Ankyra Sound ask owl

After catching up with Meerkat et al, Caracal retreated down the coastline. He was eager to return to the island and tell Heda about his visit. But there was one last thing he must do before he could return… well, home. The thought made his lips twitch into a smile.

He tried to think back to when he’d met @Erzulie. It was so long ago and he’d been so young. Besides, he didn’t like to dwell on any memories with his dad these days. He really couldn’t remember much, though the woman was impossible to forget. And to refuse.

Clearing his throat, the young man howled to let her know his location.

the sound was filled with ghosts for erzulie, and yet she was glad it was not so for caracal. the younger generations had been raised in relative peace, she felt, even though this grandson had not been brought up on the shores.
"caracal," erzulie said gently. to her he was a boy, but the ruby saw now how he teetered on the edge of becoming a man.
she hoped rosalyn's blood would take root inside him and make him a better one than those outside their home. "it be an odd time," she said of all the tension and guarding, though she wondered if he had come to an age to understand.

When she came and said his name, he realized he didn’t know what to call her. “Grandma” seemed overly familiar, even though he thought of her by that title. “Erzulie” didn’t seem respectful enough for a woman of her relation and stature.

In lieu of a name, he simply said, Hi.

He then waited to see what she wanted to say to him. The five words that came out of her mouth were not at all what he was expecting. Caracal cocked his head, wondering what she meant. He didn’t quite follow but he was a bit afraid to ask for clarification.

Yeah… he said awkwardly before saying, Sorry if I was, like, disruptive.

erzulie shook her head gently. "it be a time for women. an' in sapphique, dat means men come too close too often, every year, all tr'ough spring. mireille was just disrespected an' fought at de borders over it not so long ago. she is angry an' would have beaten you for de insult of being an'oter man, i t'ink."
she was amused but did not let it show; caracal should not engage in laughing about his aunt. "so, grandson," erzulie said, tone brightening. "you been travelin' along de sea den?" she said of the saltwind twined tightly in his red coat. "have you been to see your fa'ter? reyes not been by for a while."

Through his conversation with his sister, he’d learned the redhead’s name: Mireille. When Erzulie spoke it now, his ear flicked and something flashed in his eyes. “…de insult of being ano’ter man…” He could’ve taken offense at this but it didn’t really occur to him. Maybe Mireille hated men by default, though if she gave him a chance, he knew he could be an exception.

He said nothing about this, letting his grandmother guide the conversation. Erzulie asked him about his travels and he nodded, opening his mouth to explain how he’d been traveling everywhere and only recently stopped at the coast. But then she brought up his father and Caracal’s mouth closed, jaw clenching.

No, I haven’t seen him in a long time, he said, which was the truth. He reminded himself that this was Reyes’s mother, so he tactfully avoided further detail. But I have been traveling. I’ve been to a whole bunch of places, though I’ve been hanging out here on the coast lately. Do you know of, uh, Wheeling Gull Isle? It’s that-a-way. I’m kinda living there, with my friend, Heda. I might, Caracal said, pausing, even stay there.

ah. the mention of reyes brought the boyish features together into a man's knit. erzulie would not ask again, though she wondered. 
perhaps she should make a foray inland, to look for him. but he was a grown man, and she only thought as a mother.
wondering why she had become sentimental over this, erzulie smiled. "i know de place. mireille an' quen visited. an' i also know heda. she was here, ah, two winters ago, hunting caribou wid duskfire glacier. mireille went to join she an' her sister, druid i t'ink it be."
her eyes were interested. "what about de islan' indulges you, caracal?"

He listened raptly as Erzulie spoke of Mireille again. He pictured her in his mind’s eye: a fiery redhead, capable and fierce. She certainly didn’t need a man’s help, though Caracal wondered if she might still enjoy one’s company, if he was the right sort.

That his grandmother knew Heda brought a delighted smile to his face. His friend was a huge part of the appeal of the island, though of course there was plenty more to love about the seaside getaway.

It’s so cool how it’s surrounded by water. It makes it feel like it’s set apart from… everywhere else. It’s like a little peaceful paradise. There’s only a few of us living there—it’s not even a proper pack—and everything just feels so casual, Caracal did his best to explain.

He found himself thinking of Heda and her mentions of Mireille. “Mireille is one of my best friends,” she’d told Caracal and Etienne. “You’d like her, Caracal.” Well, she was right about that! “She’s really sweet.” Hopefully he’d one day get to see that side of her.

Catching himself, he blinked and said to his grandmother, You guys are always welcome to visit, knowing Heda would certainly agree. Mireille should come by, I know she and Heda are, like, besties, he added hopefully.

erzulie chuckled. "you speak so sure of it, i t'ink i might just do dat one day." soon. eventually. for now she had to see another daughter through a time that came for all women, had to be here for the wife and she rosalyn shared.
"if t'ere ever be a storm dat is too harsh to stay on an islan', come here to us," she said, revealing a little more somberness about dwelling in the middle of an ocean. "i spent time on islan's myself. little pieces of a heaven i gat'ered de more i traveled 'em."
mireille, again. "i will tell her to go an' see her friend again. i t'ink dey had plans to go away, sometime soon."

