The Heartwood and i pray to god you dont come back here anymore

AW, particularly NWs

whoever said the road home was often the sweetest, had clearly never traveled a day in caiaphas' shoes. exhausted, starved, and run down to the finest of fragile threads, caiaphas continued onward.

only to be

stopped


at every

fucking

turn.

the newest in the world's upheavals made the old tunnels she knew from blackfeather completely collapsed -- that, being her ticket home, spelled out certain demise for the siren queen. with large game now but a whisper, caiaphas knew her energies would have to be carefully stored. she could risk little, and lose too much -- particularly as the snows drove in.

standing there with her fur covered in ash, caiaphas looked down the heart-land -- where big salmon lake fanned out in distant, glinting fingers. where vercingetorix drew his last breath. resolved then not to starve, caiaphas considered the unpalatable.. and started making her way towards where she had seen the gab-bag last.

there was nothing to fucking eat, and even less to torment. the old lust was rising in merrick again; he had not been truly satisfied by ending the savage man, and wanted something more to replace that terrifying time.
redemption.
ash had begun to fall from the skies, and no wolf among the nightwalkers went unscathed. he woke to it, slept amid the flakes, breathed the grey, choked air.
and now he roved out, hunger having truly become a force in his life, one he could no longer ignore. meat must to be had, and at this point, merrick was not discerning.
a spindly creature skulked toward the lake; merrick followed its progression with his single interested eye, gathering what details were to be had before he stalked in the same direction.
curiosity cut through hunger, for now.

His patrols had grown in distance. As the tremors continued to grow in ferocity, so did his temper and need to protect what little prey they had. He scoured the neutral lands, claiming them as his own, in the name os Nightwalkers and Moonspear - to anyone who dared to hunt of their lands would meet his wrath. Should he find any group gathering, he was not imprudent enough to not take it back to the Haunted Woods and gather the troops to invade the trespassers. 

As he reached the scorched lands, his attention turned onto an unfamiliar figure in the distance, and one that he did recognize who was stalking after her. Merrik already had his eyes on the woman, but that did not mean Vengeance would not too and join in on this little escapade. 

For now, he was behind the younger man, watching as to see what the boy had in mind when it came to this stranger - unbeknownst to the Warlord... this woman was the bitch who had caused so much frustration just months ago in Rusalka. What would happen once he found out about her identity? The strings of fate were fickle and cruel and only time would tell of what would become of this interaction...

onward she went to the lake, lead by flurries of ash which seemed to fall down in pale sheets of white. caiaphas was alone for a time, but knew when her solitude ended. old enough now to have seen many summers (and many crueler winters) caiaphas gave no notion she knew she was being followed  -- until abruptly, when she sensed the lurking marauder too close, drew around with a lavish snap of her fangs.

"you best find other pickings, boy." the crone snarled, rueful gaze forbidding any further advancement. she might be small, and older than many -- but caiaphas was damned if she'd let a skulking dog be the end of her.

then she noticed a troubling vision: a far larger beast lurking in the distance.

pride, insufferable pride, compelled her to lift her chin and harden her gaze. either they were following her out of idle curiosity, or they were hungry -- and in these times, the latter was far more likely. "i'm going to the lake. you may accompany me, but if you try anything -- you'll end up like the bastard i'm visiting. dead and marinating in your own intestines." time alone and starvation had stripped most of the tact from caiaphas -- she stood there before the two of them aware of her odds, and ready to fight until the bitter end.

the flash of her fangs halted the boy; he was impressed by the old woman's fierce response when her neck could be so easily snapped. tongue lolled; he became aware that they were not alone.
vengeance lurked. this annoyed merrick rather than empowered him; he would have preferred to be left alone during his pursuit of this particular game.
the lake. intestines.
could it be?
the boy's single eye burned; lips trembled with an excitement he did not bother to hide. "let me guess," merrick purred, tongue slipping to lave dry lips. 
"big dark man, scarred throat?" he truly was guessing now, thrumming on hope's edge he was correct.
"i ripped his guts out, old lady. don't fuck with me."

