Firefly Ravine I was born to be free

Finally, she'd had enough of sitting still.  It was too soon, she knew - but even after she'd gained the injury, she'd made the trek all the way south from Drageda. She needed to do this.

The wilds had an unfamiliar taste for the red woman now - fear.  She had felt it soon as she approached the border, and felt it intensify as after a moment or two of deliberation she crossed it.  She needed to do this alone to know that she could.

Her eye cast about skeptically as she skulked around the ravine now, but finally her fur was relaxing, and she breathed in deep.  Not near as much salt in the air, but it felt good to be away.  She would never be the sort content to stay in one territory even weeks at a time.  The ravine opened up before her and she stood staring across the depths, her injured leg carefully resting on the ground.  For an inland haunt, this place had always been rather pretty.  She'd come this way a few times back in the day, and even though she may not have seen them here, it brought back memories of Kitten for some reason.  Rosalyn wasn't a woman of many friends, but she'd been fair lucky in the few she had claimed over the years.

waiting to tag.......  OK @Aure

After spending some further time in Elysium, Aure had begun to make her laggared return to her northern cliffs. When she'd first left the redwoods, it had been to distance herself from the smothering embrace of dreariness that the kru had ported into; simply put, Aure was one who had a better time mourning alone. And though, yes, she was weighed down by Blixen's obituary of Antumbra, she couldn't resist feeling... a bit removed from the grief of others. Pledged to Antumbra, yes; but she felt severed, because she hadn't been as tied to the leader in battle, in blood, and in all of those ways that many wolves would become mere apostles for their matriarch.

The skayona could blame it on her pregnancy, even as she was ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋs ᴀʟᴏɴɢ already. But... the truth? It was only a life-debt that Aure had owed the late heda, for allowing her into her realm. As it was, Aure had thought she'd simply been mannerly, respectful in every sense, to keep her distance and refrain from further relations. When she'd been an heiress to Rhaesuial, even when she never wanted to be, her luna-loving patrons had kept their distance more than ever. And yet, she'd come to know these corsairs in the only way she knew: fleeting, drifting, and when she chose. And yet, she'd mated with Antumbra's -- now Blixen's, right? -- guard, in body, in soul, in essence. 

Regardless of what Aure meant to the Drakru, she would do what she could to remain steadfast alongside them. Just as she'd been on the cusp of war, skirmished, Rakk's assault... she would stay, her own worries aside. At a time when they mattered so little, when her "barbarians" -- as mother would say -- needed her gentle resolve once more. And... oh, Verx. 'My love, my campion frumos, how can I miss you so when the day hasn't even half begun?' He would need her, now, more than ever -- and here she was, dizzy with their children, in a place she wasn't familiar with.

A soft, uneasy whine left her, and she stopped in her steps. Wavered on the spot as she closed her eyes against the nausea. The swell of morning sickness, otherwise, swept through her with deliberate, grousing intent. An airy groan left her, and the flush came in a new surge of vertigo, and Aure pitched forward, woozy and stumbling. As a resolute fatigue, black and spinning drew itself over her, Aure's last thoughts were how that she was without a bodyguard to guide her like she should have requested for of Lily.

tl;dr she faints away from ros but still near enough to be seen rip

oh lord

It was the groan that caused Rosalyn to turn, hearing it faintly in her undamaged ear.  When she did, she saw a figure collapsed behind her, and her eyes narrowed curiously.  What the hell?

She moved over to investigate somewhat warily, and as she did so, the scent of Drageda washed over her.  Instantly her lip curled, and she felt a hot wave of hatred.  What the fuck was this wolf doing here, and what happened to her?

It was tempting.... she was helpless, and the weeks of torment she'd born at their pleasure urged her to sink her fangs into the woman's throat and end her there.  Would anyone know?   

But she didnt.  She would not risk starting a war, because an image of Erzulie as she'd asked for children rose up in her mind.  She couldn't, not even with as much empty closure she felt killing the woman would bring.

That didn't mean she had to help her though.  Impassionately, Rosalyn stared at her, wondering how long it would take her to wake.  Maybe something else would come along and take the chance instead.

Thankfully, Aure's faint didn't last long; blearily, she came to, the darkness creeping back and taking that hazy flush which felled her along with it. Her conciousness roused once more, and found her with a scarred cheek smushed a notch between her brow... and someone standing over her. The crease in her brow deepended, worrying at the hurts webbing across her weary facade.

She was careful when she made to rise, for her own body's sake; but as she propped herself upon her elbows, it was the scent of this female that stilled her, kept her where she was. Rusalka. 

