Dragoncrest Cliffs all my troubles will hang on your trigger

coraline was missing. it was insulting enough loko had been relegated to the cliffs, but now another of his sisters had gone missing and he was here under the iron thumb of both mothers.

he understood — perhaps implicitly — that his house arrest was decidedly deserved. still, this did little to quell the anxiousness he felt riding his shoulders. if he could just slip off when they weren’t looking..

they were always looking, his mothers. loko sat on the lip of stone he was known to frequent: here, he imagined he just might be able to make out the speck that was erzulie combing the sands below.

Some of the swiftest undertows could not be seen from the surface. This was something Chacal knew well, as a concept applied to the ocean she lived next to. She'd begun to learn that life was similar in nature to flowing water in many ways. Predictable, at times, but at other times, shockingly unfamiliar and surprising. Change caused ripples which extended outwards- and she couldn't help but feel that time was moving too quickly. So much was happening all at once, and it was impossible to see all the secrets that hid below the surface. 

She could feel more change brewing. Nothing felt settled with Corline and Mireille being away. She knew her younger siblings to be close, and knew the toll that would take on Sobo and Loko. She found the latter silhouetted against the dramatic backdrop of ghe ocean, peering out over the cliffs. His face stern, concentrated. She couldn't help but wonder if he felt pieces missing, or perhaps just joustled out of place, what with there being an addition to his household. 

She whuffed softly as she approached, though her voice was muffled by the bone she carried with her. She'd found it on the beach, but had no idea what it had belonged to. It was stripped clean, sapped of any marrow it would have ever had long ago, polished by waves and sand, and was dimpled by old, empty barnacles. It was about as long as her foreleg, slightly curved. 

So serious, he seemed. She wondered if he was willing to tolerate any foolishness at all- so she approached with calm steps, and as casually as possible, she stared out over the cliff, still holding the long, slender bone. Then, ever so carefully, she gave him a brief side-eye and leaned to the side- with the intention of booping him on the nose with the barnacled end of the bone.

loko felt these changes too. they stirred under his breast as waves at times -- and other times, ran through him like a scouring river.

the boy hadn't heard chacal until she was upon him -- ah! he startled, swinging his head around just as she brought the bone forward. the result was a spectacular boop which for a moment, left loko's head spinning.

he shook his ear, his head, his body -- all while rising unsteadily to his feet. realization of what just happened made loko's reaction somewhat softer -- his fur flattened from its momentary rise, and his eyes fell with curiosity to the thing which had been wielded over his head like a shillelagh. "what dat be?"

She immediately regretted trying to boop him gently on the nose with something that was too long for her to properly control- and she hadn't expected him to move so quickly either. She heard the sound the bone made as it smacked against his head with expected force. She made a small, surprised squeak and her ears flattened in horror. So much for a playful jab!

He recovered quickly enough, though. Still, she exhaled a hiss, shaking her head in an apology as she set the bone upon the ground. "Is a whale bone, I t'ink," She hummed thoughtfully. The corner of her mouth pulled up a bit. "I t'ink mebbe I give dis to Maman to use it as scepter. If dere is someone she have a problem wid, she clonk dem with dis and send dem off de cliff. Whatchu t'ink?" She droned playfully.

oh, it hurt -- but loko carried on. men weren't made to cry about things, even if they were sapphique men, which loko viewed as the superior sort from those beastly wild men and their brutish unseemlyness.

he peered at the bone as it was placed in the sand. so peculiar it looked, resting between the pairs' terrestrial paws. what order of wolves was it that went to the sea once and never came out? did they speak like them, did they love their children, did they have their own culture?

loko's thoughts galloped on, halted only by chacal's playful idea. a grin broke his bruised face. dat be a great idea. and if may'be she can't catch us, she t'row it.

It brought her relief to see amusement on her brother's face. She worried, perhaps too much, how they thought of her. But if Loko was at least willing to engage in a playful scheme, maybe there was some hope for her. She chuckled. "Wouldn' dat be somet'ing to see," She chimed, trying to picture the whale bone slung through the air, spinning and whirring before clunking someone soundly on the head. 

She glanced out past the dropoff of the cliff, scanning out toward the ocean where the waves rolled in. An idea struck her. "How far you t'ink you could t'row dis?" She asked, then. She was fond of the bone she'd found, but was curious, now, to see it fly.

depends on how mad i be. loko quipped, aiming a nip at chacal’s shoulder.

she was staring out at the sea. something forlorn came over him; if she (or he) threw the bone into the waters, it might be gone forever. despite the pain it had caused him, loko thought it a cool find too — and he hoped secretly if she threw it, she threw it somewhere easily retrievable.

