Mudminnow River can't hear you now
i gave until my soul hurt
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#1
All Welcome 

Despite knowing that the coast was where her heart truly belonged, Eilidh feared returning to her fire-ravaged home. The Sentinels might have recovered in the years since her departure, but she was afraid it would harm her more to see her homeland if it remained destroyed and decayed. So she stalled, instead turning south further inland than she wanted, in an effort to spare her heart a little ache. So she found herself near a small river, filled with darting fish in its shallow depths.

The golden ghost paused along the shoreline, dipping her toes in the water. She had forgotten how fresh the wilds water could be, and abandoned all caution as she waded into the shallow part of the river until it reached her belly, and lapped it up as freely as a child. What her family think of her frolicking in this muddy river? Her father would smile, her mother would encourage her to see its healing properties, and her siblings would wash her in its icy grip and probably plunge her beneath the surface.

Heart clenched against the painful memories, Eilidh swam in the murky waters, remembering all the times she waded across creeks and rivers in her travels, and how different it felt to be doing this at home.
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in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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#2
it was hunger that pushed caiaphas away from her children, and towards the reedy banks of a river. she had never forded it before, and whilst it was alien territory to the sylph, the bountiful harvest of water was not. she knew well enough if she stalked along the riverbed and crawled through the tall reeds she might find a myriad of food for her children; she was neither wrong in that assumption, nor was she left disappointed once she stepped foot in the clay-riddled waters.

after a half an hour she had caught enough to head home -- she had eaten a bullfrog and caught two slim but good sized pikes; stowing them securely in her mouth the matriarch headed upstream in time to catch a thin figure bathing in the waters ahead.

instinct told her to avoid this encounter, but the familiarity of the she-wolf drew caiaphas in. curious yet guarded, she studied the sopping form and for a minute mistook the woman as deirdre. yet as she came close enough to observe and appreciate the many differences in facial construction and physique, caiaphas grew wary - unwilling to give up her cache she stiffly stalked past, her eyes trained on the figure as if to say 'don't even try it' as she marched by.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
i gave until my soul hurt
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#3
<33333

Eilidh had not been long playing in the water when a distinctly unique figure wandered past her diving spot. She paused, watching the woman head toward her slightly, eying her from the side. Eilidh had never met her before, but somehow this dark-faced woman knew of her, or at least acted like she might know her somehow. The Mayfair healer paused in her frolicking and watched the woman walk by, her gaze darkening as she stalked past.

Two fish filled her mouth, and that coupled with her no-nonsense look thrown Eilidh's way indicated that this woman was hungry, and likely bringing food home for her babes. Though her own gaunt frame could use the meat, she softly offered, I could catch more for you, if you'd like. Her emerald gaze looked pointedly at the fish in her mouth before returning to her face. I well remember the months of famine in these parts, and my father would want me to aide others if I could. Eilidh hadn't spoken to anyone this long in quite some time, but what she said was true: Lasher would want her to help others in any way she could, and return the balance of peace to a world long at war.
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caiaphas was furious at herself for mistaking the female, and as she tried to casually stalk off without a conversation, eilidh spoke. it took the siren queen a moment to register the offer; almost immediately her hackles had flared like quills and she had been on the defensive -- an instinctive action that appeared for naught, as the woman's voice was soft and her offer kind.

caiaphas knew nothing of kindness; her gaze narrowed as her yellow eyes bowled over the woman's figure and studied her harshly. what was in it for her to offer kindness to a stranger? was eilidh trying to steal her meal? the sylph's figure braced, yet she remained still and listened to the woman's secondary comment. your father sounds like a sucker, the wretch wanted to retort; thankfully her mouth was full, and nothing but a garbled grunt pressed through the mixture of limp scales and teeth.

"you look like someone i know." she managed, after she carefully laid the fish down and then, very-fucking-aggressively firmly placed  a paw over it. "why are you helping? what's in it for you?" she didn't believe the bit about "my father", and it read plainly on her sharp face.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
i gave until my soul hurt
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#5
Eilidh noted the way the other's hackles raised at her voice, before deflating as it was evident the wraith meant no harm. She also noted the way the woman's face nearly sneered at the mention of her father's teachings on kindness, before a hint of recognition swept over her. My family used to live in these wilds, she swept her muzzle toward the coast, a faraway look in her eye. We called the Sentinels our home.

