Blackfeather Woods in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock
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Ooc — mercury
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#1
All Welcome 
whenever you have time <3

New faces lurked from behind the trees here, all but a few. New friends, new family. It was something to grow used to, but then, not every old face could be trusted—she had learned this the hard way. New wolves meant new opportunity, a chance to start over, and she would seize that chance with alacrity.

Yet for all the newness, there was still one shred of the old forest to cling to, beyond her brother and Mou—@Wintersbane. He'd been tangled up in the mess with the Redhawk girl, as Relmyna had appointed him her guard. She'd taught him about the gods. . .just like Flicker. So when would he do the about-face, too?

She felt like she was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it was a feeling she'd carried with her throughout her entire life. She hated it.

To really solidify his presence here—and suss out what they were to each other—Maegi roamed through the trees, searching for the tall, dark man. She was in no hurry, no rush, and straightened up caches here and there, but the glint in her eyes suggested she was moving with a mission in mind. She had to find him, for peace of mind.

Well. At least some peace of mind. She doubted things would ever be entirely serene.
1,335 Posts
Ooc — torvi
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#2
*cringes @ wintersbane forever*

wintersbane sticks to patrolling the borders because there is familiarity in the action; and while he is not bitter about his decision to dismantle the few wolves he'd managed to recruit for the vartija there is a certain level of discontent at himself for not sticking through with his plans. why was he here? relmyna was dead and visiting her grave would not bring her back — a lesson he learned by visiting lotte's grave numerous times; and despite mou's grandiose words of the dark woods being important to maegi and that they'd never leave wintersbane still holds doubts. as he'd previous nailed home: the pair had already proven when the heat came down upon them that they were runners. running away from danger when you were a pack leader didn't quite have the same connotations as it did when you were just a pack member. it'd tear apart loyalty at it's core.

and yeah, the past was the past. it couldn't be changed and it should stay in the past but life, unfortunately, didn't work like that. consequences followed. wintersbane's trust and full loyalty was going to be hard earned, admittedly. perhaps at a price that neither of the pale pair was willing to pay. the question was, was he worth the effort to them? a thing, he'd been wondering since his first conversation with mou since the whole redhawk thing had went down and the pale pair disappeared from the woods with their one chance at avoiding the wrath of redhawks and their allies. it'd never came down on them but likely because there'd been no point. blackfeather woods ( the original ) had been a sinking ship and would have been so easy to beat it'd have been humiliating.

and as far as loyalty, it wasn't like maegi or mou had to worry about him turning traitor. he might have a few things that he needed to work out with the leadership but he wasn't going to betray them. maybe he'd leave or maybe they'd decide he was more trouble then he was worth and oust him themselves and that'd be it. wintersbane would call it a day and move on with his life. it was a symbiosis but the truth was blackfeather woods would survive fine without him and vice versa.

with his patrol finished he turns and veers inland, giving pause as he continues to mull over his concerns and his thoughts in his head, peering at maegi, startled out of his thoughts as she soon comes into view. his steps slow to a cease and he lets out a low chuff to announce his presence to her, unable to help but wonder how bad he was about to screw the pooch.
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In a happy accident, Wintersbane appeared before her without needing to call for him specifically. She gave a nod at his chuff and approached, stopping a few tail-lengths shy and reclining back on her haunches. She was far smaller and slighter than him, and didn't quite have the air of authority that he carried, but she lifted her chin and gave him her most businesslike stare, trying to exude quiet diplomacy.

I'm glad to see you here, Maegi remarked, her voice sincere. There's a lot we should probably talk about. Besides Ramsay and Mou, nobody else was here before. And no one else was in the Brotherhood, either.

She thought of the mark on her own shoulder, gone pale pink from her scrubbing. Would it ever come off, or was she cursed to carry it forever, as punishment for her many mistakes?

The girl shifted her weight a bit, looking contrite. I'm sorry I left so suddenly, she said. I only meant to visit Undersea for a little while, and then things. . .went out of control. Understatement, that. If he wanted details, she'd give him details. But for now, she fell silent, waiting for his response, which she imagined wouldn't be kind. She didn't deserve kind, anyway.
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Ooc — torvi
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#4
wintersbane watches as the young(er) woman approaches him wondering if she will hold to the sentiment of her words soon. though it is of not fault of maegi, wintersbane does not expect his concerns, if given the chance to air them, would go over well. admittedly, he is sure that he wouldn't like if someone would air concerns like his to him, warranted or not; and yet the ability to listen to the concerns of one's subordinates without condemning them was something he'd learned during his brief time in the never-official the vartija. he might not've liked what he heard but in his mind, being able to accept the consequences and criticism spoke of good leadership because there was a fine line between voicing concerns and being totally insubordinate though it was, admittedly, extremely fine and the two could easily blur if not correct conveyed.

