Blackfeather Woods A tale to be told

For Outrider trade. Burke returns from SC and delivers the message of their disappearance to the brotherhood. @Meldresi @Crescendo @Kadence
No posting order. Next round will be at 5th March

Burke traveled back from SC at his own pace. He wasn't that quick, he was strong and well-built. The male eventually got to his homelands. His wonderful homeland. Even through his paws were sore that didn't stop the dark brother from making his way into the territory. He was looking for a good gathering spot. The large male sounded a low howl throughout the forest. A special call, only for the brotherhood. He would leave it to the priestess if she wanted to notify the other pack mates. Most of them joined so recently they wouldn't even know about the war.

The charcoal male sounded another howl to let the others know it was urgent. A debate was needed. What would they do now they enemy has moved to an unknown location. Burke didn't know their scents as well, most of the ones he scented were old. Did they move because of the war? Or was there something else happening with their enemy. Burke found it disturbing.

Meldresi was planning the attack on Duskfire, trying to garner how many wolves she needed to deliver a harsh blow on them and gain Caiaphas' favor. They would not be seeing anymore clients if they failed. Without any good information, the priestess could not create any real plans. She had been meaning to ask a few of her wolves to go gain information on the pack, but as she left to search for any of her wolves, Burke called for the Brotherhood.

The Night Queen frowned slightly. He did not have the power or seniority to call for a full Dark Brotherhood meeting, but the tone in his voice was urgent. She did not answer his call with one for the whole pack; she'd assess the situation first. The dark woman melded with the shadows, not reappearing into view until she found Burke. "What is the meaning of this meeting, Burke?"

Anyone of the brotherhood is welcome too! <3

Burke stood where he was so the others could find him. His large body giving a good look out between the trees. He alway admired Meldresi's skill to blend so well with the darkness. His blue gaze fell on the priestess. "I went over the mountain ridge to pester our enemy Swift Current, as you commanded," the male started. There was some confusion on his face. "There was no one. Or, at least, some old scent. Maybe they were with such few numbers they hid from me. I could do as I pleased. I raided their caches and ruined a grave, even spread my scent everywhere. No one came to intercept me or defend their lands."

Burke knew he had the right lands. He would bet his life on it. It was as it was described. Even another wolf pointed out that was Swiftcurrent Creek. "I come to bring you the news that our enemy has been relocated to an unknown location," he spoke formally. Burke didn't know they had another assignment of attacking another pack. The large male would love to attack then and help with a war. Although in his mind, SC had been the biggest priority and now they were gone.

@Burke Let's talk about it here :)

Meldresi took to the news indifferently. Ever since they had captured Star, Swiftcurrent had been the target of her wolves, where they raided and harassed the river pack. Meldresi let them do so, but her mind's eye drifted towards another pack as the months went by. Duskfire Glacier. They were more important to her at the moment. "We have another enemy more worthy of our time than Swiftcurrent." She sighed, metaphorically batting away the thoughts of Scimitar and his wolves. "You can have a wolf or two go and scout out Swiftcurrent's location, if they are even still a pack at all, but we have more pressing matters."

"A coywolf named Caiaphas came to me as a client. She asked me to recover her child from a pack to the north called Duskfire Glacier." The ocean pack Caiaphas belonged to had recently brought their payment to the Blackfeather borders, a large seal in return for the return of a child. It was a fair trade, but Meldresi scoffed at their naïveté. They could have given them the payment after they had already found the child, instead of before. Who knows what would have happened to him in the Glacier pack?

Alright! :D

Burke was surprised how lightly the alpha took his news. He was certain that Meldresi would like to know this information. He thought that SC was their top priority. Apparently it was not. They had a new target now. Burke was curious about it. He wanted to know these pressing matters. He was in luck because Meldresi told him soon after his thought process. Burke instantly remembered the coy wolf he talked too. She was talking about this Duskfire Glacier too. Excellent. He was meaning to talk to Meldresi about this war he wanted to join. Apparently she was well informed.

"I've talked to her," Burke returned. When he got here, he briefly walked past the border to check if it was Blackfeather but it was not. Ever so clearly. He wouldn't want to live on ice that blinded him. "I've walked past their territory,' he added. "Are we going to participate in the war against Duskfire? Or is there another tactic you are thinking of?"

Meldresi shook her head. "We are not going to fully participate in open combat." The priestess had a more devious plan than simply bursting past enemy lines. "Caiaphas is going to attack Duskfire, hopefully with the full strength of her pack. Once this raid is over, our wolves will slip in in pairs or small groups, walking through the Glacier territory and searching for the pup." It did not help that she did not have a clear view of the enemy's territory. She would have to make a visit there as soon as possible.

