Ankyra Sound next time warn me when you're about to do something like that.
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Ooc — Stevie
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#1
All Welcome 
Yami heard the howl. It shook through her bones, filling her with.... You know what, it's really not that dramatic. She was just plain confused. Caiaphas was no longer alpha? Firefly had claimed the title? That was even allowed? She knew the wolves in this pack were a rough and tumble bunch, but for the alpha to be dethroned? That just struck her as downright unstable. That would never happen at Moonspear. Her father was a king. He would always be a king. No one could take his place...

Not that she cared. Or whatever.

That, however, didn't seem to be where the tale ended. The news that Rosalyn had climbed the ranks into a position alongside of Firefly was quick to spread. Rosalyn. Fucking Rosalyn, of all wolves. Yami rankled with annoyance and jealousy over this. She didn't like many of her packmates, but Rosalyn? She was the worst. She'd been so condescending and holier-than-thou about not giving a fuck about anything, and now she was the fucking alpha?

These wolves were all nuts. She needed to get out of here. With Firefly in charge, she felt as though things may have actually started to get better for her. With Rosalyn at his side, that seemed very unlikely. Yami heaved an irritated sigh as she wove through the pines. She was supposed to be hunting, but instead she was just thinking. If she left, where would she even go? She certainly wasn't going to return to Moonspear, but it was the only other place she knew. Yami had no desire to wander about in hopes of stumbling upon a new home in the Winter and the season had just barely begun to loosen its grip.

Maybe it just wasn't time yet. Yami grimaced at the thought of staying, but there didn't seem to be anything else to do. Maybe soon... But for now, at least she could sit back and see how this all played out. That was actually an intriguing thought... If Rosalyn insisted she not ccare, then maybe she should just... not care. A little smirk played across her lips at this thought. Maybe this wasn't such a terrible thing.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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whoa who ordered this novel smh

as if being deposed was not insult enough, firefly had instated rosalyn as leader besides him. part of caiaphas -- the mature, wiser part of her -- reminded herself that she was alpha no longer, that she was no longer in control, that progress was the natural order of things (and progress, oft as not, rolled over all in the process), and that her grudge with rosalyn long-standing as it was, had been the hatchet buried deep in the necks of drageda cur..

she sighed. over, onward, upward.

in retrospect she reminded herself this was a good thing. caiaphas, possibly one of the more storied alphas of the teekons, was not a wolf fit to rule despite how many times she had done so. she cared little for titles, cared less for the propriety surrounding them, and had more than once willingly overturned the mantle to more eager wolves. let them taste the bite of leadership, and learn that it did little but make their necks target for hungrier wolves.

so why did it bother her now?

possibly because it had been so damn unexpected; firefly had bloomed once he was in rusalka. perhaps that was her crowning achievement -- not that she had ruled several packs or been a master warrior or killed in the name of her pack, but that she had fostered an environment in which subjects could grow and become their best selves.

one such subject seemed as ill-pleased about the news as caiaphas: she watched as yami passed through the trees, clearly as preoccupied in thought as she. caiaphas had to admit she had not been a good leader to yami; she had introduced the girl to the pack, and then left her to the wolves.

perhaps now was a time to make amends for that - now that she suddenly and unexpectedly had free time on her hands.

she cleared her throat as she approached, sniffing the air casually. they were close enough to the perimeter of the forest that she didn't mind patrolling, if yami was so inclined.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#3
Yami had all but decided to return to the grotto to start poking about for some drama to witness when a distraction presented itself. She turned to set her gaze on the recently dethroned alpha - Caiaphas, in all her former glory. The Ostrega was instantly puzzled as to how to behave towards the woman now. She no longer had power over the pack, but did that mean she had no power at all?

When it came down to it, Caiaphas was the one who had given her a home. Yami wasn't going to forget that just because she wasn't alpha anymore. And anyway, power appeared to shift very easily in Rusalka. Caiaphas might be down today, but it didn't mean she'd stay down.

Tru would've been so proud of her right now.

She considered offering some sort of condolences, but it immediately sounded like a stupid idea. Not much else occurred to her to say in order to fill the silence, so she just looked at the woman and added a simple greeting to the quiet, "Hi."
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#4
there in yami's gaze, caiaphas perceived a brief flicker of uncertainty. perhaps in being recently decommissioned, the girl was unsure in which how to address her former alpha. to caiaphas, it didn't matter -- while her pride was stung, she knew leadership was not her niche, and she knew also she was a woman that hungered more for careful plots than pure power.

she smiled as reassuringly as she could - yami's simple hi was something she could work with. "hi. doing something fun?" the crone let her gaze questioningly pass over the agouti form of her packmate, as if suggesting she was bored and if yami deigned it acceptable, would like to accompany her.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#5
Yami wasn't entirely sure how to answer the question posed. What she'd been doing was walking around, thinking about how much it sucked that Caiaphas had been overthrown and now she had to obey Rosalyn. Did she dare confide that in Caiaphas herself? Maybe... but not yet.

