let me see through your eyes, where there's so much life

@Reek  - for you!! ;*  saena, you're next (unless you want to join this one which is a-ok w/ me)

with cold came change. cold nights, crisp and cool and dark. short days littered with shriveled leaves, their paperthin tips curled in fragile flames of red and yellow. the kiss of winter scarce a few week's away and caiaphas' cache was barren.

the waif, somber as the grey sea behind her, stood a thin silhouette against a rough-faced bough of maple extraction. the wind picked up and the leaves chattered wildly overhead. she felt cold.

the salted wretch dallied then on the borders, unwilling to cross -- for as vile as her comportment was, she was not one to violate the pack's structure. instead she announced her presence with a coyote-bidden yawp, her slender muzzle uplifted to the heavens to join the howling chorus of the squall.

@Saena should totally jump in on this! Powerplaying location, PM me if you want me to change it!

The shift in climate was alarming, and with the cold came rain.  The torrent was unending. It seemed as if the sun had gone on permanent vacation, leaving only clouds and dark grey skies behind to pick up the slack.  But after days of downpour, the rain slowed to a near stop. The sky no longer sweat bullets upon the maplewood; instead, it offered a light misting, coating everything in thin film of damp.

Reek could feel it in his bones. The creaks, the aches.  It would only get worse with the coming cold, Reek knew. The slow crawl to winter was becoming a sprint.  There was much to do, but the rain kept Reek suppressed.  He continued his standard duties, he hunted for the coyote pups, but the rest of the time— he spent it underground in order to avoid the hellish scene above.  

He stirred in the den as he lay next to his mate. The tension he had created by fostering the coyote pups still remained, but he solace in being by her side... and that she had come out of her encounter with the bear alive. Nudging his injured mate, Reek asked, "Wanna take a quick walk? I promise I'll go slow," before crawling out into the dampness.

As soon as his legs were free from the rocky entrance, he heard a familiar howl from the borders. His heart dropped in his chest.  "Goddamn it," he grumbled, not now.  He looked back to his mate and nodded for her to follow before setting off to see the sea witch.  

He found her looming by the border, ghostlike as always. Reek shot her a cold glance before snapping, "What do you want?" with biting intonation.

Saena was safe in the confines of the den, gnawing at an itchy shoulder for the fifteenth time in the last two hours. It had started that morning, the itching. She assumed it had something to do with her injuries, though if she was a more attentive patient, she would've known otherwise. She would've known her injuries were healing, albeit slowly. She would've known the poison of infection was not as much of a threat now as it had been before. But her skin crawled uncomfortably and itches erupted along her hide sporadically, and with no explanation for it, the alpha assumed it was blood sickness.

She didn't tell her mate, though. If he noticed her compulsive itching, he hadn't said anything yet. She was still pissed at him and refused to even acknowledge the "coyote issue", but she'd worried him enough. Admitting to blood sickness wouldn't ease his mind any further. It might send him into a full-fledged panic attack. So when Reek asked if she wanted to take a walk, even though she would much rather stay and scratch her skin clean off, the alpha female acquiesced by rising and following him at a hobble.

It seemed their aimless walk wasn't to be so aimless, for her mate swore when an unfamiliar voice rose over the maplewood. Saena didn't even have a chance to ask what the problem was before he motioned for her to follow, and the pair set off toward the border. She let Reek pull ahead, though he was dutiful and didn't get too far. Stretching her wounds to discomfort wouldn't serve her any good, so she tagged along at her painfully slow pace, wincing now and again when the ground proved too uneven.

She licked her chops curiously when they arrived at the borders to see a silver-furred female with a curiously inky countenance. The alpha furrowed her brow, but it was Reek who spoke, and it was in a snap very uncharacteristic of him. Saena's eyes flew to the side of his face, taken aback by his sudden stormy mood, but to the unknown coywolf on the border, she still said nothing.

the sylph sat underneath the rustling twigs, all harrowed bone and gaunt -- her fur whipping about her in the raking gale. soon the earth would swell in ice and the landscape would be blanketed in fragile frost -- the cold that bit her backside was but a reminder of the terrible winter forthcoming.

the impish creature carefully surveyed her surroundings, her gaze narrowing as a silhouette darted between the gaps of scarred maple, flitting beneath the fiery boughs with a pale shadow in tow. she did not recognize the female that flanked her former comrade, and as the two closed the distance caiaphas diligently remained harmless in poise. reek's companion roused a vested curiosity in the she-wolf -- perhaps later she could scry from the dark male the nature of the pale wolf besides him.

