Greatwater Lake i've had a famous man on his fire escape

@Slade -- let's set this sometime after Caiaphas visits Ouroboros Spine, if that is okay

Caiaphas had visited the Greatwater Lake once before -- and as she winded her way back home from the Spine, she wondered what the large expanse of water looked under the guise of darkness. Intrigued by this speculation, she had set in its general direction earlier that day.

However, Caiaphas was not about to admit she was a terrible navigator -- and it took nearly all evening for her to find the massive body of water. Pretending she was not a terrible Outrider, she sunk towards the shore to cool both her body and her aches.

She had to laugh, so ludicrously small the giant lake seemed in comparison to the ocean - and she splashed in the shallows on her stomach with sniggers, sadly unobservant to her surroundings.

The obsidian brute decided to get a gander at the lands outside of the new place where he had called home. A few hours after he had stepped outside of the shadow drowned woods, he had already begun to miss the diabolical feel of it. The solitude. The chaotic serenity. The soft brush of death tainted breeze...
Slade pondered all of it in a faint desire to return to it, as he headed farther from it.

He had begun to step into greener pastures, seeing many small and decently larger prey animals, and logically paired it to their lessened chance of a random attack from savage murderous creatures that resided in BlackFeather's woods.

Upon walking through another set of woods, he felt oddly out of place in the lively lush greenery of the flatlands. His darkpelt had seemed to sense this as well, for it had fluffed up a bit, to the sunlight. Strange.

Slade heard a splash nearby, slowly and cautiously padded closer.
He saw a black and white hued lupine, and he couldnt figure out the gender, for the wolf's scent had begun to wash away in the mist of the splayed water. So slade decided to sit, and watch as the coywolf seemingly played in the lakey liquid, a series of laughs erupting from her location.

Caiaphas would have remained woefully oblivious to the stranger were it not for the scent that suddenly wafted across the water. Caiaphas froze, her sharp little eyes narrowing as she watched the ripples flounce past her and fade into the tranquil reaches of the lake.

She wondered if she could scry then -- in the manner Psamathe was so adept at. She peered at the water without moving -- trying in vain to catch the reflection of the wolf she knew now was behind her. When this proved fruitless she craned her neck, peering over her narrow shoulders to behold the sight of a gruesomely black male that sat contently, menacing like some predator.

She flicked her tail, her yellow eyes absent of fear.

She was a scrawny girl, a wretch, but a dangerous beauty held to her, and its life source had leeched off of her errie and tantalizing golden orbs. When she had faced him, he had no problem staring back.
So began the staring contest.

Slade kept his face still, with a barely noticeable smirk upon his dark maw, holding no intention in his orange and golden blazing irises.
He wrapped his midnight tail around the base of his paws, and stared on, preparing to do such an action for however long the girl deemed herself to do.

Caiaphas would have engaged in such a staring match were it not for the fact her position was uncomfortable -- turning your neck nearly all the way around backwards, and sustaining this position for any length of time, was impossible for nearly anything but owls.

Huffily she conceded, a scowl darkening her countenance as she rose dripping from the shallows. She pivoted heavily, facing the stalwart male with a blank expression gracing her features. Tentatively she perused the air between them to gauge what pack he was from -- but she did not recognize the scent that clung to the powerful male's coat and with a sigh she drew from the bank and sat in front of him, meeting his smirk with a dull expression of her own. "If you're going to peep on a lady who is bathing, you should at least be abashed when discovered."

Not that Caiaphas was really a lady -- and not that she was one someone would want to watch. Her sharp cheek remained delivered without a smile, her expression unchanging as she awaited his reply.

"Why chastise your eyes when it is them who seek the comfort of a beautiful image? I will not shy from an opportunity to see that."

His volcanic eyes remained on hers, not bothering to watch her move, only keeping his intense gaze on her own.
His peripheral noted that she had removed herself from the murky pool, however.

Slade had no issue with complimenting a girl, and he did so with ease. Not saying he would devote himself to such a girl, he just a an angelic side to his devilish whims.
And plus, he had an eye out for a woman who too, held a mentality that could label herself as a classy individual.
Classy, indeed.
However, for the moment, he solely focused on the female, who dripping wet, still held no shame nor hostile notions in her own petite body language.

Caiaphas blinked blandly when he spoke, her dull expression unlifting. What? She thought mutely, obtusely -- what exactly had he just said? Caiaphas had never once been complimented by her good looks before -- and towheadedly, she remained unaware that he was likely complimenting her.

