perhaps lasher had a wish to die, or that would be said of him, but upon departing caiaphas' grotto, the druid did not return to donnelaith. regardless of what his pack and saltwinter must now do, the truce between them unspoken yet swift, the man wished to look upon this pillager with his own eyes, to know the face of the man who now sought to lay waste unto his belov'd lands.
and so as the great arc of the sun drowned itself below the saltwater horizon, turning the very waters of the sea to fire, lasher stood in the cold and lapping surf and shouted for
@Ferahgo to show himself.
To summon the Captain was to ensure he met you in foul temper. It was the right of his rank to do the summoning, to order and to command, to bid and be obeyed. He had no humor, no patience, for being called. Yet, he was a curious pirate, and nearly stupid in his belief that he was close to unstoppable, especially upon his own shores, so he marched boldly toward the wolf who asked for him.
It was a sizeable fellow, dark of coat and well groomed. Ferahgo was immediately suspect of him, for he had no reason to think one of this stature would be looking to serve under his flag. "What do ye want?" barked the corsair as he halted, some distance back, in front of the lone male. He wore, as usual, an ugly scowl.
he was attended by a roguish and cruel-seeming beast, who snarled fiercely at him. lasher met this with a measured wrath, and said nothing for a moment, merely taking in the appearance of the sea-wolf. "a wolf of your group has beset many wolves along this beach, ones who belong not to you. her actions condemn all of you to a swift grave, for you kindle the wrath of the packs upon the coast, as well as inland."
he paused for a moment in scrutiny before continuing: "it is to your benefit that you cease the attacks upon the coast, and to your detriment that you allow them to go on, captain ferahgo." there was a rare warning in taltos' tone, upon his tongue; it shone in the gaze he placed piercingly upon the corsair.
The seawolf's tongue was base; this one spoke with such eloquence and wording that the Captain's imposing scowl slumped into an unspoken 'huh?' as the wolf prattled one with what he gathered was an order of some sort. "Belay!" Snapped Ferahgo, who tail twitched as he tried to pick sense of what he was hearing.
"Who be ye referrin' to? Her? Her who? What has she done? Speak plain!" The coldness of his exterior, from stormy coat to baleful expressions, was contrasted only by the rising heat of his anger beneath his skin. It was his code to leave no unfinished business; if one of his had brought trouble to his ship and himself, their life was forfeit.
Not once did he think his action against the bony dweller to the north had anything to do with it; he had spilled no blood there, and it had been (to him) mere rough play; nothing serious.
it was a crude man who had stalked down to meet him; lasher fought the contemptuous curl of his lip, and in that moment, a downpour began, hearkening springtime. as the large droplets patted down into the sand, the man sought more fitting words. "a woman. pale. bulky of build. she ran into my land. she attacked a companion of mine, she injured my son, she may have slain another of my wolves."
he was quiet then -- what would the other make of this? as the rain began to fall with more force, taltos held fast, watching the other man for any sign of impending attack.
There was only one wolf that fit the profile described, and the Captain seethed. He had not questioned where she had received the wounds, for he did not care. He wrongly assumed that her return to the ship alive meant that whoever was responsible was dead and left it at that; but it seemed the man-woman was not only ugly, but stupid.
"So, she invaded yer ship, eh? I gave no orders for her to do this." He stated firmly. He would not bear the consequences for her asinine actions, nor would he waste any time in sorting out this mess. "Is it her head ye be wantin'?" His ear twitched.
the man denied any involvement -- lasher wished to ask him about his interlude with caiaphas some days ago, but decided against involving the woman. he was taken aback with the brevity with which ferahgo offered his packmate, but in some small way he understood. the woman had caused grievances between his pack and others along the shore. "give her to me alive."
taltos' gut churned at the prospect of slaying her outright -- he did not wish it, but it must be done. for the good of his pack, and for saltwinter.
Ferahgo was as self-serving as they came. He was a wolf that would screw his own daughter, kill his mother, and eat his closest mates if he thought it would spare him trouble. The burly wench was on borrowed time; destined to fall beneath this one's fangs or his own... except this one wanted her alive and it caused the seadog to wonder why. The Captain did not like lose ends.
Ferahgo howled for
@Wednesday, demanding her presence at once.
"She'll be along. But know this, wolf, if ye do not kill her, I will. I will not have me crew pesterin' you or yours, ye have me word on that." There was nothing about the Captain's gruff voice, rough exterior or mannerisms that was effective at being reassuring or trustworthy, and yet, he did try.
the captain spoke, and lasher found himself in agreement, surprisingly. while he did not at all trust the man in front of him, there was a certain nobility in offering up the troublemaker, though in this instance it was to be punished by the wolves she had wronged. and so he stood in silence after ferahgo had called for the woman, wondering if she would attend her captain and be given over to taltos.
Time ticked by, and Ferahgo did not indulge the other in chit chat. The longer he waited for his crew member to show, the more agitated he became. His tail flicked, and his claws scored the sand of his shores. "Bah!" He finally exclaimed. "She must be out, or for her sake she better already be dead if she be ignorin' me," he snarled. "If ye want her alive, ye best be findin' her before I do." There was no idle threat here.
lasher's eyes grew hard, but he nodded all the same. "fear not." he did not culture ferahgo with a polite bow, but turned then and trotted down the strand in the direction of his home, relieved that the dangerous meeting had not come to blows. had he known the anger that was directed toward him at donnelaith, he would have considered returning at a later time.