welcome home, little bird
finch
Where the trees met the estuary is where Calliope had deemed home. From her position close to the shore, she could hear the lapping of waves and even see the spires of Hearthstone. Away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of Raider territory, she enjoyed her peace and quiet. Perhaps now though, it wouldn't be quiet. Leading the smaller girl to her sanctuary had the titan nervous. While she had shared many a night with various lovers, Calliope had never brought anyone back here. No one except her family knew she resided here and she wasn't even sure all of them actually knew the exact location.
The ground was not quite muddy here yet, more ravine than estuary. Birds milled around, pecking at sand and grass, eagerly looking for bugs before the cold began to sweep in. "Don't lollygag," Calliope snapped over her shoulder, fur bristling as she drew them closer to her carefully made abode. Just on the other side of a dune with a tree supporting the backside of dirt and sand, an opening large enough for Calliope to fit through appeared. Unless one was on the beach, no one would actually know it was there. Long, sweeping branches hung low, nearly touching the top of the entrance, easily hiding the beach and water. She had spent hours upon hours searching for the perfect location to hide away from the world, and now Finch would be the first to really see it.
Stopping just outside of the entrance, she looks down upon the girl she has spent the past few weeks with. Admittedly, Finch was growing on her, but she refused to let any softness show. Calliope would be anything but weak. "This is home," she lifts a paw, sweeping it in front of the entrance covered by a makeshift door made of pine and oak boughs. The dried leaves rustled in the salty breeze that always calmed her every worry. "The plains toward the northwest is where we keep livestock. The moor to the north is where some of the pack resides and our healers tend to their gardens. And the ravine that we walked through to get here is where the rest of the pack lives within the trees. You're free to explore and wander anywhere the Raiders are, but don't trust everyone you cross." A brow lifts, that silent warning clear that if Finch were to go alone, Calliope would not be able to protect her.
"Make sure you're back here by dusk every night or reap the consequences," her lips lift, a snarling smirk lining her pale lips as she steps closer to Finch, lowering her head down near the girl's ear. "Ready to make yourself at home?" Calliope whispers sickly sweet before letting out a chuckle and turning to open the branched entrance for Finch to enter through.
"speech"
Warning: Calliope is callous, rude, and unpredictable. Do NOT expect nice things from her.
Following the smaller female into the interior, Calliope only huffed a response to the compliment. Beautiful. Inwardly, she was proud and beamed, but her expression said little. Exhaustion riddled her own body as she padded along behind Finch toward the back where the thickest and softest of the furs were. "You do not need to be uncomfortable while you are here," Calliope commented off handedly as she plopped herself down on said furs and raised a silent brow as she stared at the trembling girl. Really, she may be a horrible wolf, but she wasn't cruel like that. Her captives would at least be cared for to the best of her abilities.
Laying her chin upon her paws, she watches Finch. Secretly admires her from afar. Almost itches to curl around the girl, warm her weary bones, but keeps her distance. While their journey and relationship was strained, she could feel herself adjusting and getting used to the chatty know-it-all. Calliope's ears even flickered forward to listen to Finch's soft murmurs about the terrible sight she saw near the delta while she had been bathing in the hot springs. Her brows narrow, confusion and concern glancing over her expression before she looks out to the doorway where the sea can be seen through the makeshift door.
It takes Calliope a moment to respond. She thinks, calculating, pondering what best to say to the girl's response. Not that Calliope had any better idea than Finch about any of this. Disease was spreading. Spires were rising. The sky was still painted a deep, malicious red. For as nasty as a wolf as she was, the happenings were unsettling even for herself. Bravery was merely a mask at this point to hide her own fear.
Inhaling deeply, she closes her pastel gaze for a moment as she exhales. "I do not believe anyone is certain, but what I do believe is that everyone is frightened," her own deepened tones were gentle, vulnerable. Here, in her den, her home, she could be... different. Not the Calliope that everyone knew. Turning her chin slightly to look back at Finch, she feels her breath catch in her throat for a moment.
Warning: Calliope is callous, rude, and unpredictable. Do NOT expect nice things from her.