Posted August 9, 2023 (edited) For the Sun, Witches dance. For the Moon, Wolves howl. For the Stars, Trees stretch. In their Roots, Shadows lurk. Centuries ago, there was a witch and a wolf. Then, there was a contract. Crafted within the depths of the Everwilde–a dark forest layered in fog, magic, and haunting trees–the contract bound witch and wolf and forest together. The terms? Lives exchanged for the safety of the known world. The Everwilde became a prison, trapping dark creatures within its roots. The witch and wolf, now made Wardens, were made to live out their days within the Everwilde, only permitted to leave its borders for increasingly limited amounts of time until, one day, they could no longer step past the threshold. In kind, their powers grew. And so did their connection to the forest. As decades passed, the witch and the wolf weakened in power, even as they united. Eventually, they found the solution: bring more witches and wolves in to the Contract. They experimented. First, they tested with random individuals to minimal success. Then, they tried those who met certain criteria to better results. After, they convinced the Everwilde to find its Chosen. By chance, they discovered that the Forest Born held the most potential. Each were Marked and intended for the Everwilde. None could refuse its call, even when many might have protested or fought against it. The Everwilde never renegotiates a bargain. Thus, forever bound, Witch and Wolf and Forest keep Darkness at bay. But Darkness grows restless, furious. It thrashes against its shackles, searching for weaknesses in its enchanted prison. Breaches occur. Sentinel trees infected by black rot until they’re fully consumed and dark creatures can break through. Centuries have dragged by, no end to the Contract in sight. The original union between Witch and Wolf has faded into building tensions and resentments. Strain weighs on the Everwilde and its Wardens. Breaches have become a far more regular occurrence than before. The Forest weakens, demanding more to ensure its hold. All sides agree on a common goal. But not all agree on the method best to achieve it. Something is about to give. It’s only a matter of time…. Wardens and the Forest Wardens - The Witch Coven and Werewolf Pack Everwilde Coven and Everwilde Pack are colloquial names Emberglow Coven and Moonglow Pack are the official names The Everwilde Forest - Magical and physical prison holding the Shadow Creatures within its root Wardens are bound to the Forest Allowed to leave temporarily Distance and time allowed varies based upon how long one has been in the forest The longer you've been bound to the forest, the shorter amount of time you are permitted to leave its borders Each have a Mark that identifies them as a Warden and bound to the forest Shared element: vine and leaf motif on the right upper arm This individualizes as the being grows stronger or weaker Blooming for strengthening Withering for weakening Main PCs/Important NPCs Lavinia Maplewood Emberglow Coven Leader & Warden | Witch | ~350 years | She/Her An old, matriarchal sort that’s been in charge for a few hundred years. Renowned as a hardworking and stern lady, who takes her job as both Coven Leader and a Warden very seriously. Expects to pass on the role of leadership to Rowan one day. (Moonglow Pack Leader) Moonglow Pack Leader & Warden | Werewolf | ~400 years | He/Him Grumpy boomer type that's bitter about the Emberglow leader not being dead yet and unable to realistically do anything to change that. Rowan ‘Ro’ Maplewood Emberglow Coven Member | Witch | 27 years | Any pronoun Second-born of Lavina Maplewood. Has a constant conflict with wanting a more separate life in the neighbouring city to the Everwilde Forest vs their feelings of obligation to said forest. Brinn Warden | Kelpie | +1,000 years | He/Him & They/Them A very old, introverted kelpie that lives in Equinox Lake. Easiest to find lingering around on the surface at sunset, and likely to host any meetings needed by both the pack and the coven at that time. Deia Warden | Wood Nymph | +1,000 years | She/Her & They/Them An energetic and curious wood nymph who lives by Equinox Lake. Easiest to find at sunrise, and fills a similar role to Brinn. Charlie New Moonglow Recruit | Werewolf | 21 years | He/Him Born a werewolf, but orphaned at a young age and thus raised by humans. Only recently uncovered his latent lycanthropic powers, and has arrived at the edge of the Everwilde Forest after feeling drawn to it. Selena Umbra New Emberglow Recruit | Witch | 25 years | She/Her A woman who also found herself drawn to the forest and joined Charlie on their journey. Much more of a night owl, she prefers the quiet and Val’s Werewolf character ?? | Werewolf | ?? | ?? (Something here soon.) Minor NPCs/Backstory/Fairytale Figures Alder Maplewood Ex-Emberglow Coven Member | Witch-Werewolf Hybrid | ?? | He/Him First-born of Lavina Maplewood and (Werewolf pack leader). Was once regarded as a shining beacon of hope, prophesied to unite both factions and protect the forest from a great, looming threat. Has since, however, disappeared without a trace