a thousand teeth, and yours among them

@godfrey

Caiaphas stood on a jutting promontory where the wind crawled crude and loud around the mountainous spire -- with howling bounds the zephyr tore past her and buried itself into the harsh mainland below. She followed the gaze's progress, staring down the shivering foothills where trees huddled, tips dappled by snow and the flank of the mountain dashed by silver frost.

She was not so far up the mountain that she could see the apex -- overhead the mountainous ascension loomed dark and unreachable. With ice rimming the steppes, the mountain was in no suitable shape to be hiked. She surmised venturing the cliff's peak was likely an endeavor saved for more temperate, summer months.

Yet still she stood, unwilling to go higher nor lower. For now, she could see the gloom of Neverwinter Forest below her -- and behind her, Gryfalcon's Keep. Reclining to a sitting position, Caiaphas was content to await a lull in the shrieking gale before heading south.

OOC: wee

Claws scrabbled for any and all sorts of grip. The wind was a force. A giant hand of air that pressed on his bowed skull, heaving chest, and whipcord limbs. It was determined to shove him back and down. Perhaps if he let it it would force him to his death on the rocks and trees far far below. Godfrey's limbs made just enough headway that he inched up the rocky precipice. They weren't sturdy enough to prevent him to sway each time he forced a step. The path in the snow and ice behind him was jagged. A wavering, winding thing that always took him heavenward. Just not necessarily in a straight line.

So why was he out and about on such a terrible day? Originally it had been because he had tracked a winter hare up here. Now though, it was simple bullheadness. That and he feared for his safety. Unless he found himself a good broad ledge he feared he might be blown away.

He tipped his skull upward, his muzzle knifing through the tempest. Ahead he spotted his salvation. A perch, thank the spirits and all that was holy, a perch. It was occupied, yes, but he didn't particularly care at this point. So he fought his way upward to the ledge with the silver female upon it. Surely she wouldn't take offense to him joining her, right? There was always a simple companionship in surviving harsh weather.

@godfrey

There was little to be heard over the rush of the wind -- and so, Godfrey's arrival was quite sudden to Caiaphas. Turning her narrow and flutelike muzzle in his direction she regarded him with a rather clipped expression. Her absurdly long ears fluttered in the tearing squall, and so piercing was the cold she was inclined to pull deeper into the rock's outcrop.

As the cinnamon-brushed male closed the distance between them the sylph adopted a mein of stiffness, regarding the rather large male with indifference. He dwarfed her in nearly every retrospect -- and as she withdrew instinctively into the darker recess of the jutting stone she allowed him only the smallest of fickle smiles. "Lovely day, isn't it?" She supplied airily, though no glint of humor lingered in her harsh yellow eyes.

wanted to snag a thread with 'phas for myself ^^

Again, after what had a been a long month or more since her last visit, Cara made her way back to where it had all begun. Slowly as she retraced the abandoned steps of her Queen's palace, the new Queen found herself lost in thought, her head adrift a sea of supositions and questions of what would have had happened to them if Jinx had never died.
Despite the fact she greedily indulged on the benefits of being Queen, she often did wonder about how her life would be like if she remained to be a subordinate.

As her feet carried her up the slopes of her old home her sensitive nose did not fail to notice the scent of another wolf lingering in the stillness of the Winter air. She parted her lips slowly, her senses tasting the strangeness of the scent as her paws instinctively carried towards it. Despite the fact this was no longer her pack's home she still felt fiercely attached to it.

Soon she found what she was looking for.
A gangly stranger with mangled fur and perfume reeking of the coast. She allowed her yellow eyes to run across the stranger's figure before making any type of introduction, she did not feel the need to announce her presence yet as guessed that like her, the other female would have also smelled her by now.

hi!

No sooner had Caiaphas' flippant voice truncated the wind did the monolith of a wolf recede from her vision. Indignant, Caiaphas pulled behind a large slab of stone and reappeared moments later at an animated trot, as if to hunt down the wolf who had just spurned her.

She had only taken several steps before the scent of a packwolf assimilated her nostrils -- a thin, angular ear swept to the side as she stopped mid-stride and looked about her. She had not expected the fold to be rife with wolves -- certainly not of the pack type. She inspected the agouti wolf carefully, sensing that there seemed some sort of resentment tinging those wicked yellow eyes. Curiously, the gaunt creature smoothly sat on her haunches with her comically large ears pulled forward in interest. She would await the wolf's move, if any -- and despite how abject and unthrifty Caiaphas' rangy form seemed, there swelled about her an electric energy of malice as she bravely and boldly returned Cara's gaze.

