Sequoia Coast look to your soul for these things that you know

@Lasher maybe? <3

duskfall found the angular witch poured over a band of kelp, a slender limb prepped forward as she overturned the gout of sea-plant in search of some sort of hidden prey. the oily surface of the kelp slithered past her blunt claws, the broad palms empty and translucent. caiaphas sighed, shoving the grouping with a singular paw in frustration.

she would have turn back for ankyra soon, but there was a reason the sylph had ventured so far south this time. and while she had yet to consciously admit it, there was a reason for her absence in saltwinter.

<3

lasher had not returned unto the strand since his dubious visit with the accented wolf there. while he was relieved that the priestess retained her grasp upon this mortal coil, lasher wondered why she had rebuffed his offer of a home. yet he knew -- she would not leave her beach, and if this meant that she accepted upon it the tread of other wolves, so be it.

the druid ranged along the cold sands, searching for the skittering crabs and clams he had grown fond of these last weeks in donnelaith. blue willow was quite ready to be delivered of their children -- keeping such choice morsels close would ensure rich milk for the pups.

happily stricken with the spirit of impending yule, taltos had tangled a holly twig with two berries in the fur along his left shoulder -- he found it amusing, rather than dashing, and would redecorate himself once the leaves crumpled away.

the priestess was near -- lasher watched her searching step, noted the kelp at her paws, from some thirty paces away, and then approached, heart light and joyous at her presence. "so you are queen again," he made mention when he had drawn near to the dark-faced seamaid, and his eyes sought her own.

the siren was adequately frustrated as she prowled from the conglomeration of seaweed, her expression squinting as she peered down the grey-lighted shore. she scowled as she looked across the foggy strand. a dark mass moved, its shape pulling from the backdrop of shade until it was recognizable. a wolf -- a lasher.

caiaphas dropped to her chest in an excited playbow, bounding in a lofty yet uncoordinated manner towards the dark male. she noticed the twig and leaf curled against his plush fur, but did not have time to inquire before he spoke. "i am." the siren said with self-importance, drawing herself into a mighty pose of sovereignty. for a moment, it was believable -- yet the facade crumpled and caiaphas was back to her buoyant demeanor. "its a small band, saltwinter -- only for the winter."

it was liberating not having to be as secretive as the nereides had expected, yet caiaphas was surprised by the blurt of information. "did you settle?" her gaze fell along his flank, to the limb he had favored the last time they had met.

he looked upon the woman with affection as she drew herself up -- the sillage of their parting had left a bitter incense in his nostrils, and he was pleased to see her once more, in the flesh and hale as ever. "i knew it as saltywinter," the druid rejoined with a drollness to his dark features. "i came to see how you fared in your grotto, and found it claimed. your sergeant has a definite rough charm." the priestess would know of whom he spoke. presently, taltos gazed out toward the sea, his stare upon the lap of foam against the cold grains of sand.

"yes. we are settled. donnelaith," lasher answered belatedly, following the line of her eyes to his previously injured flesh. it had knit as well as could be expected, but twinges of pain pursued one another along the muscle there on the colder mornings. he suspected it was the burden of age that had removed such easy healing from him as well. "during my visit, i came a most embarrassing realization: i know not your name, nor have i ever offered my own."

he gave a low rill of chuckling. "indeed; several times have we met and yet not the most basic factor has been exchanged." and yet he suspected that more than such superficial things bound them, though lasher was loathe to mention, or even think of their existences until it was clear they were founded.

it came as no surprise to learn vlad had intercepted lasher's last attempt to reconvene with the siren -- a sly, wispy smile seemed to thread across her gaunt features. she knew immediately who had accosted lasher - the stalwart, nefarious russian. he was a source of great amusement to the siren queen, and caiaphas would be sad when spring came and each departed the shore. imagining vlad's interrogation with the somber man caused caiaphas to echo lasher's chuckle, though hers rasped and fell short in her throat.

indeed, they had never learned each other's names - caiaphas was taken aback as it had never occurred to her that she needed the dark companion's name. in some ways, it lent to the mystique of their relationship -- and having none to tell of lasher's appearances, her ignorance of his name had never been troublesome she lifted her little chin and glanced at the druid, as if peering at him for the first time. "well then-- what is that basic factor?"

he enjoyed the slight curve that came to her pretty lips upon his revelation, and the sound that rose briefly in her throat brought an approving glint to his eye. to her question he had no answer -- he had meant the simple sharing of names, but realized now that his words held an entendre he had not realized until this very moment. the lack of knowledge regarding her own name had not been a stumbling block for the druid until he came to call upon her.

