their errand had been forestalled by the presence of new wolves on the cliff. surely, it was not wise to depart under such circumstances, and so caiaphas stalled their departure in favor of securing the safety of their home. after judicial inspection of the neighboring territory, caiaphas at last put her ill-feelings at ease, and announced it was time to leave.
many times caiaphas had called the road her home, and with the ease of a wolf well-traveled, caiaphas slipped into the eastern hinterland. if vercingetorix had questions about their enterprise, she would entertain him -- for the road was long and lonely, and it was best to keep good company.
that is okay!
Vercingetorix had many questions, and better yet, they distracted him from the excitement and anxiety that gnawed at him the closer they got to Diaspora. But he waited for a while to voice them, settling into his place along with Caiaphas. It was still something to get used to, going on a mission with the woman who'd almost ended him for good.
He wouldn't have asked for anything more grimly ironic in his life.
So, Ephraim,
he said finally, glancing over at his leader.
What's the deal with that? I heard part of the story. . .but I'd like to hear it from you.
He missed the little coywolf something fierce; it gave him an uneasy feeling to connect the woman by his side with his old friend, and especially in this way. It just didn't seem right.
at one time, they were at each other’s throats — and now, they protected each other’s throats. it was a cruelly twisted kind of irony that was not lost upon the siren queen. as they traveled, they did so in silence for some time. quite accustomed to silence, and often preferring it to idle banter, caiaphas was content not to speak until vercingetorix pressed her for answers.
slowing her gait in the communal way all creatures engaging in deep thought are accustomed to doing, caiaphas swept the male with an apprising gaze before speaking. which do you wish to know? the end, or the beginning? or perhaps all?
she wondered how much, if any at all, had been imparted upon vercingetorix by her wayward son — and to what extent it resembled the truth.
He almost retorted, the fuck kind of question is that? Of course he wanted to hear all! What dumbass wanted only part of a story, especially one so important? Wisely, he held his tongue, and only answered, All of it. From your perspective. I don't know very much, anyway.
Verx hunched his shoulders slightly, the pain of Ephraim's departure--and the words he'd thrown at Vercingetorix, though in anger--still quite painful. Eph was a good kid,
he added, mouth twitching. He really meant a lot to me. I want to know everything I can, to make more sense of it all.
And if it could help him gain more perspective on Caiaphas, well. . .icing on the cake.
caiaphas did not much revel in basking in old memories: she had hoped vercingetorix wished only for the bare bones, but it seemed he requested her perspective. an interesting way to put it.. so few wolves cared for the siren queen's perspective.
she sniffed introspectively, casting her feral yellow gaze about her as she summed up where to begin. "well it starts with my mate, dead now. back then i lived in ankyra sound -- well before drageda did --" caiaphas couldn't resist that snipe.. she was after all, a dick: "first it was called the nereides, then ankyra sound... then....... grimnismal." very little of this would likely make sense or register with vercingetorix, but caiaphas felt it important information regardless. "in grimnismal, i gave birth to my first litter.. four little whelps." as they walked, the siren's shriveled features bloomed into a rare, fond smile. she was many things, but she was a wolf destined to be a mother -- it was only the cruel humor of fate that saw otherwise.
"ephraim. illidan. rhakios. raleska. they were several months old before grimnismal fell siege to a bear and our pack was scattered. we had little choice but to flee. i left, but everything was taken from us regardless." caiaphas' jaw tightened as she recalled the brute lumbering for her babes. "we fled through the tunnels, and then across plain with the bear following us. we lost him somewhere out in the flatlands.
it was not easy going; one of the children, svalinn, was dreadfully young. he was on the verge .. and," caiaphas' voice constricted: "the children near starved. we approached easthollow, and were turned away with no remorse. we had nowhere to go. our children's lives were in their hands. they did not care." caiaphas' yellow eyes glinted with an ugly flash of hate.
"then came a storm - the likes of it, i have never seen. it flooded the plains in a matter of minutes, and we were in the open and vulnerable. one of the puppies was swept away in the torrent, and the lightning so fierce the puppies bolted. ephraim, rhakios, and illidan scattered -- my mate went after them." caiaphas recalled the horror of holding tight to raleska and svalinn while the world cracked open in thunderous torrents.
"my mate never came back."
rhakios. illidan. ephraim. their lives claimed by some unholy storm.
"i could not leave raleska or svalinn unattended, but i tried my best to find him, all of them. the storm claimed my mate, but i found illidan a few months later, nursed to health by a nearby pack." if only they had gone to the vale first.. or somewhere else -- anywhere else but easthollow -- how much would their lives have changed? "and... drageda found ephraim."
First, a history lesson. He didn't give a shit, nor did he care for the snipe that came. But he knew all too well the instinctual softening of the heart that came with children, even in the most hardened of individuals. At her smile, he couldn't resist a smile. And his heart ached, too, for his own pups, left in the mountains.
Safe. . .but not with him.
The story grew more sinister from there. A bear, an escape, and a family seeking refuge. Easthollow refused to give them shelter. And then the family were irreparably cleaved in two, and Ephraim's splinter had led him to Drageda. To Heda, to Trigeda, to Verx. It had worked out well for Verx, sure. . .but Blackhead had suffered. That much was clear.
I'm sorry, Caiaphas,
he said sincerely, once she finished. Can't even figure out the thought process behind turning away a bunch of starving kids. Fucked up. And yeah. . .Ephraim ended up in Drageda.
He gave her a bald stare, face grave. Do you forgive him for it? For becoming 'the enemy'?
once her speech wound to an eventual end, caiaphas' gaze fell upon vercingetorix. she studied him carefully, the same way he had been scrutinized by her a hundred times before. his tone was sincere, his expression contrite: its presence caused a simple flick of her ear in response.
vercingetorix posed a question that drew caiaphas' sharp gaze towards his own sharply; it was an impudent question, but her countenace remained unchanged. did she forgive ephraim? gazing upon him with level intensity, caiaphas paused long enough to utter a cold "no," before she slunk off, disinterested in any further questioning.
Well, that was something. Any goodwill he harbored toward Caiaphas on this rapidly developing story dissipated with her response, and his eyes grew steely. He said nothing more, watching her walk away. It could have been a watershed moment for their relationship. It could have patched up everything (well, all the physical wounds, at least).
Instead, her answer further opened the rift between them, and Vercingetorix found himself wondering how soon was too soon to strike this creature from the earth.