Even when the jig was up, the woman turned and snapped at Merrik, addressing Vengeance as well in the distance - he marched on at a steady pace, slowly closing the distance between himself and the other two just enough so he could hear the conversation, but far enough as to not physically be in the same circle as them. With knowledge came power - and if Vengeance liked anything at all, it was power. 

So he let Merrik take the wheel as he already did. Speaking of a big dark man with a scar on his throat. It sounded an awful lot like Vercingetorix, but he couldn't be certain until the name would be muttered by either of them. If it were him, the Warlord was interested in knowing how they knew of him (unaware of just how popular the fucking guy was). 

For now he remained silent, listening.

the boy's tongue lolled in response; caiaphas noted this with a dulled smile.

so he was the maker of vercingetorix's end. she ought to deliver him blessings on a gilded platter, really -- but this was not the time for accolades.

her time, it seemed, ran short.

"did you now?" the siren apprised in singsong voice, making no bid to hide the approval in her tone. meanwhile, she kept both the boy and his stalker in her vision. "well --" and here she bent down, lambent yellow eyes flashing with foul mirth -- "i was the one that put that fucking scar there." she briefly lifted her muzzle, exposing raw flesh where no fur grew -- the last living thing to remain of vercingetorix besides his children.

more hound of baskerville in this moment than charming grandmother, caiaphas addressed her party with a flick of her tail. "i'm hungry. you can tell me how you managed to kill an old enemy of mine, while we walk." keeping her chin high, and ears upon the man in the back, caiaphas motioned for merrick to lead the way. "shall we?"

at once he was accepted; the boy's single eye widened in surprise, then narrowed with suspicion. she had not even fought his claim where another might find it spurious, and confirmed it was indeed the same man.
history between them; merrick relaxed, regarding the haggard shrew with a modicum of respect. curiosity cutting now through his deeper need; and she did not know it.
so she would go to plunder his body. merrick fell into careful step with the woman, enthralled by the sudden knowledge that they were bonded in such a bloody way.
"we knew each other," merrick murmured. "he didn't watch his kid very well." dire flash of teeth as he left the rawboned she-wolf to imagine what he had done there.
"he hunted me for it. found me finally. didn't expect the end, i suppose," the yearling added, preening before he realized it was in chase of a new sensation: approval.

<3 skipping per noki!

long ago caiaphas had learned the art of scrying liar from truth-teller. she had seen vercingetorix dead himself -- she had known of his entrails, and how they colluded with water, turning it toxic, turning it brown.. either merrick had done the deed as he said he had, or he was a remarkable storyteller, intrepid in piecing together what he believed his audience wished to hear.

hinging her bets on the fact he was indeed vercingetorix's end (for how else could one explain the intimacy in the details?), caiaphas nodded as the boy spoke of vercingetorix's final minutes. "did he suffer?" the crone hummed, hopeful --

vercingetorix had left her to die.

any suffering he had endured, would not be enough to redeem that final betrayal.

she kept one ear -- the untorn one -- focused behind her, where vengeance stalked like a panther. she did not like his silence, but she would address him later. he was packmate, from what she could tell -- perhaps he served as dutiful guard, if she turned hostile.

"so young to be a killer.." caiaphas marveled, having caught the need that danced in merrick's singular eye, screamed from the way he hedged himself close, and spoke readily of crimes many good folk would blanch in horror from. "a shame you were not one of my own". the comment may have seemed saccharine, but caiaphas had often lamented the softness of her children -- only she did what ought to be done.

"did you kill his kid?" here caiaphas drew her hoping gaze upon the kill-monger, breath baited -- and in that vein, while she waited his answer she spoke again. "his name was vercingetorix. you should remember the names of the lives you steal. he was my enemy once -- then packmate, but never stopped being my enemy."

the welcome in the woman's voice was almost too great for him to bear; her voice rustled over him, wet silk upon stone, rasped with age.
and yet within the tones spiraled the sound he had most wished from anyone in the world, something indra had never provided, something astara's mute throat could not.
merrick was hopelessly smitten, lured — he wished with a sudden desperation that he too had sprung from her decrepit loins and been birthed into the role he now assumed: hunter of his own kind. would he then suffer so?
a brief flicker of unadulterated lust shone in his gaze; merrick nodded. "yes. broke his bones, threw him over a cliff." breathless, wanting, teeth flashing in a timid smile.
vercingetorix. merrick nodded, committing the title to name
i killed indra
i killed my mother
not now not now soft soft soft
"a shame you weren't there to see him die so badly," merrick purled flirtatiously. "next time. he has a daughter, too."

this was a dark boy, caiaphas decided -- far darker than her own blood. perhaps, if she had borne better, this might have been her son; this malformed, delightful soul that had been the end of a wolf she had long wished to see perish..

