Ankyra Sound On the highway, heavy hearted, humming just to hear a sound

bein vague and making assumptions as usual! Tap me and I'll edit!

During the ordeal, Rosalyn hadn't known what was happening, only that there was danger.  She'd gathered their children and, after worrying for Scarab, simply hoped he was with his other mother.  They were near the time when they could fight, but she would not allow them to yet.  Not with a threat too real.

Then Erzulie had returned broken, and again Rosalyn felt her fear turn to resentment against this pack where they remained.  They'd earned some measure of loyalty when they'd fought for her as she had them, but that currency was quick running dry.  @Aningan as a leader was a joke; he was barely present in the pack this far and even more spineless than Illidan.  She'd have rather kept the dragedan, because at least he had sought to keep them balanced.

Her scorn was apparent, but most of her time she spent away anyway, teaching @Clementine and @Scarab the ways of hunting seal and tending to anything @Erzulie needed.  Her teeth were welded shut; she would not challenge.  She would never lead again, no matter how unfit she saw the current and how volatile a future she predicted as a result.

his entire existence is basically a joke tbh lmao goofball x10

To say he was unfit to lead was, perhaps, the understatement of the year; he didn’t know what he was doing or even what he was supposed to do, really. The change had come so suddenly and during a time when he was struggling, he hadn’t the opportunity to really ask questions or learn. It was his own fault, though: desperate to return things to how they once were, he had acted impulsively and now there he was with things way more different than they’d ever been before. But, hey, he was trying (read: he was finally settling down from his former state of panic and starting to be able to, like, look at the big picture for once).

Aningan wasn’t one for consistency, at least not yet. He bounced back and forth with only a few thoughts ever actually sticking with him; always did he wonder about Caiaphas and what had happened to her, if she was still alive, and if she would ever come back—but now he also wondered about Erzulie who, technically, had been injured under his watch. And although it would have been way easier to just talk to her directly, he spotted Rosalyn first and immediately made his way towards her, curiosity scrawled across his face whilst the expression on her own went unrecognised (or unnoticed—who knows when it comes to Aningan).

She wasn't sure why he sought her out, but by her look, it was clear there was no fondness between them.  She did not know him and had no reason to respect him, so he could expect at the very least no challenge.  That did not mean she would be friendly or helpful to his cause.  The best thing that could happen, at this point, would be for Illidan to return or for Raleska to rise to the occasion.  But perhaps not; for all of Rosalyn's fondness, there was too much of Caiaphas in the girl for her to wish her to rule.

In fairness to the boy, her standards were impossible.  Not a single leader she'd had thus far had been capable in the end.  Caiaphas had held respect, but like Smokestep, had thrown everything away for 'family' pride.  Perhaps there had never existed a truly fit leader.

She lifted a brow, but his face had a clear question, so she didn't bother greeting him.  He wanted something; that much was plain.  And she was too tired to exchange words about the weather or other useless pleasantries.

When she said nothing he saw it as an opportunity to speak, the idea further stoked by her raised brow. “How’s Erzulie?” he asked, genuinely concerned. Although he knew little to nothing about many of the wolves there, he still cared for them all, to some extent. After all, they were welcomed by Caiaphas and therefore acceptable people to familiarise himself with, even if his social skills were lacking considerably.

“I meant to visit,” he explained. “But... I couldn’t help her.” Which, in his mind, meant it was best if he stayed away. The less crowding those that knew nothing did, the more space there’d be for those that did.

By Rosalyn's perhaps unreachable standards, this was not a question he should be asking her.  He should know already how she was.

She is fine.  Perhaps not entirely, but at least mending.  Her look wasn't entirely friendly, and she kept her expression straight.  Interesting, a fresh leader who admits to being useless.  It was a bit of a jab.  Rosalyn knew next to nothing of Aninigan and would take his measure, if she could.  There were few ways better, she'd found, than insulting their pride and seeing what came of it.

Fine wasn’t as good as great but also better than terrible, so he took it as positive news. “That’s good,” he said then, relief evident in his tone. There were few he knew personally and even fewer he felt that he knew especially well but, as far as he was concerned, knowing or not knowing someone did not change what was acceptable for him to think about them; if someone was hurt, was it not common decency to show sympathy?

