Wapun Meadow i can see a white blouse hanging on a windowsill, a naked body on my bed

@Blondine keeping things vague, but here u go u aberleafy gemchild

there was trouble in being turned away, yet caiaphas had never been a wolf to crumble before an unexpected obstacle. like the less glorious backside of life, circumstance had a way of fucking her -- she was used to it -- the rest of the world had spat in her face before and it had been she, not them, that had crawled out from the rubble.

the she-wolf had taken time to scour the area, leaving the band of children in her mate's capable hands. they were tired, but they were not dead yet -- each day they grew bigger and svalinn's tentative hold on life grew firmer. the bear that had displaced them had not reappeared, and it had been easy enough to settle back into the dispersal life that truthfully, caiaphas most reveled in.

unsettled as she was, the mother had managed to catch two quail that evening. the first had been relatively difficult, and the second a happy finding, but the sylph could not complain and with these wares in tow stole back towards the encampment her family had settled in.

Any business that Blondine had had with the Valley wolves had been taken care of, which meant that she was free of whatever burdens she'd been carrying with her. All things considered, she should have felt like a weight had been lifted, but if anything, she felt even heavier than she had before. Every step that she took away from Indra made her bones shake and her joints ache; Blondine was walking away from a part of herself, and that wasn't something easily done.

It was time that she had a proper meal. Summer in the Wilds meant bountiful prey, especially being so low in the area. Up ahead walked another wolf with something of interest between her jaws. Figuring that making friends with a local could do no harm, Blondine chuffed and began to trot a bit faster, only stopping once she had a clear view.

aware of a noise behind her, caiaphas' body seemed to slow and then immediately pick up impulsion. one slender ear was cast back to assess the nature of her pursuer -- briefly she turned her lamplight gaze on the figure before she picked up her pace in response to the sudden increase in footsteps. she assumed this wolf was here to harry her and rid her of her children's meals -- caiaphas simply could not allow that.

yet she also was bled of much of her stamina, and knew that an outright confrontation would exact much less energy than bolting for home. she assessed the woman best she could; middling stature, muddled blood, and autumnal agouti. whether or not the stranger proved stronger or more capable than caiaphas was yet to be discovered.

whirling round, the she-wolf focused her stare on the russet-clad woman, her jaws clutched tight around the dangling quail and her tail slowly inching upwards to assert she was not interested in sharing.

Although expected, the stranger's reaction wasn't ideal. Blondine hadn't come for a fight, and while she was sure that she could hold her own under any other circumstances, her poor state of mind and health were working against her. Seeing the wolf's tail inch upward, she lowered her ears and bent down slightly at the knees, stopping in her tracks. Woah, now, she called out, voice warm and worn, I didn't mean to offend.

caiaphas' haggard features composed in an uninviting stare, yet it appeared any menance her countenance conveyed was unwarranted, as the autumnal woman's ears folded and she adopted a pose of humility. the sylph's whiplike tail eased its' inching, but the hard bite of her yellow eyes remained unflinchingly focused.

she dropped her possessions; upended and feathers skewed, the two birds tumbled discordant and unorganized to earth. "good, you'd only get trouble if you did. you from that pack that lives in the stone's hollow, or somewhere else? and before you get comfortable and think you can score a meal... don't even fucking try it." the siren queen's hackles rifled upward like quills as she finished speaking, one paw placed possessively over her kills as she studied the bedraggled woman.

It was all that Blondine could do to shake her head and hope that she didn't do anymore damage. No, ma'am, she replied, eyes wide and watching but from a gaze that was submissive in its nature, I'm alone. I am lookin' for a meal, but yours ain't quite what I had in mind. Blondine watched as the masked sylph continued to gaurd her kill and chose not to further address it, figuring that questions might not be welcome with this one. 

Pardon me, but I figured a local ought to have a better idea of what lies around here than I do. It's been a while since I've been back; I reckon the landscape has changed from where I left it. Mind pointing me in the right direction? That was really all that Blondine wanted, a bit of help, but maybe even that was too much to ask.

caiaphas' blunt claws tensed around the dropped kill, and her gaze slid coldly across the warm features of the abernathy woman. her jaws set in a tight line, for despite the submissive nature of the she-wolf, caiaphas could not bring herself to trust the stranger. it was not in her nature to let her guard go, and she held onto her suspicion in tight, cold claws. "good, because you won't find it here." her reply was testy, and her posture on edge.

it was unfortunate blondine would witness this side of her, but caiaphas had no idea of her intentions and had too many bellies to feed to trust strangers idly. "i don't know anything about around here. we just got turned away from easthollow. we were told to visit bearclaw."

It didn't seem like Blondine would be having much luck with curving anyone's attitudes anytime soon; the welcome that she'd received hadn't been as warm as she had hoped. The stranger spoke of Easthollow, which Blondine was vaguely familiar with, but it was hearing Bearclaw that really caught her attention. There was a noticeable spark of interest in her as she slowly rose back up, not wishing to move too quickly and startle the other woman. If I may, I think y'all'd have better luck elsewhere. How many are you travelling with? 

It was clear that the woman had her own thought processes, and because Blondine hadn't quite mastered them yet, she figured that she ought to add on to clarify that she wasn't asking for her own benefit. I've just come from that way and they don't seem to be very open.

the sylph hadn't missed the interest suddenly roused in the tawny woman's one eye; it was too fleeting to inspect it thoroughly, but she thought from the shift that possibly blondine had a passing familiarity with bearclaw. a few seconds later, her suspicions were confirmed. caiaphas' expression darkened - she had no intentions of visiting bearclaw as it was -- the name was enough to caution her to keep distance, but the idea of debasing herself in front of another creature only to be turned away... well, fuck them. she wasn't doing it.

she ddn't like the idea of answering honestly, but her family's scent was clear on her coat and she saw little benefit just this once in lying. "five puppies, one adult male." she answered succinctly enough, gaze hardening as she thought over blondine's words. "nowhere is very open. tough times to be a lone wolf." the comment was simply an observation but caiaphas felt herself reflecting - the world had been unkind to her the last few months, and she had turned her back on hope long ago.

