Ankyra Sound I knew you were trouble when you walked in

When the woman had gone, Reverie launched into a frenzy of activity. Unfocused and still in pain, she had kicked the sand tainted by blood and the witch's scent away and into the path of the waves, and then set about fixing it and filling in the dips in the sand until it was as if it had never happened. There was nothing she could do about the scent trail further inland, but she hardly spared it a thought.
She checked on Blossom then, and gently roused her for a brief adventure. Cedar wood. Sweetgrass. These things were easily found, and she spent her time carefully wrapping the grass around the cedar branches until she'd made two imperfect copies of what the woman had shown her. One she gave to Blossom, and the other she kept for herself. She was uncertain what it was meant to do, but her daughter looked pleased to have a new toy. And it seemed prudent to keep a back-up.
But she could not find the cactus mentioned by the other woman. She didn't try very hard; it seemed something more suited to The Gilded Sea than this place. Stressed by this failure, Reverie took Blossom and their new trinkets back to their chosen resting place, along with a mouthful of sweetgrass which she would scatter in a rough circle around where they slept.
She wasn't sure why. It just felt right.

his voice rose and fell with the waves.

"aet home, jrawing pictures,

ouf mounchin taaahps,

with hiiim oooun taaahp~"

it reverberated off the cliffs, muffled by the sand, a perpetual choir for a single man.

"lemon yellaouw sun,

aaarms raised in ae vee,

aend tche dead lay in pools ouf maroon below~"

his tassels swayed as he stepped along the beach, their tips touched by bubbling seafoam.

I love Pearl Jam... making some assumptions, let me know if it isn't okay!

As she made her way back, the distant sound of singing reached her. The hair along her spine lifted at first, but Reverie quickly settled herself with a reminder that the world was unchanged. It was, as a whole, no more malevolent now than it had been prior to her meeting with the dark woman.
It was only that it felt that way. As if she had lost some of her trust in the world. Reverie hurried to secure her new possessions, but could not decide what to do with Blossom. She was too young to be left alone for long... but taking her to meet a stranger? She wasn't sure.
In the end she drifted out to the beach with her daughter ambling along behind, and the stranger came to her. He appeared in the distance at first, his song increasing in volume... and as the details of his figure came into focus, Reverie found herself startled. He did not look like any wolf she'd seen! In fact, he hardly looked like any living creature Reverie had ever laid eyes on. But he sang in the voice of canines, and so she tried to settle, thinking then of Bjarna.
The thought softened her judgment, but did nothing to alleviate the uncertainty inspired by her present circumstances. Alone and bound to her daughter, Reverie was far too wary of this encounter to make the first move. Instead she was silently watchful, waiting for the stranger's path to cross her own.

all's perfect!!

oblivious to an audience, he traced the line of the horizon, the open ocean melding with cottony clouds.

"aend daddyyy dijn't giiive atten'ch'n,

ooh, to th' fact thaet mami dijn't caaare,

king jeremyy th' wiiickeeed,

ouuh~ouuh ruled..."

he saw them then, a lean pale shape, vary on the edge of hardy grass and clean sand.

"jis..."

and by their feet; a child. his small suprise turned to a grin.

"w'rrrld~"

slavuj stopped, heavy tail evenly swaying. with flourish added to by flow of tassels, he bowed deeply to the pair.

"gooed daey!" he called out, lifting his head. "was mai performance up tchu standard?"

Reverie pulled Blossom closer in a surge of protective instinct. Her daughter was as agreeable as ever; if she noticed Reverie's tension at all, she hid it well. Which was likely for the best. The stranger held all of her attention now as his song tapered off and he greeted the pair with a bow.
He spoke so strangely! She was reminded a little bit of Lestan, but there was far more appeal in the gentle lilt of her lover's voice. Oh yes, it was wonderful, She told him, and offered a hesitant smile. Reverie had enjoyed listening to his song; how long had it been since she'd last heard anyone singing? She thought of Everett then, and a light sadness settled over her. Do you sing often?

at the compliment the bard mimed being struck by an arrow, bringing a paw to his chest and swaying in place like strength was to leave him.

he grinned again, not minding one bit this adult's mistrust - children were lovely as a concept, but in practice had a tendency to yap and chase and pester. not his bowl o' water!

"only aelways. ae nightingale signs be it heaerd or not."

"why, are yeau fellow songster?" his tongue lolled out and head tilted to side.

Nightingale! Of course Reverie was immediately charmed, though she kept Blossom tucked quite closely to her side. No, I'm a dancer, She told him with a gentle smile, thinking that he was rather animated for a walking tangle of hair. Oh, but she did love meeting people as strange as herself, even when they smelled terrible!
And he really did smell terrible. Politely ignoring his lack of hygiene, Reverie went on. Some of my siblings are singers, though. Oh, and my - um, the one I love, he sings, too. She peered around as if Lestan might appear at any moment. She wished he would, but that was nothing new; she always missed him from the moment they were parted. Sometimes. Reverie amended softly, almost as an afterthought. Lately he did not.
I'm Reverie, She added after a moment, glancing back to the strange man expectantly.

thickened hair weighted down his ears - and still they perked!

