Dragoncrest Cliffs and release me

her dreams were fraught again;
and in her blood she sensed a restless churn.
the singing drove erzulie out toward the water, and along the edge of drageda she walked —
yes, drageda, for it provided the harlot a dark pleasure to know that she and her wife had performed the last conquering, and built their oasis upon the crushed bones of their enemy.

What she'd said to Arbiter—about the ocean air helping with her head—had been a fib. But as she sat on the beach and drew into her lungs air salted by the sea and peppered with winter, it really did feel invigorating. And it truly felt like it cleared her head as cold, clean oxygen zinged through her bloodstream.

Something stirred further along the beach, interrupting Haunt's lack of thoughts. She turned to see a familiar figure walking the shoreline. "Erzulie," she said to herself, rising onto all fours and turning toward the woman, approaching on fleet white paws. "I owe you a 'thank you'..." Haunt said louder as she closed the distance.

the courtesan dragged herself from such contemplations as haunt arrived. the girl was tall, sleek; she blended with the pristine snow, and erzulie saw the careful grace of kaertok in her gangly step. it would have been good to have him enter their family line, she felt with a bonedeep pang of sorrow.
"i will take your gratitude, but we in sapphique do not incur debts." a smile that she forced to light her eyes like somber lamps, and then the harlot had found her breath again. "how are you feeling dese days, haunt?"

Erzulie's response made her grow still before coughing and saying, "Maybe don't mention that to my mother." It was the premise on which she'd stayed here in Sapphique and she'd truly believed in it, until this very moment. Haunt supposed that meant she was under zero obligation to stay and could head home promptly, though whether it was demanded of her or not, she found she did want to repay the women who'd helped her.

And she had other reasons to linger here too: she'd begun making friends, something she'd never really done in Legion. There was Njord, Valravn, Merlin... and with Vex here, Haunt was in no hurry to go home. In fact, she'd never felt any particular desire to hurry back to Legion at all. She didn't hate her mother's pack, though she supposed part of it was getting out from underneath Arbiter's thumb. Her mother wanted to keep her leashed and obedient, which didn't suit Haunt very well.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Haunt replied, "I'm feeling much better. My head hasn't hurt me in days." Her tail twitched. "Even if you don't incur debts, I'd still like to show my gratitude. I've been working on acquiring my hunter titles. It's kind of tough lately," she said, gesturing at the snow dusting the world around them, "but I'm up for a challenge."

a warmer, more mischiveous expression climbing her face. "oh, yes. i am told she came by, searching for you." in some ways erzulie wondered if such made arbiter a better mother than she, or a worse one. she could not help but compare; she had searched for her older children quite some time, but had in the end accepted that they had simply dispersed early. "i am glad to hear dat."
so much she treasured clementine's closeness now.
"i would be happy to help you," the harlot said with an approving nod to how haunt had chosen to spend her time. "i t'ink it is imperative dat anyone who lives so close to de sea should also learn to hunt in it." the coldwater churning would be dangerous to ford at this time, but she could point out the seals upon the nearby ice, she suspected, or show how fish caught themselves beneath the frozen water in the tidepools.
she stepped away, beginning toward the trail that wended them to sapphique's personal beach. if haunt followed, she would take them through the stone passageway and out onto the frigid sand.

 

In the next breath, Haunt intended to offer to hunt for Erzulie, a symbolic gesture to repay her for those scraps of fish. But the Obsidian waylaid this plan by making an offer of her own, implying Haunt should learn how to source prey from the sea. The youth glanced at the choppy gray waters thoughtfully, then turned back to Erzulie with a nod. Ideally, she hoped to learn how to hunt every type of prey but she was more than happy to focus where her new leader commanded.

When Erzulie began to walk, Haunt hastened to keep in step with her. She had never paid much attention to hierarchy in Legion, for a myriad of reasons, but she was more aware of it here, among strangers. Haunt made sure to keep her head even with Erzulie's shoulder, lowered along with her tail out of respect for the woman's station. And though she looked forward to wherever they were headed and what opportunities it would present, the young Beryl also found a different set of questions crossing her mind.

