Blackfeather Woods crude and proud creatures
in our town the hangman came, smelling of gold, blood and flame
390 Posts
Ooc — jal
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#1
All Welcome 
In his jaws did her pale bones rattle. 

For many long nights she had called out to him in fevered dreams - though they were not longing cries. They were howls of pain -- a somber wail of anguished sorrow that told the tale of a life cut short. It was an imperfect croon that drew him in, an otherworldly song only sirens sung. He knew even then that she had passed on. He could not shake her, nor the unwelcome feeling of dread that consumed him (it was actually guilt, not that he could ever recognize that). What lingered of her presence was something that both embraced and cursed every step he dared to take. Such was the way their complicated relationship solidified, perfectly tumultuous in life and in death. 

Vaati did not realise that to experience great loss came at such an emotional cost until the deliverance of her bones, after many moons of searching and idle waiting. It illicited a reaction from him unlike anything the brute had expressed before, the closest thing to remorse he would ever produce. A hollow stab to the soul, pouring out what little humanity Cassiopeia had filled within him. Perhaps it was only in that moment could he recognize his faults; how he had locked her away and shackled her spirit for so long. The brutality of it all was undeserving, and never would he have the chance to grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness as he should have all those years before. But would he have? His actions, he ultimately could not bring himself to regret, but the victim... he had robbed himself of her. Perhaps if he had been more kind, they could have had more time. Perhaps not. 

Nevertheless, Cassiopeia deserved to rest among those who came before her, among warriors and priestesses. Among women just as strong as her on the grounds that forged her fire. He owed it to her. 

However, upon nearing the territory, Vaati is halted by the distinct scent of another groups claim within his ancestral home -- a strange and rancid taste intruding his senses. It caused him a great deal of confusion, enough for him to pause entirely a few yards away from the unfamiliar borders. Scylla had not informed him of this unwelcome development upon retrieving her mother's bones, but yet the interaction had been wordless and swift. Had Maegi willingly relinquished their families' claim to the dark woods? Or had she, too, perished? Though he had once garnered a distain for Blackfeather itself, the idea that an outsider had marked its vile piss over land that was Vaati's by blood did not sit right with the warlord. 

He inspects the scents for any sign of his brethren, entertaining the idea of simply entering even if none of his blood still resided in within the hallowed grounds. There was very little sense of critical thought to persuade him otherwise, for any potential consequences were ultimately, inconsequential to him. It was the same catastrophic ego that started wars, the overwhelming side of the scar-ridden man that would bend to nobody's will but his own. That part of Vaati had not changed and never would.
for the sins of the unworthy
must be baptized in blood & fear
73 Posts
Ooc — R/Rachel
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#2
omfg HII CUZZINN!! (are they cousins?? I actually have no idea how they would be related lmao)

Perhaps as the Woods had once drawn her, leading her to the night-sister she had found in Eldritch, the man too pulled to some part of her. Aerenys could not have determined a singular cause for why she might head for the borders, except that she had lost the scent trail she was tracking and had come to an impasse of what to do with herself. In the end, she decided she fancied a patrol and off the witchling skulked through the blackened morass of tangled woodland. 

At the borders, she paused to level the pale, scarred stranger with an appraising look when she came across him looking into the depths of Blackfeather as she had once done with Aphelion looped about her neck so long ago. The snap of his wintry gaze should have chilled Mambo to the bone. The sight of him should have sent her snarling into defensive action but the corvid only watched him silently for a moment, a curious glint to her mismatched jaspers of blue and purple as they flickered over the man who was unwittingly her kin, landing for a moment on the assortment of bones. 

"Peace be," the Priestess rasped, silently offering him the chance to explain his presence.
"you said she's scared of me?"

"but maybe it's because I'm wearing your c o l o g n e."
Don't fear The Darkness
238 Posts
Ooc — Liv
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#3
edited cuz I didn't see Aerenys LOL

She had watched him from within the trees, a silent Sentinel with white eyes peering out from the dark. 
And she continued to do so as he sniffed around. 

