Heron Lake Plateau i could tell she wasn't lying, you were lying with a lion up there

tags for reference, AW!

it was strange, being so far inland. caiaphas had settled in well enough, though both her children were her true concerns. she missed the pounding of the sound, the slow reassuring trickle of the grotto. most of all, she missed kierkegaard and her children - thinking of them caused her heart to sink and her eyes to close in sorrowed weariness.

thinking of them would not bring them back; she had seen the prints of her mate's herself, and had scoured the plains best she could for those that had fled in the storm. she would have to accept they were gone; just like larus and kevlyn had been gone. she was not unaware of the cruel irony of the world -- she, childstealer, cub-hoarder -- had finally had children only to see the wilderness sunder them.

slinking down into a defeated slump, the sylph stretched across the tiny den she had carved for her family a few hours prior. @Svalinn and raleska were not far, and presumably @Blondine was in earshot.. for now the sylph took a deep breath, drank in her surroundings, and for once, was grateful for the new home her charges were afforded.

After having filled in her previous den, Niamh had started to hunt for another- either a good place to dig one herself, or one that had been dug already by some other creature that could simply be expanded to suit her size. Niamh was odd like that- though she did not have pups, and had slept under the stars while travelling, she still felt more comfortable sleeping underground. Unless she was snuggled with Colt, his body acting as the confines she sought, she felt vulnerable sleeping out in the open.

She was pleased when she came across the pack’s newest member, who now had her own den. She’d wandered toward Caiaphas’ densite without knowing that was where she’d chosen to live until Niamh came across her, taking a break. She was somewhat wary in her approach, not knowing exactly how protective she’d be of her densite and the two pups that accompanied her. She’d also come from a fairly traumatic shift in circumstances, so Niamh was pleased to see that she’d settled in, but was still somewhat cautious around the rangy stranger.

She gave Caiaphas a nod in greeting, waving her tail between her hocks gently, as though to ask permission to draw nearer. If the female wanted space to relax, she’d certainly grant it- but she’d have to come to the understanding sooner or later that living with the Redhawks meant living amongst family...And family members didn’t know how to knock.

dog-tired and feeling it seep in her sorrowed bones, caiaphas closed her eyes a minute -- and thought back; to grimnismal, to ankyra, to the road leading up to their acceptance into redhawks. her reprieve came to a halt as she heard the skitter of casual footsteps; opening those sharp eyes, she saw a flash of soft gold and the molten amber eyes of the blonde gamma.

she shifted, propping herself on her thin elbows with her ears splayed to suggest she was not reluctant to see the female approach.. on inspection, she looked somewhat less bloody than before -- a good sign, all things considering. dipping her head slightly to denote niamh's station above her, the defeated siren spoke softly into the summer air between them. "the one you killed, can you tell me about him? his story, yours? this place's?"

Svalinn, who had been practically comatose during Caiaphas' dig -- overstimulated by the newness of their given residence -- snapped awake at the sound of a conversation brewing nearby. His bobblehead popped up from a patch of grass almost taller than him, and he peered blearily towards Caiaphas and the golden wolf he recognized from before. His mouth wrinkled into a sleepy grin as napping was forgotten in favor of a bit of mischief-making. The puppy stretched each of his fast-growing limbs as he scooted from his sunny patch and fawn-leaped towards the pair of them with devilish intent.

He was completely alert by the time he came up to one of Niamh's hind feet, and lunged for her tail in a bid for her attention. Don't talk to her, talk to me!

Skip/PP Lin at will, and feel free to reference him being a tiny nuisance in the back- or foreground :)

The thin, stalky female sat up a bit and beckoned Niamh forward with a nod, so she approached, feeling grateful not to be chased away from her densite. It conflicted with her experience being too close to the Blackthorn den- but then again, Caiaphas was likely just grateful to have a home; as far as Niamh could tell, she'd basically won a sort of lottery, in finding a home that would accept them despite the fact that the pack was already bursting at its seams with young ones and adults alike. For Raven to accept two new pups into the pack, what with there already being Finley's two plus four of her own was an act of compassion that didn't surprise Niamh, considering that she knew Raven's gracious nature, but was still a remarkable thing. 

