Moonsong Glacier i've seen death and mass destruction

@Kaertok

he had let both @Hydra and @Dirge know of his expedition north. it was a few day's worth of travel, one he ought not to do alone -- but the prey was becoming more and more scarce upon the mountain, and soon packs would be jostling over common hunting grounds. he wished to beat them to the punch, to scout and see who -- and what -- was around.

so far there was little. the large game was as he feared, gone. he caught tracks of hare and lesser game here and there, but none worth his energy. with little to report, arcturus rested on the east side of the glacier and watched as another cold and lonely sunrise climbed the wintry skies.

Kaertok continued on his quest to find Raleska. The rest of Rusalka, well, he didn't really care about them. Raleska was the one he had forged a bond with, whether she knew it or not, and finding her was the only thing he had on his mind. A dark wolf came into view, but there was no flutter in Kaertok's heart, anticipating that it might be her. He was a logical wolf, and he knew he'd need to ask around in order to find his aokkatti again. It wasn't likely that he'd stumble upon her out of pure luck.

As he drew near, the Tartok wolf smelled the distinct scent of pack. A decently sized one, if he had to guess. The white male gave a soft woof to his inverted counterpart, hoping to catch his attention and maybe ask for the whereabouts of the scattered Rusalka.

arcturus' eyes slid from the rosy fringes of dawn in the east, to a figure parting form with the snow. a male, by arcturus' estimation -- and no slouch, either. he straightened his lax posture, but did not rise -- for the male did not seem outwardly aggressive (at least yet).

detecting there was perhaps a question lingering in the bitter morning air, arcturus lifted his chin, regarding with cool favor the scarlet meridian of kaertok's blooming gaze. it was not a color he was used to seeing, and for a moment, he seemed quite taken by the cardinal hues. "morning." garrulous was not a trait often extended to arcturus, but he was at least only semi-standoffish as he watched, and waited, for kaertok's words.

The other wolf greeted him, and that was enough for Kaertok. I’m seeking a wolf. She used to live on the coast with a pack called Rusalka. Do you know of them or where they went? he asked. It was a simple enough question, but he was prepared to hear nothing in return. His search would be long and arduous, but it was the only thing he could think to do. It felt right.

The misty air around them clung to the white wolf’s coat, making it shimmer with what little light reached him. He blinked, wondering what sort of life this stranger had led up until this point. Kaertok knew these wilds were full of wolves who had been born here, and those that had come from far away. He had been born here himself, though most of his time had been spent with the Tartok lot.

arcturus unwound his form as the male revealed he was looking for Rusalka. oh boy — he supposed he should probably stand up.

his own opinion of the pack was yet to be set in stone, but he recalled the ghostly argent of a wolf that had come to hydra, speaking of this pack and the dark headed wolf with it. yet as far as he knew, that woman — if that was the woman Kaertok searched for — was acting as independent, and was likely dead.

he readied himself for a poor reaction, wondering if Kaertok was a packmate of hers. you mean the black-headed wolf? his gaze swept over Kaertok for any recognition. she is likely dead. most of the south wants for her blood. you a friend? here his gaze grew hard, and ready.

His ears perked up. "The black-headed wolf" could be none-other than Caiaphas, which might be a better lead than knowing where Rusalka was. Kaertok had never met her, but he knew her to be Raleska's mother by her appearance alone. That much had been described to him by his aokkatti when they were searching for her, before Kaertok had departed. He wondered why they wanted her dead, but knowing that wouldn't get him any closer to Raleska.

A friend of her daughter's. I'm looking for Raleska. He looked for any signs that the name might ring a bell for the stranger. If he could find Caiaphas, he imagined Raleska would not be far from her (or her grave, if that was the case). He hoped his aokkatti had not met the same assumed grim fate of her mother.

raleska was not a name familiar to the mountaineer. it showed in his expression, which remained somewhat impassive -- though he was inwardly relieved to learn this man was not searching (or a friend) of the black-headed witch. something about kaertok implied his mettle was not to be tested; arcturus lost no sorrow in learning the male was allied with another besides caiaphas.

he shrugged, his shoulders loosening. "not a name familiar to me." kaertok would have likely already deduced that, given the deadpan way arcturus' eyes had remained unmoved. "i was under the impression they lived on the coast." in some small way arcturus hoped that tidbit was helpful -- but he was not about to end his own search to assist this male.

It appeared that the other wolf did not know of Raleska, at least not by name. That wasn’t surprising. She wasn’t nearly as (in)famous as her mother. Not only that, but it seemed the dark wolf was unaware of their departure from the coast. It seems they’ve moved on from there. How recently did you confirm they were on the coast? Maybe starting a mental timeline of their dispersal would help limit the radius of his search.

