Redtail Rise been getting big, making me look small

AW! Some assumptions made about the RUS group. <3 

Despite her condition Raleska had insisted on scouting ahead. She was injured but not useless — and now Rusalka needed her more than ever. 

Part of her was fearful as she crept into the Rise, her heart hammering and skin feeling on edge. Not so long ago she has been alone; not so long ago, a shadow had taken corporeal form and assailed her. 

She shook such vivid memories from her mind, stealing herself just as another booming quake shook underfoot. To her it seemed like stones grinding against one another; even the trees rustled in their tall canopies, whispering of the destruction soon to come. 

Feeling suddenly small, Raleska’s gaze traced their barren roosts, and then she continued westward. With Ankyra Sound behind her and sundered by the ocean that had once been their boon, there was no place to go but forward.

As much as she enjoys the company of her dear Cerulean, Ereshkigal was born to meander. There is nothing, perhaps, that can root her in one place for very long. She bids the girl adieu and moves silently, furtively, over the lands of the taiga, tail like a thin ruddy banner behind her. 

She runs and does not stop. Not until the rise crests into something slightly more even and she spies the shadow-fae some paces away.

Greetings, Ereshkigal calls out, her gallop ceasing, shifting into an even trot. Her mouth is curved and grinning, teeth glowing much as this girl's yellow orbs do. The Seductress finds herself drawn into them, just like the bottomless blue of Cerulean's. Eyes. . . Her weakness, she thinks. And yet, her strength as well, from another angle.

Are you a traveler, too? she croons, catching a whiff of sea-salt and strife upon the young woman's pelt. Things are changing, and not for the better. The earth is angry and its children are on the move.

Unsettled by the upheaval back home, Raleska’s composure was scarcely held together as a shewolf approached. From a distance, the girl mistook the interloper for one of her brazen coyote cousins — yet up close, it was clear this huntress was blooded. 

Interestingly, Raleska had encountered very few of similar lineage than her — she paid this woman the full of her attention, jaw set and eyes narrowed. I’m not traveling by choice. The girl concedes, wondering why it was this harridan (who reminded her in some ways, of a more attractive version of her mother — Caiaphas being about as sensual as stone, and all that) was alone and so forward with strangers. Did she not fear being attacked by marauders? (Maybe this one had yet to make herself many enemies.) Don’t you feel it? Raleska accused, rather abruptly swapping the conversation a second time with a follow-up: Who are you?

The girl is not overly friendly—but then, who could be, in these conditions? Especially if she is on the move due to circumstances beyond her control. Ereshkigal gives her a solemn nod in response to the first question, the pads of her paws tickled by some subterranean buzzing (conjured into existence by the other's words? perhaps). And as for the second. . .

I am Ereshkigal, she murmurs, her smile diminishing to something more reserved. Time enough, yet, for the Seductress to emerge. She clings to the image of a diplomat, now, hoping to approach this prickly fae with goodwill. None of her words will be received with anything but rancor if she is anything but on her very best behavior.

Feh. She truly does detest behaving.

Who are you? she repeats, putting a very slight and gentle stress on the last word. She speaks it not in interrogation but in curiosity; the desire to learn more for her own sake and not others' rings clear in every syllable. She is friend, not foe. A messenger of the One can only be a boon to those who encounter her.

Raleska had yet to decide if this wolf was truly friend or foe. Perhaps it was her own prickly demeanor -- perhaps it was her unfortunate experience -- either way, Ereshkigal deserved better than the clipped reception she received.. and Raleska knew that, yet, oddly felt no guilt. Life was hard - the wolves in it harder -- and if Raleska's suspicions were right, this woman was not so soft herself.

Noting the way the smile faded as Ereshkigal introduced herself, Raleska answered in similar fashion. "I'm Raleska." There's none of the old pride in her voice -- for if Raleska had a legacy to uphold, it was now gone with her mother (likely) dead and Rusalka in ruins.. "I'm looking for a friend. She's about my height, dark brown, with a large scar on her face you couldn't miss." Raleska decided to reveal, her gaze resting hopefully on the stranger in the vain hopes she might have good news.

