Dragoncrest Cliffs Lost pearl

When Tousaint finally returned to the shore, it was many miles North of Sapphique, in lands he did not recognize. Pebbles rather than sand, and inland, a marsh that stunk of bog water. Exhausted, he had spent the night just beyond the tideline, too tired to find shelter for himself. He suffered the thrust and scream of winds, a scattered dusting of snow, and slept through it all, crushed from sheer exhaustion. 

The journey South took longer than he had expected. he'd made good use of the riptide, but now he suffered the consequence of being taken so far out to sea. Travel by land was slow, and he knew that if he was to survive the journey, he still had to hunt, and find fresh water. He survived off what he could scavenge from tide pools, so that he could conserve energy. This early in the year, though, the waters were cold, and there was not much food to be found. 

He saw the cliffs, and nearly wept at the sight of them. He took no time to clean himself, to tidy the fur which he had unfailingly kept so well maintained, until now. It curled lightly from the salty breeze but did little to hide his ribs, or the sunken point near his flank. 

He wondered who remained, and who survived. When he reached the borders, he hoped for some indication that the pirates had been vanquished, that his mother and aunt still reigned- but their scents weren't there. In their place, a scent that nearly made his heart stop-

Sobeille.

saltwind bore tousaint's scent inward, drawing sobeille's attention towards their windscoured borders.

he looked like shit. even his fur, which had always carried with it sheen of the ocean's scintillating beauty, seemed drab. the tousaint in front of her paled in comparison to the tousaint held in her mind's eye: neat, impeccably groomed, and erring on pretentious.

where was he when her maman had been taken away? sobeille approached with icewater in her veins, recalling the tension of their last encounter. studying him over, she made a point to let her eyes linger a little too long on the crimped flyaways in his fur.

finally, her voice broke over the tradewinds. where 'ave you been?

His head lifted slightly when he caught sight of his sister, her dark eyes glowing like fireflies against the dark mask she bore. Never before had he feared her, but now, in his weakened state, he felt a sickening dread settle in. A wave of nausea hit him, and made him waver slightly on his feet; the rushing winds certainly didn’t help. 

Mwen ta ka mende w’menm bagay, la. Sobeille had been gone by the time he’d returned. By his understanding, she’d missed much- some sort of trial that had been set for her, Val’s death, and the arrival of pirates at their borders. With more urgency, he spoke, his voice hoarse. Ki kote yo ye?

he stood before her and asked the unthinkable. sobeille's expression darkened, an ember of resentment kindling to life in a throat raw with anger.

i was kidnapped -- she snapped back, hackles flaring as the memory - the injustice  - of it all came flooding back to her. the indignity of being hauled; the heartsickness; the long and lonely nights spent wondering of her maman -- anyone -- searched for her.

if anyone cared at all.

in the end, no one came to rescue sapphique's lost pearl. the girl stolen by sivaak had grown into a woman shown true hardship. gone was the safe harbor of sapphique, replaced by a shore cold and indifferent to suffering.

she saw the way he wavered and a repulsive, ophidian instinct slithered in between the bloody spaces of her heart. carefully reeling in the volcanic surge of emotions seeping from between her tightly clenched chest, sobeille looked him up and down before delivering a terse response.

dey be down de coast.

One eyebrow raised, but it was the downward slope of his lips that would change his expression from skepticism to surprise. In the time it took him to blink twice, he looked her over, but noticed nothing terribly alarming. Did he trust that she was telling the truth? Not necessarily. But was he willing to risk voicing such a thing when she was clearly so triggered about it? Absolutely not. 

Showing her sympathy wouldn't be earnest, and he felt it would be a slight to offer anything that she might think was false. Ou jwenn fason ou tounen. ("You found your way back.") Accompanied with a nod, it was the closest thing to a compliment that he could offer her, without sounding false. Whatever she had endured, she had at least survived, and without being maimed. He couldn't help but speculate that the experience hadn't humbled her any. She was as spiteful as always, and that was something he could appreciate. 

'Li ta pran plis pase yon kidnapin pou pran dife a Sapphique,' ('It would take more than a kidnapping to smother the fire of Sapphique,') He thought to himself, though his confidence in that sentiment wavered when Sobeille admitted that the rest of the pack had seemingly been displaced. His eyes widened and he studied her face for any sign of a lie. What you mean? He demanded, his heartbeat thundering in his chest. he'd seen the wolves, after all- heard their jeering, and had escaped- but the rest of them, the entirety of Sapphique? All of dem? He asked, bewildered by the impossible notion that Sapphique had been wiped out.

I'm bungling my hover codes somehow, sorry for the ugly translation!

oh, it was close — that forbidden instinct she’d fought her whole life against allowing. not family, she reminded it as it settled somewhere in the bowers of her flipping gut.

tousaint was spared none of the hardness in the bite of her gaze; and why should he? he was so very different than the brother she’d come to almost love, made from a clay sobeille refused to acknowledge as her own.

she found no measure of sympathy in him, and in that moment knew mireille would be broken over this. her children, borne of the same salt and blood, stood on two vastly different shores.

maman, and tante, an’ chani. lafayette said pepper fought dem, but ‘e be dead now. another dead name wriggled under her tongue, but she refused to acknowledge it. did you see dem?