Kaertok wondered how long his own search would last. Winter could be a brutal beast that slowed him down, but that also meant it was unlikely that Raleska would be on the move. If he could manage to keep searching, he might have a better chance while the snow piled up around them. He was built for winter, no doubt about that.

kaertok spoke of rusalka's departure from their assumed domain; this was interesting to arcturus, if only for moonspear's benefit. if they had moved covertly, moonspear might be in harm's way -- if they had been forced to move by the quakes, or disperse, all the better.

arcturus decided then it was in his best interest to glean everything he could from this male about rusalka -- and this raleska figure. "i know only of them, because the dark headed wolf is an enemy of moonspear, my pack. this was several months ago. while we have not seen any of the witch since, i have been told she wishes to kill one of our own. do you identify with a pack of pup-killers?" his tone took a sharp turn towards the end, and his eyes flit to kaertok's muzzle in deft study.

Several months ago, which was probably the last time Kaertok had been there. It didn't get him any closer to Raleska, but it also didn't cause him to lose hope. She had been born and raised here, hadn't she? Well, in this general area, anyway. A question was poised then, about Rusalka being a pack of "pup-killers," something that Kaertok vaguely remembered Vercingetorix touting as a reason to overthrow the pack. Unfortunately for him, Raleska's brother had shot that intention down rather quickly. The instability of Rusalka was what had turned Kaertok away from it (and previously Stormrift).

Only Raleska, he answered honestly. Whatever rumors were being spread (or truths), they weren't any of his concern. His aokkatti was the only thing that mattered. He didn't give two shits about the rest of the pack, although he might learn to like them if he did find Raleska.

arcturus' heated gaze settled as kaertok answered. it was his conclusion this man was foolishly smitten. too young to experience such lovelorn motions himself, arcturus had only the youth's scorn for the notion -- and it caused him to be rather short sighted.

"well, i don't know where she is." he felt unhelpful, but he was not necessarily sorry. if he had it his way, he'd never run into any rusalkan ever. "did you see any large game the way you came?"

The male seemed to settle, as content with Sungiwok's answer as he was going to be. This wolf did not know where Raleska was, but at least he confirmed what Kaertok already knew. And it was nice to know that he could use Caiapha's infamy to search for his aokkatti. There was a very good chance Raleska was with her if she was not still with Rusalka. The two of them had searched for her back before Kaertok had slipped away from the coast and back to Tartok, and she had seemed determined to find her mother at any cost.

Kaertok shook his head at the question about large game. Things along the coast look ravaged. Whatever happened here since I left must have scared them off to somewhere else. The Tartok wolf had noticed it when he had arrived, although he couldn't find a good explanation for it. He was not taught in natural disasters or any such things, so he didn't even bother to investigate.

arcturus knew very little of the coast. he realized, as kaertok spoke of it being ravaged and the prey and the pack moved on, that this was likely intel @Hydra would wish to know. he would have to remember to relay this when he came back to the spear.

he could not offer anything further for the male. he was disappointed that prey seemed scarce further from his home, as well. it meant they would gradually have to scout further and further out of the mainland, a prospect that made arcturus nervous. being away from home meant they were vulnerable to others on the road -- and arcturus trusted no one.

"that's a shame." he managed, rising to his feet with a graceless stretch. "i suppose you have saved me a trip, then."

Kaertok nodded, glad he had been able to provide something of use to the stranger. Speaking of which... If you happen to come across her—Raleska, I mean—can you let her know I’m looking for her? My name’s Kaertok Tartok. It wasn’t too much to ask, and he wasn’t sure how useful it would be to know that, but perhaps he would run across this wolf again in the future and glean some insight to where his aokkatti roamed these days.

Already, Sungiwok was readying himself for the long, slow journey ahead. Scouting her out would be like finding a needle in a haystack. If only Rusalka had not moved from where it once was. But that was the way things went, and it would give him plenty of additional scouting experience that he could use to leverage himself into a pack soon enough.

it was a shame indeed that arcturus did not know of tartok. it would have been a culture in which the young boy thrived -- but ignorant of its traditions, he only nodded and offered his own name in exchange. "i will. arcturus ostrega." if he ever came across raleska he would certainly pass the message along, though to what end he did not know.

readying himself to leave, arcturus stretched and prepared for his own road home. "i suppose i've rested long enough to resume my training." a ranger's work was never done, and the beta had many miles to travail before the stony gates of his keep welcomed him within.

i know originally this was supposed to be a spar thread but if u want to wrap up let me know - i left it open ended so we could go in either direction <3

That's okay! I don't mind when threads go a different way.

The name "Ostrega" sounded somewhat familiar, but Kaertok chalked it up to an old name he'd just heard around a lot. His own family name could be seen as much. He had gathered all he could from Arcturus, and he imagined he would be back this way at some point. Perhaps he would call upon him then and see if there were any new developments. For now, Kaertok headed away from the Moonspear wolf, on to search for his aokkatti.