The fur along her spine shivered to life, her tail mindlessly feathering about her loins. Unlike the one before her, the urge to kill didn't come, and she otherwise wouldn't attack a stranger -- unless provoked. But her ears pressed tight against her ivory neck, and her gaze evened, peered into the maimed, taut facade.

No doubt the one before her was already considering such a thing; after healing Caiaphas and her Illidan, she shouldn't be surprised. And the only thing she could think of saying? A soft mumble of: "Good evening." Not a snarl or sneer was to be heard in her voice; just quiet unassuming.

As she saw the woman rousing, Rosalyn took a step back, unsheathing her fangs in a threatening display as the fur along her spine lifted.  

You are a ways from home, she said, though nothing in her tone repeated the subtlety that Aure's had possessed.  Her gaze held nothing but thinly veiled spite as she beheld the white woman.

She had no intentions of attacking right now, but she was on guard.  From what she knew of the cliffside wolves, they didn't often travel alone.

Her colorless gaze flit along the fangs, the rippling fur, the tail that was brandished, and... merely sniffed. In dismissal, yes, but not with disrespect; but Aure was erring more towards the dismissal of her own fury that would not rise. Not that she willed it or wanted it to, anyways.

”As are you,” she mused, eyes creasing at the ferocity in the Rusalkan’s gaze. ”I, however, may wander where I please. Unlike yourself, I have very few threads that give me cause to return to ze cliffs. Few, but they are there.” With a heavy, muted sigh, she creaked up onto all fours once more, coltish legs stiff.

Setting her argent eyes once more on the branded female before her, Aure decided that now was the perfect, opportune moment to ease back into a sit. But then her scarred face creased, with wearied, languid confusion at the display before her, ”How much energy do you possess, that you never tire of being so belligerent to ze rest of ze world?”

Her words rankled her, quite a bit.  The implication that she was in the wrong for her ire.  That was a rich statement.

I never said you didn't.  Unlike some, I don't fight over what is not mine.  She said, her posture not adjusting one bit from its wary tension.  But your kind made it clear what would happen next time we crossed paths.  So you'll forgive me if I am not thrilled to meet you.  This had a caustic sarcasm to it... making obvious light.  Not thrilled.  The woman was lucky.  A few weeks ago, Rosalyn would have killed her without a thought.  Time had tempered her hate some, though nothing would ever remove it completely.

She didn't have much to say to this woman... the gift of her indifference was enough.  So she began to back away, intending to leave her to the wilds but unable to turn for fear of another.  At least the ravine ensured she wouldn't be flanked.

Raleska had trailed Rosalyn out of interest, having developed somewhat of a quiet fascination in Rosalyn and her honey-hued mate ever since they had chased Niamh vehemently from the Sound. With Illidan preoccupied with Beta duties and Svalinn working on sharpening his fighting skills, Raleska was bored and alone -- and bored children were apt to conjure their own amusements.

She had been distracted by a hare by the time Rosalyn had come across Aure, but by the time the two women were exchanging clipped words, she had resumed her task of stalking the battle-scarred valkyrie, and came upon the scene right as Rosalyn was preparing to back away.

The Eyjolfur made no such motion. This was a Drageda wolf - the very same slavering beasts that had hauled her like carrion, and had executed Eurycrates before her very eyes. With a howl, the sooty yearling hurtled towards Aure, her limbs sped by rage and her teeth bared in fury.

She would kill this Drageda scum for the loss of her friend, reestablish herself in her mother's eyes, and show the cliffhounds once and for all Rusalkan wolves were a dangerous breed.

edit: @Raleska didn't realize this was powerplay i'm sorry! if it's too much i can just have Aur stagger back ;o; didn't realize until after i wrote it

The last thing she would suspect was for a Rusalkan being ‘thrilled’ to see her. A notch in her muzzle made itself present, as did the frown of bewilderment and displeasure that now tugged at her lips. Aure began to rise to her paws, to step forward, to say, ”But, I am not their kind,“ because it was true. She wasn’t sea-wolf, she was—

—about to be slain by some hateful child, streaking for her with abysmal, screaming hate.

The skayona didn’t let herself think; as the dark she-wolf hurtled for her, Aure darted forward and dove beneath her open chest. With her thin, sharp shoulders, she forced herself UP into the yearling’s sternum. Finally, she drove their wild weight to one side, shoving Raleska away and off of her with it. Then, she staggered to a breathless halt, eyes wild and looking like some winter wraith from a myth, she just about fucking lost it; her voice strident and wrathful. Oh, were they in for it.

