Drooping Willows You've gone somewhere deeper

Are you going to age with grace?

Morganna Archer

There was no denying the Morganna Archer that sat beneath this outlying willow was different from the one that had last walked these lands. There was a stillness that hadn't been there before, a quiet melancholy that damped the chaotic flames that had once consumed her.  The small, sad smile on her face wasn't a sharp or wry smirk, all of her carefully constructed walls were temporarily down as she lowered herself down on her elbows, allowing the scent of the earth to embrace her.

She had just finished telling her mother and Angier of all that had transpired, her voice low enough that nobody outside of the wall of swaying leaves wouldn't have been able to make out what she was saying, but she couldn't just lay around forever. Arming herself once again, she bade her farewells, exiting the swaying branches with a deadpan face as her gaze turned to the west. She wondered how much of the old kingdom still stood.

(This post was last modified: Nov 08, 2017, 11:59 PM by Morganna.)

Romanov Archer

The willow trees were like a safety blanket to the boy. They were almost all he knew besides some of the fields just south of his home. He was not a curious child enough to leave Drooping Willows. On one or two occasions he had pushed the boundaries but when the trees grew too thin was usually when he turned around.

Today he had slipped just past the borders before finding a stranger's scent. His face crinkled for a moment before he caught the swaying of willow branches. While the wolf had not smelled familiar, she almost looked familiar. Kind of like his dad except she certainly wasn't him. The young Archer chewed on his cheek for a moment before calling out to the peach-eyed creature. "What're you doing?" Mismatched brows furrowing together as amber eyes watched her.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

TW for nasty Morg (hell it's not the first time she's gaslighted a kid)

I know that it won't fix a thing

Morganna Archer

By the time the child's voice reached her ears she was ready to face the world again. A sardonic sneer painted itself on Morganna's face as she took in the site before her. This one was Enoki's for sure and if Renier was reliable she could guess well enough to who the kids father might be. Well that answered that much, she supposed. There wouldn't be a child here if the pack didn't still stand in some form. "I'm exactly where I belong, what about you?" Her voice might have been smooth enough but the squinting at the edge of her eyes betrayed something darker. "Are you the latest accident then?"

Romanov Archer

He did not like her answer one bit. Despite her familiar looks, her tone and her words were unfamiliar. Roman was not used to being questioned but the word that settled was accident. The Archer boy did not understand the way she meant it but there were some things he did know. Accidents were usually bad, you usually apologized for them, and no one really liked them. For a brief moment his lip curled before dropping.

"'m not an accident." That he knew of. "You don't belong here." He said in the same fickle tone he had used with that dragon kid who had come waltzing into the ridge. Little did he know who he was talking to. But she didn't smell like home and that was all he could go off of.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

I know that it won't fix a thing

Morganna Archer

Her chuckle was dry as her head dipped lower. Morganna took a bold step towards the child, a deep inhale telling her all she had assumed to be true. "Yer no Archer." She scoffed, moving past the boy as though he wasn't worth the time of day. "My children would chew yer up an leave yer fer the crows. Willow Ridge used ter be a pack ter be reckoned with. Ever wonder why they all left?" It was as if she were speaking to the trees themselves. "It's cos they couldn't stand ter witness mistakes like you ruin it even more." An ear was covertly turned towards the boy, waiting for any sign her words had hit their mark. Was he really all there was? Or were there more?

Romanov Archer

His head turned and watched her before his body turned in order to not strain his neck. Romanov liked to believe he would have been able to scoff off her words with an amber glare but something hit the boy.

"Ever wonder why they all left?"

The boy's features softened for a moment. Deron wasn't around any more, Addy wasn't either and even Elle had seemingly disappeared into thin air. How could she know? He didn't know her and yet....yet..she knew him. There was only one thing he could think of saying but it wasn't very mature or even had the bite that her words had. How could they, though? "Shut up." The two childish words were barely above a whisper.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

I know that it won't fix a thing

Morganna Archer

Morganna had struck a nerve and her smirk solidified in it's position on her maw but she didn't turn to look a the child, allowing him a moment to find his voice, to see if he had any of the fire that her own brood or even Sven had possessed. What met her was a disappointment, just like her current company no doubt and she allowed her face to fall into a mock pout before facing the child again. "You wound me." Her voice was thick with sarcasm before she snorted again with a smirk. She had always been able to articulate her sentences, but she rarely chose to do so. It had become a sharper tool in her arsenal during her time in Torbine, but she felt far more comfortable slipping back into her usual tone.

She looked at the boy once again, eyes narrowing with her appraisal before she gave a small shake of her head. "Nah, yer too much work ter fix." She was seemingly speaking to the air again, turning away from the child once more, wondering if he would take the bait or not.

Romanov Archer

The peach-eyed female's first words would have usually given him a sense of pride but the tone she used only dug into his brain. Romanov was not enjoying this one bit. He was teetering on the option of calling an adult but she hadn't posed a real threat yet. The Archer boy did not want to seem like a baby - give her something else to nitpick.

When her head turned away again he took a small step towards her, face filled with confusion. "W-what do you mean fix?" He wasn't broken, was he? Ravenna would have given him plants if something was wrong or Mama and Dad would have made sure he stayed in the den. So what could the stranger possibly mean? The piebald boy's ears briefly fell back. There had to be something no one back home was telling him.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.

I that it won't fix a thing

Morganna Archer

Morganna's next look was one full of pity, as though she couldn't quite believe that they had kept the poor boy in the dark all this time. "Can yer fight? Do yer hunt? Are yer clever?" Her own children were travelling across the country and while some may lament that children should be children was it any wonder so many of them died with such negligent parents getting around? "I have children yer age an yer know what they're doin' right now? They're comin' here from Torbine, on their own." Her tongue made a tch behind her teeth, maybe she really was wasting her time. "Yer weak, an' yer'll find yerself in th' ground wi' th' rest o' em."

Romanov Archer

He did not like her tone. Romanov was usually content with being a punching bag and bottling up things but without anyone around to really spill his guts to, the boy was wearing thin.

Her last words seemed to be the scissors cutting his nerves. "You'll find yerself," He mocked her strange accent. "in the ground before me." Romanov spat as his inky lips threatened to peel back. The boy did not realize the heaviness of his own words and was very well writing a check that he could not cash. If anything, he was only attempting to poke back at her and perhaps prode at her age. She certainly was old but she was older than him.

art by crowteeths

It's Only Dark.