Eventually though, the Seer grew restless and drew forth silently as Mati intercepted him, unphased entirely by the brute as Eldritch stepped in front of him with an inquisitive gaze. 

"Welcome to Ivory Rose, stranger." She purled beside Aerenys, though inwardly she labeled him a trespasser, for the moment at least. 
She wouldn't give her name unless he gave his, either. Blood-bound to the woods or not, this was no longer his claim unless he joined the ranks of Ivory Rose.
Eldritch is fluent in Daedric (Valryian) thanks to Aerenys having taught her the language behind the scenes
in our town the hangman came, smelling of gold, blood and flame
390 Posts
Ooc — jal
Away
#4
hiii somehow-related-cousin *waves*

"Peace be."

The stranger greets, though Vaati is unrelenting in his critical gaze. Muscles churn under his thick arctic coat as he lays Cassiopeia's partial skull at his feet, and returning to his tall dominant stance. The brute recognizes neither the woman before him nor the one lingering just a few paces behind, and his lip turns up slightly as the words 'Ivory Rose' tumble from her mouth. What the fuck was an Ivory Rose? It was neither Blackfeather Woods nor The Melonii, but something else entirely. Disgusting

"Who are you?" He inquires curtly, a sour hint in his tone as if they had offended him in some way. But he does not wait for an answer. "Where is Maegi?" Came the next question, though Vaati did not expect the answer to be revealed to him so easy. He supposes that to them, he is a stranger with unknown ties to the forest they inhabited. Yet, they stood on his ground. Whatever claim they thought they had was easily washed away by the Melonii's presence. The forest was his by blood and by birthright -- or so the man tells himself as his steely optics survey over their heads and into the shadowed woods. 

He does not pick up any indication that his estranged sister had been anywhere near the woods -- at least recently -- as her scent as he recalled it did not linger. Perhaps she had abandoned the woods, or flat-out died. He could not tell which would be more disappointing. Vaati's eyes return to rest upon the one who's rank holds superior, "Tell me, who leads you.. stranger?" It comes out in a mocking hiss, making no effort to hide his distain. Vaati does not believe he owes them any courtesy, for their presence intrudes upon land he bled for, and where he still intended to bury what remained of his wife.
for the sins of the unworthy
must be baptized in blood & fear
73 Posts
Ooc — R/Rachel
Away
#5
Aerenys met his ire with a similar silence of composure to her night-sister, restraining the urge to quirk the muscles along her brow at his less than friendly attitude. Still, the darkling had faced worse. "I be Mati Aerenys Melonii. Ya might call me Mati or Aerenys, you. It make no difference ta me, no," the Bayou queen murmured softly, tail swishing once. "Who you be, hmm?" 

"I do not know dis Maegi,"
the witch answered, soothing tones urging him to calm. To Mambo, there didn't seem to be any reason that they should fight. Her gaze moved to her night-sister, as if silently wondering if this was some resident that had once belonged to Ivory Rose -- unaware that this was another unfamiliar relative of hers. 

Even so, her lip curled faintly in warning as he spit venom towards her superior, black tongue sweeping over her fangs as a hushed boof  left her lips. Only a whisper of what was to come if the man threatened Eldritch's safety. 
"you said she's scared of me?"

"but maybe it's because I'm wearing your c o l o g n e."
Don't fear The Darkness
238 Posts
Ooc — Liv
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#6
-- insert the Oh No song here--
 

Eldritch stared at him exactly equivalent to an Empress looking down upon an ill-mannered child.
To the brute's disdain and obvious little-dick syndrome, the Seer mirrored him in a fully dominant stance, entirely silent until he addressed her mockingly.

"You get what you give." Eldritch stated with her usual calm, though there was a slight firmness tinting the edges of her words.
"If you lived here before, it's not anybody's fault except yours that you left. Whatever claim you had here is therefore forfeited." She furthered with that same haunting calm. 
Silently though, Eldritch was thinking far darker than she was speaking.

Take one more step, and your life is forfeit too.