плесачица!

he leaned forward, attentive to her words - siblings, a lover.

a name!

"revr-ee." the man mulled the name about his mouth, gaze wandering away in deep thought.

again, he grinned. 

"ae daey-dream! con-tem-plation!" he dropped into a play-bow, tail swinging. "mine ai told yeau, in yeaur language - 'tis slah-vooy. bard. walker." a tilt of head, so a glimpse of a glinting eye could be caught. "appreciationer."

then his gaze went to the little shape. slavuj slid his forelegs until he lay, chin on sand.

"didju dream this one up, tchoo? what's yeaur name, цурице?"

The man seemed as taken with her name as she was with his, and Reverie found herself warming to his company. Enough that she didn't take offense when he lowered himself to address Blossom. Still, she was grateful that her daughter did not try to get any closer; Blossom only gave a shy smile and a wag of her tail. Since she was too young yet for words, Reverie answered for her.
Her name is Blossom, She brushed her nose over the top of her daughter's head. She hasn't started talking yet. But soon, I think. Reverie cast another glance around. Do you live around here? He certainly smelled of the ocean under all the staleness to his scent, but there was no pack scent on him that she could detect.

"aah, blah-sm." his tail thumped. "yeau are alike as if made fram same sun!" 

the toddler seemed unwilling to approach - and he wouldn't deny, it was a relief.

slavuj rose. he shook out his coat, raising a dust cloud.

"ouh, ai live wherever o'shn kisses shore. follow th' moon; when it is blek, ai haev passed th' siren nest. when it is plamp, yeau'll find me at the oyster lakes."

through the gap in cords he watched her, reverie. she was dressed warm and summer-like, like clean sand, like a good sunrise. a dancer's feet, a mother's weight. burnished points and bright eyes.

the comparisons kept lining up, until the bard realised he'd been quiet.

"-ah! bat what do yeau and dis one do? difficult laif, for those with child!"

Made from same sun.
Reverie shivered a little, remembering then;
I am the sun, and you will burn with me.
But such thoughts were not appropriate for the company of strangers! She pushed them away and tried to keep a gently attentive air about her as she sorted through what the man said.
It sounded like a wonderful life. The kind she herself might aspire to, one day. That sounds wonderful. I'd like to live that way, one day, She said idly, knowing that it would likely never happen. Even when Blossom was older... Lestan seemed so worn down by their journey, she could not imagine him living the life of a scout. Nor could she imagine being parted from him long enough to live out her dreams herself.
So she would have to stay grounded, tethered to him; to Blossom. Oh, we're - well, we're looking for a home right now, She explained softly. Or... Lestan is. My - um, he's the one I mentioned. She really needed to figure out what to call their relationship. It stung, just a little, to know that she could not call him her husband. But she tried not to think of that now. Instead she studied the man before her, the fleeting hints of facial features she glimpsed through his fur.

for all his insistence on untethered independence, it pleased him his way of life appealed . come with me, sunshine-woman! walk the sand, bathe in salt! wear seashells and seagrass!

but then his eyes fell to the child, and he knew to set those daydreams aside.

"home? hm." slavuj sat, raising a paw to his beard, thinking. "there was ounce th' woodswoemen, aend th' wrae-iths, tchoo..." he gestured northwest beyond the cliffs, where he knew seven islands lay black and windswept. "bat first have gone, second don't howl anymoer."

"west," he twisted. "there is moanastery, on island. nun, her husband - children coming in sah-mmer. aend here," now he faced east, raising a paw to where the cliffs rose high, grinning. "sirens! alluring songs, bat aet their borders, sometimes," he leaned in to whisper. "yeau find blood."

"bat!" and his posture straightened. "ai aem coming fram sunrise laends. who know - maybe ai'll find new marks follow-eeng th' sun."

Slavuj spoke of many things then. Reverie listened quite closely, expressive with the movement of her ears; they lifted when he mentioned a monastery (here??) and fell at the word blood, and lifted again with a slight twitch as he went on about the sun. Sunrise lands. Instinctively she peered eastward, then back to the strange man.
New marks... you know, sometimes I think about making my own, She mused quietly, but was quick to leave those thoughts behind. But - this is all very helpful to know. Thank you, Slavuj. Reverie offered a shy smile, pausing carefully over her pronunciation of his name. She managed to get it... almost right. But she certainly preferred nightingale. How enchanting!

the slight tilt of his head displaced a cord - his brown eye was squinted and bright with a smile.

"aeny time, miss rev-ree." he grinned broadly. "ief there is aenything more yeau need, saey it - before th' wind taeks mi aeway."

mother ocean, ever listening, sent him a gentle gust from her waves - it brushed the waning winter fur of the young woman, tousled the ears of the child.

I'm wrapping all of Rev's threads and this seems done so I'm fading it. <3 Let me know if that's not okay!

Just promise to visit me sometime! Reverie exclaimed a little breathlessly before realizing that she didn't have anywhere to direct him for a visit. This place wasn't meant to be permanent, as much as she mourned that fact. She assured Slavuj that she would at least remain on the coast. She felt calmer by the time they parted ways, even a little hopeful. The witch was gone for good, Reverie hoped, and soon Lestan would return. Soon it would all be okay.