"good." caiaphas answered succinctly, a glimmer of a smile flashing and gone from her withered muzzle. one down, two down -- and now... one more to go.

"where is his daughter?" she asked, walking with a slow step that disguised the intensity in which she needed to know such things. she had killed (she thought) easthollow's brood for their crime -- and now, she came for vercingetorix's brood.

after all, the debt had not yet been paid. vercingetorix had lost his life -- but it did not yet settle him in the eyes of caiaphas' ruthless house. no -- not until all memory of him was stricken, all children killed, would she move on from her vendetta.

"a place called kaistleoki, last i knew," merrick volunteered with an eagerness he could not hide. "i tracked him there." to prove himself, to no one other than merrick alone.
the woman had not asked for introductions; the young wolf saw no reason to hinder their progress by decamping to small talk. and so he kept up his pace, vengeance trailing the two silently.
for the first time, merrick truly appraised his companions, her wounds, the general malaise that cling to her like a tick. "are you coming with me then?" he wondered aloud, eye slanting sideways. she wished the girl dead as well; how had she come to command his trust so quickly?

Edit: I have had previous OOC permission to join this thread, for anyone concerned.
Please skip Andy until (or if) you'd like for her to be noticed.

Ash, if earthembers;
sifting from a sky so near to deep darkness. It had been hours since the stricken has gone from the briars; and instead had wound her way to the Heartswood, for it had been here last that she had been blest enough to ensnare some manner of quarry. These heavens had struck so very nearly all from her; and in quiet moments such as this, her countenance was softened, hollow-eyed. Again bodement, as she wonders if she might return to that place where she had forbidden herself to sup from waters only some days past.

Even in death, he divided her;
yet even still did he deserve burial. Andraste has only thought of it, of course; for she has naught the might to move the father of her first brood herself, nor majesty to exhume the earth in some decent and honorable way. Mother, if only by blood—
( notagainneveragain )
—her somnolent wrath aslumber even as her soul streaked from her, heard faintly the words of this diabolical meet—!
( NamewasVercingetorix;brokehisbones;
daughter;whereisshe—? )

Dragomir; Isilmë; hers; not hers;
nevermind the way her dark dragon had last looked upon her; she would not ever forgive the queen upon the Moonspire should this enlivened dread skulk through the very stone for claimance. 

Her ruined masque did not shift, howe'er, as Andraste stept as spectre through the mists;
donning them as mantle; the silence as slippers. She could not hope to ghost amongst bloodwraiths—
—but she could lurk, linger, and learn for a precious time.

kaisteloki. the name meant little to caiaphas; she would have to press for more information later.

they were a while yet from the lake — caiaphas moved in step with merrick, never once at ease. never once betraying her unease. the man behind her was silent — it was he she was most concerned with. merrick, striving pupil seeking approval, would be easy to bend to her whims.. the ghost behind her, however...

yes.. after a meal.. caiaphas answered readily, wondering if merrick too would turn tail as vercingetorix had. she sought to put an end to that one and all, yet somehow, she thought this delightful demon was cut from a different cloth than vercingetorix, and perhaps not so easily turned pale. vercingetorix left me to die once — on a similar mission. tell me you will not do the same. she looked fullbore into his remaining eye, unblinking.

Silently he strolled along. His pace slow, steady - they were slow ahead and he made no efforts to catch up to them, instead, his long strides struggled to keep himself behind them at a good pace. Ears pressed forward as he listened to every word, now he was simply waiting for them to eat anything around before interjecting, banning the woman from eating any of their food - but something else caught his immediate attention. 

Everything clicked. 

"did you kill his kid?"

"he was my enemy once -- then packmate, but never stopped being my enemy."

