him. There were no carcasses strewing the borders, not splashes of blood, not even the smallest chip of bone was seen. It was worrisome. Of course, to a sane man this was the norm, but his family – both here and beyond Teekon Wilds’ borders – were decidedly not normal. Blood and bones were their bread and butter.


Despite the trademark declaration of their presence, Ganon could smell two, no, three, faintly familiar scents on the border. Four? Siblings, he could smell. He had only seen the three disfigured children when they were young, still awash with puppy scent, but the base, the core of their identity had still been there. He could recognize that familiarity at the border. But there were a few others that he vaguely remembered from before he had left. They were not of Blackfeather Woods.However it was the distinct lack of scents that concerned him. There was no Miraak, no Cicero, no Potema, no Damien. No Vaati. No one he had known as the core of his natal pack was here anymore, as if they had never been here, or as if they had never existed. All that was left was the young ones, those at the fringes of their pack at the time he had last been a member. So much might have happened. The tension that had grown in his chest returned a thousand-fold. His body shook reflexively.


He tipped back his head and called his intent: I am Ganondorf Melonii. I want to see my family.

For a moment, she thought she was imagining things. That name, that voice—it had to be some sort of hallucination, right? Yet she'd stayed away from the jimson weed since Mou had. . .well. That. So this must be real, unless she was completely and utterly losing her mind. Maegi supposed she'd find out soon enough, and made her way toward the call.

Soon the sound went with a vision, and she emerged from the treeline, blinking more often than normal. She almost couldn't believe her eyes. And yet, so many others had returned to her—Ramsay, Mou, Moonshadow—that this wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility.

Ganondorf, Maegi finally said, feeling bowled over. I haven't seen you in a long time. Not since I was little. She cocked her head, all the while listening for the approach of others, both on her side and on his. She hadn't known him very well and wasn't sure of his feelings on or allegiance to Damien. This could be a trick. Where did you go?

Ramsay was near the borders, as he always was, when Ganondorf's voice lilted over the trees. He paused mid-urination to listen, adopting a somber expression. Another Melonii. Given recent events, Ramsay assumed it was likely another diplomat come to try their hand at convincing he and Maegi to treat with their uncle. It was tempting to ignore the caller based on how it went last time. But off he went, a dutiful guardian as always, to meet with the unfamiliar face calling at their borders.

Like many of the other Melonii that weren't around for most of his childhood, Ramsay didn't recognize Ganondorf's face. But he remembered the name well enough; he had yet to really forget a name. The call had been quite specific for family, and Ramsay was family, so he stepped from the shadows with his usual soft, hello, as he came to stand next to his sister, shoulder-to-shoulder.

It did not take long for someone to answer him. His heart dropped as soon as he saw Maegi. He was glad to see her tall and strong, filled out into her adult body. Her paw barely marred her — there was a bigger deformity now. Her teeth permanently, involuntarily bared at the world. He could not keep his eyes off of her face. He knew it was bad etiquette, but he couldn’t stop himself. All he could manage was a small smile, the corners of his lips upturning for a brief moment. Hi, was all he could say to his littlest sister, suddenly sheepish in the face of her mismatched eyes and scarred face. I know, he chuckled. I’m sorry. For you. I should have stayed for you. 

The past year of wandering had changed him. He had been tempered somewhat — not as much of the asshole he had been when he was a young teenager, but he still kept his inherent pride and cockiness. It would take forever to detail the adventures he had, the things he had learned while he was away from the Woods. I went to Moonspear for a while. Then I left the Wilds. I wandered.

Ramsay appeared. The snubnecked pup had bulked out. If Ganon had known what a hyena was he might have compared Ramsay’s build to that creature. Look at you two, he beamed at them. They had grown up, despite the odds pressed against them. And he had helped in his own way, if it was only for a little while.

But there was supposed to be three of them. Where’s Euron? A memory flooded in of the rowdy Cicero-lookalike caked in stomach acids and meat residue arose in his mind. Cicero? Miraak? Vaati? There was a whole host of names he could list off. Or Mother. He doubted either of them would have cared if Mother was dead or alive — he would not be surprised if they had killed her themselves for all she had done to them. He wanted to see her.

