Dragoncrest Cliffs The bombs are falling

going to be using a roll system to determine how things are going with her in each thread for the next foreseeable future. Got a good start here with a 4 ^^; oof

Rosalyn rested frequently these days, and since the meeting, she'd taken to lounging at the lip of the cliffs overlooking the ocean below. Something about it tended to soothe her and, when she was not with her family, she reflected silently.

Many of the days since had been good. Today had not. She'd woken hazy, slow to respond and, as the morning stretched, wondering where Reyes and Nieve had gone. In her mind they were still children, frozen there still, and she eventually made her way to the beachfront to look for them. When she did not find them she began to dig, first idly, then with a persistence that bordered on compulsive.

The sand just kept shifting to fill any hole she made. It was fruitless... but for some reason, she couldn't stop until she had uncovered it.

What "it" was even she did not know. She would know when she found it.

Towhee's visit was a welcome one, though Meerkat needed to put all her focus into integrating here at Sapphique. It was lovely, knowing Njord stood beside her and vouched for her, yet the young woman strongly preferred to earn her keep with her own merits. She figured a good place to start was better acquainting herself with the pack's members, particularly its elite.

She'd spoken with Erzulie on several occasions, so today she sought the woman's mate. Njord had told her about Rosalyn's recent announcement and retirement from leadership. None of it deterred Meerkat from wanting to introduce herself formally and get to know the pack's respected Ruby. Perhaps some of her skills might even come into play, though Meerkat did not have much experience with helping the elderly.

Since she didn't know her way around particularly well just yet, it took Meerkat a while to track down Rosalyn at the beach. She approached slowly, watching the scarred she-wolf toil in the sand, only for the hole she was digging to collapse in on itself repeatedly. A thoughtful frown touched her face. Admittedly, she hesitated.

Then she moved forward, announcing herself with a soft call of, "Hey there!"

She was getting tired, but for some reason, she could not stop. Not until Meerkat came and caused her attention to snap upwards, breaking whatever spell the sand had on her. For a moment she was disoriented, then she was surprised.

You aren't blind, she said, more as a statement than a question, staring at Meerkat intently. Her fur was the same, not counting the patterned difference, but her eyes were wrong. She had imagined the girl was dead by now.

She gave no further explanation than that and seemed to be waiting for something from Meerkat instead.

The comment stumped her and she pulled up short, turning Rosalyn’s words over in her head. The word “blind” made her think of Fennec—she flashed back to the night when she’d spotted her sister wading at the sound, the memory accompanied by a heaping spoonful of guilt—but she wasn’t entirely sure of the connection here. Was it possible Rosalyn knew her sister and had noticed the resemblance? Or was it more arbitrary than that?

No, Meerkat replied, keeping her voice even and friendly, I’m not. She paused and then cheerfully offered, I wanted to formally introduce myself. I’m Meerkat. You’re Rosalyn, right?

Meerkat. Rosalyn blinked and Erzulie's voice came to her, describing Njord's new partner and how she'd come to join Sapphique. That recollection helped to pull her back to the present, grounding her.

I mistook you for someone else, she said, smiling a little distantly. Then her look gained a bit more focus. I am. You came with Njord? She knew it was true, she thought, but she'd like to hear a bit more if Meerkat was willing to expand.

Her dark amber eyes rested on Rosalyn’s ruddy face, watching the way her expression shifted. They dropped briefly to the wet sand at the woman’s feet, the hole collapsing in on itself again. Then Rosalyn spoke, her voice reclaiming the younger woman’s attention.

Do you know Fennec? she guessed. She’s my older sister. She is blind. We look a bit alike, which was a coincidence, seeing as they didn’t actually share parentage. But the resemblance could trip up anyone, Meerkat supposed, even someone who didn’t struggle with muddled thoughts.

Nodding at the Ruby’s question, Meerkat said, We’ve known each other a while. We became friends over time, then… more than. When my pack recently decided to relocate across the wilds, I decided I’d rather stay close to Njord. It made sense to join Sapphique.