She was asked about Screech- a topic she wanted to avoid, more or less- but was distracted when her little lookalike came from the den, with sleepy eyes. She made to reply, but within an instant, the youngster pounced toward her, and again Niamh looked up to Caiaphas just as Raven had- prepared to back off if Caiaphas was the overprotective sort, but as displayed before, she seemed to be the sort who knew when another wolf would not harm their child. Raven had made such a point clear- and Niamh had already been established as one of the wolves who'd hunted down the last wolf who had dared to perform such an atrocity. 

She lowered herself to the ground and when he made a jump for her tail, she picked it up and thumped it to the ground to entice and distract him. He teased a half-smile from her as she gazed back at him, and she continued to thump her tail this way and that so he had something to play with. 

With regards to the question, though, she figured it would be best to sensor the story, as even a distracted pup's little ears could pick up on scary language. "He's nothing to us now." She said. Her speech was slow and careful- and she still avoided touching the area where her tooth had been ripped out with her tongue, muting her t's and d's somewhat. "He got a concussion, and was in a coma for a long time. When he came to, he wasn't the same. No thought, just instinct. Wild, unpredictable instinct." She said. Of course, she didn't want to go into too much detail, lest Caiaphas pass a different judgement on him that what the Redhawks had. "He attacked Raven with the intention to kill. She was his sister. He couldn't be trusted. Was banished, then got a final sentence." Obviously, she didn't want to go on too much about death around the pup, who tweaked the fur of her tail, causing her to wince slightly. "Towhee tracked him to the cliffside. Got pulled over the edge with him, but landed on a ledge. I pulled her up with an alder," She said, pulling her lips back an a harmless display, to show the gap where her tooth had been uprooted and removed completely. "So the pack is secure now." She said. 

Caiaphas had asked about the pack's formation as well, so she tilted her head slightly. "I had been living here with him before the pack came here. Settled a few months ago; mostly consists of two families- the Redhawks and the Blackthorns. I'm a DeMonte, but this place is home, and they are family now." She said. Of course, there was the whole history with Blackfeather- but she didn't really know much of the details, and as it was in the past, didn't feel she'd be the one to tell Caiaphas about it. She let out a little, surprised yelp when Svalinn abandoned the chase of her tail and instead pounced one of her hind feet and bit into one of her toepads. She laughed, though- a somewhat dry laugh, as her spirit had still not quite returned, and gestured to the boy, wriggling her toes. "Just like me when I was a kid." She said, a touch of warmth to her voice.

caiaphas hoped for a distraction, a story to take her mind off of the profound loss her family had experienced. she listened with a weary quiet, her eyes following the staggering pronking of lycaon's only surviving child. she motioned towards him with a cant of her head, as if to suggest niamh could discipline him if his advances became unwanted.

she had not missed the silent misgiving that briefly flitted across niamh's expression, but it did not offend her. after all, a life had been extinguished -- it was hardly a casual conversation. as niamh showed her teeth, caiaphas caught the ugly flare of bloodied gum where a tooth had once been. gruesome, but the price one paid to exact revenge.

as svalinn clambered about his adult look-alike, caiaphas struggled for things to say. finally, her sorry cynicism got the better of her. "safe for now -- but safe is not a constant." she looked out beyond them, where the ferns bent earthward and pale clouds moved slowly across the sky. "a tragic story, though it sounds as if what needed to be done, was done. did he have allies that will hunt us down?" caiaphas, in some ways,was looking to make herself useful to the clan that had accepted her.. or at least appear to be useful, anyway. with a more measured expression, caiaphas focused her attention on svalinn, who presently seemed every bit capable of causing a tiny ruckus - she flipped an apologetic smile on and then off at the female, who endured the child's rambunctiousness with grace. "if he is too much, you can push him away."

Caiaphas was pretty relaxed about parenting Svalinn, which pleased Niamh to no end. He wasn’t too hard to entertain- he was a boy, and boys liked to tussle and play rough- and while she would have enjoyed simply going full rough and tumble with him, she also had to remember that he was still quite little. Niamh hadn’t had much experience playing with pups this much younger than her, so she chose to err on the side of caution and be extra gentle with him.

