Dragoncrest Cliffs dead men tell no tales

raid thread! please let @Worm post first
single posts per round, no order for now <3 pls reach out if anything makes you uncomfortable
@Chacal @Mireille @Tousaint @Pepper (trying not to double tag people!)

round 1 ends 19th Feb

A bloodhound's cry, a foxhound's trail. Nox and his crew followed the path taken by the saltwinter vixen that @Meredith and he had strengthened days prior until they harboured on the same gentle rise. The beach glittered below them, sands pink in the last rays of a setting sun. Darkness would cover them, give them the element of surprise, and for now the Captain pulled their bilge rat aside while the rest of his ship were left to ready themselves.

"Wear their guard down, let 'em think yer some piss poor rat, ay?" Together, they wove to where the scent of wolves grew thick. "We'll be right behind, just yell an' we'll strike." Molten eyes would watch her every move regardless, untrusting that she would follow through with their plan. A nip to her heels spurred her forwards, a lash of his tail as he slunk back to the treeline to address who remained.

"There'll be no killin' less I say so," his gaze found the rogue @Crowell in an unspoken threat, "but everythin' else is fair game." Meat, pelts, the traipsing siren herself - Nox shivered in anticipation. A final glance to the landlubbers @Firefly and @Hex; how would they handle their first proper taste of pirate life? Settling near @Farren, the Captain remained transfixed on the dark woman's shape as she faded into the gloom.

Vermin ink had been scheming, occupied her mind with plans while she sat in the redmist gloom of the ravensblood wood, guards to rotate between keeping her in their sights. Lots of time for schemes to take form.

She'd muddied her fur, made it wiry and unkempt, bathed in the wolfscent of Murkwood and even tore a few nicks into the back of leg; painting a vision of a struggle, a poor ravaged shadow on the run from her tormentors-!

It was with one sharp breath as she ran, that her features would twist into someone unrecognizable, terror in her eyes, a quiver to her jaw. She immersed herself in the very same night she left it all behind. Oh, Erylis. She was her again.

When the shade made her way there, she let out fast, choking breaths, stumbled as if the fire in her limbs was worn to embers, the last strength of a desperate girl coming out in strings of frantic words. Help me- Please! She called as she drew closer, tears streaking the silver of her undereyes. P-please- t-there was- there was a man and and- she fell forwards and stumbled on her words, kept a short distance between them for now. Please don't send me away- She pleaded through sobs, pleaded as if she spoke to old faces and begged for old mercies.

many things had been explained to chani. an educated girl of the seacoasts, she was informed as to the nature of her own body and what it might do. and blindly she had not gone into the world or been expecting at all to seek a man, yet it had occurred and she had come home newly made and waiting for something quite vague.
yet there were many sensations not yet innate, and it would be a long while before chani felt the first stirrings of any change. she was only rejuvenated, pleased, proud, and ready to be home for a good long while. lafayette was back; tousaint had returned. the grief of val's death was dispersed in a tiny way by the arrival of family.
rounding the borders, beigelight ears flicked in uncertainty. a woman cried out upon the wind, and her instinctintual answer to such a voice sped her on through the snow which patched the sea grass. a man, she said, and though that scent should have stirred more wariness in chani, she extended a paw to the stranger at once. "come here. dey not be darin' to cross over into more teeth," and her smile held a genuine glowing as she encouraged the woman move quickly to her side.
dirty and hurt, the sight of her spurred the proud seawolf to anger. "how long ago? more den one, cher?" she inquired, lifting her head to glance around for chacal or mireille.

Patrolling and re-marking the borders was a task that Tousaint was willing to handle- but answering the pleas of a desperate woman? Her cries made him flatten his ears. She would be bloody, and likely crying he supposed- and her emotions certainly sounded messy. 

Not today- not his task. 

While he lingered out of sight a mere 200 metres from where the yowling woman begged for assistance, he did not approach or make his presence known. His cousin arrived- the soft murmur of her voice was audible, though he could not hear her words.