Just when she thought she could possibly goad him into a competition, he cast his gaze out over the ocean, and became almost as distant himself as the white crests that ebbed against the blue horizon. His spirits must truly have been weighted down by being confined to the area for him to not be so easily tempted into tomfoolery.

Still, that did not mean she should not try. The bone was of interest to her- but was not the first of its kind she had found, nor would it likely be the last, given how often she scoured the shorelines for treasures. It was dry, and when she went to bite down on it the first time, her teeth sunk in easily. The sea had sapped it of its marrow, making it hollow through the middle. It took a few tries, but she broke through it, roughly near the middle, with a few determined bites. She pushed one portion toward him and sat up.

”Den you best get angry. I bet I can t’row mine fur’ter dan you can.” The bone had been a prize, to be sure- but it would be so much more of a prize to see her brother’s spirits brighten again.

loko's attention returned from the sea. chacal sawed the bone in half besides him, and he watched with a bewildered expression.

oh. duh.

taking the split she'd given him, loko eyed his mark. if he flung it, he must do so with terrific force -- for it would absolutely be the worst thing ever if chacal beat him. even if she totally deserved it.

loko circled, measuring the imaginary distance in which he imagined he'd throw. on the third revolution he ran back and then ran forward, halting suddenly at the imaginary line where chacal stood. he swung his neck and the bone released -- swinging like a lethal disc as it hjuk-yuk-yuk'd through the air.

it landed not so far from them, truly. loko sighed in disappointment, almost ready to give up until he saw chacal's piece had not yet been tossed.

what if?

barely able to hide the grin, loko dove for chacal's shard of bone.

She watched with a skepticism gaze at how calculated he was being. Like he was measuring how far to throw, how much he’d charge before whipping it out into the ocean, and she watched him as he managed to execute the task at hand both flinging the bone shard out over the cliffs and down onto the sand without also tumbling over the edge. 

”T’ought ye we’re gonna end up oer the edge dere too for a sec,” She commented with her eyebrow raised. But now it was her turn to crush him completely. She cracked her neck to one side then the other, rolled her shoulders and when she went for the bone piece- 

It was gone. 

It was a few feet back, a couple feet off the ground, in Loko’s jaws. She squared up, lowering her head and slashing her head from side to side. ”’Ow nice of ye, broder, te pick it up an’ hold it whilst I do my stretches. A true sportsman, indeed. Now: And her tone lowered suddenly. ”’and me my stick.” She dared him.

it wouldn't have been the first time loko fell down a cliff.

he grinned as chacal rolled his shoulders, waiting.

as she squared up, loko mimicked the rolling of his shoulders in turn. chacal's tone took a challenging air, but loko was too busy grinning stupidly with her piece of the boneshard in his mouth. dtick?? dis'be uh boehn. loko's tongue twisted over the unwieldy shape in his mouth. he tensed, and then he dove away with a hyena cackle.

With a cry, she gnashed her grinning teeth together and whipped her head back. Her brother was a pirate, if he was anything- and she adored him for his spirit. When he bolted, she lunged- and pursued him, her laughter soaring with his cackling.

”Stick or bone it does not matter-
I get it back and batter your hide wid it!” She hooped, and sped off after him with harrying hoops and howls.

loko might be a pirate, but chacal had a year's worth of experience on him. he thrust into afterburners mode, trying his best to keep from her.

she would overpower him in a matter of a few strides -- of this, loko was certain.

he slammed on the brakes, shifting direction seamlessly with a splatter of sand. caint batter me if yuh caint catch me! he mumbled between garbles of bone.

but the rig would be up, very soon. loko swerved directions again, this time flinging the bone from his mouth and scampering off with a wide grin on his face.

She could tell by the flagging of his tail that Loko was enjoying himself. Showing off a bit, perhaps. And if she’d truly intended to flog him with the stick she likely could have put more effort into her chase but as it was, this was all just a game. She kept him motivated by staying hot on his heels. 

She had to sit back on her hind quarters to slide to a stop when he halted and changed direction, but bounded after him with an ullulating growl. When the shard of bone was tossed in one direction, Chacal nearly went for it- but chose instead to tuck herself into zoom mode and bolt after her brother instead.

”I’ll batter you wid me own bare paws!” She cried out with a waterfall of laughter cascading afterwards.

the bone ploy didn't work. loko would find this out later in life too -- women were rarely interested in the bones proffered to them.

chacal was hot on his heels. he spun, he darted, he weaved -- but she had every advantage over him and would soon overcome him.

so loko did what any boy about to be bested by a girl did; he ran as fast as his dang legs could carry him.

Her threats were empty, and while she’d give Loko a good chase- it was good sport for him, after all, to try and best his older sister- she’d harry him along like a shepherd, not interested in tackling him to the ground. 

It felt good to open up her stride and course alongside her brother, with wild smiles and eyes full of laughter.