is love too strong a god?

aw ... maybe @reek ? :)

caiaphas hunched over a thick rope of kelp, her wide paw lifted unsure above the ripe leaves. the sea had washed it out an hour before. along the coast a thick dun froth accumulated, flecked with a freckling of sand and rime.

she was certain a crab was housed under one bent stalk of kelp, but she did not wish to subject her paw to the crab's claws. shifting her weight she poked at the length of seaweed with a singular paw and bounded backwards almost immediately as a crustacean surfaced with guns blazing.

Popping in!

Reek found himself walking the beach more often than naught. It was a great way to avoid doing actual work. The herb runs turned up empty anyway, why not enjoy his time? Hopefully, his luck would turn with the seasons.

The coywolf leader was situated on the other side of the beach, pawing a piece of seaweed. Her coloration was one that he had never seen before, even in his travels. Reek had associated with many coyotes and hybrids on the road, but none looked so... different. Not that different is a bad thing, no. To Reek, uniqueness was a valuable trait, and the Siren Queen was definitely one of a kind.

The gap between the two had shortened dramatically. The coywolf had jumped back at the sign of movement. A small crab burst forth with pincers outstretched, ready to fight for his life.

"So," mused Reek with a friendly grin. "Do you always play with your food before you eat it?" In their previous encounter, the coywolf wasn't one for jokes. Hopefully her temperament had changed with the tides.

she hissed at the crab in the manner of a witch smote by holy water, her hackles ruffled and paws dancing as she avoided its swinging pincers. so preoccupied was she by the gallant display of crustacean bravery that she scarce noticed reek until he spoke. loathe to take her attention from the crab she redacted quickly and the crab scuttled sideways back under a foray of gently wilted sea-frond.

she wasn't hungry enough to sacrifice a paw to the crab's powerful pincers, so she was willing to amuse the gaunt wolf for now. "no." she professed, finding herself at ease despite the fact the skeletal male was but a recent recruit. sadly, she lacked the playful humor one would expect with reek's clever banter, and his jest fell short though the attempt at humor was not lost upon her. "have you eaten?"

The joke fell flat, but Reek didn't expect much in terms of a response from the coywolf. Although any response was better than the previous night. Then, the coywolf looked as if she was going to rip the trachea right out of Reek's neck, so seeing her at ease was a relief to the raggedy wolf.

Have you eaten? Reek had not. The pangs of hunger pricked at his stomach and it let out a small growl as if to answer. "I haven't, but I'm fine," Reek explained. "The woods will provide."

But the woods do not, the woods have not, and the woods will not. It had been a difficult winter for the bastard. Being a survivalist only went so far when the world began to decay around Reek. The frost took the plants, the plants took the game, and all work and no game makes Reek a thin boy. "Though if you're offering... I wouldn't refuse."

the woods will provide. the siren queen smiled to herself, dubious of the forest's compliance when it came to supplicating meals. it had been a long time since she had expected the copse to provide anything but tree-front property. in truth she couldn't even recall the last inland meal she had consumed.

she looked the skinny male over, the smile's affect lingering in the corners of her fierce gaze. "we do not look to the woods to provide." she responded, her tone wry despite the austerity she may have presented. "the sea is what provides us." it was true -- as coastal wolves they had forged their trade as fishwives and marine predators. to think the woods would provide when the biggest boon in the world crashed its waves aside it seemed ludicrous. "have you had crab before?"

Out of town without my laptop, so I'm replying on my phone... I'm a little too impacient to let this just sit over the weekend! I'll try to be as good as I can on the grammar, but bare with me, I may not catch it all.

The sea is what provides us. Reek sighed and shook his messy head. "The sea may be bountiful," he started, "but you and I come from completely different worlds, my queen. I will try my best to become a part of yours, but forgive my ignorance." Despite his usual joking nature, the bastard spoke seriously on the subject. Adapting to this way of life would take time. One day with the sirens was simply not enough. "The wood is all I know."

"For example," the loquacious wolf continued, approaching the mound of kelp and the coywolf. The crustacean poked it's body out from under the frond to reexamine the situation -- to make the all clear. The bastard pointed at it with his paw, "I have no idea what this is, and I'm going to assume it's some sort of armored sea spider. A 'crab' as you call it."

