Ankyra Sound I WOULDN'T SINK LIKE A STONE [mandatory saltwinter meeting]

The sight of Caiaphas' injuries raised the hair on Vlad's back into sharp, salty spikes. Behind the rush of anger was a feeling he remembered from long ago, before Saltwinter and the Bratstvo, and it was not one he had expected to associate with the band of sea-side ruffians. Bitterness cut through it like blue veins in a well-aged cheese, as strong as it was surprising. Caiaphas was only in a position to make demands because he - Vlad, kingmaker, master of deals - had assembled Saltwinter in the first place! It was like taking a pin to an abcess that had been festering for months. Matters of title and hierarchy that had not mattered to him thirty seconds ago rose to the surface and spilled over the edge, manifesting as flattened ears and a quick flash of teeth. Conflicting feelings fought like elements let loose on a freshly fought earth - he needed to vent some steam before the wrong words came out.

Vlad crept stepped back and walked behind the ranks as the Angry Urchin began to complain, reaching her as she spat her final word. He aimed a hard bite at her ass. "Engry oorchin must remembering she geeft," he spat in warning. Anger seemed to clarify his speech. His sharp, yellow eyes turned on Caiaphas. "You meck Vlad naamber two wulf, Vlad fight for naamber one." Even if it would just be the two of them striding into battle.