Blackfeather Woods i stand on shaking earth, the surface it looks calm
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Ooc — Kate
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#1
All Welcome 



She could smell another snow coming soon.  It was good she was home then.  She wanted to get out and stretch her legs, especially after her trip with Rowan to the Caldera, and meeting Adrastus in the meadow.  But she had things to take care of here, too, and it was that responsibility that ultimately kept her.  She'd made a mental note to seek out Taikon after their weird exchange — already she had written off the interaction, as both of them had been shaken at the time by their shared experience.  Things would likely be more normal this time around.  She put her nose to the ground and sought out her packmate.
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Ooc — Zina
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#2
His mind was buzzing for what felt like the hundredth day in a row. Taikon didn't know how much more of it he could take. Firefly Glen and what he assumed was the rest of the mountain were a disaster. Luna was probably dead. It was all a mess.
Their woods remained untouched, which no doubt Rowan would use to prove that his insane religion was what had caused this. What a ridiculous fantasy.
Taikon was out laying beside the stream, not bothering to do anything at all that day. It took all of his strength to bother eating after what he and @Takiyok had found at the glen. Life felt pointless.
When Puffin found him there, he lifted his head and blinked calmly. Hey, he greeted half-heartedly, and promptly placed his head back on his paws. He had assumed he'd freaked her out somehow the other day, but didn't feel like he needed to apologize. What's up? The question was directed at her, though he was staring at the water.
relatively thin from illness (Apr 13, 2020)
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Ooc — Kate
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#3


Meanwhile, Puffin hadn't made her way to the mountain yet.  The next morning she had seen the rising smoke, and that was enough to steer her away.  She knew nothing of the death and devastation that had laid in wait for Taikon, therefore she had no idea why he was being such a sad sack on this fine morning.  Hey, she echoed, a brow raised at how Taikon looked about as dead as he felt.  Not much, um...

She wasn't very good at apologizing.  The other night was — weird, I guess, is all I.. came to say.  No, that wasn't it and she knew it.  Are you doing alright?
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Ooc — Zina
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#4
Don't worry about it, he said calmly. Puffin followed immediately with asking how he was doing, and Taikon just shook his head. Not really, he admitted. Tension in his legs fought him as he stretched his front paws out for a moment and rose to a seated position.
He regarded her passively. The orange on her front blazed as it had before, and she altogether looked the same as she had the day of the star strike. Obviously, she didn't have friends out that way. I went to where the flash was with Taki. It's a mess, he explained, though that was only the half of it. So far he didn't feel like he had done anything of use within the Ivory. Other than dragging in a few lost souls, he had also run off the dog, which though he still thought was a good thing, he knew others didn't see it that way. Taikon licked his mouth anxiously.
And you?
relatively thin from illness (Apr 13, 2020)
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Ooc — Kate
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#5



Oh, she said, softer than what was usual for her.  She didn't ask about his friend — if Luna were okay, she assumed Taikon would have said as much.  I'm sorry.  I haven't been out that way, she said, explaining the obvious.  He was looking at her long enough it might have bothered her, if it actually seemed like he was looking at her.  Instead it seemed as if he was looking through her.  It worried her, but she didn't know what she-specifically could do about it.  