"winter is coming," the sea-waif loftily noted, her gaze unabashedly rowing along their well-fed bodies -- clearly their caches were not lacking. she herself remained a scarecrow, thin and rawboned. "there is a glut of carrion on the shore." the remark would have seemed a simple observation to any that did not know the she-wolf, but it was a gilded offer sheathed vaguely in the manner of an outward conclusion.

Her answers were vague, as always. Caiaphas danced around the question in her typical cryptic fashion, much to Reek's chagrin. He shifted his forepaws uncomfortably in the damp soil and detritus. Sediment filled the cracks in his pads. He let out a frustrated huff and glared coldly at the waif. The fact that he was even speaking to her was a kindness. A kindness that would eventually wear thin. Nevertheless, there was some truth behind her cryptic ramblings— winter was coming. Whatever it had to do with the conversation at hand, that was another story.

"No shit Sherlock," he snapped dryly. Did she expect something from him? The ties they had shared died the moment she abandoned the wolves of Ankyra Sound. The moment she gave up on them, Reek did the same. But, what came next only served to confuse Reek even more. It was true, the sea held a bounty for those who could claim it... but why mention it? Why would she try to help the Maplewood? Reek took a step forward and cocked a suspicious brow.

It was bullshit.

He knew her; who she was. She wasn't a helpful soul, no. She was like Reek, and he, like her in turn. The two lived a parallel life— and it was best the two never intersect.  "I'm not going back to the sea Caiaphas. It's over," he huffed. "Why are you here?" he rephrased his initial question, but getting a straight answer out of the sea witch was like squeezing honey from a stone. Impossible.

There didn't seem to be anything for Saena to say, so she watched instead. Her eyes traced Caiaphas' gaunt form, from her skinny limbs up to her hollowed belly and along her threadbare flank to her shoulders. There, the silver of her fur gave way to jet black, a most curious phenomenon. Not unlike her spots, Saena thought, only the entirety of Caiaphas' head rather than isolated patches. Perhaps they were one and the same. She shifted in place, desperately fighting the urge to sit down and scratch at her itchy hide, and wondered what would make this wolf a poor addition to the maplewood.

But she froze when the name "Caiaphas" was uttered. She knew this story. Caiaphas had led the sirens at the sea, but according to Wynter and Reek, had left them without warning. It was that that led the two to Saena and Redtail Rise. She blinked, her indigo eyes sharpening on the coywolf now, as though she could discern some kind of reason from the woman's very form. Impossible, of course, but she tried anyway. What could make a wolf abandon her comrades? Especially when she led them? It was something Saena didn't understand, though to say she wasn't a little grateful for Caiaphas' neglect would be misplaced.

Her gaze darted back to her mate, silently asking the same question he poised: what was she doing here after all their time apart?

caiaphas' attention on the uniquely minted female at reek's side was divided when the dark male spoke, interpreting her offer in a manner she had not meant for it to be interpreted. the gangly creature did not hide her surprise - it clouded her features and widened the sharp yellow of her fierce gaze.

she had no such notion of prying reek from his home in the dusky woods, nor from the fine flank of the female besides him. and it showed clearly on her gaunt countenance. "the sea doesn't want you, silly." she countered coldly, drawing herself into a poised supine position. "but the bounty is there for you to fill your cache, should you need it."

her gaze strayed to saena's flank, which was noticeably flat. perhaps sometime puppies would be on the horizon -- if that happened, would she be auntie 'phas? "i cannot eat it all myself, and do not wish for the waste to attract unwanted visitors."

As per usual, Reek misinterpreted the nuance of the situation. Reek's head still swam with confusion, even as Caiaphas took it upon herself to explain her reasoning for coming to the maplewood. Part of him was relived she hadn't come to take him away back to Ankyra Sound— like she could even try, but the fear remained ever slight. But, if she hadn't come to pull him back into the world of servitude and sea witches, why would she offer charity?