Feeling that the situation was sorted, Tousaint continued to meander along, parallel to their borders, safe- or so he thought- from within.

those cries stirred mireille from her sickened morning. that food which had sprang back up her throat; it assured the obsidian that a new generation had taken root inside her. this comfort gave confidence, and confidence brought her quickly to the borders.
chani gave succor to a woman desperate and bruised. her aunt came to stand close, facing back the way that the stranger had come, her gaze watchful for any dangerous movement.
sapphique stood securely, swathed in stone and pine. it satisfied mireille to give sanctuary, and soon her eyes turned to assess, to see with her limited skill what herbs might be necessary.

crowell’s teeth flash like rusted hooks when nox pins him with that molten glare. no killin’? aye. sure.

a greasy grin stretches wider, a devil’s curve, and he lets out a low rasp of a chuckle—gritty, stones dragging under the tide. the pirate offers a lazy tail flick. he shakes his shoulders and legs into a loose stance—that doesn't hide the tension sprung in his sinewy body.

hah. aye, cap’n. no killin’, it is a harsh whisper, a mocking mutter, a voice rough as sand on salt-bitten wood. worm slips into the shadows and he watches her with his ember eyes; he lingers, a dog caged, watchful. ears twitch. piss poor rat... he shares a pointed glance with @Meredith, thoroughly amused by the roll of her eyes.

he'd been firing up another quip when a scent hit him fast. @Chani—sharp and deep—salt, brine, stormlight.

blackbeard freezes mid-step, nostrils flaring while blood runs hot. the siren. ravensblood’s dance. the one who’d twisted through the trees, making him chase her like a starved dog. hips like sin, body like a wave cresting just outta reach. oh, he’d hoped she'd be home.

now his pupils blow wide. nox’s order echoes distantly in his skull. no killin’. but prizes? prizes weren’t off the table.

the grin twists back on his face, wicked. if he plays it right, maybe the cap’n’ll let him take her home.

A cry for help. Shadess ears perked with an alertness, her body jumping up from the lay she had at the outskirts of the territory. This was where Shadess spent most of her time now, savor when she allows herself to steal away some time down onto the coast line. Still, she looks for @Sobeille. She watches the horizon for a sister gone too long now. 

The cry brought her in quick paces towards it, yet it was not the voice of a sister remembered. Already her mother and cousin had arrived to meet a woman dirtied and injured. Shadess now crinkled at the scent of her blood. Like Tousaint, she remained behind the border, yet unlike he, she sat down and watched with a curious yet hard gaze. Of course it was a man.

Chacal heard the cry and moved toward it- only to catch the scent of Chani, Mireille, Tousaint and Shadess in the area. Between the four of them, she felt, the situation would be managed. She would find her sister later, she decided, and learn what there was to know about the wolf who had come to their borders; a new initiate, perhaps. She knew they could use the help.

She felt a light pressure in her pelvis, and paused. She pressed a paw to her swollen abdomen, feeling for movement; her children, she decided, would be excellent swimmers. They moved, now and again, but they did not rage and flail within her as others had.

The pressure ceased, and she continued on.

Just say the word, boss, Hex told Nox, then hunkered down in wait.

He couldn't stop his stomach from churning. This is what he had wanted, right? Yet, with Muskrat at his side, the prospect had seemed novel, sexy. This just seemed. . .well, wrong.

The bedraggled wretch that was Worm set off, a willing diversion. Once they had distracted the wolves of this pack, they would strike.

The young man steeled himself for the challenge ahead.

He’d underestimated just how sore he would be. Two days ago, yet the daggers felt just as fresh as they had the morning before. 

He was unsure if the voice had been a dream, or was responsible of rousing him, but hearing the shuffles of others moving toward, he was fairly confident it had been real. 

An exhausted sigh escaped the old man, and he gave a brief stretch upon fully rising, motion limited by his body’s complaining. 

He followed along, stopping a short distance away to assess the area. His mind was very much still waking up.

thanks for joining everyone!
to keep this moving, rounds will now last 10 days (but pls let us know if you need more time / would like your character pp'ed instead!). anyone else is ofc welcome to jump in <3
no posting order, round ends 1st March

Worm was good, her cries echoed dramatically across the cliffs, above the sound of the river that masked his crew's mundane conversation. If Nox had a heart, perhaps he'd have felt an ounce of pity for those who's home they were about to ransack. But this way the way of a pirate - they had trained for this. They were ready, he was sure of it. 