Hoping her escort wouldn't mind her voicing them, Haunt tentatively queried, "What does your title mean—Obsidian?" She was also curious about the ranks as a whole—her own rolled off the tongue sort of entertainingly—and whether they were very different from Legion's in structure as well as name.

erzulie had long led, and so noticed to herself the polite way that haunt moved alongside her, deferential in her care. it was something to be admired, she decided. her mannerliness had shown through since she had come awake, and for the second time erzulie wondered after this mother.
"obsidian be a rock pulled from the islands that breathe fire," she explained. "i know it sounds very fantastic, an' i have never seen them myself, but sometime de groun' in such places shake wid force." how long had it been since the earth had quaked here? she could not recall, so much had gone on. "when de eart' cracks, deep below fire runs, an' it spills out. it leaves behind such t'ings as obsidian."
"all of de ranks be dis way. rosalyn an' i wished sapphique to be a place dat honors de sea in all ways." they had come to the shoreline; she drew up, mismatched eyes searching along the floating ice until she saw a small spot that grew larger as their approach was made. "dat is a seal."

Whatever she'd expected, it wasn't such a descriptively elaborate explanation. Haunt's ears twitched as she took in the words, doing her best to pair them with mental images with a limited frame of reference. She only had a vague notion about what an island entailed, much less one full of cracks and on fire. But she could understand the reference to a rock, even though she'd never known there was more than one kind until this moment.

And what did a rock have to do with the sea—with honoring the sea? Before Haunt could ask, Erzulie pointed out said sea. Yellow eyes blinked as she gazed outward and realized, after a moment, that there had been an extra letter at the end of the word. Apparently, a seal was an animal, the likes of which Haunt had never seen before.

She stared openly, studying it from afar. "Where," the youth couldn't help but wonder aloud, "are its legs?"

"do you see those long fins at his side?" the harlot purled. "they be not'ing more den fish wid fur, an' move like it as well." closer and closer now, the seal keeping the land hunters in sight of one round eye. "dey be very fat below de fur, as well. it takes two or more if you be wantin' to bring one down."
from bitter experience, it was also not well-advised to fight the seabeasts in their own watery climes; a wolf could not win for lack of breath. cinnamon ears flicked, and presently she shifted her attention to haunt, wondering what the girl would make of it.

When prompted, Haunt took a closer look. Erzulie described the seal as a fish with fur, though Haunt had to wonder, What fur? The creature was at once fat and sleek. Haunt did a double take when the Obsidian mentioned it could take two hours just to fell one.

There was only one thing to be said to that: "Why?"

"seals are quick in water. dat is where dey live. hunt dem carefully, an' never in de sea. dey be draggin' you down to drown." she grinned, turning her two-toned stare back to the water.
the animal, perhaps tired of observing, inched its blubbery mass down the ice into the sea and was gone from sight.
"their young are easier to snatch. their mothers leave them upon the warmer sand in the spring and summer, when they are off hunting.

When the seal bobbed toward the water and vanished, Haunt's mouth opened. She looked sharply to Erzulie, rewinding the woman's words in her head. Her yellow eyes tracked back to the empty spot where the seal had been just a moment ago, disappointment welling in her breast. She had hoped to hunt today, though she supposed if she hadn't gotten much hands-on experience, Erzulie had certainly given her plenty of theoretical knowledge.

"What other prey can you only find this close to the sea?" Haunt found herself wondering, thirsty for more and hoping one of the things Erzulie mentioned might actually be within reach today.

"clams," erzulie answered with a mischievous smile. "but for dat, we go under de groun'."
the harlot paced away, muzzle to the earth; brushes of her paws through the snow located the sand-castings of the burrowed shellfish. here she began to dig, throwing hardpacked sand and snow back behind herself, until the hard surface of the rocky creatures were exposed.
snatching one from its winter-den, erzulie pinned it between her paws and worried the edge of it open, bending back until a crack sounded in the still cold air. "taste," she told haunt, motioning to the lump of salt-laced flesh hugging the inner curves of the shell.