She didn’t know if it was prudent, considering what little she knew of Rosalyn’s condition, yet Meerkat couldn’t help asking, Did you know Kaertok? Or Haunt?

Fennec. I did once, I think. The specifics were lost on her, though, and it turned out it didn't really matter. Nor did the other two names she was asked about, towards which she felt a bit of annoyance. She'd stepped into this game but did not want to answer these questions.

No. Not well. She amended it. Haunt struck a familiar note but Kaertok was a complete stranger's name at this point. Any other victims of the bear had been consumed in the grief Raleska had left in her wake.

It was good to hear that Njord and she had made a match, however. The man deserved it and it was better that he bring her here properly, introducing her, rather than stealing through the territory with a stranger. For some that isn't easy, making the change to the sea. But you like it here? There was an almost-connection for her, a history she knew she was missing. But she ignored it entirely in favor of a simpler question, one that would let her sidestep any more questions she might not be able to answer.

“No, not well,” Rosalyn said and Meerkat nodded, thinking, Same here… She mourned the lost opportunity more than the wolves themselves, having only met each of them once. Especially now, she would never forget that the news of Kaertok’s passing had been the topic of her very first meeting with Erzulie and Njord.

That thread ran short, so the Ruby unraveled another. I’ve always been drawn to the coast—ever since I made friends with another girl who lived on Wheeling Gull Island—but I’ve never had a chance to live here until now. The cliffs are a lot more rugged than the island, but the private beach… and the pinewoods… There was admiration in her voice.

What’s your favorite aspect of living here? Meerkat wondered. And your least favorite, while we’re at it.

It was good to hear that admiration echo in her tone. Rosalyn looked out as well and allowed a touch of pride to color the view. This place had been a journey in the making. She didn't need to remember specifics to know that.

The sea. That will never change. I've never lived away from it. Not long enough to ever consider it home at least. She couldn't even comprehend standing it. The few times they'd considered alternatives, it had been pure desperation driving it. Neither she nor Erzulie would compromise now. The sound of it, and the way it fills the air, are as much home as the trees. More even.

It was hard to pick a least favorite. And yet, maybe not. Meerkat was a stranger, so she did pass a moment in silence, wondering if she even wanted to say it. Her thoughts were still slightly scattered, but the conversation was bringing them around.

My least favorite. How many of our children chose to leave. And, worse, how many did without a word. Only Reyes had come back. Nieve, and Val, and ..... the haze took the rest. She struggled to find their names, but nothing would come. No details, no faces, just the idea that she knew more were there.

Rosalyn said she’d never lived away from the sea. Meerkat wondered about her age, though she didn’t know if it might be considered rude to ask. Just looking at her, she knew Rosalyn had lived many years. She was certainly older than the oldest wolf she personally knew, her mother.

There’s something very… Meerkat pressed her tongue thoughtfully against her teeth. I don’t want to say calming, necessarily, though it can be. But the rhythm of it, it feels almost… familiar? It was kind of like the heartbeat of an old friend, though she didn’t say that part out loud, fearing it sounded a little too hokey.

Rosalyn’s least favorite aspect was unfortunately not unique to the seaside. Meerkat couldn’t offer her empathy, since she’d never had children to lose, though her thoughts wandered to Towhee again and she shared, I’ve seen what it’s done to my mom, when one of us just… She waved a leg, frowning sympathetically at the aged Ruby.

Speaking of children, it made her wonder how Rosalyn felt about Njord and herself breeding in the spring. It did not feel like the appropriate moment to bring it up, if she should touch on it at all today. But the conversation had stirred her memories about watching Towhee’s various reactions to her children’s departures over the years, including the many of her own.

I first left home when I was five months old. My mother was so upset. The only reason she let me go was because my older brother went with me. And were going to live with our sister pack nearby. But I knew she hated it, as much as I knew I needed to do it. Since then, she’s come around about her kids leaving, but mostly because she has no other choice. It sounded like Rosalyn would understand that all too well.

It makes me wonder, Meerkat continued after a brief pause, like, when I have kids, should I raise them specifically to leave the nest? Would that save me a lot of heartache? Or is that a totally foolish think to even think…?

