She would have to expand her search. Combing the beaches had turned up nothing, not even a whiff of either his scent or Kingsley's. She cursed her single-mindedness. Why would Alizarin remain in such a place, where pirates were known to roam? Of course, that was assuming that the boy was that intelligent to realize such a thing, or that he knew his escape had been followed to this area.

It was hard to search for something when you had no inkling of where to start. She knew nothing save that Alizarin came from a place known as Teekon, a place she had heard of but never visited. That was all. No information on how many packs lived there, how strong they were, how far the land called Teekon stretched. Nothing on where Alizarin's home would lie.

She spat, a bad habit she had taken up from the pirates of Tortuga. A clusterfuck this was. Her honor bound her to the task. She could not just abandon this quest. Eartha sighed, approaching the cliffs and looking over. Maybe he threw himself into the sea. What a fine end that would be. If only. 

Eartha was not alone on the cliffs. She didn't hear him — the crashing waves were too loud — but the slight breeze sweeping all the smells into the air made her aware. She turned her head towards him, saying nothing, doing nothing but fixing the young man with her stare, waiting for him to do something, to acknowledge her as she did he. Part of her itched for a fight. She ignored the itch, no matter how bad it got. She had no surgeon to patch her up after. She wouldn't die here and leave that traitor to roam without justice delivered upon him.

The young man acknowledged her, a tone of indifference cast over his voice. To hide something. He was wearing something heavy over himself — wrapped in it, even. She doubted the wolves here knew of grog or partook as heavily as her companions did, but he looked the sort that would drown himself in it, rather than in the sea. Or do the first before the latter. No Tortuga pirate would admit that emotion of sadness or grief, but she had seen it expressed in every indirect way possible.

Eartha pushed the analysis aside. She could interest herself in the dealings of the locals after she found Alizarin. Not before. Information, she said, keeping her voice flat and level. I'm looking for someone. A boy. Dark red. Golden eyes. There weren't many wolves running around with that hue. He was hard to miss — that was his folly. You see anyone like that?

She was disappointed, though not surprised. She couldn't imagine that the boy would just fall into her lap the moment that she entered the Wilds, that that boy was known by all. It was a big world after all, and it had been a while since the fugitive had escaped from Tortuga. Shame, she said simply, her interest in the man fading for a moment. A rare smile crossed her face and she chuckled gently. Oh, things would be simpler if he owed me a physical debt. The punishment for him would be much less severe, for one. He betrayed me. She stated matter-of-fact. The betrayal had not been personal, but it had been a betrayal of her morals, of something she considered hers: her crew.

She laughed. It was a rare thing for her — though this was something the young man wouldn't know. It sounded harsh rather than mirthful, more like she was barking. Save the beheading, spot on. The smile still remained on her face, though it began to fade. You've heard of pirates then?

To be relegated into myths and legends, to the stories and games that children played, was it demeaning or flattering? To be so mythizied and blown out of proportion that a child grows up to put you in the same realm as the tooth fairy or Santa Claus (or the wolf versions of both)? Eartha wasn't sure how to feel. I'm the captain of a crew, myself, she said flatly.