Coconut Grove a shadow in the corner, just playing along

@Kjalarr forward dated to some MYSTERIOUS UNDISCLOSED DATE because of travel time

they had traveled a lengthy bit, and both were haggard and tired. caiaphas felt a dull ache in her limbs, a weariness in the tread of her paws -- even her tail seemed sore from their sojourn away from the beach. they had found nothing: no food, no plants -- even the crabs had been scarce during their descent down the coast.

the tangled web of dessicated vegetation and wilted palms were as good a spot as any to stop, and caiaphas found herself collapsing into the cool sand with relish. overhead the knotted palms bent, and it was easy to imagine their splendor sans the locust wake. caiaphas closed her eyes and could invision the verdant green, the amber glaze of sunlight rimming the broad-leaved palms -- even the soft lizard green of the vines as they tangled in gentle groves. none of that existed here save for exposed roots and mottled bark -- but all the same, caiaphas imagined.

something overhead fell to the ground and caused her to jerk her eyes open in surprise: wearily she inspected the object. it was coarse, and spherical -- skeptically she turned her gaze to kjalarr before seizing it in her jaws.

Their journey carried them far from the established borders of their home, and honestly it had to be the most depressing journey Kjalarr had ever found himself on. The damage of the locusts was as bad as he'd feared, and there was a knot in his stomach that the Viking couldn't decide if it was dread or if it was hunger. Or, more probable yet, a combination of both. Whatever sliver of hope he'd held onto that one of the Teekon's territories had been spared from the swarm's pestilence was snuffed out like breath to a small and tender flame. Nothing had been spared: not to the east, not the west, and it had become rapidly apparent that neither had been the South. This only left the North but Kjalarr felt confident that all was bare there too.

He was tired and hungry and his paws were sore from the trek but he was silent to his discomforts as they walked, sure that Caiaphas also endured them. Soon, all of the others pack would endure it. That was a small comfort to the Norseman who kept his step dutifully alongside his Queen's. Eventually, the pair stopped and as Caiaphas collapsed onto the sand under foot, Kjalarr allowed himself to rest as well, though he favored a sphinx-like position near her, tucking his front, right paw up and under him, enjoying the relief of the rest. Eyes of silver and caribbean rose to study the strange trees that inhabited these sands, spindly limbs inherently barren of any leaves and vegetation — just like everything else.

Kjalarr had just put his head down upon his left paw, contented to relax while it was offered to him, only to sit up, abruptly, as something hollow and round landed with a muffled 'thump' in the sand near them. His ears slicked back to rest at half mast atop his skull as he glimpsed around them, before his gaze focused upon down upon Caiaphas' monochrome form as they shared a brief glance before Kjalarr watched her she seize the thing betwixt her jaws. “What is it?” He asked her, curious as he always was.

the thing felt raw on her tongue, with fibrous thick ropes and a coarse feel to it. try as she could, her jaws could not break it -- with an oof she dropped the thing, eyeing it in frustration. she could smell something in it -- it had to be fruit -- but its rind was far too powerful for her to crush. with a nudge of her narrow muzzle she sent it rolling towards kjalarr. the pale viking boy (a man now, perhaps) had stronger jaws than her -- it was possible he may be able to pry it open.

"dunno," she answered in defeat, though suspicion remained on her gaze. "some kind of nut or fruit, maybe."

Hopefully this isn't too unrealistic; I spent like an hour trying to figure out if it was possible for them to break it open with their jaws - and some people swore their dogs could crack coconuts by chewing on them soooo, yeah, I went with that >___> lmao

 

Kjalarr watched her struggle with it with thinly veiled apprehension — she was quick to seize it but what if was poisonous?, the Viking couldn't help but think. It didn't look particularly threatening but he knew that meant little. Ironic, how he was apprehensive of the thing currently betwixt her jaws and yet he didn't exhibit the same kind around those of his own kind ...or, apparently, bears. When Scimitar had found him Kjalarr'd been so traumatized that he'd given Bazi an easy manipulation tool to use against him, but he'd been so eager to take his revenge on the first bear he'd stumbled across. His queen rolled it towards him and he stopped it with his paw, shifting his leg ever so slightly to instinctively use it as a barrier. His ear twitched towards her as she responded to his question: a fruit or nut, she thought. Curiously, he bent down and sniffed at it for a moment, noting that it was emitting a faint sweet scent — though the thick rind acted like it's skeleton: protecting whatever was inside it. He drew back for a moment, a thoughtful noise in his throat like a hum before he clasped it betwixt his jaws, his teeth finding the indents Caiaphas' had already left upon it. In some manner, it reminded him of chewing bones though the texture of the shell was vastly different. It was coarse in his mouth and he bite down on upon it, chewing upon it for a few moments, determined to open it.

