Ankyra Sound shame spiral

The Bratstvo had ditched Vlad again within a week. He should have seen it coming, but his admiration for Vyacheslav was like a latent disease - it did not take long to succumb. He left Saltwinter without a word, pledging himself to the Bratstvo leader whilst the threat of war still lingered over Caiaphas' head.

And then he was alone with his stupidity - again.

The walk back had only taken a few days. It was the shame that kept him from Saltwinter's borders well into the spring, and it was not until Vlad had gone six rounds through the Shame Spiral that he eventually found the courage to approach the forest border. Was there even a Saltwinter left to visit? Winter had ended, and so had the contractual obligation to hang around with Caiaphas and her dank ol' caverns and.. stupid.. face.

Vlad stopped in the shadow of the treeline, squinting into the glum woods.

with the cache depleted caiaphas found herself expanding her morning routes past ankyra's borders, desperate to find some sort of terrestrial sustenance. she didn't know the reason for the scarcity of food, but she had a suspicion -- and she directly blamed her lack of meals on seadog sanctuary. hateful little thing that she was, she knew that one more pack within their threshold would likely doom the sound terminally.

as she picked over brambles and roots she came across a scent that outraged her -- her hackles flew upright in succession and she sounded forth from her lungs a hateful howl of rage. he had failed them not once, but twice -- for that, he would find no respite here. if she was flanked by her members, so be it, but vlad's last disappearance had been the last sting, and she was not about to let him into saltwinter's copse without serious amends made for his betrayal.

Caiaphas' screech echoed in Rosalyn's ears and she flattened them, miffed to have her nap interrupted.  What the hell?

She was doing nothing now, though the low caches were a problem she was just as intent on fixing as the other Saltwinter wolves.  She was only lazy when it suited her, and food was not something to trifle with.  She'd intended to forage after a quick rest, but the call changed that.  Irritated as she was by the interruption, she was also curious.

And look at what the tide drug in.  Vlad.  While his leaving had disappointed her, she hadn't the anger the leader obviously held.  She didn't blame him; this pack did not seem one of loyalty, but of convenience, and if a greener shore appeared of course he'd chart a course.  Who wouldn't?

She stared, but sat down, obviously holding no intent to keep the former (briefly) beta out.  It wasn't her fight and as far as she was concerned, he was welcome to help and depart as he pleased.

The forest made a very angry noise.

The sound smashed Vlad's ears against his skull, and he made some progress towards cowering before it occurred to him that he was neither smart nor gracious — at least not at the height of spring, when he could keep his belly full unaided and had a lot less to lose. The Russian stood up straight and roared his words into the forest for all to hear.

"'EY BLECKFACE! Heet you head een cave? Or you meck lie of how many year ees you!" Hell hath no fury, but best add a few comments about age and mental state just to be sure the fires burned good and hot. Vlad took a step into the shade, momentarily blinded by the change in brightness. "Eef vanting meck screaming on Vlad like wife, meck geev furst to body of Vlad nice timings! Thees best deal, meck promisings on you!"

as she crashed towards the wolf, she could not help but notice rosalyn -- idle and indifferent. a snarl crumpled her features and she stepped towards vlad with coldness icing her unkind yellow gaze. he had left her -- during war -- and that was a crime in which was tantamount to none. he was a traitor, and would be branded thus.

and yet, a thought snaked its way into caiaphas' mind -- dark and insidious like the slow spread of an oil-spill. she rose her ugly head and stared levelly at rosalyn -- the wolf, who had in their entire acquaintanceship, never once lifted a finger to help the homestead. even vlad's taunting did not detract caiaphas from her sudden and new-placed ire.

"no." she interjected coldly -- commanding. "no promises -- you have already broken too many." she stepped towards him, her body language authoritative by the height in which she held her sharp muzzle and banded tail. "here is a deal, traitor -- kill her, and i will "meck wife" and let you back into saltwinter." she did not even address what would happen should he refuse -- for within her tourmaline gaze there was a promise of violence exacted upon him should he betray again.

A thought had already entered Rosalyn's mind as she sat, a niggling idea that, should no one come to back the siren in her ire, she might act upon.  Might.

Caiaphas turned that might into an actuality.