Her falcon-yellow gaze settled on his briefly before she sized him up in the same way he watched her -- she unhappily noticed how muscled he was and how likely it was that he could overtake her in every aspect. It was then she frowned, though the expression was short lived.

"Uh. Well." She tried to piece what he said together -- and was still admittedly somewhat unsure exactly what he had met. "Who are you, again?"

He watched the confusion overtake her features, and he could only chuckle as a response.
Her words had faltered, stumbling while forming short sentences.
Eventually, and expectedly, she had asked for his name, after she gave up trying to decifer his poetic sentence.

"I am Slade. Slade Nightmare. Who are you?"

Slade tilted his dark crown, patiently awaiting the little pretty girl's response.

Caiaphas' confusion melted when the male admitted his name -- her features lit in incredulity and she watched the male carefully, skeptical of his last name.

"Nightmare?" She inquired in disbelief, her brow knotted and one eyebrow uplifted in dubious surprise. "Really? How ugly was your mom, exactly?" If she was confused before about his jumbled, poetically sorted words, she was more confused now -- what kind of parent named their child a nightmare?

Although, this caused her to pause. After all, she had been named Caiaphas. She sighed, lifting a sopping tail in the equivalent of a shrug. "I'm Caiaphas."

He laughed an almost distorted series of barks at her bold question, though his golden fiery stare never left her own.

"She was ugly enough to be killed after having her pups, that's how much."

The shadow king spoke of death as if it were his best friend. Which in a sense, it was. He had met the subject on many more occasions, and most likely, more to come in the near future.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Caiaphas. Pretty name, too. Suites a savage little girl like you."

Slade chose to lay on his side, and turn his gaze for once, up to a nearby branch of a heavily autumned oak.

"What made you laugh as you splashed in that filthy lake down there, Caiaphas? Did you adore your reflection? "

Caiaphas had no such affinity for death -- and his dark words were met only with a stoic expression that masqueraded any evident opinion she had on the subject. She did not need to hastily reply -- he was quick to change the subject and she watched him wryly, observing how intense his savage gaze was to behold.

She met his compliment with a coldness she had loftily borne all her life -- it slid noncommittal from the conversation and in a moment it would be forgotten. "This lake is small. When you live on a grey frontier of immensity, small things like this tickle you. Do you live in this pond, Slade?"

"Not that I know of, no I don't. I live a small walk from here, my home, an immensity of dark woods, where death walks freely. "

He turned his view to the sky, and a glint of pride echoed within the vivid orbs.

"BlackFeather Woods."

As he sat silently, absorbing the sounds of living creatures, Slade reflected on the wraiths words.
Grey. The two born of her two sided coat. Grey.

There was no mistaking the pride in the male's voice. Caiaphas' narrow head followed the male's gaze to the sky -- empty, with little flustered clouds moving like vapid sheep across the expanse.

Blackfeather Woods. She knew of this place, though not of its inhabitants. She recalled Blacktail Deer Plateau and wondered if there was an affiliation. "Why does death roam freely there?" She inquired with a soft stare, wondering morbidly if the pack performed some sort of ritualistic wolven sacrifice.

The onyx regally turned his crown back down to the slim wild fae, and returned her own soft voice, with his own masculine gentle tones, the fire within his words evidence enough of his newfound passion to love his pack.

"BlackFeather is a home to where death need not tip toe or be provoked. There, it happens on the regular, not needing to be buried or shied away from. It has its irks and engs but it proves homely to those who fear nothing."

The male spoke again, once more engaging in riddles. The speech drew another dark frown from Caiaphas, who now regarded the male with a cold indifference.

He spoke again of death -- Caiaphas wondered if he had ever dealt that eternal darkness, and her lips pursed in a warmth-less smile. Death was not the worst to happen to men -- and with a smooth flourish of her sopping tail the little wraith rose. "Have you ever killed a wolf, Slade Nightmare?"

"Indeed, I have, Caiaphas. And it could have been poetic, it was so beautiful. But it was also an unforgettable and unfortunate state of 'affairs'."

The black brute rose to his fours, and leapt down the small hill he was once on, with ease, his muscles contorting and convexing underneath his obsidian hide.
Padding a foot away from her, only then, did he return his previous posture of sitting.

"Why? Do you think I don't have bite to my bark?"

He regarded the skinny girl, keeping his eyes on her face, the searing stare full of glinting mild curiousity.

Slade rose and the haggard female followed him at first with only her gaze -- when he sat she stepped forward boldly, closing the distance that he had carefully laid between them.