She knew his eyes lingered on her face and gave him a cold, gimlet stare for it, as if daring him to say something. But he kept cordial and apologetic instead, speaking of his time away, Moonspear, wandering. . . Maegi was grateful when Ramsay arrived; having his muscle and presence beside her made the young woman feel much more steady, supported. She lifted her chin as he begin to list names, gaze darkening as she entered the past.

Euron wanders, she began, eyes flashing to Ramsay as if seeking confirmation. He'd said that, right? She turned back to Ganondorf. Cicero is dead. Miraak, dead. Vaati is by the sea. And Potema—I haven't seen her since the war. The war. In hindsight, her elder brother was right to flee when he did. The Redhawks came and chased us out. Killed Miraak and fatally wounded Cicero. It's not been the same since.

Maegi's face grew contemplative, then, as she looked Ganondorf over. Have you come back to stay, or simply to visit? she asked quietly.

i forgot to mention this in my previous post but i'm freaking out that you're baaack

He wasn't expecting the reaction they got from Ganondorf. Maybe it was because most of his family had snubbed them and he couldn't remember much of this brother, and assumed they all were like Vaati or Damien or Potema. He often forgot that some of his family was good. Cicero. Miraak. Ganondorf, too.

Euron runs with a band of sneak-thieves to the far east, Ramsay confirmed when Maegi looked to him. At least, that was where Rams had left him. The mention of Miraak and Cicero introduced a pained light to the dwarf's eyes; he grimaced and shifted his figure, looking away in the only way he could. Mention of Potema was met with almost nothing; a flash of emotion across his brow for the mother they never got to have, maybe.

The woods are not as you would remember, Ramsay warned, studying Ganondorf's red face contemplatively. To protect it, and those within it, we lay low now.

As far as they knew, Euron was still alive. It was a guess, hopeful wishing that their sibling had not succumbed to some unknown terror. Had they had the same for them? Just put him in a Schrodinger's Box until he arrived at their front door. 

His heart sank as he heard the two names of the dead. It did not arise at the mention of his brother, and sunk even further with the news that his mother was just... Gone. He bowed his head for a moment, the weight of his grief crushing him for a moment before he pushed it aside. He would have time to grieve later. There was much he had to know. Are the Redhawks still around? Are they your enemies? 

He was not surprised at their choice for Blackfeather Woods. Growing up in chaos and war and constant fear would make you a pacifist. Damien must not be here then, He doubted that his uncle would have approved of such a rejection of faith. Damien was a crusader, a fanatic warrior who upheld his mother's name to the same regard, if not higher, than the Gods themselves. He was surprised that the black titan had not claimed his homeland — what with his mother's bones being here and all. Something must have happened.

Maegi nodded at Ramsay's addition, happy that he'd offered it. She didn't know Ganondorf very well—was he bent on blood and horror, like the others had been? Or was he a milder, tamer Melonii? She couldn't be sure. Perhaps she could never be sure. The incident with Flicker had shaken her trust in others greatly.

Redhawks live far from us, she answered, although they still hate us. But if we don't bother them, I don't think they'll bother us. She left out the part about them wanting to kill Titmouse; that was best saved for another day, if it ever needed to be said at all.

Her face frosted over at mention of Damien. He is not here, she confirmed. He left the woods moons ago to start his own pack. After we'd returned, he came, too, and tried to snatch the forest from us. He turned a good friend and ally of mine against me. He's not welcome, not while we are here.

But even these words might not be enough to paint a picture for Ganondorf. After all, they were the spurned children, born of rape and incest, while Damien was the only living son of Meldresi Melonii. It wasn't hard to imagine which side a zealot or loyalist would take. She couldn't blame him for sympathizing with her uncle, although she did hope Ganondorf wasn't here to cause trouble, at least.

Are the Redhawks your enemies? Ganondorf answered next, and Maegi supplied an answer, but Ramsay felt it important to add, they will always be our enemies for what they did. We will not instigate, but we will not hesitate if they choose to. Maybe that wasn't what Maegi intended, but Ramsay knew if any Redhawk ever presented themselves to him in a hostile manner, he would have their heads for desecrating the woods. For killing Miraak and Cicero. Whether the Blackfeathers deserved it or not was irrelevant; Ramsay would make them bleed if they so much as lifted their hackles in his presence.

