Ankyra Sound who do you battle in your dreams?

AW but tagged especially welcome <3

caiaphas had told @Erzulie and @Rosalyn that they were going north -- and north she went. she had already visited the sound once between their encounter and now, but it had been a precursory and shallow drop-in for one intended purpose: reconnaissance.

the missing remnants of her family were not here. caiaphas frowned as she glanced along the grey coast - how many times had she looked over the dark beach's cheerless waves? how many days had passed since she last called ankyra her home?

and more importantly -- would @Svalinn, @Raleska, or @Illidan view the stony shore with the same fondness?

there was much still to be set into motion -- little of which would be accomplished by morosely scanning the ceaseless lap of waves. dipping her muzzle against the icy brace of wind, caiaphas began scouring the tidal flat for a long-anticipated meal of sea carrion.

She hadn't yet decided how she felt to be teaming up with her longtime nemesis, but that hardly mattered, because it was the way things were now.  And for the most part, she was able to ignore it.

She knew that eventually, the time would come when she would need to choose whether pride would allow her to follow the woman once more, because she was aware in no reality would Caiaphas be here as a follower herself.  She had children to back her and a solid claim; Rosalyn wouldn't ask Erzulie to fight for her own because honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted it.  She just wasn't sure she wished the witch to have it either.

Rosalyn watched her from a ways off as she scoured the beach, eyes narrow as she thought.  Then she strode forward, towards the surf, the fur at her nape tingling as unwelcome memories of their past time on this strand surged up.  The monster was nowhere to be seen, but she doubted she'd ever walk this beach without fear again.

Shrugging it off, she began to search as well, keeping Caiaphas in her periphery, watching subtly.  She wasn't sure she wanted to talk, but a curiosity had taken hold, one she was tempted but somewhat hesitant to satisfy.  What were her plans beyond this?

there was little carrion to be had, though the beach delivered something else -- the prickle-backed form of caiaphas' former packmate, former nemesis, former-everything.

she spared the woman a brief glance, nosing along the riffling shallows. not so long ago, the two women would have been at each other's throats -- fate had a strange way of twisting things into inconceivably complex knots.

and most times, it was all we could do to untangle them.

the sylph supposed nothing would cement that the grudge was still alive and beating in her wicked heart like completely ignoring rosalyn's presence. she lifted her dripping muzzle from the water and inspected the gritty female again - how different things would have been if they had allies rather than enemies..

"did you miss it?" she inquired offhandedly, noticing the unsettled shape of rosalyn's hackles. was it she that brought that out in the russet woman? or was it something else?

He had kept much to the cliffs, given that it was where Heda spent most of her time, but he occasionally wandered down to the sound, which was, apparently, a de facto part of their claim. He was glad he did so today, for the group of wolves captured his attention--and the dark-headed woman even more so. His hackles lifted only slightly as he strode toward them with purpose, head lifted in a cocksure tilt.

Pretty close to Drageda's claim, don't you think? Verx drawled, gaze wandering between those assembled. He came to a standstill, his mouth smiling but taut. I'm always disappointed when I find out there's a party and no one invited me.

Did she miss it.  It took Rosalyn a moment to determine what it was she was being asked when Caiaphas finally broke the silence, and even when she had a guess, she wasn't sure it was right.  This? Not particularly, she said, then smirked.  And I don't think it missed us either, considering last I was here, it had a new inhabitant.  Making light of the bear didn't feel quite right, but since it had taken a lot from both of them, it was one of few things that had helped to settle the ire she held for the other woman.

She was prevented from saying more by an unfamiliar face, one who swaggered among them with an attitude that brought Rosalyn to immediate dislike.

Hardly.  She returned, offhand.  But if you are feeling.... insecure, you are welcome to leave.  This last had a suggestive lilt, and not a kind one.  She was about tired to death of being questioned by territorial strangers every move she made.

