Ankyra Sound Some days are good, some years are not

She led them west and south until they reached nearer the shore, well enough away from Drageda's claim.  She allowed @Erzulie to set their pace; her own thoughts were miles away.

She blamed herself.  She should have tried harder, fought more, gathered more to them.  She blamed, Raptor, but that blame was harder; he'd left for a daughter.  How many times had she wished her own father did the same?

Mostly she blamed Smokestep.  

If she ever saw him again, she did not think she would let him survive it.  He had gutted their crew and taken off without a thought, so this fate was his doing more than any of the rest of them; it would be wiser for him to stay gone. She didn't have the heart in her right now to seek her scattered crewmates, nor rebuild what they had lost.  Ironsea was gone.

She was pulled back to this moment when she began to recognize where it was they were.  Last time she was here, she had encountered the bear in the grotto.  They would need to avoid that part, but at least she knew where fresh water was nearby.  "I know this place," she murmured to Erzulie, "not much farther."

It was too bad the grotto witch was gone.  At this point, Rosalyn would have cast aside any scrap of pride she had left to assure them safety.

yipes didnt see this tag D;

erzulie set a gentle gait for them as drageda faded in the distance. nerves set her heart aflutter — she was not keen to move back toward when ironsea had been. yet she did not think the terrible beast had followed them this far. the pain within her paws had sharpened into dull knives that stabbed upward through her legs as they moved, and her body had begun to warm with fever.
she mentioned none of this to rosalyn, for what could her lover do? there was nothing. the harlot needed only the salt of the sea to cleanse her wounds and freshwater bindings. the pair walked, each lost to her own thoughts; erzulie merely nodded when rosalyn spoke, gaze tightening in pain as she pressed onward.

woo no worries! Been busy latelyyyy

Rosalyn faced a choice as they drew closer.  Erzulie had expressed a preference for the sea, but near the coast lay the caves, and who knew if the creature had returned?

She'd seen infection do it's ugly work, however, and was not willing to risk it even despite the chance of encountering the bear. If the medicine woman said that seaweed was what she wished, then Roz would deliver her to it.

She led them carefully along the way she remembered, the easiest path from forest to shoreline, less steep than the others.  Memories filled her of her last time walking these shores, then the claim of the Saltwinter wolves.  That regret was old but it still pained her sometimes.  

Finally, they were there.  Her nerves were on edge despite her exhaustion as she led Erzulie to the surf's edge, every hair pricked for sign of the monster approaching.  There would be no running for a while.  With any luck the creature remained occupied in Ironsea's former claim.

me too!

erzulie plodded gracelessly after rosalyn as they moved; she sensed her lover's tension, but the pain had grown too great for her to anything aside from her reliance on the former captain. the sea swept into view, then within distance of touching, and the harlot sighed with relief. wading into the shallows, she drew her breath back in a sobbing hiss, tears stinging her mismatched gaze as the salt licked with sandpaper tongues along her hot and lacerated flesh.
in time she lay down where the smaller breakers might lap over all four paws, a low whine escaping her throat as she looked toward rosalyn. pain tightened the smile she offered her lover, but for now there was only the pair of them. if the bear arrived, they would run again; she did not want to think of such things at this time, and beckoned rosalyn closer, that she might search the other's wounds for infection.

She kept her eyes and ears open, and was distracted enough that she didn't notice Erzulie had turned her attention towards her at first.  

They would need to find food, and likely remain here a time.  She wanted her lover to recover soon as possible, which meant in actuality, she needed to find food.  At least the sound had fresh water, and at least it was familiar.  

She noticed Erzulie's attention then, and gave a smile that was genuine, if it didn't quite reach all the way.  She didn't know how to help, but she'd do what she could to erase the pain she saw there.  Moving in closer, she shook her head as the other woman moved to look her over.  "You first," She said, pressing her nose to her cheek.  It wasn't only self sacrifice; if the healer took sick, they were both screwed.  Rosalyn needed her help.  "What can I do?"

at another time, erzulie would have insisted upon her goal. but as it were, there was simply no energy for such a feat. "i need de kelp beneath de waves," came her voice, grown wan with the pain she could not hide in any fashion. at the edge of the shallows, where the water grew darker as the ledge beneath dropped off, there waved thick leaves of kelp. with luck, binding them around her paws and letting them dry would tighten the kelp against her wounds and guard them for healing.
presently erzulie's head swam with vertigo; she lay her muzzle down upon the wet sand and drew steadying breaths. and although she could not shake the feeling of selfishness, she considered if her infection were not soon driven out, death would visit them.

