Clandestine are the halcyon days of youth

Everyone is welcome

Contrary to the tales of this place that had been passed along to her among the lone wolves, Tansy couldn't find it within herself to find a reason she disliked this place. It was as dark as the soul of a demon of Gehenna and the light from the sky trickled through in lazy streams, diffusing like dust into the dim, permanent dusk of the forest through which she trekked.

She had already met the alpha female of the back, seen the religious symbol of Mephala upon her and yet she was still accepted in. The Dark Brotherhood seemed popular in the pack so far, she'd seen several but others still were unmarked, which revealed quite a lot about the inner workings of the pack. She continued trekking through the dimly lit forest, making for the central area Meldresi had pointed out to her.

As she moved silently through the woods, she reflected on the startlingly radical changes her life had undergone since the killing of her family, an event which still made her blood boil and the scent of the dead still filled her nose every time she though of it.

And that, she smirked darkly to herself, was why those {insert expletive here] elders were going to burn in hell once she got her paws on them.

Since joining Blackfeather, it seemed as if the ghostly male had hardly had time for sleep. He couldn't make time for it, since he hardly felt the need for it. This time, however, he was genuinely worn out. The effects left on him from his encounter with the albino cougar had ceased to disappear entirely, but he was still glad that his friend had not been injured too much during the event. If he'd allowed that to happen, there'd be no time for sleep ever again, for he'd have either stayed by her to treat her wounds the best he could, or went out on a mission to kill that cat. They'd escaped, somehow, with only minor wounds.

Kove had just laid down to try and get in a few winks of sleep, which he did, but the dreamless nap did not last long. The approaching sound of another creature woke him, bringing him to his senses as quickly as possible. Curious to see who, or what, it was, he stood and started towards the sound. It didn't take long before the sight of another wolf, one with a coat of snow, entered his line of vision. Once more, the pale man found himself musing over how many white, and black, wolves lingered within the ranks. It seemed as if the only color they ever held was in their eyes. Shaking the thought away, he focused back on the female, trying to find out who she was without asking.

In the end, he had no clue. He'd never seen her before, but the scent of a pack mate on her was enough to tell him she was meant to be there. It informed him that she was apart of the pack, and was not to be attacked or chase away—which he was somewhat glad of. "Are you new here?" Kove suddenly voiced, having moved within hearing distance.

Thanks for joining! :3 @Kove

[size=medium]Out of the corner of her eye, Tansy warily viewed her fellow white wolf who stood a few paces behind her, an expression of deep thought covering his face. He had noble features, a strong build and long legs, obviously built for the speed his breed was known for. A packmate, if the scent that hung around him was to be believed and now a fellow wolf in spirit.

He was approaching from behind now and she turned to meet the question that had inevitably flown from the male's mouth as he seemed to search his memory for her face. But she had never been here before, though the woods seemed so similar to the desolate loneliness of her dark dreams and she knew that the ghost wolf searched in vain. She inclined her head to his query, gracefully accepting the question and answering him at the same time.

"That is how it would appear. This wolf is Tansy Nightshade, priestess of Sos and a follower of both Great Bears, Atka and Sos. May this wolf inquire as to your name, wolf who is born of ice?"[/size]

You're welcome. c:

He was slightly glad to hear that she was new, to be assured he hadn't looked a fellow member over for an extended amount of time. Though he couldn't truly be blamed if such a think were to happen, for Kove didn't often meet and greet new members. His time was, more often than not, occupied by either wandering around the territory alone, following and remarking the borders, or by spending time with Scarlett when they were both able. He caught the scent of another on her during their last meeting, and though he was curious to see who this other male was, he wasn't yet ready to leave the territory, or the surrounding area. Realizing his train of thought had been pulled far off course, he quickly realigned it so he could answer the other wolf.

"My name is Kove Apaata," he answered. Normally, the ghostly man would not give his family name when introducing himself, but when the other did, he saw it as being rude to reply in a separate way. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Tansy." He was unfamiliar with the 'Great Bears' she followed, but was slightly curious at the same time. It seemed odd to meet another priestess in the pack, and one that didn't follow the same God and Goddess as their leader, no less.