Blondine didn't have a reason to think that the stranger was travelling alone, but it still shocked her to hear how many children she had under her wing. Maybe it was easier with a(n assumed) mate, and that's how they managed. Maybe when she said "children", she meant adolescents who were practically adults anyway. Maybe she meant that she had five actual pups travelling with her day and night, but that was too outlandish a thought for Blondine to conceptualize any further.

Wish I could argue that, she joked, quickly qualming her laughs with a forced cough. How long have y'all been wandering? Through a caregiver's eyes, travelling with young over long distances was a recipe for disaster, but from the perspective of a fellow woman, it stirred up nothing but respect.

while caiaphas still remained slightly defensive, she found herself begrudgingly accepting the woman's probing -- if it could even be called that. perhaps it was the wilderness that drove her to more tame encounters; perhaps it was the fact she had been traveling for weeks on end with no one to converse with except incoherent children and a stoic, largely silent mate. perhaps it was even because in the height of the siren queen's reign, she had always been largely accepting (and sometimes, even accommodating) of strangers.

it was in a gruff tone that caiaphas answered, her ears swept back as she realized it had been a full month of travel. "a month," ankyra was so far away; home but a memory - no longer permanent. no longer obtainable.

"a bear drove us out. we went to the first pack we could and they turned us away. why did those at bearclaw not appear 'open' to you?"

A month. It seemed that the two of them had been beating their paths for the same while now, despite having set out for very different reasons. I stayed with 'em for a while before I took my leave, Blondine sighed, sitting up while she summarized her tale, Always cautious, those wolves. I went back to visit a few days back and not much has changed, 'sfar as I can tell. Indra's unhealthy dependence, Laurel's ungodly attitude; everything was just as she remembered.

Maybe you'll have better luck; don't let me discourage you. All those mouths to feed, I figure you'd appreciate any help you can get. An idea came to Blondine then, but she chose not to speak on it yet; their companionship was still shaky. I'm Blondine. Blondine Abernathy.

it seemed there was more to story; caiaphas drank in blondine's tale with a traveler's lonely interest -- the road had rough, and, had quite simply bled the humanity (wolfanity?) out of the siren queen. for a moment she remembered what civility was like, and imagined to herself how the storied encounter blondine dictated had gone.

she frowned, for the easthollow wolves had been cautious too. perhaps the coast was truly the home of the wayfaring, as caiaphas had never struggled or entreated for succor on the strand. these inland wolves, she fucking hated them.

"that is helpful. thanks." a rare sign of gratitude -- and more rarely, her actual name dispensed shortly after. "caiaphas."

Unsure of where to take the conversation, Blondine allowed the awkward air to lapse between them for a moment while she thought about how to phrase her coming proposition. I'm a caregiver, she said, heart beginning to flutter with nerves, and I'm clearly a loner, too. With seven mouths, I'm sure I could help somewhere. Get to the point, Blondy. 

Let me come with y'all, I might be of some use.

as a silence strung between them, caiaphas was oddly unaffected. she had lived through many interminable lulls in conversations before -- and truthfully, with all the stress of her life, her mind was elsewhere and certainly not dwelling on the fretful pause that lingered between the two of them like an unacknowledged ghost.

her ears formed perky summits atop her black head as the extent of blondine's offer (was it an offer?) registered in her distant thoughts. she shifted, paw pressing down on her kill as she weighed the woman's proposition.

on the one hand, caiaphas had all but no patience for outsiders anymore. on the other, she had been the matron of saltwinter -- she had shared her home with vagabonds, tired travelers, and thieves - on not one but three separate occasions. but she was also scared; what if blondine was a liar? what if blondine had other intentions, what if her children were harmed?

her gaze narrowed and a cold glint swam in her harsh yellow eyes. "why should i trust you?" the question was posed as blandly as one could pose such a defensive question -- but it was not defensiveness that urged caiaphas to utter it, but a clinical, almost detached interest.

It was a fair question. After all, they'd only just met; a mother had no reason to trust any wandering souls, no matter how warm they might seem. Well, why should I trust you? Blondine retorted, Y'all might take me in now and have me for dinner later. It was a dark joke accented with a gentle smile that Blondine hoped would loosen them both.

I 'spose you don't have much of a reason to trust me at all, being we've just met. I wish I could give a more convincing argument but I won't fib. Manipulation had never been one of Blondine's gifts; everything that she did was done with an hoenst heart.

caiaphas appraised the answer (and the woman) slowly. blondine was so different from her; caiaphas oft would take any opportunity to manipulate, and the times she appeared bald in her honesty were just more artfully crafted guises. a shock of light pink slid across her teeth as she worked her tongue, considering.

"not meaty enough." she rejoined dryly, her paw still wedged on the kills. "we're staying at the lip of a cave in the meadow. you can travel with us, but you will not touch my family." she leveled blondine the most shriveling of stares before she shifted her paw and bent to collect her wares.

It wasn't the warmest invitation that Blondine had ever received, but it was an invitation nonetheless. She followed Caiaphas's trail with a pleased wag of her tail, but remained cautious and conservative for fear of overstepping.