Ankyra Sound there's an oily brine bilgewater baptism waiting below

there was a whirlpool here. he wondered how many had noticed it, and paid it no mind beyond their first impression.

he especially wondered how many had contemplated its passage to the beyond, as he did now.

lafayette knew what it was to be beneath the water. lungs filled, ceased to function. vision swam, darkened, faded. senses dissipated until all you knew was the water around you, and then you were one with the ocean, and all was black and muffled peace.

he looked upon the churning tide with a wistful expression. it would be easy. it would tug him away with no effort. and then he would be one with the sea, and joined again with his manman and papa val and others. . .

ma lanmè, why should i go on? lafayette asked her, his gaze plaintive toward the churning water. what more can i do here?

there was no answer, and the yearling sat with a heavy sigh, every muscle aching, twitching, to fling his body into the turbulent surf.

A stranger, what was one to do in the face of such a danger?

Staring off into the ocean that Lilimar knew so well,
They thought that this one must be feeling swell
Why else does one listen to waves and sit through that salty smell?

Orbs shining bright,
Paws out of their mother's sight,
They approached the stranger with their pelt of chromite

Why?
A question with no aim,
They were only attracted to the disaster

Strangers in their home. Crosscurrent could smell the stress on his mother with each new intrusion, each new meeting between one of his siblings and one of the strangers. He couldn't ease her stress, not when she seemed to fear him so much, but he could try to prevent any new reasons for it. So he followed his sibling, one of the ruddy twins, the troublemaker it seemed; followed them right into the path of a stranger.

He regarded the red wolf with a hard stare, looking for a moment far older if only around the eyes. He stepped closer to Lilimar, nudging their shoulder plaintively. Didn't they know how upset their mother would be?

a shuffle of pawsteps, and a girl approached. she was. . .unsettling, with those large eyes staring at him, much like an owl.

an owl. he remembered bastean—those brittle bones—and felt bile rise up into his throat.

but she did not ask "who?", but "why?", and his glassy gaze rested on her face for a few long moments before he finally responded:

i wish i knew.

then another child, a boy, appeared, looking far warier as he sidled up protectively against what must be his sister. no words from this one, just that hard expression. mistrust. perhaps some anger.

ki moun ou ye? lafayette queried, brow furrowing a bit. not his siblings, nor cousins—at least that he knew of. sobeille had taken in the seal-children recently.

were these more orphans on sapphique's doorstep?

A brother came to their shoulder, silent but with a clear wish to scold her

In half a breath the wretch was released,
Nipping at young flesh like the nastiest of beasts
It was not him they wanted, but the wolf with scents from the east

He spoke with a strange tongue,
Saddened eyes with a song unsung
Shooting a glare at brother, they moved from where he clung

A daring escapade,
Stepping up to the stranger they did not appear afraid
Sleek and slender, they thought that he must have it made

A gesture to the water, they wonder if he feels fear
Fish, they spoke, despite the clear drear

Would yall be okay with it if I toss Marina in? <3

His yellow eyes flashed, Lilimar's violence lighting something ugly and biting within him. In a moment he'd turned on his sibling, vicious and unrelenting, nearly forgetting the stranger. Crosscurrent meant to grip their scruff, not caring if he drew blood, and haul them back to the den.

He didn't really want to hurt them. Not really. But for a few terrifying seconds, he didn't care whether he did or not.

jumping in rq before marina!

the child—for now he wasn't sure of gender, as they drew closer—nipped at their brother. usual sibling quarrel, he imagined, and nearly smiled at the sight. the young wolf marched right up to him and said, fish, without hesitation.

not a good place to fish, ti—

before his sentence was finished, the boy lunged forward, grabbing her scruff in a way that went past simple play. alarmed, he was blinking stupidly, jaw gaping, before coming back to himself with a start.

hey— lafayette managed, stepping closer to the pair. i—you—stop dat—

if the boy feared his presence, he would leave. he didn't need to punish his sibling for it.