Ankyra Sound for some reason i smell gas on my hands.

For @Lusca but leaving it AW because she's teeeechnically trespassing. Being vague about some details because she has an ongoing thread with Kjal.

The coast was an anomaly to her. Its differences to the inland territories was obvious, and they were what held her interest. That, and the desire to avoid Reek and the grotto for as long as she could. Tavi needed to process things, and she couldn't do that with the skinny boy checking on her every moment, as she imagined he would. They would have to talk about things, and talking - real talking, not just bickering or the juxtaposition of snark against more snark - was not something she was equipped to do. Saena had taught her that much.

So she wandered. At first the cliff-side held her interest and she followed it, watching the far-away fowl swoop and hail at the surf. Before she knew it, the various smells of wolves began to pepper the landscape; she found the pale man's scent heavily laid upon an exposed chunk of boulder, and then others, a myriad, catching in her nose as she perused the area. She knew not to go too far beyond these marks -- but a part of her wanted to.

Herded back to the lonely enclave of Saltwinter's strand, each new day found Lusca in the lowest of low spirits. She sulked, often, and took her wrought energy out on creatures undeserving of it. Kicking crabs far out to sea and gathering octopi from the rockpools and planting them like mines around Caiaphas' grotto hoping that on their next encounter, the denmother would be black entire, consumed her time.

But she grew bored of these things. So when the unfamiliar scent of a wolf wended its way to her attention, she immediately abandoned her interest in rattling the cages of the local fauna and loped in a direction that would take her to the attendance of whichever poor sap had been mashing the "I'm feeling lucky" button on Google and landed on Caiaphas' homepage. 

Arriving, Lusca, quiet as a church mouse, sidled on the far side of Tavi and with a sharp intake of breath, said: "Who dares encroach on the Great Ice Queen's domain?" breaking the silence with a voice sonorous and redblooded. She tried to stack herself in a manner that would evince the majesty and powerful command of a stag, but it was a pitiful display with her underwhelming height and awkward splay-legged stance.  

It should not have surprised her when the stranger came upon her, but it did; her head lifted as if ready to pull free from the rest of her, propelled through the air by a weakened spine the way an eel might slide carelessly through the sea. Her tail went up as well - a habit which she had developed swiftly - only to slacken and curl at the tip towards her belly. She shot the voice a hard look, but this too weakened. How could she respond? There were no words coming to mind at first, and Tavi just stared blankly at the imposing individual --- or rather, she expected a beastly thing to materialize in her periphery, and was met with something far less grand indeed.

Tavi's jaw clapped shut like a bear trap, and she scrutinized this stranger - perhaps too thoroughly, so as to avoid thinking of other things - and finally proclaimed, Octavia, Lady of the -- uh -- Grotto. That didn't have a swanky ring to it at all. Nothing like the Great Ice Queen. But she couldn't take it back now. With a brief sweep of her gaze around the area Tavi gathered some of her thoughts and, once she was looking at the feeble girl again, asked, Is this your patch of dirt, or are you just really in to LARP-ing?

Lusca experienced a surge of glee when her mighty unbosoming gave the other such a fright that she nearly leapt out of her pants. A smirk worked free from the painstaking look she had attempted, unfurling on her gums as she loosened her posture with a roll of her shoulders.

Tavi openly scrutinized her and the embers of Lusca's gaze smoldered back, unwavering until the girl identified herself. "Octavia. That's cool." She said, keeping her name under her hat for the time being. 

"Not my dirt, not my rocks, not my problem. Go wherever you want. Do you want to overthrow the Queen? I'll lead you to the throne." She placed a step towards their silvern guest, a questioning look writ on her face.

Overthrow the Queen? That meant this wasn't the leader of the lands - a poor guardian then, or an embittered servant of some kind. Tavi didn't know what to do with this abrupt gift of information, and so she just stared and kinda... Half snorted, really. If this vagrant felt like unloading a glut of political garbage her way, then she'd let her, but Tavi had no idea where she was or who she spoke about, let alone any reason to really care. If this was what constituted as the border patrol in this area, she was lucky. But oh, that made her think - the white beast from before, he must know of this wretched little thing. Perhaps they bowed to - or balked at - the same mistress.

