Ankyra Sound uproar

shortly after the wretch fell silent, she slyly studied the titan. he was thinking -- surely, weighing what information had been shared and deriving his own consensus from the matter. perhaps i will, vaati intones  -- and caiaphas cannot help the grinch-like smile that spills like rotten milk across her features.

perhaps he'd win, if he did.

either way, caiaphas was not so different in thought than vaati in that moment. surely brute force was not the only qualification in which to be a leader. she had never been as strong as most -- and likely never would be -- but that alone was little deterrent.

the topic shifts to drageda. caiaphas barely spares the cliffs a glance. her chin lifted, and her expression took on a hardened sheen. "we are always at war; it is during times of quiet you should be most suspicious." she let that sink in a moment, before expanding. "the dogs of the cliff are hardly more than us in terms of numbers. i do not fear them, and neither should you." the full bore of her gaze moved from the ocean, to the man before her -- inspecting him for any sign of fear. as to be expected, there was none -- caiaphas had suspected his last war had hardened him beyond measure, and she was not wrong.

"this is not my first run in with these wolves. you recall when i came to you in blackfeather, yes? after that, they hardly did more than worry our hides like fleas. the few scraps we had in griminsmal were quick and bloodless, though they did attempt to kill one of our wolves that lingered too close. they stand high in the cliffs above, but are powerless outside of their domain. grimnismal persisted, despite their best efforts... and rusalka will, too."

after speaking, caiaphas realized how tired she was -- she obliged vaati a while longer. they spoke of war, and they spoke of tactics -- afterwards, the siren sought quiet in the grotto, sleeping like a fitful demon in the shade of ankyra's dark cave.