Blackfeather Woods take it in your heart now

first to come was a wolf that boasted the opposite pelage meldresi had, though she carried with her that distinct mystique that compelled caiaphas to believe like meldresi, she was some practitioner of foreign magicka. caiaphas leveled the red and empty socket a cold glare -- she did not recognize potema, for the last time she had seen her, she had two eyes. and was also a puppy.

she took the news with a thin purse of her lips. how typical, she thought irrationally -- that the wolf would inconvenience her one last time by being dead.

caiaphas stepped instinctively closer to arrille as another wolf came, this one black and silent. for a moment she thought she detected a familiar scent, and she extended her muzzle to the wind and drank deeply of it. it would take her a few minutes to recognize it as kjalarr.

at last the leader came, a wolf caiaphas identified as nearly the same age as arrille. he carried himself with significant weight, and it was immediate that he was the wolf to answer in meldresi's stead.

never one for gallantry or long-winded, tiresome speeches, caiaphas launched smoothly into conversation. "a blood debt is owed," she started gravely, her flinty gaze studying each successively. "for as you may well know, meldresi failed to honor her end of the pact." caiaphas spoke grimly, her tone crisp and cold. she drew onto her haunches, signifying despite the presence of strangers, she was quite comfortable with her position here.

"but i would not be a leader if i did not learn to forgive mistakes." a lie - she was neither of forgiving nature, nor presently a leader.

"it's come to my attention that you have something i want, and i have something you... need." she leaned forward and her expression twisted into one of strange and almost cruel delight. she turned to her pale comrade, and motioned to the crowd: "arrille here tells me his brother is here, and i've come to take him." only caiaphas could be so bold -- so assured in her providence -- to make such demands of the blackfeather wolves. that was her way -- to be demanding, calculating, and always looking for the extra leverage to hedge herself against the world. revenge had been in her heart when she came here, but that scent came again, this time unmistakable as kjalarr. not dead, not missing -- here.

"i will also take kjalarr." she leaned back, satisfied with the cold command that seeped from her voice.

"now, it occurs to me that you want to know what it is i have that you need. can you trust these two?" she canted her whip-thin muzzle to potema and kove, for she did not know their affiliation with blackfeather. once vaati confirmed, she would continue: "arrille tells me you are in war with drageda." she looked so satisfied then, like a sleek domestic cat that had just downed an elusive finch. "he also tells me drageda plans to attack you alongside the caldera. apparently, they have already taken their warriors. valuable information for you, isn't it?" she canted her muzzle to the side, once more casting each of them sly and sidelong glances.

"what is more valuable for you is the proposition i have: leave here. gather those you trust, and follow me -- there are tunnels that connect all along the valley. there is no easy route from here to the sound, but there are a few tunnels we can take that will shield us from unwanted attention. follow me back through them and i will lead you to the heart of ankyra sound -- directly under drageda's nose. meanwhile, drageda will come here and find naught but failure and frustration for their efforts. they will not expect it, their energies will be spent, and it gives you time to prepare your soldiers for your next attack." caiaphas cracked a mischevious smile; this was perhaps her most machiavellian moment yet and she thrived to know she was the source of potential ruin. "the reason i tell you this, and offer you and your kin my home is simple - i dislike neighbors in my sound. you are in a proposition to dispatch them. we both benefit from this arrangement, wouldn't you agree?"

she paused for a moment, as if expecting an answer to that query. "with their warriors traveling here to end you, the rest of their pack on the cliff lies vulnerable -- fat and easy for the taking. they likely left those unable to fight behind. with a surprise advantage while their strongest are out looking for you, you can end this war once and for all. should you elect to massacre them all, so be it. you could also take them hostage. your choice."

she licked her lips, satisfied with her delivery. it had been a long speech, and the siren queen was not one for loquacity. "oh, and a piece of advice. they will hunt you down, and find you -- eventually. i need not tell you to cover your true tracks well. i suggest you gather the scouts you trust the most to lay down false tracks -- do you have tunnels here? have them walk in, and walk backwards out -- and then collapse the tunnel if you can. they will waste time following these false tracks -- giving you ample time to seize the cliffs and show them what it means to hail from blackfeather."

maybe caiaphas should have been a blackfeather wolf -- she certainly possessed the bloodlust for it.

"so, do we have a deal?"