Vlad's response was typical of the male, and Caiaphas did not take the humor as Rosalyn might have thought.  Instead of enraged, her voice was cold - a command.  Oh shit. She did not.

Silently Rosalyn stood, staring at Caiaphas a moment before her own lip lifted.  Perhaps unwisely, instead of fleeing, she took a step or two towards Vlad.  "Or we could take her," she said, looking at Vlad with more confidence than she honestly felt in that moment.  How deep was his connection to the queen?  How deep his friendship to her?

She hadn't had the time to find out.  And now her life might depend on it.

But the queen of the Sound was not a woman for turning - at least not for free. Vlad's eyesight adjusted in time to see the dark figure of Caiaphas stalk stride right up to him, head and tail held high above her narrow body. Traitor flew from her mouth, burning a bitter brand into Vlad's heart - and for one shameful moment he considered the implications of doing as she had asked.

"Salty veenter peck, Bleckface. Veenter feenish," Vlad reminded her in a voice that wasn't quite as 'fog horn' as his usual blaring. His tail drooped and he shot a look at the nearby Rosalyn, wondering if Caiaphas had the wolf-power to follow through on whatever threats she might make next.

Rosalyn had other ideas. Her words coincided with a spike of anger that whipped Vlad away from whatever sensible option he had been considering (if any). He flashed teeth, glaring at the incumbent Alpha of Saltwinter. He thought of every time she had made fun of him, or rejected his advances - and amplified the whisper of hurt he had felt until each memory was almost entirely false. "Stenderds heving so gud idea of brain! Theenk you Vlad believing thees promise of meck wife? Ha! Bleckface liking better leek ess of Rett. I no meck keel Stenderds for so no gud deal. I meck now best deal - Bleckface go to cave, find so leetle, much dark hole. Thees new home of Cee-aff-us."

she had afforded vlad one final kindness, and he had besotted it. for that, there would be no forgiveness.

as dark as her countenance was, it seemed only to grow darker -- a stormy expression gathered within her coruscating gaze. "your loss," the siren queen snarled before diving towards the man with teeth (ivorns) exposed. her fangs sought the bridge of his nose, his eyes -- whatever portion of his face was available for ruination -- it was a dominating gesture, one that she hoped would sunder his visage, cow him, and wrench him to the ground for his insubordination. should he fight back she would parry with outstretched limps to trip him -- should he run, she would chase him.

it never occurred to her she may be in over her head with rosalyn not so far behind -- as far as she was concerned, these two infidels were traitors and deserved death for their inaction.

Oh thank whatever fucking gods might be listening, Vlad took her words instead of Caiaphas'.  She'd half prepared to fight for her life, but instead, it was Vlad who was attacked.

Now there was not a trace of inaction about Rosalyn.  Caiaphas had not done shit to earn the status of comrade, but Vlad, in turning down this offer, was now marked as such.  Her honor was questionable but when it came to her crew (wildly different from pack), she had never once turned her back, and she wasn't about to begin now.

Wordlessly she charged the siren queen from the side, intending to try and tear into it the instant she got close enough.  If she could get the momentum to knock her sideways, all the better!  She was determined to make this two on one.

*lateashell* *joins anyway (PM me if it isn't ok for me to join)

Maude had faintly heard the screech Caiaphas made. She half recognized the coywolf's voice, and only wandered towards the call out of curiosity. After all, she hadn't heard a sound like that before. Her half-curious ambling quickly shifted into a run as she saw the scene: two wolves attacking the Cap'n. Now, she hadn't met many wolves from the Saltwinter crew, and never knew of this Russian's history with them. She acted on what she saw, and she saw her Cap'n being threatened.

Cap'n! The pirate called out, her eyes roaring to life as she rushed forward. Her maddened eyes were trained on the reddish wolf, who had attacked first. Her mouth opened to reveal yellowed, snarled teeth as she aimed for the wolf's scruff, intent on tearing her away from Caiaphas' flank and pinning her, or at the very least getting her away from her Cap'n.

Things happened quickly after that. Caiaphas' teeth cut a rough trench across Vlad's nose before he realized what was happening. He roared in agony, spilling blood into his own eyes as he tumbled backwards, away from the sea queen's snapping jaws. Rosalyn jumped into the fray without hesitation, and suddenly there were four of them - an unknown male had come to Caiaphas' aid.

