Sequoia Coast give me no reprieve

for @caiaphas! set somewhere near to AS but not really idek

Some time ago, whether it were days or weeks, he had parted from his travelling companions. After some deliberation in their travels, they had come full circle to the coast. It had been there that Mordecai made his decision to follow it back south and broke from their sodality. For as much as he hated to depart the company he had been keeping, the time had come where their opinions differed. It wasn't the first time over the span of his travelling life and surely would not be the last.

Eventually the coast led him to the reverse side of familiar mountain ranges, though he did not initially recognize them for what they were. The mild air that had begun to chase winter was akin to petrichor; it may have rained across the coastline at some point, he couldn't have said. The sandy earth was damp and cool, though the air and the sun around him and at his back were warm. Perhaps the seasons were changing, that was the hope that he had; the tawny Ostrega welcomed the unearthing of spring, the return of longer days and warmer nights.

He paid little attention to the coast as he jogged along, only tarrying here or there when the necessity arose. Nothing overly familiar came in the way of scents, though he was keenly aware that he had crossed back into wilderness thick with canines not unlike himself. There were many of those little pockets scattered around, though the roads between them were few and far between.

murder by death — strange eyes

Often, Caiaphas' duties extended beyond Siren Queen to watcher -- warden -- and on this such day, she had braved the frothy sea to purloin from the barren landscape what little there was to observe. The sting of salt on her little muzzle often cleared her senses -- and the sea often rose to meet her and unburden her of her worries.

It was during such an excursion on the strand that she came across Mordecai, a wolf she had presumed dead or gone since her encounter with Cara. She rose from the water, sylph-like and sodden like a rat -- and as she drew closer to the red-hued male a vague smile played thinly across her sharp muzzle. "Tell me -- is it true the words of your packmate, that you were no longer fit to rule?" Her wording was cruel -- perhaps a lance would have been softer -- but all the same, she wished to hear the male's explanation for his abdication.

Ahead of him in the waters, a figure had begun to appear. Initially, he did not ascertain her identity until she had completely freed herself of what he presumed was icy seawater. But when he did, a jovial expression rose and broke over the stoicism. He hadn't seen Caiaphas in what seemed like ages, which in all consideration a few weeks may as well have been an age. A lot of things had changed, he presumed, but not the recognition that drew them together.

"Caiaphas," he greeted warmly. And in lieu of a rejoining greet was the thin wisps of a smile; a query came following quick at its heels. It dimmed his expression a bit, but only for a moment. He had a feeling of who she had encountered instantly. So much for small talk hellos and how-are-yous. A lance would have been softer, yet he expected no other angle for her to drive it from. "Is that the news that's being said? That I wasn't fit?" He knew that she wanted an explanation, but his interest lied in how she had obtained that knowledge at all. She must have come around their borders, but whether or not she had been looking for him he didn't consider.

It was warmth that greeted her, despite her sharp tongue -- and as she drew closer, the harshness in her gaze resolved into one of comradely interest. Around them the wind whipped and Caiaphas was reminded quickly of the cold it bore.

He seemed surprised -- as was she -- she certainly had not expected an in-land wolf so close to the sea's borders. "Yes." She confirmed confidently, a wry smile engaging her dark lips. "Some love the new alpha has for you -- what happened?" Ever the shit-stirrer, Caiaphas closely monitored Mordecai's countenance for any reaction.

Where he thought that the parting of himself from the Spine had come easily, gently, it seemed that maybe it hadn't. He huffed, though there was little emotion connected to it. It didn't need it for the traces of perhaps I should have known writ themselves easily in the way his head dropped for a moment. He gave it a shake, leveling his gaze out again. He didn't expect Cara to hold him in high regard, if only for the fact that she hadn't for so long. Perhaps that had been in part why he felt it necessary to move on. It had been an inkling feeling that had been climbing up after him from the moment Ptarmigan had set foot on the Spine's earthy terrain.

"It was time to move on." He avoided the question, then thought better of it. "It was something I had been considering for a long time. That pack is not for me to lead. I guess I don't do the inheriting thing right," and following that, he offered her a quirky smile. His ascension to leading the Spine had been far from an inheritance. He had put himself there from a culmination of many things, most of all aggravation from the one who he had left it to. But he refrained from speaking poorly of Cara, certain that he didn't need to. She had undoubtedly left a sour impression to Caiaphas already.

"How long ago did you visit?"

