Blackfeather Woods to conquer; to bleed

she moves easily among the trees, basking in the solitude. gaze rovers through the trees, once and again flicking behind her to ensure none have followed her here. she doubts it; the nightwalkers stick mostly to their borders. besides, if someone where to challenge her, they would make nothing less than a spectacle out of it, she was sure. she must be cautious now, while she still heals, her ugly wounds still raw and delicately scabbed over. it seems all too easy to break them, and it takes restraint not to chew at them. 

the threat of murder, however, proves a good enough deterrent. the warlord pauses as a raven wings overhead, seemingly fixated on her. it circles low over the canopy, a silent, feathered shadow, and then makes haste towards the north. 

@Lumiya

Gonna say this is forward dated a little bit cus of a thread that might happen in the mountains before she gets here, staying vague about her adventures there - the Read Only thread about Lumi meeting Loinnir will take place before this too cus I want it in the mountains and yes, what are timelines even?

The sprite had descended from her rich adventures atop the mountains, and was now enjoying her time on stable ground again. With her flew a white fleck of a being, eyes a rosy and soft red and wings spanning barely the length of her shoulders. She'd called the being Loinnir, her guide. Mother had had a spirit guide too, but hers was mean and only seemed to whisper. Loinnir didn't talk to her at all, but his crumpled up form had hit her right in her soul and she would've never forgiven herself for leaving it there. They were soulmates, for now.

Meagi had shared with her the knowledge on how to get to her parents' birthplace, but they had parted ways eventually. She'd met more curious entities up above, but it was time to get down and away from the thin air. In the distance she could already see her new destination; the dark woods, haunted by ravens and feared by mortals. It looked different from how she had imagined it, more disrupted and destroyed than in her guardians' tales. How... disappointing.

Despite the lingering feeling of having been let down, Lumiya and her companion approached the woods with utmost care. It smelled of no-one, the ground not claimed and the borders not refreshed. She looked around at the damage, searching for any clue her family had ever spent their lives here, but it held no memory of them. It shook her to the core, so much so that she wouldn't notice if anyone was around or sneaked up on her.

the woman is unguared, seemingly too caught up in her own thoughts to notice her surroundings. Hela stands just on the edges of her sight line; easily detectable to the alert wolf, but apparently invisible to the girl. her hackles prickle; she just as defensive of this place as she was last time, but in much less of a hurry to start fights. she's at a clear disadvantage, until she heals up, and she doesn't want to give Vanity, or any of the others, and opening in which to make a grab for her title. 

"what are you doing here?" commanding, her voice breaks out into the silence. her gimlet gaze is fixed on the stranger as the scabbed-over gash on her neck cracks again, and minute beads of blood make their steady way to the surface. tail is curled dominantly, stance rigid, but lacks the outright aggression she'd treated the last trespasser here with.

The sprite's entire form perked up at the sound of a booming voice, but her following movements were calm and collected. She turned to the stranger who smelt of battle, blood and bitches. Lumiya gave her a confused look, but her owl friend was scared away quickly by the tension the woman had created. The Melonii wasn't scared, she rarely was, but she did feel the uneasiness that had so rudely disrupted her emotional reunion with her past.

This was our home not too long ago. She answered, glancing back again to the tall trees that towered over her tiny body. Do you know what happened to it? She questioned. She asked a lot of questions recently, a new trait for such a trampled nymph, but one she cherished. The strangers she met on her travels held no power over her like Mother did, she wasn't afraid of looking odd in their eyes.

her home? her gaze narrowed, searching; the girl's pattern was distinct enough to warrant remembering, but she was a complete stranger. "I don't remember you." she stated. she was young, perhaps her own age or older, but not old enough to have lived here before she—or at least hela thinks so. she's small, so her estimate might be off, but the warrior doubts her claim all the same. 

"it disbanded. after the quakes, there were too few members. it was dangerous here." she offers information based on her own knowledge and that offered by the former leader, though lacks the specifics. she does not know of all the rest that died here beside her mother, what had happened in the tunnels. she knew only that it was empty, a ruin of what it was.

Me neither. She was referring to the stranger, but her tone and expression were soft and floated in a way she might as well have been referring to herself. She felt like the ashen giant's eyes were colder than hers despite the color, piercing and examining her. She was a Melonii, she belonged here, so she felt no guilt over being there.