It was difficult to discern by sight how many had come to the bilge rat's aid. The growing gloom was a double-edged sword, offering as much cover as it did blindfold the pirates on their approach. A wave of his tail, a jerk of his muzzle; the Captain motioned for his men to creep forwards.

Women, two - no, three of them - well-fed by the looks of it. Lips curled, patience waning as he watched more figures flit among the shadows. They were weak, small in numbers, or so he would make them believe.

A chilling cry signalled the Captain's break from cover, bursting from the trees in a flash of night. "Search for more! Round 'em up!" came his exhilarated command, teeth snapping towards a red woman in a show of intimidation before falling into a tight circle around those that were present. She was fat, slow, easily overpowered. "I've got more men in the trees," eyes flicked between his crew, to Worm where his gaze flared approvingly. "Surrender now, and nobody gets hurt."

something was —
chani urged the strange woman to safety. shadess watched the shadows. reaching her consciousness into the atmosphere, mireille knew others were close; her sons; her sister.
hackles bristled. "we should hurry," was all the obsidian managed before shouts broke the gloom of the winter night.
men, shouting. raging. invading. mireille felt her gorge rise, as much for her recently thickening waistline as with anger. but if the rotten interlopers thought sapphique full of fawning women, another thing was coming.
however — her daughter was another matter. she did not know what might be done to a girl, and she feared for her sons in a different way.
was this woman involved?
"shadess. kouri al jwenn frè w lafayette. kache andeyò peyi ou." she expected that her daughter would wish to fight, but these were men, and only seconds to spare — mireille would not be rounded up, and flashed toward the captain with teeth ready to tear his face, attempting to trample the woman in her bullrush.
erzulie had made a sacrifice. mireille was willing to make another.

too much happened. auntie spoke, and then the sound of shouts were heard in the fog beyond, and wolves circled.
what irked chani the most was that she had experienced such a scent before, and started to piece together that this was —
her fault.
fear collided with generational rage. she heard mireille whisper to shadess, separating children from the grown who would fight.
mireille did not even attempt negotiation. chani watched in horrified shock as her aunt lunged forward, realizing she meant to give shadess a chance to escape.
did they come for that? no. not —
her eyes flickered for the man she had known, and then chani too was jumping forward with a snarl, snapping toward the woman who seemed to have the aplomb of this man. her body curved to push shadess away and back, and she looked in worry for her mother. matant and maman were pregnant! why didnt mireille try to speak?
yet she understood; she knew even as she struck the fray that there was no way in hell anyone here would capitulate without being forced.

Not far away, Tousaint continued on, pausing when the sounds of voices lifted from the borders. He paused, faintly curious- only to stiffen to complete stillness when he heard a man’s voice lift and ring out with a threat. 

Had Shadow Ridge come for them? Had the Montagne wolves sought revenge for the selling the truth about their fox cub? Surely, if it was either pack, the leader calling out would have Tybeen a woman- but there was still a chance that this was the consequence of his actions, coming to get him. 

And his family.
And him?
He began to flee. 

feel free to hunt him down!

Shouts and snarls lifted suddenly, punching above the sound of the waves and catching the Tanzanite’s attention. She did not catch the words, but the timbre stopped her in her tracks and with a formidable growl, the jackal wheeled and headed back toward the borders, paws battering the ground like hammer falls.

A crew of wolves moved in, against the huddled crowd. Mireille moved to strike, and Chani too.

With cold air burning in her throat she loosed a war-cry, one to rattle the attackers and summon the strength of Sapphique with rallying spirit.

Her body told her it should not be so- battle was not for women, carrying child- but the sight of her sister’s fangs was akin to spotting a banner hoisted high, a call she would always answer.

She would crash among them with the force of a breaking wave.

Worm can take any injury aside from death ;)

Captain called out and from the brush came teeth and snarl; a fray of chaos to swallow the evening air.

