Dragoncrest Cliffs take up your broom, no gods are left

Set after this thread

It is not without effort that Antumbra finally makes it to Drageda’s borders. @Rosalyn is smaller than her but unconscious and she does not care for what she hits and bumps along the way. She stops at the borders only briefly to howl lowly for anyone nearby and of us—@Vercingetorix, @Bobby, @Dio, anyone that can be quick, before she lowers and grabs the woman by the scruff again and continues to drag her through the redwood forest. There is no exact purpose in her call, just urgency, and she hopes they’ll arrive quickly.

Until then, she makes her way for the lake with the broken body until someone else comes along.

His patrol with Helix had been quiet but not entirely uncomfortable. They had started patrolling together somewhat frequently since their emotional conversation and most of the time, not much transpired between the pair, but it was a start. Baby steps, right?

Heda's call froze him in place, head whipping in the direction it had come. With a quick glance to his mother, he took off, not wishing to waste anytime wondering what could be going on. His eyes widened briefly in surprise at the sight he was met with upon his arrival--their leader with the female they had confronted in the sound not very long ago, and the woman was unconscious. An impassive expression quickly replaced his surprise as he move grab hold of the woman's back to start helping his leader move the motionless form, no questions asked.

Eventually, someone comes along. She’s tired, her neck is sore, and her legs could use a break but she doesn’t stop. She puts every ounce of effort she has into moving her. Jostling her so much could bring her back to lucidity but the quicker she works, the farther she can get into the territory and the more secure she’ll be. Eastwood shows up by the time the blood has stopped pumping in her ears and the taste of blood has turned sour and metallic. The scent of someone familiar tickles her nose instead but she doesn’t have time to think about ghosts.

Eastwood picks up the back half by the time Helix has shown up behind him. The gona moves forward to help with only a questioning glance and Antumbra steps back, dropping Rosalyn to the ground so Helix may pick her up instead.

“Take her through the cavern,” she instructs, looking to Eastwood. He hasn’t been allowed in Hougeda until he’s earned his place but she trusts him enough to take a temporary visit. “Through the pack and to the left there is a secluded portion of beach. We need to get her there before high tide,” Antumbra adds, stretching her jaw and leg out before she trots along, leading them down the way.

He knew the area she instructed him to move their captive to, even if he had not been there. A nod of his head, made awkward by the weight of the unconscious wolf in his grasp, was his only response. He would do whatever needed to be done. Once Helix had a firm hold on her end, he began to move.

With the two of them sharing the burden, it didn't take too long to make it through the cavern and onto the part of the beach his leader had described. He dropped the part of the wolf he was holding a bit unceremoniously, not particularly concerned with her well-being. She was here for a reason, and if he had to guess, it was because she had started something with Heda. 


He raised his gaze to the dark leader then, silently awaiting instruction.

The howl summoned Vercingetorix, but not nearly soon enough. He came to the source of the noise but found himself still alone. Grumbling, he lowered his nose and began to follow Heda's scent, intertwined with his nephew's, his sister's, and the fragrance of someone that seemed oddly familiar, but wasn't Drageda. Who?

He tracked them through the caverns, eyes adjusting to the darkness just in time for him to hit the light again. Squinting, Verx approached the three wolves on the beach, standing over--

Ohhhh, what the actual fuck, he swore silently, staring down at the still form of the woman he'd seen on the beach the other day. Not Blackhead--one of her gal pals. Was she dead? No, he decided after a glance at her ribs, rising and falling slightly. Not dead. . .but definitely out cold.

What happened, Heda? Verx asked, raising his gaze to the commander. Did she provoke you?

She was underwater, and the ocean rose up around her.  Everything was dark, and there was only movement and emptiness.  The water pressed against her, but she only felt calm and detached, as if she were floating outside of what she was.  

Slowly, pain began to creep in, though her head and neck, until eventually she felt as if she were coming apart.  The water kept her from crying out, but she jerked, and then suddenly, her eyes had snapped open to view an unfamiliar beach.

She was muddled and didn't immediately register the wolves around.  Instead she attempted to stagger up, but the pain in her head stopped her, igniting to an intolerable pressure.   Her body convulsed and she retched, rejecting what little was left of her last meal.