"vercingetorix left me to die once — on a similar mission. —"

The world fell silent. His pace ended. And a growl began to roll free from his lips, an excited smile drawing across his crooked lips. Caiaphas. The name rolled off his tongue in a breathy tone. After five long months, he finally met the woman who was his first alpha and yet only now did he have a face to the bitch who had caused so much fucking frustration in a moment he just needed repose. 

The hairs along his spine rose in excitement. At long last. My Alpha.

jaws parted to confirm he wasn't quick to shrink away from anything; in fact, indra lingered ipon the tip of his tongue. merrick was stalled, however, by vengeance' sudden hiss, turning to face the warlord as the brute's attention fastened itself to the woman.
caiaphas 
locking her title within his mind, merrick watched vengeance carefully, scarcely believing the sense of guardianship that had arisen in him upon sensing the darkness lurking in the larger male's tonality.

so long they had traveled without the copperbacked companion speaking, that caiaphas had surmised him mute. when his voice sounded behind, caiaphas slid to a decided halt, a neat pirouette done so she faced him.

she disliked this situation; this matted stranger had the advantage of knowledge she was ignorant to. her tail flicked, gaze curling round to merrick, who like her had drawn to sudden attention.

my reputation must precede me. the siren queen purled, noting not the silvery argent in the shadows. her gaze was fastened on the ragged leviathan, waiting — and half expecting some dire outcome.

Sluggishly he stepped forward one stride.

The world around him had gone quiet. He paid no mind to Merrik's guard, to the woman in white who stalked along the wayside. To the breeze that ran through the meadow or the ash falling from the sky that held his attention to tightly for the last few days. 

It was only him... and her. 

I wonder... His mind was a whir with that to do. Should he finalize the woman's fate here and now, bulldoze over Merrik and finally crush her windpipe in his grip - report back to Raleska that her fucking mother had passed away. It would put the young lady at ease finally, and perhaps she would focus on her damn pack. 

He took another plodding step forward... 

Have you seen Raleska recently? Or do you keep your daughter guessing about your current state after all this time? What about Illidan? Legs quivering with zeal. He could barely contain himself just to stand here for a moment longer - but what if. 

What if he took advantage of this reunion and her little family for bringing her home... Or he could just finish the fucking job Vercingetorix failed to do over and over again.

a child of extremes, merrick was immediately angered by vengeance's posturing toward caiaphas. it mattered not what she had done, only who she had become to the boy in this moment.
indescribable the rich glissade of sensation butting sharply against his budding rage; merrick made no move yet, but his singular eye was fixed upon vengeance, body coiled to move quickly.

the ragged hound skulked close. until that moment caiaphas had simply regarded his presence as an unwanted inconvenience — and now, his barbed words earned her unbridled contempt.

and caiaphas’ contempt was a terrible thing to earn.

her gums curled back at the name of her children. so he knew them — so what. if he had paid any attention to the state the wilds, he would have known returning to rusalka was not as simple as trotting down the old deer path.. not when that deer path was under sixty tonnes of mountain rubble.

merrick was not forgotten, but caiaphas’ focus was now on vengeance nearly entirely. if she was going to have to kill him, so be it. he’d just be another dead body and unmarked grave behind her. you must think yourself clever. caiaphas returned, a smoothness to her tone and gaze that did not bode well for the man. almost all men thought themselves clever — and very few measured up to their high opinion of themselves in caiaphas’ experience. or very silly. did you not notice the landslide to the north of us? she could humor him a bit longer, she decided — it was not as if this wasn’t the third or fourth time in a month someone had tried to kill her. caiaphas was starting to become desensitized to the whole thing, frankly. apparently, just another day at the office. the way to rusalka is shut. since you know their names, and neither would be friendly with an outsider, i assume for a time you were their friend. and here you are, smelling nothing of them and terribly far from home.. who is to say, you did not abandon them too? hard to keep tabs when you’re in the middle of west-fuck-land with collapsed mountains on all side. if you asked me my assumption, i’m going to wager you did the same to them our buddy in the water did.  what is to stop me now from putting you to the dirt just like vercingetorix?

caiaphas did not need to step closer to make her intent clear — it simmered viciously in her hawkbit eyes.

