Heron Lake Plateau now i’m free from what you are

a chilling quiet rushed around caiaphas following the last keen note of her cry. even the wind seemed to settle, as if waiting in that growing unease for the gathering of some terrifically immense storm. 

somewhere nearby, phox and towhee jousted; caiaphas’ sharply swerving gaze did not notice them. 

she could not deny an old energy had returned to her clattering bones - adrenaline, rent in righteous fervor and imprisoned fury — it crawled up her thin legs and set her mind racing. 

she knew niamh would likely be the first to come, and the golden blaze did not disappoint. caiaphas caught the indignation, the confusion, and the loyalty for a wolf besides herself in that intelligent, honeyed gaze. the siren queen was quite aware she would make little friends with this endeavor, but it did not prevent a funny emotion from seeping into her stomach. 

you would have thought she had just threatened to kill raven and execute her children — not just usurp her title. perhaps that was caiaphas’ failure to see that loyalty was sometimes devoutly blind — in her eyes, challenging a weakened leader was as natural as the cold autumn sunlight that spilled across her back. providence, even. 

for how many months had caiaphas been here, earning her keep — yet never clawing her way past the kappa rank. she had not only been sharing an idle observation with fire that day - she has been exposing a cancerous wound; in her eyes, she could do better. 

understandably niamh did not quite share that conviction. with a wearied sullenness caiaphas held the she-wolf’s gaze, though her tail remained limp and her posture unchallenging. i am doing what is right. caiaphas growled thickly, aware she might have sealed her own exile (or death) with her actions. we need strong leadership — wolves that fight and kill for their own — not just hide. there was a subtle insinuation there, and it glimmered venomously in her eyes. where was fire? it is not personal - and it does not need to fall to violence. she spoke deceptively calmly for a wolf that had just upended the order of an entire pack, and soon would taste the brandish of fangs for her insolence. she has been ... absent as of late.  i could make us stronger.