She said she might take him up on it someday. There were already a handful of reasons to stay on the island, though here was another. He smiled, though his face grew thoughtful when Erzulie spoke of storms. Was that the downside of living someplace so otherwise heavenly?

Before he could ask a bit more about that likelihood, she promised she would tell Mireille to visit. His heart skipped a beat, then dropped at her next words. Heda had mentioned her friend, though no plans to go away.

Go… away? he echoed haplessly.

"oui." erzulie's face slipped into something between amusement and a motherly readiness to educate. glancing at to sea, she rolled her shoulders. "caracal, are you aware of what be happenin' to girls of a certain age durin' a certain season?"
he was a traveller, and a sweet one. but did he understand the labours of control that fell to young men in spring?

“Wee”? A laugh tried to burst out of his mouth but he slammed it shut before it could escape. But seriously, where had that come from? What did it mean?

Her question brought him back to the topic at hand. Where were Heda and Mireille planning on going? Why hadn’t Heda mentioned this? What did the seasons have to do with anything?

Caracal was officially lost.

But then something clicked in his head. By season, Erzulie didn’t reference the winter. She must be talking about women’s cycles. Lane and the others in Atautsikut had told him all about that sort of thing as part of his medical training, especially after he had expressed interest in assisting with puppies.

Yeah, I know about females going into heat, he said without batting an eyelash. But what does that have to do with them going away? Caracal asked, at the risk of coming across like an idiot.

erzulie smiled with a patient indulgence. "heda an' mireille are bot' old enough to come to dis time, dis year." she watched his expression, for she expected, and hoped, that awareness would dawn over him at any moment. 
"goin' away means dat, well, for a woman of sapphique, she is wid child before she comes back. it may be for heda in de same way. dis season be one of power." her mismatched eyes shone mischieviously. "you beware, pitit-pitit, for dis time be doin' powerful work on young men as well."

What did she just call him? Caracal could only stare as Erzulie explained that it was a Sapphique woman’s way to abscond in order to get herself knocked up. She also warned him about the season’s effects on him, which was apropos as he was coming of age this year as well.

Of course, he couldn’t speak for Mireille but he was pretty sure Heda didn’t plan to run off and find some stranger to impregnate her. She loved the island, first and foremost. Naturally, a piece of land couldn’t give her puppies, which he knew she wanted. He supposed Bartholomew could always have a change of heart, especially if he came under her spell…

Why would they have to go away when there’s perfectly good dudes, like, right here? he asked, thinking of himself but trying not to make it too obvious.

but he was quite obvious, unfortunately, this little sprig of a pending man attempting to cool-face his way beyond a woman who was mother to sixteen children, including enough boys to see their whims, at last count — both of her body and those raised at her breast the same way without the birth-tie, which did not matter. they were hers. 
not to mention that erzulie had seen him gaping after mireille when she had escorted him to see meerkat.
"there be time for t'ings to change," the ruby commented gently, her eyes drifting with love toward the sea. 
but not everything. not a family relation, she suspected, though part of her was content and bemused enough to let mireille set caracal straight on that, when the time came. the seawife had no doubts that the boy was going to seek her out one way or another. "but a woman goes away so she can have control over de choice. out in de worl', men come from all over once they notice you." and they competed. 
she spared caracal this tidbit. he would discover it, once more, for himself. erzulie had learned not to lecture the youths.

As soon as the question left his mouth, he remembered what Heda had said about Mireille’s brother. Right, she was considering someone local, someone who presumably lived right in Sapphique. That seemed a lot more kosher to him, though he wondered if they intended to marry. He knew it wasn’t necessary—not only via Erzulie but his own upbringing by Towhee—but he also knew Heda pretty well and she deserved nothing less than love and commitment.

As much as he suddenly wanted to speculate about what it might be like if he and his friend locked down a brother and sister, Caracal wondered if it was appropriate to mention any of this to Erzulie. He still wasn’t sure who Mireille (and her brother) were to her, exactly, and hadn’t Heda told him these things in confidence anyhow?

His grandmother said things could always change, then reiterated the reasons why Sapphique’s women opted to wander afield. Lovemaking was just about the opposite of fighting, though Caracal thought it kinda of sounded like they preferred to be on offense versus defense. He supposed he kind of understood that logic.

Well, it sounds like I need to catch up with Heda, Caracal noted lightly. I should probably be heading back…

erzulie smiled deeply and nodded toward caracal. he had gone silent and thoughtful, and now he took his leave. she hoped that some part of her words would insist upon good sense.
"best not to ask heda about any of dis," she said with a raise of her brow. he had been surprised at the very idea; she suspected her additions had outed the girl's wishes.
and yet it was a moment of education, and she would not regret taking it. "come back anot'er time," the ruby said warmly, waving her cinnamon plume to send him off. "i am sure t'ere will be more to talk about."
a soft tease she could not resist. her mismatched eyes would watch caracal depart, before she went back to tending one charge or another. and later she would relay this conversation to @Rosalyn.

Of all the strange things Erzulie had said to him today, this was perhaps the strangest of all. He blinked loudly. Of course he would speak to Heda about all of this. They were close. He could and would tell her anything and everything, particularly about this trip.

But there was no reason to refute his grandmother, so he only replied, Okay, ‘til next time! before waving a paw and turning, toes pointed at the island.