Stavanger Bay so lay with me in your thinnest dress

@Leokadia, @Deirdre

Their scuffle had done little but douse the inky male in tones of beige as the sand clung to his thick coat and speckled him like a dark canvas. But Leo had suffered a deep gouge in the back, roughly along her spine, and Skellige had found himself frustrated because of it. He could not help but to think that the wolves who had gathered around him were destined for injury; already, half of his ranks had suffered from something, and he had tossed them all off on the witch doctor without even taking into consideration that she had a blessing to prepare. Then there was Deirdre, and while part of him simply wanted to rub the proverbial salt into Leokadia’s wound, he knew that the forest nymph would be able to heal his sister without much issue.
 
Drawing them closer to the thickly forested area of Donnelaith, Skellige drew back his head and called for the pearly girl to come to the borders of her home. He hoped that she would be found inside of the tangle of trees on that day, or else he would have to burden Doe with yet another case of malady, and this one had been his doing. The wraith knew that they would have many to come, though, and that it was good practice for the girl to help those who were suffering.

Leokadia followed him along to the trees. The distance was significant, but not terribly so. The wound dried only to crack again with her movements and simply continue to bleed, and she sneered at the pain. The location was inconvenient, but she supposed the healer would help with that. 

Her eyes rose to the trees of the forest that carried simultaneously a foreboding and welcoming energy. Respecting and fearing the witch doctors of Warsaw, Leokadia felt an entirely different, but no less potent, source of magick here. She peered to her brother to see if he noted the same thing, though she herself became immediately reverent to it. Leokadia wondered what sort of heathen her brother had befriended to aid them this day, and felt only fortunate that he had fallen into their good favor. She imagined them hideous and ugly, a crone--as unbecoming as the doctors oft were! and prepared herself for that, growing stoic so as to not betray herself when their hideous features were revealed.

he called to her frequently as of late. she nearly anticipated it the moment it came, and yet when it did it still stole the breath from her lungs and caused her young heart to beat at the pace of the hummingbirds wings. she had been in the depths of the forest when he called, and so, while there, she moved to pick up things she presumed she might need. it took her little time at all as she had already been collecting the greenery that had returned to cache; she took what could be spared, and then moved toward the man who had promised himself to her, and who she had equally promised herself to. 

the woods opened themselves to her as she moved, and the birds followed her from branch to branch. as she emerged from donnelaith, the winds stilled and the first wolf she saw was the one who was growing to be a great part of her heart. her stride showed the promise of her power, and her plume was held loftily as she had realized that this was the place she would one day come to inherit. young though she was, deirdre knew what she was destined for!

the beauty of the wilds placed down what she carried at her feet and moved to greet him with a chaste kiss to the cheek that caused her cheeks to warm and the butterflies within her to riot excitedly. her emerald gaze then panned to the wolf in need, and she saw the grizzly mark upon her person. please, lay--i will tend to you, came her gentle voice, and as her eyes met that of the womans she knew undoubtedly that this must be another cairn, for she shared the mesmerizing hue of her brothers deep mahogany eyes that she had come to yearn to see.

Skellige did not turn to look upon his sister as they waited for the arrival of the wood nymph. Instead, he allowed his gaze to follow the lines of the trees that she called her home, and he wondered how such a beautiful young girl could find the place so appealing. There was a sense of seclusion there, no doubt, but the forest was nothing to a man of the ocean. The leviathan had everything he could need, including forests of coral beneath the waves. One day, he planned to show the pearl everything that there was beneath the sea; at least, all that their eyes would allow them to see. For he had been told that there were deeper reaches of the ocean that none had ever touched. This was where the great dragons of the sea resided. The very thought sent a shiver down the brute’s spine.
 
Once her pale form could be seen – like a ghost passing through the trunks of her trees – he drew his ears forward and held himself tensely until she had stepped forward and the musky scent of the woods could be caught from her pelt. At once, she approached him with her delicate steps, and the cold touch of her nose against his cheek forced his heart to thrum in his chest. With his muzzle, the wraith brushed beneath her cheek softly and then turned his attention on his sister. Already, Deirdre knew what was to be done with the Cairn girl. The wound in her back was bad enough to draw the attention of the young healer.
 
