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"

coded by NachoMumma

Finch was quiet most of the way back to Raider territory. She had wanted to speak up when Calliope had found her off shore of the Kamui Delta after she'd had that strange... encounter... but her thoughts had still been a jumbled mess. Was there a sickness spreading across the land? Would she catch it? Her tongue had been glued to the roof of her mouth ever since, not that Calliope had seemed to notice too much. Finch felt more and more like a shiny bauble for the bigger girl to possess: something to be looked at, maybe handled carefully, then put on a shelf and perhaps forgotten about. Not even admired from time to time. It was a strange feeling, to be kept. Would the novelty wear off eventually?

Don't lollygag. She glanced up, unaware that her steps had been trailing. Finch was consumed with thoughts of sickness and death and her paws had slowed accordingly, but Calliope didn't suffer any attitude. She'd learned that quickly enough. Nonetheless, she was tired, and it took some mustering to pick up the pace as they pulled up towards the den. She listened patiently to Calliope's explanation, her eyes flicking back and forth across the lands as she named their purpose and direction. It would take time to get her bearings, but her "master" was thorough in her explanation. "Right," she licked her dry lips, her voice a little hoarse from disuse over their journey,"Consequences."

When Calliope opened the entryway for her, Finch sidled through slowly. It was peaceful here. She could focus on that much, at least. Calliope had chosen her home well, with a calming view of the sea and close enough that the sounds of the waves lapping at the shoreline would surely lull her to sleep. To sleep... yes, they'd have to share this space, which was clearly designed for one. Finch glanced around. The den, although spacious, was not the more sprawling family warrens she was used to. There would be no hiding from her in here. She groped for something useful to say that wouldn't trigger Calliope's temper, but she was so, so tired. "Your home is beautiful," she said softly, real honesty in her words. By the sea was a lovely place to live - and she hadn't seen the ocean in so long, since she'd attended that festival at the Hallows. The sight still amazed her.

Finch slumped against the back wall of the den, her legs nearly vibrating with exhaustion. Calliope had set the pace on this journey and she was a head and a half taller - each limb was stone-heavy from exertion. She pressed her cheek against the cool wall of the den, weighing her options. Did she tell Calliope about what she had seen at the delta? Who else did she even have to talk to? Maybe come morning she could track down her mother's cousin, Sparrow, but they'd never met. This far away from home, Callie was all she had. "I saw something... while we were resting before beginning our journey here," Finch murmured. "It was terrible. There might be a disease beginning to spread across Boreas, but I'm not certain. I have a feeling everything that we've seen is connected," she closed her eyes, as if by shutting them she could unhear her own words. "I'm frightened." Would she laugh at her? Finch wasn't sure she could bear that. Calliope was a lot of things - brash, unpredictable, rude... but she was brave where Finch was not. That had to count for something. Be worth something.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma

While the interior of Calliope's den was not splendid, it was at least comfortable. Dim lighting illuminated by the setting sun across the water and various pelts lay around for somewhere to sleep. Even a small hearth off to the side during the colder months - not that it ever really got that cold, but it came in handy. One large room, hardly any trinkets (Calliope was more a keeper of wolves than inanimate objects), just enough for her and now Finch. She supposed she would let Finch add some touches to it if the girl ended up staying.

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.

"Speech"

She let the sound of the waves lapping at the shore wash over her. Finch could feel Calliope's gaze on her like a brand from across the den, and she averted her eyes accordingly. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the woman yet - still needed time to figure her out like a puzzle. Every word she spoke now was more careful and measured than it had been before, but it didn't mean her nerves weren't frayed after what she'd seen. The wretched sound of that poor soul's skull as it had cracked as easily as a pumpkin on the ground, spilling forth just as much innards as a gourd might. What were these worms, anyway, but strange, sickly little seeds?

I do believe everyone is frightened. Finch relaxed some at her words, an unexpected tenderness to her words. It soothed her, just like the constant sound of the ocean outside. She let out a small, soft breath and lurched clumsily to her paws. Everything was sore after walking so long, maybe it would feel good to surrender herself to the softness: of the furs, of Calliope. She approached her with all of the same care that you would a wild animal, her steps slow and measured so that Calliope would see her coming and know her intentions. There was no room for mistaking her goal. Eventually, Finch stepped paw on the soft furs and let out an audible groan of satisfaction. Much, much softer than she'd expected. Slowly, she sank to her haunches and then stretched out her forelegs until she laid by Calliope's side.

The young girl held her breath at first, not quite sure what to expect from Calliope. She was... unpredictable, at best. Would this be welcome, or would she turn her out into the cool night? Finch hunkered down deeper into the furs. Her appetite had been waning the last few days, and she was getting a little itchy, but that could be from the grime and stress of travel. Nothing to worry about (right?).

"This stranger was infected by... something. A parasite. His body was completely ravaged and filled with worms," she hissed, an acrid note of disgust in her voice. "His head cracked open right in front of me. It wasn't really the gore that scared me, but the way he seemed completely lost to himself. Like he had absolutely no idea who, or where he was... To lose yourself like that, so completely..." Finch shuddered, subconsciously shifting closer to Calliope. "It's the worst fate I could imagine. And I don't know how to fix that. How to cure... that," she ended softly, turning her vivid green eyes to Calliope at last. The pied female might be her jailer, but she was all Finch had for comfort in these strange times. If she was home in Avalon, she'd have to put on a brave face for her father and Jay - or at least she'd want to. Here with Calliope, she could be afraid. Maybe that was a gift.

"speech"

coded by NachoMumma