under mysterious circumstances. Argantael Warden | Fox Fae | +1,000 years | Fluid (currently They/Them) A mischievous fae with a special connection to foxes that roams around the forest. Mostly harmless, kind of a pest at times. Will probably flirt with anyone for a single cornchip. Vazithel ‘Vaz’ Inkfeather Former Warden | Witch | +1,000 years | Fluid (currently They/Them) An old fairytale figure, though Emberglow knows them to have been an actual figure from the past and a former coven member. Caused some semblance of chaos by running off with a werewolf once, never to be seen again. Jorath Former Warden | Werewolf | +1,000 years | He/Him Said werewolf, believed to be a former member of Moonglow. Has likewise not been officially spotted in several hundred years, though some claim to see his wolf form skulking around in the distance from time to time. Shaldrani Shop Owner | Dragon |?? | She/Her Shapeshifter dragon, who often masquerades in a more humanoid form to avoid drawing attention to them. Own a coffee shop in the city, near Cynthia’s shop. Makes funny faces at Sprinkles from her shop windows as a pastime. Sprinkles Shop Owner | Unicorn | ?? | She/Her Shapeshifter unicorn. Owns a similar coffee shop across the road and spends most of her free time making rude gestures in the window at Shaldrani. Known for having a short temper. Beatrice ‘Bee’ Marigold Emberglow Coven Member | Half-Witch | 21 years | She/Her A young adult coven recruit. Has a fondness for insects, and a habit of applying a copious amount of honey and/or bees onto any problem in the belief it’ll solve itself eventually. Very bright and chipper, with an optimistic outlook on life. Mythical People & Creatures Shadow Creatures (Name pending) Dark, possibly soulless creatures that manipulate and deceive Can take on any human or animal shape to a frighteningly real degree The stronger, the better the shapeshifting Gory, eldritchy, and body horrors involved Can be driven back by the Wardens’ blood and magic Blood and magic from the respective leaders are strongest Breaches start as a black rot growing upwards on sentinel trees Blackens and rots the ground/soil, as well Other signs include the warping of local flora and fauna Witches Tend to group together in Covens, which average anywhere between 2-13 individuals. Many of these are family-based, with the leader being a respected parent or grandparent. Changes in leadership vary amongst the Covens, but the most common is for it to be passed down to the eldest-born of the current leader. Reputation of witches can vary wildly depending on location, and it’s common to think that all fall into the binary of ‘good witches’ and ‘bad witches’. ‘Good’ witches are generally welcomed while ‘bad’ witches are shunned from society, with certain abilities/specialisations in magic often labelling a witch as one or the other. Most witches, however, will tell you that they are just as wildly varied in morality as humans can be, and that the flavour of magic one uses should not be a defining factor in this. A witch who specialises in Weather magic for instance can be just as likely to grant nutrient-rich rains to crops as they could summon a merciless blizzard to wipe them out. Ability to wield magic tends to be hereditary, though cases of it being granted or developing spontaneously in some people have been recorded. The best chance of passing on the ability to offspring is from the union of two witches, though this is not always a guarantee. Those who are considered ‘half-witches’ have a significantly lower chance of inheriting the ability, estimated somewhere around the 15-20% chance. Can be very long-lived, seemingly can not die from old age. Some witches specialise in a particular branch or two of magic, while others opt for a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ approach. There is technically no limit to how many schools of magic one can master, but it is often a lengthy, dedicated process that very few attempt beyond one or two branches. Each witch has a signature colour or ‘aura’ to their magic, which can often be used to track who was responsible for certain spells and enchantments. Influences from this aura are sometimes reflected in an individual over a long period of time, such as morphing their hair or eye-colour to match. Certain factors can change this colour, whether deliberate or otherwise. Familiars are chosen by forming a long-term bond with an animal, and then having it agree to a soul-bond. This blends the consciousness of both witch and animal, and while they are still considered separate individuals they are, in a way, also not any more. The strength of the bond is one that develops over time, alongside of any abilities or drawbacks that may stem from it for either individual. Familiars are very intelligent, and though they can only directly communicate with their witch they are smart enough to understand the speech of others, and find alternative ways to speak to them. Commonly, Familiars are chosen by a Witch's parent(s)/guardian when they are young to help ensure a thorough bond can be developed by the age of 20 and their powers