What the coastal Matriarch mistook for resentment was nothing but more than blatant curiosity. A morbid sense of intrigue towards finding out who was lurking around the old corridors of her pack's old reigns. Despite the fact that the land they now stepped on were not hers, Cara still continued to consider the mountain as part of her home; part of her.
It had been here where she had learned to embrace the lifestyle of a pack wolf and it had been here where her voyage towards what she was today had begun.

With her much paler eyes still peering directly into the raggedy female's haunting yellow orbs, Cara decided to cut the silence, Who are you? she barked, her cold tone holding some mild interest laced inbetween. Even with the discomfort the boldness of the female's stare brought onto the yearling she never faltered, and she never moved from her spot.

Injury was something Cara could not afford, and did not wish to enforce during this encounter.

Caiaphas tilted her muzzle side-long as the two held gazes -- a bland expression riddling her face as they endured the strange standoff. Caiaphas was not at all perturbed by this length of connection -- and if anything, her yellow eyes seemed flush with primal excitement.

As Cara spoke her ears twitched mildly, a singular tip pressed forward as if to cup the question in mid-air. Caiaphas considered lying -- and it was then a smooth smile pressed sinisterly on her narrow muzzle. "I'm Danica, from Duskfire Glacier. You?" It was the second time she had lied and used another wolf's identity -- so practiced was she in the art of guile she scarce battered an eyelash in Cara's direction.

In spite of Cara's own ability to decieve others the coastal Matriarch's deception flew under the radar, being instantly accepted as a reality by the young Alpha, who despite narrowing her eyes in thought at the mention of a pack she had never heard of, did not bother to speak up yet.
With her eyes still cautiosly scanning the female's raggedy form, Cara allowed the bristled fur along her Spine to lie flat on her back once more as she took a small step to cut the distance.

And you have been travelling along the coast I assumeshe noted with a subtle tilt of her head, not knowing yet that the obvious salty odor that clung to her fur was in fact the downfall to her bluff. I am Cara, from Ouroboros Spine she barked then, momentarily allowing the focus to shift from the female's tousled coat to the rock walls and floors that surrounded them.

Cara's voice assumption was met with a bland smile, as if Caiaphas was affably suggesting she was guilty as charged. "Visiting friends in Stavanger." She confirmed flawlessly, a wane grin now pressed confidently on her black muzzle. Caiaphas often overlooked the prudence of a singular lie -- she often found herself continuing the trickery until caught. She did not falter -- she could not.

The agouti spoke of Ouroboros, and this evinced an interested look from the coywolf. Her triangular ears pressed forwards, piqued. "A subordinate of Mordecai, I assume." She chirped, delighted by her choice of wordplay.

Like a kid, Cara was easily fooled by the other female's convincing gestures. The calmness in which she answered each of the yearling's inquires washed away every remaining suspicion she held against the alleged Galcier wolf. It was truly a shame that Cara did not know the real Danica, or else the conversation might've turned much more interesting.
Still, Cara would soon find that there was more to the mangy female than just her pretty yellow eyes. Like a box of Pandora, the Matriarch was full of surprises, until now, none of them too pleasant.

With her eyes still glued to the female's pistol thin muzzle, the Spine Queen could not help but shift uncomfortably under the female's next remark. Despite the fact that the Ostrega had parted in good terms, the mention of him still brought an acidic flavor up Cara's throat.
Whether he had been friend, and enemy or a mere wolf with whom she had shared brief moments of her life, he was far gone.

No, she barked, the slightest glimmer of annoyance visible under the careless grin she presented as decoy. He was my subordinate, I am Alpha of the Spine she barked. The details of how he had later become her leader would be spared from the conversation, just like the other female's real identity.

The poltroon's wide ears flopped forward in surprise as Cara spoke -- there was no attempt to hide her disbelief in the agouti wolf's statement. This child, alpha? Caiaphas ignored the fact she was scarcely older -- instead, she wriggled her haunches in delight. Things had just gotten interesting.

She remained sitting, though her slender shoulders leaned forwards in anticipation. A sharp trill of laughter pried her triangular jaws open -- and as if slain by the comically absurd statement, Caiaphas brought a twig-like limb to her chest in a gesture of amusement. "Really?" She brought her leg down and leaned forwards, her head tilted preposterously to the side. "I came to the Spine several months ago, after a coup. Mordecai was alpha then. What happened? Surely, you didn't chase him out?" A single eyebrow pressed upwards as she finished her query -- she found the likelihood of the young wolf chasing Mordecai off quite foolish.

