Raleska prowled the beach, restless without her dam at the helm. She wondered when Caiaphas and Vercingetorix would return. A part of her resented her mother significantly for leaving with the man with no further protection: what if he was a dark spy, and was just waiting for a chance to get the siren queen alone so he could kill her? Caiaphas had scoffed at Raleska's needling doubts, and had left anyway.
She liked to think that despite Caiaphas being gone, she was doing alright. She checked the borders every day. She played with puppies. She hunted and ate when she could. She was hungry right now, and was trawling kelp the way Kierkegaard had shown her so many months ago. Down the coast she saw the tall form of a pale wolf -- recognizing it instantly as Aningan, Raleska made towards him curiously. They had not interacted much of late outside of communal things, so Raleska made towards the wading boy with a gentle wag of her tail.
Raleska and her author had forgotten all about that rank challenge, so thanks for the reminder! Anywayz, the swarthy Eyjolfur's expression was gentle, a rare relaxation reserved for only those packmates she had come to regard as family. Aningan had been with them since the beginning, and he, along with few others, had the rare luxury of seeing Raleska without her prickly exterior.
She didn't understand his greeting, her brow furrowed. A question lingered upon her tongue, cancelled quickly as Aningan switched to a language she understood. "Where'd you learn that?" Raleska didn't have an interest in learning, but she realized then she knew little of her packmate besides that one time he had challenged her, kek.
:/ snitches get stitches :/
While Aningan was struggling to remember to blink, Raleska was struggling to figure out what he had said before. It was garbled mumbo-jumbo, according to her face -- which dictated CLEARLY her confusion.
Then he explained it was because of -- an owl.
That didn't make it better, according to Raleska. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief, having no recollection of said owl. Really, of all things on the beach, an owl? Considering he forgot to blink and now was talking about an owl teaching him things, it was no wonder he was getting things mixed up.
Rather condescendingly, Raleska smiled that knowing smile of a caretaker caring for a doddering idiot.
Wow, can't believe I was beat by this Lenny McFreakin' guy, she couldn't help but think -- what a wound to the pride there.
"An owl?" She would play along.
"That's so cool... where is this owl?" And on second thought, did Caiaphas know Aningan was a fruitbat??
your friend is a trashbag for overlooking this for so long 3
Raleska waited, in earnest, for this owl to appear. Her eyes traced the sky expectantly as Aningan howled, as if she would see this bird take wing against the cold blue sky in any moment. Yet she didn't see anything at all, and long after Aningan's howl faded, Raleska conceded to the possibility maybe the bird would not show.
Despite Aningan's lack of burdensome proof, Raleska believed him -- it was in the way he smiled back, and how he became excited; maybe this owl was shy, or sleeping like he had said. Either way Raleska gave a shrug, as if to say no big deal.
"Maybe she doesn't like me." Her tone was teasing, and a spark played out in her yellow eyes.