are typically in full bloom. The Emberglow Coven, especially, want to ensure as best as possible that a Witch has a strong bond with their Familiar when their Mark appears in their 19th year. This is believed to help the Witches maintain steadier control when the power of the Everwilde blooms within them. Not all Witches pick a Familiar when they're young; some do wait until they're older with no consequence or drawbacks to their magic. Werewolves Tend to form packs averaging around 10-15 members, lead by an Alpha. Often form a rank hierarchy within these packs, though how this is decided can range from defeat in combat to a diplomatic vote on the matter depending on the ways of said pack. Most of the time, the Alpha is decided by being the strongest in wolf form though. Reputation of werewolves tends to sit around a ‘tolerant’ level at best in society. Many have been known to be turned away from settlements out of fear of how dangerous they could be at full moon. This often results in werewolves feeling the need to either hide this side of their identity from others, or establish specific places and organisations where they are more openly welcomed. Lycanthropy can be either transferred through a bite or inherited, though the success of werewolves being able to produce offspring is quite low. Individuals may have to temporarily subdue or suppress their beast forms for this to be viable. Long-lived, seemingly stop physically aging past adulthood. Werewolves can shift to their beast forms and back at will, but will be forced to shift to their beast forms at full moon. Shifting at full moon can be suppressed, but is often a highly stressful action that isn’t recommended beyond one or two full moons and requires a lot of forethought. This would likely be done to protect either themselves or others from a dangerous shift. Sentience and control during a full-moon shift varies wildly between individuals, typically with younger werewolves being the ones that are the most destructive and more animal-like in intelligence. Better control is gained through age and experience, to the point where some older werewolves may be perfectly safe to be around. Very old werewolves, however, have a reputation for foul tempers. Nymphs A varied species easily classified by elements Most common are: Fire Water Earth Air Less commonly known, and often confused for a more common type: Forest/Wood Steam Ice/Snow Lightning Shape shifters that possess a human guide, their true form, and a protective/defensive form resembling their element For example, Wood Nymphs often have a tree form as their defensive shape Powerful wielders of magic related to their element A very elusive species, Nymphs are not popularly known by or "out" to humanity. This is largely for their protection as they perceive it best. Their numbers are small to begin with. Man-made destruction to the environments in recent decades have only contributed to further diminishing those numbers; Wood Nymphs have been hit the hardest. Equine Shifters (Will get a better name here later) A species of intelligent, horse-like beings able to shift into human forms at will. Common variants include: Kelpies: A carnivorous variant often found in large bodies of water. Though they have a bad reputation throughout history, much of this stems from a few isolated cases of them lashing out at humans after being hunted or otherwise mistreated. Both forms have a singular horn on their foreheads, cloven hooves for feet, and a lion-like tail. Have a natural magical ‘glamour’ that hides these features from humans though, meaning most see either an ordinary human or horse. Amphibious in nature, and can grant the ability to breathe underwater to others as long as physical contact is made. Often display weather and water manipulation abilities. Typically associated with sunset and dusk, the times where it is said that they will appear to hunt for food. Diet mostly consists of large game that they drag below the surface of the water, or any fish that they share their home with. Unicorns: A variant with a much more benign reputation amongst humans, but by no means do they necessarily conform to it. Both forms have a singular horn on their foreheads, cloven hooves for feet, and a lion-like tail. Have a natural magical ‘glamour’ that hides these features from humans though, meaning most see either an ordinary human or horse. Often wield healing and purifying powers. Elemental affinities are also common, and share a similar variation to those of nymphs. Are actually omnivorous, but tend towards vegetation as a personal choice. Shifting is made possible by sealing one half of their soul/form into a magical item. Typically this manifests as a necklace in their human form, and a bridle in their equine form. Clothes that their human form was wearing at the time often morph into an additional saddle. Losing this item prevents the individual from being able to shift back until they are reunited with it. Breaking it, however, will release the soul and prompt both sides to reunite once more. Once reunited, the individual can embed this power into a new object. Mothmen