Ocean's Breath Plateau the cult of venus aversa

his daughter must be sought out; he missed the sweetness of her gentle company. and so lasher called for his pale and wondrous @Eilidh. today they would depart the borders and search the plateau nearby for birds' eggs and other small morsels of delicacy and note. he trotted there now, knowing she would follow, and soon mounted the rise overlooking the ocean below.

the brine-wind flickered across his features; lasher closed his eyes against the lick of the wind and was still, at peace for this one moment.

A third party last in wait along the alpha's path, coiled and crouched low behind a boulder like the least merry of the merry men. He had no interest in eggs - or even Eilidh, fairest of Lasher's firstborn brood and a prize for any hunter.

It was Lasher that he sought - and Lasher that he confronted, skittering into view like a roach before the wandering leader. Coal black eyes glared from the pits of a rough-hewn skull, mad with some unknown affliction. "F-f-f-found you, Bombadill Bombadill!" It half sang, half screeched, skipping on the 'F' like a damaged record.

And that was all he said. As quickly as the sense of Lasher's importance had possessed him - it left. Pop! The desert wolf blinked a few times, shook his head, leered unpleasantly at Lasher and took off running down the plateau.

Oops! Thought it was AW durr. It's Karm hi. Call this a cameo! *SKITTERS*

LOL Karm! <3

Eilidh felt an island of peace amid an ocean of chaos. Her brother and his harem were causing quite the ruckus, and while normally Eilidh would have probably laughed at him and ignored it, his drama was spilling over into her life, too. She found it hard to navigate the Sentinels without running into somebody that knew something about her brother's drama, and while other girls might have laughed and gossiped, Eilidh was not one of those girls.

The one wolf she wished was not part of all that was Pearl. She was innocent in it all as far as Eilidh knew, but because of her friendship with Behati and Aria, she had been dragged into the muck along with them. But the girl tried to ignore all that drama as she answered her father's call, using the distance to stretch her willowy legs for once. Finally she reached his side - just as another wolf said something strange and left as quickly - and bumped her nose against his chin. "Who was that?" she asked softly, watching the wolf's tail disappear into the distance before turning her emerald eyes back to her father's.

haha karm <3

his hackles rose as a spider of a wolf scrambled suddenly into his field of vision -- a low and warning growl came from the man when the other babbled incoherently, but quite suddenly he ran away. lasher took several steps after the wolf, but he was very quickly gone from view, and the pleasant nature of his daughter drew taltos' attention. her green eyes were filled with curiosity, but the man shook his head. "i know not who he was." 

inviting her to walk with him, the man paced in silence for some distance before he spoke. "tell me of yourself, eilidh. you are a quiet sort, but i know you must also have wants. aspirations."

Whoever that wolf was, he was gone quickly from her mind as she had more important matters to discuss. Anything was probably more important than that flutter of a wolf. "I want Casmir to stop being such a drama queen." She huffed softly, but shook her head. No, this was a more serious question than that answer gave it credit for, so Eilidh pondered her father's question for a moment longer, thinking about what she truly wanted. There was much she might want as a youth newly out of girlhood, but what really did she want out of her life? What were her aspirations, like her father asked? "I suppose I want to be a good wolf and help you and Mamma and Dante in the pack. I want to learn how to heal so I can help share Mamma's burden."

She had never really thought of it that way until now, but she knew that it had become a burden to her mother, especially the times when she was pregnant or overly worried about something having to do with the leadership. Eilidh didn't know what it was like to be a leader, didn't know if she wanted that at all, but knew that it could be stressful on her parents during certain times. "Maybe one day I'd like to start a family of my own, you know...have a mate. Maybe even kids, too, but I don't know. I'm not sure anyone will ever want to be with me, and maybe that's okay. I'm still young." It seemed to her that if there was only so much attraction in each generation, Casmir had stolen it all in their crib, and Eilidh was fine with that. She liked her family and friends as they were, and wouldn't want to compromise any of it for anything in the world.

his lips twitched somewhat at the girl's astute assessment of her brother, but he did not voice this. he listened until she had finished, charmed by eilidh's constant dedication to the pack and to her mother. unlike her brother, she had not exhibited any sign of interest in the opposite sex. this was more likely due to her temperament rather than the dearth of eligible males in the pack, or else eilidh was quite close-lipped on the subject. 

constantine. the face of his eldest son rose into his mind; his soul tinged with pain and worry that his child would never return home. the plateau was no more -- would constantine find where they had relocated? he shook the thoughts from him and focused once more upon his sweet daughter. 

"why do you say that no one would like to be with you?" the druid asked, his ears swiveling forward in concern at eilidh's opinion of herself, strangely low.

