SEA-LION SHORES; AW.
She crouched low to the angular sand, her posture intent and her shoulders hunched. Her rheum-rimmed eyes were fastened on the pitiful progress of a young seal pup, who was half-stranded in the whitewashed shore. An easy meal for someone like her; someone who was so naturally inclined to be lazy. Normally, she let others do the hard work -- she considered it beneath her to put her body in hazard's way for a meal.
But this opportunity seemed too good to give up: here wriggled a mewling pup, presumably abandoned by its mother. Caiaphas stepped in front of it and the pup shied, a maneuver that elicited a series of delighted cackles. Feeling no sense of pity or remorse, Caiaphas dropped her muzzle and grabbed the wriggling seal by its tail, dragging it towards the water. Cruelly she placed a paw over its hind flipper, disabling it from escaping into the water. The wretched thing struggled beneath the pressure of her paw -- the pounding water rushed over them both and still Caiaphas kept her leg down, tittering gleefully all the while.
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For my reference, this is before they discovered Ankyra Sound.
They had returned to their Mother Sea -- even the consorts rejoiced, though they were kept in check by the snapping teeth of the sirens. It was their way, to act thus. For most of the females, the actions were thoughtless... a mere assertion of their dominance. For most of the males, it was accepted in stride; acknowledged just enough to appease the women they followed. Outsiders often found this balance of power strange, but for the Nereides it was their daily dance.
When their joy had been suitably celebrated, the party split to scout their own pathways north; scouring every edge of the coast for the gift that awaited them all. A gift they would soon call home.
It was dangerous to separate from the group, particularly a siren of her station; but Aktaiê knew the others would be close, watching her, and felt no discomfort in allowing them to fall back enough to give her some semblance of peace and independence. The terrorized cries of a sea lion caught her ears, and a hunger tore in her belly with vengeance. Her turquoise eyes glanced behind her, lapping away the saliva from her lips, and she selfishly willed her followers to stay where they could not hear the piteous creature.
She would bring back what she did not eat; this was her right as matriarch.
Aktaiê moved along the sands like a wisp riding the current of the wind; coming to a tense spot only when she saw a waif-like female had the pup already in her grasp. Eyes focused, ears cupping to catch the odd tittering, the priestess stood like a sentinel; for now, she would only watch.
She stood proudly over her captive like some great warrior slung over the slain; her needly chest puffed and her tufts of fur stirring wildly in the seabreeze. The tittering stopped and she grew eerily silent, standing still like some gaunt and unafraid crypt-keeper. There stayed within the feral depths of her eyes a primordial glint; she pressed firmly on the back of the babe's head and watched without pity as the thing drowned unceremoniously under her heavy will.
She felt, vaguely, a sense that she was being observed. Whether or not she was being watched would not have affected the seal's outcome; sliding her eyes away from the corpse of the seal she bespied a tall and lanky wolf drabbed in agouti watching her. Nonplussed, she dragged the limp thing from the shoal and turned to face the wolf -- her thin muzzle lifted to sift from the air any scent that proclaimed her pack affiliation. Finding nothing, she remained silent; her yellow eyes glancing across the female's sea-green gaze with mild curiosity.
Seal was a delicacy of the Nereides, and their pups especially; she considered for a moment whether the taste of it would be worth the spar to get it. Its meat would certainly lift the spirits of her followers, for they hadn't yet found the glowing shores that would be their home... but they could use more followers over meat, and perhaps the fact that this stranger had been blessed with such rare prey was a sign from the Sea.
Aktaie took a cautious step forward, her eyes pointedly focused on neither the seal or the stranger directly. She paused when she drew closer, though there was a respectable distance between them. After a moment, after they had considered each other in both appearance in scent, she told the other, "The Sea has blessed you." It was said with certainty, with authority; but the kind that was soft and honest.
wow i never saw this sorry -.-
Caiaphas lowered her glistening head, unsure of the female that hailed her catch. For a moment she considered bolting with it in tow -- but Aktaie looked fleet and athletic, and Caiaphas in comparison was scrawny and unfit.
But it seemed her speculation was unfounded; the female spoke with a certain dedicated authority that Caiaphas could not ignore. For a moment she seemed to ruminate, studiously considering Aktaie's statement. She did not share the same love for the sea as Aktaie but perhaps she could learn to. Aktaie's bold presence seemed to almost steady the flighty female -- and with a gesture she pulled the pup ashore and stepped back from the corpse. "You can have it."
While the gesture to some may have been considered magnanimous, Caiaphas had only killed the pup for sport -- she had eaten her fill earlier from a previous kill and while she was not conscientious enough to feel guilty for the needless murder, it did appear that Aktaie was hungry.
