Ankyra Sound second chances

He tried not to let the hitch in his step get in the way of their progress as they trailed back towards Rusalka, and when the familiar black forest on the claim's edge came in to view he felt a bit better. The wolf led young @Yami towards the forest and to the steep path leading down to the beach, but it was there that he stopped, scouring the area for signs of @Illidan doing a patrol or @Caiaphas, if she was doing the same. He didn't call out to them - didn't really think to do that - and loitered for a bit with the stray girl in tow.

things had been too quiet for the sylph's preference. never once forgetting the danger that lurked above the sound, caiaphas limped along on patrol. no new deposits, no new markings, no new anything at all from drageda was detected on her borders (surprising to the siren, who had become accustomed to coming across their insulting scents daily)-- perhaps the drageda wolves had finally learned rusalka was simply here to stay.

with or without them.

she did not expect to come across firefly - least of all with a youth in tow -- but as she saw his familiar form filtering through the trees, the sylph padded carefully towards him. the yearling that tagged behind him was given a curious glance, but it was firefly in which caiaphas' gaze rested, wondering what the nature was of this particular endeavor.

Yami was quiet on their trip from the Bluffs to Rusalka. Her companion - Scarface, as she was calling him in her head since he hadn't shared his name yet - didn't seem like the chatty type, and she certainly wasn't going to engage him and risk annoying him into running her off. To that end, she did her best to be the perfect travel companion for him - silent, competent, and not at all burdensome to him.

Cool and confident as she seemed (hopefully), her stomach had been twisting in knots the entire way. The Ostrega remained distinctly aware of the part of her that wanted her to flee from the danger Scarface had insisted she'd be in amongst the ranks of this pack, but if anything that just made her feel all the more stubbornly determined that this was where she simply had to be. Tru's face kept swimming into her mind, unwelcome. Smugly, she considered what he would say once he discovered she'd been accepted by the most dangerous pack in the Wilds. He'd probably realize then what a terrible mistake he'd made in letting her go.

When the pair arrived at the borders, Yami's first thought was of how badly she wanted to throw up. She swallowed the feeling down and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She looked over at Scarface curiously as he began to wander almost aimlessly, wondering if she ought to follow him or if she should call for leadership. She considered the latter for a moment longer, but the idea of calling herself scared her silly. So, she stayed silent, and began to follow him, lagging a good few feet behind as she had the entire journey because she simply didn't know what else to do.

When the wraithlike leader appeared, Yami froze. Her heart leapt straight up into her throat and lodged itself there, ignoring her every attempt to swallow it back down into place. The woman didn't speak, which once again made the young filly feel as though she ought to fill the silence. But when it came to it, she was too nervous to make a peep, so she hung back submissively in Scarface's shadow and looked to him to make introductions. Or to do something.

When Caiaphas finally made her appearance, Firefly moved to intercept her approaching figure and greeted her with an investigative sniff near her snout; her attention drifted to the kid that followed after him, and so he drew back from her and regarded them too — but is voice boomed, and it was meant for his leader.

I found them roaming the cliffs nearby. Dunno where she came from, but she is young and malleable. New blood can be useful. He side-glanced at Caiaphas then, wondering if she would find this a suitable reason for sharing Rusalka with the world outside the claim. If nothing else she could be trained to survive the seaside and made in to something new among them.

Caiaphas said 'Okay, she's alpha now too' and then Firefly got her pregnant so we can have more Phas babies yay the end.

PSYCH.

as firefly came towards her, caiaphas extended her muzzle in greeting -- allowing a brief pause as the two brushed each other's snouts. stepping back, caiaphas became aware that the slender youth was lingering in firefly's tall shadow, perhaps cowed into silence.

she canted her head, studying charon's daughter with a serpentine glare. it was good, perhaps, that she did not know of yami's relations to the freckled monarch -- for it was he that had caused her the most disfigurement, in the form of a sprawling scar across her snout.

firefly spoke, and briefly the siren returned her gaze to him, apprising him with an approving nod. "new blood is always useful. what is your name, child?" she slid her gaze directly to yami, hoping then the girl would untether herself from firefly's shadow.

When Firefly finally spoke to them woman, she felt a pang of disappointment at how little he had to say about her. Had he not seen her so gracefully navigating the terrain and keeping pace with him like she owned the land? Had he not found her curiosity about his home and her boldness in asking to go with him impressive? Apparently not. Apparently the only thing she had going for her was that she was young and malleable. Her only worth was in her ability to be molded. That stung.

Yami did her best not to show it though, which was helped along by the fact that the intimidating woman had turned to her now. The Ostrega eyed her carefully and found her mood bolstered a bit by her interest. She moved forward a few steps and straightened a little, not shifting from her submissive stance per se, but letting a little of that flash of confidence show as she made to answer the question.

"Yami," she said quietly, biting her tongue and reminding herself to speak only when spoken to because it seemed like that was probably the right approach here. She didn't know that it worked in her favor to leave her surname out--she did so only because she had decided to drop it the day she'd left Moonspear. If she hadn't been good enough for them, then they weren't good enough for her either. She'd tried to change her first name as well, but Tru had seen through that in an instant and laughed at her inability to lie. She'd stopped trying to lie ever since. Omit, though, that she could do.

