Phoenix Maplewood so come sit down, will you talk with me now

@Reek

at first the scullion questioned the authenticity of the scent before her, so clandestine and crisp it wafted along the berry path. she paused, an angular thing swathed by dappled shadows -- a singular golden beam illuminating the sharpness of her muzzle as she held it in mid-air. the forest she paused in was touched by a soft afterglow of gentle sunlight; as if nothing rustled between the slender twigs save for soft spirits and sunsplatter.

but she was not a soft spirit, and she stole close into the territory chasing this phantom scent. she was careful to avoid outright trespass, though her ghastly frame once or twice near strayed the border. she came to a temperate rise where the conifers offered both seclusion and shade from the outer world -- and like some harmful djinn the urchin slid into the cold fold of the shadows, tucked neatly under the hanging lip of a downed and rotted tree. here she would wait and watch the world pass her by -- a torpid slouch hunched over in wait for her next unassuming victim.

Oh boy, oh boy!

Marking was a constant and arduous task.  Mind-numbingly dull as it was, the displaced wolves of the Rise needed their home to be one of distinction.  The task was unfortunately necessary, however that didn't stop Reek from wanting to bash his head in on the nearest tree.  It was all the same, day in - day out, and Reek craved a break in the prolonged monotony.  

He strayed past the border, resigning to resume his claim-staking for later.  Drifting through the trees, the patchy patriarch ambled without purpose in the search of something to occupy his time.  Thankfully, the forest offered many options— mostly in the variety of food, which was Reek's favorite option indeed.  Scraping his teeth against the side of a maple tree, he lapped up the slow ooze of sap and enjoyed every bit of sweetness it offered.  A necessary respite from mindless marking.

He chewed and chewed, smiling lackadaisically at nothing in particular.  However his smile soon faltered when he picked up the all too familiar scent of salt. The sea. The waif.  Reek briskly altered his course to investigate and was met with a blast from the past.  Caiaphas.  

"I thought you were dead," he stated flatly and without greeting.  She had disappeared without a goodbye, it was only fitting. "What are you doing at my borders? Are you looking for a home, oh great siren queen?"  Sacchrine sarcasm dripped from his voice.  Oh, how the shoe was on the other foot.

as the she-wolf sulked among the rife berries she was aware of a presence in the copse -- her illuminant gaze uplifted to behold the scavenger form of a familiar compatriot. despite the coldness of his tone she was not dissuaded as she abandoned her shaded hideaway, slithering out into the open in the manner of some verminous mink.

he smelled of sap and sweetness and she found this most beguiling for she found him neither saccharine nor hospitable. rather, the cloak of maple sap that burst along his muzzle was cloying in flavor and scent. sweet pine tar and bark, the old scent of petrichor. somewhere along his riffled fur the scent of comradeship and closeness. she tilted her narrow muzzle and turned upon him like the sights of a gun, though her expression was carefully construed as disarming. she distinctly recalled handing him no such sharpness as he showed up on her shore soggy and starving. the tide may have turned in his favor, but there was no ironic justice to her predicament.

despite all this, she was not cowed by his displaced wit. acerbic as ever, the siren queen's gaze hardened as she acquired a newfound target for her misery: reek. yet unlike the black wolf, caiaphas had a unique brand of destruction that was subtle and systematic in its ruination. nonplussed by his jaded sarcasm she simply issued a roll of her shoulders in retort. "not from you, comrade." her loftiness was secured by an idle flick of her slender tail. "i remembered you being wittier than that." perhaps all the sap he'd been licking off the trees had caused his brain to rot worse than his teeth.

Unable to hold back his cynical laughter, Reek spewed forth a most world weary chuckle. Shaking his head, he locked his gaze with the waif and shot her a sinister simper. "Remind me to fire my writers then," he stated dryly. Never once had he claimed to be actually clever— however, sarcasm remained his favorite of all defense mechanisms. Especially now, since it masked the sting of abandonment. Even after the all the lengths he had gone through to protect the bereaved queen... she had still left.

"Tired of running from your mistakes 'Phas?" He asked, mockingly bemused. "You must be." The blood of her adopted children figuratively stained her white paws. Deciding not to dig further, Reek left it at that; for her to infer what she may. "Did you come to apologize?" For her manipulations. For her abandonment. For the lives she ruined in her wake.

while reek seemed amused by his cynicism, caiaphas drew nothing but disdain from it. the falcon yellow of her gaze lost its bemusement -- her patience strained to thin drops. the umbrage she bore from his heavy handed remarks caused her to seethe darkly, and a new emotion stained her blackened muzzle.

"tired of projecting your personal shortcomings on a visitor?" her riposte came in hot, her tongue sharp. those who lived by the sword often died upon it -- should reek continue to dredge up the ghosts she had committed into darkness he would shortly find himself a new supplicant among them. by teeth or tongue she would silence any that dared bring mention of the past she had carefully placed behind her.

