Redtail Rise and the pleiades

looking for @Avicus but aw <3 other tags for ref!

@Chacal and @Rosalyn had been warned of the encroachment directly beneath their land. she had hesitated to tell her wife, wondering if it would compel the seawolf down into that shoreline.
but she must have faith.
erzulie had passed on as well news of sacrarium and their request to mentor @Lorelai. next sought were @Jorunn, @Njord and @Meerkat, told of the claim gathering in ankyra. @Lorelai. @Hermes, @Sobo, @Loko, @Coraline, and mireille had been told to keep away from the sound.
and all of sapphique had been told in her own words to bring to the leadership any word of the strangers.
she did not howl to signal to her pack. she meant for no communications to recognize the interlopers. the cliffs stood sentinel and so would they.
but today erzulie descended the last miles of the tangle and moved toward the rise.
fighters here. more wolves than before. and one mark prominent among them. she knew that scent and it did not belong to avicus. yet it was for the red girl she called now, winterpelt only just veiling the swelling of her flanks.

the call itself is calm enough, but she's seasoned enough to read in body where words failed. Erzulie's posture belied some great stress, and her face draws tight, eyes narrowing and lips stretching into a displeased grimace. 

still, she gives the woman a friendly wave of her tail in greeting, and comes to stand face to face with Sapphique's leader.

yes? her voice is terse, but not unkind. she does not think Erzulie would have come with good news; she would have sent someone else, perhaps, or let it bide until Avicus's next visit.

there's trouble in the air. the murder, and. . .

"dere be a giant white wolf trying to claim ankyra. yellow eyes. many, many scars." she studied avicus' striking face for a long moment.
"de soun' is far too close to de cliffs. it be a sacred place for us. she was alone when she came upon my son an' i. but dey be foolish children. and if i had not been dere..."
she sighed and shook her head. "is dis de woman?"

Could be a cameo, he’s accompanying Erzulie. Feel free to skip.

Word traveled fast through Sapphique about the band who sought to claim Ankyra. Neighbors to the East. Neighbors to the South. Though Redtail Rise was an ally, having two of their three borders condemned by rival packs caused the man to become restless. Though Dragoncrest was a bastion in his own right, Njord had family to feed and protect… and soon, there would be new, vulnerable lives. They had lived so long in peace. An overcrowded coast could only mean trouble.

He accompanied Erzulie to the Rise. Avicus had been a former packmate, and although Njord did not know her well, he knew her look and name. Erzulie arrived first, her Laramite trailing behind.

Avicus arrived and Erzulie conveyed the news. The thought of Loko being assaulted by this clan made his fur stand on end. However, there was some secret between the women. Was this white wolf a known enemy? Njord stood silently with his ears pressed forward, blue gaze reading the red woman’s face.

she freezes at Erzulie's opening line. her entire body stiffens, muscles taut, eyes hard. it does not improve—

and at the mention of children, all she can see is Nyra's wild eyes;

her brother leaving her jaws

flying

hitting the ground

biiigh, she replies, drawing out the word for emphasis. her mouth is  a deep frown, an upside-down 'u'. it muhh' be her. to the edification of the newcomer, who'd accompanied Erzulie, she adds, looking his way, womanh' kill my ma. kill more.

then looks back at Erzulie. will kill young onehh, Avicus says, definitively. 

anger is gurgling within her; she thinks of Tulimaq's once packmate, torn apart and left not far from their border. one of my pack kill, o'hher day, she says. muhh' be her.

another dead.
"come t'rough de tangle if you wish. passage to de soun'. hunt wid us in return." they were allies. and erzulie would not hesitate to aid avicus with the chance to avenge the death of her mother.
she did not ask how many;
she trusted that the red wolf would be loyal in their alliance.
njord; she looked at him. "dis be avicus. leader of de rise. sapphique's companion." the only one they had. the only one they needed, perhaps for now. "avicus, dis be njord. guardian to de cliffs an' part of our family."

Avicus painted a graphic scene with her slurred words and it made Njord’s expression tense in grave disdain. It seemed this Fury was a creature born for iniquity.

Erzulie offered an olive branch to further tie Sapphique and Redtail Rise as allies. For the longest time, Dragoncrest had stood as a bastion of its own… but in these uncertain times, it was important to find friends.

Njord passed a formal nod as he was introduced. “You were with Sapphique for a time, I heard of ye. It is good ta know you better, now,” he said. “How many of ya live on tha Rise? Do you ‘ave children in yer ranks?” the man asked, wanting to find common vulnerabilities and better understand their combined strength. With Rosalyn aging, Erzulie with child, and last year’s litter barely a year old… the coastal pack was not ripe for conflict.

introductions are made by Eruzlie. she looks Njord over but finds nothing all too familiar in his form. still, he is an ally, and she dips her head to him in quiet greeting, taking a moment to reflect upon his questions before she speaks again.

no chil'ren, she confirms. five, i 'hhink. no more. 

too low. their numbers are too low.

she turns back to Eruzlie. i will hunh' wi' you, Avicus replies. one 'hday. for now, she is too focused on Nyra to even think of an interpack outing.

"come t'rough de tangle if you wish to travel de beach. i will tell de ot'ers who to expect."
"de druids are beyond us, in blackwater. perhaps dey know from where she has come."
erzulie glanced to njord and then to avicus. there was little else to be said. if the red girl had nothing to add, the obsidian would turn, padding back into the knotted weald and around its edge.

Redtail Rise was a small troop, but five adults would be more than enough to rally a staunch defense. No children meant there would be few vulnerabilities. In Njord’s mind, Sapphique was far more exposed. He knew this allyship with Avicus’ pack was important to maintain, and it seemed Erzulie knew this well.

He absorbed the information silently, but added a nod of support when Erzulie affirmed. With the message delivered, the seafarer would exit with his captain when she turned back towards Dragoncrest.

she watches them go with a gimlet gaze, still bristling at the notion of Nyra so. . .close. her base instincts, her bloodlust, the hatred deep within—they urge her forward, to take the woman on, even alone. to taste victory and have Astara avenged.

but the ground beneath her paws is reason enough to stay.

it's a place of her own—of their own, as she'd intimated to Ashlar. and she'd only staked this claim to build up strength for that ultimate showdown. she must be patient.

she must wait.

reluctantly, she turns, and walks away.