Dragoncrest Cliffs The Sea Spared Me

Njord crossed back into Sapphique territory as a long sigh rattled his tired body. What had become a brief trip to visit family on Meares island had changed into a nightmareish voyage. Regardless, he returned – ever faithful to the sea wives and their children.

Large patches of fur had been rubbed off the sides of body where shallow abrasions were now healing. He moved with a stiffened gait, muscles sore from the ocean swim and long journey down the coast. Despite this, he returned with souvenirs. Between his teeth he held a tightly wrapped parcel of seaweed filled with gifts and treasures.

He slipped between the trees as the familiar smells of his family eased the seafarer. He wished for nothing more than to feel the touch of his loved ones. With a howl, he called to them.

She hadn't thought of Artemis or anything else spiritual in a long time. She had interpreted her visions of yore to be some kind of divine intervention as a naïve and self-important child, but she had long since decided they were nothing more than the symptoms of a head injury which had eventually healed. Haunt had not only dropped her pursuit of any devotional trade but also shed the beliefs as well, growing into a pragmatic yearling who didn't believe in such thing as ghosts, despite her own moniker.

But she also had no explanation for the dreams. They'd begun several weeks prior, the night following the hunt with Avicus and Erzulie. Each and every night, a black she-wolf came to her with dire words of warning. She never gave a name, nor an explanation, simply hissed dreadful words in Haunt's single ear. The dreams were vividly realistic.

The dream was the same night after night, until last night. Last night, the stranger's yellow eyes bored right into Haunt's as she insisted she pass the warning onto Erzulie and Rosalyn. The yearling woke with cold dread knotting her stomach. She didn't believe in these things, but she couldn't explain the dreams' persistence. At first she hesitated, though perhaps the leaders would help her make sense of it, one way or another.

With trepidation pressing icy hands against her heart, Haunt went seeking the pair of women. She stopped in her tracks, pulling in a sharp breath, at the sounds of Njord's howl. It took her a beat to place the voice, though after a brief deliberation, she began loping in his direction, sure that she would find Erzulie and Rosalyn there.

erz will come along next round!

mireille approached the howl. she recognized it, and knew it to be the man who had played with she and her siblings several times. he also usually bore food, and it was a great part of why she came to greet him now.
haunt was there. the bougie child flicked her eyes over the pale yearling with as close to friendliness as she could muster. her mamas liked this girl, and so mireille had no qualms with her closeness.

"bonjour, njord," she said softly. "maman is coming, but —" the girl's nose twitched. "what adventure did you go on?" he was often off, it seemed, having one or another of those. "will you take me wid ya nex' time?"

Sobo's approach was more frantic than his sister's, and more considerate, if he did say so himself. He scamped from the woods, passing Haunt along the way and giving her a wide berth but a very, very shy smile, but he was in a hurry and wasn't prepared to grapple with his nerves just now to even attempt to say hi.

Mireille appeared to take no notice of Njord's condition, prattling on about nonsense instead like a proper ti larenn, but it was the first thing Sobo saw when he drew close.

Father! Ahoy! he greeted boyishly, sidestepping around Mireille. Sobo was sorely tempted to sniff the bundle Njord carried with him, but the boy moved to his father's side instead, red tail swinging in time with the identical one Njord wore. What hurt you? he asked, reaching forward to gingerly touch a soothing tongue to the nearest scrape.

The sound of pitter-patter paws quickly approached and the islander nearly dropped the package when he saw Mireille and Sobo. No longer were they babbling incoherent vowels or waddling around inspecting bugs. Now, at four months old, they were becoming spry, leggy things. Yet, a cherubic quality of soft fur and puppy fat staved the feeling that he had missed their childhood entirely.

“Mireille!” Njord exclaimed after he placed the bundle on the ground. His heart swelled at her ruddy fur and distinct freckling – just like Merlin’s. The islander quickly swept over her, nuzzling and muzzle-bumping the young child as if it had been an eternity since he’d seen her. For Njord, it may as well have been.

“Oh, mo chridhe, I traveled to Meares Island ta tell my family all about you an’ yer brothers an’ sister. They’d verra much like ta meet you someday… an’ of course! You look like quite tha adventurer… how you’ve grown!”

