Ankyra Sound i got to take what i’m making, and turn it into something for you.

so the wraith sped from rusalka, the taste of iron and defeat stunning her senses. by instinct alone she returned to where it all began; the coast - ankyra.

as caiaphas stood upon the shattered lip of a cliff that had once been part of drageda, she looked down upon the wreckage of the sound. a bitter laugh pealed from her lips, lonesome and unsettling — had she known this would be the order of her life when she first set foot in ankyra, would she ever had dared live at all?

so much had changed. the grotto was swallowed in saltwater. the cliffs that hugged the sound had tumbled down. nereides, ankyra, grimnismal, rusalka. how many iterations had lived and died here, how many lives?

she thought of raleska; how she had turned from her blood and denied her birthright. many times caiaphas had felt the knife square in her back - yet she had never expected betrayal in the form of her own blood. cursing rosalyn and rusalka as a whole, the crone set her back against a column of upended stone and stared in shellshocked silence across the cold bay. grimly caiaphas swore, she would never love — or trust — again.

A whole taiga for her taking, she had found.  The wolves there were sparse, and so was the prey, but she found she could thrive herself because it seemed there were few to compete with.  It was ideal and, soon, she would claim some piece of it for her own.

But before then, Kiwi wandered.  

She needed warriors.  Those who wouldn't question her in any real way and who would respect her.  She knew she could lead, and at this point was frustrated with the lack of wolves willing to see the same.  It was time to head south once more, careful to avoid the Firebirds (for now) and see if she could change that.  

She was older now, after all.

Naturally, the first place she strayed was her old home.  The coast was a mess, and portions of Drageda were forever changed, but the cliffs rose strong.  No one was there.  Kiwi's curiosity was piqued, and she cautiously made her way south, to the land of the woman who had threatened her.  The lack of claim made her bold, but when she spotted a familiar shape, her celebration turned to scorn.

You.  There was a razor bite to the word, but her fur didn't lift.  She had lost her fleeting interest in the cliffs... the woman could have the coast, from where she stood.  She'd outgrown her need to prove herself to adults who, in the end, had never even proven themselves to be enough. 

Any threats for me now? she asked instead, and her tail flicked up somewhat tauntingly.  She didn't quite smile, but the second statement held a self-satisfied tone.  She had no pack behind her now; Kiwi had no reason to be afraid here.

twice now, caiaphas had been betrayed by blood. the realization of life's twisted ironies (and fate's fickle sense of humor) dawned upon caiaphas slowly. that it would all start and end here...

suddenly she was laughing, laughing. at herself and her follies. at her dead enemies. at the seemingly fatal wound in her heart - laughing at it all - life, chances, kismet. whoever sat in that overworld throne must have looked down with great mirth upon caiaphas' mortal struggles -- and now she was breaking, laughing, breaking in two.

a wolf came besides her. caiaphas' laughter died to a slow trickle, her madman's eyes resting on kiwi. ah, the girl from the cliffs that had tried to make that stony fortress her home anew. wellt what did she make of all this now, months later, with rusalka and drageda both no longer standing against one another, and half the cliff sunk into the sea? did she find it funny, too?

"no." caiaphas answered simply, still sitting down as if unable to trust her legs to support her. somehow, she did not believe they would if she tried. "two enemies met in the woods, and i ---" well... kiwi could probably parse together the rest. a mirthless smile followed. had the siren finally cracked?

Kiwi took an immediate step back, and her tail and her head both lifted with scorn as Caiaphas began to cackle and spout some maddened drivel.  To think she'd been so afraid of this woman at one time, and had sought to raise an army to route her.  Here they were, one clearly out of her mind, the other returned to take what was hers.

That thought was so immensely satisfying that a wide, condescending smile settled in to place across Kiwi's face.  And you... are clearly not worth it.  She responded smugly.  And then she did laugh.

I thought maybe I'd invite you to join me, but I think you'd slow me down.  There was no room in her ranks for the unsound of mind... imperfection would be hard to find, but she'd get as close as she could.  It was tempting to take revenge, almost.  But attacking Caiaphas would gain her nothing and she could not afford the injuries it might bring.

caiaphas' jaws shut with a clap, a slicing view of that old clarity rising to her hard-grit eyes. kiwi's smug smile, it was so condescending -- yet it did not rifle caiaphas' feathers as she studied the woman up and down, another snigger pressed from her muzzle.