Eh, she murmured, broad shoulders attempting to meet at the junction of her spine. This was a good distraction from everything that was going wrong in her life (re: everything), but lingering too long in this place (with present company or without) was not a safe plan of action. I was honestly just out for a morning jog, cue squint at the dimness of twilight and uh, overthrowing a Queen wasn't on the agenda. Tavi didn't know if that would please the stranger or not, but assumed the latter. Where... am I, anyway?

Visibly disappointed that Tavi wasn't interested in taking Caiaphas to the gallows, Lusca sighed and hesitated midstep, saying: "that's too bad." She could stand to watch someone knock the seawitch's ass down a peg or two, but it was clear that her present strategy would yield her no results in hiring an executioner. She would rethink her approach later.

The beachfront was certainly an idyllic scene to stretch one's legs, Lusca thought. Not the wisest choice for a stopover, but that wasn't her business. "If you're anything like me," she grunted, leaping onto the boulder that backed them and shifting her weight to balance on the outcrop, peering down at the Grotto wolf. "A constant state of despair." she paused, then added: "sometimes referred to as 'Saltwinter.'"  

"You're from uh... uh, Donnelaith?" She asked, calling to mind her conversation with Tachyon and the information he parted about the denizens of the silvan dominion palling around with her two-toned vexation.

Dongle-what? she queried, squinting a bit while the foreign name bounced in - and out of - her head. She watched the girl, appeased for a moment by her ability to be so nimble; Tavi couldn't do that, she was too big. It would've been helpful for the terrain she had to traverse back at the grotto. Hm.

The other name was just as foreign, but it was easier to decipher. Saltwinter. What kind of name would the Queen of this place have given the grotto? Rockspring? Pfft. Then again, she shouldn't really be comparing names. Tavi and Reek hadn't made any magical declaration about their new home turf, and just kept what the locals called it. I'm from.. east of here. A place called Larksong.

Curious of the stranger, Tavi approached the ledge upon which she poised and reared up, planting her forepaws awkwardly upon the stone. She managed to keep herself upright and sapien-shaped for just a few seconds before gravity pulled her back down - the woes of being big-boned. I take it you don't leave the seaside often.

Glancing sidelong, she gave Tavi a wry grin. "I'm certainly not one for early morning jogs, no." 

Humored by the female's unproductive clambering to mount the slab, Lusca perched her toes on a jutting piece of rock and stared down at her elevated view of Tavi's argentate crown, tail swaying affably at her hocks. "I take it you don't leave the ground often." She quipped.

"Sooo, Octavia of the Grotto, what inspired this jog of yours? Surely you're a little far from home." Lusca speculated, reacquainting her feet with the sand in a spry flourish. "East of here" was a pretty ambiguous distance, and she'd never rubbed heads with any wolves from an area entitled Larksong before. Although, before Tachyon's shrift she'd never heard of Donnelaith either, so to say the Ankrya Sound region encompassed the extent of her spatial awareness was a bit of an understatement.

The topic of why seemed to hold some interest to the mangy girl, and as soon as the question was asked of her, Tavi withdrew a bit from the conversation. Everything was fine and dandy up until this point; however, being reminded of her entire predicament was a sobering affair, and she found there were no words coming to mind to explain her jaunt to the seaside. And why should she explain? This thrifty woman likely didn't care for the answer - or didn't deserve it - and certainly it was none of her business.

Then again, maybe Tavi just needed a sympathetic ear. She doubted this oddity could serve that purpose entirely - but it was worth a shot. I felt.. That I needed to get away, she cast her eyes askance from Lusca and idly watched a patch of sand, her good cheer thinning somewhat. Once she'd gathered enough courage to look back upon the nimble thing she held as company, Tavi was short and sweet with it. Or at least, she tried to say the words. The medic back home said.. Well, I have an unwanted... diagnosis. That seemed accurate; and she couldn't get her tongue to behave, as the term pregnant did not want to form within the cavern of her mouth.

following lusca's slip from their borders, caiaphas had been hypervigilant of the little urchin's whereabouts. she had considered even mutilating her leg again, but at length had decided against it. both @Kjalarr and @James had been informed of the treacherous rake's deportment (aka, dirt status) and that she was not, under any circumstance, allowed to leave the sound again. as far as caiaphas was concerned, trespassing in ankyra meant forfeit of one's free will, though lusca's had proved particularly challenging to stomp out entirely.

