whitecaps and driftwood

*Aktaiê* · November 01, 2014, 10:33 PM

Illness had kept Aktaiê from being as present on her borders and throughout her territories as she might have liked; a respiratory cough and small fever that drained her of energy. She had left Ankyra under the diligent gaze of Caiaphas, thinking little of giving so much responsibility to one so new to their order. Perhaps it had been the fever, but it was true that the dark woman had done much for their claim on the Sound... far more than her own blood had. It was that fact that concerned her most; that those loyal to her from Themiscrya were slowly drifting away as if on currents.

Her temperature had finally broken, and the matriarch emerged from her den; the time of isolation had afforded her the peace to divine the Sea's Will from the whispering of Her waves; to seek guidance in the phases of Mother Moon, and the movements of the tide. Aktaiê trailed gently along the lapping shallows, her steps as graceful as they ever had been, though perhaps slow. Her stomach was upset, and she sought strands of seaweed along the shore.

Larus · November 01, 2014, 10:44 PM

Hay! :) Hope you don't mind a puppy thread. Thought it'd be a good way to introduce the two.

Ever since Caiaphas had brought another child home - the little gray Kevlyn - Larus had been more reserved than usual. He kept to himself, even daring the outside while Caiaphas was distracted. It felt strange to be in the company of another child, especially when it wasn't his own family. A part of him didn't want to become close to Kevlyn, more or less refusing to participate in the half-baked game of pretend family that Caiaphas had concocted, however inadvertent.

Today, he had enough courage to leave the cavern entirely and to delve deeper in to the strange world around him. The smell of salt was heavy on the air; it settled between the trees and coaxed him further afield. Maybe part of Larus was hunting for the river - that familiar scent of Swiftcurrent that lingered even now in his memory - but the further he wandered, the stranger the scent got. Until he emerged from the tree line and was faced with something extraordinary.

The ocean rolled out before him as a great band of blue. This was the first time he had ever seen it, and in true childish fashion, he didn't know how to respond. It was in this moment of visual over-stimulation that Larus caught sight of a figure on the edge of the sand, and thus he scurried towards it, hoping the stranger could explain what the heck the big blue thing was. By the time the chubby boy had reached Aktaie, he was breathing too heavily to speak - but there was a light in his eyes, a glimmer of urgency, which flickered between the sea and her face.

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