No big! <3 Since this is old we can fade as soon as we hit complete.
The siren wasn't sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't that the other female would offer her kill so quickly and without aggression. Her turquoise eyes considered the dark woman for a long moment, scanning over a thin and scrawny body, knowing what the other likely did; that there would be no competition if a fight
were to break out.
"My acolytes will be pleased," Aktaiê said carefully in response,
"A seal pup is a delicacy to us. If you're sure you don't want it," she added, for it was clear the other was underweight.
After another moment of silence, she offered,
"If you require shelter, you would be welcome among us." After all, the dark woman had bestowed upon them a gift greater than she realized.
sure!! sounds good to me :)
Caiaphas waited silently as Aktaie studied her - in a way, she was all too familiar with perusing. She often subjected others to uncomfortable and studious silence -- and she only offered a weak roll of her shoulders as Aktaie spoke.
In truth, as greedy as the female was, she had no need for something like flesh -- something that expired quickly, spoiled quickly, or worst, caused confrontation. It seemed, to her, the rational thing to do -- as Aktaie was clearly a much stronger woman. Caiaphas was certain she did not want the pup; she had already had her fun with it and now that it was dead at her feet it served her no purpose.
She strode off calmly then, placing herself a good enough distance away that even a nervous wolf would have felt comfortable lowering its muzzle to the kill. She considered Aktaie's offer, and at length spoke again. "One of your Acolytes brought me here, a dark yearling. I would join you, so long as I can make that den my mainstay." She motioned then to the grotto that sunk into the sand not too far from them -- it was just barely out of Ankyra's territory, but was armored by heavy rocks and flanked by the sea. Junior had escorted her there when Caiaphas had first arrived, and since then the female had no wandered.
After a moment's consideration, Aktaiê pulled the dead pup to her side, choosing to forgo dining on it for the time being. She would give it to the others as an offer, as a symbol; though she would have a taste of the meat that made her mouth water so. She awaited the other's response patiently, knowing it was no small thing — particularly when it came to their unique structure, though this one would know little of that.
"That is your decision," she agreed to the younger female's request, "but I hope that is not commentary on your loyalty. We do not take kindly to traitors here," Aktaiê explained calmly. There was no threat in her voice, only honesty. "There are certain things you should know of us, before you pledge yourself so readily..." If the other indicated her interest, the priestess would launch into an overview of the Nereides culture; not their deepest secrets, of course, but a brief explanation of their beliefs. When the other's loyalty was confirmed, they would part ways — at least for a time, for they would be pack mates.
did we want to fade?
Caiaphas watched as Aktaie reeled the carcass to her side -- there was no trace of hunger in Caiaphas' yellow gaze. She was hesitant to speak too quickly, and with her tongue checked she listened as Aktaie broached the endless subject of the Nereides' creed. The feral creature did not flinch when Aktaie spoke of traitors -- as reedy and inconstant as she seemed, Caiaphas was not a wolf of violence and any treason would likely have been sourced over food or wares.
"Junior told me a little -- but I am interested." She likely did not need to explain why -- winter, despite being months away, was fully weighing on her mind -- and Caiaphas was much too malnourished to endure the harshness of the season without aid. She could not extricate exactly why she had fallen into interest with the enclave -- but something about the austere agouti and her clan of Amazonians enticed Caiaphas in a way that seemed inexplicable to the coywolf.
Once she confirmed her resolve Aktaie seemed somewhat settled and she spoke easily of their culture -- of their home -- of the laws and the expectations. Caiaphas listened rapt and dared not once interrupt. At length the strong female exhausted her initiation, and after a few parting inquiries they departed ways. Caiaphas then struck back to the grotto where she resided, hermetic and reclusive -- and spent the rest of the night sound asleep.
Caiaphas seemed intrigued by her trailing invitation, indeed confirming that Junior had whetted her appetite for knowledge of the private sisterhood. The juvenile didn't know much herself, it was true, but enough of their way of life was clarified for their newest recruits so they were able to entice more to their order... or move on without endangering either party. It seemed -- at least for now -- that Junior was planning to stay; and Aktaiê would make note to tell the youth of her approval later.
She slipped easily into speech, then, telling this newest recruit of their order and way of doing things. There were areas she glided over, the deeper secrets only privy once a recruit had proven themselves a true Nereides.
At the speech's end, Aktaiê nodded and answered any lingering questions, pleased that Caiaphas had attended her words so raptly. As the dark woman returned to the grotto she had claimed as her own, Aktaiê turned towards the camp to commune with the Mother Sea.