He turned an ear towards the girl when she spoke her name, but kept his eyes trained upon Caiaphas. Watching the slightest shift of her expression, trying to gauge her reaction, but she was always a hard beast to read. Given a moment to think while the two wolves were distracted, Firefly interjected — She was alone on the bluff, and the scents I noticed were faded. Probably been alone for a while, he presumed, and then glanced towards Yami with the intent to scrutinize her; however, his attention did not linger long. Whether the girl had been helped in her survival or not was of little consequence. The season was a dangerous one but she seemed perfectly capable of handling the dangers - which meant she would thrive upon their claim, if Caiaphas chose to welcome her.

under the sylph's gaze, the young girl stepped forth -- her posture straightening, though no subservience was lost. to caiaphas, this presentation was good -- for it spoke of imbued pride in ones' self.

she turned to firefly, acknowledging all he had spoken with a soft dip of her head in approval. he had done well to secure the girl from the bluff -- but there was just one more test to put the girl through before the crone accepted her.

stepping forward and sparing yami nothing of the acidic glare in her gaze, caiaphas spoke: "tell me girl, does the word drageda mean anything to you?" irascible as caiaphas was, she was a wolf seasoned to deceit -- and the sharpness of her eyes suggested she was looking then for any sort of lie if yami dared utter one.

Scarface spoke for her more, and though there was still nothing complimentary in his words, Yami brightened the tiniest bit at the fact that he did at least seem as though he wanted to get her in. At least, that's what she convinced herself his interjections meant. She looked at him quietly as he spoke, then returned her gaze to woman, assuming she would be the next to speak.

The girl was not disappointed. The spider-y woman stepped closer to her, and Yami had to fight to keep herself from flinching away. She swallowed nervously as the woman posed her question, holding herself steady in spite of her nerves. She asked about something called drageda in a way that left Yami with no idea as to whether these wolves would've preferred a yes or a no from her. It took her all of two seconds to realize she had no option but to give them an answer, toss her fate into their paws and just hope for the best.

"No, ma'am," Yami answered, once again falling back on the fact that she was too terrible a liar to take any other route, even had she known which one to take.

She would be a good addition to their group. Young enough to be malleable, but old enough to hold her own, and unaffiliated with their enemy. Firefly watched Caiaphas for a moment longer but otherwise remained silent, letting her make her decision. He was already convinced that Yami would be added to their ranks — there was no reason not to welcome her — and so he was already slipping around Caiaphas and heading off, back to his usual haunt upon the beach.

the sylph's glare did not lessen until yami spoke, assuring her that drageda meant little to the leggy yearling. caiaphas' cold mein settled, and she gave an approving nod -- for she had seen no trace of guile hanging in the agouti wolf's words.

she glanced up as firefly was pulling away -- likely he had other duties to attend to, so she gave a flick of her ear in acknowledgment of his departure. stepping back, the crone rounded her shoulders and grunted. "right, then. let's get you settled."

like firefly, caiaphas did not wait for a response before she too slipped towards the grotto. steadfast and assured yami was following, the crone howled for @Illidan @Svalinn and @Raleska -- so they might meet a new comrade of their age group, and welcome her into her new life among rusalka.

The woman gave her no real confirmation of whether it was good or bad that she didn't know of Drageda, but Yami felt pretty confident in assuming that it was a good thing considering what came next. She smiled a small smile as her new alpha gestured her to follow. She obeyed instantly, abandoning her position as Scarface's shadow to become the spidery woman's instead.

She tilted her head with interest at the call, wondering who exactly was being summoned until another thought jumped into her head. Yami held onto it for a moment as they walked before finding her voice and finally asking. "Can I know your name?" she asked, "And... maybe the name of.. that other guy...? The one who brought me here?" Seemed like something she ought to know, now that she was pack. Actually, she probably should've known Scarface's name before she'd followed him anywhere.

the girl was quick to follow in step behind caiaphas, though she was not quiet for long. caiaphas paused as yami asked her for a name, slowing her gait so that yami might come abreast of her if she so wished.

"i am caiaphas, alpha of rusalka." she delivered her name without pride or arrogance, and the assured ease in which she imparted her title signified it was of little use to the siren queen. "there are several wolves your age among us. my children, svalinn, raleska, and illidan are all quite close in age. i will introduce you to them, and they will show you how things are done here." she went along at a business-like pace then, making for the grotto where she was sure raleska or svalinn would be -- illidan, in hindsight, was likely patrolling.

once they had come to the grotto [insert egregious amount of powerplay of ur own dang children here caiaphas], caiaphas slowed to allow yami sufficient time to examine the grotto's grim mouth in all its imposing splendor. it looked like the yawning glut of some calcified leviathan, and the tunnel its mouth, which tumbled down into deep, subterranean depths. "this is the grotto. below is the rendezvous, where many of us sleep."