There was no need to continue the act, she'd done her piece, drawn them all in like fish to a line. Now, she met with the vengeful lunge of the saltwater girl who'd come to her aid. Her own teeth reached for the tawny fur of her neck, eager to taste metal on her tongue; the vermin entangled herself in the fight, wrapping around, an unshakeable, constricting sea-snake, feeling the tear of flesh from her own hide and refusing to rescind her grip.

exhilarating.

She grew deaf to the sounds around them as they rolled together in this violent tumble.

shadess screaming in the bg for this round.

Shadess did not listen to her mother's command. Not at first, at least. Her stubbornness and her arrogance, especially so in the face of a horde of men was far too strong. Shadess didn't know fear. Hadn't been raised to fear and so she foolishly did not. 

Her mother charged forward, her aunt and cousin to follow. Shadess jerked forward with a persistence, as though to join, yet catches a flash of a wolf in the treeline. Tousaint, running away! Coward!! 

The girl screams out with a rage, meant now for all men. FUCK you! She snarls, whipping her fangs in Nox' direction. And fuck your men!

fuck you! and fuck your men!

his sister's banshee-cry ripped through the forest, and though it was faint to lafayette's faraway ears, the anger in it was more than clear. something sinister was in the air; he wouldn't linger wondering for long.

he sprinted forward, paws pounding down the well-worn trails. there was sound and movement ahead, and before he could react, a lithe shadow of a wolf whipped past him just a few jumps away.

what— the boy breathed, but then shook his head and increased his pace. shadess's voice had come from further away.

sure enough, there she was ahead, bristling. chacal, moving forward, and chani and manman—

hey! lafayette shouted toward the men—and one scrawny woman—whose scents were alien and sinister in this land. he turned his gimlet gaze toward the wolf named nox and growled as he approached at a trot. leave her alone, you brute!

Nox's command shattered through the air like a bolt of lightning, setting his fur on end—

Search for more! Round 'em up!

He was sick, sick to his stomach as he emerged from cover, watching as a woman—her belly ever-so-distended—brought herself like a lamb to the slaughter. Barking orders in some tongue he did not know;

Was she with child?

Hex panted, guts churning. 

with child

once a child

once your mother

Saliva oozing from the corners of his mouth, he wheeled and scampered into the trees instead, ostensibly following his captain's orders but—

should he?

SHOULD HE?!

A fiery blur on his left, headed toward the fray. Trees. Brush. 

@Tousaint, his heels kicking up dirty snow some distance ahead.

Hex felt himself puke but let it go, vomit sluicing down the sides of his cheek and neck as he stormed after the runaway Sapphique man, unaware of his erstwhile connection to the Montagne. He would chase as long as necessary;

And even longer, perhaps, for his heart could not take this and his soul was

  screaming

crowell knows what he wants—her.

the siren who had danced with him through ravensblood, who had run, tangled, teased. the one who had led them here without even knowing, drawn to trouble same as him. she shouldn’t have come sniffing. shouldn’t have found him. but she had, and now she was going to be his!

a sneer twists his face, sharp with cruel delight. tunnel vision locks onto her, everything else fading into background noise. he doesn’t care about the others. doesn’t care about plunder, about nox’s orders. he has only one prize in mind. but he charges in alongside the captain, teeth flashing, snapping at flanks, taunting. he dances through the fray, slipping out of reach before a bite can land, laughing low in his throat.

a game.

always a game.

but when he reaches her, there’s no teasing left. he rears up, teeth bared, snapping at her legs, driving her away from what seems to be her relatives. cutting her off. isolating her. this was a woman's circle!

hah, there ye are, pretty thing. thought ye could run from me? smug satisfaction wets his words. he lunges again, aiming to press her back further, to push her where he wants her. away from the fight. away from help.

can be penultimate or final round methinks!
I will reply with Nox again on the 14th March <3

They would not talk? So be it. Murkwood would plunder them by force.

The women of the cliffs unleashed a fiery defence, and Nox whipped to face the red woman who sparked it all as she rampaged towards him with all the fury of a raging bull. Snapping teeth did little to slow her charge but the Captain was swift on his feet, faster than her whale of a body and darted aside-

straight into the jaws of another. This one was strong, commanding the battle with a cry that only served to fuel his rage as he fell beneath her. What was supposed to be a simple, in-and-out job had quickly escalated, and through the tangle of limbs he spied Worm and Crowell tangle with the saltsiren, saw a flash of black as Hex disappeared into the brush. 