'No, not really," she answered, looking off into the woods, "I was thinking about hunting or something." Yami gave a shrug. She never really knew what to do with herself these days, and she'd learned a long time ago that saying "hunting" was better than admitting she was being lazy and useless.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#6
while not privy to yami's thoughts, caiaphas too stewed over being usurped and then replaced by rosalyn. as yami shrugged and mentioned hunting, the siren glanced from the sequoia studded bosk to the flat tidal strand, as if looking then for easy prey.

"if it is hunting you are thinking of, we can scour the beach. i've a mind for seal, if you're willing to partake." ever one to keep herself busy, the crone began to shuffle for the beach, an ear cocked back to see if yami would follow.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#7
Caiaphas recommended they hunt, and though it wasn't what Yami originally intended to hunt, she nodded and joined the ride. She stepped lightly after the former alpha, a bit nervous of any potential conversations they might have, but very intrigued by what they would be hunting. She'd lied when she'd said she knew what seals were. She was just trying to save face with the alpha's daughter. And while she thought she suspected at this point which ones seals were after spending hours seated on that perch, staring down at the ocean in hopes of educating herself, she wasn't entirely certain she was guessing correctly.

As for the conversation bit, Yami was perfectly content to let silence fall between them. She had no idea what to fill it with. The only questions in her head were about Caiaphas's fall from grace. It was such a bizarre concept for a girl who had spent her life in a pack that had been run by her parents for the entirety of its existence. But that was one hella uncomfortable conversation she had no real desire to broach.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#8
yami was not the only one to savor the silence, though caiaphas' enjoyment of it came from different reasons. silence gave the shrew the opportunity to reflect, to dissect and disseminate her actions -- to rework and refabricate how things ought to have gone.

perhaps she had not fashioned the perfect system in rusalka - yami might just have a kernel of truth in being confused by the frequent ascensions. for one, usurpers often thrived on division -- which was not necessarily something caiaphas wished to have more of in the pack. for two, as much as chaos was an opportunity for clever wolves, it also made for unhappy and unstable packmates. the siren, for once in her life, wondered if it had been a mistake to make rusalka's reign so easily overturned.

before she could reflect much further, they were at the tidal flat. it was low tide, and while there were some seals milling about on the fringes, they were not particularly accessible -- and all appeared alert to their presence. the sylph's ears flicked to yami, wondering if she had ever hunted a seal. it did not even occur to her that the moonspearian did not know what a seal was. "there's a few stragglers over there," caiaphas indicated with a cant of her thin muzzle: "but they will likely slip into the water before we are close."
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#9
Ah, she had been right. Yami peered at the creatures before them, glancing at Caiaphas for validation that the weird, rubber, winged tube animals were in fact seals. She'd seen them on the beaches during her scientific expeditions there and had assumed as much. But seeing as she couldn't just walk up and ask them what they were, she hadn't been certain until now.

Which meant she definitely had no idea how to hunt them. She frowned and looked at her former alpha. "What do we do then?" she asked, thinking of Firefly's tactic for hunting birds and wondering if it might work in this scenario.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#10
crouching low to the ground and motioning for yami to do the same, caiaphas explained. "seal are not a meal we are naturally entitled to. they are stronger than us, and very clever. not like deer or elk, which spook at their own shadow. seals -- well, they're as close to us as something from the water would be." she glanced to see if yami was following, and then inched a little closer to where the seals were sunbathing on the rocks.

"they can be fast on land, but are faster in water. once they reach water, they escape every time. the best way to take them down is to hunt only their whelps -  or, if you can find one, an older one too sick or tired to swim."

she paused again, scanning the shore - none appeared to be whelps, and none appeared sick. "it is unlikely our hunt today will be successful, but you can at least learn something from it. its best to work in groups of four, i have found -- two to block egress to the water, and two to spook the seal into their jaws. it takes four to hold an average one down, and they are powerful with teeth just as sharp as ours. i usually go for their tail flippers - otherwise, you might get bitten."
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#11
Yami watched the creatures flop around on the shore, finding it very difficult to believe Caiaphas when she spoke of them being fast on land or water. They were so fat, and they looked stupid. And how the crap were they supposed to move with spoons for paws? Spoons that were attached directly to their sides without legs in between to help them stand?

Her incredulous disbelief was painted plainly on her face, and Yami didn't even try to remove it. Caiaphas went on to essentially explain that their hunt was doomed to fail for a myriad of reasons, but for some reason, having no hope whatsoever of accomplishing anything was deemed to be just fine. Apparently doing things that were a complete waste of time and energy with a high risk of getting beat on and torn apart by sharp teeth was "a good learning experience".

Literally everyone in this pack is crazy. It's official.

Yami was smart enough to keep the commentary to herself, though. Instead, she just glanced sidelong at Caiaphas and once again said, "So... what do we do then?"
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#12
it was not hard to catch the disbelief that stole across yami's face; it was practically tangible, the outright way her incredulity melted from her muzzle, simmering in the yellow ringlets of her gaze. caiaphas sniggered, glancing back to the sunning masses.

so, what do we do then?

