Ankyra Sound The posse caught up with me, and drug me back to Muskogee

<3 !

The last few days, Raleska had been a rather busy Rusalkan. Her usual routine of attending the borders had been uninterrupted, but in the afternoons she was scarce and hard to find. The girl was hard at work, collecting what bits and things she could -- like an industrious little honey bee, Raleska seemed to flit in and out of the Grotto. She had even managed to ensnare the begrudging assistance of her mother in these endeavors, having been caught red-handed by the irritable siren a few days before.

The hare she had left @Grezig had been consumed; Raleska smiled as she dropped a second one outside the matriarch's den. She would see to it that each day, a small meal was left - be it caught by her own striving teeth or scavenged from their caches. She knew Grezig did not much like the beach, so she refrained from aquatic cuisine - leaving instead any hapless hare or vole she managed to catch during her excursions.

At @Rosalyn's and @Erzulie's den the girl paused, canting an ear to listen to the squeaking lives within. Several times she visited the whelp-mother's den, depositing a new trinket each time.

For Rosalyn, the girl left a sprig of blueberries -- the berries on its gnarled twigs were not quite ripe, but she hoped they might suffice. Placed within its branches was a complete nest, with three seagull eggs tucked gingerly inside (Raleska had no easy time obtaining these, much to her mother's cackling delight -- more than once she had been divebombed by irate gulls, and her muzzle was pocked and swollen).

For Erzulie, who Raleska did not know with the same intimacy, the girl left a deerskin pelt that had been tucked in the Grotto for time immemorial. Rolled within it was a gristly chunk of harbor seal from hers and @Svalinn's latest hunt.

For each of the puppies, Raleska had devised small things in which she hoped they would come to enjoy or play with -- or, knowing puppies and siblings, squabble, fight, and steal over. 

For @Scarab, the girl left two long porcupine quills and the slender tuft of turkey tailfeather. One of her favorite chew-toys as a pup had been the quills dispensed by her mother.

For @Marisol, a seal's dried flipper and a sand-dollar. A flipper was a precious commodity for those lucky enough to have them - a fun tug-of-war toy for endless hours of amusement.

For @Reyes, an old well-worn chew-bone and a seagull's wing. Bone to strengthen his jaws and a light wing in which to flaunt in front of his siblings.

For @Nieve, a horse-shoe crab's carapace filled with little seaside trinkets: kelp, crab legs, and smooth pebbles (pls don't choke on this). The kelp was crunchy and delightful to play in, while she thought the sea-worn pebbles beautiful.

For @Clementine, two soft doe ears and a sprig of wildflower. Doe ears had been a rarity while she was a pup, and their velveteen skin was often a delicacy to chew.

Stepping back to inspect her carefully arranged wares, Raleska glanced to the den one last time before she quickly sped off, hoping to remain undetected.