"Tired? Nah. But, bored—" Reek sucked his crooked teeth as he took a lengthy pause. "—That's a more apt describing word." Nevertheless, it was an abject lie. Quite frankly, being locked in a verbal sparring match had been the most fun he had had all day, seeing as Saena was still away on her trip to the plateau. "I mean, you're such a downer 'Phas. Lighten up some. Smile more." He droned on and on in typical Reek fashion, sucking every bit of sick pleasure he could from the situation.

Reek took a broad step forward toward his leader from yesteryear.  "You know, I want you to know something. After the war... before you went all Houdini on us, I limped all the way to Blackfeather Woods— It took me days. But, wanna know why I did it?" The question was obviously rhetorical, as Reek gave her little time to answer before taking another step forward and filling in the blanks himself.

"I did it for you." He whispered bitterly with eyes wild as he drew near hoping to spur some sort of guilt within the slyph... if that was even possible. "Tensions ran high... I figured Aella would try to pull the whole thing out from under your paws and I was prepared to stop that from happening. But when I came back, who was there? Just Pantaleimon and Wynter." Reek's glare was hard and still while the long buried fury of the past bubbled back to the surface. "You failed everyone there."

the siren bristled as reek continued, vamping close to her personal space with little regard for his own safety. her black gums wrinkled, her muzzle ruptured into a silent snarl. her yellowed teeth exposed like sharp ridges on black shale. stark like mountain peaks against black fur and gum. his insolence was not surprising, but caiaphas grew tired of the lambasting. she viewed his approach as a clear threat -- and it was evident from her posture she would not be cowed by his advances.

"are you done yet?" she interjected, caring little to let him finish. how like a man to think only of himself. here he lamented he had been let down, but what of kevlyn, left dead on the high frontier? she had no remorse for leaving reek behind -- yet kevlyn was a different story. "you need to think bigger, if you are going to goad me."

It seemed squeezing any ounce of guilt out of Caiaphas was an impossible task, much akin to squeezing water from a stone. Perhaps if he stirred the pot by bringing up the pup who had been led to slaughter, that would facilitate a response. However, not wishing to bring their confrontation to blows Reek opted to relent his aggressive taunting and pulled away with a tired sigh.  "Fuck it— I'm done," he chided with bitter intonation. Plus, there was no use trying to bullshit a fellow bullshitter... it would only end with them talking in circles.

"Do you have anything to say? Or, are you just going to stand there?" Questioned Reek, face adorned with a nasty scowl. Apparently, an apology wasn't in the cards.  But, she must have followed his scent to find him, therefore actively she seeked the raggedy wolf out for some odd reason. Getting information out of Caiaphas was like pulling teeth, but Reek was bound and determined to at least get one answer: why?

despite her provocation she was relieved when reek pulled away -- she watched hawklike as he settled with exasperation. his words had lanced her, but not in any way she dared expose -- instead she found herself sucking back and constructing an air of unshattered indifference. she watched as an ugly scowl marred his already unseemly countenance, the creases deep along his visage, rumpling the coarse black of his hide.

he asked if she had anything else to say and there was not a moment's pause in her response. a sliver of pink tongue laced across her lips and she looked up with a roguish smile, an expression highly inappropriate given their current dialogue. "yeah, got any food?"

The Maplewood truly was bountiful. Their caches swiftly grew in the short time the wolves of the what used to be Redtail Rise held their occupation, and soon overflowed with food to spare. But, the waif's inquiry about their stock nearly took Reek aback. Did she just? How she could possibly think she was deserving of charity was beyond Reek, who happened to be the least charitable sort. Nevertheless, seeing her nearly beg was a sick pleasure— one Reek wished to explore.

"We do," he answered, sure and quick.  "We provide for ourselves here... much more than the Mothers ever did."  The raggedy wolf scoffed, unable to quell his cathartic urge to taunt. "But, if you think I'll provide for you— you're sadly mistaken."

"However," he continued after a lengthy pause. "I can afford it, and you've caught me in a most charitable mood." The corners of Reek's mouth pulled his scowl back into a tight simper. "What can you do for me? Tit for tat— you of all wolves should understand that. Maybe, if I like what you have to offer, who knows?" As long as he retained the upper hand, Reek would continue to press on.

tit for tat... caiaphas didn't like the sound of that.

as unabashed as she was in appearing as a supplicant before reek, she had a problem with resigning herself to groveling. caiaphas barely knew an honest day's work, and her streak of pilfering was not about to end now. slyly she recomposed herself and pulled away from the gaunt wolf, her expression somewhat shrewd as she did so.

"that sounds like effort." she stated, her voice contumely -- "so... i'm just gonna go." the weasel-like urchin slithered away from reek then, carefully composing an exit strategy should reek protest her departure.

Erg, I love these two so much.

While Reek had not wholly expected Caiaphas to play along with his little game, her complete refusal to humor his attempt at humiliation caused his acidic smirk to droop into a disappointed frown.  As she turned to leave, Reek remained firmly planted to the spot and called out, "You disappoint me Caiaphas— I expected more," in a lemony sneer.

Taking his leave, Reek turned back to Maplewood to continue on with the task of marking; where he would hopefully be bothered by his past no more.

-end thread-