Ankyra Sound and not just the muse

Maybe @Meerkat because I can't help myself ;P but all welcome if she can't make it!

The coast was not horribly far from the Rise, in truth.

He supposed he had just avoided it with the absence of Marina. Not to mention the arrival of the children had given him much reason to stick closer to home. Yet they grew too, also eager to escape his grasps when they could.

He found a churning void in him as he stood here, staring out into the water and the islands he knew little about. Druids, Marina had told him.

But she trickled from his mind too as he thought of Meerkat. How bright she had seemed and how well put together, diplomatically, she had spoken. She had three children to tend to of her own and yet she had also been out on the ravine that day.

He cut his path towards Sapphique and wondered if he might catch sight of her on the way home.

The heat of the day had Rosalyn restless. She'd remained near the coast most of the morning, but as afternoon drew on she relocated to the cliffs to make use of the breezes there.

It was there that she spotted a lingering silhouette in the Sound. Her hackles immediately prickled. She'd associated the place with death for so long that she wondered at first if it was a ghost. She lingered on the thought of Raleska once again, but no. It was too big for that.

She knew that she shouldn't investigate, but something drew her forward. Her paranoia grew worse as memory faded and she did not trust the spirit to leave them alone without a warden to chase it. She could serve that purpose still.

Her gaze was suspicious and unfriendly as she approached him, but she didn't growl straight off. What are you doing, lurking here?

An older woman.

Torn and tattered by time. He wondered if she had gained them in favor or with disdain. It did not matter as she ruggedly pointed a question his way.

Passing through on my way home. She smelled of the sea, the churning scents he had come to associate with those who lived along the coast. Similar but different to Marina, close to what Meerkat wore.

Are you from Sapphique? I'm from Redtail Rise.

rolled an 18 <3 woulda been interesting but this is prob a good thing, haha! No breaking alliances today XD

Redtail Rise. For once, the name of another pack meant something. She did not remember Avicus directly, it had been too long. But she recalled that their packs were allied, that there were some there who had earned their favor. There was still a note of suspicion to her but most of it fell away, replaced by grudging acceptance. She would not apologize for her rudeness, though perhaps she should.

I am. There are... this place has a history. Things often come that I'd rather not have near. But if you are from the Rise, you are welcome here. She allowed, her stance falling into neutrality. There was no need to chase off an ally, not when there were plenty of ghosts to distract her otherwise.

His brows pinched for a moment as he listened to her speak.

Things here she would rather not have. The warrior of the Rise could only come to one offer to make, to the older woman.

Does Sapphique require guards here?

They did not have enough bodies to loan, but he could do it, he thought.

He could play guard along the coasts in rotating shifts from the rise.

Rosalyn stared around at the empty beach. Then she looked towards the grotto, an empty maw that sank deep into the shore's interior. Perhaps that was where the witch's soul had been consumed.

Ghosts weren't something guards could solve. No. Sapphique can defend her own. She said this with pride but without any malice. His offer was appreciated.

lost track of this <3 we can fade or continue! I'm fine either way