Ankyra Sound and i, i won't feel sorry, you can believe me

set after this! AW, tags for reference but participation not mandatory. you can assume once your wolf arrives, caiaphas has already told the wolf what has happened! (just to speed things along)

following her encounter with kiwi, caiaphas turned over her options. @Svalinn and @Raleska she knew were raring for bloodshed; all she had to do was mention she suspected this was a dragedan, and they would bay like hounds until they killed her. @Illidan might go too, but caiaphas had come to learn he was a more reticent wolf than his siblings; certainly he possessed her ability to weigh all future events, but without being anywhere near as mercurial.

she thought of what @Rosalyn and @Erzulie might think, with pups so tender and vulnerable. rosalyn had been displeased with caiaphas' last militaristic action (and for good reason) but she wondered if erzulie, slightly more hard-hearted, would side with caiaphas once more.

certainly, @Vaati had seen enough of war to know the favor in quashing enemies before they gained power. it seemed @Julep might dislike the idea of a wolf setting shop where she had envisioned a sister pack too; what of her opinion?

and then there was @Vercingetorix. caiaphas did not trust him anymore than she trusted a shark -- whether he was here by fate or coincidence she could not tell, but she knew that this news might test his alleged loyalty to rusalka. if he learned this wolf was potentially dragedan, what then would he do? would he slither back up to the cliffs, assist kiwi in some way, and show the colors caiaphas believed to be true? or would he kill each of them in the night upon learning that his old allies had a chance of rising from the den?

caiaphas distrusted coincidence. she would tell both svalinn and raleska to stand guard around the dens and their mothers from now until she saw fit to relieve their duties.

caiaphas half wished to simply go back now, to ambush the she-wolf while she was unaware. she was certainly not merciful, and had little positive things to say following their encounter. she was deadset on eliminating this new development -- a pack of wolves settling shop next to her she could abide, but not one that refused to be allies.

and so, the crone howled for all as she sat down next to the circular pool in the grotto. she would inform any wolf that came of what had happened just then on the cliff, and she might even entertain any counter-suggestions that went against her plan, but in the end caiaphas was resolute that this new pack would pose future risks, and was worthy of being quashed like an ant underfoot.

Raleska's face darkened as her dam relayed the news. A new pack was in town, potentially right where Drageda had been. While her mother might have tolerated a neighbor, Raleska had learned nothing but bad things had come from bordering packs. This pack and its leader, whoever it was, could fuck right off.

She had half a mind to see if Svalinn would be down later to reconnaissance; the two knew the area pretty well (although not as well as Kiwi, who was born there and lived half her life there). Maybe if they were lucky, they could do some murder by moonlight.

The very idea of a pack posing a risk to her  siblings and friends, to Rosalyn and Erzulie, the puppies, caused Raleska's blood to froth over in a boil. She was hot-headed and ready to prove to the world she was not someone to be treated like a doormat anymore. 

She stood by, awaiting further orders from her mother.. but anyone in the vicinity could see the way her skin crawled, and how a fire blazed in her gaze.

i did not even realize how interesting this was going to get... I constantly forget I have roz somehow

Rosalyn attended the call as swiftly as she could, bringing the children with and allowing them to play with strict instructions to keep back from the water.  They would be fine for the few moments this would take, and she'd wanted to introduce them to the shore that day anyway.

When she arrived (maybe with Erzulie? Pending) Caiaphas filled her in.  News of neighbors, troubling especially given recent events.  What she spoke of didn't sound like a return of the cliff wolves though.  Likely they had little to fear from a single child, and they could roust her swiftly should they feel that was best.

She had no opinion of the meeting, and would have gladly followed Caiaphas to toss the girl from the cliffs that night, had she not been informed what the sea witch had demanded.

As she told that story, Caiaphas would have seen Rosalyn's expression darken, stiffening with a heavy dose of distaste and near-horror.  Her stomach dropped and she took a small step back, instinctively placing herself between Caiaphas and her own children outside.

Children are not payment to be exchanged, she said, and her ears flattened back as she glared at Caiaphas.  Would she have made that payment, had Drageda demanded it?  If so, she'd have died before she could deliver.  None of her children would ever know the horror of having your worth determined by trade.

<3

caiaphas acknowledged her daughter with a strained smile, pleased the thick-headed girl had decided she was on her mother's side (as she should be). she could tell from the antsy way raleska shifted, that the girl was ready for blood.

as rosalyn was filled in, caiaphas watched the way the woman's features darkened, followed by the peculiar shift of her body as if screening her children from the crone. caiaphas' ears pulled forward at rosalyn's decree; children are not payment to be exchanged.

"rusalka's children are not payment to be exchanged." caiaphas reiterated; like rosalyn, she would have died before delivering her own children (or any of rusalka's for that matter). rusalka's children being traded off was not up for debate.. but, kiwi was not rusalka -- and in some ways, caiaphas was old-fashioned. "it would strengthen our numbers and our alliance; a child grown in the midst of us, would never know the wiser. it would make the enemy far less likely to attack." caiaphas had been born in a region where houses exchanged puppies often; it strengthened kingdoms, fortified tentative peace treaties, and drove much of progress. "what would you have demanded instead?" caiaphas could think of nothing more costly than a child (and how quickly people come to heel, when prompted to deliver at great cost to themselves), and looked to rosalyn curiously, for her sharp mind failed her in devising any other option.

she's skippable <3

Raleska felt a twinge of doubt as Rosalyn pushed back upon learning of what transpired. She looked to her mother fearfully, surely Caiaphas wouldn't barter Rusalkan puppies in repayment? It didn't seem like something her mother would do, but the girl didn't have a good handle on Caiaphas besides knowing she was scary, and unpredictable.