Generally live in secluded areas of the Everwilde forest, and can be very difficult to find if they don’t want to be found. Considered to be an unconfirmed species by humans, save for the belief in a singular individual existing as a local cryptid in another location. His name is Bernard, apparently. He’s a bit forgetful. If you see Bernard please give him spare change and directions for the bus he’s not sure how to get back to the forest. Very large, very fluffy, usually harmless. Is being an odd way of talking, yes. Can predict the future, if persuaded, but often do-so in a cryptic manner. Persuasion to help often boils down to gifts of sugary foods and/or a shiny new trinket for them to inspect. Extra Info Stronger bonds with the forest starts to give boosts to strength, speed, and senses for werewolves, witches get a general power boost for their spellcraft. Those with particularly strong bonds may even start to gain additional powers, such as being able to communicate with animals, manipulate plants, supernaturally track things within the forest, etc May start to see more eldritch-type effects, especially when casting magic. Some may even have a more permanent transformation. Magic has many different schools and formats, and while the ability to harness it is generally a hereditary one families can have wildly different abilities based on personality, early influences, etc Witches can have familiars, which have a wide range of species options, and are granted heightened intelligence and occasionally special abilities as part of the bond with their witch. Common familiars are cats and birds A special few have been snakes A myth, born from old historical oral retelling, claims that a Werewolf can be a Witch’s “familiar” Current generations don’t generally believe this claim, certain that it is merely a rumor that got out of hand centuries ago Edited August 16, 2023 by ValidEmotions Share this post Link to post
Posted August 9, 2023 Chiming in to confirm I am very much interested. And I’m all good with whatever format we use to chat/organise info about the roleplay too, so whatever works best :3 Not sure what characters I’ll have yet, but probably at the very least one witch, one wolf, and another one of a seperate species from either. Share this post Link to post
Posted August 19, 2023 Sunlight was just barely beginning to crack through the canopy, struggling to penetrate the permanent fog that choked the forest. Selena yawned, boots scuffing against the leaf-and-twig-strewn ground. Rubbing at a bleary eye, she muttered grumpy curses at the early hour. "Rowan. Remind me, again, why having a gathering this bloody early is vital to the protection of the forest?" Her foot snagged on a root, causing her to stumble and utter another string of curses as she caught herself from falling. Fingers curled into the edges of her coat, drawing it tighter about her to ward off the cold even as her breath misted before her face. "There better be coffee at the lake...." The oppressive silence of the Everwilde Forest was no longer new to Selena. But, all the same, there was an uneasy edge to it that sharpened the cold rattling in her bones. Leaves and twigs crunched under boot, the crisp sounds eaten by the fog. Rubbing again at her face, Selena let free another yawn before attempting to wake herself up by combing fingers through her hair. She hardly had any time to get dressed before the Coven was ushering her out the Keep's door. Wincing as knots snagged, she busied her hands to make a single, thin, braid. Only enough of her hair involved to keep the dark strands out of her face. The rest she left alone to cascade down her back. "Do you think this meeting has anything to do with the recent Breaches? There's been, what?" Selena's words paused as she silently counted with her fingers. "Fifteen, or so, in the last week?" Her pace had slowed, evident only once she realized the majority of the Coven had disappeared into the fog. Skirts rustling, Selena picked up her pace, the discomfort of being alone in the middle of the eerie forest outweighing her groggy displeasure of being awake so early. Hushed voices eventually drifted back into her awareness. The fog that clung to the earth made the sound carry strangely through the air. A moment longer, she was finally able to start parsing words apart, making some sense of the multiple conversations taking place at the lake's edge. Equinox Lake was something of a mystery to Selena. It was difficult to know how large it was because the fog obscured most of it from sight. Even when she had trekked along the border, spending who-knew-how-long, she couldn't get a sense for its approximate size. At one point, Selena felt as if she'd gotten turned around despite only walking in a single direction. When she inquired about the lake, other witches had similar accounts. A few, however, spoke rumors about a giant tree growing from the center of the lake, claiming it to possess unrivaled magic: the Heart of the Everwilde. Selena surveyed the gathering, spotting the Moonglow Pack amongst the crowd. Hard to find at first, she managed to pick out the alpha