what the water gave me [joining/open]

[Lexx]

Naiad limped her way up the beach and into the cool shade of the frond-like trees. She was embarrassed by her slow pace, but embarrassed more by the thought of Salome watching her fall—or, humiliatingly, Salome having to catch her when she stumbled. The thought made her itch all over with anxiety. And so she stepped carefully and slowly, and tried not to jostle her leg too much as she walked, and to her pride, she did not fall over, nor did she find herself incapable of walking as she’d initially feared. All around her, Naiad breathed in the same mix of scents that she’d caught on Salome’s brindled pelt—wolves and fish and brine from the sea. Once she was well off the beach and the glare of the sun, for it was now nearing midday, she stopped. She took a soft breath, refusing to seem afraid anywhere that Salome could see, because she wanted this, more than anything. She’d only ever known her mother, but she desperately wanted a new family, a new pack to belong to. She wanted to be here, by the ocean, where she could see the way Salome’s green eyes smiled. She wanted to fall asleep to the hush-hush of the surf, because even if the sea had tasted her blood, it had wanted her alive. Naiad felt the same way. Sometimes, she thought, you had to know the taste of the thing you loved, in order to know its heart. Her tongue was still heavy with salt. Slowly, carefully, she tilted her head back, and gave a fluting howl. Iiona, she cried. Iiona. Now she would see if the lady of Sharktooth would accept someone like her. "speaking" table by lexx

Heika

[Lirriel]

[googlefont=Montserrat]

[attr="class","sin"]

[attr="class","sin2"]

[attr="class","sin3"]Beware, beware, be skeptical

[attr="class","sin4"]Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold

[attr="class","sin5"]He led her further inland.

It was slow-going, because he was painfully aware of her injured leg and what each unsteady step must cost her. But he said naught a word; as their slow journey progressed he found it easier to ignore the desperate inclination that flared each time she wavered – to push his pelt against hers, that he might both feel her warmth, feel her reality, and assist her.

But, he thought, it was difficult to ascertain whether it truly was aid he sought to offer – or if he simply desired comfort, for dread pricked at his paws with each step they took.

He knew Iiona was a fair alpha. He knew she had afforded Halcyon a sanctuary and more, should the one-eyed wolf grasp the gifts she offered. But his distrust of her had been built upon a bed of jealousy – and it was too easy to remember her sunlit days, her ringing laughter as she galloped across the sand, chasing after childhood friends.

And where had he been? Watching with a glower, he suspected, for he had realized that the warmth of the sun was not his friend, had no desire for a crafty snake such as he. And it had been that shrewdness that had afforded his council position. It had forced him to swallow his immediate refusal and instead support Iiona, when he might have argued for a more senior wolf – after all, her family had ruled long, and there had been many branches woven in the time spanned from the beginning to the present.

But his serpentine prowess was suddenly turned against him here – should be vouch for Naiad’s strength of character, it would only turn whispers against her. And yet, he could not so simply abandon her, because for all that he was a wretch, he had his own sense of pride – and now it was the only force behind his paws, marching him toward the inevitable trial he was to face.

He paused when Naiad did, watching from the corner of his eye as she threw her head back, spinning a song of summoning. Even now, away from the water, there was something otherworldly about her – it was the curve of her actions, the melody of her voice; compared to her, he was sure, the rest of Sharktooth looked to be a ragtag group of ruffians.

And perhaps there was some cheeky admiration, to acknowledge that Iiona, whom he had once nursed a most embarrassing infatuation for, would appear very plain when stood beside her.

As it was, he stood a few steps away from Naiad – not out of any disgust toward her, and he told her as such with the occasional glance he threw her way, but simply to try and heighten her chances. A united front was sure to kindle Iiona’s suspicions, and he refused to see Naiad dragged down by his own tainted image.

[attr="class","sin6"]

[attr="class","sinner"]Lexx, Heika	[attr="class","sinner"]stock by ria p.	485
slides salome in b/c he needs to suffer

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[Heika]

[googlefont="Lato:400;Raleway:400;"]

do i dare,
disturb the universe?

Lexx Lirriel
610 words
everyone is dazzled by naiad xD

[attr="class","didtext"]
Iiona had been in the midst of searching for the Lead Guard when she heard a distant howl. Pausing mid-step, she turned in the direction the call had come from, cocking her ears as she listened carefully and heard it again.

Iiona.