She nodded in agreement to what Meerkat said. She has a life of her own. And she had taken lives. Beneath that beauty lay a cold, harsh truth. Maybe that was why she and her wife felt such a connection.

The other aspect of the conversation was even more interesting. Rosalyn no longer had the perspective of a daughter, but she had plenty of experience as a mother. Heartbreak had been a constant, but so had joy. The first time she'd thought never again, but now every time Erzulie chose to bring new lives, she celebrated it.

I don't think there is an alternative. They will leave whether you raise them that way or not, and it's better to prepare them. Failing to do that means failing as a mother. There wasnt any compromise to the harsh words. She believed them whole-heartedly. I've never minded the leaving. It's the not knowing. Never make it so they can't tell you.

It was something that still haunted her at times. Had she and Erzulie done so, unintentionally? Or had life truly just chosen to take so many from them? She would likely never have an answer to that. But she could at least share some measure of wisdom with Meerkat so that she would not fall into the same trap unknowing.

Njord and she were a pair. The choice would be her wife's, but the thought crossed her mind that it might be nice, having a shared legacy.

Rosalyn switched to the pronoun “she” when speaking of the ocean, which reminded Meerkat to ask Njord more about that. She could’ve asked the Ruby right here and now, though she didn’t want to overstep her bounds or risk offense. She definitely got the sense that there was some spiritual aspect to the sea for the wolves of Sapphique, and she wanted to learn more. Her lover would be able to point her in the right direction.

Some would say the Ruby’s words were harsh, yet Meerkat did not find them anything but honest. She nodded. She imagined it was much, much easier said than done. Wouldn’t it feel counterproductive, to raise her children to leave, when she would really love for them to stay? And how did loyalties play into it?

Rosalyn’s last few words hung in the sea air with particular weight. “Never make it so they can’t tell you.” She wondered if she spoke from experience, but hesitated to press for details. Meerkat didn’t mean for the conversation to linger on such dark subjects.

I will definitely remember that, when—if, she amended, since children weren’t by any means a certainty at this point, merely a wish, I become a mother.

Gazing out at the water a moment, a question came to her and Meerkat’s brown eyes came back to rest on Rosalyn’s face as she wondered, What sorts of game does the sea provide, that I can’t get anywhere else? I assume there’s a lot of fish out there, but what else?

Rosalyn returned the look for a moment, as if considering saying something. Meerkat seemed to genuinely take her advice, and the feeling that gave her was something she'd been lacking in a number of ways since making the decision to step down. Age counted for something, and knowing that there was a place for her to still serve some use was gratifying. It should have been obvious, perhaps, but Rosalyn had never paid enough attention, nor been a part of a pack with elders still present.

Maybe it isn't my place to tell you. But I know that Njord wants them. He gave us a gift last year - I don't think that Erzulie would deny him the same. It wasn't a complete yes, but it was an answer. She knew how much her wife loved Njord, and she knew even more how easily they would lose him if they refused this. There was no reason to.

She let that sit a moment, then followed the subject change. There are things you can dig for, that live in shells beneath the wet sand. The bubbles show where. They weren't the most filling, but they were easier than fish. There's also pools where fish and other things will get trapped. I can show you. She got to her feet without waiting for an answer, but did pause for confirmation before she began to walk. There was a tide pool near the base of the cliffs that often filled. If they were lucky, maybe it would even hold something worth eating now.

The Ruby’s words caught her a little by surprise, so she didn’t reply right away. Her mouth opened as Rosalyn went on to describe creatures that actually lived beneath the sand. Meerkat blinked and looked down, noticing bubbles here and there. Her eyes drifted back up as Rosalyn climbed to her feet and began to move.

Thanks, she said, for saying that. Sure, it wasn’t an explicit blessing but she could infer what Rosalyn meant by it. My hope, she continued, keeping pace, is to earn the pack’s trust and blessings alongside him, though Meerkat knew she would likely never achieve his level of esteem. And that was okay, he had been a part of Sapphique much longer, his bloodlines already running strongly through its ranks.

