Ankyra Sound we are biding our time for these myths to unwind

all welcome! :D

umberflame sepia captured the horizon, glancing in scintillating bursts off the black rim of the shore -- along the coast the world sat baptized in fire and the sand cold beneath the rush of water shone a coruscating flare of burgundy.

caiaphas' shadow streaked lonesome and black along the strand, an empty silhouette punctuated by seaworn boulders. assembled near her were the carefully placed wares of her toils. a pink conch, illuminant with rosy hues. the smooth battleworn face of a dry-rotted bough. sundry bones, some of indeterminate origins. and in the middle the sand dark and matted with the coagulated blood of an organ.

for now she stood still, her shadow moving as the sun sunk quietly beyond the western rim of the world.

Haaaai! :D

Sebastian had been around the coast for a few days now, and he was really liking it here. He was getting used to the smell of the air and the wind that tugged on his fur. Sebastian tasted seal meat for the first time and was so far liking it. He hadn't gotten an opportunity to fish yet. He liked fishing but with this salty water he was a bit hesitant to try. He tasted the water and it wasn't nice, so maybe the fish weren't nice either?

The tank of a young male trotted forward over the beach when he spotted a wolf. He stepped closer, and then realized that she was ... eating? He did smell blood. He approached her with some hesitation in his step before he made a chuff like sound to announce his arrival. The young male kept a respectable distance from the female. "Um.. Hi!," he greeted, trying to think of the advise he got and not to think too much.

the coywolf's saffron gaze swept across the darkening ocean, envisioning the unbidden nation that sunk beneath the pelagic depths. a world besides her yet entirely separate from her -- the water and its alien inhabitants some parallel existence in which she would never fathom.

soon the world would be plunged into darkness, where only the slim margin of the waning crescent moon dared interrupt the interminable shade. in solitude she stood until she was startled by the approach of another -- in a moment her white-hot gaze widened in horror as she witnessed the grey spectre.

"kevlyn?" she whispered hoarsely, her countenance struck with wondering horror. it couldn't be -- he was gone -- but here he was, on this mortal sphere she had been condemned to. he was bigger than she remembered, but it had been so long and he had grown so much since that fated day. she pulled towards sebastian, disbelief clouding the sharpness of her acidic gaze. "the mothers have heard my prayers." she moaned, drawing towards the strange male to embrace him in a frantic hug.

Sebastian did not expect the smaller female to react like that. Frankly he was a bit stunned. Instead of being mistaken for his father he was mistaken for some kind of Kevlyn? That was something new. He was about to correct her but then she mentioned about the mothers hearing her prayer? This made the male assume this Kevlyn was dead. Then another unexpected thing happened which was that he was instantly embraced into a fierce hug. Even he as a stranger could feel the love and relief radiating from the female. He swallowed thickly, mostly stunned for a moment.

Sebastian inhaled her scent. She smelled of this area but not of a pack in particular. Maybe she was alone like him. His mind was screaming her to tell her that he wasn't Kevlyn. But his morals were stopping him from doing so because he didn't want to break her heart. He could empathize with her. If he would mistake someone for his deceased mother that came back from the dead then he would be heartbroken too if that other person would tell him that he was mistaken. The grey tank of a male blinked. Realizing that he didn't know this female so he couldn't play the male she mistook him for.

"Um.. Miss... I am so sorry... but.. I am not your Kevlyn. At least I think I am not?," he spoke politely, a bit unsure. Because he just realized that his father might as well have used a fake name with this female to deceive her! Oh so awkward. Was this one of his father's old lovers? Sebastian's mouth instantly went dry. Even though his mind was mildly freaking out, Sebastian's face didn't seem too bothered by the ordeal. Frankly, Sebastian looked more guilty for admitting that he wasn't the wolf she thought he was. He was doing the right thing, he decided, it might hurt but it would have hurt far more if he would have lied.

her conviction could not be shaken  - the mothers had heard her prayers and had blessed her with kevlyn's corporeal appearance. caiaphas pulled from the hug, an instant expression of hot scolding melding her countenance. he denied who he was - was he ashamed? did he not love the nereides and all they had done for him?

her tongue worked to form outraged words, but a thought softened her resolve -- perhaps he, like many victims of the sea, had suffered amnesia. "kevlyn." the shewolf reiterated, confident this was her wayward son -- "don't worry. you're safe now." with that the coywolf set to finishing the final preparation of her ritual, tidying the marks in the sand she had just made while embracing the male.

Sebastian was so confused. This female really seemed to think that he was this Kevlyn. "No I am Sebastian," he spoke then in return, not sure if that would anger the female. "I'm not Kevlyn. You might know my father in some way, but... He deceived you. I am not him. I am his son, Sebastian. And I am not your lover or son or... no. I have never met you," he spoke to her. 