from the rest. The smugness tweaking the edges of his features was clear enough--despite being mostly hidden behind a rather colorful and sparkly drink in a clear To-Go cup--that it seemed like the old werewolf wasn't even bothering to hide it. She followed his gaze to Lavinia, noting the sourness in her gaze while the rest of her expression was trained into neutrality. The werewolves had reached the lake first. Still not quite certain why such a thing mattered, Selena turned her attentions away from the two Wardens and towards the figure emerging from the fog over the shore of the lake. "Greetings, and good morning!" The voice was cheerful, the sound of rustling leaves and shaking branches carrying through the early morning chill. Butterfly-like wings stirred the fog as they moved, the myriad hues of greens and browns highlighted with black markings. Briefly, Selena thought the wings glowed--or maybe sparkled. But the effect was gone in the next blink, leaving her to wonder if it was real or just a reflection from the diffused sunlight. The wood nymph alighted upon the shore of the lake, their dark brown hair interwoven with leaves and twigs as it cascaded over their shoulders. Brown skin was covered by similar patches of leaves, moss, and twisting wood in some semblance akin to human clothing. Bare feet padded across the soil of the forest floor as the nymph approached the two faction leaders. Witch, Werewolf, and Wood Nymph. A combination of beings that, had it been a few years ago, Selena would have written off as just fantasy book characters. Now, as she grew further entrenched with the Everwilde Forest each passing day, she was beginning to wonder how she'd never acknowledged their existence before such beings had ever announced their presence to world. Someone nudged her arm, disrupting the thoughts and coaxing a questioning sound from her throat. The other witch jabbed his chin upward, indicating towards the nymph and faction leaders. "Come on. They're calling the meeting to order." Then he stepped away, congregating with the others into a mass that stood closer to the edge of the lake. Selena followed suit, the din of various conversations fading into nothing as the nymph hovered a head above the crowd. "Yes, yes, perfect!" she called, gesturing with a delicate hand for everyone to come near. "The Wardens called for a meeting this morning to discuss some important and concerning matters. First, however, I think introductions should be made!" A small chorus of groans drifted into the fog, Selena joining in with her own disgruntled humph. The nymph clapped her hands once, smiling in spite of the displeased reactions. "Now, don't be like that! It'll be fun! I've got some great ice breakers for everyone." More groans and even a faint 'oh no'. "I'll go first! For all the newcomers to the forest, I'm Laomedeia but you can call me Deia. I'm a Wood Nymph and have been part of this forest for, um..." She drifted off, counting with her fingers before continuing. "Several centuries! I love sweet snacks and growing things. Who's next? Oh, how about you, hun?" Deia gestured at the young man who had nudged Selena before. He shifted from side-to-side under her regard, glancing quickly at the crowd before rolling his eyes. "Fine. Name's Mark. I used to ride skateboards as a kid." Silence. Deia paused, waiting for further details before pursing her lips. "Okay! Thank you for sharing, Mark!" The nymph examined other faces before hers lit up. "Oh! Wait! Brinn should be part of this, too!" Briefly, they fluttered higher above the gathered crowd before swooping down over the lake. Selena didn't know where it came from but, in the next moment, the nymph held a small canister of... something. Flakes fell from the nymph's fingers to land upon the water's surface. "Wakey, wakey, Brinn! I brought your favorite snack!" "We need to move on," came a rough, loud, grumble of a voice. The Moonglow Alpha. Selena released the breath that had been trapped in her lungs as Deia looked up, over, and frowned at the werewolf. "We don't have time for this frivolity. There are more serious matters to be dealt with than exchanging names and pointless trivia." The nymph pouted, butterfly wings drooping as her feet returned to solid ground. "Oh boo..." she mourned. "Fine, go about what you need to talk about. I just wanted to meet all the new faces," she whined. Selena couldn't hide the relief in her features or the sag in her shoulders. Strangely, she felt a pang of conflict between satisfaction at avoiding painfully awkward introductions and the sympathy upon seeing Deia's deflated expression. The Moonglow Alpha nodded once. A sharp motion for an equally sharpened individual. "Good." He stole a glance at Lavinia before facing the rest of the crowd, arms crossing before his chest and causing his coat to wrinkle. "You're all aware of the increasing occurrence of breaches. As such, no one should be traveling alone. It's gotten too dangerous. Additionally, I need to emphasize: do not touch the rot with unbloodied hands! Blood and magic are your best defences against a breach. Use it." "What's causing