Ankyra Sound i'll get on all by myself

a new scent interspersed the markings left by her own patrol; likely @Firefly, if caiaphas was to believe the truth her nose told her. there were other scents too - some her own, some her children -- more troubling still, no sign of rosalyn.

the siren drew to a stop along the outskirts of ankyra's thick forest, looking at the grim tangle that peered within. she had never been fond of that territory - the way it bit and clawed at you no matter how much you twisted to get by.. and yet.. it served as a barrier, a barricade to the outer world -- she supposed there was worse to be had in terms of topographical neighbors.

He had been doing his best to get to know the beach, the cave, and the forest in equal measure. His route tended to lead away from the cliffside with the trees though; something about their interwoven shadows bothered him. The prospect of being caught in the dark. He marked a few spots by the caves when he found the scent of Illidan clustered around it, and emerged in to the light afterwards, spotting Caiaphas a few leagues away.

His gait hadn't improved but he didn't anticipate anything drastic; if he'd wanted to be healed he would have stayed with the lost, rather than falling in with his compulsion to return to this place. He worked his way along until he came to where he'd spotted Caiaphas, and then tried to follow after her - the path evidenced by her strong scent. As she went ahead, he followed, leaving his own either by rolling in her marks or by layering his urine atop the patches she left.

There were probably better uses for his time, but he wanted to be useful and vigilant in case they had more trespassers.

a sound behind her caused her ear to flick backwards instinctively; peering through the thicket, she saw the chewed form of the very male she had been thinking of moments prior. if she was a wolf that believed in coincidence - or fate - she would be amused by the threads fate saw fit to weave to unite its tangled participants -- but instead she chalked it up to the fact he looked like he was in sore need of a job, and was simply doing what any newcoming, self respecting wolf ought to be seeing get done.

it was not a bad idea, marking the premises. caiaphas dipped her slender muzzle in silent greeting, stalking off to an unmarked tussock to contribute her own scent to the borders.

The work was mindless. They shared a glance and continued to move, stalking along in tandem or splitting off on different trajectories, but Firefly always paid heed to where she marked so that he could do his work afterwards — eventually, the scent he carried upon his coat was strongly Caiaphas with only a faint undertone of saline from the sea.

His pace was slowed by his attentiveness to the surroundings. He was mostly fixated on the dull grassy scent within the golden reeds growing along a particular burm, and it wasn't until he'd marked it and started to move on that he realized why. The scent in the grass wasn't the woman's, nor was it her son's — it was the musk of the interloper, something Firefly had overlooked after intercepting him.

He huffed softly and doubled back, making sure to leave a nice steaming pile of screw you where the guy had pissed — and emerged from the tall grass a few moments later, a little more pep to his step.

arching her back, the sylph dragged her ragged shoulderblades through a length of bramble's arm, depositing tufts of thick fur in the process. she missed the scent firefly had detected, but noticed as he came back he carried with him a newfound energy. bemused, she made for the spot he had richly spread his scent over; one breath was enough to tell the story.

a few feet away the siren cashed her own rude deposit - another steaming pile to add to the bank. by this speed, they'd have every bit of the sound covered if they carried on their progress. she felt reasonably assured in their claim, and for good measure, scraped her hind paws along the earth, sending snow spraying behind her.

His ears pivoted to follow along with Caiaphas' route, noticing that she had also doubled back - likely to inspect his work or maybe to add her own spice to it. This pleased him more than he anticipated; he felt like he was doing something worthwhile, even if it was just to empty his bladder every few feet. The border would be well marked and he would do his best to keep it maintained. Should there be more tresspassers, he would figure out a way to deal with them too; thankfully, the beach the family had chosen as their haunt was not so popular among the wildlings of this region.

each mark they made, caiaphas was sure would solidify their claim. the pair moved in rebounding tandem - first firefly, then caiaphas - occasionally one doubled back, perhaps to revisit a staler mark. either way, caiaphas' confidence grew -- and while they moved wordlessly, caiaphas eventually interrupted their silence with a query.

"think that ought to do it?" in fairness, it was a flimsy defense -- but most wolves respected claimed territory, provided it was recently marked.

Think that ought to do it? she asked.

Hopefully. I'm almost out of piss, he admitted — then realized how that sounded, who he was talking to, and all that, which made him feel a little stupid. He clears his throat and squares off by the territory edge, dragging his heels across the dirt and gouging the soil with his claws.

There — he sighs. They've put in a good amount of work so far, but there was so much ground to cover. In a few hours and a hot meal, he'd continue.

firefly's brand of humor was not unsavory to the sylph -- even if he felt abashed by his unintended oversharing of information, caiaphas was not -- she seemed wholly unperturbed, and if anything sported a smile that seemed to agree with him. her bladder was tired of working like an oversaddled mule -- it was time for them to pack elsewhere.

lazily, and very tiredly, she dragged her paws along the ground again - scuffling the snow between the last sequoia and the impenetrable fortress of brambles that marked the entrance of the tangle.

she turned back in time to hear the man sigh; there, he announced. she inspected the long gouges - some left by her, some by him, and nodded in affirmation. "food time." provided he followed her, she would show him the newest addition to their fresh cache - and later, they could return to the riveting duties of border patrol.

They didn't look like much but he would need to recouperate for a bit before continuing. It was likely that this event, of marking and walking and marking some more, would take up the rest of the day. He hoped to get to know the landscape enough to find short cuts and to build his endurance. The sand would help with that.

When the woman mentioned food his belly rumbled, and Firefly glared sideways at his torso as if that would cause the bubbling to silence. He was always hungry, and seemed to be enjoying the odd delicacies of the seaside so far. He sauntered after Caiaphas as hastily as he could, then followed after her leisurely as she led the way.

a gurgle rumbling deep in firefly's belly was all the response the sylph needed - diving off, she made for the grotto. in some twisted tunnel deep in ankyra's hearth, there was a small storage of fish supplied -- she would pull from her wares what they could spare, and then once they had eaten their share, the pair would resume their markings once rest had chased away the tiredness from their bones.