He trails like a shadow behind Vercingetorix as he leaves the cliffs.  He doesn't know how to feel about this older man, who carries himself with such swagger, who apparently knows things like what a nontu is, but does not know things like the weather.  On the horizon still are those dark, murderous clouds.  They're closer this time than the last time he left, and they leave him feeling unsettled.

He hangs back for now.  Vercingetorix has gotten himself into this mess and Tux is just an observer, but he prepares himself for an attack just in case things get ugly.

caiaphas had led them to the sound, too near drageda for erzulie's liking. sporadic bits and pieces of discussion had revealed to her the nature of the tension between the seawitch and the pirate. however; it had not come to blows, and the harlot did not think that it would. with several adults in the sound to accompany the half-grown young, it seemed a claim could be feasibly staked, and held at least through winter.
today the honeycream woman trailed the lightly conversing pair, taking no pains to stay hidden. far enough away to keep from the carry of their words, she nevertheless watched for any telltale sign that caiaphas would strike her lover. necessity bred alliance; it did not merit trust, not yet.
a low growl of annoyance rose in the woman's throat when shadows approached the two, and her stride lengthened; she paused only when she had come up alongside rosalyn's flank. welcome to leave hunted the fine hairs of her ears; it did not take long before erzulie pieced together the possibility of what was happening here.
"pretty boys from drageda," she purred, curving a hip teasingly in the proud one's direction as her mintglow gaze roved playfully over the pair. "surely you not be scared of t'ree women, not wid de cliffs at your back." a barb — rosalyn and caiaphas represented no threat to the looming soldiers, nor did she.
not unless they were given a reason.

it seemed idle banter between two old crones was not to be; a shadow loomed from the cliffside, appearing just as rosalyn shed light on their mutual enemy -- the bear that had stormed through ankyra like a loosed firebolt.

it was not the bear that darkened their doorstep this time -- but the familiar form of drageda's foot soldier.  she studied him in silence, ignoring the idle threat that purled from his words. behind him she saw a second, more timid shadow -- the form of the boy that had trailed her partially into the grotto.

pointedly, the sylph looked to the cliffs that loomed behind them, cliffs that bordered ankyra's beach. cliffs that had long since separated the sound from the flat plateau that sulked well above it, and for all purposes, shut off ankyra from the rest of the world.

she supposed these wolves could attempt to enforce whatever control they wished - if they wished to jump down from the cliffs to claim the sound as theirs, she wouldn't stop them. they might find the ground would, though -- considering it tended to be rather unforgiving when met at fast speeds from far heights.

dinner and a show, she supposed.

already both erzulie and rosalyn had responded -- erzulie with more barb than her comrade. caiaphas flicked an ear, drawing her gaze from the cliffs that grazed the sky, to the cheeky male in front of her.

she had never been a fan of his ilk -- and in this moment, was reminded of the presumptuous, insufferable wolves from his clade she had met in the past. she had been in the sound well before drageda first set its unfurling claims on dragoncrest -- and she hadn't cared to stop them.

perhaps that had been her mistake all along, sparing them the rod they so richly deserved. would she make that same mistake again?

"consider this your formal invitation -- your shadow too." her hungry gaze settled on tux. "will your powerful warriors march down from on high, to stop three women from hosting a nice lunch?"

East picked up his uncle's scent at the borders, and since he was usually at the mercy of his curiosity, he decided to follow it and see what the upbeat man was up to today. He tracked him from the territory and down into the sound, where he immediately grew worried as his family member's scent mixed with a number of strangers' scents. 

As he arrived on the scene, he came to stand next to his uncle, gaze flicking to Tux before searching the faces of all the strangers--looking for weakness. He heard the the statement from the dark-faced woman and smiled sardonically. Somehow I don't think hosting a lunch is all that you intend to do here, he replied, confidently meeting the woman's gaze as he spoke. He wasn't fond of strangers ever, especially when they were so close to home.