Not that Caiaphas came across as a pessimist, but she was definitely a realist when it came to pack security. As much as Niamh wanted to believe something like what’d happened with Screech would never happen again, in all likelihood, it would. ”No. He didn’t have many friends, really,” She admitted. She’d likely been his best friend, or one of very few, at least. And as far as Niamh knew, he didn’t exactly socialize with many others outside the pack.

When Caiaphas gave her her blessing to punish the boy if he got too rough, Niamh cast a look at the boy who seemed to sense he was being mentioned, and gave him a toothy grin. ”Oh I’ll punish him alright. C’mere ya ruffian,” She said, turning on the boy and scooping the boy toward her with one rangy foreleg despite his protests, and burying her muzzle in the squirmy but soft undersides of his belly, she blew out a breath of hot air through partially pursed lips- giving him a loud, wet raspberry to his belly. The child squealed and flailed against her, high pitched voice descending into mad laughter.

no friends. a sad existence, surmised the fallen siren queen -- yet judging by the golden-doused woman's quiet manner, a not entirely undeserved sentence. she drew her narrow limbs across one another and laid her head on her paws, watching svalinn with a tired sense of amusement. it was a good thing that the young started their journey free of the pain and experienced knowledge that burdened the old: otherwise, so few would have the heart to start out at all. she hoped svalinn and raleska would find refuge here -- it might be too late for her to be part of the family, but perhaps her children would immerse and know little of the plights that beleaguered the siren queen all her life.

a sigh pressed from her slender muzzle: thoughts of her lost children and her presumed dead mate returned to her. these ugly thoughts were always present, looming threateningly on the surface of her mind, no matter how many chores she did or how often she tried to distract herself. seeing it unfit to appear vulnerable in any fashion, caiaphas quickly shoved her grim thoughts deeper, where they roiled and stirred like malcontent leviathans among a black and restless sea.

"demonte sounds familiar;" she mused, struggling to recall where she had heard it. she did not know that the name was as old as hers, if not older -- and was in many ways, inexplicably tied to the valley (and surprisingly, to her own ancestral line). "i'm an eyjolfur - a dead name here. i have never been so inland -- my entire bloodline has thrived by bodies of water." she supposed admitting a little information about herself was one way to acclimate herself to the pack -- and seem less cut off, as was often the case with the salt-wretch.

"svalinn is not related to me by blood. i raised his father, a whelp born in my cave when i was alpha of saltwinter." she tilted her muzzle to view the rambunctious toddler, ever bemused by his actions. he was not unlike lycaon; another name that caused unrest in the sylph. it had troubled her that he had not come with them, and she surmised his fate had been tied with the very bear that had forced them into exile. "how did you come to be a lone demonte among blackthorns and redhawks?"

Niamh pricked her ears when Caiaphas admitted that her surname sounded familiar. From what she'd been told, there were lots of DeMontes, but her particular strain of the family had branched out a bit, and left the place where the majority of them lived. Of course, not being a detail-oriented wolf, she couldn't exactly remember what the name of the place was where DeMontes had been one of the largest, oldest families. Caiaphas' surname was foreign to her, but she admitted that she was far from her homeland, and that the name had fallen silent. She assumed due to lack of procreating, or female heirs, who would lose their surnames to their mates. 

She did like the idea of wolves living near the coast- as the coastline had been a novelty for her. "I like the ocean," She admitted. "I like the smell of it- and the taste of the food." She said. "I tried to bring crabs back, and put them in the lake...But I didn't realize that they needed salt water." she admitted, knowing Caiaphas would either find her little effort foolish or funny. As someone who lived by the seaside as long as Caiaphas had, it would probably seem like an idiotic plan...But there was something so delicious about crab meat that she couldn't help herself. 

As Caiaphas spoke about Svalinn, he implored her for another raspberry, fishing at her muzzle with his paws, as though to pull her face in again. She waited until Caiaphas was finished speaking, before she pressed her muzzle against his soft belly fur, and gave him another loud, wet raspberry to his tummy, making him shriek again. "He's some cute." She said, giving his belly a poke with her nose. 

