Barrow Fields like phineus now i see

aw but @Firefly welcome

breath rose in a plume, and up into the fields erzulie bore carrion she had taken from farther along the beach: a rich ripping of whalemeat from the upstanding bones of an abandoned carcass. she had skirted the sound for the time being, as much as it caused her great anger. but she would be of no worth to their growing pack if she was injured by her own pride.
night had begun its cold descent before erzulie returned, the eerie mounds standing silhouetted against the growing shadows. whatever they were, she had ceased her wariness of them — perhaps beneath their surfaces would lay something of benefit to the wolves who followed caiaphas.
casting down her find, erzulie chewed idly on a strip of it while her paws set to excavating a new cache.

Although he had been struggling for sleep the past few nights, the day following his last attempt was bright and a touch warmer and he managed to bask in the chilly sunlight until his dark coat became a warm and comforting blanket. He dozed in the sand for most of the afternoon and when he woke, was surprised by the intimate darkness that had fallen across the sound; for a few hazy moments Firefly didn't know where he was and sat up with a wild look to his eyes. 

But the sound of the sea helped. He remembered Illidan, his mother, the invasive little shit that had tried to piss on their beach - and as he remembered these things he visibly calmed. The man rose to his feet and began slinking across the sand with his hobbling gait, and paused when a sickly sweet smell caught in his nose; he had never smelled whale before, and the petrified flesh the woman carried was not appealing to him as food. He was curious, and followed the faint scent until it was much stronger, finding her and her meal soon enough.

erzulie let out a low sound when the dying light was obliterated briefly by the scarred shoulders of a titan wandering up from the beach. tensing, the harlot extended her muzzle to take his scent; it was brinewater and caiaphas. still, she did not fully relax, hackles prickling somewhat as she stood to her paws.
resplendent darkness, hale, save for his limp and the brutal scars that ran the length of his body. quietly she drank him in. "i have food here. eat, and let me tend dese scars." it was not truly a request; he was one of the siren's wolves, therefore her packmate, and their group would only be stronger if she aided him.

She was cloaked in the same tones as himself, albeit his golden tones were hastily painted across his back like war-paint while she was clad in golden armor; at first he paid no notice to the woman's sandy face or her actions, he was watching that strange strip of tough flesh she worked at with her teeth. Then, when she spoke, Firefly realized he was staring and being pretty weird about it.

He settled back upon the sand, rump slowly descending and forelimbs spreading out, sending grains shifting around his wrists. He watched her carefully - trying to focus both of his eyes despite one of them being so misted - and wondered what she could do that Willow and Nettle hadn't already tried.

as she had not yet cached her find, erzulie pushed the ragged scraps slowly toward the scarred man. "whale," was her final intonation, before she disappeared into the mounds. she arrived back near the newcomer a handful of moments later, bearing a small bundle. this she lay upon the earth. the man had stared at her before; erzulie wondered if he would now, or if the thick twisted marks across his face led him to do so.
a bit of dried kelp she ground with the edge of her paw, adding some spittle, and with the paste daubed onto her toes, she hesitated. "your back first, unless you mind," the harlot intoned, wanting to gain the male's consent before she went on.

Whale, she'd said. He watched the lump of flesh upon the sand until her return, in part to study it, but mostly because he didn't have anything else to look at or to do until she joined him with her bundles of herbs - rather, he assumed she brought herbs. Willow had always carried them with her too. They had been his saving grace when he'd been found that fateful day.

As she got to work crushing things and manipulating the plants, she said something, but he'd missed it. His ears shifted and he looked to her with a brief glimpse, then shrugged — if she wanted to tend to his scars she was welcome to it, although Firefly did not hold out hope that they'd diminish in any capacity. He hadn't been able to look at his own reflection for a while and doubted he'd ever look the same.

As she worked, he watched as the plants became a paste. You're an herbalist, he muttered, as if confirming it for himself. Where did you learn? Perhaps she was one of the lost ones — like his friends who served the witch.

he did not stop her, and so the harlot began to dab the kelp paste onto the first of the man's scars. "i learned de art from my mentor, marie." if it was not to further add to a man's pleasure the heavy and sodden grind of the opium, it was bandaging herself when a cull had grown too rough, grabbed her too harshly, hurt her beyond the limit set.
but erzulie did not want to think of that now.
"de salt in de kelp cleans well, and can have a fading effect," she went on, adding more of the mixture to her paw. "how did you come by dese scars, if you do not mind me asking."

She had a unique accent, one he had never heard before. If he had, Firefly liked to think he'd remember — even after the attack, with his mind ablaze with inconsistency. 

As she went on to name her teacher, the man tried to recall if Cigfa or her children had ever mentioned one such witch — but the thoughts fell away when the inevitable shift occurred in their conversation. The scars. His history.

Firefly was already growing tired with the explanation, but he didn't want to dissuade her from helping him, so he would oblige her. Something attacked me and I nearly died, but I managed to escape, and.. Then I was found by a coven. Although she was tending to his back, he wondered exactly how such a statement would register on her face; his ears twitched, but he remained focused forwards. With their aid, I survived. I don't know what it was that found me.

from her place where she bent over his spine, erzulie's ears cupped forward. "a coven," she repeated softly, not wishing to emphasize her interest too much. but, this was a man of witches. perhaps their pet? maybe he would see fit to tell her, if not now then another time. "where i am from, such beasts are called loa. dey are spirits dat can take de form of flesh, and can tear it also."
erzulie moved 'round to his front now, leveling her face with the man's own. "do you mind?" she murmured, wondering if he would allow her ministrations to continue upon the scars that ran the breadth of his otherwise handsome visage.

He wondered what she knew of witches. When she moved around him he was silent and listening, wondering who was right - to Firefly, witches were women with greater knowledge of the natural world than others. It would not suprise him if Caiaphas was also a witch. But this woman had other ideas, supernatural ones, which got him thinking.

When she began to work at his face he leaned in to her ministrations and only seemed affected as she neared his blurry, pale left eye. Those I know of were kind, but... I'm sure they could do damage if they wished. I owe them a debt.

it was strange to be so close to a man, to take in the scent of his breath, leave her face and neck vulnerable to any sudden attack. it was healing, yes, it was her craft. both of them. gently she smeared the kelp mixture on the male's face, pulling away from his eye when he evinced discomfort.
"de witches i know, well. i knew dem as voodoiennes. dey could conjure your spirit from your ribcage." she laughed. "bad blood, to be indebted to one of dem. but dey do not often pride demselves on being kind, like your witches seemed to be."
erzulie leant back to observe her handiwork. "how does it feel?" she asked softly, knowing that the powdered kelp could often produce a moderate tingling in sensitive areas.

(Grats on 200!!)

They were very close to one another. He was used to it, having spent a lot of time in the care of healers. Her attempts to sooth his wounds was appreciated and he felt his debt shifting to encompass this woman as well. If he was living here and using their stores, their abilities, it was only right that Firefly repay the effort. He knew of some herbs to look for in the spring - and if he remained here that long, he would be sure to bring something of a gift to this woman.

It feels.. fine, he answers absently, his mind still wandering. Nothing hurts or feels irritated, although he wonders what effect this will have on his ruined flesh. Thank you, miss.

lol i hadnt noticed THANK YOU <333

satisfied, the harlot smiled at her charge, he who had offered himself so readily to her soothings. "i be erzulie. rest now, please," she murmured gently. if he gave his name in return, she did not know it, for caiaphas' howl beckoned in the distance, and with a lingering look of something akin to friendly invitation at the male, the harlot sped off. whatever the dark-headed woman wished, she had earned, and the chai-tea jezebel was happy to give it.