Without missing a beat, Sobo appeared just as suddenly. Njord collapsed onto the ground, overjoyed, and invited the children to swarm him. To hear the word father melted his heart. “Ahoy, my lad!” he crowed in reply, “Sobo look ‘ow braw you are!” His tongue washed over the tyke’s shadowed face. A strapping boy with a stunning red tail… Njord was proud as anything.

“Dinna fash, lad. I ‘av quite tha tall tale for you!” Njord’s voiced became dramatic, “Yer Da’ was caught in a mighty storm as I swam across tha sea!” He paused for effect, “but first, I ‘av gifts fer you both.” The seafarer gestured to the wrap of seaweed.

A ghostly figure brought up the rear. “Haunt!” the ruby exclaimed. The two had just missed one another. Njord had set off for Meares island just as the yearling found her hearth at Sapphique once more. If he hadn’t been swarmed by the children, Njord would have stood to greet her. So preoccupied was he, that he barely noticed her missing paw.

They weren't with him. It was the first thing Haunt noted—and not without a pang of despair—when she arrived on the scene. She watched as two of the children crowded around Njord, clearly delighted to see him. Haunt wondered about that: how did they seem so familiar, when he'd been gone so long? Who was he to them?

It was really none of her business, though, and next she noticed his wounds. Her brow furrowed in sympathy and she drew closer even as he spoke her name. Haunt rumbled a greeting at the two youngsters, then set her eyes on Njord's face.

"Njord, it's good to see you. Are you alright?" she questioned. Her tail swayed, though she couldn't bring herself to smile for several reasons.

mireille did not notice until sobo began to speak. she had once more been fascinated by njord and his way of speaking, his words, the treasures he promised. that especially captured her interest. and so the wounds and abrasions of dear ol' da had gone quite unnoticed.
mireille swelled with pleasure that njord had agreed to take her to the island, specifically. she noted he did not extend the invitation to sobo. rather than assume that the returning seafarer would include them all in his missions, she felt surely she was set above as the eldest.
haunt came along and asked after njord. mireille stared now at the state of njord and his fur. "maman will give you medicine for all dat," she said matter-of-factly, quite assured that he would recover under whatever plant-magicks erzulie used. 
to mireille, it was not worth learning. she did not like chewing plants that much.

njord was back.
erzulie let out her breath. sobo and mireille had already run that direction, as told by their winding trails. erzulie followed, her gait an elegant lope as she came to the little cluster of wolves on the sand.
medicine was the last word she heard. the obsidian smiled broadly at the arrival of the beloved man, brushing her shoulder gently against that of haunt. "you have been on a trip," she dryly observed, though her two-toned eyes shimmered with affection. "welcome home, njord."

Sobo giggled when Njord flopped over, allowing space for the boy to clamber with little grace over his ribcage. Njord promised a rousing tale of a storm in the sea, which brought a soft gasp to Sobo's lips. Despite his name, Sobo considered storms to be one of the most frightening experiences a wolf could have.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Haunt herself was having the most frightening experience most wolves could even boast of, and was bursting to spill the beans, but wouldn't in front of all those collected. If Sobo knew about it, no doubt he would try to find some way to fix it, shyness aside.

The lad's attention was drawn briefly back to the bundle, but his interest remained on the wounds. Up close, he could tell they weren't very deep and probably not very dangerous. A gentle tongue to clean them and a little salt from the sea might be sufficient. I wanna hear yer tale, he insisted quietly, settling in with a jostle or two of his elbows to listen while he fretted over one of the scrapes. Treasures could wait.

Erzulie's arrival made Sobo's head pop up. Whapping his tail twice in greeting, the boy said, oh manman! Èske lanmè sèl la ap ede? Here now was his moment to feel a little smug over his sibling, for he was learning the magick of healing, and Mireille knew nothing so useful as that!

Nevermind that Njord had already been in the sea plenty, so it wasn't like Sobo's proposed treatment would actually be that helpful now.

I lub my family ;-;

The excited chattering of many voices made Njord’s cup overfloweth. Sobo pig-piled on top of him while Mireille doted with clinical attentions. It was difficult to split his focus between the adults and children, but Haunt’s question helped him regain focus.

“Aye, well enough. Nuthin’ this ‘ere red-tail canna handle!” He noted her dour expression, and thought to ask, but Erzulie’s approach interrupted him. “’Zulie!” He carefully stood up (as to let Sobo gently slide off of him) and gave the queen an affectionate nibble along the cheek. “Aye, it’s good ta be ‘ome.” Njord could say, with confidence, that though Meares Island was where his kin lived, the cliffs of Sapphique were truly where his heart resided.