"why don't you try to go up to one?" she suggested, pointing her thin muzzle in the direction of a rather fat cow that lingered on the fringes of the group. the cow's round back was turned to them, one flipper hanging lazily in the air as she fanned herself -- she would make a fine first target for a budding huntress, or at the very least would show yami just how fast a land-sausage could be. "just.. mind the flukes."
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#13
The ridiculous comments just kept coming. Yami's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Caiaphas's recommendation. Go up to one? After all the talk of their strength and their teeth, the best this woman had for her was to just walk on up to one of them? And what the fuckin' fuck were flukes??

Yami was not convinced that this wasn't some kind of setup. However, she was convinced of her own talents when it came to speed and agility. These rubber things couldn't possibly keep up with her, so she felt rather assured of herself as she stepped forward after giving Caiaphas a very skeptical sidelong glance.

She trotted along the wet sand, hopping artfully around the rocks that littered her path. The seals didn't seem overly perturbed by her, though she did see some eyes turning to watch her warily. It wasn't until she was a couple dozen yards away from it that the cow she'd targeted looked over and planted its gaze squarely upon her. Its expression seemed bored, and oddly smug... Yami paused and glanced doubtfully back over her shoulder at Caiaphas.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#14
the siren was sure in the next few moments that yami would come to the unpleasant realization that this old crone was not pulling her leg. she sat down in the sand, her tail curled around her toes as her sharp gaze followed yami's approach.

the cow yami lingered near had seen her arrival, but did very little. more than once, caiaphas caught yami's furtive glances back to her -- each time, the sylph encouraged the young girl with a flick of her wrist as if to say well, get on with it, then.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#15
Caiaphas was apparently determined to be of no help to her whatsoever. Yami's ears flattened as she frowned and turned back to the cow, who continued to watch her with weirdly intelligent eyes. She continued forward a few more feet, her own attention beginning to sharpen as she grew more and more uneasy about that look she was being given. It didn't look like it was about to lunge at her (not that it looked like it even could), but still... Something didn't feel right.

Yami was about six feet away from the seal when she heard a bellow. The girl went rigid with anxiety and surprise as she blinked at the cow, confused as all hell because it hadn't even opened its mouth. Movement out of the corner of her eye quickly solved that little mystery as the bulky form of the bull came lumbering at her from the side.

Yami made a sound somewhere between a yip and a squeal as she spun away and sprang, scrambling over the rocks. Apparently the witch had been right, they could move decently fast on land. Fuckin' great. Fortunately, Yami in her fear was faster, though equally uncoordinated at that moment. She shortly left the bull in the dust and it gave up the chase, slowing to a stop and continuing to bellow indignantly as Yami flew across the shore back towards Caiaphas.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#16
she offered little help, though her shrewd gaze lingered on the water-wolves; they were privy to yami's advancement, and an old bull had raised its head from the sleeping masses to stalk her movement. caiaphas prepared to move, knowing what came next -- the bull let loose a sounding roar, and in logic-defying speed, gave chase to the predator in their midst.

unsurprisingly, yami was unprepared for the terror a water-cow could summon. she nimbly was off, running in full-fledged strides towards caiaphas. the look on her face was too priceless to ignore -- the crone loosened a delighted cackle, and skipped off into a lope as yami overtook her.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#17
If Yami had any doubt that Caiaphas had known all along what had likely been in store for her, it was quickly extinguished by the mocking laugh that sounded as she ran. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she slowed to a stop upon reaching what she deemed to be a safe distance away from their prey and wheeled around to look at the former alpha. She didn't say anything, just stared, expecting either an explanation, or for Caiaphas to just go right on cackling as she ran straight past her and left her behind. Neither would've surprised her at that point.

This might be the worst post I've ever made lol. Ima leave it.
Ghost
in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs
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Ooc — lauren
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#18
shush, nonsense. <3 thank you for the thread.

oh, this prank was definitely deliberate. the good news was, yami was unscathed.. well, relatively. her pride was sorely wounded, but pride had a funny way of bouncing back in a way a body could not. she would be fine in a few days.

caiaphas did not stop as yami whirled around and glared accusingly at her. "come - we have more lessons to learn." the sylph intoned, trotting swiftly past. if yami followed, caiaphas might indulge her in a hunt lesson or two before sunset. if yami didn't, she'd probably have an early meal and call it a successful day.
this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.
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#19
Yami gave Caiaphas an incredulous look when the woman asked her to continue following. Was she serious? Was she seriously freaking serious? She very nearly obeyed in spite of herself before remembering that the witch was no longer her alpha. She promptly decided against the whole treating-her-with-respect route she'd taken at the beginning of this encounter and shook her head.

"I think I've learned enough for one day," Yami replied, not bothering to hide her anger as she turned on her heel and stomped off in the opposite direction. She wasn't sure if Caiaphas's intention had been to teach her to hunt or teach her she couldn't be trusted. Either way, it was a major fucking success.

<333