before those hands pulled me from the earth

Caiaphas sensed something nearly sardonic about the way the male dutifully regurgitated his dues -- slander, as far as she was concerned.

She rose to all fours and shook the clay and detritus from her drenched pelt; her sodden and unkempt appearance only seemed to further express her slovenly demeanor.

"There is something insulting about your creed -- thinking that women need protection." She then wheeled upon him, a feral glint in those savage eyes. "There is nothing more wicked than a lady." Her tone was curt, and she stepped away from him with her narrow nose pressed to the sand. She had come here for one thing - to discover -- and she was not about to let his (secretly welcome) presence sully her original intentions.

"Now come on, are you going to help me figure out what the frick this place is?" She called over her slender shoulders, an impish look returning to her dowdy muzzle.