"We have been giving the clearance to attack, maim, interrogate, and kill any Duskfire wolves who get in our way. We were encouraged actually." She knew the more sadistic of her wolves, aka, all of her Brotherhood, would enjoy this part the best. With the pack already weakened by the raid, it would be easy to beat down any defenders. "But you know Duskfire better than I. What can you tell me about it?"

Burke liked this idea. Because walking over the enemy lines to then slowly work like a decease from the inside was twice as good as just a war. The male grinned. "Sounds logical," he returned. "She was talking about attacking Duskfire. I figured we would join but this is even better. Do we have any intel on the scent or looks of this pup? Is it the age of yours or older?" Burke would need to know before he took the wrong child. The large male wasn't sure if he liked another child to train. He met two of the three of Meldresi's pups and they were paws full of work.

"Perfect," he hummed. "I only walked past the territory," the male corrected. "What I saw was one big glacier in the middle of two peaks, I could see hints of a lake at the bottom, the pines obscured the vision," Burke spoke. The large male's brain was rattling. Did they know someone who was in that pack, better even one that ---- "Wasn't Kove's girlfriend from that pack? He would scent like the glacier after he visited her. It was the same scent I'm sure of it. What if I pay a visit to her and Kove to ask about secret entrances and weak spots?," he advised his alpha. "We could get some great intel." Burke was expecting this female to just tell them, otherwise he might have to trick her. While still being respectful his brother Kove of course. Maybe he could even ask Kove, maybe he got a good view of the territory.

"I would say older than my own children, but perhaps no more than a few months older. She described him as a gray agouti with a golden face. His name is Larus." She said, already drawing up a picture of the young pup. "What interests me is the name differences between the two. Caiaphas is a Greek name, while Larus is Icelandic..." Meldresi thought of the possibilities of Larus' parentage not originating in Caiaphas' pack, but she pressed onto more important matters. She had been paid to find the pup, not pry into his family tree.

"Either way, Kove's beau, Scarlett, was exiled from the pack, which is one of the reasons he left, with my blessing." She decided to keep the idea in scrutiny until they had established the pack properly. Why build up others' excitements when you were not even sure if the plan was going to work? "While speaking with Scarlett may provide us some crucial information, we still need a general layout of the place before we cross their borders. I need you to go scout more of Duskfire out before we lay down anymore definite plans."

Burke instantly made a mental note of the coloration of the male. He rather have a scent but this vivid description would do. The large male nodded slowly. Burke instantly realized the names didn't add up. Larus was a name he heard often in the north. A lot of wolves had Icelandic names. He never knew what the female was named until Meldresi told him so. "I was just about to say the same but maybe the father is Icelandic? I didn't smell any males on her though...," he spoke, seeing Meldresi' thought process. The topic moved to Kove's girlfriend. Ah, Scarlett, so that was her name. That would come in handy later on.

"Yes. I know. But since she was exiled, it means she has no connections with this pack anymore, and will most likely not return. It is a perfect way to get information more easily," Burke returned, wanting to press his idea on the matter. Surely he would go spy on Duskfire lands but he would also have a talk with Kove's little girlfriend. "Alright. It seems we are on one line then. I will go scout of the landscape make several cuts into the territory, I will also speak to this Scarlett." He was pretty good with manipulating. He could tell her he was looking for Kove and then start a chat with her, make it extra casual. He might even visit her first so he had some secret entrances into their lands.

Wrap this up?

Regardless, they had a mission to complete, and the priestess would leave this bit of gossip to the recesses of her mind. The priestess nodded in approval, knowing that Burke would get the job done quickly and efficiently. But Scarlett...Meldresi wanted to speak personally with the albino, though not for any cloak-and-dagger reasons. A girls' talk was what she needed to relieve the stress of running a pack, and being a mother. "I trust you to get this done, without fail, Burke." It was rhetorical to say so; she knew he would. "You have my authority to take wolves to Duskfire with you to scout out the territory. No more than three or four, mind you."

Def! I will archive this! :D

Burke looked at the priestess and then nodded courtly. He was certain that he could spy on DFG. He wasn't sure who he should take with him. Maybe Morgana. He would prefer Kove but the pale male wasn't here anymore. "I wouldn't want you to expect any less,"he returned. "I will take only one wolf with me since three or four might be too much." Burke instantly got too it. He bid the alpha goodbye and then vanished in the shadows of their territory, going to recruit the wolf he wanted.