The bastard reached out his paw to touch the crustacean. The crab recoiled and outstretched it's pincers, connecting with the wolf's paw and latching on with all it's strength. "Motherfucker!" Reek yelped as he rocketed back, sending the crab flying several feet in the air. The poor wretch landed a few feet away on the compact sand on it's back... with a crack. It's legs twitched but it was stuck, unable to flip itself.

Reek padded over to the flipped crustacean and took it in his mouth. Legs twitched around his face as he clamped down, breaking the shell. It was a tough eat, but Reek ate the meat, shell and all. Every bite was another crunch. "Fucking asshole," he mumbled with the crustacean hanging out of his mouth. Reek turned to the coywolf with a devilish grin. "I guess I have now."

no problem! i laughed at poor reek.. i'll try to keep up with you haha!

to say caiaphas anticipated, no, looked forwards to reek getting pinched by the crab was an understatement. she leaned in with excitement as he approached the 'armored spider', and when he flew back with an expletive the siren queen was consumed by a raucous fit of laughter.

chortling tears away, she wiped her salt-rimed cheek with a flatboned wrist, delighted to have witnessed reek's first (unfair) lesson of the sea. the sea was bountiful, but it was dangerous. as reek ate his quarry, she offered a small smile. "they are delicious, but their pincers are not to be trifled with." she supplied with a flick of her tail, peering down the strand where small segments of kelp had also accumulated.

"this kelp --" she pointed to the weepy stalks of water-grass -- "it usually houses a variety of.. waterbugs, i guess. i don't think they're bugs, but they're tasty." she admitted with a wolfish grin. "some of them sting, some of them bite." with that she strode down the shore-line to the next rope of kelp.

"oh -- and... do stay away from any watercloud you see.. you'll see a few of them especially in the warmer months." she didn't love jellyfish, so few were actually made of nontoxic meat. "we call them jellyfish."

Wynter had been walking in the woods towards the edge of the beach. One of her favourite places to be. Even though she wasn't a fan of the water. She peered through the trees to see Reek and Caiaphas on the beach. Seems she had appeared just in time to see Reek get his paw clamped by a crabs pincers. She heard him swear from where she was standing. Yep that hurt.

She laughed and trotted over. " Crab pincers. Very painful. Don't touch I thought you already knew that," she said jokingly with a smile on her face. She bowed her head to Caiaphas. "Teaching him how to hunt crabs I see."

The last bits of crab crunched between Reek's crooked teeth. It may have only been a small morsel, but the aches of starvation had subsided, leaving only a dull rumble in their place. It seemed the wolf would always be hungry. The rogue beamed with pride over his triumph over the small creature. The victory, however small, padded his dwindling ego. In that moment, he felt as if he could be crowned king of the beach.

The Soot Crowned Queen was launched into a uproar of laughter at the misfortune of the ragged wolf. Reek had previously come to the conclusion that the Siren Queen was incapable of such petty things like a sense of humor, but the laughter was infectious and the rogue found himself unable to breath between the humorous heaves of his hysterics. "Sure. Laugh at my pain," he quipped playfully while gasping for air. "That fucker had it coming!"

The sea witch had many lessons to teach on the bounties of the sea. Reek listened intently, hanging on to every word. "I'll just assume everything I find wants to kill me," chortled the wolf exuberantly while shooting his alpha a sly grin. Reek took a mental note of each bit of the Siren Queen's advice with a nod as he followed behind her. "No jellyfish. Gotcha."

The agouti Reek had previously met, Wynter, had wandered upon the two on the beach. The ragged wolf noticed her smell first, as it was carried in on a light breeze. Crab pincers. Very painful. That they were. Reek's paw still throbbed, but the little bugger was worth it.

"Wynter!" He beamed. "Good to see you! I think I did just fine on my own, thank you very much!" He wisecracked in jest at the approaching agouti, waving his paw in front of him. "Only a little worse for ware!"

Wynter was happy she got such a warm welcome from the black wolf. "Reek," she smiled "Good to see you to and i see you managed just fine on your own but i bet that hurt" she laughed a little. "I have had a run in of my own with the crabs. Annoying little buggars they are. Hopefully you have learned a lesson and will be more careful next time" she said still smiling.

Wynter prodded at the pile of kelp. Nope no more crabs. Darn she could have gone for a snack. Despite their hard shells she actually quite enjoyed crab.