Kjalarr worked on it, withdrawing from the fruit-nut thing, brow creased in frustration. He attacked it again, biting it with the force that he would apply to prey he was trying to kill, wanting to hear the satisfying snap of shell under the force and power of his bite. Eventually, his teeth sunk in past the shell and it splintered with a loud crack, the milk from within in it sweet as he let go of it and nosed it back towards Caiaphas, some of it's milk splashing upon his nose. His salmon pink tongue glided across his leathery nostrils trying to determine if he liked it's almost sickeningly sweet taste or not. “It is sweet,” but Kjalarr supposed that it was food and strange food was better than no food at this point.

i think they can.. if they were inclined to. might take a lot of chewing lol!

the siren had admitted defeat; sullenly she watched as kjalarr seized the ropy, hefty thing in his jaws. he worked and worked it, and caiaphas was just about to give up wearily until a loud and splintering snap sounded from his teeth. her ears flew forward in surprise as she watched dribblets ooze from his lower jaw in little milk-white drops. he nosed a splintered rind back to her and caiaphas seized it immediately, gnawing along the inner rim where the the bulk of meat sat. she chewed it with abandon, her tongue cupping the strange pulp as she tried to identify the flavor. it was sweet, and not at all what she expected. either way it was food -- immediately she rose and started nosing around for other coconuts. unfortunately for kjalarr, it seemed he was about to get a promotion to 'resident weird-fruitnut-breaker'.

The viking wasn't sure what he thought of the taste that lingered in his mouth from the milk that had spilled from the cracks of the shell. Certainly, it wasn't like a taste he'd ever experienced before — though he wasn't too sure he could say with any kind of confidence that he'd ever eaten any kind of fruit. If he had, he couldn't recall it. Caiaphas devoured fruit-nut's meat — a stark white against the dark gray of the thing's shell. Idly, Kjalarr licked his chops, tasting the sweet tang of it where it lingered upon his lips again, still trying to decide how he felt about it. It was a new flavor to his previously staple pallet, exotic in every form of the word. “Do you like it?” Kjalarr asked her curiously, though he supposed whether she liked it or not probably didn't matter. It was food. It wasn't venison or elk but in the state of the Wilds Kjalarr understood the simple truth that they couldn't afford to be picky. She rose, presumably to Kjalarr in the search of more of them, and idly he rose too, figuring that if she found more, at least it was good exercise on his jaws. The force it took to chew and prey it to crack apart might work to give him more power and strength to his jaws. Useful for hunts and fights. He would open as many as she wanted him to, respecting the hierarchy law that the alpha always ate first.

caiaphas' ear slicked back at the inquiry -- do you like it? -- she couldn't tell. it was food and for that she immediately wanted it, but it lacked the savory bite that flesh often carried with it. she was used to salty things; the brine had consumed her diet -- and this was anything but. "no, but it is food." she answered, nosing one that seemed to be green and not quite as mature. as kjalarr rose she flanked him, nosing about in the sand and collecting what few she could. they would eat their fill here, if they could, and later, bring what they could back to the sound. it would be a pathetic haul, but a haul nonetheless.

after she had rolled a few of the strange fruit-things into a small gathering, she turned to kjalarr and slumped to the ground. she seized one in her jaws and worked it to the best of her ability, but to no avail. she did not have the full blood of a wolf and for once in her life she found that fault to be detracting. with a sigh she clasped the thing between her paws and paused, turning to the stark white male. "there is something i must ask you."

Caiaphas' response to his question, more or less reiterated his thoughts on the matter of the weird fruit-nut things: it was food, and that was enough. Kjalarr decided, finally, that he wasn't all that fond of the sweet fruit — it was not tangy like the taste of bloodied meat (though each meat tasted different, definitely) but he deduced that he liked things more suited to his pallet — poignant and tangy tastes that matched his bitter and harsh soul. They gathered what few they could and as Caiaphas rolled them into the small clearing he pulled one towards him, sliding back down into his favored sphinx-like position, stationing the spherical object between his large paws and began to chew at the hard and resistant rind, more or less mimicking his actions for the first one, knowing that, eventually, it would splinter with his efforts.