The landslide wasn't there for five months. He answered simply, all the while still he crept closer... Her answer was long-winded and there was more to come. TL:DR as far as he knew, the answer was "no" to put simply. She had not seen any of them recently, and they still thought of her possibly dead. 

Good.

As she flashed her own fangs, Vengeance immediately did the same. Lips peeling back to reveal the thick yellowing fangs.

Maybe today he would make that a reality - should Merrick stay out of his fucking way. Do them both a favor and stay dead. He spoke over her rebuttal not even halfway through and began to charge forward. Clearly he had no interest in arguing with an old hag and instead, should Merrick decide to barricade the woman, he would charge forward through he boy with every intention of grabbing the woman's face or neck and ending her miserable life. 

Hackles raised and ears back, he didn't know how this would come out - judging by Merrick's expression he was certain it would be him against the two of them. But that did not stop him, who knew when the next time this woman would be in his presence, he would take the chance to kill her now.

there was a small part of merrick still wolf; it cowed momentarily beneath the terrible power of his leader. 
while he had trailed their horrid banter to the back of his mind for safekeeping, he himself had remained visceral, reactive. what had vengeance given him aside from a home? that could be had anywhere; he was cunning enough to find entry where it mattered.
in a full, flush moment, merrick's loyalty shifted to caiaphas; he loved astara, but would let no harm come to the old woman if he was able.
hardly understanding, aware that vengeance could fling him aside paperlike, merrick nevertheless grit his teeth at the other's forward surge and rushed to meet it with a terrible snarl.

she would not entertain the male with the details of her haggard plight -- much of which was beyond her control -- but it appeared she would not have to.

the beast rounded, lurching forward. caiaphas marked each step, measured each stride -- readying for merrick too to turn against her.

yet he didn't -- and these seconds would be vengeance's last, unless he quickly swerved away.

she was no longer wounded, no longer the victim of her injuries. hard miles had made for hard muscles, hard mind, hard teeth -- nimbly the siren pivoted her body from his trajectory, waiting with that measured discipline of a wolf well-schooled in killing.

and then, should vengeance plow through merrick's advancement with reckless cause heedless of his own doomed fate, he would find the siren deflecting neatly to his flank, low and full of teeth.

The first to be granted his wrath was the boy, Merrick, who decided to stand in his way. With every pound behind his charge, he aimed to level the boy and meet his snarl with a flurry of fangs to whatever would be attempted to block his attack. The traitor would be dealt with first, out of the way, dead or not it didn't matter to the Warlord. Being a part of the Nightwalkers did not mean he would go easy on any member who decided to block his path to something he desired at any moment - and for now, the boy would meet who the Warlord truly was. A ruthless, brutal and merciless beast. 

At his flank, the witch already made her own move and dug her fangs into his tender flesh. Something he would deal with later - the pain stung his core, fueled his rage and desire to rid himself of Merrick as soon as possible so he may finish the crusty hag as soon as his path was free. But he would not make her time easy back there, thrusting his knee he aimed to slam into her cheek by keeping his toes on the ground as to stop himself from being toppled over.

He would use his height and weight to his advantage in these two vs one fight as much as he possibly could. Defensively he tucked his tail between his legs, protecting his underbelly, jewels and somewhat the tail itself as it was less likely to be targetted. Bending his elbows and knees just enough to keep his center of gravity low.

It didn't matter how it looked - he would minimize the wounds he'd receive. His pride did not come at a cost of his victory or injuries.  

Quick recap to make fight understanding easier!! Vengeance attacks Merrick with intent to kill, attempting to trample him and biting anything Merrick chooses to defend himself with. Takes damage from Caiaphas at flank. He goes to knee her in the face, keeping his toes on the ground so he's not easily pushed over.

he had only just recovered from his clash with vercingetorix; now merrick found himself horribly assailed by vengeance. the heavy muzzle dipped, slashed; he caught the warlord's teeth deep in his shoulder, and was bowled sideways.
streaming blood from a wound that lay exposed the muscle, merrick cried out and sought to wrench away from his now former leader, hoping that caiaphas would fare far better than he even as agony coursed through every inch of his sinewy young body.