Oystercatcher Tide Pools do not look for my heart anymore, the beasts have eaten it

There was a breath of hesitation when the woman spoke of their siblings being home on the islands. The wraith eyed her with a skeptical expression, but held his silence for the time being. It was almost impossible for the dark wolf to believe that she had wandered in search of him without anyone else. She was a wicked and smart woman; he knew her to be diplomatic at times and a precocious fighter. The thought of besting her sat inside of him like an itch under the skin. No matter how much he scratched, it would bring him very little relief. As much as the dark brute wanted to turn and simply leave his sister behind, her words were tantalizing to him, and he wanted to hear more of what she had to say.
 
When she spoke of their mother wanting him to return, the boy felt his heart beat in a strange manner. She was drawing excitement from him at the prospect of leading their old home. The pale-eyed woman knew how to draw out the things he desired most, and her words were always sweet and sincere. The thought of her was sickening to him. Skellige knew that if he should return to Warsaw, Ksenia would be dead. The wraith knew that he did not trust her far enough to simply drop his ambitions and return to their home. She was a diplomat in the same sense that he was a tactician… and he was always watching for when he would be flanked by his opponent.
 
It was the woman’s last remark that caught Skellige off guard. His ears flattened and he canted his head to the right out of confusion. The bemused expression on his face would have appeared comical were it not for the swift transition into unbridled anger. He shook his skull from side and to side and huffed through his nares. “But why would I want to give you a life on the islands, Ksenia?” he inquired to her. A dark and throaty chuckle followed the question that had fallen from his lips. “I tried to take your life once. Why should I follow you to return it?” No, his drive and longing to rule the lands that they called home was great, but not as great as his hatred for the pale witch. If remaining in the Teekon Wilds meant that she would be refused a life on Warsaw, he would do it.
 
In the back of the beast’s mind, he drew upon a thought. Should he accomplish his goal of building a new empire on the shores of the wilds, there was a chance that he would be able to raise his army so that he could return to his home and take it by force. Should this be accomplished, he would bathe in the blood of the woman who stood before him, and he would wear her fur on his skull.