"ah." she replied, feigning dejection with a curl of her lips. "fate is a funny thing. here i am visiting a beach i have not seen in months, and you appear." she gestured towards the crumbling sound, another snicker flitting from her mouth. "i think you need more more than i need you. but run along then, if that is your wish." caiaphas's mirth had faded, transcending to something eerily cold and without joy. stonily, she turned her gaze from kiwi and stared out at the impassive sea, gaze as distant as her galloping thoughts.

At times Kiwi's age still shone through, and it did so now with the semi defensive bristle of her shoulders.  I don't need you, she cut across, then seemed to recognize that with a rash reaction came doubt.  It showed the words had landed.

She was sure she didn't, but attempts to recruit had not gone well.  She and @Yami hadn't found a single soul willing or worthwhile to join them, not since departing.  Her second was still out looking, and Kiwi was secretly desperate to pull together something before she returned.  She'd hinted that the recruiting trip was a trial for her friend, but the truth was she was on trial as well.  She wasn't about to fail.

Unless you think you have something to offer me.  There was no mistaking the interest. She wouldn't go so far as to ask, but she would offer.  Two very, very different things.

caiaphas had hit a nerve. her younger form would have relished to see a blow so cleanly placed -- but caiaphas was old, tired -- what once seemed tantamount victories now seemed pale, inconsequential acts in the orderless chaos that was life.

she stifled a threadbare smile, and it was not in scorn -- the gesture seemed almost bittersweet the way the smile rose and withered away, like the soft memory of a summer rose gone to rot. "you trust too easily." caiaphas intoned, her voice husky yet free of judgment. "i once did the same also."

now came the crippled laugh, all mirth cut down by poignant sorrow. "i should have never trusted a dragedan -- and you -- should never trust a rusalkan. what if i had said yes, and devised to kill you after i had earned your trust? a younger me would have loved this long game -- and believe me, i could have played it. trust no one.

no one can be trusted."

at this caiaphas fell into an eerie silence, her solemn gaze cast elsewhere -- an immeasurable grief seemed to stir under the surface of her countenance, at once pristine in its closeness, and then seconds later, far away.

When Caiaphas responded, Kiwi's surprise was completely genuine.  You think that I'm giving you trust? She asked, half mocking, half honestly incredulous.  Either you give yourself too much credit or you give me too little.  I learned that lesson a long time ago.  She trusted no one but perhaps her inner circle and Caiaphas, she could promise, would never make that list.

You can use what you don't trust.  You just use it carefully.  She added, blatantly careless, as though speaking of a rock or a stick.  She wasn't here to play to Caiaphas' sense of self importance.  She wouldn't bow her head to those she led or lie to them about the roles they held.  It wasn't in her to sow falsehoods if those lies made her seem less as a result.

You would be welcome to try.  And I would be welcome to kill you in return.  That was how packs worked, yeah?  Nothing prevented anyone from taking control.  She'd just need to prove to be enough to prevent it.

caiaphas' singular ear twitched, turned dourly towards the woman. it seemed she had misunderstood, on some level, the invitation -- but caiaphas also did not believe in the mantra of keeping friends close, and enemies closer. she preferred her enemies at a distance - where they could not sneak up behind her and firmly thrust the knife into her back.

"you should not keep your enemies close." was all the siren offered in return. personally, she preferred her enemies dead -- not alive, and living among her keep.

this was perhaps, the only kindness caiaphas would ever do for a dragedan.

The warning she received had a note of finality to it that spoke with a resounding no, and Kiwi decided she would let it settle at that then.  The woman likely would have proven more problem than asset anyway.

If you are so set on holding your enemies, then fine.  But I've left their weakness behind.  I have more important goals than keeping their grudges.  She bared her teeth, then turned.  Enjoy your ghosts.

She began to walk away, listening but not once turning back.  If her 'enemy' chose to remain here and look backwards, it was none of her concern.  She had a legacy of her own to build.

as kiwi strode away, laughter rose behind her.

perhaps the siren had finally snapped -- or perhaps she had finally made the mortal connection those with nothing to lose were forced to make: the absolute futility of that dogged thing called living.

caiaphas' mocking laughter did not cease until well after kiwi slipped from view. the crone, the rusalkan, the siren -- whatever title she held now, it was not just grudge-holder - and perhaps, kiwi had come closer to the mark than she had ever realized when she accused caiaphas of holding company with ghosts that refused to quit their hauntings.

The eerie and somewhat maniacal laughter rose up behind Kiwi as she departed and set a chill up her spine. It was good that she hadn't agreed. The girl suddenly felt a deep sensation of relief, and she picked up her pace, speeding back in the direction of the mountains to the north.