To her question, she shrugged offhandedly. "Apparently DeMontes are known for wandering. My brother and I left just to get out, see things, and do things, and wandered away. He found a home with a bunch of other yearling dudes but it didn't seem like a time and a half to me, so I came here. And I like it here."

real-talk, story time (because the crab thing made me lol) - when i was probably six or seven my parents had a cookout at my gparent's lake, and lobster was included. they were fumbling around in a paper bag on the kitchen table, so when my parents were trying to set up the grill i took the entire bag and dumped them in the lake because i felt really bad they were about to be killed/eaten. pr sure my parents considered putting me up for adoption because it was about ten of them.. and they died anyway LOL

caiaphas much preferred the coast; if niamh liked it, the sylph breathed it. it was every bit a part of her as the battered cliffs were part of the stony shore, as wind was a part of the coast, as interwoven as brine on the high seas. she would not have admitted it, but she missed it terribly -- and felt abhorrently out of place so far inland.

a brief smile touched her lips to have heard niamh's folly - a waste of food, she thought, though she could appreciate the sentiment of bringing the sea's obviously superior cuisine inland. caiaphas already had grown weary of terrestrial meat, and would have killed then for the crunch of crab between her teeth, or the gritty yet succulent slab of seal-meat.

resting her head on her paws, she watched as niamh gently played with svalinn. while some part of her was hideously screaming in maternal jealousy, she ignored it; she was too tired, and too vulnerable -- these wolves had let her sorry party in and she knew better than to set a stink and alienate herself from the last fringes of her family. thinking back on what niamh had said about her own bloodline, caiaphas spoke. "a good sign, that you like it here. are there many wolves? do we have enemies, besides the wolf that you and the wolf with the bird killed? allies?"

AWHHHHHHHH! But you tried!!! <3 lol, I bet that story gets brought up every lobster boil from then on, though, eh? hehehe. Too cute!

When Caiaphas asked about any other enemies, she had to think for a moment. What should she say? Obviously, if Caiaphas was their packmate, she should be educated and trusted with that information. But still it took her a moment to decide how much she should say. "So, we're not on good terms with the Blackfeather wolves- we moved to the plateau to get further away from them," She said. And as far as Niamh knew, the Blackfeather wolves didn't know that that was where they'd moved. 

"I think things might be rocky with Moonspear, but that's something that can prossibly be remedied. I don't think any of the other packs dislike us," She said, after a moment's thought. "What about you? Did your pack have any, uhm...I mean, sure, enemies, but like...Conflicts with any other packs?" She asked. Of course, that sort of thing was better to know- she wasn't sure where it was Caiaphas had come from- or if she had others tailing her.

one of many things i'll never live down, kek

caiaphas had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that being this far inland meant she would be unfamiliar with the packs structured around them. her folly, for she knew both moonspear and blackfeather and made no motion to cease the uptick of recognition that passed over her sharp features.

finding the conversation switched back to her, caiaphas glanced at svalinn and then obliged. "grimnismal was formed on ankyra sound - ankyra sound has always been my home - before it was occupied by grimnismal, it was occupied by saltwinter, and before that, a pack simply named ankyra sound -- and before even that, it belonged to the nereides. the nereides and ankyra had one enemy, duskfire glacier, though both packs are long gone. all other reiterations, to my knowledge, have been largely peaceful. saltwinter was formed so that a group of lone wolves could survive the winter. grimnismal was formed when my children --" she motioned to svalinn, as if to indicate his father -- "returned. they had a brief spat with the pack above us, drageda, but i had no part in it. one of our wolves that we were sheltering, a yearling, had left drageda of his own accord and came to us. he was attacked, and defended by our wolves -- that, to my knowledge, has been the extent of the mischief we have caused others."

Caiaphas spoke of her former packs, none of which sounded familiar to Niamh, save for when she mentioned Drageda. She tucked that tidbit of information away, should it be necessary, and listened. As if on cue, in knowing he was mentioned, Svalinn left Niamh’s playful embrace and toddled back toward his mother. 

It seemed she’d been through quite a run-around; Niamh could only hope that the woman’s fortunes would change now that she’d joined them. 

”Drageda has a decent relationship with us,” She said. ”One of their wolves was a family member of our beta, Towhee. But they are pretty far away, and we tend to stick to ourselves.” She said, perhaps as a warning to Caiaphas. Just as long as she knew that her current pack was allied with them, Niamh was satisfied. Obviously, it was better to make her aware of where they stood rather than have her figure it out on her own and possibly cause more tension.

