Ankyra Sound you and me, we got something to lose.

* * *

'you are lost, little girl.' the spectre hovered above a pair of bright eyes, bemused by the gust of strong life that had come to her little world. the owner of such emblematic yellow eyes peered back, a haughty stomp of her foot issued in rejoinder. 'i am not lost! i be esploring.'

on the child went, upending everything in her path. caiaphas marveled, wordlessly setting each displaced item back in its former orientation. she shuddered to see the dust collected on some of these items.

how long?

now her charge came to a halt, where the tunnel turned into an atrium; the beating heart of caiaphas' very lair.

'go on,' she urged to her little explorer.

'i won't let anything happen to you.'

* * *

i am not lost! i be esplorin'. miette countered, the turn of her voice singed with insolence.

she whirled, catching movement out of the corner of her eyes. along the cave walls something stalked in the manner of a spider -- it caused miette's heart to tremor, but she would not be afraid!

but where, and what, was it? she narrowed her eyes, a pout of her lip worrying her dark features. if only astera was here! i am not afraid of you. maman told me how to banish loa, and you are a bad loa.

a loa. caiaphas had been called many things, but never that.

an old memory made itself known: hardened eyes in green and gold, siren voice. a lilt. a show of fangs.

erzulie.

did she live?

watch your step, girl. the spirit cautioned, hovering above the lip of stone that demarked the grotto's first cavern.

is that what loa were, then? displaced souls such as herself, haunting halls long forgotten. caiaphas breathed the stale air of her crypt, glancing down upon the girl who walked the very floor her ancestor once whelped upon.

another memory: she was struggling, bones thrashing against the rounded edge of water. blue lights danced, she was red-hot and feverish, she was fading, she was --

what will you do to banish me? you can't kill me twice.

sobeille did not need to be told to watch her step! an airy scoff left her lips as she navigated the steep precipice, leaping down upon the stone threshold that once held the voices of her ancestors.

she looked around her, ignoring caiaphas’ question for the time being. the cavern stretched out beyond view, the distant walls damp and dark. at the center, a blue light glowed from an inlaid cistern; the water rippled against the edges, each small wave thrumming with electric blue.

miette turned an eye upon her follower. its shape was hard to disseminate from the surroundings; she was silvery and liquid, and yet when viewed from miette’s peripherals took on the shape of something cold and hard.

so you be a ghost? miette drew to the water’s edge, her thin face illuminated by the refraction of the murmuring waves. how did you die?

if nothing, miette was a study in child bullheadedness. as she leapt down the stone embankment, it stirred in caiaphas an old memory.

of rhakios and raleska playing upon the ledge, unable to clamber over it.

the chamber was largely quiet, the din of the outside world dulled. in these cold cave walls little sound transpired, save the plop of drip water and the softened blow of the sea outside.

now, little footsteps skittered across the stone.

how had she died? caiaphas recalled fragments, but when she took these pieces and tried to sort them they faded away like a mound of sand washed over by the tide.

i was murdered. she remembered this -- her life had been forfeit without her consent.

time passed between them. caiaphas felt the edges of her vision shimmer while miette played with the water's refracting surface. something about it was alluring -- suddenly, she remembered a danger lurking beneath its hungering surface. don't wade too deep there -- there is a current under the surface you cannot see. drop a stone in it, see for yourself.

murdah'd? miette's eyes shone in interest. she splashed the water with a paw, delighting in the ripple of bright blue that each impact spurred. she did not care for the siren's word of caution - if anything, it spurred a rebellious streak.

she slipped into the cool water, wincing as luminous cold rippled down her spine and across her shoulders. for a while she closed her eyes, ignoring the disapproving hiss of the wraith.

but when it came time to get out, miette realized she was too short to surmount the ceremonial pool's lip, and its stone edge too slick for good traction.

panic began to set in.

as a spectral form, there was little caiaphas could do. try here. she motioned to the splashing water's edge as miette struggled. no dice; the ramp was slick.

here, she pointed to a crag just underwater. miette paddled towards it with a shove, clawing her sodden body on every vantage she could. still no dice.

here, caiaphas intoned, just under a ridge of melted stone. miette seized it and pushed -- in a desperate hurl, she had freed herself from the ceremonial pool's waters.

but still, it did not solve the larger issue caiaphas realized was at hand.

miette was too short to exit the grotto.

for once in her life, sobeille listened to the voice in the walls.

the first and second ledges were too slick; miette's paws slid from the film-lined surface.

but the third was just workable enough miette found her purchase. aha! she shoved with all her little might, clambering gracelessly over the lip of stone and collapsing in a trickling heap on the hard ground.

oh! she could kiss it! she gathered the pebbly ground into her paws, to exhausted to follow through. with a flop, she turned back to the spectre. 'ow am i to get out?

when caiaphas first reawoke, she felt a crackle of electric energy revive her.

that band of power had fluctuated, and now she felt it gradually fading.

first the boy. now, the little girl. she knew that the overworld had reanimated her for a purpose, and for once, her own selfish errand aligned with that of the spirit world.

to save her bloodline.

staring down at the doe-eyed girl, so different than her own daughter's eyes and yet -- somehow -- exactly the same! you must try to climb the mount. caiaphas motioned to the rim that had once secured a brawling raleska and @Rhakios. but if you cannot, girl, drink from the pool and scream -- scream until your family comes.

a pulse shivered through her.

caiaphas' life blood was draining.

miette assessed her options, a bleary sense of hopelessness settling her heart.

the tunnel's lip was too high to jump. she'd tried to no avail to gain purchase on its slippery face, only to end up in a cloud of dust each time.

so she screamed --

her voice filled the cavern and spilled out of the grotto's mouth, a desolate wail that edged its way to a stormy and impetuous sky.