This is an IC version of a 'behind the scenes' thread - for one-off events that don't necessarily require a whole thread! If it involves another character, tag them for visibility. :D
Vlad was proud of his day's work. Wildfire had turned him down, but
@Kerberos showed even more promise than the Moonspear youngster. He was neither surly nor diseased, and already held a deep love for the ocean - Vlad did not need to convince him that living in a sea-side cave was better than a conventional den.
@Caiaphas was prowling the beach nor far off, rummaging for scraps among the day's tidal deposits.
"Ees Bleckface," Vlad told his new friend, nodding in the coywolf's direction.
"You make talk on salty vater, she liking you much." It was solid advice - more so than Vlad realized, for Kerberos and Caiaphas shared more in common than any of them knew.
"OK - I go! Also you go go go - making guud eempressions!" And with a bump of his mottled head against his new pack-mate's salt-washed shoulder, Vlad took off in the direction of the grotto. He had snacks stashed away beneath his bed, and had to make sure the
@Rat hadn't stolen it - again.
Ofc neither of you have to reply to this thread, it's just a prompt if you wanted to thread together~. ;}
Shortly after bringing Kerberos into the fold, Vlad departed the Sound once more. He told
@Caiaphas of his intentions to head south in search of fresh recruits, warning her that it was better to have an excess of bodies. He did not trust Njal to remain with Saltwinter (or the living world) for long, and told the saltwife as much in his usual plain and mangled way. Rosalyn and Kerberos were safer bets, but a pack of strangers did not stay united without effort.
You mekking frend veet Stenderds end Sedd-Eye! he urged, leaving her with the image of his broad and ugly smile. After a few quick words to
@Rat, including instructions not to kill anyone or eat any wolves, Vlad disappeared from the beach.
This is a behind-the-scenes post so no need to respond. :D
He did his best to settle
@Caoimhe into the pack, warned her not to venture into the cave system until she had actually met the Salt Queen herself, and set about locating
@Caiaphas. She was nowhere to be found, so he announced the acquisition of a new member via howl and hoped she would have the good sense not to alienate the sweet-tempered newbie with her sea witch ways. Vlad was growing weary of recruitment, and wished the wolves he herded into Saltwinter would just stay put for like
five goddamn minutes.
Having spent a few days outside of the Saltwinter lands -- perhaps to avoid the stench of the strangers he claimed allegiance with -- Njal finally returned. Not much was different. He found the scent markings of Vlad and Caiaphas, with the majority being made by the sea witch in some strange act of fervor, and occasionally he stumbled upon the scent of Rosalyn, albeit it was sweeter than usual. The man found his way back to the cavern where the strange woman hid herself, and then bee-lined for the reeds just beyond the sandy coast.
"Supper for her majesty." Lusca idled by the cave-maw for a few moments, using a paw to scooch the grey, skeletal remains of a salmon half-way through Sea Witch's ingress. She had no reason to believe Caiaphas' or anyone was home, but it was these tiny, stick-it-to-ya moments that got her through the day as often as not. "It's leftovers night." She whispered into the darkness before turning around and taking off across the shore back to where she was supposed to be––with her delightful entourage, Vlad. (Who at the time had yielded to the urge of a power nap.)
As spring began the slow process of ushering winter into its box, Vlad found himself full of unwanted feelings — most of them of the bile-flavoured variety. He took most of it out on the pack's designated punching bag (
@Lusca), but even his digs at the wolf in his care (
@Rosalyn) had an unnecessarily sharp edge - he would creep back into her company a few hours later, making no apologies but looking every inch the remorseful pup.
Not a single day since Rosalyn's rescue had been spent beyond Saltwinter's borders.
caiaphas had been furious to find lusca missing -- and with a gnash of her teeth had hotly trailed the little wretch's tracks well out of ankyra. it was infuriating -- impermissible! the nerve of that gout, to leave after all saltwinter had provided for her! caiaphas felt her teeth clicking! when she found lusca and the saltwinter wolves had escorted the wretch back to saltwinter, caiaphas approached each member individually and instructed to keep lusca under a sharp and oppressive thumb -- she would not escape again.