Tux came soon enough, and he glanced back before returning his gaze to the trio. The brown woman's snark didn't even deserve an answer, and as for her companion. . . He laughed, the mirth clear in his eyes. Flatterer, he crooned, shaking his head. You do yourself a disservice, babe. Three killers like you--why wouldn't I be on guard?

He supposed he couldn't fault her tactics. Some men really couldn't think while. . .well, at attention.

But it was the dark-hooded woman's threat that cut the most, and before he could say anything, his nephew chimed in. Verx grinned at Eastwood. Ah, come on, man, he said teasingly. Give them the benefit of the doubt. It is a really pretty place to have lunch.

He turned his smile to the women, but the warmth had left it. Luckily, you can always reschedule elsewhere, Vercingetorix drawled. Lotsa coastline, lotsa coves.

Three of them now, all male.  In all honesty, Rosalyn's impression of their type had always been iffy, but recent times had made it generally clear what company she preferred.  Men and their damn egos.  They weren't even to be allowed to search the ocean for scraps; apparently the wolves of the cliffs owned even the sea down here.  She hoped the bear ate them.

She sidled a step closer to Erzulie, then looked at Caiaphas, her eyes taking on a clear note of 'you have got to be kidding me'.  She would fight them, honestly; she'd like nothing more than to shove their smug noses in the sand.  But while Rosalyn and Erzulie traveled as adults free and clear, Caiaphas had kids now.  Rosalyn wondered if that hadn't taken some of the edge from the witch.

He remains stoic and unafraid in the face of everything, even the creeping discomfort he feels as the honeycrisp harlot's gaze warms towards him, body pointed suggestively in his direction.  Although he is nearly full-sized and considered an adult in the eyes of Drageda, he is still months away from being even a year old and is devoid of any signs (mental or physical) of being sexually mature.  He still doesn't know how babies are made, and he still doesn't know that he doesn't actually have two moms — but he knows that he decidedly does not like whatever it is this woman is trying to do.

But even deeper than that there is something about Tux that had not quite surfaced before this moment, or at the very least had been shielded from his own recognition.  

If one were to take Caiaphas' words and take them at face value, devoid of tone and inclination, they would not seem very threatening.  It is a valid question; although he is prepared to battle, he is (at least this point in time) confused as to why it might be received so poorly.  Eastwood accuses her of wanting to do more than just hosting a lunch.  It's simple, and he knows that logically the other boy wouldn't say that without a reason, but he can't place why.  Vercingetorix, on the other hand, tells them to get lost.  Now that's something he can get behind.

men — the sway of her hip had turned the bold one's head with a laugh and done little for the younger at the back of the drageda males. a boy, then, and why would a boy be brought down from the cliffs to threaten women? little by little, any fear she might have had lingering in her of the stonewolves was fading. they were only parading men, here to bandy words like hens at a feed.
"it is intriguing to me," erzulie purled, toward caiaphas and rosalyn, "dat de last times i was close, i was met by de pretty blixen and helix wid de green eyes, and nei'der of dem were so ... tactless." a tilt of her slender head, salmon tongue running gently round the edges of her mouth.
"is it de presence of a cock, den, dat makes dese ones so overblown?" the harlot asked conversationally of her companions, teeth glimmering in a teasing smile toward the trio of pompous phallus-wearers.

as soon as caiaphas finished speaking, another wolf appeared -- cutting off her very kind (in her opinion) invitation that she would never extend again. rude, but like, whatever. she couldnt help the scaly indifference that filtered through her eyes as she regarded eastwood -- mcscuze me?

however, the male's accusation was not the most demanding of her attention - rather, that honor was reserved for vercingetorix.. who had just done the equivalent of hose down their fun parade. his ultimatum of them packing up and going elsewhere was met with an eruptive laugh; the crone tilted back her head and her teeth shone in all their merriment as a derisive cackle rose in peals from her slender mouth.