The other's defensiveness wasn't unexpected, but Eilidh had at least hoped she'd be given a chance to explain before accusations -- verbal or otherwise -- were lobbed her way. Nothing, except for the fact that your young might eat more heavily tonight, and gather their strength. She bowed her head. I am a caregiver by trade, and it is my duty to ensure that all young receive what they deserve.
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#6
caiaphas had never had manners, or love, or any sort of kindness instilled in her; those principles were introduced rather late in her life, well after a selfish streak had been firmly installed. she was immediately suspicious of it, but kept her thoughts tight-lipped and un-uttered.

eilidh's mention of the sentinels was enough for the siren to at least pierce together she ought to have known who, or rather what, eilidh was. the snow-colored wolf's evident age, near as caiaphas could tell, placed her arguably at the sentinels at a time in caiaphas' life in which she was intimately familiar with the wolves that called that haunt their home. her weight seemed to settle, as if burdened, and she grimly responded: "the sentinels -- donnelaith?" the bit about feeding her young was only slightly brushed aside - "you born there?"
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
i gave until my soul hurt
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#7
Yes, Donnelaith, Eilidh replied, her lips etching into a sad smile. She missed her home more than words could ever convey, and she knew that it was likely disfigured beyond repair after the fire. I wasn't born there, but my father brought us from Blacktail Deer Plateau when my siblings and I were shy of a year. Who was this woman who knew of her home, her pack, and asked if she was born there? My younger sisters, Emaleth and Deirdre, were born there, though.

It seemed that perhaps she had found one wolf who knew her family, and might know where they resided now. If she was so lucky, Eilidh would offer her gifts beyond just fish for her babes. I'm Eilidh, and my father is Lasher Mayfair. Did you know him?
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#8
her face remained relatively impassive, albeit studying, as eilidh offered a sad smile and recounted memories of her early life. caiaphas thought she could detect the sharp pang of nostalgia then; so this woman was displaced - understandable, as donnelaith had been in ruins and caiaphas had witnessed the flame-licked carnage herself.

her stoicism melted at the mention of lasher; a look of pain crossed her features then, deep and fleeting and instantly and violently vanquished like the annoying presence of a gnat. she noted, specifically, the tense eilidh used -- is -- not was, but is.

the sylph's fierce yellow gaze looked away for a moment as if glancing upon elilidh was suddenly untenable. freshly composed, she looked back to lasher's daughter with the closest thing to sympathy the cold, hard, bitch was capable of mustering. "i knew him; and your sister, deirdre, was lost once on the beach. i brought her home. do you know your father is dead?"
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
i gave until my soul hurt
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#9
Eilidh well remembered when Deirdre had lost her way, and when she was reunited with them. The name of the woman who found her, however, escaped her. She was certain she'd heard it before, but couldn't drum it up from the dregs of her memory. When the woman asked if she knew her father was dead, in that callous manner, Eilidh's ears splayed. Her soft countenance hardened, emerald gaze going flat, pained at the reminder of her father's ill fate. Aye, I was there when he left the world. I buried him in Donnelaith. Now that the place was burned, she feared she'd never find his grave again.

Though my father likely paid his debt to you, I must thank you for bringing my sister home. What is your name? Now she was curious if the woman knew her brothers or their whereabouts. Do you know of my brothers, Casmir and Constantine? I've been long parted from them, and wish to find them. Family was all that mattered to her anymore, but perhaps they didn't feel the same. Whatever the outcome, Eilidh sought to reunite with them, and seek asylum with her kin once more.
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in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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#10
it seemed reminding the she-wolf of her father's death caused her grief -- a presumably obvious thing to anyone save caiaphas, who had long since sequestered her affections for lasher and stowed them away in favor of vindictive resentment. that he would die, and leave her alone on the shoals -- she had enjoyed his visits, and their abrupt truncation had stung her.

she flicked her gaze upwards, studying the svelte features of his daughter. so different from mona, yet similar in many ways to deirdre. she wondered bitterly how many women he had captured in his heart -- not her.

she obliged and provided her name, but didn't know of eilidh's sibling's whereabouts. "caiaphas. i was the alpha of saltwinter, and before that, the alpha of the nereides. don't know about your brothers. don't you have a sister, younger and red? saw her a few weeks back."
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
i gave until my soul hurt
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#11
Eilidh shook her head; her sisters were either cream and gold, like her, or black. She didn't know of any red-coated wolves in her father's line. Perhaps her mother's family, but she doubted Blue Willow still lived. And if she did, Eilidh knew her mother would not take another mate without first knowing Lasher no longer walked the earth. I only have two sisters, Emaleth and Deirdre. As far as she knew, there were only three Mayfair girls. It was always a possibility her father had sired another litter before his death, but Eilidh was unaware of it.
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in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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#12
well, that was about the extent of caiaphas' helpfulness -- on a good day, she was scathingly unhelpful -- on a bad day, she was downright deleterious. deciding then that if this snow-cloaked wolf didn't know of mona, she wasn't going to really expand on it. unless it would cause eilidh torment; caiaphas certainly did consider throwing such hurtful news eilidh's way, but in the end it was her unfailing loyalty to what amounted as lasher's well-rotted corpse that stayed her hand.

perhaps it was her final kindness to the druid, sparing his daughter her acerbic tongue.

"well, good luck finding your brothers." the sylph said, though it could be argued it was not quite a genuine well-wish. without much more than that, caiaphas shrugged her thin shoulders and left eilidh to her own devices.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.