the scent of brine stung his nostrils; lasher paused as a salt wind rose from the waters to scour his eyes. nearby were the women who had swayed osprey junior from her father's bosom — though he would have argued that peregrine's bosom had become a cold place for his children upon fox's arrival.

the man picked his way down a cascade of stone carefully — the nereides, as they were called, did not take kindly to the male sex, and therefore his approach would be found less than satisfactory. yet his curiosity goaded him; taltos was intrigued at the idea of what drove these supposed amazons to their beliefs.

would retribution be meted upon him; justice flailed with the cold whips of their hateful tongues? the earthen servant crept nearer, though he stood well away from the borders, his slim body curving into a graceful crouch, and the swampwater of his gaze shimmered with a bright and interested moss-green.

Light rain sent a scattering of fog over the lolling coast and the entire Sound seemed basked in a stark and ephemeral haze unmoving. Even in the hollowed courtyard Caiaphas called her grotto there seemed a hanging veil of shrouding mist; such of which compelled the denizen of the depths to brave to the surface world.

She blinked dumbly as she emerged from the dankness and was met with the sharp rebuttal of wind and salt. Shaking herself free of subterranean detritus she set forth at a brisk walk until a scent entirely unrecognizable accosted her nostrils in the same heady manner the brine did.

She swung wide of Ankyra then, tracing her steps back to the sunken mouth of the grotto which marked one of many paths into Ankyra's heart. She scarcely had time to readjust her path before she saw hanging back in a suggestive crouch the form of a wolf barely distinguishable from the rich earth he stood upon. She lifted her muzzle and eyed him coldly, approaching only close enough that they could make out the details of the other's face. The shineless brushing of pewter across his burnished pelt -- the faint hint of malachite glossing his steely eyes. This she noticed -- moreover, this she studied. He did not look like a vagrant; despite his lankiness Caiaphas did not believe him to be a rogue.

She proffered no greeting to this bent creature, though her eyes told plainly her intendment.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

it was not long before he was approached by a member of the sisterhood, presumably drawn to the unfamiliar scent of a wildman, unenslaved by their caprices and the domination of their sex. far too delicately built to hold only the wine of lupine blood within her veins, her face was swallowed in jet beneath the stern flame of her hawk's-eyes.

taltos had not questioned junior when she returned, else he would have been quite captivated by the mere sound of their titles, if the appearance of this one amazon reflected all of them. always a servant to loveliness, lasher favored the sea-witch with a gentle smile. her intent was clear; ice rimed her gaze.

i did not know the nereides were beautiful, lasher murmured quietly, albeit with a teasing tone to his words; it was a soft bait he put forth, as he rather assumed that the women of the shore would not appreciate a male compliment.

Their company was not long with silence before Lasher addressed her. His compliment was met only with a bland stare, for it had not been often, if ever, that the abject hybrid received flattery.

Had she been further immersed into Nereides creed (or perhaps born of their favor) she would have been most incommodious to his adulation. Instead in as dull a guise as she was capable of donning, she met the earth-colored male with a tawdry smile and complimentary impart all her own. "Nor did I know outlanders to be so daringly handsome." Whether or not there was guile in her words would be for Lasher to discern -- but true to her nature, the horrid coywolf had some sort of scheme outlaid for him.


CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

lasher allowed himself small increments of pride, and in his perceptiveness he invested such now. the woman simpered sweetly enough, but the man sensed a deeper intent in her, behind the fierce gaze that glowered from her dark mask. yet he drew near, trudging fearlessly over the damp lap of the stone, to regard her with a flirtatious tilt of his head. what brings a siren to this stretch of sand? taltos inquired, shaping his tongue 'round the words with a seductive glut of playful malice edging his tone.

had he not fallen so quickly into the saccharine game, perhaps lasher's innate wariness would have asserted itself, but as it was, he was ill-prepared to fend off whatever devisement the slim-hipped creature had concealed from him.

Her quick riposte was met only with an open question. Glancing sidelong, the coy she-wolf noted the glint of impish malice that fringed the bay man's smile.

Considering their banter somewhat limited now in quality, Caiaphas sat as if in a gesture of exasperation. She could be coquettish with her answers, or she could be direct -- she weighed each carefully before her sharp tongue delivered flatly a bald reply. Or she could leave him unanswered. "What do you know of Sirens? She inquired, lifting her rawboned muzzle as she regarded him coolly -- all hint of heated frolic eviscerated from her gaze.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

their cold banter was replete with dangerous nuances that the man appreciated; a flash of teeth appeared past the roseate glim of his tongue, and though taltos did not yet settle himself upon the cool stone, conscious of her more baleful nature, he pressed the precarious diversion.

only that they scorn men, and dash their ships to pieces upon hidden rocks beside the shore, the man purled, a faint wave of his plume accompanying his brazen words, his tone vaguely accusing. he knew not when the tawdry attitude had come upon him, merely that he appreciated their repartee in darker ways.

murkwater eyes trained themselves upon the sylph as lasher awaited the cold hum of her words, if indeed she deigned to answer his mockery again.

