Wheeling Gull Isle his foolish decrees, his words so contrived

Looking for any of the Sapphique wolves!

A month after his ordeal, you could say Aquillius was returning to full form. Sleek black coat, cheeks full, useful eye sharp and clear. He still had some muscle rebuilding to do, but otherwise he looked like any teenage boy.

If said teenage boy had been mauled, but that was neither here nor there.

Learning to maneuver his world without one eye had been hard. What little his eye could pick out was the barest impression of light and shadows, anything else his other eye needed to work overtime for. Despite this, he’d managed to wade into the surf and pull from it a bounty, at least to the boy.

A shark. A dogfish shark, mind you, not the most terrifying creature in existence, but something he had never witnessed, much less managed to grab. The shark he did grab had been young and overconfident, chased closer to shore by an orca pod and finding bounty in the sea surrounding the isle. And thus, it would meet its end to the boy’s teeth. Aquillius would stand there, for a moment, just contemplating what he’d grabbed, before sloshing out of the surf. He wasn’t hungry, this was meant as a..gift. He wasn’t good with things like that, but it was supposed to be.

Maybe if he asked, they’d let him take a tooth back with him.

Shy, the boy started a slow, stubborn march fit to take him around the entire island until he found someone to give the shark to who seemed sad.

Theo, still healing from deep bite wounds on his sides from the bear attack just two weeks ago, was out in the territory again, trying to get some fresh air. He wasn't really supposed to be moving around much yet, since the wounds on his sides could reopen, but he needed to get out.

That's when he saw the other boy. Just a tad bit older than him, it seemed, but still seemingly not an adult. He was smaller than Theo though, but that was because he was a large wolf. Just his face held a few baby features to his still, despite his muscular and large build. The other boy had a pelt of pure black, and had a dogfish shark at his paws. Theo wondered if it was an offering, so he approached. 

"Hey, you're by Sapphique land. Is there a reason for that?" He asked, in a neutral tone.

Lilitu was also circling the island for various reasons. Going the direction in which her one eye was still trained toward the sea; if she couldn't see the land, no matter. At least she knew she wasn't stumbling headlong into the waves.

A wolf ahead, then another. One vaguely familiar, or so she thought. The colors of Sapphique wolves, of Chacal. . .

"Hey, you're by Sapphique land. Is there a reason for that?"

The boy's voice carried over the wind, and Lilitu's ears folded backward slightly, though she remained at a distance.

Except, well, they weren't so close to Sapphique land, exactly. . .unless the bear had well and truly ravaged the cliffs, and they had been given no choice but to relocate.

But she would stay back until conflict arose; she noticed the other boy had one eye, and felt an immediate kinship. Her heart hurt for him, and for herself, and for everyone affected by this monstrous tragedy.

skip until she's noticed/altercation/etc!

The boy he came across was a little younger than him, and boldly proclaimed this to be Sapphique’s land. His ears immediately went back, not in deference, but in irritation.

This is Sweetharbor’s island. He barely held off from adding the pissy actually he wanted to add. He shuffled the shark away, reaching down to pick it up off the ground.

If all of them were like this, even with tragedy weighing on their shoulders, he wasn’t interested in handing over the shark. His eye skipped around the boy to find a grey hued figure by the sea.

She looked sad. Perfect. The boy strode past the other, the shark in his mouth, to offer it to her wordlessly. Sticking out his neck like an odd goose, waggling his head a bit in a “here take it” motion. One ear remained turned for the boy, but otherwise, Aquillius was playing at being Santa Claus for the moment.

Theo looked around him and realized he'd traveled much farther than Sapphique. "Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't realize where I was." He muttered, but the boy strode off to someone behind him, someone Theo had not realized was out here. Lilitu, another wolf of Sapphique. He wondered if she'd followed him. "I'm Theo, of Sapphique." He said, hoping to start over with the dark furred boy. He wanted a friend, not an enemy. He turned to Lilitu for reassurance.

The other young man with the—what was that?! Big. . .fish thing— He was obviously irked by the Sapphique boy's assumption and responded in kind, wheeling 'round to instead present her with his latest catch.

Lilitu smiled and would've blushed, were she human. Uh, thank you, she said, taking the. . .fish from the boy and then placing it on the sand with some feigned reverence. He seemed proud of it, after all.

Theo—for this had to be Theo, right? He was around the same age as Etienne and Suzu—soon moved toward them as well, offering an apology. The tension in the air was thick, and she cast soft glances at them both, trying to quell any feelings of resentment.