Finally, he asked another question.  I'm okay.  Truthfully, she'd been better than she had in a while.  Her adventures lately had given her a little more pep in her step, although it wasn't immediately obvious based on the nature of their conversation.  I don't know how to feel about this place, she admits to him although she cannot place why, running a paw against the soft earth exposed closer to the water.  I'm sure soon it'll start to feel more like home.
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Ooc — Zina
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#6
As Puffin described not knowing how to feel about their woods, Taikon frowned, looking back toward the stream. He recalled Eldritch and the way she had seemed so flighty, like she was going to leave at any moment. Then she did. This hardly offended Taikon, but he worried at times about keeping a loyal base.
Taikon's sole priority was ensuring that those who needed the shelter of the pack would be kept safe. In particular, Takiyok and what he hoped were their future young. Zephyr, too, needed the safety of the woods to be maintained by people more physically capable than Taikon himself. Puffin, being fearful and unsure, was not someone that the prince trusted to stick around when shit got tough.
I get that, he offered knowingly. It will only be a home if we can all make it one, I suppose. He felt bound to the forest because Rowan had probably saved his life. Though he worried that the boy leader would not do well in the long run, and that the pack might become more cultish than it already was, he was not going to abandon this place. I could do without these black noisemakers, though. He hazarded a small grin, looking toward her again to see her reaction to his joke.
relatively thin from illness (Apr 13, 2020)
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Ooc — Kate
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#7


I believe that we can.  She was more than hopeful for it, she was sure of it.  Even creepy forests could be turned around with a little TLC.

His joke makes her laugh and she's thankful for it, given the otherwise somber mood of their conversation thus far.  Truthfully she didn't mind the crows and ravens that much, but she did find Rowan's reverence of them to be both unusual and concerning.  Given her upbringing, there was no way that Puffin was going to fall for organized religion.  Even in spite of this, she felt rude making fun of someone else's, so she made a comment instead.  I don't understand the whole... bird thing, to be honest.
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Ooc — Zina
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#8
Maybe it was her softness. Maybe it was her demeanour. Or, maybe it was just because Puffin was the first person to tell him "yeah, I'm not into that either." Whatever it was, she softened him, and he liked her instantly. Me neither, Taikon chuckled, shaking his head at the absurdity.
A while ago, I met a boy out on the other side of the mountains in Seelie Court, he explained, knowing based on talking to others that it was unlikely she knew of their whereabouts. He had this big crow that just sat on him all the time. It was the strangest thing, he raised his brows, grinning at the very idea. He knew that there were many who believes crows and ravens were sacred little beasts, or that they were harbingers or death, or that they were rare delicacies. To him, they were hardly more than pests most of the time. The ones in their woods in particular had never seemed to calm down while he was present, despite his apathy.
A woman here used to do the same, he made a face. Said woman had left not long ago. Good riddance.
relatively thin from illness (Apr 13, 2020)
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Ooc — Kate
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#9


Whatever opinions or uncertainty she had held about Taikon before melted away as he began to tell her stories of people he'd met.  Her heart began to race — his adventures made her think that coming here had been a good thing after all, because soon she'd be on the other side of this and it would be like everything she had always wanted.  She let none of that excitement show, thinking it rude to be so easily distracted by her own thoughts, and reacted to his story by scrunching up her eyebrows.

That doesn't make any sense to me.  What can a crow offer a wolf?  To this, there seemed to be a particularly noisy uproar from the resident birds, though she wouldn't reject the possibility that this was a figment of her imagination.  There are plenty of things a wolf can offer a crow.  I think it makes more sense if you're the crow.  She shrugs, shaking her head.

I'm named after a bird, or so I'm told.
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Ooc — Zina
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#10
"What can a crow offer a wolf?"
Taikon shrugged, grinning sideways with a funny little expression like he'd done something sneaky. He knew very well that the ravens had their uses with hunting. Crows, though, he considered insects among birds in comparison. They were annoying, with calls that were shrill and frequent and didn't seem to adhere to the rules of time. He had never understood why there were those among wolves that enjoyed the close company of feathered beasts. He found the animals unnerving in general, and rarely useful. Definitely, he concurred with a small smile.
What? Puffin is a bird? he asked and once again held his attention firmly on her. She was a strange-looking woman, he knew, but to compare her to a bird seemed rather absurd. There was that strange colour on her chest, a flame-like fur he had never seen before on one of their own.
A flash of the dog he had accidentally forced away came to him. He shoved it down and away.
Why would your parents name you after a bird?
relatively thin from illness (Apr 13, 2020)