Stone Circle so i'll follow the birdsong

ephraim's teeth did catch her, yet they were not the most offensive thing her body would be subjected to that day. pain bloomed in her senses and she issued a clipped growl in rebuke. she tried to subdue him, lest his outburst somehow jeopardize them. in the end it appeared it wouldn't have mattered.

caiaphas' fatigued expression transformed into something indiscernible as she caught a shift in the conversation. the shift was slight, but she detected it. it went from curious to suddenly shut-off, and the swing in tone brought her eyes up as she searched the faces of the two wolves that would deny her children their existence.

no, something didn't add up -- had caiaphas known they were the first in easthollow's history to be turned away, or even had she known the two before them had welcomed plenty less fit or hale than she and her mate recently, she might have set up in a raging furor, and they might have felt the sharp sting of her teeth.

as it was she remained unaware of such condemning facts, yet round that niggling idea snaked again in the chambers of her brain. something didn't add up.

one supposes there has to be first for everything; it just so happened it would be her luck she and her children would experience it.

caiaphas' jaw tightened; there were a thousand things she could say or point out: her mercenary mastery and how it could help them, how they wouldn't be expecting anyone to take care of their children, the socialization that the alpha pair's children would benefit from having with other puppies, the fact the wolf that had originally greeted them carried no scent that suggested relation to either, that their children would suffer... reasons, reasons, reasons .. what use was expecting reason?

anything she said to concrete their validity as members would simply be for naught.

they had made up their minds, and there was no challenging or contesting that. perhaps for the first time in her life, caiaphas accepted news she did not want to hear gracefully. it was not for lack of fury or emotion; she felt livid -- but she knew there must be some other reason they were turned away that had very little to do with the children they were perfectly capable of providing for. 

then she thought of if she had been in their place, and what she would have done. the answer was simple, as caiaphas, in the four separate reigns she had lead, had never once turned away any from her realm: not in nereides, not in ankyra sound, not in saltwinter, and not in grimnismal. it was unfortunate that her welcoming-of-strangers nature did not extend much past ankyra's hearth.

she did not miss the irony of the female's suggestion: bearclaw. in a quiet tone that easily conveyed her honeyed cynicism, she interjected: "we just got displaced by a bear.. and you suggest bearclaw valley..?" the fierce yellow of her gaze was briefly eclipsed by a slow blink, as if she were processing how erroneously insulting that sounded. "keep the bird - you must need it more than us."



the siren queen turned to her mate then, who had spoken his piece rightly. anger had reanimated his old bones, and feeling similarly suffused with bitter energy, caiaphas set to leave. reaffirmed in her conviction their rejection was beyond their control, caiaphas nudged at the crestfallen illidan and strode forward with raleska and rhakios already in tow. 

they would not find succor here, and she would not beg for it.