Ankyra Sound At World's End

@Rayen! (Using the The Sinking Grotto prompt, hope you don't mind!

Maude continued to explore the tunnels of the Sound by herself, wondering if she run into anyone while she was here. The pirate muttered quietly to herself as she explored, the only sound above the quiet dripping of water and the faint roar of the sea. She continued deeper inland from the ceremonial chambers, traveling in a tunnel that she faintly sensed was going upwards. She could smell a change in the wind above her: plants. Dirt. Why could she smell it so clearly?

She continued, the scent growing stronger and stronger and stronger until she saw it. A hole in the tunnel. Right in front of the forest. Oh, fuck all kinds of duck. The wench muttered. While she had not been in the pack, she knew this was bad. Very bad.

Creeping through the tunnels, Rayen's small form was a cramp for the tight space. The chasm she was currently following dropped out into a wider path which she followed. She found herself scenting the air, catching the scent of another male in the tunnel.

Rayen followed along until she found herself at the end of the tunnel, spotting an individual of the same coloring up ahead. Alarmingly, a hole could be seen in the rock wall of the tunnel causing her new companion to curse. Well, the male had it right...they were fucked.

Maude poked her head through the hole, noticing that it was small enough for her small form to squeeze through. If someone her size could fit in it, then other wolves could too. The thought of an easy invasion, especially during their famine, riled the pirate girl up. Bloody 'ell, 'ow'd this 'appen? She dropped down, seeing the other wolf in front of her. Can ye believe this? We've gotta fix it, don't we?

Rayen nodded in response to the man's question, they did have to fix it. "I don't know how it happened, but we do have to fix it,"she told the other, noting that they both had noticeable accents. She couldn't place the male's while her own was distinctly tribal.

"Suppose we better find some rocks,eh?" Rayen slipped through the hole in hopes of finding some boulders to fill the hole.

Maude's nose wriggled as she stepped back, allowing the female to slip through the hole. She followed through, squeezing through the entrance into the woods. Her nose wrinkled, and Maude looked about, sighting her crewmate. Should we go an' roll a boulder o'er it, lass? It seemed like the most effective way of shutting the hole without blocking the tunnel, but if there were other options, Maude wouldn't dispute it.

Rayen nodded, glad the male was on the same page as her. "Sounds like a plan,"she called over her shoulder as she began to search for a big enough boulder. "My name's Rayen by the way,"she glanced up momentarily, yellow eyes meeting the other's.

Yellow met yellow, and Maude smiled, revealing snaggled yellow fangs. Maude. She said, gleefully enough. Her attention then turned to the nearest boulder in their vicinity. How's this then, matey? Good 'nough t'cover t''ole? She approached the rock, circling it and stealing glances at her companion.

Rayen blinked in surprise at the feminine name but hid it well enough. Perhaps it was just an unfortunate naming or perhaps the 'male' before her didn't wish to be male. Either way it was Maude's business.

"Yeah, this one looks about the right size. Shall we?" Rayen chuckled lightly before bracing her shoulder against the boulder and slowly pushing it back to the hole.

@Rayen

Maude nodded - Aye, aye, mate! - mirroring the other female and pushing the boulder. With her lithe frame, the effort of pushing a large hunk of rock, even with help, was rigourous. She pushed anyway, no complaints exiting her lips as they neared the hole. She would rather have that Kjalarr-fellow push - he was much taller and stronger than any of them. But they were alone.

Their efforts weren't in vain as they succeeded in placing the rock over the hole. Maude jumped back, breathing heavily, looking at her partner. Looks nice, eh?

Though they were both females, er she believed Maude was female, they managed to push the boulder all the way over to the hole and cover it. Rayen stood back with her companion, eyeing their work.

"Beautiful if I do say so myself. Think it'll hold?" Rayen glanced at the ex-pirate in amusement, half serious in case the hole managed to reopen up.

Maude sniffed around the hole, giving it her most inquisitive and thoughtful look (basically her scrunching her forehead). Looks so! She declared, her diagnostic complete. She obviously knew little of the physics behind the impromptu repair, and simply assumed that all would be well. After all, the rock wouldn't be heavy enough to completely destroy the tunnel, right?

Right?

Ah well. Good job, mate! She smiled at her crewmate, pleased that she did some work for once.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Maude." Rayen dipped her head with a friendly smile. "I believe I'm going to go patrol the borders if you want to come along." Rayen turned to leave, pausing to see if Maude was coming or not.

Maude, a pirate by birth and nature, still wasn't used to the whole border patrol thing, nor the marking of territory. Crews or individuals eked out a piece of land for themselves, usually relying on sheer presence and the deaths of a few foolish wolves to hold their claim. Sure, they marked certain spots of their land, but peeing in a circle around your territory? Still didn't make too much sense to her. Nay, mate. I'lls go scrounge us some food. See ya later. With that, the pirate wench headed off to the shore, her stomach growling all the way. Pushing boulders was tiring work!