”DRACULUI-THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. YOU SAY THAT I AM OF DRAKRU, AND YET ALL I HAVE DONE IS HEAL AND HEAR. I HAVE NO SAY IN THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE AGAINST YOU. I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THIS WAR EVEN STARTED, AND HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST THAT I AM OF A LIKE MIND. ‘FIGHT OVER WHAT IS NOT MINE’? YOU REALLY THINK THAT I KNOW ZE HISTORY BEHIND ZE SOUND AND ZE CLIFFS AND HOW THIS ALL BEGAN? WHEN I CAME TO ZE CLIFFS, IT WAS ON ZE BRINK OF A WAR THAT I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND IN ZE SLIGHTEST.”

Rounding on them both, hot, blazing tears in her eyes and scars wrestling red red red, voice going hoarse with her plight and utter fury and utter helplessness at all of this and whatever the fuck just happened to her. Fuck if she knew Trig— ”NOMONJOKAS. WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK! FUCK! WILL A TIME EVER COME WHEN EVERYONE STOPS FUCKING PISSING ON ANOTHER? WHY DO WE NEED TO LINGER OVER THIS WAR INSTEAD OF LIVING OUR LIVES? FUCKING HEAVENS’ SAKE. FUCK YOUR FUCKING IDIOT CHILD. MINE WILL NOT WANT FOR WAR -- FUCKING SHIT MOTHER OF FUCK!”

And then, screeching into silence, Aure promptly began to cry. Hard. That sort of cry where your face is too-warm, you’re dribbling spittle and snot, and the salt stings and the tears just won’t stop. Horomones or no, she was unapologetically shameless for all the terrible things she just said... and she was so fucking tired.

either way Roz was gonna lunge for her so I won't have to do much editing <3

She was ready to depart and only gave a flick of her ears in response when something rocketed past.  Her first instinct was fear... here it was, Drageda out for blood, and her here unable to flee.  Her ears flattened, but then shot up with recognition.  Raleska.

She moved to lunge, but Aure avoided the young wolf's charge neatly.  She then commenced to screaming, but Rosalyn wasn't listening.  She was sprinting, a low growl of mixed agony and anger escaping her.  One - fully running on a fractured leg was an exquisite sort of agony.  Two - she was furious at Raleska for being stupid enough to incite violence again.  Three - she was furious at herself for stopping this.  She understood deeply where the girl stood and why she attacked.

But she wouldn't raise her children in war.

Aure was still screaming, but Rosalyn reached out for Raleska's scruff, intending to snag hold and keep her in place.  She didn't expect the girl to be deterred with a single miss.... and she couldn't let this happen.  She would shove her body between them if she caught hold, her mouthful of fur hiding a slow whine of pain as she used all four legs to stop this madness.

No worries! <3

Raleska came hurtling like a spear towards Aure, albeit one inexpertly thrown. As she collected her last stride, certain in her impact, she realized too belatedly Aure had already countered her. A rough shoulder, crude and pointed, was expertly thrust into her trajectory -- with a yelp, Raleska found Aure under her, and was then thrown clear into the air.

She landed with the exact amount of grace one would expect a hippo to land with, and snow-dust mushroomed in brilliantly disturbed particles around her. With a snarl the girl rose for a second onslaught, only to find a body firmly planting her into the ground.

Instinctively Raleska whirled around to face her new tormentor with fangs bared, only to realize it was Rosalyn exerting the pressure. She looked back to Aure, her lips skimmed back in a furious snarl.

"NO!"

Raleska roared between Aure's outraged ranting, her eyes wide with luminous anger that had unjustly been deflected. "THEY KILLED HIM!" Raleska roared, frothing as she struggled beneath the iron grip of the russet woman. "I'LL KILL HER, I'LL KILL HER!" Despite it being little use, and despite Aure now bawling her own eyes out, Raleska did everything in her power to try to escape out from under Rosalyn's grip - anything she could do to show Aure what Drageda's own medicine tasted like.

last of aure!!

At the mindless raving across from her, Aure snarled right back at the reckless girl, drool and tears and disheveled ivory and all, knew exactly who she screamed about, ”Kill me? You would KILL ME for a death I had NO PART IN?! That is war, you asinine GIRL. KILLING ME would give ze Drakru all ze more reason to respond in kind! But— but YOU are so BLINDED BY YOUR OWN BLOODLUST that you REFUSE to understand how it will RUIN BOTH OF OUR CLANS.”