He was awe-struck for a moment. Both leaders, and his eldest cousin taken, while Pepper had been slain. He swore softly under his breath, and at last, weakness found him, swept through him and left him with a vicious shudder that caused his tail to sag. It was the feeling of hope departing. 

If he had stayed, what might have become of him? He opened his mouth to speak the names of his siblings, but her question cut him off. 

Wi. He admitted. Youn nan yo te vin pou mwen, se konsa mwen te mennen yo e mwen ba yo manje kouran maritime. his voice rasped from the amount of saltwater he had swallowed. Shadess, Lucette, Lafayette- be dey safe? He asked.

one torn ear flickered at her brother’s muttered swear, her attention pinned to him as another vicious shudder ran through him. now, even his tail seemed drooped in defeat.

and a hardened part of her felt he deserved it for running. truthfully, this was unfair to him: survivors ran. as savage as the thought was, sobeille didn’t question the use of him if he was dead.

at least in swimming, he’d succeeded in delivering to the sea one of the pirates. sobeille hoped that pirate drowned.

as her brother swapped back to common and asked after their siblings, she leveled a look past him. bein’ useful. another pointed jab, maybe — and unkind too. lafayette be searching for eti an’ suzu. shadess went and tol’ de moon tribe. i expect dey will come, any day now.

and what about you? her sharp gaze rested upon him.

Their replies were terse, but it was the longest conversation they had had in some time. While he did not feel his resentment lift, he tapped into the one thing they seemed to share- a profound sense of duty to their home, and their loved ones. Stinging words aside, they both seemed to have the intention of confronting the villains who had come to their home, and tried to rob them of their legacy. 

Her jab earned nothing but a bemused blink; simple insults would get them nowhere. He nodded silently, in approval; they would need help. He knew he could not count on the wolves of the Montagne to come to their aid- not when he had dipped on them so abruptly. With the Redtail wolves long gone, it seemed their only likely allies were ones which were already being contacted. 

"Ou vle di sèvi ak fos?" ("Do you mean to use force?") He asked, before he lifted a paw to stay her response, tipped his muzzle down, and closed his eyes as he exercised his second best asset* and summoned the trickster within himself. His paw sank to the ground, his brow smoothed, and he lifted his head. I may 'ave an idea...But I doubt dat you will like it. He tilted his head lightly, squinting his lavender eyes to gauge if his sister was even open to suggestions. 

*obviously the first would be his looks

yellow gaze settling to a cool smolder, sobeille leveled her brother a long look. did he truly need to ask?

before she could gather an acerbic rebuttal, he raised a paw to silence her. under any other circumstance, such a gesture would be met with outright hostility. he was, after all, a man. in silencing her, he forgets his place.

she steeled the molten resentment within, watching as his slender face angled down and a bevy of emotions worked across his brow.

an idea? sobeille’s ears cupped forward to hear it.

She presented him with a chance, and the taste of gratitude nearly made him gag. Still- some semblance of his mother's teachings persisted, and he knew to respect a woman when she placed herself in a position of authority. He breathed in, and felt a joint in his neck pop. He tilted his head to the side, allowing the joint to crackle and loosen the tight muscles. 

Well, He said, righting his head, and summoning a faint smile to his lips. I 'ope you be ready to enter your villain era. 

What was spoken between them would only be overheard by the waves, the same waves that had heard all the secrets of Sapphique, embraced their newborns, cradled their dead. When he finished, only the waves spoke for a moment, the auspicious inhale and exhale of ocean surf. 

Well?

a pop rippled from tousaint’s neck as he worked his skull side to side. what meaning was in such gesture sobeille did not know; a flamelick of impatience climbed her chest.

when he leaned in she reciprocated, a scarlet ear turned to listen.

for a boy — or really, a man now, for both were rounding their second year — he could be exceptionally clever. sobeille credited the maman in him.

brave, too.

a long silence spanned between them as sobeille considered his plan. dis is dangerous. her molten gaze swept over that of her brother, knowing. but it is workable. when will you be ready?

Of course she agreed- she’d enjoy the hell out of this. Oddly, he felt a sense of anticipation as well- out of place, given what it would mean for him. Still- he hastened to answer her. 

As soon as you be ready. He vowed. There would be no preparation- he would only have to endure. Try not to enjoy dis too much, hmm? He asked rhetorically, with a pained half-grin.

once again, sobeille sensed her prevailing instincts were at odds with the voices of her maternal ancestors.

in her heart she knew this is what cut her from mediocre cloth. this is what would cement her dynasty.

a half-quirk smile played her features, eyes glittering with something reptilian. 

i be makin’ no promises, tousaint. saltbrine air rushed down her lungs as she inhaled, formulating. i will come find you when de time is right.

when that time came, she hoped he was truer to his word then he’d been in the past.