The Beta briefly met Mati's glance, a blip of mental reach she willed her night-sister to catch: he will know his place, by force if need be. 
Before her mercurial hues returned to spearing through the stranger before them.
Eldritch is fluent in Daedric (Valryian) thanks to Aerenys having taught her the language behind the scenes
in our town the hangman came, smelling of gold, blood and flame
390 Posts
Ooc — jal
Away
#7
it was evidently clear that the present interaction would not result in him getting what he wanted. maegi was not amongst them, and thus she could not deliver cassiopeia to her grave. however, no sooner does the other find her voice, and with silent disbelief does vaati listen to her assertion. 

as the last syllable passes her lips, vaati cannot help the snort that escapes him, humoured by the gall the woman beheld. but the wry sentiment quickly dissipates, and the behemoth suddenly stomps forward a fraction, pushing the boundaries of distance that separated them. his pelage ruffles upwards to boast his size, a display of authority that would not acknowledge nor concede to the other's beg of submission. eldtrich did not frighten him, the brute had fought bigger fish and survived. 

with a calm malice on his tongue, the man returns the sour affection. "do not be mistaken, my blood runs through these woods. it is my birthplace, my ancestral home, and the resting place of my mother and her mother before. it was mine before you arrived and will remain so after you leave." the woods did not forget. it knew where its allegiance lied. perhaps not in his hands, but certainly not in the grasps of this outsider. perhaps what bothered him most was that she spoke out of turn -- it was not her place to determine the status of his claim for she was an outsider, trampling across land and history she knew nothing of. though he understood she did not fully grasp the meaning of his return nor the value of his families claim to the woods... she insulted him by suggesting it was worthless in her presence. 

vaati takes a pace backwards before turning to the woman who claims herself to be a melonii. "iksā melonii se ao rual bisa outsider naejot colonize īlva tegun?" his tone reeks of bitter disappointment, unable to hide his distain for the perceived lack of loyalty. however, he begins to think of what he is to do now that he has near made an enemy of these creatures, and plans to make an uninterrupted departure... unless his words had struck a nerve.

for the sins of the unworthy
must be baptized in blood & fear
27 Posts
Ooc — Raevinne
Offline
#8
Allana had smelled the grouping before she came across it. The voices that echoed about was enough for Allana to make a presence. As Allana approached, a frown was for the spit towards Eldritch, as well as the rising tension. It had to be slowed somehow, otherwise it could break out into something worse. Allana bowed to the stranger in respect, looking to the skull that laid at his feet. 

"I offer my condolences to the one you cared for." Allana said softly. "I am sure they were important to you."

Allana watched as Vaati spoke another language to Aerenys that she couldn't understand. Allana spoke Gaelic, but this was hardly such from its vowels and speech pattern. Waiting for a moment to speak again, Allana lifted her head from the sympathetic bow. 

Her body displayed a neutral language, nothing aggressive nor submissive. It spoke confidence and the truth. There was no sense in that really, especially when it came to death. It could be seen that Allana was taking this situation seriously, and was not judging based on the actions that Vaati currently displayed, but instead was open minded and wanting to understand the background he came from. Not to make friends or allies, but to simply understand and communicate.

"Ivory Rose is a pack that recently moved to these lands, paying respects to the ones before. Not only do we offer homes to wolves not wanting to wander, but also to help those that seek help. I offer my respects to the land and the ancestors you say reside here, in hopes to appease them." Allana lifted her head to the canopy a bit, briefly closing her eyes to feel the winds before looking to Vaati again. "Please know we mean no disrespect to those before you by being here. Our leader brought us here to establish a place for us to call home."