They were asking for her, but the voice was unfamiliar. Another one? She wondered, jerking away from the insect that flew near her muzzle, scaring it back into the leaves. Though Iiona understand the pack’s history, knew how it was built from the ground up by outsiders that had come together in solidarity, this sudden onslaught of newcomers gave her a right to be nervous. Never before had she ever known of so many outsiders seeking to join the pack. When her father was the alpha, they had welcomed only but a few, and never more than one at the same time. Already she had her paws full with Halcyon, and she could not deny that his foreign presence had set quite a number of her pack mates on edge. Was there really room for another?

Though she could not ignore the uncertainty that lurked in the back of her mind, Iiona knew worrying preemptively would do herself no good. If luck would have it, this stranger would just be a member of one of the independent family units roaming the island, and she could send him or her home without any trouble. Setting off in a steady lope, Iiona paved a road through the underbrush, making her way towards the beach from where the summons had come.

Having come from so far away, she was slightly winded and felt uncomfortably warm in her pelt by the time she arrived. Though she had travelled mostly in the shadows of the thick canopy, the blazing sun was as insistent as ever. The air was hot and muggy and wrapped around her like a steamed blanket, weighing heavily in her lungs and stealing her breath away. But, these were the conditions she was used to, and, as she traded her swift pace for a slower walk, she was able to return to a calmer state that betrayed no detail of her journey. Having composed herself, Iiona tested the breeze, detecting the faintest scent of a wolf under the sea salt and mist. Or, rather, wolves?

Of course it would make sense for Salome to be involved. As the Lead Fisher, he spent most of his days on the beach, overseeing the other fishers as they attended to their duties. Often the first line of defense against any threats from the mainland, Salome’s presence hinted that this was not a situation that could be resolved as easily as Iiona had hoped.

Emerging from the trees, Iiona’s gaze fell upon a stunningly beautiful wolf waiting in the shade for her arrival. With her hoary-tinted white fur, the wolf stood out like a sore thumb against the colorful backdrop, but not in the sense that she was fighting it for center stage. Instead, there was a stark gentleness in her lilac eyes, a softness that translated to her very being. While Iiona had never been one for aesthetics, there was no doubt in her heart that this wolf before her was lovely.

She felt her heart soften in the slightest before she reigned it in. Like the animals of the island had taught her, sometimes it was the most dazzling creatures that were the most dangerous.

“Am I correct to assume you were the one looking for me?” Iiona asked, greeting Salome with a short nod before padding past him and approaching the stranger. “Who are you and what is it you need?”

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[Lexx]

Naiad tried not to catch Salome’s eyes while she waited, because she still felt guilty for taking him away from his beach, but every time they caught the other looking, Naiad felt a warm sense of relief in her chest. The air around them had grown tense as they’d made their way into Sharktooth pack territory, and she imagined she could see hints of worry in the set of Salome’s shoulders. Perhaps, she thought, Salome believed Iiona would turn her away. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t afraid, because there was something here so real she felt she could reach out and touch it. Naiad, raised on stories of gods and the sea and the moon, believed in destiny. She wanted to know if Salome did, too. He was keeping a slight distance from Naiad now, but she didn’t think there was anything cold in the gesture. Salome was merely removed from this coming meeting of alpha and loner, and his place was beside Iiona, not Naiad. She was fiercely glad he had come anyway, for she felt braver with him there. It was absurd, she chided herself, to feel so attached to Salome after only having met him earlier that day, but he was kind, and he wanted to believe she could have a place on this island, and she’d never known any wolf to believe in her before. It was an intoxicating feeling. Their eyes snagged again, silver-violet on warm jade, and she used that moment to smile at him. The undergrowth rustled slightly, and a she-wolf stepped forth from the cluster of thin, palm-leaved trees surrounding them. Naiad had been imagining a very large, muscular female, built for ocean swimming and shark-wrestling, perhaps with old scars that marred her coat. Instead, she was surprised to see that Iiona was of an average, lanky build. She was young, too; only a year or so older than Naiad herself. She wasn’t scarred, save for the nick in her ear, nor was she imposing, but there was a fierce light in her gold eyes that suggested she was comfortable in her leadership of this island. “Am I correct to assume you were the one looking for me?” Iiona asked her. She appraised Naiad with those golden eyes as she stepped past Salome with a nod, and Naiad held her tail low and ducked her head, to show respect. “Who are you, and what is it you need?” “My name is Naiad,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but it did not waver, and she grasped her courage tight and lifted her head slightly. “I swam the channel this morning in search of a new home, and washed up on your shores, where I was found by your lead fisher. I wish to ask your acceptance in joining your pack.” She struggled to think, then, of something she could offer Iiona to show her worth as a potential new member, and was horrified to come up with nothing. She could offer to fish, but the injury on her back leg did little to mark her as a distinguished swimmer; she could offer herself as a hunter, but she was unfamiliar with the terrain and prey here. “I have some knowledge of healing plants,” she said finally, though she was unsure if that knowledge would translate to what grew on this island, “and once my leg heals, I would be glad to fish and hunt.” "speaking" table by lexx