She couldn't blame Rosalyn for stepping back to shield her puppies. Raleska wanted to say something, but was cut off quickly by her mother. Caiaphas defended her reasoning, but Raleska was more interested in what else Rosalyn had to say. Falling back to silence, Raleska looked at the other wolves assembled, trying to read from their faces what they thought.

He knew he'd be scrutinized for anything and anyone connected to the cliffs. That was only natural. 'Kiwi' made it a little easier for him, though.

I don't know who that is, Vercingetorix said with a shrug upon arriving at the scene and being informed of the latest. She wasn't in Drageda, at least not while I was there. Probably just some random wolf who thought it was a prime piece of real estate to snatch up. I get it.

Besides, if Drageda couldn't have the cliffs, then no one could. He'd do whatever it took to keep a pack from settling there, even using children as bargaining chips. If it didn't involve his own pups, he didn't care. Probably near-sighted and callous of him, buuuut. . .here we are.

He lifted his muzzle in query. Just one of them? he asked. We should get rid of her soon, before more arrive to join her.

erzulie was impassive, watching the exchange between her wife and caiaphas. it would have been amusing, to see rosalyn react so when she herself was so explosive, had not the situation been grim. like the sea witch, who had cunningly regained her rank above all of them, erzulie thought nothing for the children of drageda. the curs upon the cliff would have slaughtered her own babes wholesale, given half the chance.
but even the existence of caiaphas' own split brood had not staved off war, though she wisely did not mention such. when the former dragedan spoke, the harlot glanced toward him with a spare approval. "whoevah she is, she must be dealt with, an' swiftly. i care for no one who would settle there. dey pose a danger toward our children." a roll of her shoulders. "it would send a message."

Like Caiaphas, Rosalyn too was raised in a place where the trading of children was not uncommon.  However, there it was not for the good of the children, nor the sake of bonds.  It had been solely for the price the parents could receive, and she couldn't see Caiaphas' intentions as anything but this.  There were few moral lines that the pirate drew; the witch had found one that was deeply cut.

No child is, she responded quietly yet firmly, but the conversation had already pressed forward.  The other routes were fine.  If they thought her a threat, then kill her, toss her to the sea, ensure a pack never rose.  All of these were fine paths in her books, the girl was asking for this by setting shop where others failed.  An alliance under duress isn't one we can trust.  Kill her now and be done with it.  She agreed, and it seemed like most there were on the same page.

others came, and caiaphas explained to each what had transpired on the cliff. vercingetorix earned most of the siren’s scrutiny, though she watched erzulie too for the harlot’s opinion. rosalyn and erzulie had both been with her since the beginning; it was their counsel alone the siren queen most valued. 

which was not to say the rest of the pack’s voices were worthless— she would listen to any that dared cast their voice to the council. vercingetorix and erzulie both seemed on the same page; rosalyn agreed, though not with caiaphas’ barter. 

the matter was settled then; others would be sure to lend their voices, but the wolves assembled here were some of rusalka’s most seasoned. we strike tomorrow, then. caiaphas relayed solemnly. to my knowledge she is alone, but we best not go in blind. who comes, and who stays to guard the children?

she wanted to be part of this fight. erzulie's realization was swift, silent — it would not do well to run off into unyielding teeth as a new mother. but she was not the only one with milk. "where is grezig?" the reticent female's absence was not unnoticed. "i would lend my streng't, if she would be willing to keep an eye over de children."

Rosalyn had no qualms in taking their enemy while she was weak, even though she had not proven herself an enemy yet.  The chance was enough.  However, she felt no strong desire to go with and see out, aside from the wish as usual to fight at her wife's side.  She'd have to trust Caiaphas and the rest to do in her stead, however.

I can stay, she said, unless you need me.  If this is a trick, there should be some here to defend.  It could be a ploy drawn by those left of Drageda... after all, Verx's presence here was curiously near her arrival.  She cast a hot glance at him for a second, then looked to both Erzulie and Caiaphas for agreement.

Raleska had remained silent while they spoke; she was ready to go, and was just waiting for the word. When Erzulie offered to go, the girl nodded and glanced to Rosalyn, catching the woman's sly look to Vercingetorix. Rather pointedly, Raleska's gaze followed Rosalyn's, and mirrored the suspicion that Rosalyn felt. It was curious, wasn't it?

She remained patient as the adults divided between them the duties; they would march out tomorrow night, Raleska among them.. and she hoped they would put an end to this neighbor business, once and for all. Grezig and Rosalyn would stay -- alongside Svalinn and Illidan. The Sound would be well-protected that day, and she, Erzulie, Caiaphas and Vercingetorix would depart tomorrow.

She slept little that night, for shivery anticipation ran through her blood endlessly... but by mid-morning the girl had roused herself from the Grotto and begun pacing along Ankyra's borders.