"Clams," Haunt murmured under her breath, following Erzulie and watching her carefully as she brushed her nose over the snow, evidently discovered something of interest beneath it and began to dig. It wasn't long before she unearthed what looked like a rock. Obsidian? she wondered, until the she-wolf pried the rock apart to reveal a fleshy, living creature of some sort inside.

Haunt stared when Erzulie urged her to, "Taste." There was nothing appealing about the sliver of slick, quivering flesh. Even the smell was off-putting. But the leader had issued a command and Haunt didn't want to refuse her. Nosing warily toward the clam, she eventually nipped the very end of little morsel of meat before quickly slurping the entire thing into her mouth.

Resisting the impulse to simply swallow the slimy little mussel muscle, Haunt forced herself to chew. It was quite rubbery, with a distinctive salty flavor. Something grainy crunched against her teeth. All of it made her want to gag, though she dutifully finished masticating before gulping it down the hatch.

erzulie grinned as haunt politely tasted perhaps the first shore-food she had ever tried. "t'ree of t'ose be fillin' de stomach," she assured the beryl. "but it is a taste dat is acquired. everyt'ing be tastin' of salt." even the wind, she supposed.
"but in order to hunt t'ings like de long fish, you must learn how to swim in de ocean." that was the crux of it all, she supposed; she and rosalyn had brought their young to the water as soon as their little legs could walk. it would always be easier for those raised here. however, she had no qualms about teaching haunt the ways of watery navigation.

Erzulie explained that the clam might not be to her taste, yet it was filling, if only she ate two more. She gulped a little, wondering if she could stomach them. How many would she have to eat before she acquired the taste, she wondered?

Haunt licked her lips a little nervously—they were salty and a bit slimy too—when the Obsidian mentioned swimming in the ocean. It didn't appeal to her, especially in this cold. Was she going to risk hypothermia just for more disgusting sea fare?

But if the Obsidian commanded it of her, Haunt would oblige. She nodded her head and looked to the leader, wondering if the lesson would come now or later.

she too was looking toward the water, to its dark underbelly and the ice that surely swam in its gut. haunt was recovered, but the shock of the wintry sea might very well sicken her again. however, she would leave the decision to haunt. the mintglow eyes smoothed over her young charge.
"i showed merlin just de start of how to approach de waves," erzulie said gently, not moving to rush the pale girl closer to the waves, nor approaching them herself. "de water be treacherous always, but especially when it is cold. easy to be dragged beneat' de ice if you go too far," and here she indicated the boulders rising from the surface not far off, where the ocean truly turned to bitter black.
"i can show you also, but only when you feel ready, haunt."

When Erzulie spoke of being dragged underwater, a small shudder went down her spine. The leader gave her an out and though Haunt wanted to repay her debts and prove her merits, she decide to seize it. She was neither mentally nor physically prepared for that challenge today.

"I'd like to learn—anything you want to show me, really—but I don't think I'm strong enough for that yet," Haunt admitted, hoping her honesty would shine brighter than her weakness.

"den let us leave de water for de time being." she appreciated haunt's honesty, and knew that courage to face the bleaker parts of life next to the ocean would come later. "i am going to patrol," the harlot invited hintingly, gesturing inland.
if haunt agreed, she would step in that direction, pleased with their interaction. and if the alabaster girl wished to be left to her own devices, it would be of no offense. the day still held many hours.

Erzulie graciously pushed the lesson to another day, then announced she would be heading off to patrol. Haunt sensed an open invitation there and she considered accompanying the Obsidian. But she had taken up enough of her time for now, she decided, and though Haunt would likely never say it, there were a thousand things she would rather do than police the borders.

"I'll seek you out to pick up where we left off soon," the youth promised, dipping her snout. "I think I'm going to go check out the caches, see where they're all located. See you later, Erzulie." With a switch of her tail and a low woof, Haunt turned toward toward the territory's interior.