Wynter sat down with Reek and the queen. Perhaps she could learn something from the queen if she was going to teach anymore valuable lessons to Reek.

as wynter joined their company caiaphas afforded a thin smile, pleased to see that the able agouti was well received by the dark male. the siren queen issued a short growl to correct reek as he received the wynter without humility -- she liked the wolf, but it would not stop her from reminding him of a male's status within the nereides.

she allowed a few moments for him to correct his mistake before turning back towards the length of wiry seaweed, her nose brushing along the wet sand as she did so. doubtless there were crabs housed underneath its generous sweep, though she dared not risk her nose to find out.

Shit. The Nereides Culture was something that would take time to adjust to for the rogue. In his time on the road, the young wolf had grown accustomed to an egalitarian lifestyle and doing what he wanted... when he wanted. But, circumstances change and winter came quick, the road was no longer a viable option. Upon arrival, the matriarchal structure of the pack was made perfectly clear, and that Reek was only a drudge... waiting to be broken in. His purpose was to serve, nothing else. The pack had been kind enough to let him in when he needed it, the least he could do is adopt the culture without complaint or question.

The Siren Queen's growl still caught the male by surprise causing him to jump a bit. To Reek, he was simply addressing a dear friend, but he quickly realized his error when the coywolf cut him off. "My apologies Wynter," Reek corrected with his head hung low, quickly making a glance at the coywolf beside him. "It seems in my time on the road, I've forgotten my manners." The rogue let a small smile slip from his mouth in the direction of the agouti. "And yes, it did hurt."

Wynter realized that was perhaps not a good idea and she bowed her head as reek reworded his entrance. She had messed up to by greeting him so welcoming she felt bad for that but hope it would effect her and the queens relationship. She valued the trust and her loyalty to the queen and her other packmates and perhaps needed to learn the boundries of the Nereidies culture a bit better.

ooc/ sorry its so short was getting tired and was on the phone.

caiaphas kept a triangular ear focused upon reek and wynter as reek adjusted his demeanor -- sufficiently pleased, the siren queen offered no further interjection. she cared little if those of the pack befriended each other (if anything, she encouraged it) though she found it important to reinforce the male hierarchy -- particularly with minthe and her companions freshly assimilated into the sound. it was important now more than ever that everyone be reminded of their stations, as caiaphas was concerned that minthe would find her bastardization of the nereides quite treasonous.

digging between a little bit of kelp and some damp sand, caiaphas was certain she had seen the retreating scuttle of a crab. with a jump she sprang upon the kelp and secured it in her jaws, wrenching her head back to send the rope of seaweed flinging into the air and hopefully expose whatever was there for the other two to pounce upon.

Movement. A glint of shell. The frond of kelp was occupied by one of those pinch-happy buggers. With a jump, the Siren Queen yanked it's shelter away from the poor creature, leaving him exposed with claws outstretched. It's beady black eyes were soaked with fear. It's game was almost over, and the odds were stacked against him.

The crab tried to scuttle away, but Reek was quick. This time he learned from his previous mistakes as he avoided it's outstretched pincers. In a flash, the emaciated wolf was on top of the wretch, determined to crack it as quick as possible. Jaws met body. Crunch. Movement stopped, the crab was dead, and Reek was no worse for ware. He shed a quick smile because of his victory and dropped the lifeless body in front of his soot crowned queen, for her to decide what to do with it.

whoops it may have been my post.. sorry!

caiaphas caught herself half-hoping the male would find the bitter end of the crab's pincers -- though he proved much too wily to succumb to the crustacean's waving talons. the siren queen peered at him as he then turned to her, supplanting in her direction the disposed animal.

she turned a sly gaze to wynter, pleased by the male's offering. "you learn quickly." the wretch cajoled wryly, lowering her muzzle to grip reek's offering. "thanks for the meal." with that the sylph strode forth on her lean limbs, stalking towards the grotto to dine alone.

Wynter smiled at the sly grin Caiaphas had given her. Then watched as the queen strode away. "You do learn fast, It took me longer than that to learn not to mess with the crabs," she stifled a small laugh. Wynters tail twitched. She couldnt believe she was considering going swimming. She would have thought that would be the last thing on her mind. She needed to get this dirt out of her fur though. It was starting to bug her.

She took a few steps closer to the waters edge but glanced at Reek nervously and decided the dirt would have to wait. She couldnt risk humiliation. Not here. Not now.