Ankyra Sound tired soldiers in this war

As the moon of the chilling night sets at it’s peak in the sky Kerberos seeks out familiarity in a land that has changed and aged as he has. He’s not known the Wilds his whole life and his stays here were flighty at best. For someone whom had always considered himself a homebody he had sure down a lot of traveling, a lot of settling and uprooting; nothing stays the same, he thinks. Change is what allows the world to grow and expand. Ankyra Sound is abandoned and by the complete lack of scents aside fron the old trail of a loner or a random pack wolf Kerberos deduces that it’s been as such for a long time. He’s a relic, he thinks. A relic of a bygone era with memories that he thinks that no other in these Wilds would share. He peers to the ocean: the sound of the time crashing against the beach a comforting lullaby to the Aok. Upon the rippling water’s surface where the moon is reflected he swears he catches a glimpse of the white bear Atka: the mother of light …and closer yet he feels his hackles bristle on end as he notes a lumbering shadow move, the scent of a thousand decaying bodies lingering in his wake. The black polar bear: Sos. The Dark Father. Their tug of war over him is consistent and tiresome. Kerberos is tired. Tired of the war that goes on in his mind. Tired physically from his long journey. His legs remember the way from his ( very ) brief stay the last time and they take him to the grotto where shelter awaits him beneath the earth. He is almost glad it’s been abandoned.

Tytonidae knew she was close to Drageda, where Eljay now lived, and she wondered how he was doing there. Had he finally found a place he fit in? She had not had high hopes for him, but maybe that was just her bitterness talking. She had wanted him for Bhediyon, but he had chosen Drageda instead. Of course, she could not hold a grudge against the pack, since it was Eljay's choice in the end, but she had to admit it had not felt great when she had tried so hard to get him over to her side.

She moved easily along the coast, but she had no destination in mind. Bhediyon was growing stronger, if not in numbers than in their bond with one another. They were small, yes, but she knew that eventually they would find their footing and be able to make their claim more solid. For now, she did as she had done since she had returned here: she sought wayward souls and attempted to find the right ones for Bhediyon. She spotted one such wayward soul not far off, so she approached with guarded optimism. "Hey there," she said, trying to size-up the stranger, "You just out for a stroll?"

Kerberos does not make it into the grotto: his steps slow and give pause when a voice calls out to him from the velveteen darkness of night. Sos vanishes from the corner of Kerberos’ eye but his presence lingers always. It is keenly felt, and Kerberos fears that the Dark Father threatens to swallow Atka’s light. He’s done many things since his childhood — many thing he is not proud of him, allowing Sos’ darkness to seep into his heart. It was all in the name of survival …at first. Kerberos turns then, slowly, to face the owner of the voice that has attempted to garner his attention. His ears cup forth atop his skull as sea-green gaze slides over her: her pelage as dark as Sos’ own. You just out for a stroll? The woman asks him and the Aok lifts his chin slightly, his salmon pink tongue drawing across his lips as he contemplates his answer. He looks for a place to rest his head for the night and feels that the grotto should be relatively safe: from the elements and from curious wolves. Kerberos does not do well with being snuck up on, especially in his sleep and he has grown to retaliate in a gruesome way that his child self would have been appalled at. In point of fact, his child self would have rather thrown himself into the sea and drowned than allow himself to become what he is. So, keeping himself far away from population and attempting to eliminate the possibility of it that is always his top priority. “Yes,” He finally answers her question, figuring that it is a simple enough answer; and then because his politeness is not something that Sos can kill the Aok continues the conversation with, “This territory is lovely at night. Have you seen the beach, yet? The sea glows.” And it’s easily one of the most beautiful things Kerberos has ever seen in his life. A natural and reoccurring phenomenon that Kerberos is wont to call magic.

Perhaps if she'd been a more skeptical wolf, Ty would have doubted him. Luckily for him, she took him at his word that he was merely out for a walk, and the Vasanta didn't question any further. When he asked if she had been here at night, she shook her head. "I've only been here once before, and that was in the daylight," she admitted. It had been when she had come across Eljay who looked on the verge of death when she'd found him here. She had wanted so badly for him to follow her to the plateau, to make his home there. But he had made his choice, and now he lived among the Drageda wolves, presumably as one of them.

"Can you show me?" she asked. She held off on her usual recruitment tactic, preferring this time to build a bit of rapport before jumping into her elevator pitch.

She speaks that she has only been in the Sound’s territory once and that it was during the day. It is a shame, Kerberos thinks, everyone should see the glow of the seawater at least once in their lives. The Aok expects that to be the end of their conversation but he’s thrown for a loop when she asks if he’ll show her. He’s already turned away from the Grotto to face her, and his ears swivel back for a second before they cup forth to attention once more. “Yes,” Kerberos replies. It’s instinctual: that boyhood desire to appease, to be noticed kicks in. It’s not something he’s ever been able to grow out of: but neither has he precisely grown out of his reclusive tendencies, either. He doesn’t mind being left alone and the aftermath of Sos and Atka’s first battle when he’d sunk into what he calls his ‘darkest days’ he returned once more into his shell of seclusion. He moves towards her only because it is the way to the beach though he gives her a wide berth and gestures in the beach’s direction with his muzzle.

He leads the way and slows as he moves over the embankment of sand to where the rim of the sea and wet sand of the beach is bioluminescent. A pretty, neon blue that outshines even the stars. As it had the first time: it steals Kerberos’ breath as he admires it, settling upon his haunches in the dry sand. It is truly a divine work, this magic, he thinks. "I have yet to see beauty to top it." Truly, the sea was wondrous ( but he'd always known this ).

She followed him, letting him lead the way down to the shore. They didn't even need to be right up close for her to understand what he was talking about. The water was literally glowing. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and she stared wide-eyed with wonder at it. "Incredible," she murmured, unable to take her eyes away from the brightly-colored shore.

"What uses does it have?" she asked, assuming the glowing water had some sort of magical, or perhaps medicinal, properties. Anything that looked like that had to have some kind of special use.

There is some light that not even Sos can devour and this: this magic, try as the Dark Father might, could not take from Kerberos. The starlight captured in the sea. It is breath-taking for him but it cultivates that small spark of resistance that lingers still. He’s made his bed and he has no choice but to like within it but he finds comfort that something as simple as this: glowing sea water, is enough to temporarily halt the seething darkness in his veins that runs black ichor. Truly curious as to his companions reaction, Kerberos looks to her — realizing that he does not know her name but that he has not yet given her his, either. For now, he tucks that away — he’s much more interested in her reaction. Kerberos thinks it would be hard to look upon it and not find it absolutely incredible but he supposes that others may not be touched by it. He is glad, then, that she is moved by the beauty of it, too. It gives them something in common, no matter how small it may end up being.

“I do not know,” Kerberos admits as his gaze drifts from her back to the water. “I’ve lived my entire life near the Sea but have never seen anything like this before I stepped foot on this Sound.” Kerberos admits. He wishes he had a more sufficient answer for her. “Perhaps it is useful and perhaps it is nothing more than something pretty to look at.” It was hard for him to say for sure. “Personally,” Kerberos draws, tone contemplative. “I find that half of the beauty is in not knowing.” He offers with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

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