The russet wolf was diplomatic, that much Caiaphas could garner. Unlike Mordecai, she would spare no niceties in describing the wolf that had approached her -- for unlike Mordecai, Caiaphas had no interest in subtlety.

"I did not visit." She supplied, her tone somewhat haughty as she recalled her encounter with the Spine's newest Alpha. "She was quite full of herself, that one. Young, too." She afforded a cold sneer, one which doused her ungainly muzzle in ugliness. Pulling forward in a sleek glissade, the female looked upon Mordecai fully, her gaze nearly innocent were it not for the jeering shade her countenance boasted.

"So young, it would be a shame if something befell her. Where is it you plan to go now?"

this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.

Mordecai

marrow of the spirit

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#7

February 09, 2015, 09:48 PM

i feel like all my replies thus so far have been awkward as fuck haha. whoops @ everyone ever that i have threads with.

This particular side of Caiaphas was a bit new, he decided. Before, she had seemed so haphazard that he hadn't known what to make of her. The personality that shone now was different somehow, but not something he didn't disagree with. Whether or not there was something sinister lurking between the lines of her own wording though, he couldn't decide.

"She's learning," he said at first, realizing how that sounded more like a defense on his part. But it didn't make it any less true. She was arrogant, which was something Mordecai had hoped he had begun to steer her away from. It had seemed that way for a time, but old habits died hard. "But I suppose time will tell if she keeps the Spine beneath her control." After all, he added to himself, he had wrenched it away from her.

The question that came following that though was a welcome steer away from Cara, however. This one, he offered a bit of a pause to, seeming wistful. Mordecai honestly hadn't made much of a plan. His return to the Wilds had been rather unplanned but so far, a welcome sight. His attachment to the region was far from severed in spite of no longer feeling anything towards the Spine. "I haven't decided, to be honest. I didn't expect to be returning here any time soon, but there's much of this place I haven't explored." His smile returned softly. "And I suppose there was company I found I would miss. How have you been? Your pack doing well?"

mordecai reminds me of a pair of shoes i haven't worn for a while, i put them on and i'm all OH THESE ARE WEIRD FEELING

Caiaphas

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in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs

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#8

February 12, 2015, 02:42 PM

Caiaphas shifted on her little paws, bemused by what seemed to be an excuse uttered in Cara's defense. She flicked her tail as if dismissing the notion, but pursued the subject no further.

His inquiry was met with quiet contemplation, her fierce eyes shielded with some thinly-veiled thought. "We prosper." She intoned, the vagueness of her reply somewhat curt. "Will you join an inland pack?" She was quick to change the subject, happy to reflect the conversation's route back upon the mahogany male.

this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.

Mordecai

marrow of the spirit

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#9

February 13, 2015, 01:45 PM

When it came to the premise of the future, Mordecai found he did not make decisions instantly. Like his comings there, he had wandered about. "I haven't decided," he said with a shrug. It would have been more wise to join up with a pack, this he knew. Better odds of finding food and the obvious social needs met. He was also inclined just as easily to strike it out on his own, find something worthy of a claim. Heading up the pack at the Spine had invoked that interest, but he kept it tempered for the time being.

"Your home isn't too far from here, is it?" he wondered aloud, having never seen the Sound that she had rightly lived in. Curiosity emboldened his question. "I never did get the chance to visit you there."

Caiaphas

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in time you'll taste all the salt in my lungs

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#10

February 16, 2015, 08:27 PM

The Siren Queen was not one to live each provincial day come what may -- it puzzled her that Mordecai seemed so aloof with his preparation. Life as she knew it was chaotic, lawless -- but one did not wander through it an unmanned vessel.

She was not fond of the direction in which their conversation had turned -- despite her kind regard of the mahogany male she steeled herself, for he neither ally nor family. "It is not far. Perhaps someday you should pay a visit." She made no mention that he would not be treated as an equal if he was unlucky enough to be caught close to their garrison. There seemed in her gaze a glitter of malice, though her bland smile forbade it. "Farewell." The Siren Queen turned upon her svelte limbs then, finding their conversation's topic enough to excuse herself from his company.

this house was my flowered heart,
but my petals have fallen.

Mordecai

marrow of the spirit

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#11

February 18, 2015, 11:18 PM

As ever, Caiaphas intrigued him with her seemingly abrupt goodbye. For a moment, he considered that perhaps it was something he had said. But the thought waved itself away; she was far too curious to let something that settled strangely to damper her interest. It seemed whatever she was after in meeting with him had been satisfied, or at least that was what he was willing to believe.