Even though Rosalyn wanted nothing more than to collapse where she stood, she knew she would search the waves however long it took to find kelp for bindings.  She couldn't think about the alternative; all she could focus on on was what she could do now or she would lose all grasp of control.  It felt slightly mechanical as she strode for the waves, wincing as she entered the water, but at least it cleared her mind.

It took a while, and by the time she found it, she was feeling a little frantic.  Finally her paws brushed the familiar plants and she dove again, snagging a good muzzleful and wrestling it to the surface.  She half-charged, half-staggered to shore with her spoils and came immediately over, streaming saltwater.  Here she waited for further instructions, if Erzulie was able.  If she wasn't, then she would do what she could on her own, despite being rife with self-doubt.  Healing had never been even next to an interest to her.

too weak to do more than lift her head from the sand and watch rosalyn's staggered steps with a burning worry, erzulie reached to draw the sheared kelp from the other woman's muzzle. there was little to be done beyond that; lifting her first forepaw, the harlot began to nose the plant in as tight a winding as she could muster. the second forepaw, then, but her energies had escaped her by then. shifting, erzulie revealed her travel-worn hindpaws, not as badly cut as the first two, and glanced to rosalyn with a wearily acceptant expression.

She continued to stand and watched Erzulie, her worry only mounting when she noticed her weakness.  When she gestured, though, Rosalyn collapsed next to her, settling with the remainder to attend to her hind paws for her.

As she did, she let out a small laugh, though it choked off almost quickly as it started.  "What a pair we make," she said, and honestly she wanted to cry.  But her dry humor had always been the best armor she had, and she hardened this much as she could, focusing on what they had instead of what she had to lose.  It wasn't until later, when she was alone, that it would shatter.

She didn't want to hurt her, but knew she needed to clean deep to rid any sign of infection.  So she set to it, trying to ignore any discomfort as she cleaned and wrapped best she could.

erzulie glanced up at the harshly ended laugh; brow furrowing with worry, she blinked stoically toward her companion. and when rosalyn thrust her full attention into the task at hand, the harlot was still. "it be only temporary, kònèy mwen."  when she had healed they would quit the sound and move inland.
yet her heart was not set upon the idea — the pair of them were seawolves, and erzulie knew nothing of the packs that resided far from the ocean. her lips tensed into a thin line as she gingerly gathered herself up, a hiss escaping the clench of her teeth. but the pain was already not as bad as before; erzulie glanced 'round for rosalyn before turning her attention to the shoreline. "should we get into cover?" the bear, the bear; oh the harsh growling echoed even now in her skull.

Only temporary.  She was right.  Either they would meet the bear again or they would recover and move on; quit this place and its ghosts.  She suddenly found herself looking forward to that immensely... let her never see the bay, the sound, any of it again.  There was plenty of coast left without it.

Cover was a good idea, but which?  "Not the caves," she said, casting a glance towards the grotto.  That was where she had first met the creature, after all.  "It might return to them.  The trees, maybe.  Or the base of the rise."  Beyond the shore, back the way they'd come.  It would be a bit of a climb, the path up to the forests, but they could as easily put their backs to the rise and find cover there.

Her legs protested moving again so soon, but she stood and prepared to help Erzulie to whichever option seemed more feasible.

"da rise," erzulie muttered through her pain. it was beginning to make her weave again, sickened her belly, but she would not weaken until they had found safety. a climb was not within her power, as much as she did not like to admit it. steadying herself against rosalyn, the harlot led the pirate guide them toward the lee of the earthen arch.
"i put too much on you already," erzulie grit in a dark humour when they had arrived, collapsing gratefully. here the winds would not tear at them as much, and with a shiver she beckoned rosalyn down alongside her.

They made it, somehow, to the lee, and Rosalyn didn't need to be invited twice before plopping down next to Erzulie.  She shook her head somewhat emphatically at the insinuation the other was a burden - never too much.  

She didn't feel the need to say it, and instead just rested her head on the other's flank gently, sharing the warmth.   Hopefully they could rest now, though her tired eyes would remain trained on the beach a while longer, alert for any sign that the monster was returning to the depths from which it had crawled.

fading here! <3

like rosalyn, erzulie soon begged for slumber, feeling her body relax under the other's touch. such a love blossoming in her heart; the warmth of it swelled into a peace that soon weighed her eyelids and sleep soon thereafter came for them.