Dragoncrest Cliffs i thought i was different but it seems i’m just the same

Wolves start to show from all corners of the cliffs. Eastwood comes out with questions, standing in front of her, but she does not answer him. She does not have words. She has blood and boil and rage and they don’t all fit inside her. The hardened, cold stone that has been in her chest for weeks since her return threatens to spill, to unlock and unravel and release every ounce of anger she’s harbored. Her head turns slightly to see the others, to see Tux—she does not see her son upon approach but a warrior by her side—and her focus redirects.

The first sign of foreign wolves break the tree line. Cloaked in darkness she hides her adjustments, tail flagged high and feet light on the ground in preparation. They have not come to talk a deal, to ask for their wolf back, and any chance Rosalyn gets out alive has been sealed the moment their filthy paws touched sacred ground.

Antumbra growls low, excited. Her heart thrums in her chest and she can’t count the beats. Dark eyes watch as they continue to advance. Soft, untrained bodies trail behind the only wolf that is familiar to her and they are easily forgotten as Caiaphas moves in tune with her heart and closes the distance. Antumbra only moves a fraction to prepare as Eastwood stands firmly between her and the enemy.

From the corner of her eyes she sees a blur of bodies—Dacio and Silkie—before a blood curdling scream calls from the other side of the cliffs.

Caiaphas advances on swift paws and Antumbra stands her ground, her limbs the redwoods of Drageda rooted into her spot. The further they get the wolves to come in, the harder chance they’ll have to get back out, and she watches as the wolves come together to defend their homeland. Outnumbered nearly three to one (she hardly counts the terrified children as anything but), she releases a snarl, a roar, the beast of a tiger loosening as she welcomes Caiaphas into her embrace.