Quakes? She chirped, eyes widening in interest. I'm afraid I'm from before that time. I don't remember any quakes. She moved her head down to the earth, inspecting it, then to the ruins around them. This wouldn't suffice for a home anymore. I am Lumiya Melonii. My parents were born here. She stated matter-of-factly, but her pride was lacking. No one had remained of their clan, her brother didn't want her around, Mother rather had her gone... Disappear she would, leaving traces along the way.

she is everything hela is not; soft, dreamy, sylph-like. and yet they both emulated an easy confidence at their being here, despite the fact that the girl still remained totally foreign. the disaster that had shook her world, been her crucible and her undoing—this girl had apparently missed it. she was in no mood to explain the disaster to the stranger, and so remained silent.

and then a name, to put to a face, and things made sense; almost. her parents were born here, but not her. "hela melonii. I was born here." she offers. they must be related, then; though she does not know how she feels about blood bonds. it is enough for her to decide she has no quarrel with the girl; but she remains a stranger and is treated as such. still, should blood not be given the chance to become more than that? 

and so she makes an unprompted offer, a certain rarity for the girl. "hunt with me? I know the old trails." with the lingering effects of the famine, the activity could be a win-win.

Her parents would've switched Lumi out for Hela in the blink of an eye, if they ever had the change. She embodied what they had wanted from their children; rippling muscles, a towering frame and a chance to carry on their legacy. Still, Lumiya did not envy her. If it wasn't for her oddness, she would've never been allowed to forge a path of her own. She would've been trained and twisted, turned into one of their killing machines. Venamis and her had escaped that future, but Zannah and Revan probably hadn't been so lucky. They were the sweethearts, the apple of their parents' eyes and, if she were not careful, they might come to kill her for treason were they ever to find out she did not plan on returning.

Another Melonii? That was nearly three in a row. Lumiya smiled, knowing what this meant. They were somehow family - Lumiya was betting on cousins but she hardly knew anyone outside her immediate circle. Nice to meet you. The sylph responded sweetly. As an outcast of her immediate family, she felt strangely accepted out here. It was so different, so much more complex than Mother could ever have described.

Her mouth turned into a small "o" shape, surprised at such a question. Regaining her composure was easier than losing it though, and she nodded quickly after. She looked over to see Loinnir still up in the tree nearby, but felt like he was unfit to come hunt with them. Stay here. She ordered the white predator whose head moved down into its fluff in a nod.

Take the lead. She said to Hela as she turned back to the mammoth, ready as she'd ever be to go hunting.

her offer is accepted, and the warlord's gaze follows the girls to rest on the white owl she commands. her brow furrows, some dim memory pressing at her. "what is he to you?" she asks, hardly understanding the link they seem to share. the sylph is unlike any of the melonii she's known, and as such remains a puzzle she can not entirely figure out. 

the girl nods curtly, turning on her heel to lead the sylph deeper into the wood. "smaller prey used to gather here. we will find a scent, eventually." she offers, already sweeping her muzzle low over the snow in attempt to find some sign of life there, and work as quickly as she could to end it.

A friend. She eventually responded. She had to think for a moment as to what exactly Loinnir was to her. After pondering about it, she was confident in the fact he'd been her only friend since she'd came across Blondine, and that was nearly half a moon ago. Besides the court she'd lived with, no one else had made her feel accepted and welcomed. Perhaps it had to be the other way; her accepting and welcoming others then.

The fae shadowed the large woman - the damaged and damned woods seemed to swallow them up. Especially the faerie did not belong here, she realized, and she was glad the place was in ruins now. She gently swiped her muzzle an inch above the snow, seeking the scent they would stumble upon - eventually. Who are your parents? She asked in a casual manner, trying to figure out how they were related.

gaze shifts to the sylph as she names the bird her friend, not understanding in the least. her burnished gaze traced over Lumiya's bicoloured once a moment, before returning to the trail before them. muzzle passes over a furrow in the snow; earth scattered loosely around. something was here, once, searching for much the same as them. whatever had left the disturbance is long gone, now, and so she shifts her focus forward. 

the girl's question is met with a flick of her auds. "they were cassiopeia and vaati." she offers, brushing her muzzle over the snow. a glance and cant of her ears asks the same question, though she doubts whatever names she might offer will be familiar to her ears.

If the fae was being honest, which she tried to be at all times, she did not understand why the bird had chosen to follow her either. She knew her mother had a bird companion, and her sister had an ugly vulture, but she did not expect to receive one too. Perhaps it was a mystical force she could not grasp, something hidden in their Melonii genes - but if that were the case, then why didn't Hela carry one of the predators of the sky?

She couldn't link faces to the names given, nor did she have a clear understanding of who they were. Only 'Vaati' sounded vaguely familiar - apparently it was a cousin, one she never learned of. She couldn't help but take notice she referred to her parents in the past tense, as if they weren't her parents anymore. Did she dare ask? Mine are Damien and Nyx - though perhaps my mother is better known as Astrid around here. She never did understand why she had changed her name. She said it had been to feel closer to Damien and the Melonii bloodline, but she was the closest Lumi could ever imagine.

Excuse me for asking but — I left my parents, did you leave yours too?