Wolf RPG

she was loathe to leave the comforting confines of the grotto, but she had exhausted her supply of succulent lapine flesh, and on this cold winter day her appetite would settle for nothing other. she had stalked the high plains of ankyra's cliffs and had been dismayed to see the hares had made their journey south -- the warmer weather had eeked them from their burrows and as she neared blackbeak bluff the evidence of their passing was laid plainly in the crisp snow.

she detected a few scents, non ankyrian in origin -- with a low hiss she slithered forward through the snow nearly on her stomach, her ears flat against her skull as she hid behind the gentle rise of a storm-made bluff. for now she laid in the snow like a stone, her entire body plastered into the powdered blue and the lancing yellow of her gaze fastened carefully ahead for the first sign of her dinner.

Despite the efforts of Blue Willow, and the gradual healing of some of her harms, the dice had not rolled in Rosalyn's favor this round.  So her condition took a slight turn southward.  A fever had risen up in her, burning in the attempt to get whatever sickness her wounds held out, and as a result burning any trace of her deal with Vlad temporarily from memory.  

She took to her paws and made her staggering way through the forest, instinctually heading to the place she felt safest - the ocean's shore.  This meandering route led to the eventuality of the seaside cliffs: a perilous spot for one divorced from reality.

When she arrived, she paid no notice to Caiaphas, not even realizing the queen was there.  Instead, her head shot up and her glassy eyes filled with surprise as she smelled what Caiaphas did.  It wasn't the same, but the taste of it similar enough that the fog of her mind read what it wanted.  With bared teeth, she let out a loud, throaty laugh.  "Come back to haunt me, eh, ya bastard?"  She called out, heedless to her hunting packmate.

caiaphas was surprised to see rosalyn about -- but what surprised her even more was the affected manner in which she seemed to stagger about. the hole was far from healed and just as caiaphas was about to protest rosalyn's blundering (and ruination of a potential snack) it seemed the female drunkenly swerved, alerted by a suspicious scent. caiaphas froze and heightened her muzzle to sample the air -- and a genuine sense of helpless confusion flooded her. she stood between the shore and the red woman suitably perplexed -- and rather than interject, she simply flopped to the ground again to incredulously watch her packmate's delirious show.

Still she missed her audience and continued the show, now tottering slightly before setting herself to scrabbling at the hard earth beneath her paws.  Some demented cause told her, somehow, whatever made the scent might be hiding beneath.  Surprisingly industrious, she spent a few moments at this before calling out once more.  "Coward!  Guess even dead you're a spineless cur."  Her ears tipped back as her lips curled scornfully.  The scent was old and near unintelligible, but it awoke a devil that needed little fanning due to her deluded state.

Finally she noticed Caiaphas, and her fevered stare zeroed in with alacrity.  "You.  Did you see?"  The fur along her spine rose... she recognized that she knew Caiaphas, but did not connect where from.  Not a foe, but not a friend either.

caiaphas' brow furrowed in quick confusion, her eyebrows angled upward as she watched rosalyn turn to face her. it was clear now the wolf was out of her mind -- berserk -- and caiaphas, ever the wayward steward, really didn't want to steer her back if it meant she could have a little amusement first. the question the red-faced wolf asked prompted an inner turmoil in the sea-wolf. she could tell the truth, but where was the fun in that?

naturally, she lied. "oh, yeah. spineless cur and all that." she supplied with an affirmative nod of her muzzle in the direction she assumed the phantom cur had been situated in.

She knew.  The scent was here, and with it, his ghost.  Was it still?  What did she know of him?  Rosalyn's eyes narrowed as her ire rose. For it had entered her mind that perhaps this wolf wasn't exactly on her side in this encounter (that wasn't really an encounter?)

Perhaps she was mistaken, and he wasn't even dead. Could you kill a ghost again? No. Confused now, and beginning to lose track of what was past and present, false and truth, she growled. "You know where he is. Tell me." She advanced aggressively, for once her steps sure. In her current state, there was an unpredictability and rashness about her that had not been seen before. It would not take much to snap her opinion from one extreme to the next, and she was not above turning this into a more physical sort of confrontation.

caiaphas instantly felt smug for her smooth lie -- yet the enthralling feeling was shortlived as rosalyn stalked towards her, hostility imminent. caiaphas felt her fur prickle and she stood up instantly, her jaw taut as she stared at the fevered woman. she could divert this -- she could outsmart this reeling halfwit. feeling fully confident in her abilities the siren queen slithered forwards, cutting rosalyn a sly glance as she canted her needle-nosed muzzle in the direction of the phantom. "it went that way - along the beach." she hissed, keeping a watchful eye on the berserk female lest she elect to turn against her.

She considered this a moment before smoothing some.  There was little room in her one-track mind for realizing Caiaphas was having her on.  She had no reason to doubt.

"Cabrón", she cursed, and knew she had to follow.  If he was not dead, then he might know, and if he knew, she was had.  She could not beat him in a physical fight.  Her methods were a little less upfront than that.  Without another word to Caiaphas, she stumbled only a few times before rolling into an awkward but serviceable run, heading in the direction the siren had indicated.

caiaphas felt accomplished as the wolf fell for her lie -- with a smug smirl (a smirk and a smile, okay) she watched as the red wolf lumbered on in the vague direction caiaphas had appointed for the phantom. she wondered if vlad knew of the red beauty's affliction -- would this be the last time she saw rosalyn?

she was about to turn back to saltwinter but something compelled her trail after rosalyn for a bit. at length she grew tired of her game and turned back for home, leaving the woman to battle her demons alone.