Tansy nodded to his reply and sat on a small patch of earth, resting her legs from the long journey she had undertaken to finally arrive here. "Well met, Kove. And it is a pleasure to meet another wolf of this pack, though this wolf is a little confused as to why the priestess who is alpha here let her in. This wolf is the high priestess of another religion and this wolf assumed that a priestess of Mephala would turn this wolf away from the border like a stray. But she accepted this wolf, strangely enough, though the mark of other gods stain this wolf's fur."

She shook her head to clear those thoughts and smiled gently at the male, though it never reached her eyes as most of her expressions did. "And what of you? Do you follow the dark goddess, as your alpha does?"

As she went on explain her small bit of confusion, Kove found himself also growing a bit confused. It seemed strange to allow a priestess of another religion into a pack so closely knitted to the Alpha's own, but that's what Blackfeather was. Strange. He wasn't all too surprised by the fact of the matter, and even the bit of confusion that had entered him seemed to fade away as quickly as it'd come. "Blackfeather is rather strange as a whole, though you'll come to learn that on your own." The man hoped to be there when she saw just how odd things could be here, but didn't focus too much on it.

The priestess' question made him pause in thought. "Originally, I did not," he answered. "I followed the 'deities' my parents use to speak of, but slowly drifted from them when I discovered they were not actually deities. Just a constellation and a snow nymph." He thought back to when he'd discovered that, recalling how upset he'd been. His siblings had known of it, and they explained why they followed the woman despite knowing they held no real power. Part of him had wanted to leave them behind long ago, but he couldn't. Not entirely, anyways. That was before he'd met Meldresi, though, and learned of the Goddess she followed. It'd drawn him in, oddly enough. "I am working towards accepting Mephala, however, but it is hard to leave the past back where it belongs. I know the fit is much better for me, though."

Strange.... What a peculiar way to describe a pack but she had a strong hunch that she would soon find out exactly why he called it such. The priestess hummed quietly and she truly did wonder if the alpha female had realised who she had let in. But perhaps she would quietly practice her faith, on the borders of the pack and hopefully the graceful alpha would leave it alone.

As she listened to the white wolf's words, she nodded in the expected places and thought back to the beliefs of her old pack, so strictly had they adhered to the words of old Rome and the bounties their gods said lay in store. "This wolf too rejected the faith she was brought up in. Such harshness and cruelty without temperament should not be tolerated, for even the great Goddess Mephala has not the cruelty the old god's of Rome hold." She sincerely meant her words but released the offence they could cause. "This wolf apologises if she has offended you in any manner. But this wolf is interested, even from an outsider's point of view. Sometimes, there is an emptiness in the words this wolf says to the Great Bears of the Sky and this wolf would seek to find why. Perhaps her faith is no longer suited to the wolf this wolf has become. There is too much blood in the murkiness of her past now."

In a way, Kove was slightly relieved to hear that she, too, had left the religion she was born into behind. His reasoning for doing so seemed overly childish and rash when compared to her reasons. What type of cruelty and harshness came with the Roman gods and goddesses was something he wanted to ask of, to know what pushed her from them, but felt it not to be his place to do so. It was, most likely, a personal thing, and he wasn't quick to ask such questions upon a first meeting.

"You do not need to apologize, you have not offended me at all," he assured her. As he listened to her, of how her words sometimes held an emptiness to them, he stayed quiet. Even after she'd finished, his voice did not sound right away, for he was rolling her words over in his mind. "Perhaps," he said, some agreement in his tone. "I am sure you will find your religion within you, whether it is your current one or you choose to convert to Meldresi's. You'll find it, and no longer need to speak empty words to the skies."

Listening with a careful ear to the albino wolf's words, Tansy found herself nodding in agreement with his statements. She rolled those words through her mind, seriously considering them as accurate and useful. Kove did not seem to be a fool and those she had an uncanny ability to recognise, so his advice was sound in theory. "Perhaps you are right in your predictions. This wolf shall seek the priestess out and inquire as to her goddess, for this wolf does not know the full depths of her power nor her dominion."

She shifted her weight onto her back paws slightly more, resting the tired muscles of her forelegs from the journey here. Thinking of journeys, Tansy flicked her icy gaze to the other's countenance with curiosity on her features. "What about you, how did you come to be here in these woods?"