Raleska. There is not much to suggest the young woman carries the blood of the heretic, just as Ereshkigal does, and she has never seen herself as so different from full-blooded wolves, anyway. There are no mirrors to reveal her shame; the sneers of others do not faze her. The Seductress knows she is beautiful beyond lineage, worthy beyond design. All that separates a wolf and a coyote at death is belief — and she has always been, and will always be, a believer.

Does Raleska have room in her heart for the One?

I've not seen anyone of that description, she responds, ruefully shaking her pointed head. I am sorry, sister. How long has your friend been missing? Perhaps I can help you search for her. She would only need to leave word with Cerulean, and perhaps the blue-eyed fae will be keen to go along. Where else will she go, besides loiter and pine within the willows? Ereshkigal certainly does not think she is jumping at the chance to see Mal again.

It seemed fate was not on her side today, for her thin companion had seen naught of Rosalyn. Raleska did not bother to hide her disappointment, for Rosalyn meant a tremendous amount to the young Eyjolfur, and she was beginning to feel despair set in.

She knew in her heart that it was grim Rosalyn had not returned. She spoke as such. "She's been gone a few days -- it's not like her. She has a family--" The usually stern Raleska found herself oversharing -- why? "And a mate, and ... me.." Her voice took on a softer tone, and she looked away to regain some of her lost composure. It was only when Ereshkigal offered the unthinkable -- help.. Again came that simmering question: why?

"Do you always help strangers?" Raleska's gaze was wrought with distrust; she wanted more than anything to believe, but what good had trusting others done for her?

The Seductress feels Raleska's pain acutely; it resonates from her like heat from the desert floor. Ereshkigal is a remarkable empath, and while this part of her personality allows her to pick up on other's emotions quite easily, it leaves her vulnerable to stumbling into sadness herself. She swallows it now, her face suffused with sorrow for the seawolf. Only when she is questioned again does she let her customary smile return.

No, she sings, eyes narrowed slightly, playfully. Only those I find intriguing. Intriguing, young, dynamic. Woman. Ereshkigal has always been more fond of women than men, even though the latter are easier to sway (at least, when certain pressure is applied). Women can actually think of more than one thing at a time; it makes them difficult quarry, but excellent friends and lovers.

She cocks her head, lips pouted slightly. Are you alone in your search party? Shall I accompany you? Damned if she isn't getting a little carried away with the moment. There is still Cerulean to think of, after all. But the offer has been given, and it hangs between them, silent, heavy. She waits with bated breath, fancying that she can hear each and every beat of both girls' hearts within her gargantuan ears.

Raleska noted, with some perplexity, the exchange of emotions that drew past Ereshkigal’s face like a current. She had no such room in her heart for such empathetic notions — and thus, seemed mildly confused at how effusive the woman’s concern seemed. 

Thinking still of trickery, Raleska hid her distrust by glancing away and offering a roll of her shoulders. If you have nothing better to do.. She had attempted to frame the comment as indifferent, but a hint of insecurity ebbed in her voice. She had wanted to be indifferent, but it was not so — secretly, she wanted this woman to like her.. she just had no idea how to deconstruct her prickly shell, and let go of her suspicious nature. Even with the compliment of being interesting, Raleska was not so swayed. Are you alone, and if so, why?

It is not the most enthusiastic of answers. . .but it is a start. She lets her tail wag a beat or two, eyes creased in a luminous smile. What better than helping someone in need? Ereshkigal chirps, her voice cheerful but sincere. The One has called me to serve my fellow woman, and so I will.

The question posed is a little easier to tackle than the others have been; she shakes her head, turning slightly to the south. I am staying with a friend, Cerulean, the Seductress explains. What will the girl think of this? Perhaps they will find Raleska's friend in no time at all, and trouble will not be found. Her family lives—used to live—within the willow forest. We're resting there, for now.

It will not be forever, she thinks. The place is suffused with sadness for Cerulean, or at least it seems so; who would wish to linger there for very long under the circumstances?

Raleska had her doubts about this one titled “The One” — particularly if there was an omnipotent god above, why did the world suck so much? She was about to press for answers in that churlish way, when Ereshkigal mentioned the willows. 

The willows? You mean Elysium? Raleska inquired, now making her way south through the maplewood. She had not thought to ask them if they’d seen Rosalyn — perhaps that was a fine place to start.