as she prowled along the cliff she saw the reedy wolf encounter another -- her hackles flared in silent outcry as she realized the wolf was not one of their own. with a snarl she turned back towards saltwinter and roused @James and @Kjalarr if either was available, intending to shortly (and abruptly) storm lusca and tavi's cute little tea-party henceforth.

also being vague b/c the kja x tavi thread is still in it's early stages. :p

The call was urgent as it rose from Caiaphas' lips. Kjalarr had just slipped inside The Grotto, intending to get a few hours of shut eye, but he was roused from his sleepy state. For all intents and purposes, like a soldier rallying behind the war cry of his queen he shook it off with a shake of his coat, he turned and loped back out. Would the call not have sounded so urgent Kjalarr might have let James — whom the sea queen had also called for — handle it but, frankly, Kjalarr didn't know hardly anything other than a name to put to a face when it came to James. He should have trusted his pack mates blindly...but he didn't, something Charon had seemed to determined to ingrain on him (intentional or not). His hackles of platinum silver bristled as he lumbered onto the scene, a low growl slipping from betwixt his lips after it's rumbled and built within the strong column of his throat as he attempted to assess the situation as quickly as he could. He recognized the trespasser, having just met her not long ago. Whether they were familiar strangers, acquaintances et cetera — whatever they could be considered — didn't give Tavi a free pass as trespassing and at the end of the day: Kjalarr was nothing if not territorial and loyal to Caiaphas.

James had been chasing a pesky little crab when the alpha had called for him. "You're lucky this time," he muttered to the red creature as it got away. He quickly ran towards her call, thankfully he wasn't too far away. 

  As he reached he went directly towards Caiaphas, but saw that Kjalarr had already come. A simple dip towards the young wolf, as two other wolves caught the corner of his eye. One of them, clearly distinguishable as Moshy (Lusca), and the other, he didn't know. Probably a trespasser.

 Remaining silent, he awaited further explanation by Caiaphas, his tail slowly moved from side to side.

uh oh spaghettios

Tavi appeared reluctant to reveal the driving force behind her excursion, and while that would have been a clear boundary for any well-to-do wolf, Lusca was... "a meddling enthusiast" and eagerly awaited the words she might impart with ears trained forward. "I felt.. That I needed to get away." The omega plunked onto her haunches and scuttled up, attentiveness settling into her features. Tavi went on to explain her predicament, suspense building as she concluded with an ominously spoken word: diagnosis. Lusca drew in a sharp breath. "Snakes alive, is it terminal?" She pressed, eyes locked on Tavi with rapt interest. 

So distracted was she, that Lusca did not have the faintest idea that she and her illicit visitor were under surveillance––that Caiaphas had converged her terrorist cell and had their conversation wiretapped by a cabal of ears from on high.   

holy shiitake mushrooms batman

That was a good question, or would've been if the diagnosis had been some kind of incurable disease. Child-bearing could be compared to such a thing though, and now Tavi was worrying. It was terminal, this pregnancy, in the way that it'd change her entire life for the worse, and then there was the prospect of dying while pooping out a little person, or having all manner of things go wrong. Her jaw clenched and she started to nod a little at the odd woman, too stressed by the entire conversation now to worry about Lusca's direct eye contact --- or the horde of stranger that seemed eager to invade their little commune until it was too late. 

She saw movement overhead of the waif, noticing a glint of white, and that led Tavi's eye to the whole kit-and-kaboodle of Saltwinter; they were amassed against her so suddenly it was as if the sea had flooded the sand, but instead of water it was wolf, and Tavi was about to be swept out to the great dark depths. Uh -- she hummed awkwardly, and skirted back a half-step (as there was no time for more), indicating with her eyes and sharply shifted attention that something was going on. Hopefully this border guard could pick up on the hints.

When they were closer, Tavi looked over all of them with a quick turn of her gaze, and landed on the strange black-headed creature who seemingly led the charge - but she averted her eyes quickly after that, not knowing what to do. Thoughts of her pregnancy were briefly stalled.

sorry, I didn't realize it was my turn!

as her subordinates flanked her caiaphas felt emboldened - it seemed both her right hand men (and left hand?) would make up for lusca's lack of interest in protecting the realm. the last time a wolf had trespassed, it had been made a permanent prisoner -- but this time, caiaphas was not feeling so kind.

coldly she regarded the female up and down - she did not recognize tavi or the scent she possessed -- and a certain indifference descended her rough-cut muzzle. "trespassers." she started, a cant of her muzzle given to both of her men as she readied herself -- "are killed on sight." with the words darkly leaving her lips she sprung forward, hackles flared as she turned on the stranger.