Vlad was seeing red both literally and figuratively when he threw himself back into the fight, forgetting all about his initial plan to win Caiaphas over with his grisly charms.

@Caiaphas Do you want to decide how it ends and/or come up with a series of rolls to determine it? Best (as in highest number) out of three rolls maybe? :D You can roll for Team Vlad and Rosalyn if you want.

for the sake of keeping SW awesomely IC, i'd prefer to keep the results IC BUT if you three want to dice rolls we can arrange something! slight PP of vlad just because i wasn't sure what he was attacking, karm let me know if the area i took damage in is isn't okay!

caiaphas' teeth hit home and a sickening satisfaction consumed her. this was vlad -- her comrade -- but she didn't care. all she wanted was blood spilled for his treachery. he had betrayed her! he had picked the red slut over her! caiaphas was stung and it reflected in the vehemence behind her sharply weilded teeth.

her attack would have to wait -- rosalyn had fallen upon her with a fierceness she was surprised the red wolf was capable of summoning. with a snarl caiaphas scrambled sideways from the blow, the strike causing a smart of pain to well along her spiny shoulders. she spun towards rosalyn to reave her, only to see maude had rallied behind her. thank god -- caiaphas knew how stupid she had been and how lucky she was maude had come to intercept her from what would have likely been her early (and deserved) death.

before she could turn back to vlad he was upon her -- his fangs sunk down into her ears, ripping down her cheek and leaving a fresh score of blood that rushed to the surface in a mighty welt of crimson. the pain caused her to shriek in surprise and she whirled backwards, attempting to counter vlad's closeness by jawsparring with him -- if her teeth found purchase she would try to clamp her jaws about him and force him to the ground to submit.

I'm cool with that!

She was confident that the two of them would easily take this.  Caiaphas obviously hadn't banked on Vlad's turning, and Rosalyn couldn't be more thrilled as she launched her attack.  There was danger, yes - Caiaphas was undoubtedly cornered, and would fight back avidly, but she knew this would end their way.

Then the other bitch showed up.

Where the hell she came from Rosalyn didn't know, but all of the sudden she was beset from the side, Maude catching hold of her scruff and successfully surprising her off of her feet.  Immediately she knew Vlad would need to hold Caiaphas himself for the moment - this fight just gained a more even footing, and she cursed silently.  Would any others join?

Now pissy that her easy fight turned fair, Rosalyn snarled and turned, her teeth making to tear at whatever she could reach around the other's grip.  If she could get a couple good snaps in maybe this unwelcome busybody would think twice about sticking around for the fray.

@Vlad (?) @Caiaphas @Rosalyn ok Maude's back now...continue this...?

Maude succeeded in her primary task: keeping this wench away from her Cap'n's person. But now the red-stained woman was getting pissy, snapping haphazardly at Maude's body. The seawolf snapped an originally pirate-y reply before attacking the woman once more: Bite me, will ye? Chew on this, ye bug-brained, back-bitin',bile bag!

Maude's gnarled teeth leapt from the red-furred scruff to the muzzle, intent on stilling the bites that were raining down upon her body by clamping the red muzzle down. If she was lucky enough, she might even twist the red-furred woman into the sand, leaving her in a vulnerable position. But Maude wasn't all that intellectual when it came to fighting; she merely wanted this woman to stop attacking her Cap'n.

archiving? karm is inactive but starr did agree to them running off?i will keep everything vague so that we can each decide our own injuries if it comes to it

caiaphas had been relieved maude had come to her aide; if she hadn't the impetuous queen would have been surely overtaken. there was a flash of teeth and scythe of claws and before they knew it the fur had flung from all parties amidst snarls and soft thumps of colliding flesh. caiaphas bore the score of vlad's teeth and had hatefully turned upon him to seek her vengeance, only to see rosalyn and vlad had regrouped and turned for the trees. hotly the little imp stole after them with blood curdling and shrieking howls, though they were quick to blend into the countryside. caiaphas was not willing to chase them past the border, and ruefully she turned back to maude to inspect her comrade's wounds. they were victorious -- though it was a hollow victory -- and caiaphas swore darkly that the next time she saw either she would see to it that they were killed for their iniquity.