In spite of all of the calm that had surrounded them, the inky titan could not help but to peer at his pale sibling with a smugness on his features that could not be rivaled. The light in his dark gaze flickered on Deirdre for a moment and the expression on his rugged face was one that said – in the way most siblings would say to their younger kin – ‘I told you so.’

Leokadia waited with what she figured was an appropriate amount of trepidation. She recalled the most nefarious and hideous looking Witch Doctor, and so felt ready to brave the monstrosity that would emerge. She caught wind of the pale spectre within the wood and held her breath mutely. She was prepared, as prepared as any Warsaw wolf could be and no other. 

And there from the treeline it would come...

And come the thing did! 

Leokadia had not been wrong to prepare herself, but she had prepared wrongly. From the woods came the most beautiful of beings, an angel that had fallen from heaven or risen from hell, a being that was otherworldly in her beauty. Leokadia knew of all war songs, but felt there ought to be a song for the splendor before her very eyes. She did not know that Skellige and the girl both would see her jaw drop and her eyes widen. Gone was her stoicism, and gone was her sense of self. Leokadia was a dragon, as was Skellige, and coveted this jewel. Her coat unmarred by any color other than the purest white, and it seemed to shine in the light of the hour. Yes, there was a halo around the other, and all the magick seemed to concentrate around her and dance in her aura. 

A witch! But no witch doctor. A healer, but this was out of their realm! Earth was her lot, and yet, as the girl walked toward her brother, she moved as the entrancing sea would. Leokadia watched as she--she--
 
Impossible. A jealous feeling raced through her as she watched the angel from space, the misplaced moon, kiss her brother upon the cheek in a tender way. Tenderness, toward Skellige! How could this be? He, the savage--and oh, but in turn, he displayed his own tenderness, the likes of which she had never seen before. A competitive burn thrust within her, and yet, there was a respectful pause as he threw his smug look to her. A question burned in her: yours? that she thrust toward him with her curiosly pricked lobes, and as the girl regarded her, looked to her eyes, Leokadia wondered, hoped, perhaps... mine... and such a thought passed as she peered to her brother, who looked to the girl, and then to her, with pride. Likely he knew her thoughts. No doubt. For rarely was Leokadia an open book, but this! This was the largest surprise of her lifetime!  

Did she know her beauty? She moved humbly, sweetly, and Leokadia knew she stared at the greatest beauty she would see in her lifetime. That any might see, were they to come across this pure pearl. The beauty of a Queen. At the others words, Leokadia--who typically would--did not even put up a fight. Hell, she even bowed to the beauty, feeling quite clever for it, feeling it a bit of a romantic and wooing gesture, before she lay against the ground. Her eyes, now, did not leave the woman.

deirdre did not notice the expression of the sister of skellige, so immersed in the males gentle reaction toward her. she lingered for a moment before she was able to comprehend and heed leokadia as she must in her time of need. only when deirdre was able to do that did she notice the look of shock on the pale woman, and deirdre looked briefly to skellige, noting what appeared to be pride upon his features. the girl turned back to leokadia, and asked in earnest: have you hit your head? before drawing near to the female, who permitted it eagerly. the other behaved as the forest creatures did for her, bowing before laying upon the earth at all. 

the girl swept to her side and looked at the wound. it was not too deep, and would be quite easy to heal with the herbs returning. i know what i need, she informed her patient, and turned to skellige. i will return--i must retrieve some herbs. and then she drifted back into the forest, knowing exactly where to find what it was that she needed. it would not take her long at all to come upon the duo once more.

It was no fault of her own that the forest nymph could not see her own beauty for what it was. She was selfless and pure, and Skellige was often confounded as to how he had managed her… how had she fallen into his presence and taken hold of him in such a way. What was more frightening for the brute was the thought that she was capable of leaving at any time, and he would not have found it in his heart to blame her for such an action. The Warsaw wolf was not good, or pure, but seemed to stand as a startling opposite to the green-eyed witch. Where she tended to those in need, he eradicated them. The Cairn family was not one that had been built on kindness or good intentions; they had not held the claim on Warsaw Islands for that long by catering to the weak and feeble.
 
