i watch the work of my kin bold and boyful

set right outside ankyra sound, near the grotto Caiaphas resides in @Tethys

Caiaphas grunted and her blunt head snaked in the air, her body tensed back and her little legs stretched before her -- her brow furrowed and in her jaws the hefty tail fin of a butchered yearling seal pup. The pup, nearly the same size as her, was swollen with salt water -- and it provided Caiaphas with great frustration.

A dark line of blood trailed behind her and her terrible progress, and it was obvious from the deep groove in the damp sand that Caiaphas had been dragging the corpse for quite some time.

The sea, she thought, was a boon for any scavenging wolf. So long as you weren't particular about how your food was prepared. And it was then she realized she was quite literally stupid -- and with newfound determination she pulled the corpse into the shallow water and nearly grunted with embarrassed frustration as the task of dragging the seal became, admittedly, exponentially easier.

mm chili :P

With winds coasting along her back, the svelte creature had made quite a good headway due south. With the coastal rainforests of her pack far gone, the land of Teekon was her new oyster. And with sterling mountains and pine forests rising to her left and rumbling seas on her right, Tethys was poised to crack it open.

Late mid-morning had brought the lean heiress along the white sanded beaches of Sequoia, muzzle blasted by the constant shift of ocean winds. Her pelt was used to the harsh, salty air. The windy roughness of the atmosphere had removed most of the coarse hairs along Tethy's scruff, and her pescetarian diet provided rich oils to her shiny cloak. The female had taken on the appearance of a stray raven's feather loping down the shoreline. She had stopped at the appearance of maroon marring the beach beneath her toes, and Tethys breathed in the scent of seal. Fresh. Mixed with wolf. But the promise of food was alluring, and the ebony wolf strode forward, following the trail. She almost burst out laughing at the figure who was dragging the pinneped cub down the shores. Tethys had never seen such a comical sight- a tiny half-breed dragging a baby seal with great difficulty. Although the cubs were large, it did not take that much effort as this female was expending. With a jaunty pace and tail swinging high, Tethys drew closer.

Need any help with that? she called out in a lilting yet pointed bark, her paws dancing along the sand. Tethys was not one for challenging anyone or anything physically, but she was confident that this runtish looking wolf was no match for her.

o: what kind?

Caiaphas' respite in the water was shortlived -- and tersely she watched as a svelte and clearly athletic female practically loped towards her emanating intrepidity and poise. Her blunt, cropped ears laced back in a protective expression and she blatantly met the female's eyes with a ruthless and rather wildly careless abandon.

In order to answer, Caiaphas would have to drop the carcass or suffer mumbling through flesh. Neither of which were deportments the female was interested in. She did not need to explain why the task was hard -- at scarcely fifty pounds, a yearling seal matched her weight. She wrenched the seal towards the sand and once it was ashore she coldly placed a paw over the bludgeoned head and spoke. "Sure, would you like a piece?" She answered -- her voice falsely cheery and the manner in which she spoke suggesting her intents were malicious and not saccharine in nature. She offered a thinly veiled smile as if accentuating her ingenuine offer, and standoffishly, she spoke once more.

"You're close to Ankyra territory, friendo. Do you know where you are?"

Jalapeno chicken/bean!

Although Tethys had to give some credit to the female for using the water to float the cub, the hybrid creature seemed about to drown in the raucous waves whilst keeping her catch firmly clasped in her jaws. The ebony creature had stopped to observe the small female drag the seal out from the sea.

Tethys watched with amused blue pearls as the stranger took up a claim on the seal, placing one paw upon the pup's battered head. Would you like a piece?, the creature spoke sweetly, thinly veiled sarcasm dripping like acid beneath. With a smile to match her's, Tethys returned the grin with a tilt of her skull.

Of course I would! I am tired from all this walking you know, she replied with the same amount of sugar to her voice, but made no move towards the kill. She wanted to see this loner's reaction, first.

A smug smile spread callous and ugly across the female's pistol-thin muzzle as the female joined the play but made no move. Pawn - thought Caiaphas, though she was not disappointed -- if the situation presented itself in a phsyical manner Caiaphas would be outdrawn and outgunned; it was obvious the larger wolf was much more athletic than she.

She did not move either, motionless as the waves lapped past her. The seal flogged in the water, eyes empty and the mouth parted to reveal surprisingly sharp teeth. She paid no attention to it beneath her paws.

"You didn't answer the important question." She replied crossly, her bloodied head raising slightly in sovereign affront. "What brought you to the beach, profligate?"

Truly great with strangers, this one.

woops didn't catch the last part, derp. and assuming since there's no official pack up yet, there's no smelly borders hooho

Tethys lazily trained one eye on the petite half-breed, the other leaving to wander up and down the coast. The female had spoken something about 'Ankyra'. Whatever the hell it was, if there were more beings her size, then it made for a joke. There were legends about lands filled with pygmy wolves. Perhaps this scraggly looking female was one. She had the teeth- and there was an explosive personality behind it. Tethys wondered how far she could go to push this hybrid until there would be more than just seal blood on the sand.

I didn't smell any Ankyra markers near here, honey. Care to explain who they are? she drawled in reply, glancing down to inspect her nails. There was a bit of brown kelp stuck between her right paw. She lifted her foot up to pull the strand out.