When Kjalarr had given Octavia advice on how to deal with her unwanted situation ...this hadn't been what he'd meant. They might have had ...something of a heart to heart and this wasn't a good second impression, probably on either side. Their previous conversation held no weight here and as territorial as he was it probably wouldn't. She was trespassing and Caiaphas had been clear. Kjalarr's eyes moved to Caiphas as she spoke, taking a turn to look at him and then James, whom Kjalarr spared a quick glance at on the opposite of Caiaphas, before he squinted at Lusca and then Octavia. Seconds after Caiaphas left forward, Kjalarr followed her lead, letting his territoriality take over and smother Octavia and his past interaction.

James had let out a mixture of a whimper and a squeak when she had said the taboo word, very unmanly (but thankfully it was quiet). Killing was bad, he thought, his blue eyes wide. But he obediently marched behind her, half to hopefully stop her from eating the trespasser, the other half... to support the mighty alpha (?)

 Kjalarr seemed to know this trespasser, but that wasn't very helpful information (unless they united to stop Caiaphas obliterating the poor she-wolf). But sadly, he was well aware that the younger male was the total Caiaphas fan #1 (as seen on television). 

 Maybe he could talk some sense into the alpha, and hopefully stop any blood. But anything could happen now.

The situation had become immesurably more tense once they were intercepted by the group, and Tavi could only wonder what the outcome would be -- she knew she would not have appreciated an interloper upon her own borders, and the fact that she was alone here might prove fatal. She feared for her own life and thought nothing of the life growing inside of her; in that way, perhaps Kjalarr's lesson had taken root. She tried to back away from them before they got too close for comfort, but she did not make it far. The leader with the black face launched herself forward after a chilling word, and soon it wasn't just her -- the pale beast followed suit, and Tavi was backpedalling as much as she could.

Teeth sank in to her forelimb as she tried to turn and run, tripping her up; it was the white beast who landed the first blow, and then the leader. With each grab Tavi yelped in surprise and pain, twisting and contorting away from them, trying desperately to escape their hold -- she struggled to find purchase upon the sand and soon her blood was spilling, causing the dry top layer to go slick with red. Tavi scrambled despite the teeth set in her flesh, and managed to pull free for a split second - pulling herself across the sand. She snapped her own teeth uselessly at whatever bodies were close, but there was no point in defending herself. She had done this stupid thing, this mindless thing, and was going to lose herself because of it. She was going to lose everything.

Wait -- she shouted, looking over the angled bodies as they swept close to her again, hoping to find an ear before her life was ended, I'm of the grotto -- that didn't really matter here, did it? The coast was so far removed from her; but she had no time, and words spilled as swiftly as her own blood from her lips, Larksong -- please -- I'll do anything! Her breath was heavy in her lungs as she gasped for it, feeling adrenaline flood her system as she scrambled to escape, I'm the Alpha there -- please! Tavi's voice became more shrill the more she begged, and she looked wildly to her attackers, hoping one of them could be tamed.

sorry, all––started school this week and haven't had any downtime, so i'm pulling out here so i don't hold the thread up more than i have already :)

Before Tavi had the time to expand on her condition, Caiaphas and her hands marched up on them, gums drawn tight to flash scissor-bite rows––poised fret their target. Which, lately, had been their conveniently bite-sized omega. This thought weighed heavily on her mind, leaving no margin for possible defense of the other girl––after all, they didn't know each other from Eve, and Lusca was not about to imperil herself for a transient. The inkpot girl shot Tavi a clutched look, tail locked to her undersides and her ears slackening as the trio set in towards them.