Heika Lirriel

[Lirriel]

[googlefont=Montserrat]

[attr="class","sin"]

[attr="class","sin2"]

[attr="class","sin3"]Beware, beware, be skeptical

[attr="class","sin4"]Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold

[attr="class","sin5"]Naiad alone occupied his thoughts as they waited. His responsibilities as a fisher were a dim memory, one that threatened to gutter entirely – it was just too easy to focus on her, for while she stank of sea and brine, there was something of her own personal self that lay just beneath. He thought he might be able to taste it, this sensation of moonbeams spun from dreams and shaped into a living creature that was lovelier than any others he had seen.

Salome thought that perhaps, later, he might awaken from this dream, be doused once more by the nipping cold truth of what his life was and the actions he must take, repeated each day, to ascertain he still had a place to belong. But that was later – and later seemed far away indeed, infinitely far away, as Iiona emerged from the jungle at last.

Perhaps it was due to Naiad’s presence, but he only responded to his alpha with a small dip of his chin, his eyes wandering between the two females as they sized each other up. There was a weight to Iiona’s figure that Naiad lacked, something solid contrasting against shaped liquid – ah, that was it. Naiad was living quicksilver, contained by a coat dusted white with moonrock.

It was, he realized with some degree of amused chagrin, difficult to keep his thoughts reasonable in Naiad’s presence. She was helium, buoying him up into the clouds, when before he had always stood with his paws planted squarely upon the floor. He tried to remember that sensation now, what it meant to be grounded. It was the knowledge of secrets, of Iiona’s weakness, of Halcyon’s supposed threat – but it was difficult to keep ahold of the feeling, and some secret part of him whispered, Isn’t this tiresome?

Tiresome? He wondered. It had never been previously; before, he would have offered Iiona some silky jab, cloaked in decency, steeped in dissatisfaction. Something to displace the fur upon her shoulders, something to worm its way beneath her skin, so that she might just be that much more suspicious, the next she was greeted with a kind word. Because, he knew, the world was a cruel place.

He had known the world was a cruel place.

He would stash it away for later, root amongst the guts of his changing feelings when there was no one around to watch him.

For now, this was a confrontation between the alpha and a displaced outsider. Salome held his tongue through most of their initial exchange, unwilling to yet draw himself into the conversation. When he did deign to speak, it was only with a short, neutral statement. “She was injured in the crossing.”

It was easy enough to school his voice to inflect different emotions, independent of what he actually felt – he utilized that skill now, gently gesturing toward Naiad’s wounded limb. If there was any fault in his performance, it was that he showed not his tendency to undermine Iiona’s authority, strangely silent throughout the dialogue.

And he knew it was strange, that he had not so vehemently objected to this outsider, as he had done against Halcyon’s arrival (insofar as snide comments could be viewed as stout condemnation), but he had to hope that Iiona would be too preoccupied with Naiad’s appearance to truly question his unusual reserve.

[attr="class","sin6"]

[attr="class","sinner"]Lexx , Heika	[attr="class","sinner"]stock by ria p.	559
i think this is the quietest he's ever been lmao

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[Heika]

[googlefont="Lato:400;Raleway:400;"]

do i dare,
disturb the universe?

Lexx Lirriel
674 words
ew I'm so sorry this is just one big disgusting text wall;;;

[attr="class","didtext"]
Though Iiona kept her face straight, she struggled with a myriad of confusion and uncertainty on the inside. It was just as she feared. Here was another wolf, another outsider, looking to join the pack. And her pack’s founding principles meant that she could not, in good faith, turn Naiad away. Like Lupe and Rannock and hundreds of ancient wolves, Naiad had risked her life, tempted hidden dangers as she swam across the Channel, all in search of a new life. That was not an easy sacrifice to make, and neither was it an effort Iiona could simply ignore. For whatever reason, Naiad had decided that she was willing to chance life and limb to reach Sharktooth Island and leave her fate in Iiona’s paws.