Mordecai watched her retreat into the haze of the coast, half tempted to give follow to see the place in which she had taken up residence. In the end, he decided against it, wishing to save it for another day. It seemed too smothering, too nosy, to just turn up suddenly at her doorstep some time after they had encountered one another. Maybe another day, one a bit more pleasant than the bleak late throes of winter would serve them better. With a huff into the crisp air, he turned his attentions to the looming mountains of the inland, and headed off himself.

i feel like all my replies thus so far have been awkward as fuck haha. whoops @ everyone ever that i have threads with.

This particular side of Caiaphas was a bit new, he decided. Before, she had seemed so haphazard that he hadn't known what to make of her. The personality that shone now was different somehow, but not something he didn't disagree with. Whether or not there was something sinister lurking between the lines of her own wording though, he couldn't decide.

"She's learning," he said at first, realizing how that sounded more like a defense on his part. But it didn't make it any less true. She was arrogant, which was something Mordecai had hoped he had begun to steer her away from. It had seemed that way for a time, but old habits died hard. "But I suppose time will tell if she keeps the Spine beneath her control." After all, he added to himself, he had wrenched it away from her.

The question that came following that though was a welcome steer away from Cara, however. This one, he offered a bit of a pause to, seeming wistful. Mordecai honestly hadn't made much of a plan. His return to the Wilds had been rather unplanned but so far, a welcome sight. His attachment to the region was far from severed in spite of no longer feeling anything towards the Spine. "I haven't decided, to be honest. I didn't expect to be returning here any time soon, but there's much of this place I haven't explored." His smile returned softly. "And I suppose there was company I found I would miss. How have you been? Your pack doing well?"

mordecai reminds me of a pair of shoes i haven't worn for a while, i put them on and i'm all OH THESE ARE WEIRD FEELING

Caiaphas shifted on her little paws, bemused by what seemed to be an excuse uttered in Cara's defense. She flicked her tail as if dismissing the notion, but pursued the subject no further.

His inquiry was met with quiet contemplation, her fierce eyes shielded with some thinly-veiled thought. "We prosper." She intoned, the vagueness of her reply somewhat curt. "Will you join an inland pack?" She was quick to change the subject, happy to reflect the conversation's route back upon the mahogany male.

When it came to the premise of the future, Mordecai found he did not make decisions instantly. Like his comings there, he had wandered about. "I haven't decided," he said with a shrug. It would have been more wise to join up with a pack, this he knew. Better odds of finding food and the obvious social needs met. He was also inclined just as easily to strike it out on his own, find something worthy of a claim. Heading up the pack at the Spine had invoked that interest, but he kept it tempered for the time being.

"Your home isn't too far from here, is it?" he wondered aloud, having never seen the Sound that she had rightly lived in. Curiosity emboldened his question. "I never did get the chance to visit you there."

The Siren Queen was not one to live each provincial day come what may -- it puzzled her that Mordecai seemed so aloof with his preparation. Life as she knew it was chaotic, lawless -- but one did not wander through it an unmanned vessel.

She was not fond of the direction in which their conversation had turned -- despite her kind regard of the mahogany male she steeled herself, for he neither ally nor family. "It is not far. Perhaps someday you should pay a visit." She made no mention that he would not be treated as an equal if he was unlucky enough to be caught close to their garrison. There seemed in her gaze a glitter of malice, though her bland smile forbade it. "Farewell." The Siren Queen turned upon her svelte limbs then, finding their conversation's topic enough to excuse herself from his company.

As ever, Caiaphas intrigued him with her seemingly abrupt goodbye. For a moment, he considered that perhaps it was something he had said. But the thought waved itself away; she was far too curious to let something that settled strangely to damper her interest. It seemed whatever she was after in meeting with him had been satisfied, or at least that was what he was willing to believe.

Mordecai watched her retreat into the haze of the coast, half tempted to give follow to see the place in which she had taken up residence. In the end, he decided against it, wishing to save it for another day. It seemed too smothering, too nosy, to just turn up suddenly at her doorstep some time after they had encountered one another. Maybe another day, one a bit more pleasant than the bleak late throes of winter would serve them better. With a huff into the crisp air, he turned his attentions to the looming mountains of the inland, and headed off himself.