"You better skip town." She breathed, eyes not unlike saucers as they met Saltwinter's chieftain––the guilty expression a sneak-thief might have after his wares spilled from his garments fresh on her face. A fraught Lusca was an entirely selfish one, so the instant Caiaphas spoke and not a moment later, she bolted in the other direction, clambering up the rocks to the top of the cliff with the impressive agility of a border collie.

leaving this loose to allow tavi to escape -- caiaphas is probably half what tavi weighs so feel free to PP tossing her

there was still some distance to cover, and as caiaphas pulled forward along kjalarr she felt her blood surge to her head in a rage. in the true wild, trespassers were killed without thought and any wolf that believed there was impunity from this inexorable fate was a fool. caiaphas felt her prey sunder under her and she delivered as many bites as she could in the hopes to cripple this oafish, careless intruder. james seemed to object the verdict, but in the heat of the moment caiaphas did not register his lack of initiative. tavi's piteous wails and cries would fall only on deaf ears -- and if she did not make a headlong run for both the borders and freedom, her life would doubtless be forfeit.

When Caiaphas lunged forth Kjalarr followed suit, not bothering to spare Lusca or James any further glances. His acquaintance status with Tavi would not save her from the consequences of her actions, and the ruthless viking would not speak up in her defense. There was nothing to defend her from. She'd trespassed and now she had to deal with the consequences: be forced from the borders or surrender to the teeth that would sink into her. She spoke up, pleading, offering where she was from. Some Grotto Larksong ...or something as if that was supposed to make any sort of difference. As if that was supposed to save her.

A derisive snort left Kjalarr when she pleaded out that she was the alpha of that Larksong place she spoke of. He could not speak for Caiaphas ...but for Kjalarr: that only made everything worse. She was a leader. She should have known better. He doubted she would let trespassers of her Grotto just get away would the tables have been turned. Tavi's teeth snapped in his direction and Kjalarr responded in kind, tail lashing behind him, Lusca's escape having gone unnoticed and James' presence unknown by the viking. He was focused on himself and Caiaphas and Octavia hoping that she was smart enough to recognize her opportunity to run and seized it before it was too late.

James had followed. But when she said she was the alpha of a pack, the grey wolf paused. "Miss Caiaphas, this may start a war," he warned the raging she-wolf. He did not attack the so-called alpha wolf, but stayed in case Caiaphas got injured. Swallowing nervously, he watched them.

Escaping here!

They were hot on her heels, snapping and at times catching upon her with their teeth. Tavi defended herself as best she could — but she was hardly a warrior. Her expertise had always been in wandering, though it was clear to her that wandering had brought her downfall this time. She had been mindless after her meeting with the pale giant; now, with his intent to harm her so obvious, Tavi knew she had to get out of here. The dark waif who had intercepted her had spoken swiftly - but there had not been time for Tavi to process it. She had the right idea, and as soon as she could, Tavi would attempt to follow suit. She twisted away from her attackers, pulling free of Kjalarr and snapping at Caiaphas as the thinner wolf dove in for attack; though she held Tavi's scruff it was not for long. As soon as she was able, Tavi was off and running -- scrambling really - across the sand to freedom.

as precocious as the siren queen was, she was not particularly hardy -- her stamina waned within a few strides and as tavi flung herself from caiaphas' grip she slowed to a trot. caiaphas was loathe to let tavi go, but she hardly possessed the body to prevent the wolf's escape. with one last snarl she followed alongside kjalarr until tavi was well out of the sound, and only then did she stop. with a spit of blood and fur she turned to james and kjalarr, her incensed gaze landing vehemently on the agouti that had voiced his (albeit wise) fear. "then she should not have been trespassing." the siren queen replied icily, her hackles stiffening as the male questioned her. "she is lucky to be alive."

Tavi fled out of their territory, escaping with her life, and when Caiaphas rounded on James, Kjalarr did the same, sparing him a disapproving look. What kind of pack did he come from that he believed Tavi — as a trespasser — had any rights to live? If it brought war ...then it brought war; except Kjalarr did not think attacking Octavia warranted such a thing whether she was an alpha or not. She had trespassed and she had suffered for her crime against them. It was the way of their laws and truly it was that simple. There were consequences and as far as Kjalarr was concerned she had no legs to stand on in the matter of unfairness. She had gotten only a fraction of what she deserved. The viking was silent however, not giving voice to these thoughts. It wasn't his place to do so, though he kept his gaze locked on James as if he were trying to understand him; in essence Kjalarr was and was struggle to make sense of why the other male didn't attack her, as well.