But, just because Naiad had given up so much to come here, it didn’t mean that she belonged in this pack. Though she had offered her knowledge in healing herbs, the Sharktooth pack already had a shaman – one who knew the land like the back of his paw – who could look after the pack’s health much better than an outsider who knew nothing of the native plant species could. Moreover, while Iiona trusted that Naiad at least had some semblance of survival abilities, was it worth it to spend the time to train her to recognize the prey animals on the island and teach her how to hunt them? It took apprentices many, many moons to learn what was edible and what contained enough toxin to kill them with a single bite, and, even then, there was always the chance they a faulty glance would lead them astray. Yes, she had allowed Halcyon to remain here, at least until his probation period had ended. But he bore scars upon his body and contained a fighter’s knowledge in his soul; the grizzled wolf displayed all the signs of someone well-versed in brawling, and even if the ocean protected them from most threats, a battler would always be a benefit to the pack. Naiad, with her slender frame and submissive inclinations, looked to be almost the exact opposite of Halcyon, at once leaving Iiona to doubt her offer to hunt or fish for the pack.

On one hand, Iiona felt the need to respect the wishes of her ancestors. She had a duty to upholding Lupe and Rannock’s belief in hospitality and openness to migrants, lest she incur Lupe’s wrath. On the other hand, inviting too many outsiders, especially those from the mainland, would result in the pack dividing and weakening from the inside. As the alpha, she could not ignore either possibility, not when a single wrong decision could hurt all those around her.

The choice was heavy; it always was.

So engrossed in her internal conflict, she barely noticed Salome’s bizarre behavior. Absentmindedly, she noted how strange it was that his never-ending stream of meanspirited taunts had come to a pause, that he wasn’t tossing thinly veiled jabs her way at every possibility. With no time to question it, however, she chose to ignore his unusual silence, accepting it as a temporary blessing and hoping, with very little actual thought, that it would last.

Taking a moment, Iiona made eye contact with Naiad once more. “Can you walk?” She questioned. “If you can follow us inland, we can offer you medical attention and a den to rest in while your leg heals. Understand that I cannot offer you a position in the pack right this minute, but, as per our customs, I will give you a chance to prove yourself. If you are to accept these conditions, you will have a one-month probation period, during which you will do your best to learn about our pack and what role you are best suited to fill. At the end of this month, depending on your behavior, I will make my decision. If you choose not to accept my proposal, we will still allow you to remain here until your leg heals and you can return to the mainland once more.”

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[Lexx]

For a long, silent moment, Iiona appraised her. The longer she looked at Naiad without speaking, the heavier the weight of her golden eyes upon Naiad became, until Naiad was fighting to keep from trembling beneath the mantle of her stare. She kept her head low, and her tail lower. Salome had gone quiet as he regarded the scene before him—no, she thought suddenly, he had gone quiet long before—and he was watching not his alpha, but instead her, the ragged creature that had washed up on his beach. There was a strange, muted light in his green eyes as he said to Iiona, “She was injured in the crossing.” He nodded to her back leg, which rested awkwardly amongst her three uninjured legs, and which was currently holding as little of her weight as possible. Iiona’s golden eyes flicked downward, to meet Naiad’s own gaze, and the sudden contact spread through Naiad like an unexpected shiver. “Can you walk?” Iiona asked her. “If you can follow us inland, we can offer you medical attention and a den to rest in while your leg heals. Understand that I cannot offer you a position in the pack right this minute, but, per our customs, I will give you a chance to prove yourself.” Naiad brightened immediately with these words; she immediately cast her eyes to the ground, so that Iiona wouldn’t see the hope that sparkled in them. “If you are to accept these conditions,” continued the alpha, “you will have a one-month probation period, during which you will do your best to learn about our pack and what role you are best suited to fill. At the end of this month, depending on your behavior, I will make my decision. If you choose not to accept my proposal, we will still allow you to remain here until your leg heals and you can return to the mainland once more.” “Thank you,” said Naiad, “for your generosity. I accept your conditions with joy.” She lifted her head carefully, prepared to duck back down if she caught even the faintest flash of danger in Iiona’s expression. “I can walk, Lady Iiona. Whatever cut my leg left everything vital in place.” Slowly, she straightened her shoulders, took in a breath, and calmly placed her leg down against the earth, spreading out her toes. Her probationary period began now—even if she was hurt, she would not let herself look like a worthless extra mouth to feed. She let herself look to Salome again at last. His expression seemed faintly distant from their situation, but her heart was hammering too hard from relief for her to wonder at it. Finally, it seemed, the life she’d chosen for herself would begin. "speaking" table by lexx

Heika Lirriel IT'S RLLY BAD I'M SORRY

[Lirriel]

[googlefont=Montserrat]

[attr="class","sin"]

[attr="class","sin2"]

[attr="class","sin3"]Beware, beware, be skeptical

[attr="class","sin4"]Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold

[attr="class","sin5"]Had he not held his temper so tightly, Salome likely would have spat like a viper at Iiona’s deliberation. It dragged through the seconds, and he briefly twitched his shoulders, as if trying to displace a particularly worrisome flea. And he did not think it fair – that she should allow her own happiness to arrive on the island, but then suddenly question his.