The titan watched as Deirdre set about looking over Leokadia with a sharp eye for injuries. After a few moments, she seemed to have come to a conclusion and turned to him with quick words that she would depart for a moment and then return with the herbs that were needed. Skellige nodded his head to her and watched as the girl trailed back into the wood – a ghost among the trees. Once she had departed from their presence, he snapped his skull back in the direction of his sister and a soft smirk curled his lip.
 
“Do not gawk, Leo; it’s unbecoming of a young woman,” he growled to her with narrowed brows. For even though he could not blame his sister for finding the alluring presence of Deirdre overwhelming, he did not want the young forest wolf to think that something was amiss.

Deirdre left them, but stayed on her mind. How-- the hell did you woo that mythic beauty might have come from her lips, but he was quick to speak firstly. Unbecoming? Skellige, your very demeanor is unbecoming, for a man or a woman--and yet! She shook her head, as though this would jostle the confoundment from the lines of her brain. It did not work, and she thought for a long moment. And how do you feel for her? Or is she a free woman, Leokadia asked for herself; truly, if Skellige had no designs on her Leokadia would ensure that Deirdre would be hers. Of course even if Skellige admitted to her anything, Leokadia could not guarantee she would not try to woo the fair lady. What was the matter with a little healthy competition? It was not well known that Leokadia was a casanova when it came to pretty things. She hoarded lovely stones and polished the bones of her victims. Deirdre was perfectly aesthetic.

Becoming? Deirdre was becoming enough for all the Cairn's. Even Ksenia could not compare, though perhaps this thought was largely because Ksenia was a relative and she could scarcely look at any sibling and acknowledge their attractive looks. Who is she? she tacked on thoughtfully. From a woman who was never thoughtful, it might be met with much interest; but she wished to know for her own interests, which were green-eyed and pale-furred.

The forest nymph disappeared from them to fetch her herbs, and Skellige followed her departing figure with the dark of his gaze until she had vanished in the depths of the wood. Once the girl was out of their sight, it seemed as though Leo had found her voice. She reprimanded him in a flash of her tongue and quickly followed it with an inquiry on Deirdre’s status.
 
The movement of his body was almost involuntary as he darted forward and snapped his yellowed canines mere inches from her face. The fur along his neck and spine bristled with rage and there was a burning fire in the depths of his ruddy mahogany eyes. It required every ounce of his self-control to prevent himself from digging his teeth into her neck and tearing away at her flesh. Leokadia had always been a transparent figure and had frequently spoken her mind, no matter the repercussions. On the subject of Deirdre, it would not stand. “She is not a free woman,” he hissed through bared fangs. As for his feelings on the girl – it was a more complicated subject.
 
Skellige was not a creature who had ever truly experienced love. He had heard fanciful tales of the emotion, but was certain that it had never crossed his path. There was a desire toward the green-eyed beauty. She had found a way to capture a piece of him that he did not believe would ever be returned. If that was love, then perhaps he did feel it… he just did not know how to express it in a manner that was acceptable. There was, without doubt, a possessiveness for the girl that he had not expected.
 
“Her name is Deirdre Mayfair and she has promised herself to me,” he spoke in a voice that was far more level than it had been previously. The fur along his back was still ruffled, but he allowed for his racing heart to slow dramatically. The witch of the wood was his and nothing would change that.

*FINISHES UP THREAD SHE HAS DELAYED SINCE NAM*

deirdre returned with the necessary herbs in her mouth; she had not heard their altercation, and so regarded them no differently than she had when she had arrived upon the scene.

deirdre explained precisely what it was that she used upon the other. she had already analyzed the woman to be sure she was not concussed, and so she only gave the other a pain-killing herb, willow-leaves soaked in the hot pools of donnelaith's depths; it would act as an aspirin to the other, and relieve the aches and pains she had. deirdre applied other herbs to the visible wound the other had, a green salve that would prevent infection and aid it in closing soon.

once finished, she warned leokadia to not do anything that would cause the wound any stress for a time. if you do, you are welcome here and i will tend to you again, she added, and thought she saw a strange gleam in the others eye that suggested 'twould not be the last she saw of leokadia. she peered toward skellige for a moment, before moving toward him and offering him a chaste little nuzzle, and when a call came for her within donnelaith she smiled warmly to them both. i must go, but i will come to see you soon, the words were expressly for skellige, but she nodded once toward leokadia before turning on her heel and disappearing, the sentinels quickly obscuring her from view.