A high, erratic cackle left Aure’s waning throat. She’d left the cliffs on an errand to strengthen an alliance, and now her return journey consisted of — again — whatever the ever-loving fuck THIS was. She wheezed as much, ”I leave to make peace after a death, and, now, I return to violence,” giving herself a rough, jarring shake as she veered from them, still snarling. ”Kill me, and you would kill us all. You cannot answer death with more death,” she withered, still tearful, ”And no matter how many Drakru you slaughter, it will not bring your warrior back. It will not bring you closure. It will not bring you peace of mind, not when forgiveness is already out of your grasp.” Her words were unending and as cold as the crevasses of the icefields she’d conquered. And honestly? She hoped they freezed the both of them to their fucking marrow.

”Be thankful that you have Caiaphas to lead you. She is ze only one who seems to know reason.” With that, and one last guttering, winter look at the pair, and a snarling ”Rest yourself, nomonjoka,” to Rosalyn (ever the healer), Aure flurried by with as wide a berth as she could, and made her fleet departure. Tearing like a furious comet, away away away, to Drageda’s realm as swiftly as she could. If she were going to die, it would NOT be by the jaws of a misled girl. Miss her the fuck with that shit.

It took everything Rosalyn had to hold the frothing girl back, and her willpower was failing.  She heard a roaring in her ears as Raleska strained, but she forced her injured leg to hold, though it felt as though it might break in two.  

And still the woman screamed.

RUN, she wanted to scream, but all that escaped was an extended whine that was lost in the noise the two were making.  For the love of everything, run, or she'd let her go and they'd have to deal with the mess resulting.

Finally the woman ran.  Rosalyn waited only long enough to give her a healthy head start before releasing the girl and collapsing sideways, tears streaming unbidden down her face as her leg screamed with the pain of it.  Fuck.  Fuck fuck fuck.  She should have just let it happen.  But she knew this was right, that allowing Raleska to even try and savage the woman would have been a mistake.  She was so tired of fighting their damn wars.

She knew Raleska would likely turn her fury on her next if she didn't follow the woman, but for the moment, Rosalyn didn't care.  Holy shit.

Raleska was not one to be contained easily, especially not in the face of an enemy - one that presently, was screaming right back at her. The girl's hackles flared wildly and she spat into the ground, just about the only summation of total disrespect she could utter in the moment. She was so angry, so wound up and riled, that she could not think straight -- and it did not help that Rosalyn was an ever present force pushing her downward when all she wanted to do was paint the snow with the same pretty red that Eurycrates had.

"No! You're wrong," the child snapped back, lips curled and teeth bared. "Death is all you can answer with." The girl snarled darkly, her tail whipping back and forth to announce her displeasure. Give them death, and they would have nothing in which to fight back with. The dead don't fight - there are no armies of ghouls and demons, and Raleska knew well as anyone that once a man was committed to the earth, he was not rising again.

"I HATE YOU!" She yelled after the woman as she spun to leave, cursing everything about her. Her stupid white fur, her stupid eyes, her stupid voice and stupid made up words and stupid existence - all of it gummed up and balled up and boiled down into nothing: stupid, stupid, stupid. She seethed and made no bid to follow, for Rosalyn had yet to let up.

Once she was released she sprung away and whipped around towards Rosalyn, both hurt and accusation writ plain across her face. "Why did you stop me? We could have killed her and shown them what it is like!" Her voice had a near-hysterical edge to it that just threatened to brim over, and the girl's expression was one awash with unbridled emotion.

Yep Rosalyn didn't move to get up, and she kept her teeth gritted as the pain slowly dropped from excrutiating to simply bad.  Bad at least she could think through.

Raleska thankfully had stayed instead of taking off after her, but as expected, she rounded on Rosalyn for stopping her.  She understood and her ears laid back, but there was almost an apology in her tone when she replied.

And then they would have come down on us and killed more.  She lifted her head so that at least she was looking at Raleska, trying to meet her eye.  And what then? What would you sacrifice to see them dead?  She lifted a lip in a slight sneer, glancing after the woman.  I don't think they are worth much.

She didn't know if the words would get through, but hopefully after time she would see it the same way.  The fight wasn't worth it if there wasn't anything to be gained.

Raleska softened to see Rosalyn in pain, though her hackles were still raised in outrage. Aure was long gone by now, and the girl settled visibly, guiltily looking at Rosalyn's leg knowing it had been she to cause the wolf's new wave of agony.

She did not side with or understand Rosalyn's logic - like most adults, it was pragmatic logic, and to children and savages alike, pragmatism often had little place in their rough, violent, and often short-lived worlds. "They couldn't kill us if they were dead." The girl muttered darkly, her gaze firmly on the ground as she avoided Rosalyn's eyes.