Aningan had little more time to think on the matter before a comment followed the woman’s previous words, a jab aimed right at him. At first, his ears fell back and his expression mimicked that of a child being scolded for the first time, unable to comprehend from where she was coming—not to say that she was wrong, however. He knew already that he still had a long way to go if he ever hoped to make a name for himself, and that he still had much to learn and many to prove himself to (although, he wasn’t entirely sure if doing so was something that he could accomplish). “I wouldn’t say useless…” he responded, brow furrowing. “Well, yeah, with that… I don’t know anything about healing.” No one had ever taught him and, truthfully, he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to know; simple things would be beneficial to know but everything else? It wasn’t for him. But he was trying to gather what information he could and make himself better, either way. So, gradually, his ears rose back up atop his head.

“I don’t know a lot but I’m trying to learn,” he explained. “I don’t want to be useless or, uh, come off that way.” But it was difficult to learn at times, especially since he’d not gotten off to the same start like most others his age. Aningan had spent a good bit of his life alone, and then travelling—Rusalka was the first place he’d been able to settle down and feel at home at, as well as begin to learn how to actually live his life.

He didn't defend himself entirely, but the excuses did little for her.  Apparently disdain was her mood for the day.

And you think I do? She asked, but it wasn't meant to be answered.  She'd been hunting, gathering, and giving Erzulie the resources to care for herself once the initial basic necessities were done and past.  Her wife had the knowledge of this pack, it seemed, and now Rosalyn knew perhaps it was taken for granted.  

There's more to it than healing.  Hard not to appear useless when you don't bother to figure that out.  Before her reaction had been more out of amusement, but now she found herself actually getting irritated.  Say what you would of the witch, but in times when she and Erzulie had both been sick with pregnancy, Caiaphas had tried.  She'd brought them food, spoken with them, checked in.  

Everyone here was his responsibility now.  Did he honestly want that?  Did he even know what it meant?

Aningan was taken aback by her response, and then confused. She didn’t know how to heal others, either? For some reason, he had convinced himself that she did and that, that was how she was caring for the injured woman. But… if she was unsure of what to do to mend the wounded, too, then how was she helping? What made him useless and her not?

There’s more to it.

“Oh! I… kangâ,” he muttered, brow furrowed and gaze averted. More to it, huh? It made sense, now that he thought about it; the injured still needed to be fed and looked after, especially since they may be unable to do so themselves. It wasn’t rocket science, not really, but it wasn’t something that he was naturally aware of, either. “I’m still learning—I’m trying to.” It was hard, though, and not quickly learned. He had hardly even a year’s worth of experience behind him and he was supposed to run a pack with that minimal amount of knowledge; it was not easy for him to do and, more often than not, he regretted having taken on the role. But it was too late to go back now and, without the witch there, he could not so easily pass it on to be someone else’s responsibility—not yet. So the only option left was to just learn and learn quickly.

“Can I still help her?” he asked, looking up at her expectantly. “How do I be better?” All he needed was a push in the right direction and then, hopefully, he would be able to upgrade to something other than useless. All he had to do was be good enough to make Caiaphas proud and then maybe, just maybe, word would reach her and bring her home to take back control.

wrapping here <3 she's taking off for a while!

How can I do better? A charitable wolf would have recognized his youth, his willingness to learn, and understood.  He was inexperienced but eager, and the latter was perhaps the most important when it came to what he was trying to do.  He needed to care.

Somewhere along the way, she'd lost that though.  

We're fine. She replied, shortly, as her impatience flared once more.  Look after your pack.  Ask them before the time has passed.  Erzulie had recovered now to the point where she no longer needed as much assistance; as usual, they'd had one another, and one another had been enough.

There was a slight urge to be cruel, but Rosalyn quelled it.  As much as she might not care the fate of this pack anymore, her children were here, and she cared about theirs.  This wolf would lead them for as long as they remained, at least until the next stepped forward.  All of which was out of her purview now.

If you want more advice, ask someone suited.  I don't do that anymore.  And with a flick of her tail, she turned to go.

The impatient inflection of her voice forced his ears back as if he’d just been openly chastised. Despite her tone, however, it brought news that they were fine—which was good and also what he focused on, wanting to hold onto whatever positives he could claim from the conversation. And when she continued to speak, he took her words as advice to follow, even if that may not have been the intention behind them. He would remember it for future reference, should anything happen again that may make it applicable.

But that was as far as it went.

When she admitted to not being someone to give out advice, he nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. Luckily—or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it—for him, the conversation ended there as she turned and took her leave. Aningan lingered for a bit, reflecting on what all she had said, before swallowing hard and proceeding with the rest of his day.