Ankyra Sound empty churches with soulless curses

Akantha is tresspassing, but isn't far past the borders per WOLF rules. This is a joining thread, with typical Akantha flare.

A chance.

The simple notion of wild, unfounded fancies drew her from the Beyond and down, down, down until her umber fur was tousled by the salt-licked breeze slicing across the sound below. Splashed upon the lower trunks of the trees, and smattered throughout the borders was the telling echos of a revenant risen to haunt the reaches she called home--those which she once commanded with an iron fist. 

Caiaphas?

Akantha, having aged two years since her last confirmed appearance in the Wilds, appeared hale. Her robust frame cut an impressive swath of mahogany and black against the budding greenery of early Spring. She sported a few new scars, but the grand majority of them were hidden beneath a dense weave of fur. Her fierce hazel hues narrowed in consideration of the information laid plain across the borders--

Their leadership was in constant flux, and not one figure stood out plain amongst the rabble. Why Caiaphas, notorious for her ruthleness among the Sirens, did not seat herself at the head of this pack was beyond Akantha's measure of understanding. Notably, there were several males present in the border markings. One might call their marks prevelant, even. 

A scowl twisted across her inky lips as she braced her claws against the mossy loam, and scraped fresh grooves into the soil before pressing into the territory with the intent to speak to @Caiaphas directly.

A calculated risk, but one she was willing to face.

The days of littering borders with the heads of trespassers were behind him, but that did not mean the occasional moron did not wander past where Rusalkan boundaries lied -- and usually, he was the first to meet their insolence. 

It was a favoured pastime of his, for in it he knew however inhumane his actions were, anything macabre he did was justified. Thunderous footsteps are not shy as they propelled him forth towards the borders, breaking the horizon with his furious frame a sight to behold. Vaati waits for no explanation, surging straight for the stranger's jugular without a second thought, titanous jaws seeking what flesh it could find. Had he known of the intent to seek out Caiaphas, his decision to attack would not have changed. Trespassers -- no matter their motive -- were downright dumb in his high-and-mighty opinion; undeserving of a chance to take a place within the ranks of his home whilst deserving of any consequence inflicted for having the gall to think they would.

It is a mindset that has not changed from his time in the dark woods, where years of spilt rogue blood were still ingrained in the soil to that day.

A thunderous drumbeat heralded the incoming storm. 

Akantha remained unreadable as her shrewd gaze flit sidelong to regard the immense beast that barreled toward her with teeth bared, and hackles flared as if the empty Depths themselves strangled him of all sense. Had she more time to consider him, she may have paused to reconsider the stories scrawled across his grizzled mein—instead, she elected to add her own to the crowded canvas of silver and bone. 

Three, two—with surprising agility, the amazonian warrior spun on a heel to meet him chest-to-chest, and attempted knock his blow aside with a crack of her own muzzle across his own. If successful, she would drive her own teeth to his cheek, clamp down, and grapple until he made his next move.

it was perhaps luck, or happenstance, that caiaphas was out as vaati intercepted akantha. for all we know, she might have remained entirely unaware of the altercation about to take place, were it not for the fickle wind that blew her way.

her hackles lifted as she deciphered the scent; it took her much longer to recognize the bearer than it did for her to spurn herself into action. within seconds she was smoothly galloping, gritting against the outraged wound that throbbed in her throat.

she came across the two figures shortly, her fur bristled and sharp yellow eyes alight with both ferocity and annoyance. akantha was risking her life to trespass so plainly, and sure as day, such oversight would likely end in bloodbath. in hindsight, akantha was lucky it was only one wolf to accost her rather than the whole pack -- none knew of her scent save caiaphas.

the siren would not risk her life to intercept the rabble of fangs and fur that was akanaati -- instead her lip curled back and a commanding snarl cut through the air, demanding both wolves stop at once.

Oh, but she is no easy feat. Perhaps underestimating the older woman’s agility, it catches him off guard when she turns to snag his muzzle in her jaws -- slicing the skin of his cheek enough to leave a slight scar in the aftermath. But he pulls away before she is able to full latch on, preparing to go in yet again and drive her to the ground. It is likely he could have and ended it there, had Caiaphas not pulled herself from near death.

The command is clear, and the titan backs off -- retracting his teeth from the spot it seeks to land on her neck. Vaati does not know why he is called to halt but does so anyway, albeit begrudgingly. “filth,” he spits towards the stranger, before circling away furiously. Looking to Caiaphas with a snarl still present on his tongue, enraged eyes only seek to ask why. Of all people, he did not expect her to be one to spare the life of a trespasser, finding it simply wrong and unnerving.

Neither was he. 

Akantha tasted iron as her teeth cut a swatch through the meat of his cheek, but he swiftly recalculated and recoiled before her teeth could clamp down. They click together on empty air while he harnesses his considerable bulk to drive his point home. The blow would have sent her reeling had Caiaphas—ghoulish and looking all the more terrible in an assortment of fresh wounds—not muzzled them both in an instant. She quickly backpedaled to put distance between herself and the silver-spun & ivory male, but his retreat is punctuated by a curse which evokes a malicious, albeit curt, growl from the Siren. 

When Vaati circles back, Akantha claims those seconds to rake Caiaphas with a searching look. The old salt witch hadn't changed much physically in the years since they last spoke. Hazel hues sought piercing lantern-yellow in a fleeting bid to convey what words could not—relief, apprehension, concern. The antithesis to the regard she held for Vaati. 