Svalinn, for all his scrawny worth, put up the mightiest competition he could during his bout with Niamh. He learned to tactfully take advantage of the moments she would pause in her retaliations to speak with his mother, but even these lulls in her attention were more than he could surmount. The boy was flabbergasted -- to put it lightly -- and it was this frustration that made him return to the task again and again, despite being parried at every turn. All of him seemed to want to win, and it was clear that he wasn't taking into account the fact that she could pop off his head like a barbie doll.

But her strength was as incomprehensible to him as Caiaphas' was. He could not best the much larger gold she-wolf, try as he might, and it didn't take long for him to become spent in his effort. Soon the steam coming out of his ears had thinned, and his bullish charging had turned to the pace of a bouncing marshmallow. His bites too had lost their vigorous needling, and he was almost glad to hear the words Ankyra Sound as they served him up a distraction. I know those words! he perked up, giving up on his fight so that he might pretend to be truly interested in something else.

But as he paddled to Caiaphas, his emotions simmered with vengeance. And as he pressed himself affectionately into his foster mother's chin, he kept a side-eye out for Niamh. All he wanted was to best his giant gold twin -- it was written all over his sly, little slumpuppy face -- but for now he opted for rest and protection under the shade of mommy dearest's vicious muzzle, while puzzling impishly over his lack of ability.

drawn into contemplative silence, caiaphas studied svalinn's vigorous attempts to thwart his much larger golden opponent. caiaphas had known already the caldera's alignment with drageda, for she had tried at one point to take advantage of that knowledge.. courtesy of the very recruit she had previously spoken of. she had not thought of arrille in some time -- and wondered if his disappearance was perhaps at the fangs of ankyra's neighbors.

not that it mattered now -- she was far from them, and her crimes against drageda remained to her smug knowledge, unknown.

finding svalinn under her chin, she gentle rebuffed his contact with a soft nibble placed in the back of his neck. "good," she intoned, glancing beyond niamh into the mist-shrouded peaks beyond. "'sticking to ourselves' is how i prefer it."

There was something about Caiaphas that Niamh liked. She was pretty well grounded, and it certainly didn't seem like much shook her. She was calm, but there was an edge about her that made Niamh consider that she was actually a pretty intimidating wolf. Had Niamh not already established herself as a warrior- simply by meeting Caiaphas when she'd been covered by blood- she might have seen fit to avoid the dangerous newcomer- but as it was, she found herself all the more intrigued by the female who also claimed to be a warrior. There was something of a kindred spirit they shared- and she found herself wanting to get to know more about her. 

But as it was, she was a mother, and Niamh knew better than to overstay her welcome. With Svalinn tucked beneath his mother's chin, she gave Caiaphas a nod. "Well I'd best get moving. Welcome again, to the pack- I'm sure I'll see you around. And you-" She said, dipping in a play bow to little Svalinn. "You keep defendin' your mother, ya little ruffian," She said, and gave them one final nod before she continued on her way.

Though he didn't understand her verbal encouragement, Svalinn took to the play-bow readily enough. He mimicked her like a tiny reflection -- although compared to Niamh's expert form, he looked more like her image in a funhouse mirror -- and when she turned to make her exit, he gave chase, as if it were he who had decided it was time for her to go. He made sure she was gone, standing at the edge of their little clearing, with his pipe-cleaner tail sticking straight up and his ears quivering mightily with the threat to fold in on themselves. He gave the air a sniff, and snorted when he felt satisfied that he had thoroughly expelled their guest, turning proudly to return to Caiaphas.

Did you see me win? Did you see me? Did you?! his baby blues implored her; throwing his fattening paws towards her prone and shadowy face as he physically demanded her praise and offerings for his victory.

1 mo' for the road

caiaphas remained quiet as niamh made her leave, though she did offer the woman a rare sort of approving glance as she made her exit. the two certainly shared similar prowess, though niamh was unarguably the better looking of the duo.

as the gilded warrior bade her exit, svalinn rose as if on command and stalked after. bemusedly, the wolf-mother watched her surrogate child fiercely enforce niamh's departure, and when he turned proudly back to caiaphas she snagged him with an overbearing paw and supplanted a messy bevy of licks to his proud little face.