AW, would love to meet more potential Nereides C:
Each morning had greeted Tethys by pouring yellow light into the cave, flooding each crevice with a bright glow. This dawn had made the wolf lift her head, blinking back sleepiness as she narrowly peered about the space. The seal pup's bones glinted bright white in the sand, nestled between all sorts of odd seashells and debris. The black female had kept away from Caiaphas' precious little trinkets, not really caring anyways about their purpose. The little female was fiery, but strange.
A strong, heady breeze was blowing up the shoreline, stirring all sorts of leaves and matter onto the sand. It was a biting wind, chilly and crisp. Tethys wished she hadn't left Ankyra, but she didn't want to seem too lazy. Besides, the little female group had talked of the sea lions that roosted along a certain shore. Tethys would head to check it out, and see what sort of meal she could snag.
I think we said Tethys joined behind the scenes, but I'm leaving this vague in case you want it to be her first encounter with Aktaiê.
With their claim not yet announced, Aktaiê was hesitant to venture far outside of Ankyra's borders, though she would not scold her acolytes for doing so — it was good to know the neutral lands that surrounded them. If they ran into outsiders, it would also be good to either glean what information they could,
or recruit them to the Nereides cause. And while Aktaiê was a largely nocturnal creature, some mornings found her unable to sleep; particularly now, after Psamathe's departure. She tried to tell herself it was the Sea's Will, to believe that her sister would not leave unless the vision commanding her to return to Themiscrya was unquestionable, but if she were honest with herself, she felt betrayed.
It was these thoughts that plagued the priestess as she escaped down the shoreline, beyond the great river that reconnected with the Sea. Perhaps a small hunt would boost her moral, particularly if she could snare a juvenile seal. As she approached the area, it appeared that another shared her intention; after a quick assessment of the scent carried in the breeze, Aktaiê determined the stranger was friendly, and approached with a relaxed but dominant posture.
This can be after she joins, but hasn't met Aktaie yet? ^^
Skirting to the left, Tethys left the pearly sands to clamber up a steep dune of grass, using the rise to her advantage. She heard the sea animals before she saw them, their hawking calls ringing in the misty morning air. Stopping, Tethys glared down at the obnoxious sea lions clustered in pods along the shore. The rook consisted mostly of males, but several females gathered here and there. Most were adults, but Tethys could hear the squeals of this year's sea lion generation underneath the barking. She guessed the large majority of females residing on the coast were mothers who had lost their pups that year. She was surprised to hear the calls of pups.
The female glanced behind her as a scent and she whirled around, shoulder blades bristling as she was caught off guard. But it only turned out to be none other than the leader of Ankyra. Tethys' fur flattened and her tail waved in response, making no motion to move towards her. The ebony female knew her place, but she was still a high-horsed idiot, sometimes.
Aktaie, Tethys spoke smoothly, with a grin. I don't think we've met. Behind her, a seagull let out a raucous call as it spiraled down to join in the fray of the sea lions.