More rationally, he recognized she was carefully weighing Naiad against Halcyon, judging what was needed, what was wanted. He understood, as she did, that this wolf of moonbeams and half-remembered dreams could not so easily be slotted in amongst their kind. She was too other, too shimmery and shiny when stood beside a normal wolf – and the shaman, while old, knew everything about the island; he could not so easily be replaced, for all that Salome momentarily considered how best to open the position.

He was not a fighter, and blackmail could only do so much – the shaman was too well protected, by his herbs, by his frogs, by his gods. Salome’s gods, weren’t they? He wondered then if he might invoke their story, would Iiona soften her stance? She did not have to fully succumb, of course, just thaw enough that Salome might root through her defenses, searching for a crack to exploit.

But, again, he might hinder Naiad more than help her. For once, his collection of trickery was nothing but a bag of harmless pranks: worse than useless, when dealing with fully-grown wolves. Frustrated, he turned from his thoughts, back to the conversation that still played on, to find his own input was worth as much as a singular leaf fluttering in the wind – hardly a sign, easily cast aside.

As it was, for all his inner turmoil, the result was easily one of the best he could have chosen. As Naiad softly spoke her assent to the conditions that Iiona had laid out, he dropped his head, releasing a quiet breath of relief. It came out as a soft exhale, hardly jubilation, hardly anything.

But it was a reprieve to him.

Now his eyes darkened with intent, and as Naiad ascertained her ability to walk, he added, “But not well. Be slow-going.” He spoke to Iiona directly, purposely separating himself from the future proceedings. He had dallied long enough – Naiad’s place amongst the pack was assured, at least for now; it was time he pull himself away from this dream and return to a sensible reality.

But as Naiad looked toward him, his eyes softened, for the briefest of moments, and his lips inched upward for but a second before returning to their flat, no-nonsense position. He was proud of her – for her.

“I should return to my fishers,” he told Iiona. “Unless you’d prefer minnows for your meal.”

[attr="class","sin6"]

[attr="class","sinner"]Lexx , Heika	[attr="class","sinner"]stock by ria p.	466
sal's gonna bow out before he gets soppy

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[Heika]

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do i dare,
disturb the universe?

Lexx Lirriel
449 words
and so the plot thickens

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The way Naiad immediately perked up brought a tired smile to Iiona’s lips. “There’s no need to thank me,” she stated wryly, “and just Iiona is enough. I am merely abiding by pack traditions.”

Waiting for Naiad to limp over to her, Iiona’s tail flicked in surprise at Salome’s uncharacteristically kind suggestion. Now, more than ever, she was certain that something was wrong with her Lead Fisher. This was not the caustic wolf she had watched grow up too young, was not the acidic creature so many of her mentors had warned her to keep her distance from when she was but a pup. No, she did not recognize the being before her, was not familiar with the sheep dressed in Salome’s pelt, and her eyes flickered back to the beautiful Naiad in understanding. The pieces were falling together, and the bigger picture they painted was equal parts intriguing and concerning. Salome had plenty of responsibilities to look after. Iiona wasn’t sure if he could afford to be distracted, especially not by an outsider whose motives for coming here were still unclear.

“That is for the best,” she agreed as Salome made to leave. He did not need to be warned of the ocean’s dangers, having worked in close proximity with them for many moons now. But, Iiona’s following words were more than just a forewarning about the unpredictable sea; the cautionary statement bore a second meaning, one that she knew Salome was clever enough to pick up on. “Be careful of riptides. Address them early, or else you may be swept out to sea and drowned before you even realize what has happened.”

And, even though she was aware that Salome would only be more inclined to do the opposite, she had offered him her counsel. If he chose to ignore her… Well, that would be his undoing.

“This way,” she addressed Naiad again, taking a few steps into the woods at a pace slow enough that the injured wolf would be able to keep up even with her awkward stride. “The clearing isn’t far, but you are free to lean on me if you wish. I will summon the shaman once we’re there and he will treat your wound. When the fishing and hunting parties return for the night, you are welcome to eat your fill. After your leg is better, I will assign you to a mentor, and they will teach you about our culture and history, as well as find a job that suits you best. Do not worry. The pack will treat you respectfully, and there is another like you here if you would like someone to talk with. Do you have any questions?”

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