the breaches to happen so frequently lately?" Selena looked over at the question, but she couldn't tell who had asked it. "Lavinia and I have some theories, but nothing concrete yet. For now, don't worry about that," the werewolf stated, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Right now, simply focus on staying alive and as safe as possible while doing your job to seal any breach you find. Now," he continued. "We're here because we need to discuss resources and resupplying." Selena straightened her back. A resupply meant a trip beyond the Everwilde's border. It meant returning to civilization. She immediately shot a hand up. "I want to be part of the group that goes!" "And you are?" was the alpha's response. She swallowed, hackles prickling under the werewolf's dark gaze. "My name's Selena... sir..." His nose crinkled. "One of the Witches. I don't care which of you go; that's for Lavinia to decide. Any of my wolves want to volunteer?" Share this post Link to post
Posted August 20, 2023 (edited) Despite the clumsiness and vocal protests of some of their fellow Coven members, Rowan lumbered through the forest with hands in their pockets and a distinctively care-free saunter. They were in no particular rush to get to the lake, despite the purposeful stride of the Coven Leader that lead the charge and the increasing frequency of when she would roll her eyes, huff in exasperation, or outright snap her fingers in the air and command her followers to pick up the pace whenever she overheard someone stumble or complain. Rowan, after all, had attended more or less every mind-numbingly boring meeting at the lake that had been scheduled since they were born. It wasn’t like it was going anywhere if they showed up late. A voice spoke to them, and Rowan rolled their head vaguely in its direction to acknowledge it. Briefly a pair of blue eyes peered over the edge of the sunglasses they had brought with them at Selena, before Rowan reached up and prodded them a little further up their nose with a delicate, perfectly-manicured finger. “It’s not, really,” They mumbled back to her. “Or at least, the getting up early part isn’t. Mother just likes to try to convince everyone it’s perfectly reasonable to shout us all awake and go on a forest hike at 4 am.” They watched as Selena then lost her footing again and swore, prompting a smirk of amusement from Rowan as they continued onwards. “You’d be surprised about the coffee, actually.” Announced Rowan, once the two were walking side-by-side once more. Their indifferent tone towards the whole situation did falter, however, at the mention of the breaches. Silent for a moment, Rowan glanced towards the ground, then gradually focused their line of sight up-ahead once as they began to approach the abrupt onslaught of fog that signalled one was nearly at Equinox lake. “Probably, yeah. Although, just between you and me, I don’t reckon either of them really know what to do about those breaches any more than we do right now.” “Oh for the love of-” The voice came out as a low hiss, as the Coven Leader before them came to an abrupt halt upon the sight of the werewolf pack already milling about at the lake up-ahead. Rowan hummed in response, taking a few more steps forward until they lingered a few paces to the side of her and shrugged. “Told you it was pointless getting up this early. They’ve probably camped here overnight, even.” She didn’t comment, only twitched her head to the side and glared into the reflection of Rowan’s sunglasses for a few seconds before she forced a look of neutrality onto her face and began to approach the Moonglow Pack lingering at the edge of the lake. “Yes, yes, good morning.” She replied as a new figure announced her presence. Rowan could immediately tell she wasn’t in the mood for any trivial conversation, but also knew that she held a begrudging respect for anyone that had served the Everwilde Forest for even longer than she had, and could not dare to try to interrupt the wood nymph immediately. Rowan meanwhile offered a lopsided grin as they idly wandered a few steps closer, nodding their head in greeting towards the wood nymph. Even if perhaps she was a bit too…chipper sometimes for Rowan’s general mood, they found they had no real reason to be dismissive of Deia like some of the higher-ranking members of both the Pack and the Coven could be. Relatedly, though they shared the sentiment about the agony of forced introductions, they forced themself to stifle the urge to vocalise that feeling in favour of nodding in vague agreement with the wood nymph. It would annoy my mother more anyway. They also reasoned with themself, enjoying the eye-twitch that ensured from Lavinia as she shifted her gaze towards Mark. “I can go next, if we want,” Rowan decided to chirp, now forcing an air of cheeriness into their voice and a smug little grin as they felt more than one pair of eyes now turning to glare at them. “My name is Rowan Maplewood, bound to the confines of this hauntingly beautiful forest since I first arrived upon this mortal realm. My tale is a sorrowful one, dear friends, for 27 years ago a prophecy was forged. A