It's been a hard few days for all of us, Lilitu explained. I know I've lost track of things since the bear, came. Here, she said, pushing the shark toward the two. You should take it and share. Uh. . .what is it?

Aquillius’s face was a thing made of stone, unintentionally mirroring his father in one easy motion. His single eye swept between the two, then down to the fish.

I do not know. He spoke, shuffling uncomfortably at the idea of sharing the creature with the other boy. Even if he was sorry, Aquillius was a creature who took a first impression and ran with it. A soldier’s mind, in that of a mere boy.

I have never seen it before. The fish here are strange. He commented briefly, before falling silent, not lifting his eye from the shark. He would do as asked, as anyone of his bearing would be wont to do, but he wouldn’t act joyful about it.

Theo wanted to be friendly. The cold air coming from this boy was killing him. "I'm Theo." He said, looking at the older boy hopefully, hoping to get his own name. He took a bite of the fish creature thing. It tasted nice.

Sweetharbor was a safe harbor; their castaways remained. Caracal didn’t mind them, though he gave them their space. He wasn’t the greatest hunter, though he tried to keep the stockpiles stacked in lieu of helping more directly, like, with the medical skills he pretended he didn’t possess.

The sound of voices drew his attention as he tracked some kind of small animal across the island. Caracal didn’t mean to eavesdrop, so he considered moving off in another direction, but he caught a few tense words. Unable to resist, he ventured nearer.

He recognized Aquillius and raised a paw in a wave before looking at the others. There was a sleek, silvery woman who looked a little worse for wear. She was missing an eye, which prompted Caracal to glance back at Aquillius before peering at the youngest member of the group. He looked a bit like Etienne; perhaps they were brothers?

Hey, gang, Caracal greeted. Is this a meeting for one-eyed wolves? he couldn’t help but quip, motioning at his own hazy eye.

The boy didn't know. She followed Theo's lead and nibbled at it, and was chewing at her small morsel when the ruddy wolf approached—

"Is this a meeting for one-eyed wolves?"

She didn't notice his cloudy orb until he grew closer, and smirked, ducking her head. I guess it is, she remarked, but then moved closer to Theo in reassurance. The Sapphique wolves would stick together—even if she didn't feel as such.

I'm Lilitu, she greeted, of Sapphique. This is Theo, and. . . Her voice faltered as she realized the introductions ended here. Uh, do you know each other?

She gave a reassuring bump of her shoulder to Theo. She wouldn't let him flounder here.

Aquillius turned to meet Caracal as he drew close, dipping his head in a nod, before his gaze turned again to the Sapphique wolves. The boy introduced himself as Theo, and the woman as Lilitu.

Aquillius. In a flash of inspiration, divine or otherwise, he made a small, subtle change.

Aquillius Brutus Redsand. The shadow of Caesar, a heavy name for a heavy heart.

Let his knife stay from his father’s back.

Theo turned to the newcomer. He appreciated Lilitu backing him up, but he hoped to still take a friendly approach with everyone. "Whats your name?" He asked the new man.

Everyone took the joke in the spirit he intended. An easy smile made its home on Caracal’s face as they went around making introductions. Lilitu and her young charge, Theo, were of course from Sapphique. He already knew of Aqullius, tended by Heda before the misplaced pack had ever come.

I’m Caracal, he said when it was his turn. I’ve lived here with Heda for a little while. Aquillius came along not long bere you guys. Do you happen to be related to Etienne, by any chance? he asked of Theo in particular, grinning at the young boy.

Lilitu nodded at the question, but left it to Theo, glancing toward him.

I should be going, she replied, the ever-present guilt welling up in her once more. She gave Theo a smile, the others passing glances, then slipped away.

They didn't need her for company. Not now.

She'd remain alone.

“Yeah Etiennes my brother.” Theo told the newcomer. With lilitu leaving though, theo felt uncomfortable and stated “i should be going too… but nice meeting you all!”, before following his packmate out

Theo confirmed that he and Etienne were brothers. Caracal grinned, though the expression fell a bit when Lilitu pardoned herself only for Theo to awkwardly walk off a moment later. That left Aquillius, though even he had drifted away.

He wondered if he’d somehow broken up the small party but after giving it some thought, Caracal decided it probably wasn’t personal. They were all going through tough times. He shrugged and decided to resume fetching more food for the stockpiles.