Raleska's words actually earned a genuine laugh from the woman, who found them so endearingly true that she even forgot about her current situation for a minute.  Not if they were all dead indeed.  Rosalyn missed having that variety of naive confidence acutely.

Tell you what.  You get the urge to kill another one you cross, just make sure none of the others can find out.  Alright?  Rosalyn wasn't going to be able to babysit every time and she was well aware there was no argument she could give that would counter that logic.  Not one the girl would hear anyway.  Best she could do is try and convince her to be smart about it.  Well... that and pray to whatever god might be watching Raleska didn't meet another one of them.  Herself either.  She'd barely managed not to.

Raleska's resolve earned a laugh from the wounded woman - something that she had not expected, either. She darkly glanced at Rosalyn, expecting the laugh to be derisive but instead finding it was genuine. She softened somewhat, though she still stared off surlishly in the direction Aure had left.

"How do I do that?" She asked in earnest, already forgetting Rosalyn had prevented Aure's untimely demise at the fangs of Rusalka's most eager assassin.

How do I do that - oh boy.  Was that fondness?  She liked this girl's style, no matter if she was worried about her starting a war or not.  Sure her leg hurt like hell, but she understood rage taking over.

Get creative.  Ideal way would be to have any fight near the cliffs and send the evidence to the sea.  She thought for a minute of her own trip down the cliffs... a good trick, but dirty.  If you can't, though, you need to get rid of the scent.  Any water, or perhaps bury them.

She was thoughtful.  Those were the only ways she could think of at the moment.  If they don't know, then they can't retaliate.  She finished, pushing herself up on her good shoulder to a sitting position and looking to see if any of that had made sense to the girl.

Push them out to sea.

Raleska grinned, the smile growing wider with each piece of thoughtful advice. Rosalyn was way cooler than she let on! The girl could hardly believe this entire time, the woman with the scarred face and gimpy leg, was secretly as cold-hearted and instinctively killer-queen as Raleska wished to be. "Whoa," She replied, having never thought in such an insidious way - these were creative ideas. Devastatingly violent... but creative ideas.

And then, because she realized her estimations of Rosalyn had been incorrect this entire time, the girl blurted: "are you a warrior too?"

Raleska seemed to be taking her advice to heart, which was a good thing because it was damn good advice.  She appreciated the attention and sincere reaction, though, and it warmed her even more to the younger girl.  Leg was already (painful) bygones.

Pirate, she corrected, then smirked.  Though fighting's part of it.  We just know that anyone who tells you any fight has to be fair is full of shit.  No fight's ever fair, and you do what you do to win.   In a choice between death or dishonor she'd generally choose the latter, unless it went against her own code, which divorced quite a bit from most 'warriors' she'd known.  Running? Fine, less there's something worth staying for.  Backstab? Fine, long as no one watching is important and cares.

Warriors tended to die with honor a little too often for her taste.

A Pirate. That was even better - warriors Raleska was accustomed to, she even was whelped by one - but PIRATE? It had such an exotic, dangerous ring to it. The girl was instantly intrigued - her mother had told her a synopsis of the coast's history in the past, about wayfaring rogues that trawled the coast... but she had never met one in the flesh. Knowing that Rosalyn was a pirate brought the woman to entirely new levels of respect, as far as Raleska was concerned.

"Whoa," she repeated again, blinking back the awe that threatened to overcome her very cool facade. Rosalyn's mention of the fairness of fighting resonated with the girl, partially because fighting dirty was exciting, and also because it was one of the first tenets that Caiaphas had taught her children: never fight fair. "Can you teach me to become a pirate then?"

Oh hell yes, Rosalyn would love to teach her.  Not only did she genuinely find herself liking Raleska, but she imagined Caiaphas's response to Rosalyn mentoring her daughter might be less than thrilled.  The chance at that little response was more than enough to make it doubly worth the trouble.

I'll make you a deal.  You help me out getting back and I'll teach you everything you need to know. Rosalyn gave her a slow, sly grin.  Agreed?  Oh this was going to be fun.

PP okay? <3

While she was still a bit sad (okay, a lot sad) that Aure had gotten away unscathed and that she had missed her chance to show her mother she was awesome and should clearly be her favorite, the prospect of getting to know and learn from Rosalyn the pirate made Raleska's heart beat with excitement. With a nod, the girl offered her shoulder to her new comrade -- "agreed," she blurted, rushing the answer as to not give Rosalyn a chance to change her mind.

Rosalyn may or may not have gotten her one good ear talked off by the time they made it back to Ankyra Sound -- but on the plus side, she now had an adoring new fan!