Dragoncrest Cliffs go tell aunt rhody

That night, the dream replayed yet again. She woke just before dawn, breathing hard. Haunt hoisted to her feet and crawled out into the misty September rainfall, the sound of the distantly pounding surf louder than usual. She ignored the irritating sensation as raindrops inevitably found their way into her exposed ear canal, keeping her head tilted as she hop-stepped to the rendezvous site. How she wished she hadn't been so careless with Erzulie's gifted sealskin. This current aggravation only served her right.

With so many wolves showing up yesterday to celebrate Njord's return—particularly the children—Haunt had kept her mouth shut. She could've taken the leaders aside but she hadn't wanted to ruin the mood. She'd rallied around Njord with the rest of them, even if she couldn't quite bring herself to fully enjoy the occasion, not with those mysterious dreams lurking in the back of her mind.

But she couldn't waste any more time. She stepped beneath the cover of the trees at the fringes of the meadow to catch her breath. Haunt then sent up a low howl for @Erzulie and @Rosalyn, her voice shivering in the dreary stormlight.

Of late, their summonings had been mostly arrivals and departures. Haunt's brother had disappeared a short time ago and Rosalyn had wondered if the girl would follow. Now, with Avicus gone, the pirate followed the howl with curiosity and some resigned preparation. She hoped to be wrong, but it was hard to think of another reason the two would be called.

If they were a pack of the sea, it made sense for their members to shift with the tide... to ebb and to flow. Yet she hoped still it was for another reason.

She arrived with a silent nod and a quiet greeting. Haunt. Doubtless Erzulie would accompany her as she waited, gazing questioningly, for Haunt's desired words.

When Rosalyn appeared, it reminded Haunt of the day she'd returned a few months prior. It had been raining then, too, and the Tanzanite hadn't even seemed to notice. It was most likely the byproduct of spending so many years living by the sea. Rosalyn was like an impervious, weather-beaten boulder. Just thinking that metaphor made the yearling's stomach tighten with apprehension.

She knew she should wait for Erzulie too, though Haunt had been sitting on this so long—and itching to tell them the past day, in particular—that the moment Rosalyn drew closer and said her name, the yearling's mouth opened in a totally uncharacteristic rush of words, racing off her tongue in fits and spurts.

"I keep having this dream. Every night. There's a black she-wolf with yellow eyes. I don't know her name. She's never said. I think she's connected to this place," Haunt said, only realizing the connection as she said it. She didn't slow down. "She keeps telling me we have to leave this place. She says something horrible is going to happen and everyone is going to die if we don't move the pack from these cliffs by winter."

Her heart was pounding. Haunt stopped, feeling slightly panicky. Some part of her hoped Rosalyn would remind her it was only a dream. If the leader dismissed her fears, then maybe Haunt could make peace with that fact. But why did they come every night? Would they ever stop? What if her subconscious somehow knew something and the dreams were simply a manifestation? Haunt's breath shook from her mouth.

Rosalyn's chest tightened painfully. Raleska.

It was a blow that she wasn't expecting and she was visibly affected, her expression clouding with hurt for just a moment. She had never believed in omens but she was a superstitious wolf when it came to spirits. She believed that the wolf that Haunt saw might have been her daughter. The first pain was from never seeing her herself - the second was with the realization that now, after so many months, she'd forgotten her face altogether. The colors she knew but the details were lost.

A black wolf, yellow eyes. Could it be anyone else?

You believe this is real? She asked, her voice slightly tight. She was not leaving but she was proposing they all do. But these cliffs were their home - they had defended against a number of enemies here. If they were to face any opposition, she would choose here over any other patch of the coast.

Any other words she would have easily discounted. But Raleska...

The look on Rosalyn's face told Haunt that she wasn't simply going to dismiss them as meaningless dreams. Haunt felt a mixture of relief and uneasiness as she watched the Tanzanite's scarred features twist. She demanded to know if the yearling thought these nocturnal visions were real.

A raindrop slid down Haunt's face just like a tear as she bit her lip, then slowly nodded even as she admitted, "I don't believe in ghosts. But... I don't have any other explanation for this. I've had the same exact dream every night for more than two weeks. They feel so real." She let out a breath, a shudder. "I've considered the possibility that it's just my subconscious picking up on something and warning me. But that's the same difference, isn't it?"