prophecy which foretold of a being who-” “Rowan.” Lectured Lavinia, her voice short and sharp as it cut through the speech they were improvising. Rowan sighed dramatically and lifted both of their hands in a surrendering motion towards her, which earned another eye-roll before she turned away to go and take a more formal stance vaguely-beside the Alpha of the Moonglow Pack. “No respect for the performing arts around here, unfortunately.” Informed Rowan, turning their head to catch Selena’s gaze once more before they shrugged and instead focused their attention on the lake as Deia hovered before it. The Alpha had begun to speak, and almost instantly Rowan found themself tuning half of what he was saying out in favour of staring idly into the misty reflection of the rising sun on the surface of the lake. Sure enough, the water near where Deia had deposited what looked to be some goldfish flakes started to swirl. From its depths a large shape began to emerge, starting with a singular horn that rose above the surface before it was soon followed by what looked to be the head of an ebony-coloured horse. The horse continued to rise from the lake, shaking water-droplets from the long, silvery mane that flowed from its back and focusing a set of wide, glowing-blue eyes on Deia as she hovered nearby. As the horse emerged it became apparent that the physics of the lake apparently did not apply to them in the same way it would any other horse, on account for the fact that four dainty, cloven hooves now stood upon the lake’s surface. The horse turned slightly to better-face Deia, and Rowan watched as they snorted at her in a manner that suggested they were not amused by the choice of summoning them from the lake this time. The horse however then shook more water from their mane and began to trot across the surface of the lake, speaking to the nymph in ghostly, whinnying sounds that Rowan had no hope of translating. This was Brinn, whom Rowan knew to be, in fact, a kelpie rather than a horse. He was a relatively shy being, who seemed to take great comfort in appearing to most of these meetings in said horse form so he wouldn’t have to do much of the public speaking. In fact Rowan had only glimpsed his humanoid form a handful of times, where he would sometimes sit at the edge of the lake and skim rocks or acquire a mysterious new braid of hair intricately woven together with water reeds and tiny flowers. “Morning Brinn.” Rowan hummed as the kelpie approached, earning them a brief nod of his head which they had come to understand as a casual greeting. He then flicked his head towards the Alpha and Coven Leader as they addressed the rest of the group, tilting it in an inquisitive manner. “More talk about the breaches. You wouldn’t know anything more about them yet, would you?” Brinn inhaled deeply then sighed as he shook his head. From his nostrils, a plume of fog wafted into the air to join the misty surroundings that he was likely responsible for. “Yeah, fair.” Rowan sighed in response, before tuning back into the tail end of the conversation. “I’ll go. I know the way there.” They announced, automatically, at the mere thought that they’d be given an excuse to leave the forest for a few hours. Next to the Alpha they spied their mother’s shoulders sink, ever so slightly, and scowled to combat the vague pang of dread that they felt knowing that they would, again, have to have a conversation with her on why they were always so keen to leave the forest whenever the opportunity presented itself. Meanwhile, on the werewolf side of the two groups, one of the younger recruits cleared his throat. Green eyes drifted back and forth between the other werewolves, and when they spied no one immediately springing into action a somewhat uncertain hand of his own started to rise into the air. “Uh…yeah, uh. I can go, I guess. I got stuff I wanna do in the city anyway,” He drawled in response. Briefly Rowan found themself glancing aside at Selena at this, recalling vague mention from earlier that she was familiar with the lethargic-sounding lycanthrope. Anthony? Andrew? It was definitely something starting with an A… The man lowered his hand to scratch idly at the scraggly fuzz of hair that had taken over half of his face since Rowan had last seen him. They were then forced to suppress a tut of disapproval that threatened to escape them as he paused, frowned, and found a few crumbs of whatever he’d eaten last to brush out of said beard. “Pinnacle of poise right there.” Rowan snarked under-breath, though thankfully the new recruit’s hearing still seemed to be on par with that of a human’s and he showed no indication that he’d heard the comment. “I feel it would be wise for each volunteer to travel as a group, as Barric here has just warned.” Announced Lavinia, a stern expression on her face. “So, I would suggest that anyone else who volunteers to be sensible about that.” She then turned an expectant expression towards her Coven. “With that in mind, is anyone else going to volunteer?” Edited August 20, 2023 by Lycanious Share this post Link to post
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