Sebastian decided that he had to be clear now. He hated deceiving wolves, then he would be as bad as his father. He wasn't going there. Sebastian would be the honest young man. "I'm sorry. But i am not the one you lost," he pointed out. His pale eyes looked genuinely at the female, ears holding a bit back. This whole situation was rather... surreal to him.

sorry for the wait!

the bedraggled queen would not be dissuaded -- this was kevlyn, by blood and birthright. she looked up to him in awe, her countenance flooded with revisited emotions -- emotions she had not felt since kevlyn's passing.

she didn't notice the stranger's confusion, or his clear persistence that she was not her lost child -- with a whisk of eagerness to her step the dervish whriled upon her little paws and bolted towards the grotto with gusto. slinging her head behind her she gave one last look to not-kevlyn before shouting: "come on! i must show you what i have done in your absence."

with that the she-wolf would disappear into the shaded fern of the grotto's entrance, awaiting not-kevlyn to follow her bidding.

No worries!

This female was rather delicious. She still believed that she was this.. Kevlyn? Sebastian blinked as the female wanted to show him something. If only he knew this Kevlyn so he could do something that was uncharacteristic for him. Sebastian looked over his shoulder. This would be his moment to run. She was clearly out of her mind. But his moral size still felt bad. The male let out a soft sigh to then step after the small female into the grotto. 

"Show me then," he spoke, trying not to sound too unsure about it. He would just do a kind gesture for a crazy stranger. It wasn't like she was going to see him again. At least he thought so. "I don't even know your name. What is your name?"

the waif paid little mind as the not-kelvyn dithered on the surface, unsure if he should follow her into the winding depths. here in the damp recesses, where the sea seeped in sewage, the brine sharp to the senses and a darkness interminable. caiaphas dug around the slop, wading through the rank water until she reached the circular cavern where so many of her pack's rituals had been performed.

and in that darkness there seemed a haunting, though caiaphas had long since grown used to the presence. as if the shadows of past rites still remained there, clear as the stain of moss that crawled across the gneiss. she didn't catch sebastian's question, though when she turned towards the ceremonial stone she seemed to arise to her senses. her face drained as she recognized sebastian -- though not for the wolf he was. her hackles rose instantly in alarm and she growled, standing defensively over the ceremonial slab. she paused, unsure if the wolf before her was an apparition or if it was indeed burke. "what are you doing here?"

Sebastian got into the cavern and was starting to like it less and less. It reminded him a bit of the horrible ice cave he needed to flee through to save his life. Sebastian shook his head for a moment once he looked around. He stopped a good distance from her, just by the entrance so he could always turn around and leave. He frowned when she asked him that question. "You just asked me to come inside?!," he let out with a bit of a frustrated sigh. This woman was really crazy. 

Sebastian shook his head and then looked at her. It only now seemed that she had some sense back into her. Sebastian stepped more back because he didn't want to get attacked again. Females were feisty creatures. "I'm not your Kevlyn okay?," he returned. "But I didn't want to make you feel left alone and run away while you went into this cave."

caiaphas was startled by her lapse in time -- in judgment -- had she let this stranger into her home, her grotto? her ears pulled back in a flattened fashion as confusion flushed her beating heart. her heartbeat roared and she felt the blood as it pounded along her cheeks and temple, a hot flash along her narrow muzzle.

she had no explanation for how she had slipped out of consciousness -- had it been a trance from the ritual performed earlier? caiaphas was flustered as she looked at her visitor, and her hackles remained raised in suspicion. she looked at sebastion fully, her countenance pinched with both anxiety and distrust -- how had she not recognized burke? how had she confused him for the poor soul of her departed son? she craned her neck to view the male, her gaze trained warily on the end of his haunch. "how'd you get your tail back?"

Sebastian blinked at the strange question. The only thing she commented was about his tail. He moved it to the side and looked at it for a moment before she realized she was talking about his father. "I'm not Burke either," he let out at a grim sounding tone. Sebastian let out a soft grunt. "I told you I was Sebastian. Burke is my father though," he commented. Not that he was that proud of having Burke as a father. Still this female didn't seem to be too distressed about his father so better not talk him down for if she knew him well.

Maybe he had even been right in the beginning and maybe she was one of his dad's girlfriends or... one night stands. What ever that man did. Sebastian just didn't approve of it. Still he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't always that tactical about keeping his mouth shut but he was learning.

there were many bizarre things in this world, and caiaphas had witnessed her fair share of the phenom. when not-kevlyn-not-burke once more stated his name caiaphas shifted, looking him over with rigid coldness. for once in her life, the sly wretch fell short of words -- and grasping, her gums moved in small twitches.

"i'm not feeling well." she interred with a furrowed brow, placing one paw over the other as she slid to the stone floor. "you best leave now." with sebastian gone she would be able to slowly overturn what had happened the past ten minutes -- and perhaps find a reason for her inexplicable loss of time.

Sebastian looked at the female with a skeptical gaze. She was really weird but as long as she wasn't attacking him Sebastian wasn't complaining. He was about to offer that he was a healer but then he realized that he really didn't want to spend any more time with the female. The young male instantly turned away without saying another word. He had other things to do and hanging around this crazed female was not on his to do list. Sebastian turned around and left. 

- Sebastian exits -

Thank you! :3 You can wrap it up or just archive it