Whether or not she was considered "too nice", her intention was to show respect to Vaati and his arrival, and the one he carried with him. Losing someone important was always rough, as Allana had gone through it before. But to also lose your home and find someone else living there after such an important person is lost? It was destructive. While Allana sensed the tension and would react as necessary, she hoped that what she spoke would help to soften it. Fighting wouldn't resolve anything if Vaati wasn't here to start a fight, since to Allana it was clear that things had changed since he was last to the lands Ivory Rose now lived in.
Pursuing NaturalistHunter Masteries
"Speaking." -"Singing & shouting."- | Thoughts.
>>Player Policies & Pawprints<<
73 Posts
Ooc — R/Rachel
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#9
Aerenys' two-toned optics flickered between the scarred stranger and her dark counterpart, reminded of the situation in the mires of the swamp when they'd dueled with the pale shaman. She felt a pinch of tension, a forming headache, between her temples as crimson sparks flew from the he-wolf's jaws with each word -- chartreuse with Eldritch's. El was a proud woman and Mati didn't blame her for the wrath that had been invoked in the hellhound. This was their land. Regardless of who had once lived here, Ivory Rose now laid claim to the territory.

The witch's dark auds lifted suddenly, mismatched gaze of Melonii indigo and amethyst snapping to meet the  pale wash of freezing blue as he spoke in her tongue. "These woods sytilībagon naejot se sīmontan.  Daor aōha morghe kin -- gīda lo pōnta issi ñuhon tolī.  Mirre tolie claim emagon issare forsaken. Bisa tegon iksos se Blackfeather's." If he thought he would find an ally in Mati simply because they shared a surname, he was gravely mistaken. The only Melonii she'd ever come across this far south had been Midar and even then, she'd never quite seen the Woods until coming across Eldritch in the past winter -- by that time the forest had already been seized by Ivory Rose. The darkling couldn't be expected to feel an affinity for a tribe of cousins she had never met, never even known called this place home. 

Her ears splayed back as Allana appeared, lips wrinkling back in disdain. Not for her packmate particularly but for the simpering words that left the girl's maw. Words seemed pointless at this point and she refused to deign to begging the stranger to act appropriately on their doorstep. Instead, the she-panther tipped back her head and let loose a howl for the wolves who currently claimed the Woods. The man could get over whatever had irked him so in the beginning of their meeting or if he insisted on claiming their land, or even dared to trespass over their borders, she would (hopefully) have the ranks of Ivory Rose to help back up that this was their home now. 

@Zephyr @Rowan @Takiyok @Taikon 
translation: "These woods belong to the Rose. Not to your dead kin -- even if they are mine too. Any other claim has been forsaken. This land is the Blackfeather's." (meaning Rowan's)


"you said she's scared of me?"

"but maybe it's because I'm wearing your c o l o g n e."
Don't fear The Darkness
238 Posts
Ooc — Liv
Offline
#10
--insert the Oh No song getting louder lmao--
 


Eldritch only mirrored him further, as if she was his dark reflection, as he bristled and spoke more. 
She kept her stare evenly - an Empress looking down upon a spoiled brat. That's exactly what he was in her mind. 
Vaati was no more frightening to her as she was to him, and it showed.

As he addressed Mati, Eldritch would listen to her Night-Kin's response with a growing, impish smirk before answering him in his own language with steel-melting acid in her eerie voice. 

"Ao stain aōha own lentor brōzi lēda aōha insolence.  Ānogar bound iā daor, bisa iksis daor longer aōha lenton.  Iksā iā mittys naejot ignore ñuha warnings.  Henujagon aōha skull se jiōragon hen.
She held her pose, a full display of dominance that held crystal clear warning to reconsider if picking a fight on claimed land was actually smart, seeing he's already outnumbered. 

By this time, Allana had already tried to settle the rising ire in the air. 
And as Mati called for the remaining members of Ivory Rose, El felt the electricity of battle rising in her veins. Numbers or not, if this pompous brat wanted a fight, the Seer would most definitely give him a fight for his life. 

Her white eyes speared into Vaati's own like hell if hell was a frozen land - your move, imbecile.