She didn't think he lacked bite, but she wondered for a moment if the mighty dark male lacked conviction. Conviction is what made killers -- or so she thought. Psychosis and all of its ailments were madly useless if it was not backed by deep-rooted persuasion.

She offered a shrug to his question, and it rolled harmless down her skeletal backside. "I think this deserves an explanation. A story, if you will." She met his gaze without challenge, noting the searing nature of his vibrant eyes.

She wanted a story? The savagely beautiful wraith desired a tale? He would tell a tale, and a good little children's tale, indeed.
Slade looked into the filthy water, and dipped a dark paw into it, swirling the liquid, and distorting the image of the two lupines who stood at its edge.

"Once, there was peace. Tranquility. Happiness..all was perfect. There was a King, and a Queen, and they ruled a kingdom of prosperity. Their people flourished."

His voice lowered a bit, bringing with it a small chip of confusion, his face furrowing to take the part.

"The Queen...she was not satisfied with herself. Her husband. Her life. And the King did not notice any, for he had been so busy ensuring the safety of their lands, their people, their lives. So using the naïvity of her tristing love, she snuck. Conived. Plotted. Vanished. She was gone. But the Queen was a smart woman. Oh, she was very intelligent. She returned. Day time, she was there, right by the Kings side, but when nightime fell, and the King went to do his duty, ensuring his patrolmen were aligned, his archers were forever ready, he ran drills, over and over again. "

The dark man swirled his paw faster into the water, forming a small whirlpool on the surface.

"The king, one day, heard two peasants chatting. They were having a soft conversation about a hard topic. A topic that got them in a bit of trouble with the king. "

Leaning into the water, his face barely a millimeter from the ever swirling whirl.

"They talked about the queen cheating on her husband with his own brother."

Slade struck the water , ending the whirlpool.

"And the next morning, they got their throats shredded for treason. But the rumour didn't end there, ...no, no, they spread. All across the kingdom, it spread."

The dark king shook his paw, looking dead at Caiaphas.

"The king heard all of them, the rumors. So many were killed, over and over again. But the Queen didnt mind. She was one who was concerned over herself, than others. It was a sad time, cold, bloody. So very bloody.
But then the Queen slipped up. Her guard had been breached, her plans gone wrong.
She got pregnate.
And, in hopes that the king would spare her and the children, along with the father, she told him. But, oh, so wrong was the queen,...very wrong indeed. After she had revealed the name of the childrens father, the husband killed her, right then and there. And she died a horribly agonizing death, poor girl. Only then, after the Queen stop breathing, did the insane king go after the childrens father...his own brother."

Slade took up to swishing his thick glimmering tail, swaying it back and forth, like that of a pendulum.

"His brother tried to hide, only to be flushed out. He tried to lie, only to have his tongue ripped out. He tried to plead, only to bleed. But the one thing that he tried his most to hold onto, was his life...and with no hesitation, the king took that from him, as well."

Slade stood, and flicked a tiny fly off of his left ear.

"That king left his half populated kingdom, looking for the sanity that he lost, all those years ago."

She listened, a singular ear flicked in his direction and her yellow eyes trailing the small whirlpool his claws articulated. His story, veiled as it seemed, was lengthy -- and he spoke with great poise. In a past life, if he were not a king Caiaphas would think him a bard -- each word was carefully placed in a structure that suggested grave poeticism.

When he finished she turned to look at him full on -- her eyes wide and blank in the manner of a doe's. "And that king, it was you?" A wry smile followed: "Unfortunate state of affairs, indeed. Do you have any remorse for those you've killed, Slade?"

The shadow pelt admired her patience and respect in listening to his story, amd he humbled his tone just a smidge.

"Yes, it was me. I was the Alpha of Nightmare Elm, hence, my last name. " a soft grin sliced its path to her, before he sheathed it.

"I hold no regret for my actions. But I feel as though of they still lived, I'd definitely take the same path, again. "

Slade knew he had a screw loose in his skull,..or two..maybe a few..
But he also knew that the moral of life wasn't 'you reap what you sow', nor was it 'theres a side to every story'. It was 'Life is shit, so do what you can'.

He admitted no remorse - this did not surprise the pale wraith. She watched him grimly, her blackened muzzle wrought with some austere and unkind emotion.

At length she rose and made her leave. Someday she would have to return to this place and find him again and see if he had changed his course of thoughts. For now, the ghastly wretch adopted a lofty trot and with a sly look cast over her head she crowed: "Remorse is for the dead, my enemy." An old familial chant she knew from some distant and bygone era.

And with that, she was gone and the only thing left to tell of her trespass was the rippling of the magnificent lake.