Eilidh shrugged, not feeling her comment had been too serious or anything. "Oh, I don't know. Nobody's shown interest so far. At least not that I know of. Plus everyone's been so busy with Cas and his girl drama I doubt anything else has been on anyone's mind." She chuckled softly, shaking her head. It was true for her, too; Casmir and his antics had been fore on her mind lately, especially when it came to Pearl's involvement. It wasn't her fault that she was friends with Behati and Aria, but she'd been pulled into the mix just the same.

"I've been pretty busy learning about herbs and things that I really haven't thought about it much, Pappa. I'm not worried about it." She smiled up at him, truly not worried. The only piece of her heart she had ever opened to another was starting to close, and that was the part she had hoped to give to Malachi. But he had been quite distant lately, and anyway she wasn't even sure he liked her liked her. And, honestly, she didn't want to ask him to find out. That would be embarrassing!

lasher listened, only mildly reassured when eilidh confirmed that she did not worry about her current status. "i have not forgotten you," the druid chided teasingly, nuzzling his daughter's cheek with a paternal affection. "i do believe you must bide your time -- such things will come, but know that you have not gone unnoticed." 

with a gentle lick to her cheek, the man continued on, pausing only to contort his body in a delicious stretch of muscle and sinew. "where shall we go now?" the druid asked, eyes sweeping the landscape for any movement of wolf or prey.

"I know, Pappa." She returned his nuzzle with one of her own and a kiss to his cheek before they turned back to exploring. "We can go wherever you'd like. Did you have something in mind for our journey? Do you want to find a gift for Mamma?" She turned her emerald eyes back toward the land before them, the plateau that stretched around the Sentinels and created a protective barrier. She smiled softly at the land around them, at the beauty that it possessed and offered to them, and waited for her father's guidance. 

Though she was young yet, something tickled at the back of her mind. "Do you know where Malachi has been?" she asked softly, glancing at her father as they walked. "He's been scarce since we moved. I worry he feels isolated from our family. He's always been aloof." Her heart fluttered at the thought of him being gone, that his absence might mean something more permanent, but she refused to voice this concerns yet. She had no proof he was truly gone.

they moved together at a relaxing pace. "she is very deserving of a gift. let us walk to the coast." he smiled, enjoying the notion. eilidh, thoughtful as always, moved to the subject of malachi's obscurity, and lasher nodded. "he did not wish to move, for he feared the woman upon the coast." taltos had never investigated the root of malachi's terror, and guilt overtook him for it. perhaps the man would not have withdrawn had he done so. 

yet he could not berate himself forever -- he returned his attentions to the moments he now spent with his daughter. "the woman on the coast, who leads the pack there now - -whatever she may have done in the past, she has always been affable. we became close companions some months ago." the nature of their relationship he did not dwell upon, however, as he himself did not understand.

Lasher agreed they should find Blue Willow a gift, and so moved toward the coastal waters nearest them. "What shall we bring her?" she asked, excitement bubbling within her at the prospect of finding a gift for her mother. Her mood was dimmed slightly, however, as he answered her previous questions. His explanation for Malachi's scarcity - or rather his disappearance - was one she didn't want to believe, but one that made sense all the same. He had seemed reluctant to journey this far toward the coast, and even on their travels, had held back. Now that they were here, Eilidh could see how that might make him uncomfortable, and force him to withdraw. She only hoped that he'd return one day to their family.

She wondered what might make Malachi afraid of this woman, but her father comfortable with her. Whatever it might be, Eilidh was simply curious. Perhaps she should visit the woman down the beach and learn of her ways, of what might frighten Malachi away from their pack. Had she harmed him in some way in the past, and that was why he was afraid? Eilidh couldn't fathom Malachi being afraid of anything, and so this idea of a single woman frightening him was confusing to her. "I hope he comes back. No one can live their life afraid of something that might be."

fade w your next post? they need an updated one? <3

"perhaps a shell, or an exotic sea-creature!" he exulted, falling into step alongside his daughter. to her pensiveness he was silent, but gave a nod to her thoughts upon malachi. "he will find his own way." and if that did not include donnelaith, so be it. taltos wished for his wolves to feel a sense of safety in their home. 


"i know of one such creature," he went on, lowering his voice with faux conspiracy. "it is rounded, white, and move of its own accord. a dollar of sand it is called, so i hear," he chuckled, moving along the strand beside eilidh.

Sure thing! :)

Eilidh felt her heart lighten as her father confirmed her own thoughts; Malachi had to find his own way, and if that meant leaving her and Donnelaith, then so be it. Eilidh would not let his memory bring her spirits down. They had been friends, and while she missed him, she would cherish the moments they were able to spend together. Then her Pappa suggested they find a sea-creature for her Mamma, and she exclaimed with a giggle. "Oh, yes! She'll like that!" They move down toward this section of the beach in search of something called a dollar of the sand, which Eilidh knew nothing about. Eventually the pair of Mayfairs found a gift fit for her beloved mother, and spirited it back to the pack-lands as dusk settled over the world.