Translation cuz idk how to do the hover-for-translation thing R.I.P: You stain your own family name with your insolence. Blood bound or not, this is no longer your home. You are a fool to ignore my warnings. Leave your skull and Get out.
Eldritch is fluent in Daedric (Valryian) thanks to Aerenys having taught her the language behind the scenes
in our town the hangman came, smelling of gold, blood and flame
390 Posts
Ooc — jal
Away
#11
anger churns within the man as the interaction only continues to sour, save for an unexpected break in which one of their own bows before him. her words are kind, understanding, and he feels almost deceived. was this some trick to lower his guard? vaati's eyes narrow upon allana in suspicion, discerning wether the girl was weak or stupid for approaching someone who was clearly a threat to her brethren with such benevolence. regardless, the warlord considers, her indulgence is a benefit to him and so he tosses skull in her direction.

"she was a respected warrior. bury her in the redgrove if your sentiments are genuine." though his gaze is critical, he decides that if there ever came such a time, atleast one amongst their ranks would be spared.

perhaps their internal assessments of him were correct -- vaati was ignorant, foolishly impulsive, and he often thought without the slightest hint of critical thought nor any consideration of consequences. however, what was often mistaken as low intellect was rather the presence of a value system that simply lacked care for things he felt were beneath him, such as ivory rose. they were not hydra, not caiaphas, or even maegi -- all individuals who had earned a seat at the exclusive table that was vaati's respect. ivory rose was an inconvenience at best and its leader, a pest that stood in his way. he felt he owed their existence nothing, much less the graciousness of his civility.

as the unknown relative answers in a sentiment that is much to vaati's displeasure, a lip upturns in her direction. "blood traitor." the man snarls, spitting as the words leave his mouth. the melonii prized fidelity -- it was a pillar of their brotherhood. "the melonii claim is blessed by mephala herself, you have no authority to decide otherwise." 

before he is able to elaborate his attention is diverted to eldritch, who spouts off about insolence. ultimately, her words are in one ear and out the other for time and time again had he heard the demand of 'heed my warning or perish.' not once had he perished. 

vaati's glacial optics rest upon eldritch's skull, though beneath them a smouldering and ravenous flame burns in ire. "it is bold of you to assume that my family would be ashamed. as if they will not hear of this and return in numbers to reclaim their land. what will you do then, when the force of a dozen god-favoured heathens arrives at your door?" it was a complete fabrication. vaati did not necessarily know that would be case but then he thinks of damien, who was undoubtedly even more territorial and pious than he. if vaati's threats did not scare them, his uncle's would. nevertheless, the intent is not to promise war, rather, plant the seed in their minds that they are -- even for a brief second -- unsafe within the land they inhabited. 

the lack of true cause of all his outrage lied solely in the underlying reason that vaati was a severely proud creature, and the insult was too great to forget. he knows he will not win against the tooth and claw of their entire pack, and nor will he attempt it. but the long game was one he had played before, and was willing to do so again. before the rest of their troop arrives, vaati offers an insincere smile.

"enjoy your stay." the brute chides with snark, and dips his head only a fraction to oblige eldritch's ego. turning on his heels and neglecting offer a second glance. his retreat is swift and the thunder of his paws carrying him away from the dark woods felt all too familiar -- a rush of adrenaline drenched in a bittersweet nostalgia. vaati recalls how he had once dragged blackfeather woods through a war over a reason too insignificant to recall. wolves had bled for his cause, died, and he briefly wonders why anyone had allowed him live at all.

sorry for the wait! gonna pull vaati out of this thread here just because it makes the most ic sense for him to do BUT pls dm me for follow up thread(s) if u would like!!
Don't fear The Darkness
238 Posts
Ooc — Liv
Offline
#12
gonna close this one pup due to the inactivity! Thank you everyone :>
 


Eldritch is silent as Allana tries to cool the waters. It is short lived before the proud brute is going off again.

Just as her words went in and out with him, his threats faceplanted before they hit her black auds. Her face remained deadpan and unreadable despite her posture as Aerenys called for the rest of their numbers. 

Vaati was retreating then, and Eldritch chased briefly, snapping at his heels twice as he went before the witch turned back and, with a smile toward Aerenys, began to fade back into the trees.
Eldritch is fluent in Daedric (Valryian) thanks to Aerenys having taught her the language behind the scenes