She was not charitable. She was not kind. These were traits Reek knew, traits he embodied himself. "But why us?" he asked, unable to mask the confusion lurking in his tone. "There has to be a catch." Caiaphas was a manipulator, there was no doubt that whatever kindness she offered was riddled with strings.

Part of Saena—a large part, actually—wanted to depart this tense scene. Her coat was crawling with itching bugs, her wounds were beginning to burn from the simple stress of standing, and Reek's back-and-forth exchange with Caiaphas was so chilly, Saena could almost believe her breath was showing. It was nothing short of uncomfortable, especially because she had such limited knowledge of the circumstance. That made her feel vulnerable, and her shifting hackles and twitching ears revealed as much.

But, no matter how badly the alpha bitch wanted to leave, she was rooted there. She was transfixed and intrigued. Most of all, she was curious how this would turn out. Reek seemed utterly against the possibility of Caiaphas joining their ranks, yet Saena wondered if that was the chimera's ultimate purpose and, if so, what Reek had to lose in taking her in. Caiaphas had abandoned him and proven herself an unworthy leader, but an unworthy leader could be nothing if not a worthy follower. Under the guidance of different alphas than herself, the hybrid had some hope, no?

Saena secretly hoped so, and hoped the shifting of her feet might briefly draw her mate's attention so she could attempt to silently convey these thoughts.

the sylph watched as the tension rose palpable between the trio -- and she, entirely culpable for its heady existence. but alongside the rigidity that suspended the air there was a balance of confusion to it -- a strangeness that caused saena's hackles to softly yet visibly rise.

caiaphas, woeful thing that she was, wanted no part of a physical confrontation. and it showed rigorously in her presentation - the way her rough fur lay flat, the way her muzzle never challenged the height of the alpha pair's own. "there is no catch." she answered with sharp finality. she did not want unaffiliated strangers patrolling what she felt was her beach -- but reek and his followers? they were an intrusion she would gladly tolerate.

No catch. It took every ounce of willpower for Reek to not call bullshit on the spot. Despite his chagrin, Reek considered her offer, but with caution. Caiaphas had given him no reason to trust him, in fact, she had given him the opposite.  He would not endanger his pack or his family over the empty promises of a witch from the sea.  But still, with winter approaching, it was worth investigating.  He would go alone.  

"Expect me then," he said with finality. He turned to his wife hoping she would understand.  A sure source of food was worth the risk. Something about the whole thing still felt sinister, and Saena needed to know that this was Reek's sole burden. No doubt, he wasn't considering riding off into the mist anytime soon, but he would mull the thought over and discuss it with Saena before making the trip.

Their final words were spoken sharply, leaving Saena to glare between the trio as tension washed over her. Had her skin not felt like it was burning under the burden of thousands of insect feet and her wounds not been so fresh, the alpha would've immediately taken her husband's side and snapped the tension with a snarl and a demand that Caiaphas slink back to whatever hellhole she'd crawled out of. She was too compromised to pick such a fight now, so the coywolf had her rapt attention instead. Besides, she knew this was Reek's battle and a more selfish part of her wished to not be involved beyond observing. She said nothing still, but once more entertained the thought of inviting Reek's failed leader into their fold.

She nearly parted her jaws to speak it, but her mate's turning stayed her tongue. Her teeth clicked together as she pinned Caiaphas with one last lingering, curious look before she allowed the alpha male to lead her back into the forest. She hobbled along in his wake, playing over the encounter in her head. The acidity in her mate's tone was more than enough to confirm that Caiaphas had done wrong in her past, but Saena couldn't help wondering which had come first—Caiaphas' failure as a leader or Reek's attitude toward her—and privately she wondered if perhaps Caiaphas hadn't been fleeing some kind of judgment when she left her pack behind. The coywolf certainly seemed devoted enough to her former followers to inform Reek of the bounty on the coast. Not at all the sort of wolf who would leave without some reason.

But then, Caiaphas was slipperier than an oil slick in all regards, and Saena had yet to learn it.