Dragoncrest Cliffs Don't forget these tidal waves

@Caiaphas

Instead of diving right back into The Bay like she had done so many times before, Julep actually avoided even the thought of returning to that cursed strip of coast for her own good this time around. She had come to terms with the fact that she might never see her family again and had turned the page to become one really bad ass bitch ready to take the world head on.

She actually had a plan, one that she was determined to see fulfilled in short term, and she would work hard to get it.

But first she needed to settle down somewhere clever, somewhere she could regain any strength she'd lost on her way back here and move on from there to bigger things. The only place she could think of that was all that and was on the coast of Teekon was Drageda, a place she knew from the inside and had seen on the rise. She guessed she would have everything she needed and maybe she could make some connections there.

But there was no Drageda anymore.

Julep arrived at the cliffs edge to find a vacant land, with faint traces of habitation, but not a living thing to hold it. She sighed, fearing she might actually have to go down to the bay o start all over again, and cursed whatever gods were up there laughing at her.

what had first been a patrol evolved into something more, once caiaphas detected no dragedan presence along the borders. the further she pressed from ankyra’s giant forest, the more she came to realize that nary a fringe of drageda’s empire remained. 

on past old landmarks used to mark drageda’s claim caiaphas went. on past where eurycrates had been slain, and her daughter seized. on past the battleground of the raid. 

she was incredulous as she went, and on high alert. she did not suspect a trap — it seemed the dogs had genuinely up and left — but still the siren remained on edge. it appeared her assault on vercingetorix had been the final sting to a gradually unraveling wound — and that last word had been enough to send the dogs packing. 

triumphant, the old shrew’s tail arced proudly over her lean hips and her walk took on a cocksure gait. she had made them leave; never again would she second guess herself, or submit under the shadow of a foreign presence. rusalka had fought the bear tooth and claw — and rusalka had persevered. 

her steps slowed as she saw a wolf in the distance, walking as if it were out of place among the abandoned rabble of drageda’s collapsed empire. caiaphas suspected an enemy first — her hackles flared, and she made herself known with a low growl. 

despite her seeming victory, she would not be so casual or careless as to assume no harm could come to her while she was on ex-enemy soil.

For a moment she allowed the breeze to caress her salty pelt as she observed a grey, thundering sea-storm brewing in the distance like an idyllic irony. She smirked and chuckled, half out of ambitious eagerness, half out of self pity for having to go back home after all.

But the thought was cut short by the rumbling threat that approached her from behind. Julep turned, facing the black headed siren with her bare fangs in defensive standing. She had a hard time sniffing the other out with the wind against, but what little she could pick up from her aroma she wasn't one of the former tenants of the clifflands, which had been Julep's first guess, so she figured whoever was approaching her hadn't been in good terms with Drageda before its fall.

I'm just passing by, Julep said, too tired from traveling to care for a fight, I'll leave if that's what you want, but I didn't come across any markings. This is not your claim, but If Caiaphas pushed it she would get a piece of Julep's bad attitude.

the waif turned, her lips skimmed back in a menacing expression altogether warranted, given the circumstances. caiaphas halted her approach, a flinty gaze trailing the slender figure.

she explained her reasoning for being here, and at mention of it not being her claim, caiaphas' tail fell. she was not a wolf possessive of neighboring territories, and realized her advance had been misconstrued. "are you dragedan?" she canted her head to the side, her hawk yellow gaze sharp. "i will know if you are lying."

Julep's mood adjusted to the sea witch's response, slowly releasing tension as she rearranged herself to address the other woman more calmly. She was asked a question, to which Julep immediately chuckled in involuntary response. Hell no, she claimed, looking right into the other's eyes, not to challenge her, but to make it clear she wasn't lying.

In Julep's eyes Drageda had been but a warden for her when she had most needed it, but their way of life and intricate moral system had been way too much for her to ever feel comfortable making part of them. If she sought them out it was only because she needed somewhere to begin again since Stavanger Bay and pile of dogshit were basically the same difference. I knew them, she admitted, they're full of shit, she added then, simply unable to contain it.

You live 'round 'ere? asked julep curiously. If she knew Drageda and was so salty at their idea, it crossed Julep's mind that she'd been involved in some kind of territorial conflict with them, as was only usual among coastal packs. And if she did live around here, then maybe that was an even better place than Drageda to start off

a brief spark flared in the lithe she-wolf's expression as she shared with caiaphas her opinion of drageda. the siren, still somewhat disbelieving, canted her muzzle to the side and regarded her with cold eyes.

her words, at the very least, matched the hard mettle of her body language -- for that, caiaphas felt a little more comfortable with the idea she was not being manipulated. she had never known drageda to be sneaky -- they were a powerful enemy, but not an underhanded one - this did not quite fit with the MO the siren had come to expect of the cliff wolves.

"well, they are gone now." she replied, sparing not even an ounce of remorse. they had after all, killed one of her own - maimed rosalyn, and mishandled her daughter. she had very little love for them in light of that. "i live down there," she motioned to the coast beneath them. "if you are truly not dragedan, it will not be safe for you here. my pack still harbors great resentment for drageda, and you may not have a chance to defend yourself against some of our more hot-headed warriors if they see you here."

Julep looked over towards where the siren pointed, and saw only great things. Truly, any place that was near the coast was perfect, and when she mentioned there being warriors Julep knew that this was an opportunity she couldn't miss, but she did not take kindly  to being underestimated. Oh, take me with 'ya hun, see if they can handle me, she said as though it would be an honor for Caiaphas to have her in her ranks. Perhaps it was true that Julep did not have the weight or the strength to face Rusalka's larger warriors, but she had her game on point.

a rueful smile played the siren's features as julep rejoined with hun; it had been some time since the shrew had been referred as something so sweet, no doubt because there was little about her that was sugary. she shrugged her spindly shoulders, giving julep one last glance before moving off.

she supposed if julep was a traitor, and secretly a wolf of drageda's coven, that it would soon be revealed. in her present state, the sylph was not overly concerned - it was a risk they would take, but not without precautions. "hmm, alright then. i will bring you to rusalka. but you will be under watch  for some time. you must understand in times of war, you can trust nothing -- not even a seeming victory."

The siren's smile was met with a wry grin of Julep's own. She enjoyed how her blunt nature got unexpected reactions from others, from which leaving someone speechless was probably the best - especially if it was a woman.

Caiaphas decided to give Julep a chance, and when informed, the red reaver's grin widened in victory. She really didn't know what she was getting herself into, but from what little she could gather Rusalka had to be a heck of a big contender if they had put an end to Drageda. That alone was worthy of respect.

To the siren's terms Julep said alright, as though it was nothing, as though she was about to put up a show for Rusalka and blow their minds. Lead the way she urged, maybe even winking if Caiaphas gave her the chance. She was just bold and stupid.

many wolves might have been put off by the unseemly grin that stole toothily across julep's muzzle, but caiaphas ignored it -- the girl was young, and the young were often needlessly cocky. she had once been very similar to julep, and life had shown her to tailor her outward emotions so that she could manipulate her peers, and avoid conflicts where none were needed.

"come this way," the siren murmured, weaving down through uneven slabs of shale and stone. she would bring julep first to @Vaati, then @Illidan -- and leave the coltish youth in their capable hands, for she was siren queen no longer.