Ankyra Sound little girl ribbons

perhaps @Vlad or someone from caiaphas' band of merry wolves? or @Caiaphas herself if u are so inclined lol <3

having a moment to himself, lasher took the few hours to travel to visit his mate, having brought with him another grouping of herbs. he took only the ones he knew would not seep through his saliva and sicken him, but lasher preferred that blue willow not carry such things herself, considering her condition.

he took the span of time and loped along the cold sands toward the strand, intending to see how the woman fared. it occurred to the man then that he knew her only by the lovely angles of her muzzle and body -- he could not in memory recall that she had told him her name. but then again, perhaps his memory was becoming fringed in haze.

the bold scents of at least two male wolves and a female assaulted the man; he drew up at the new borders, hackles raising in consternation and worry for his sylph. a short series of barks were uttered; lasher sought her safety, and hoped fervently that she had only been displaced from her beloved strand and not slain.

There was a knock knock on the door. Vlad couldn't quite believe his ears. He had spent a week scouting for wolves with exactly nothing to show for it, and here was a wolf standing right on his doorstep. It could be a trap, of course, or a rabid lunatic. Vlad would take his chances.

It was immediately and abundantly clear that this was not a wolf seeking refuge. Lasher was much too well fed, and he carried himself like a wolf that did something important for a living. Vlad mimicked the visitor's posture, squaring his shoulders and stomping into view with a defiant look in his yellow eyes. "What you ees wanting?" he barked, "Ees beech of Saltwinter peck, no make walks here eef not want I keel you."

one approached swiftly, but it was not the seawitch. lasher's ecru hackles rose quickly, but he fought back the curl of his lip, for it would do neither him nor the woman well to tussle upon this reclaimed strand. "the ocean-woman who lived alone here," taltos rejoined in a cool tone, once he had deciphered the thick accent of the other male, "where has she gone? she is my friend, and i know not your face, nor why you have settled in her sands."

as he spoke, lasher moved out of immediate range of a sudden attack. the rugged wolf was roughened with a battle-clever air and his voice had held no softness. the druid would fight if need be, but only if it would aid him in discovering what had happened to the oceanic priestess.

The visitor had a funny way of speaking, and Vlad had to concentrate hard to make sense of what he was saying. It eventually dawned on him that Lasher must be talking about "Bleckface! You ees know Bleckface?" The scruffy Russian eyed his soon-to-be neighbour with suspicion. His mouth had split into a coyote-like grin, but it was more menacing than friendly. Whoever this was, they could have spied Caiaphas from on high - and descended to claim her buffet of sea dogs. Vlad was having none of it. "You must to prove. What ees being Bleckface name?" he probed, fastening his yellow stare on Lasher's swamp-water eyes.

the smirk that split the jaws of the opposite beast had filled with an amused sort of malice, rather than humour -- but lasher stood fast. he would rather brave the jagged shark's-teeth in that maw than return home with no knowledge of the priestess' whereabouts. the man spoke of a 'black face;' relief flooded the druid. "yes, yes, that is her. dark features," he burbled, but the next demand cut his bubble of joy rather to shreds.

his countenance fell as the man racked his mind for any recollection of the amazon's name, but never in their meetings had they spoken of their titles. "i do not know it," he breathed mournfully, but his voice grew stern. "no matter; is she here? simply tell me if she is well, and i shall depart."

Vlad was not convinced. He flashed Lasher an exagerrated 'wtf?' look, dominant brow rising high on his forehead. The grin grew stale and stiffened, like a cupcake left bare and uncovered in a dry kitchen. "How ees frend eef not knowing vat ees name? You sneak," the Russian declared, drawing a slash in the salt-thick air with the tip of his nose as he said it. "You checking Bleckface gone, breeng many wulf for taking Salty Veenter peck over! Vlad knowing sneaky plenns!" He had started to pace the line that separated them, eyes locked on the alpha wolf. It wasn't for Vlad to know that Donnelaith was about to become their most immediate neighbour, and that his words and actions here would not endear him to its leader. "You going now," the Russian said, and then, in a moment of anger, gave away more information than he had intended. "I make protect Bleckface peck from sneak!"

he could not explain; "she knows not my name, either," the man explained, stung by the accusation that he was present upon the strand to take over the 'saltywinter' pack. "i need not your lands; my own packland lies south of here," he revealed, though he did not wish to give the exact location of donnelaith. "the priestess and i have long been friends; come. call her. she will recognize me. i promise it," the druid pleaded, meeting briefly the eyes of the brawny wolf as his heart thudded wildly within the cage of his ribs.

however, he straightened, eyed the other. "this is her domain? you are not its leader?" taltos inquired shrewdly. "so she is alive -- queen of the sound once more."

Vlad realized his mistake too late - Lasher put two and two together before the Saltwinter wolf could do anything to stop him. "Vat you do veet eenformation?" he demanded, scrunching up his face so much that his eyes became two yellow slits among the folds. "You heving peck - Vlad knowing eet. Too fett for be alone." Lasher was anything but fat, of course, but he was clearly not a loner. "You telling Vlad of peck - or I telling to Bleckface you sneak!" So there!

the man demanded to know what lasher would do with the revelation --he could only stare with a helpless sort of wonder at the other wolf before he spoke: "nothing. and i am not a thief in the night, come to stage a coup," the druid rejoined rather sharply. "i am the leader of donnelaith, and i have come often to visit the woman upon this very strand. she is my companion, not my enemy, and i have no enmity with you unless you persist in this disbelief." tailtip twitched -- he was rather put off, and angered now by the saltwinter wolf's demeanour.

Lasher's anger spiked - finally - as did the complexity of the vocabulary he used. Vlad understood very little of the answer he was given, and the name of the visitor's pack - Donnelaith - went the way of the majority: in one ear and out the other.

He did, however, catch enough to back off - and just in time. Vlad was a seasoned enough scrapper to know that he risked his life with each fight - not just for the duration of the scuffle, but beyond it. Blood loss and infection were just as lethal as the bite. "OK," he offered curtly, features softening somewhat. "I say to Bleckface." If Caiaphas wanted to speak to her 'friend', she presumably had his details.

the moment of their blow went unfulfilled, and lasher visibly relaxed. it seemed he would be tolerated, if not trusted, and if the saltmaiden ruled these shores, he knew her to be of sound body and unscathed. "thank you," he said with genuine feeling to the thickly-accented man. "i care -- she is one of my dearest companions," the druid explained gently.

if the saltwinter wolf was shrewd -- and he had proven himself to be such -- he would see the momentary glimmer in the murkwater eyes, the seeming flush beneath the dark fur of lasher's cheeks. dearest indeed.

presently he was turned aside -- having gleaned the information he sought, the man was happy to leave, if grudging in regards to not having seen the priestess.