“Canna believe these wee bairns grew like weeds while I was away!” he exclaimed, admiring the children. “They’re gonna ‘elp their Da’ heal up quick, eh?” Sobo, especially, seemed to have an penchant for healing remedies. The package, momentarily forgotten, remained on the ground.

“What av’ I missed?” he asked when suddenly, Njord noticed Haunt’s missing paw. “Haunt! Yer leg!”

He answered cavalierly, which sufficed for Haunt. As the kids continued to snare his attention, she backed off a few paces, then retreated even further when Erzulie arrived. Her heart leaped into her throat, though Haunt quickly realized she wasn't going to be able to steal the leaders' attention just now, nor should she. This was Njord's moment.

"Their da'"? the yearling caught herself repeating in her head, brows raising. She tried to avoid thinking too much about the nature of the leaders' relationship, though Haunt did at least know about procreation. Njord must've sired their children. Haunt's lips parted, momentarily forgetting all about her dreams as she pondered how exactly they had made that work...

She jumped a little when Njord cried her name. Haunt laughed nervously, realizing just how on edge she felt. If this really was a reunion between father and children, she really ought to make herself scarce to allow them to catch up. She began to slowly back away to give the family space.

"Must've dropped it. I'm gonna go look for it," Haunt said in way of reply to Njord's exclamation, waving her stump and woofing a goodbye as she prepared to pivot and hop-step away.

<33!

mireille's fleeting attention was captured by haunt's departure. the girl had seemed spiky in her energies, but she was still intrigued as to who exactly the pale girl was to her mothers. everyone within sapphique had a role. njord was da.
she turned back to him, tail revolving wildly. "i went swimming in the deep water! an' i was not scared," the girl grinned, naturally competitive. "did you go a lot in de water, njord?" she inquired, stepping forward to take a big draught of his scent.

erzulie was kissed and greeted by njord. she passed her tongue across his salt-stained cheek, more assured as he spoke of his wounds. "why don't you come along to de medicine den?" she asked softly. "i be sure sobo an' mireille will be happy to hear about your adventures as we go."
haunt's departure was measured with a look and an answering woof. she would seek the pale girl out again. for now her attention was upon the bairns, as njord called them, herding the little ones gently in the direction of peacebloom.
"haunt was gone for a bit. she came back almost wid her brot'er, ve — kaskae, now. but he has gone. i t'ink she been t'rough a lot." the missing paw notwithstanding.

Njord didn't stay down for long. Sobo slid off with a giggle when his father rose to greet Erzulie, only to shoot his sister a nettling glower when she started to brag. He wasn't going to rise to that, no siree! They could all swim just as well as Mireille, and someday, he would show Njord. Sobo thought Loko was even better at it than she was, but kept that to himself. In fact, he said nothing at all, only nodding vigorously to Njord's comment about healing him up.

He was a little disappointed that Erzulie didn't confirm or praise his suggestion of salt, but it wore off quickly. Eager to show how big and helpful he was, Sobo hustled over to Njord's wrapped seaweed bundle and hoisted it up in his jaws, ready to follow along to the medicine den with a gently wagging tail. Haunt made a strange little joke that flew right over the Pebble's head, then left as quickly as she arrived.

Blinking owlishly in the direction she'd gone, the boy shrugged and waddled along after his family. She was definitely a weird one.

Last from me!

Njord was puzzled by Haunt’s abrupt departure, though her use of comedy tickled him. Quickly, the pups filled the space that the white wolf abandoned. “Is that so?” Njord asked Mireille.

Erzulie ushered him towards her medicine den and explained Haunt’s unusual attitude. The seafarer gave a solemn nod. He made a mental note to seek out his friend once he was all healed up. “Aye, I ‘av many tales for you pups! Lead tha way,” Njord jeered to the youngsters as they walked, Sobo and Mireille in tow.

haunt left. mireille's eyes followed her, but she was taken up again by the bounciness of njord's tone. she was impressed by sobo, and so did not tease and nip at him. all of her focus was upon anything that njord woul  say, and with maman in tow, she trotted at the red-tail's heels, talking and talking with no threat of her voice failing itself of her thousand questions.