Haunt let those words hang in the chilly, rainy air before saying quietly, "Rosalyn, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if we stay here..." The black woman's voice whispered the rest in her head: "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE."

This whole situation was wrong to her. She prickled with paranoia at the thought of a message from beyond the grace, but every fiber in her bucked against the notion of leaving. She had not been chased out by the mountain pack and she would not be driven out by vague, fell warnings.

We can't just leave, she said, giving Haunt a long look. Their children were still young, and where would they go? Any ghosts here were bound to be kinder than those in the sound, and to return to the bay would only tempt fate more.

Was there anything else? Any sign of what this trouble might be? She needed to talk to her wife about this, definitely, but.... no. No. Her stomach tightened with nervous uncertainty even as she tried to convince her mind that it was made.

Although Rosalyn's next words made her insides twist with fear, Haunt replied, "I know," paused and added, "it's crazy." Could she really ask the entire pack to uproot based on some dreams, no matter how convincing? At the same time, could she simply sit here and do nothing if they continued?

Of course, the leader pressed her for more details. Haunt could only shake her head, face crumpling slightly. "I wish. No." The vagueness made them all the more frightening to her. They were so detailed, so vivid, save for the most important piece of the puzzle. The black she-wolf never said anything more specific.

"They've changed a little, since they started. She never mentioned you and Erzulie by name until the other night. Maybe if they keep up..." Haunt exhaled, shaking her head when a drop of cold rainwater found its way inside her exposed ear canal, then grew very still.

She did not like this and would need to speak with Erzulie about it soon. Not immediately - her wife had other concerns and she could carry this, thinking it over, until she was sure of her own opinion. But as soon as she decided a course, she would wish to align it.

If anything changes, please, come to me. I will speak with Erzulie soon. And if... she paused, unsure if she wished to share. She did not want to frighten her, but she couldn't refrain. She needed to know.

If you are able to try a name - Raleska. Perhaps, if Haunt could remind her of her name, she might have more to offer. Ghosts were rarely harbringers of good, but Rosalyn could not see herself now uprooting their lives for a warning with no teeth. She intended to die on these cliffs.

And maybe I will, she thought with a slight shiver. But she waited, seeing if Haunt had any other concerns or anything else to offer. This would keep her mind busy, no doubt on that.

"I will," Haunt assured quickly, feeling a twinge of relief when Rosalyn promised to pass along word to her wife, since the yearling hadn't waited for her. "Thank you," she added, then fell pensively silent as the leader trailed off for a moment.

The request took Haunt by surprise. She met it with a blink, then nodded slowly. "Raleska," she tried out the name, then asked, "Who is she?" She drew in a sharp breath of realization and amended, "Who was she?"

Rosalyn remained silent for a stretch despite Haunt's questions. This was not something that was easy to talk about, and no matter how much it made sense with these visions, she almost resisted. What right did she have to drive for these answers? To pry into this?

But for some reason, she chose to come to her.

She was my - our - adopted daughter. The first of them. But she was killed. It was hard not to go back and see her body, split like that, cast on the stones of the beach. The monster looming overhead. By a bear. That was all that Haunt needed to know. It was hard for Rosalyn to recollect the fight that followed, but she had a sense that the bear was no longer a threat. They had finished it. If they hadn't, then there was no way she would have forgotten, because she would have chased it to the depths of hell for what it had done.

Immediately, Haunt wondered if it was the same bear that had killed her father. But she would not intrude on Rosalyn's grief with queries about a man she loathed even now. Her lips pressed together and she frowned, then dropped her head in acknowledgement of the leader's loss.

Now she wondered if Raleska meant to warn her—warn them all—about another bear attack. But there was no telling, at least not at this point. Haunt's stomach rolled a little, sickened by the nightmares even as she wished for more clarity.

"I'm sorry," Haunt said after a stretch of silence, "to unload this on you."

Though she was really no closer to understanding the dreams or the warning contained in them, she felt a little better for having told someone else. It wasn't fair for Rosalyn and Erzulie to have to share this burden, though what choice did Haunt have with what might be at stake?

"I'll let you know of any further developments," she offered.