He remained silent through Maegi's explanation of what happened with Damien. He didn't know enough about their uncle to speak to his motives, but it seemed plain enough that Blackfeather Woods only meant something to Damien conditionally. He'd been quick enough to abandon it for want of power, or so he'd heard; but Maegi had left, too, and so had he and Euron, albeit under vastly different circumstances. Ganondorf, too, had left. Koume. Kotake. Potema.

They all had left at one time or another, which to him meant none of them had more rights to the wood than any others.

His mind swam, immersed in the new and daming information that had changed his world view. He sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly. There were many options left open to him — he had once been a member of Moonspear — how did they fair, and what did they have to do with the Redhawks? What exactly was Damien planning? And where was... Do you know where Vaati is exactly? His sisters had been blatantly linked to each other, twins, mirror images of each other. He and Vaati were like that, he thought. They were linked, whether Vaati liked it or not. He was going to go see him. He had to. I'm going to go see him. Then I will make my choice on... he paused, what to do going forward.. There's just a lot, he thought.

Vaati, Vaati. Well, it was better than him being focused on Damien. Vaati, at least, had never betrayed her—he'd just left without word. He's on the coast, near the end of the mountains, Maegi tried to explain. At least, that was where I found him last. He might have moved on, for all I know. It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, that her burly brother would relocate.

She gave Ganondorf a nod. You're welcome to stay here, if we can count on your loyalty, she said. But if your allegiances are elsewhere—if we cannot trust you—then I'd rather you not. She would not hold back. He needed to have the truth from her, right away, no matter how blunt it was.

Too much was at stake for her to let down her guard, even for family.

Ramsay kept mum, but thought the decision was a fairly easy one. Whereas Damien had left the woods in search of power, proving he was no suitable guardian for it, the monstrous trio had all left for other reasons. He couldn't speak to Maegi's wandering, but he and Euron had only left because they trusted Cicero with their safety, and only dallied to return because the wider world proved an ideal place to hone their skills. Upon returning to the brotherhood, Ramsay and Euron would have made an ideal assassin and spy, respectively; but Blackfeather Woods was not that place any longer. They had taken too long.

So for Ramsay, it seemed an easy choice: return to the forest of their family's legacy, and leave those who sought power elsewhere to their designs. But it was Ganondorf's to make, and he would not try to sway the red-helmed Melonii in this. He indiscernably stiffened along his spine when Maegi made her declaration; it was the truth she spoke, but to put it out there so bluntly was, he thought, a little unwise.

He could not conjure the mental map in his mind. It had been far to long, and the edges of his birthplace had faded. He memorized the landmarks — repeating them again and again in a cacophony of noise within his head. He'd find Vaati. It was enough.

That's fair, he said. He had been gone long enough that his ties could have shifted. Other than blood he was no longer a Melonii. He had given that up the moment he moved to Moonspear.

Like a coward.

It was nice to see you again, he smiled at them, proud of what they had grown into, but sad that he had not been there.

It was really too late for such regrets.

Ganondorf took it well enough, and she wasn't perceptive enough to catch Ramsay's muted reaction by her side. Instead, she gave him a nod, murmuring something in kind. No matter what had happened, he was family, and had never done anything to hurt her or her littermates. Leaving had perhaps been unwise, but, then, she'd left too, right?

Once all farewells were made, Maegi flashed her eyes toward her dark brother, inviting him to walk along with her. She'd begin a patrol along the border, marking sternly as she went. No doubt visitors from the past (with good intentions) were welcome, but this was her home. This was their home.

Their rules and norms would be followed from here on out.

Fare you well, Ramsay said in parting. A part of him hoped that Ganondorf would return to their claim—the more blood relatives they had here, the better they could uphold the forest's legacy while dispensing with the horrors of its past. But going to Vaati was better than going to Damien in Ramsay's books, and he truly could not control what others chose to do. He would quietly hope, but knew better than to put too much stock in anyone but himself.

He followed his sister along the borders, ruminating quietly on what it might mean if their half-siblings were returning to the woods after all this time. Most likely, this was just a fluke, but he couldn't help wondering if the others—Koume and Kotake, specifically, because Ramsay would not abide Vaati returning to Blackfeather Woods after how he'd treated it as its master—would eventually appear as well. He had liked his half-sisters, but remembered them little.

Either way, he agreed with Maegi in his heart: they were the guardians of Blackfeather now, and they would not fail it as their predecessors had by allowing havoc to plant its seed their.