"whatever you wish it to be," he rejoined slyly, charmed by her short stature and thus his ability to look down upon her, meeting her gaze with a soft and deferential respect. though he would not speak of it, he suspected the priestess knew of his interest; it was a delicious source of tension between them, an allure he quite enjoyed.

the scullion pulled back, inspecting the druid with a raking gaze. from the winsome stop of his muzzle to the sweep of his murkwater fur. there were many things the sea-witch wished to ask him -- their time together had always been brief, as if some illicit meeting arranged at the cusp of dusk when no witnesses would bare testimony to their interactions. her brow furrowed at his answer, though she was not entirely displeased by the coyness that colored it.

"fine." she relented at length. "caiaphas." the name left her lips like some half-thrown spear, tapering into a quiet finish. she looked to him expectantly, ears pulled forwards in anticipation of his rejoinder.

likewise, many questions for the brinemaid danced salaciously upon the very tip of his tongue, but lasher would never speak such things unless they were drawn from him, extricated, rather. she pulled aside; the interested upthrust of her ears brought his title burbling to his lips, unable to stop the smile that spread them into a bow. "lasher. also called taltos." caiaphas. it was not a name he would have suspected; it suggested the dusty pillars forgotten in halls of memory, but lined with the gold of an elegance he had always attributed to the sylph. 

his words were in grave danger of baltering, and so he did not speak them; no, lasher turned his eyes upon her -- caiaphas -- her precious sea and its cold heads of foam lapping slickly the sands. the ocean had come to calm him these past few months, and he would not be without it. nor her, the druid told himself silently.

i love your avatar its so pretty!!

she had at last plied forth from the druid his namesake -- his calling -- and a faint smile seemed to play briefly on her taut lips. it was not so bad, knowing his name -- and knowing it did not chase away the mystique of their pairing as she had originally feared. instead, she felt she now had a tether to him -- some sort of commandment in which could not be fled form. quietly and to herself the siren smiled.

"lasher." she repeated slowly, finding it rolled off her tongue in a more intimate manner than 'taltos'. "what is taltos?"

ty!

he felt himself drawn closer to the sylph for the sharing of their names -- her own title knighted her with a sense of elegance he had always known her to posses, but the syllables fit her flowing gait and silver tongue quite well indeed. he met her smile -- that curve of lip that caused his heart to quicken -- with one of his own. "ah. taltos is an epithet for what i am," and he would allow caiaphas the dubious pleasure of deciphering such. "because it is meant to hurt, i have taken it as a name, and dispelled whatever power it might have."

taltos was a foreign name to her - she new not the disparaging connotation behind the moniker. inwardly she wondered what the druid had done to obtain such a hateful title -- what interesting existence did he carve for himself before he settled not too far from her shore? caiaphas had long ago learned the irreverent irrelevance of names -- and she had learned, in part, that names were no more an extension of some than the fur that lined their hides. she herself carried a name of great weight -- did it fit her? did it not?

"i see." she intoned at length, though did not press further. her words fell short, though her mind certainly wandered as she envisioned what crimes in a past life he had committed to obtain such a cursed namesake.

mayhap fade here? we need an updated one! <3333

she spoke no more, and lasher relaxed in their comfortable silence. having a name for her lovely visage meant little to the man. her status was unchanged in his mind, and presently he turned his head to proffer her a small and amused smile before he turned his eyes upon the roiling sea. in time he must depart, but for now they stood alongside one another. each lost in their own reverie, they were bound by many things, the least of which was not the slow roil of unspoken words that lurked in the shadowed places of their natural affability.

of course!!!

it seemed today neither would divulge their thoughts to one another, and while this may have disappointed another wolf, no discouragement seemed to flutter across the she-wolf's little visage. she looked up to the umber druid as he imparted a small smile -- she issued a faint cant of her head in silent rejoinder. she would watch him curiously as he left, and even long after his shadow had departed her vision she would have been found where he had left her, silent on the tranquil shore.