An ear flicked towards her as she spoke. Her vagueness on what she had to ask him immediately had the Viking curious, and he paused on his assault of the fruit-nut thing, to swing his head to face her, fixing her monochrome colored form in his glacial gaze. “Of course,” Kjalarr invited, encouraging her to ask whatever was on her mind, his curiosity rising to tantamount beneath his chest — though he was hungry for knowledge habitually and he found long ago that he was always intrigued; despite his attempts to futilely guess what it was she wished to ask him he was left entirely unsure of what to expect, and thus waited patiently.

gaah sorry for the wait, i suck!

caiaphas had expected his attention, and it was his attention she received; she was pleased to note there was little apprehension in his expression following the bombshell she had somewhat unceremoniously dropped. she had never been one to beat around the bush, and while kjalarr seemed patient, he would not have to try his patience's endurance today. "saltwinter needs another leader. a beta." the siren queen started, her yellow gaze resting on the pale wolf's sleek yet scarred muzzle. "and that leader should be you, kjalarr."

no need to apologize! (and no, you don't suck) <3

As Kjalarr had attempted to wrack his brain to the nature of what it was Caiaphas had needed to ask him the truth was what had come to form as words from her lips hadn't been it. Granted, they were words he'd always wanted to hear, words that had caused a rift between him and his (almost) identical twin for quite some time — that was thankfully on the mend! — due to Kjalarr's jealousy issues and superiority complex. Yet, without feeling like he had to be better than Floki, and certainly better than Charon, he had ...not forgotten his ambitions per say but had focused on things that were more important than his own greed. It went without saying that Caiaphas and Saltwinter had definitely been one of the best things to happen to the young Viking. For a moment, as Kjalarr spent the time trying to decide if he'd heard her right, he was silent, contemplative, and his muzzle opened and then closed as he tried to decide if he wanted to ask her if she was serious or not. Caiaphas didn't exactly strike him as the kind of queen to joke about things like that, nor had she given off any vibes that she was messing with him.

“That was...unexpected,” He admitted, his brows furrowing slightly for a moment before he glimpsed up at her, keeping his eyes lowered respectfully but there was an inquisitive cant to his head; a giddy sort of boyish excitement building within him though he was determined to hide it because the last thing he wanted to do was make himself appear immature in front of her. “I accept,” The Viking told her before he offered, “I will not let you down.” as a promise.

caiaphas knew her  blunt offer would be met with surprise;  patiently the sylph studied her blanched comrade, trying to discern from his features whatever inner turmoil fought within. she made no comment, nor did she urge him to quickly answer -- she was confident he would not let her down. true to form he accepted, though the scar-marked wolf conceded he found the leadership grant unexpected. caiaphas offered the thinnest of smiles; while it may have been unencouraging to some, she knew the pale lodbrok would not be deterred by the scarce expression. "i know." she said simply, confidently -- and with that, would go back to hungrily gnawing on the strange fruit.

ill let you wrap with your post - thank you for the thread!

<3!

 

Kjalarr studied her thin expression with curiosity that he did not bother to stifle. Caiaphas was an enigma to him and one that he was contented to accept the knowledge that he would never truly understand. The never ending fascination was not something that Kjalarr perceived as a bad thing; simply because he was acutely curious about the world in general. Curiosity wasn't a bad thing and in the terms of the Allfather, it was what constantly fueled Odin. It was a small connection that he shared with the viking king god, and as Thistle had told it with his late father. Kjalarr was assuaged by Caiaphas' confidence in it, a swell of pride blooming within the confines of his broad and deep chest. He did not deign to break the natural silence that had settled between the pair then, simply continued breaking coconuts open for her and when she'd had her fill — he did not eat any simply because he was still unsure how he felt about them, fighting the urge to want to gorge himself on it's milky flesh or gag — he found the biggest one left that he could and took it back to Saltwinter for it's members to try, with the intent of directing them towards the territory should they end up enjoying the sweetness of the bizarre fruit.