Blackfeather Woods Ultra Violence

Posting isn't mandatory, however it will be assumed everyone is present. Making some big assumptions here, please let me know if I need to change anything! <3

 


Rowan had been gone for some time. There was no trace of him, all of his scent in the Woods was fading. No explanations, no nothing. Eldritch was worried for him, more so too for the well-being of the pack. She needed to do something. 

Finding a decent sized clearing within the trees, the Seer called for all of Ivory Rose: @Aerenys, @Allana, @Santiago Arcos, @Takiyok, @Taikon.

Once everyone was present, El spoke, her voice carrying louder than she would normally speak at all. 
"There is no sign of Rowan, I'm sure we all have noticed...and Zephyr is also lost to the wind. Our numbers are small, and if we are going to make it as a pack, we need to stick together." The Nightwish sighed deeply. 

"...In Rowan's absence, I am taking his place as Alpha of Ivory Rose. Your thoughts and opinions as to our future are welcome. As we have always stood for-- nobody will be turned away. Especially now." With that the Seer fell silent, opening the floor for all who wished to speak.

The reaper is silent in his approach when the woman who had graciously fixed up his wounds called. Midnight black head level with his shoulders, he slinks close to the crowd, but not overly so. He knew no one here except the previously mentioned woman and another agouti one that had offered her services to the Beta — now turned Alpha it seems. 

His wounds are sore and scabbed over, far from fully healed. He can’t help but wince and curl his lip at any movement he makes. He feels out of place here amongst these kind souls; he looks out of place here. Still, he stops to listen to her with a type of reluctant respect he’s gained for her. 

Yet, her words displease him so. He feels his heart clench in his chest — white hot anger. This Rowan is gone — the same one she said might know something of his mates. To him their deal has now been cut short and he feels his lip and muzzle wrinkling more with distaste. Has he been gone the whole time and she lied to him? Perhaps. He would interrogate her later about it. For the moment his steely eyes roam the crowd and he doesn’t even hide the boiling anger he feels spreading like a wild fire through his veins. His aura is intentionally off putting and he hopes it will stop others from looking at him or perhaps even talking to him. He doesn’t want to hear a word spoken directly to him unless it is from the new Alphess. So he seethes quietly to himself, pale eyes never leaving her shapely, midnight form. He would get an explanation, but not now — later.

Permission to PP Takiyok lightly

When he heard the call from Eldritch of all people, his gut fell. Ever since Takiyok had somehow been poisoned by that wretched tree at the forest's heart, Taikon had been in a terrible mood toward anything that lay beyond his tiny family. Since coming to these awful woods, they had suffered nothing but heartache and defeat. His friends had all disappeared or been killed. Zephyr had still not returned from his journey, and though he had been kind enough to tell the prince that he would take an escort, Taikon did not trust him to maintain his own safety. He would not leave Takiyok, especially not now.
Her heat never came.
Appearing together to find Eldritch and some injured stranger who smelled vaguely of their forest, Taikon stood rather than sitting to hear what she had to say. Rowan was curiously absent, and this did not bode well. He did not trust Eldritch. She had left them as quickly as she had come, and he did not bear ties to her. To find her in a leadership position troubled him greatly.
As she spoke, Taikon stayed close to Takiyok, never allowing a gap between them. They had been stuck together almost like glue since her venture with the tree.
"In Rowan's absence, I am taking his place as Alpha of Ivory Rose," declared Eldritch. In a different context, under different circumstances, Taikon might have challenged such a brazen declaration from one who had left them to the dust. He had no fight left for such politics, and nudged Takiyok. Let's go. He said it in a whisper, and turned toward the border. He did not look back.
They had lost nearly everything to this shitty, dark place. He was done.

The she-panther materialized from the shadows, gait low and skulking as she slid past the pale duo that fled -- clicking her fangs at them mockingly as they retreated. The Melonii did not know of their hardships but she had scarcely seen or smelt these two around since claiming the Woods for her own home. Their seeming lack of loyalty to their pack was pitiful but what was to be expected of the boy-king's subjects -- the same who'd disappeared as the night-sisters defended his land. 

Ours now, came the possessive thought as she paced to El's side. Perhaps Rowan had never granted her a leadership position but her place was by the Nightwish's side, always. She curled onyx haunches under her, curious gaze of mismatched jewels meeting the colorless pearls of Santiago's -- an unfamiliar face but not an unwelcome one. They needed all the numbers they could get.

The shadow sat straight and proud, resolute as she lifted her inky chin a hair -- a stygian spinx at Eldritch's side, scanning the shrouded forest for sign of the other girl, Allana. Perhaps this Rose had more mettle, would stay and fight for what remained of her pack.  

Nothing had ever felt like home to her, and it was even more so when Rowan disappeared. The pack was quickly falling apart and Allana wasn't sure why. Granted, she herself seemed distant and didn't have much interest to do much. She couldn't explain it, really. Maybe it was the whole energy in the pack itself. Whatever the case may be, there wasn't really much left of Ivory Rose, now.

Even as Eldritch said she would take Rowan's place, it felt like empty words. There was no weight to them, and instead, became whispers on the wind. As much as Allana wanted to stay, there wasn't really anything keeping her here. Maybe it was the curse of the land and the residents before it, based on the last interaction of the wolf carrying the skull. Allana said nothing and turned to leave, determined to let things go in their natural course and find something that would suit her better. 

-exit-

He was not one of them. 

The forest had swallowed him up once he had found himself cradled among the trees; Eldritch had kept him safe and hidden while he tried, pointlessly, to recover. Sorrow weighed heavily upon the boy. The familiarity of the woods coupled with the alienating sensation of being alone without his family caused some dissonance within him.

Their voices drew him from a patch of conifers, bits of spring bramble netted in his ragged coat. He carried a large pinecone between his teeth and sucked on it as if it were a pacifier; but when he came upon the gathering (just as the bodies began to disperse, it looked like) he spat it out and beamed towards Eldritch.

The stranger had found him days ago and remained the only entity that was constant in his mind, familiar, and while a part of him blamed the shadow for the loss of his parents — his need for stability was more important. The boy swaggered over to where she waited, ignorant to the dispersing bodies, and sank to his haunches beside her.

The bodies melted out. 
Taikon, Takiyok, Allana. Gone.
The only remaining bodies being Aerenys, herself, and Santiago.

From the bushes came Hypnos, then. She smiled softly as he beamed at her and approached, sitting beside her. 

Chuckling tiredly, Eldritch offered a supportive and brief lick to the boy's cheek.

"Do you feel better?" She asked Hypnos then, her voice gentle and eyes genuinely inquisitive to his health. She genuinely wanted to help him.