"Sister," she murmured, "who hurt you?" 

the snarl that rumbled in caiaphas’ throat left her maw with cold command — and almost instantly, the duo untangled. caiaphas would have admired the instant obedience, were the situation not so dire.

vaati, incensed by akantha’s unbidden trespass, managed a parting riposte. caiaphas levelled him with an apprising gaze; other than fur out of place, he seemed unwounded. her gaze then fell on akantha, a woman no less formidable than her gamma. she too appeared hale, though like caiaphas, had weathered the years with regal endurance.

akantha, the siren imparts, skipping easily into a tongue she had assumed she would never utter again. an enemy, likely dead now. there are no nereides left. her voice is quick and tone punctual - she carries little grief for her sisters, for they had left her to die on the desolate strand. you trespass in rusalka, vaati was right to intercept you. why are you here? there is little warmth in the old shrew’s gaze, mostly she just appeared tired.

realizing then it was unlikely vaati would understand their exchange, the sylph’ sullen gaze flickered and she spoke in English to introduce the two. akantha, the old siren queen — though she chose poorly to trespass, she is a friend until she proves otherwise.

They converse in a language he does not understand, casting shifty eyes between the two as they interact as if they are old friends. Perhaps they were, but it did not explain why the older woman had the nerve to trespass when she could have just as easily called for an audience the proper way. Caiaphas introduces the woman as Akantha, leading him to believe that she is a queen of some sort. A queen who held no regard for other's borders.

Unforgiving optics turn to the older woman with a searing burn within, speaking directly to her then. A part of him could not simply give up the audacity of the situation -- nor the blatant disrespect shown. “Trespassers are no friend of Rusalka.” He casts a withering glance to Caiaphas before trotting off, leaving the woman to deal with the trespasser as she wished. Though he found it to be distasteful, he could not truly doubt his faith in the sea wench’s judgement. For whatever reason -- beyond Vaati could understand -- he was to spare the criminal from a rightful punishment and that was that.

 

i think vaati is peacing out for now! feel free to pp him if u need tho :)

"You do remember, then," Akantha murmured appreciatively as Caiaphas spoke in a language that wove through her ears, and calmed the roaring swell pummeling her heart. The adrenaline of their fleeting altercation still ran rampant throughout her body but she was wisened enough to let it fade without having to express it violently. But in this shared language, the news of the Nereides fate was shared and Akantha, pragmatic to a fault, merely released a soft sigh of disappointment. No, the Nereides would never die; the Mothers made them anew, time and time again. But their hour in the Teekons was no more. 

She narrowed her eyes at the accusation, but brought no further argument against the matter for the nonce. Enervation prevailed in the former Queen's eyes, blunting what little hostility may have been provoked by her trespass. However, before Akantha could reply and explain herself, Vaati's thunderous words drew from her a cold, hard stare. He departed in a trot and loathed as she was to let such disrespect go unpunished, she steeled her resolve and returned her focus to Caiaphas. 

"I ruled Soteria—the isles beyond the sound—for nearly three seasons uncontested. I scented you on the borders and hoped that, perhaps, you had taken up the mantle in my absence," she did not need explain the obvious, of course. Caiaphas was a Siren, yes, but harbored no love for the Nereides of old. The amazon's eyes flit up to the distant cliffs with a frown as she continued, "We were small, but unified. We lost Meteora, and a few Sisters, in a blizzard; it was all I had to keep the rest alive, and safe. Drageda did not take kindly to our proximity, so I was forced to brook a treaty with them stacked heavily in their favor. I did not have warriors, but young neophytes and boys." 

"It wasn't my intent to disrespect Rusalka, but I presumed my welcome on the basis of your presence alone and for that I apologize," she inhaled and flicked the tip of her tail. Akantha, not a woman predisposed to lengthy conversation, appeared discomforted by how much she had committed to voice already. But she perservered. 

"If the Nereides are no more, as you say, then I offer myself to you. I've no designs of leadership, simply an ache for the familiar." 

vaati, tall and proud as he was, was not wrong. caiaphas did not return the withering glance, though she felt the heat of his crippling gaze skim past her. akantha, wrong in every retrospect, deserved the full bore of his perilous gaze.

as the gamma stalked past, caiaphas listened with a bent ear to akantha's explanation, one woven with similar hardship. little grief was lost for the sirens, but caiaphas had known many of them - to think them perished brought a dark shade fleetingly across her brow.

the mention of drageda hardened her features, and the siren straightened with a flare of fur. "drageda is no threat." she muttered, hatefully glancing to the abandoned cliffs. "we were not without our struggles to reclaim our old homestead, but we are here now, safe for the time being. there are many here, not all of them nereides. if you truly can live among those that do that share our blood and your beliefs, then rusalka is open to you."

A flash of malice darkened Caiaphas' expression long enough for Akantha to glean an understanding of the situation with Drageda as it stood now, but it conflicted, at least somewhat, with what the smaller she-wolf verbally conveyed. If they were truly no threat, would she not feel pride? Or perhaps nothing at all? Curious.

But Akantha didn't pursue that thread of intrigue and instead chose to answer with a simple: "Yes, I can." 

<3 thank you for the thread!

akantha's answer was simple, yet it brought about a sense of good faith in the shrew. she dipped her head in acknowledgement and then, once akantha was ready, made for the grotto. here she would show the matriarch their stores, the rest of the pack, and if necessary, the fringes of their territory.

within the grotto, they met with @Raleska - caiaphas in this moment excused herself, leaving raleska to fill in akantha with every detail of their fight with the dragedans to date.