The raggedy hybrid's rection was far from original.
Since her first ascension to leadership, it had been her age what had given the most to talk about; and though this had bothered Cara in the past, today it only prided her. It were not many yearlings which were able to carry themselves with such prestuge and boast of such status. Cara was one of the lucky few.
Even if the routinary tasks and responsabilities sometimes turned into tedious chores, the pleasure she got out of it all outweighted it all.

The laughter, however, was something new.
Inmediately Cara's initial indifference for the so-called Glacier wolf shifted into utter annoyance. With her eyes narrowed into slim sliths of pale yellow, the proud yearling allowed her ears to fall flat upon her skull; a gesture meant to convey the great irritation now flooding her system. Ah, shame you didn't know he wasn't fit for the job. He renounced she barked, her shoulders slumping in a sharp careless gesture.
It was the truth -- and even if 'Danica' didn't even deserved so -- Cara was willing to tell.

The male's departure had not been violent, or even problematic, but that didn't make it less important. After his short reign, a lot of things had changed; some had flourished, others had shattered.

He left willingly but I could surely chase you out, she added silently as she stared at the female, mild contempt beginning to glaze over her eyes as the skinny creature kept up her charade.
Though she held no authority over the mountain and she had not initially sought trouble she would be happy to oblige if a confrontation did occur.
This hybrid was nothing but a mere fly next to Mordecai.

When Caiaphas had first encountered Mordecai, she had thought him interesting --- diplomatic, even. He did not seem the type to abandon his pack. Interesting, Caiaphas thought inwardly. Mordecai had seemed like a wolf to be reckoned with -- surely this scrawny wolf had little to do with his abdication.

Cara was sassy -- delightfully so. Caiaphas issued a bland smile that revealed absolutely nothing -- certainly it did nothing to suggest the ugliness the brittle female was thinking. Her wicked yellow eyes widened and she turned her flat face to Cara as if in a trance. She spoke -- "Are you fit for the job?" -- a question posed innocently were it not for the predacious monster that uttered it.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]The impression the Ostrega had managed or not to leave for the rare hybrid in front of her was none of Cara's concern or interest. She knew very well that despite their importance, sometimes impressions were misleading. Hadn't se been the one, after all, to instigate the male only to bat her eyelashes at him once he retailated with growls of his own? While this would have certainly placed the label of 'maneater' above her head, Cara had never displayed any real interest for the russet Ostrega.
On the same note, he had never displayed anything similar to what he had shown her the first time they had crossed paths.

Besides, if they were to rule their behaviors by first impressions alone, the raggedy creature of oddly patterned features wouldn't be so pleasantly dealt with.
"I am" she affirmed, her voice carrying the confidence of a person who stated that the sky is blue. But again, the sky wasn't always blue.

While her objective answer was just what the faker's subjective question deserved there was no concrete way of determinating this as real or not. As many times as she had proved her tenacity and perseverance to haul the pack from the depths it had fallen to, she had also added salt to the wound by letting this same fierceness run unmeasured.
[/size]

wrap up in your post? ty for the thread!!

Cara's inspiring confidence caused a lilted smile to peel Caiaphas' gums upwards. It was not a pleasant expression -- closer to a leer than a smile of encouragement, the coywolf looked positively haggish.

She envied Cara's natural affirmation, the ease of which Caiaphas could not rival. Being of weaselly persuasion, Caiaphas considered their conversation close to its end. "You'll need that, when the time comes." She pronounced vaguely, her tone somewhat ominous in its inflection. Expanding no further, the delicate waif turned atop her stilt-like legs to quit Cara's company.

super crappy last post to archiveee ! love caia and thanks to you too

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]The alleged Glacier wolf's opinions of her were worth nothing to the prideful Queen. She knew she was capable, and through her actions and the unwavering loyalty of members such as Sitri, this theory was proven. What did this Danica chick know anyways? By her raggedy looks all that was proven was that whoever led the pack she belonged to (aka herself) was not doing such a good job anyways..

"Whatever" she muttered after the mangy creature was out of sight.
Her vile lies would not affect Cara's self confidence.
[/size]

With a smooth stride, Caiaphas left Cara's company -- though not before she was certain she heard a rejoinder spat upon her receding backside. She cupped a singular ear back as if to catch any further insult -- yet none came. Ambling, the coywolf took up a jaunty trot.

She made off in the direction of the stony keep, assuring that if Cara witnessed her departure she would not detect her true denomination. Once she was well out of any sense's detection she slipped slyly back in the direction of the Sound, eager to be home after such a hiatus.