she was disappointed to see the warmth in the dark male fade; how quickly too -- like the rapid cover of cloud eclipsing the sun. he was so charming one moment, then shut off the next - flicking his emotions on and off in a way that made caiaphas disappointed he was fronting for the other team. mouthy as he was, she thought vercingetorix might have done a greater service bandying for a coven of strong, independent, sassy-mouthed women -- not playing soldier to a pack that used him as another inconsequential sack of meat.

the boy that had trailed her that day in the cave had yet to say anything - caiaphas was not surprised, given he hadn't spoken to her that day either. rosalyn too remained silent, which caiaphas assumed meant she was simply readying herself for the disaster that was about to fall down on all of their heads.

she was gearing for her own witty reply when erzulie rose to the occasion, rapidly outmatching caiaphas' sharp tongue with her own laced barb. she indulged in a complacent smile, tail twitching as she leaned back as if conferring only to erzulie despite their audience: "it's cause the blood all goes down there - and not enough goes to the brain."

she didn't hide the snobby, almost disappointing assessment she made of each male -- particularly of what hung under their hood. "hm. well - lunch waits for no one." she gave a roll of her bony shoulders as if ready to shrug off this meeting - and still sniggering to herself, rose to continue browsing what little ankyra's shore had to offer.

The women rattled off unoriginal insults, and East waited patiently for them to finish, hoping this all some kind of point. When the dark-faced female turned, he thought maybe they had come to their senses and were going to head his uncle's warning to get lost, but she just continued searching the beach with no apparent intentions of leaving. His ears flattened, and he fixed the women with a furious glare. He had a lot of patience, but he felt like they had already given plenty of warning and still the group of strangers ignored it. A low warning growl rumbled from his chest. Are you deaf or something? he asked. Find another beach. Preferably one very far from here. This whole thing was starting to get old, and he was done giving warnings now.

He had no idea why chicks always had to bring cocks into arguments with men. Penis envy, he supposed. Which. . .well, he understood. Big swinging cylinder of meat; who wouldn't want that, amirite? But he wasn't going around talking shit about their genitalia, so it seemed sort of unbalanced, to him.

Vercingetorix ignored his nephew, fixing his still smiling face on the dark-headed woman. I think you underestimate the amount of blood I've got in me, he laughed. And perhaps overestimate your own power over my libido. But whatever.

He flashed his gaze to Eastwood and Tux, jerking his head toward the cliffs. Let's go. Let's leave the ladies to their lunch. Then he turned back to the trio, rolling his shoulders slowly. You're not invited to dinner, Verx said, mock pouting. So sorry.

The guardian whipped 'round in a blur of ebony and began to head up toward Drageda again, motioning for the two younger men to follow.

Rosalyn allowed the other two's comments to lead and kept her own to herself, though she did snort an amused laugh at the finish.  A part of her worried, but a larger part was simply irritated, and that part was what would keep them here.  They had no right to these shores beyond their cliffs.

They'll be back, no doubt she said, idly.  She had some misgivings about the whole thing but so long as they found some to defend this beach with them, they would be fine.  Surely they would not be willing to fight too hard to claim this place from an actual crew.

last for me!

erzulie merely clucked her tongue when the drageda wolf addressed caiaphas; weak that he must stoop to answer their retorts instead of merely ignoring them. a smirk curled upward the edges of her lips as she watched the three presumably depart.
"yes, dey will," she answered her lover, letting her gaze linger affectionately on the she-wolf. "and we shall be waiting." arching a brow, she laughed, nodded to caiaphas, and set off at a clip to seek prey for their new caches.

the siren had expected opposition -- possibly even physical -- as she turned her back boldly from the drageda wolves. a band of hackles had lifted ever so slightly across her spine as she anticipated teeth -- and instead got the lash of tongue.

she rolled her shoulders expertly, and was about to prepare a response when vercingatorix heatedly turned, instructing his parcel of wolves to follow him. she spared the beast a smile devoid of warmth, but he had presumably departed -- leaving her tea-party in a stormy departure.

unphased, the siren continued her rifling for lunch alongside erzulie and rosalyn.

she was thinking crab would do, in light of recent events.