The pale wolf was glad to hear that the other priestess planned to seek out their leader. He, too, did not understand every aspect of the Night Mother, but planned to learn more as he went along. That was a plan for a later date, though. At the moment, he was conversing with the female before him, and it would be rude to just up and leave. When she questioned him as to how he'd ended up in the woods, as a member of Blackfeather, he could not answer right away. In truth, Kove didn't exactly have an answer to her question. Something had seemed to pull him there, but what it was he didn't know.

"I am unsure," he told her. "One day I was shouting to the skies that I'd never join a pack again, and the next I was being drawn here." The memory played over in his head, as did the feeling of his body being on something like autopilot. He hadn't known where he was going when he'd crossed the lands to reach Blackfeather, but once he'd reached it he hadn't felt the need to travel anymore. It was as if something clicked within his my mind, something he didn't know existed. "As soon as I set my gaze on this dark forest, it seemed as if it had sunk it's claws right into me, unwilling to let go. It wasn't a bad feeling, though." In truth, it had been a great feeling. As his answer finished leaving his maw, and the memories exited his mind, he was left wondering about the other white wolf before him. "What brought you here?" He wanted to know what had lured her to the dark woods, as well as what urged her to stay.

@Kove

There was a brief silence as the male she was conversing with seemed to consider her question with a depth of introspection that was achingly familiar to her. Then, his response was cryptic but strangely... it made a lot of sense, for she too had felt the pull at her icy heart from the dark depths of the forest. It had made little sense at the start, the desire to enter the woods and seek out the pack that controlled it's shadowy heart.
"Yes, this wolf understands what you are saying, for she too has felt the intricate pull on her heart to make her home here. It is intriguing and beguiling, unlike anything this wolf has ever known. Is it the forest itself or the Night Mother who calls us here? This wolf knows not, but perhaps it is for the best. There are some things that are best left in the dark."

As he turned the question upon her, she shifted uncomfortably, as she truly had wished to avoid the topic all together. But now it was up, she may as well tell a little of her past. He seemed trustworthy, as trustworthy as she could ever perceive another wolf to be. "This wolf's old pack, angry that she had abandoned them and the harsh gods who ruled them, poisoned this wolf as she carried pups into the brightness of the world. And no pup breathed air and all died in the snow, as this wolf's mate was taken from her and this wolf can only assume he is dead."


She glanced at the other wolf with a weary grin, though once again not the slightest hint of dark, grieving mirth touched her eyes. And the thought of Dimka... It hurt her chest, in the place where her heart once beat with a savage wildfire of emotion.

2/1/15: Edited post to end it since @Tansy appears to have gone inactive for the time being.

The priestess' understanding of what he had said was an unexpected thing, but was better than her looking upon him as if he were mad. He never wanted to see the look one held towards a mad wolf again, especially not if it were to be directed towards himself. As she spoke further, it made him wonder as well. What pulled him there exactly, he would most likely never know, but that didn't stop him form wanting to. Things left in the dark are things that grow to hate the light, and he wished to be able to shine that brightness onto the fact of the matter. Still, his mind knew that was unlikely to ever happened, and urged him to drop the subject and leave it behind him.

What he had been expecting to leave her maw in response to his question was not what actually left it. Kove had expected the story to be a simple one, but it seemed to not be. Even his father, as unruly and cruel he could be, would never have done what her previous pack did. It made him realize he might have overstepped a boundary, having her speak of matters in the past. "That must have been a horrible experience," the ghost said. "I apologize for having you bring such events up. Things like that should stay in the past."

Kove was, truly, apologetic for having made the other remember such things, and was even more so for what he was about to do next. He needed to leave her for the time being, as much as he did not currently wish to, in order to go off and tend to the borders. It was time for one of his many patrols, and he did not wish to wait for it to be completed. "I apologize, once again, but I must go now," he told her. "Perhaps we can chat again someday in the future. I would love to hear of the religion you hold close to you." With those last words and a quick smile, the white wolf turned and began his trek away, leaving the other wolf where he'd just been. Whether they would truly meet again someday or not, he was unsure, but hoped they could chat again in the future.