And a girl isn't allowed to soak up some sun on the beach? Tethys' bright cerulean pools drifted over the other. By the looks of it, the ruffed-up female could use some TLC. Appearance was, after all, everything.

While Tethys was entertaining the idea of pushing Caiaphas, Caiaphas was thinking of how to thwart this somewhat offkilter animal. She sensed that like herself there was something about Tethys that was not wholesome -- and she gave the female a sidelong glance as she replied to Caiaphas' question.

She blinked a few times, sweeping her narrow muzzle in the direction of the strand where the wind beat down the dunes and howled past them into the splume-ridden ocean. "Did you use your nose?" She asked, half in good humor -- while the pack was not wholly formed, she and Psamathe had spent a great deal of time securing the borders past Caiaphas' den. However, Caiaphas and her present company were not close enough to the border to scent the permeating markers, and Caiaphas would let the female's cheek slide for this reason. "We are a band of females. Sisters, if you will. Do you have an affinity for the Ocean? Or the Moon? What gods bind you, stranger?" She would have used Tethys' name, but it occurred to her that formalities had not yet been exchanged.

Did you use your nose? No, Tethys guessed she did not. She was a little too preoccupied with soaking up the wonderful coastline to check where she was going. Little mistake, on her part, but most likely the ebony female would've been able to sweet talk her way out of any sticky situation. Besides, she rather liked the fiery streak this small hybrid had expressed- it was welcome to Tethys' sultry and spoiled nature. No one had ever dared to talk to her like that.

She allowed herself a seat on the sand, giving her pelt a loose shake from the salty wind. I guess I didn't have to, Tethys smiled. You told me what I was walking into. Their group seemed intriguing. Although Tethys was pretty catty, a band of Sisters linked through the tides of the moon and the pull of water enough to get her interest hooked.

I guess you could say I have an affinity for water... I grew up on an island known as Aeginos. We followed a diety known as the Drowned One. What of you and your Sisters?

The island Tethys spoke of was distinctly Grecian in origin; her tattered ears both pulled forwards and she looked the female over gravely. The black line of her muzzle was pulled down in a thoughtful, furrowed frown.

It seemed the Nereides' culture was perhaps more pervasive than they thought -- here Tethys mentioned the Drowned One; a name Caiaphas had heard the Priestess and other Adepts mumble feverishly a time or two. She wondered if this island she spoke of was not some similar sect, divulged centuries before and now separate from its mother origin. She spoke, though the silence before it was near interminable. "Maybe you best come visit the Sirens. What is your name?"

She listened for a moment -- and as soon as Tethys answered, she would speak again. "If you are truly interested in joining the fold I can call upon one of the Sisters to meet you here tonight and indoctrinate you. If you are not interested, move along and never waste our time again." She spoke firmly and somewhat urgently -- and there sat in her feral yellow eyes a glint of coldness not even the ocean could fathom.

Tethys, the raven wolf answered with a swish of her flag, somewhat pleased to learn that this female's Ankyra might hold a similar tradition to the Aeginicans. Although the wolf was no deeply religious individual, there was always comfort in finding common ground. This small creature across from her could, very well, hold the key to Tethys' future.

I think you've might of convinced me to join your Sisters, Tethys assented to the female, who probably by now, had introduced herself. A visit- yes, Tethys was beginning to be persuaded. It seemed like it was just a larger branch of the Aeginician culture, and perhaps these 'Sisters' were related to her in some way. She could only hope to fit in, but no doubt Tethys' confidence wouldn't hold her back. And she liked the timeliness that this meeting would be done in.

tagging @Aktaie just so she can read the end of this thread and decide if she wants to ICly play out Tethys joining or if it is okay that we assume that Tethys is accepted into the fold behind the scenes. I am phasing out Caiaphas so feel free to reply or I can archive. Thank you for the thread!! If Emalee wants to go ahead and say that Tethys joins behind the scenes, let me know and we can start a new thread as packmates ASAP :)

No sooner had Tethys proclaimed exactly what Caiaphas wanted to hear she was off, moving with raptor-like fluidity. She dropped her flecked muzzle and regained purchase of the seal, signaling for the female to follow her.

She dragged the corpse silently along the water, and their trek was short lived. Soon, they were just outside of the grotto that Caiaphas had made her den. The grotto itself faced the endless expanse of strand and stared south, and was just outside of the Nereides territory. Caiaphas pulled the flogged seal ashore and dragged it inside the dark mouth of the cave, her feral eyes on Tethys as she wriggled backwards and the seal dragged along the cold floor.

She dropped her cache and spoke, her eyes dancing as she looked over her possessions -- myriad shells, carapaces -- weeds and kelp and all manner of inland plants assorted in mayhem, strewn in some haphazard order in her den. "You can rest here for the night, Tethys. In the morning, Aktaie will meet you." She spoke the leader's name with hushed reverence. "It is late now, Aktaie is likely with the High Priestess and should not be disturbed by an outsider, however well meaning. I will go now to alert her -- you may make yourself at home but do not enter our territory, and do not trifle with my things." She finished with a wry smile and with that she was out the door -- trotting swiftly towards Ankyra with a purpose and drive in her lofty step.