Antumbra moves ahead of the pair making sure the path is clear and avoiding any alarm. Much to her surprise, they make it without running into anyone and round the corner out of the cavern and into the open. In a few hours, it’ll be inescapable without risking the pull of high tide.

Vercingetorix shows up loudly and she turns while Eastwood and Helix get Rosalyn settled between the cliffside and four looming bodies.

”Natrona that didn’t heed her first warning,” she tells them. Why is she found, a third time, so close to Drageda? What does she want? Antumbra licks her lips, deciding she’ll find out one way or the other.

Luckily, they don’t have to wait long. Rosalyn twitches and tries to come to, struggling to right herself. She takes a slow step back, avoiding any collision and thankfully any regurgitation. Antumbra allows her the time to collect herself and realize her circumstance before she says anything else.

Not long after they had arrived, his uncle found them, gracing them with his usual eloquence. His next questions had been on Eastwood's mind too, and he looked to Heda as she explained that the woman had wandered too close again. 

His eyes were drawn the natrona's stirring form, staying near in case she decided to be stupid. He too was curious as to why their claim was of such interest to the woman--why she had risked coming so close yet again. 

Remaining on guard, he glanced between the woman and his leader, waiting for more answers.

Natrona. That figured. He scoffed quietly, his gaze fixed mockingly on her waking form.

She was in the sound the other day with two other women, one of brown fur and one pale, with a dark head, Vercingetorix explained. They were. . .'having lunch.' Like hell they were. He let out a sharp exhale through his nostrils, gritting his teeth as less than gallant thoughts wheeled through his mind.

They could kill her, eliminate some of the problem. But they could also ransom her for the sound. 'Give us the sound and we'll return her to you. Renege on any part of the deal and we rip out her throat.' That seemed the more prudent option, and less malicious than killing a wolf while she was down. He wondered what Heda had in mind for her. He wouldn't challenge the commander's verdict.

Instead, he looked at Helix, wondering what she thought of all this nonsense, and waited for Heda's response.

For a while, the ringing in her ears and the agony in her skull kept her from hearing anything.  After her stomach had emptied itself, she fell back to crouch trembling on the sand.

Eventually, though, her thoughts came around.  They were slow, but they worked hard to unravel what all had occurred.  This place was unfamiliar, and so were the shadows around her.  Where had they come from?  Last she remembered... Erzulie was there.  But no, she'd left to do something.  She couldn't think.

Finally she lifted her head, and as soon as she saw Thuringwethil, she knew.  She still didn't remember exactly what happened, but she knew who was responsible. The fur along her spine rose, but she kept her teeth clamped.  She hurt too much to do anything right now, but every nerve urged her to run.

It takes a while before Rosalyn is able to process what’s going on. Vercingetorix speaks about what he found in the sound the other day. The first descriptor does nothing but the second causes a quick snap of her head. ”What?” she demands. ”Did she say her name?”

Rosalyn moves a little more and she glances back. Helix clears her throat and Heda turns to her.

”She and another tried to join a while ago. They claimed to be chased out of their home by a bear. They were turned away. I did not know her status,” explains Helix with a point of her nose.

Antumbra takes a deep breath and then steels her gaze upon the shivering woman.

”There’s no where to go that won’t get you killed. The ocean or my warriors. You’re welcome to try your luck with either,” she starts and gestures to either side of her.

East nodded his agreement when his uncle explained that they had seen the female with two others in the sound mere days ago. He had shown up a little after vercingetorix, and so had not heard any names if they were given. 

He continued to watch the woman, nose wrinkling a little as she emptied her stomach. He turned to Helix as she informed them that the woman had previously shown up at their borders with someone else, but they were turned away. He assumed it must have been before he arrived, but he thought it made her seem even more suspicious. 

When Heda finally spoke to the woman, it was to advise her not to try to run as it it would lead to her death either by teeth or by the sea. A low, warning growl left his chest as if to reiterate his leader's words; he wouldn't hesitate to rip her to shreds if she did decide to try her luck at escaping.

