Stavanger Bay told a tight dress is what makes you a whore

set to present day. (Nov 15th) dalia's den 

though some wolves slept in the open, dalia had grown up sleeping in tunnels and caves her whole life. hougeda had provided a safety that the open sky simply did not. nestled on the western side of the territory, where sand became grass and open air became trees and boulders. dalia made her den in a crevice between two of the forming cliffs, a moderately sized clearing by it's mouth, surrounded otherwise by the forest. it was by the edge of the forest, however, so it provided an amount of safety while still being a short walk to the ocean-- which you could hear in the silence of the night. inside of the den, there were a few patches of sunlight that broke through the cliffs, providing a bit of light. she was quite fond of her find, especially since this meant she could begin work on a garden now, and that she would have somewhere more permanent to stash her collection.

beyond all this, it was safe. dalia felt safe within the confines of her den. no one could get her there, it was secluded and safe. safe. dalia was safe. 

currently, she'd collected two shells, the larger of the two the one she'd found with @Ford. she looked upon it fondly, as it was full, without a crack or chip, and the inside had the most beautiful shade of pink she'd ever seen. the smaller was chipped at the edge, but she was still proud of the find. beside them, a small pile of seaglass and shark teeth and tiny shell trinkets. a few coconuts were piled in the corner of her den. she'd planned on breaking them open so she could begin using them to store and organize her collection-- as well as herbs and seeds for her garden. this was what portia did, so dalia would do the same. but portia used skulls, and dalia had not yet found the time to begin the tedious cleaning process on any carcasses just yet. coconuts would do-- they reminded her of saucy and velen.

dalia had tried to keep her life as normal as it could be. she was jumpier than usual, but on higher alert. her voice was quieter and her tail stiller. but she got out all the same-- of course, only in the bay. dalia did not dare leave the safety of the bay. ford could protect her here-- velen and rannvieg too. she was safe within the borders of the bay. she would stay in the bay. safe. dalia was safe here.

but she kept busy, doing all the same things she always did. attempting to garden in the cold season, for starters. herb gathering. hunting for her collection. hunting for the pack. all useful things, but weighed down by the dread that she carried on her shoulders. 

today, the cliffs brought her a different treasure. after a quick trip to the beach to fish-- which came up fruitless, unfortunately-- dalia returned to her den. a small scattering of sand swept into the grass, into the forest, up against the cliffs. dalia's nose twitched curiously as she walked to investigate it, noting a curious pile of stones and shells. she assumed they'd washed up during a storm. the stones were more normal, less beachy than normal. normal gravel, probably eroded and fallen from the cliff. she nosed through them curiously before finding a much more gentle rock.

it was pink, translucent, and dalia recognized it immediately as rose quartz. she was reminded instantly of her mother-- who would have been thrilled to find such a stone among the rough. she picked it up carefully between her teeth and then began against towards her den.

She'd spent her days building a den of her own, filled to the brim with shells and seaglass and herbs.  She had organized them meticulously, bundled and re-bundled, and now it was time to begin intergrating herself with the members of their claim.  She did not intend to seek Dalia out specifically but it was she who Lilia found, carrying a beautiful cut of quartz in her mouth.  She eyes the girl — she usually either really likes or really dislikes girls who remind her of herself — and decides it is too early to pass judgment.  Good morning.

if anyone else, besides ford, knows what has happened to dalia-- she is unsure. safety feels like a problem, like everyone should know that there is a maniac on the loose. but, on the other hand, dalia hopes not another soul in the world will ever know of the demons that plague her now. she can only pray. 

so when she spots lilia, she can only tense up. she's on edge, of course, but when recognition sets in dalia relaxes-- her head dips. "hello," she says. now, she's never met lilia. but she's scented her around the pack, on ford and velen's fur. she recognizes something about the woman, and dalia is not afraid of another woman. "my name is dalia," she says gently through the stone, a smile gracing her features. she acts as normally as she can. she is fine-- at least, on the surface she could be. "you're lilia, right?" 

lilia has not yet been touched by the world — or any man! — in anything close to how dalia has, though of course she is ignorant of the young woman's plight.  she notices the way the other girl tenses and releases, and confusion sets in a wrinkle between her brows. her lip flattens briefly before she places a gentle smile on her inky lips, her bottom lids moving up with them.  yes, she confirms, it is nice to finally meet you, dalia.

her tail sways gently as lilia mentions it was nice to finally meet her. dalia, even after all her struggle, can't help but wonder what it meant. did ford talk about her a lot? did velen? she wondered what they said-- it seemed like good things. she battled now with how excited the thought of their kind words made her-- and how she knew she should be more cautious. portia would want her to be more cautious. 

but velen and ford... she had nothing to be afraid of when it came to them-- did she? 

smile to pressed to her lips, dalia realized the quartz was still in her mouth. "ah-- my manners--" she murmured, lowering her head to drop it onto the ground, "sorry, i was carrying it home." her tail flicked a bit, and dalia found she couldn't help herself from commenting. much like her mother, but to a much lesser degree. "ford said you were a skilled healer," she said, almost stupidly, but tacked on, "did you know anything of crystal remedies?" her gaze flickered once to the stone.