Lasher's thinly veiled imputation was received without affront; the black masked waif issued a singular and drawn out press of her eyelashes as if expelling his words as ludicrous. Had she been introduced to the haughty huffs of her Sisters she would have insisted on implementing it here -- instead she waved her own tail furtively in response to Lasher's dash of his own tail.

She hadn't thought much about the eventual end of the pack, and his words seemed almost dark with foreboding. Once more she cast him an elusive look, prowling ever closer to him. Her muzzle lifted ever so slightly and mirrored then on her blackened gums was the smile Lasher had bore only moments before. "Oh, but you are wrong -- I happen to like men very much." Smoothly she pulled closer, finding herself very much captivated by their shrouded conversation.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

tonguetip passed across the vellum of one flared nostril; he too enjoyed the diversion, and met the candlelight of her gaze openly. knowing quite little about nereides, or sirens for that matter, the man did understand their stance toward those with waggling appendages between their thighs — this one was surely no different. oh? lasher purled with a curious flick of one enamoured ear.

he favoured her with a nearer step, muzzle slanted above her own with a dangerous mockery of interest in his open stare. prove it, the plateau creature dared in a tone low with anticipation.

Caiaphas was not a temptress -- and woefully an inward flare of discomfort pressed against her. She dared not expose this weakness to Lasher -- donning her best seductress guise she met his subtle challenge with a coy glance. She was too baleful a specimen to be bound to the whims of flesh -- and had she been dissolved in the deportment of seduction she would have been a poor thing to look at, much less touch.

He met her advancement with a step of his own and their breath hung in tantalizing depth between them. His muzzle, now held above her, was scarce a tooth's dash from her own but she, unbidden yet by violence, only sought to alarm him by pulling alongside him so their flanks touched in a feral embrace. The proximity brought forth a flare of hackles -- this she suppressed. Fully anticipating a blow she curled her neck around to regard him, her hocks slanted to the ground in preparation. She met his challenge with a fiery defiance that, in retrospect, was probably not entirely healthy.

Her tail flagged then -- and with a trail of her ugly muzzle she brought her cold-tipped nose down towards his belly as if advancing somewhere incredibly intimate -- at the last minute she changed course to his hock in a raking impart, scarcely more than a whelp's nip before she bolted off in an unsettled cackle.

CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

her eyes filled with the coyness of a boudoir champion — his own trailed the woman warily as she slid her pelt alongside his, but did not stir from his position upon the stone. lasher's flesh prickled faintly beneath his coat but he gave the sylph a vaguely encouraging smirk before she dipped her muzzle.

aroused though he was by the seawitch's dedication to their uproarious game, taltos nevertheless fought the shying of his flank from the ice of her nostrils, but no sly lick of tongue came to please — he instead jerked in shock as her teeth scraped across the skin of his heel.

wench! taltos called breathlessly, rather amused, before he whirled to give chase along the strand after the devious cur.

It was uncertain how the dark earthen male would receive her advancement and it was this irresolute appeal that spurned her; fueling the headlong outburst of incited heat to her step. He could have very well killed her -- likely, a death she would have deserved for her infraction.

She half expected him to whirl upon her, a dervish blaze of umber brown and pewter -- but he did not. A shrill cackle resounded from her parted jaws in rejoin as he cajoled after her. She kept her pace, hoping to place distance between him and the Sound in the ambition to unwittingly lure him from her home.

CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

her voice was harsh, echoing against the crash of wave upon sand; and presently lasher, having followed her rather away from his earlier intended destination, flagged and paused. tongue lolling, he curled his toes into the crumbling loam and waited for the devilish girl to take notice of the fact he no longer pursued her madwoman hindquarters.

murkwater eyes watched the nereides' pet silently; his plume soon became wet with the surf's spray, and taltos sidled away from the sea's kiss. he had never been fond of the brine, and eventually turned to regard its depth with mild trepidation.

he shook his head in the direction of her questioning maw; taltos was not well acquainted with oceans, nor did he enjoy the nearness of the spraying brine. yet the sylph still held his interest, and it was well that he listened to her seductive rants, for he learned much despite the fact she held back an equal of the same.