The way she stated it struck Rosalyn in a way that tickled her. It was such a standard mateship for a pack that had seen so few of them. You have an advantage that he didn't. She said somewhat cryptically, smiling in a small way as she sought out their objective.

Meerkat would be trusted far sooner than Njord had been, even if that wasn't her goal. Even to this day, Rosalyn wasn't sure how deeply Njord's loyalty lay, whether one day he'd fail to be content and seek to claim the cliffs for his own legacy. Outside of her own children, it was likely she'd never fully trust another man again. Time had poisoned her against them completely.

When the tide comes in, it covers this section. But it's safe now. She picked her way across the stone to peer into the pool, checking if anything edible might be trapped within. A few fish, and something larger... she made space for Meerkat, inviting her to look and, if she wished, have first shot at it.

Rosalyn’s comment definitely intrigued her. What advantage is that? she asked. Meerkat wondered if it had something to do with her trades. Did the Ruby know much about her specialties? She abruptly remembered what she’d been told about the woman’s mental fogginess, though Rosalyn seemed quite lucid to her.

In fact, she seemed fairly focused on teaching the newcomer about tide pools. Meerkat jotted down mental notes as she crept closer to the edge. Apparently this whole area would be underwater when the tide came in later. In the meantime, there was an entire ecosystem trapped here.

There were fish swimming around, though they scarcely captured her attention compared to the pool’s other residents. She noticed a formation of tiny calderas, a thought which made her huff a laugh. Meerkat let out a noise when something emerged from a few of them. They resembled tiny bushes, their “foliage” waving almost ethereally in their aquatic environment.

Mouth slightly ajar, she glanced over at Rosalyn. When her brown eyes returned to the captives, she suddenly noticed something big and reddish brown moving slowly between the tiny underwater pits. Meerkat stared at it, watching its sanguine shape creeping slowly through the water. She counted five weaving appendages, though she could not seem to locate a face, which was pretty darn uncanny.

You're a woman, she replied bluntly, with a good amount of humor behind it. Sapphique will take men, but it wasn't made for them. Others in the pack might skirt the subject, but Rosalyn was beyond the age where she minded appearances of that nature.

The conversation, focused on material things in front of her, was helping. She watched Meerkat lean in and consider the contents of the pool.

There's a few of these along the cliffs. They provide food in all seasons. But when there's water here, don't try to come. She'll draw you out along with it. She might not recall anymore who had left her with that wisdom, but there were certain lessons she'd carry forever. The ways of the ocean were some of them.

She seemed to be hesitating. Rosalyn's single eye didn't catch the creature meerkat saw, but she did spot a small crab as it scuttled past. Without hesitation she lunged in and snapped, grasping from the side with a practiced motion. It's legs twitched and kicked in her mouth as she re-surfaced, but the pinchers could not maneuver to reach her face or muzzle.

She stared at the starfish, wondering if she could eat it. Did she want to? Meanwhile, she processed what Rosalyn had said to her. Meerkat couldn’t say she understood how it was an advantage, though it wasn’t as though the Ruby hadn’t provided some context. “Sapphique will take men, but it wasn't made for them.” Naturally, she wondered how Njord felt about this, though he seemed to have found his place here. He must not mind, though she would absolutely pick his brain about this later.

For now, Meerkat’s thoughts could be summed up in a single word: Huh. Her eyes continued following the creepy echinoderm, at least until Rosalyn lunged at something. It made the Granite jump a little, eyes whipping to the Ruby’s face as she munched on what looked like a large insect. She vaguely remembered seeing one before, on the island. It was a crab.

Cromchy, she observed a little dumbly, smiling at the woman’s success. Can I eat that? she wondered, pointing a toe at the faceless marine critter made entirely of legs, it seemed.

Whether or not the creature was in fact palatable proved moot, since Meerkat failed to pry it from its aqueous habitat. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the endeavor, and the company, as she and Rosalyn continued exploring the tide pool’s offerings.

I edited to fade this for us.