A consequence of his own instruction, a madness in his eyes as he twisted and turned from the dark woman's grip towards what she had not seen; children. One that rallied curses, one creeping his way, and it was now that the Captain's focus shifted to a greedy, insatiable possession.

Kicking out sharply towards the swollen belly of his attacker, he lunged towards the youths, outstretched aiming to catch one off guard and restrain them strongly with teeth to the scruff. And if he was successful, he'd come to roar above the din. "Stand down! Or we'll kill 'em both." Words then for all, for Crowell and his siren as Nox itched to taste blood. When had he been one to keep moral promises?

mireille had miscalculated. yet the wolves of sapphique rushed forth, and she felt such a searing sense of pride that almost it hurt.
a man was shouting, encircling chani. their leader flashed toward the young, and mireille felt at last a cold terror grapple her.
if they fought, it would not only be she who died.
"wait!" she cried, struggling angrily as nausea welled and she doubled, hunched from the horrid kick.
"stop!" mireille shouted again, this time her tones gathering strength.
her eyes met those of the man who threatened. mireille had little choice. her own life, even those of her unborn; she would have traded everything to be free.
but seeing the clutch of teeth over others; she pictured the ravaged beach stained with blood and bear tracks, and a huge hatred took hold of her.
"spare dem. and spare de pillagin'," she growled in knowing at the pirate. "myself, for sapphique."
fuck your men! shadess had shouted. she deserved to be free, and her mother meant to see to it.

no major injuries or death plz, but roughing her up, knocking her out, some bruises, all good

perhaps chani had not quite realized the severity of their situation until new moments arrived. in one moment she had been beside her mother, charging at chacal's flank for the interlopers. the next a reek familiar swamped her senses, and she was dragged bodily away from the tanzanite.
in rage she snarled, but he shoved her again, back. she was too old to call for her mother, or so she felt. and so chani put her rage into grappling the man, heaving powerfully in his grasp until she was on the ground.
the look in his eye scared her, infuriated her. she remembered how he had tried to grab her waist before and saw the same scintillating want etched in his seasalt face now.
inside her, heart cried for pepper. she had not seen tousaint leave; to have witnessed that would only break her further.
mireille was shouting, and the girl twisted to listen. "no! no, matant! no! we fight! we die!" chani snarled, pinned into submission all for her flagrant mouth.
should they not all be killed here rather than surrender? would her grandmothers have given up!? chani shouted again, trying to bite and claw the pirate hell-bent on possessing her, a sickening sense of horror building in her spirit.

before lafayette could say anything further, the malevolent beast he'd been eyeing began to charge his way. paws skidding, he tried to evade the onslaught, but found himself caught short as teeth snared his nape and held him fast. 

he felt the vibrations of the words against his throat and shuddered, even as he snarled and writhed to escape his captor. 

his gaze flitted between his mother and cousin: one resigned, one defiant. and while he understood chani's desire to fight on, icy fear bloomed in his stomach, and shot through his guts and veins—

he didn't want to die. he wasn't ready.

all he could see were val's gummy, lifeless eyes,

color so like his own.

manman, he whimpered, feeling utterly helpless in the wake of this calamity.

The old wolf's body wanted to act, but it refused to move. It was too familiar, the sounds, sights. Just like home. Except the cries were from the wolves he called family. 

Widened eyes found Mireille, but his legs would not move then. Nor did they move towards Shadess. It felt like he could see himself fighting, but whenever he blinked, he was right back where he stood. This was not familiar anger, not excitement, either. He was scared. Fully, utterly terrified of losing more family. 

Amber eyes snapped toward her familiar voice, and a moment passed while he registered the situation. He'd die, maybe, but he couldn't live with himself if he let this play out. 

His legs seemed to catch his will to run like gears with missing teeth, and he sped for the brute cornering Chani as fast as his old legs could carry him. 

Emerging at the tricolored wolf's (@Crowell) flank, he launched into an airborne tackle, teeth bared and aiming to grab whatever landed between them.