Dragoncrest Cliffs Gleypa

she will arrive in my next post.

"I t'ought for sure, when I saw Stingray's face,
dat 'e had found de biggest pearl to date." 

She laughed merrily, lying against her sister's side in the wake of their pearl ceremony. She felt pleased with the outcome- everyone had found a pearl who had been permitted to partake, and while she did feel guilty that a few members did not get to participate, she felt it was right to keep something special reserved to those who were righteous enough to deserve it. 

When her laughter settled, she was reminded yet again of the discussion only days before that- about how to deal with the bear. The decision-making weighed heavily upon her. The pack had discussed options, and the outcome was something they hoped would suit them all. But it still bothered her that perhaps she had been wrong...Her pride and her humility fought a battle that was near-constant. She felt she needed to be prepared to make a choice that would never be put to vote. 

Few knew where Chacal had gone, late that night. Few knew of the discussion that the Tanzanite had brought to her Maman. Of the buried treasure that she had been shown, and what she had been told of its properties.

She knew. And she committed herself to it.

So when her daughter's voice rang out, a shrill cry for help that could not be mistaken, Chacal bolted to her feet. She had thought about this, day and night. To her sister, she turned, and gave one last look. 

"Take de children. Leave dis place;
take dem to somewhere safe."

She wished she could linger, reach for one last embrace. But she had played this scene through her mind over and over- and she knew what might become of her daughter if she spared herself one last moment with her sister. She turned and bolted.

She splashed through the edge of the lake, and carried bits of ice with her wetted coat. She brushed aside any who stood in her way or clamoured near the Roja den. Furiously she kicked back pawfuls of dirt and from the soil on which many children had been born, she unearthed the bringer of life's end. She dashed it to pieces with her claws. She flung herself into it, rolled, and coated herself thoroughly in specks of dried herbs. Her coat shone slick, with red highlights. On her pelt, she carried the hues of her mother, and the curses of her Maman. She did not shake her pelt- but informed the den's occupants to get clear with a roar, before she dashed for the borders.