Dragoncrest Cliffs dover beach

she was enthralled by the sea
first, there was fear. fear of the being which roared, the crash as waves drew themselves up, only to crash upon the rocks, drawing up pebbles to grate against the rock in a roaring cacophony. but there was a rhythm to the sounds that at first had sounded so starkly against her ears. there was something alluring about the sea, something that had brought her from her normal position, tucked up beside her mother in shy nervousness, farther from her side and nearer to the crashing waves. By night, she could hear the dim crashing, a reassurance of something larger in a world that was new and tumultuous. 

the sun-kissed girl now sat upon the rocks, watching the beast draw itself up in great waves, the largest she had seen yet. wind tugged at the sea, urging it higher, higher, until it faltered and the water crashed to the rocks. salt hung heavy in the air, and water whipped against her pelt as the wind in it's fury brought it to her. The sky was blanched, overcast, and ripe with tension, perhaps ready to burst even then.

Tirgatao was restless as of late.

She wandered the reaches often now, not avoiding the new families, but giving them a wide berth when her presence wasn't required for one thing or another. It had led to her encounter with the new male, Cor, and the unfortunate (but brief) misunderstanding between them. Thankfully it smoothed over alright, but she was still concerned his first impression painted her in a rather negative light. But she also didn't feel like ruminating over it further until he proved his loyalty—if he made it into the Dragedakru, then she would revisit it.

As she neared the sea, a small speck of red caught her attention and her mind immediately went to Wildfire. It wasn't her, of course, nor any of her brood. Tirgatao recalled being told that a mother and her two children had joined recently, and she attributed this child to that group. However, she did find it a bit peculiar that the little girl looked so much like their Bandrona. Curiosity drew her closer to the lone girl (that, and the maternal instinct to shepherd her away from danger) and she summoned a warm chuff from her throat to announce her presence as she came. "Pretty cool, huh?" She asked, motioning to the surf with a sweep of her rounded muzzle.

stranger
so long had she travelled alone, with but her mother and Elohim, that the presence of another still jarred her. there was a kind of comfort that came with travelling with the two she had known her whole life and under the gaze of the one that watched them, Molech. And now, they were among others, so many scents and forms to learn. she had stayed away from it, stayed alone, not completely willing to leave the time when it had been but three of them. 

her gaze darted to the pale woman, so different than the fiery hues of her mother. her ears flicked uncertainly a moment, and for a while, silence lingered, before her head dipped forth in a quick nod. perhaps this woman knew of the sea, or found it just as fascinating as her. yet she could not keep her gaze on the stranger, for often it would flick back to the sea for a beat, then back to her.

The girl startled a little, and Tirgatao stood patiently by until she settled enough to offer a nod. She was not often the type to invite herself into the space of another, but the oppertunity had presented itself and she couldn't see, nor scent, her guardian nearby. The pale woman lowered herself until her sternum touched the ground, and her hindquarters curled beside her hips. She stretched her forelegs out and cast her warm sienna gaze upon the sea. The wind whipped the waves into frothing beasts as they roared and crashed into the rocks. 

Her ears peaked atop her skull and she sighed as a serene expression painted itself across her face, "I often come to the shore to relax, and reflect." Tirgatao swung her round head towards the girl, and tilted it as she continued with a question. "Have you ever seen the ocean before now?" 

though the girl did not sway from her stance, her stiff posture relaxed as did the other, the woman laying upon the rocks. surely there could come no danger from the woman, she knew, yet there was still an uncertainty within the girl. silence reigned for a time, and then was broken by a question from the pale one. softly did her answer come, a beat later, made softer still by the waves on the water. "not this close"

once broken, her own silence did not last long. again came a string of words almost lost in the sea wind, the girl setting her earth-hued optics on the other, more comfortable by her presence now. "can go into ocean?" she wondered, even as another bought of wind drew onto the beach another violent wave. surely one would be caught up and tossed upon the rocks, too. it seemed perilous, the see, and yet she wanted to go into it.

Slowly, but surely, the little ember of a girl was warming up to her. She was reminded of a small fawn caught out in the open—all tense and ready to flee at the slightest noise. Tirgatao knew it was in her best interest to simply remain calm and quiet; she certainly couldn't just leave the little girl out here alone. It wasn't that she feared that anything would happen to her this far within the safety of the clan's claim, but she'd been raised to keep watch of any child that wandered into her sphere of influence. Seageda's firm bases on family and unity meant that every wolf, even those who hadn't reared their own litter yet, was responsible for the well-being of one another. 

As the question fell lightly from the young girl's lips, a fierce gust lashed up and over the cliff, buffeting her prone frame. The advisor glanced over the side, then to the child with a slight shake of her head. "No, not today, but soon. The waves are too fierce for even me. We'd get hurt." Tirgatao replied as she flattened her ears to signal that she, too, was not terribly fond of the circumstances. She truly did hate saying no. "But if you ask your mama permission, I can take you down to the beach sometime and show you all the neat little things the tide brings in.

to dangerous, she said. the girl peered down at the waves, shuffling forward in the slightest, down to the heaving beasts that sought to crush their prey against the waiting rocks. she looked back to the pale woman, nodding her head, the movement tiny. she was disappointed, and her flattened ears showed it. yet the woman's next words had a grin jump to her expression, where it wavered for a moment as she nodded again, much more pronounced, this time. yes, she'd like that- she'd like it very much. 

"what is your name?"  she asked a beat later, realising that she did not know it and could not go around calling her "pale lady", for lack of a better title. a second of silence passed before she added, "Anatha. I'm Anatha" sharing her name seemed odd, and she said it with a hint of reverence in her voice; for this was the first time she had offered it to another. her mother had introduced her to the very few, and far between, strangers they had met, she a silent flame-coloured lump at her mother's side. but now, mother wasn't here, and she spoke for herself in the first time in a long time.