Vercingetorix shook his head. I met her before that, too, but never got her name, he said ruefully. I just thought she was some random sea witch. I'm guessing by your face that's an understatement? There was recognition in Heda's gray eyes; this must be an old foe. All the more reason to chase them out of the sound sooner rather than later.

He turned his gaze down to the woman who had roused, baring his teeth in an expression that was half-smile, half-snarl. Who's insecure now, babe? he asked, unable to help himself. He took a step or two back, covering the areas that Eastwood might miss. The brute let out a low, slow breath, wondering what would happen next.

They were speaking in a language unfamiliar to her, and she stops even trying to follow.  It only made her headache worse.  Instead she just watched, waiting for them to make a move.  She was surrounded, but despite her fear, she was also furious.  

She ignored the thread; it was true, and another reason she wasn't already gone.  There was nowhere to go that wasn't blocked by teeth and she was in no shape to be matching herself against even one of them.  To face all three would be suicide.  She also ignored the male, though his words only stoked her anger more.  How could she ever have considered calling this place home?

"What do you want with me," she asked, and her voice was tighter than she would have liked, but she didn't have the ability to control that right now.  Focusing was a feat, so she used most of it to pay attention to the one face she knew most.  She was likely the one with the answer to that question.

Antumbra growls low, listening as Vercingetorix explains his encounter twice over with what seems to be Caiaphas. Another thorn in her side. Literally. Her guard hadn’t known about her, having assumed she’d stayed gone after last time. It’s been one bump in the road after another ever since she’s gotten home.

“Are you with Caiaphas?” she asks. Antumbra doesn’t know much about the woman in question, has only seen her once and Rosalyn had been there too. Now, she realizes she misread the situation entirely back in the fields but there’s nothing to be done now. She can only pick up the pieces of her mistake and make sure there isn’t another one.

East released small huff of laughter at his uncle's jibe. He supposed she didn't feel so high and mighty now without her friends, especially since now she was at their complete mercy. She asked what they wanted from her, and he thought it was obvious, but he looked to Heda to wait for her to enlighten the the woman.

Caiaphas. He wondered if that was the bitchy dark-faced wolf from the sound that day--the one who clearly needed a man in her life. He looked with mild interest to their captive, waiting for her answer; most of his attention was focused on making sure she didn't get up, though. He stood close enough to intercept anything she might try and felt confident that Vercingetorix would cover what he couldn't.

Rosalyn thought maybe she'd heard wrong, but no.  That was what she was asked.  We had to go somewhere. she replied tersely.  What did it matter, after they'd turned them away from here?

Just let me go.  I have nothing you want.  If they thought that the siren witch would trade anything for her, they were mistaken.  The siren witch could hardly care what happened to her now, and Rosalyn was far from willing to give them loyalty.

skipping with permission!

PP w/ permission!

“That somewhere is anywhere but here,” she growls. There are other packs, even somewhat nearby. Plenty of places beyond here. It’s too late for that, though. While she may not have intentions of killing her, unless she plays the wrong cards, she does intend to make sure she’s plenty far from here after all this.

She turns her head a bit and dismisses Helix and Eastwood with a point of her nose but they dock behind them, blocking the corner back through the cavern. She gives Vercingetorix a similar gesture but leaves him keep guard of her whenever she is left alone. A number of wolves will rotate staying nearby, making sure she doesn’t try anything foolish.

“We’ll see,” she tells her. Maybe Caiaphas won’t want anything to do with her after this, maybe she will, but she isn’t going to take her captive’s word for it. Antumbra lifts her head and howls with as much force as she can, exerting her call over the cliffs for @Caiaphas, if she’s nearby to listen. When the call is made, she looks down at the shivering woman before turning and making her way out of the secluded beach. Any questions she has will come later when she’s feeling more generous to answer.

Funny.  Felt like they had tried everywhere but here and found only enemies.  Must have been easy for one established to say that, but when the desperation of winter set in, you took those who would have you.  Caiaphas hadn't been her first choice either.

She didn't say this, though, and instead maintained her silence.  Her head ached too much still to wish to speak, and she still felt disjointed.  As soon as the woman left, she closed her eyes, remaining where she was and trying to regain herself.