he agrees that they have a lot to discuss, but as his leader, gives her the floor to start. her apology takes him briefly by surprise because it comes at him unexpected. out of control? he inquires. was it more out of control than the mess that mou and her'd left blackfeather woods in? you chose an inopportune time to disappear on us. your visit should've waited until we'd gotten the situation with the redhawks and fire under control. which we would've, would she have not been smuggled out under my nose. a sharp look was given. try as he might to look towards the future, to hold to the fact that mou and maegi deserved the second chance that he'd been given so many times ( they do ) he has grievances that need aired out. no, talking about it wouldn't change anything.

but perhaps talking about things might help to prevent another issue like it in the future. i'd like to say it doesn't matter. that this is a second opportunity and a chance to turn over a new leaf, well, without him there: it was. it is a new leaf but it also means that because i remember that whole debacle that the entirety of my trust and loyalty as my leaders isn't going to be freely given. you both left once, visit or not, when the heat of danger was pressing down on us. what's to stop you from doing it again? the thing is, leadership isn't a game, maegi. it's not a victory. it's a commitment. it's sacrifice and it's work. you can't just disappear when things get too hard, or the heat gets too hot and then come back as if nothing ever happened. life didn't work like that, in wintersbane's personal experience.

relmyna saw your potential for leadership, i see it too. i want to see blackfeather prosper, its why i'm here; but i won't lie, i'm weary. in wintersbane's mind: being candid and transparent about how he felt was always the best policy regardless of what it ultimately meant for him.
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She hadn't really understood the logistics of whatever Relmyna and Wintersbane had planned to do with the Redhawks. All she knew was that the situation with the girl, at least, had been fixed. And who had fixed it? I handled it, Maegi shot back, feeling a little hot under the collar. I went to the Redhawks myself and explained the situation—well, as delicately as I could, anyway. She'd lied about some of it, but whatever. Then I reunited her with her brother. It's done.

And then he gave her a lecture, which she tried to withstand, but every other word was slipping away from her as she tried to formulate what she'd say next. Maegi was usually a great listener, but something had come over her, in this moment. The old stubbornness of youth gone by, perhaps.

I'm weary, too, she responded. You don't have to tell me that leaving was a bad choice; trust me, I've beaten myself up about it already, more times than I can count. I made a mistake. But I'm back, now, and I'm not planning on leaving—and I wasn't planning on being a leader, either! It just kind of happened. You can't—

She exhaled hard, like an irritated bull, glancing away. Look, like I said, I've had to come to grips with this already. The things I've done wrong, they keep me up at night. Don't think I just came back thinking that everything was fine, because I know it's not. I came back so I could fix things. Not just about the woods, but about myself. And it's been really hard so far, honestly—but I'll have to be dragged out of here dead and rotting before I leave again.

Maegi looked at Wintersbane, jaw tight, but eyes. . .understanding, now. Whatever. She trusted him; she knew he spoke truth. Things won't be like they once were, she said. I can't promise that problems might not arise, but I can promise you that I'll do everything to make sure that the mistakes I made, the mistakes my family made, won't happen again.
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Ooc — torvi
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#6
we had a plan. i had pull with the redhawks. i saved the life of one of their pups. it was a foolish and rash decision — but it was done. it had played out how it played out and there was no going back to rewrite it. i respect that you've come back to fix it, and believe it or not, i respect you but i won't apologize for my skepticism. she didn't have to like what he had to say: he didn't expect her to. he was being hard on her, on mou too; but he wouldn't apologize for that either. if they couldn't withstand the opinions of their followers then they had no business calling themselves leaders ...at least, that's what he thought about it.

problems are always going to arise, wintersbane wasn't looking for a peaceful life without conflict. he was a beast built for war, after all. it ran true and blue in his blood. not to mention, life was full of conflict, it was as unavoidable as the rise of the sun every morning. wintersbane shifts his weight then. how you face them now is what will matter. she makes good promises, if not a little grand given his experience with her and mou ...but she — they — deserve the chance to make good on them.
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It had been foolish and rash; she'd almost been killed in the process. But it was done. There was no going back and changing what she had done almost on a whim. She listened to his words, her face and eyes growing slowly impassive. For all she wanted to fight him on everything he said, Maegi knew she needed advisors. More than that, she needed to listen to her advisors. Wintersbane was, perhaps, best equipped for that role.

So listen she would. And validate, too—

I appreciate your words, despite arguing with them, Maegi said, a little sardonic but ultimately sincere, dipping her muzzle. I agree. . .going forward is what matters. I'm not the same as I was before; I try to learn from the mistakes I've made. But I know I won't be successful unless I have wolves by my side helping me along the way. Wolves I can trust.

She cocked her head. So, will you stay here, too? she asked. I've heard that it wasn't your intention to linger for very long. Can I trust you still, if you leave and take our secrets with you?

They discussed a few things more and then went their separate ways, Maegi feeling at least a little bit better about his presence here.

I archived this and tacked on a fade since WB went inactive -- but feel free to revive if you want! I don't mind! <3