Ankyra Sound this that war, this that bloodline.

@Arsene <3

a streamlined shadow of a bird flew overhead as sobeille withdrew from sapphique, into the familiar stony steppes of the sound.

maman has given birth. four ugly, squalling lumplings. sobeille expected some profound emotion on first sight, but all they had instilled in her was a listless sense of indifference.

once on the beach, sobeille walked the compact sands of the swashline, studying the dark water and wondering what predators lurked beneath its surface.

Yay! Thank you <3

He circled above akin to a vulture – only the focus of his attention was definitely still very much alive unlike the targets of his balding brethren. Beady eyes watched as the tiny wolf stalked along the coastline of the secluded beach, and while she appeared to not be doing anything out of the ordinary, Arsène was intrigued.

Downwards he swooped, alighting upon a log of driftwood a few paces away from the amber-coloured girl. With a tilt of his head, the crow released a low caw to get her attention.

sobeille did not pay much attention to the bird — not at first.

but she paused as she heard the flutter of descending wings, and turned round as the throaty caw of the bird rasped into the saltwater air.

at first sobeille wondered if this was sialuk’s companion. she squinted, drawing the conclusion this was a different creature altogether.

she waved him off with a sandy paw. i don’t be havin’ food for you.

He was immediately waved away as if he were nothing but a pesky fly, but it did little to deter the crow. He hopped along the log until he was right at the end closest to the russet girl, tilting his head this way and that as he studied her.

“Me? Looks like you be the one needin’ a feed,” he chortled after a pause, leaning his head back as he let out a loud laugh. He had seen a lot of wolves in his short time, and she was definitely amongst the smallest he had come across.

sobeille didn’t expect rejoinder — so when it came in the throaty form of an avian voice, she whirled around in disbelief.

he’d hopped closer to the edge of the log, his long legs grasping their edge with glittering claws. sobeille’s gaze flicked from his talons to his beak. ’ow come you talk? could all of them? and more importantly — how come it’d taken until she was nearly a year old to discover this?

"'Ow come?" he echoed in a mocking tone as the girl spun and stared at him with a look of bewilderment. He was almost offended, though supposed other birds didn't often make a habit of conversing with the land creatures. Their loss. Arsène quite enjoyed the four-legged predators' antics, and with their teeth and claws, they proved to be quite useful too, when it came to food.

"Are I not meant to?" he replied jovially, regarding her with a cant of his head and sidelong gaze.

he mocked her!

sobeille's eyes grew round as discs - first in outrage, and then in a strange species of fascination.

she could do great -- terrible, yes, but great -- things with such an ability.

the bird cast his head to the side, intelligent eyes boring into her. sobeille felt her skin ripple in excitement. i never had one talk to me before. do dat again! she urged, of his excellent mimicry.

She seemed positively shocked by the events unfolding, that another species could speak! Perhaps she was young, Arsène had observed wolves who appeared to be fully grown at first glance, but further inspection demonstrated that they were still simply inexperienced youths in an awkward adult body. Had she never sought to communicate with another creature before that was not a fellow canine?

At her prompting him to talk again, the crow simply clicked his beak before scraping each side of it against the log he was standing on. "Arsène can say many things."

With a flap of his wings he leapt from his perch, striding towards the girl and stopping before her. "And do many things, too." With that he lurched forward, attempting to nip her toe before scuttling backwards with wings outspread, cackling.

sobeille’s ear tips leaned forward as she watched the bird drag his great beak across the rough bough. he hopped down, stilt legs carrying him towards her in bold bounces.

he nipped at her! ’EY!! sobeille roared, pulling the nipped paw to her chest. she snapped at his outstretched wings as he hopped out of reach cackling. dat was rude. c’mere and let me do dat to you. the girl’s tone turned dark, but her eye glinted with kindred mischief.

but the bird was not so stupid — after several attempts sobeille tired of play, and skulked to the treeline where arsene lost interest.