Two Rivers Isle asked what had happened this time

vague vague v—

the swelled river cut in two ribbons on either side of a small earthen island. it was here the spice-edged jezebel found her footing, jaws around the throat of a fawn. it had thought to escape the shadewood and make for the current, but erzulie had given pursuit.
panting, the downpour slicking chai-tea pelt to her muscled figure, the beta hauled her catch into the grass and hunched over it, sides heaving with exertion and irritation ticking in the mismatched gaze.

[ooc]MINE MINE M- <3

She had no idea where to even begin looking for her daughter. The fog that had consumed her had faded away, leaving a clear view as finally, the clouds parted- but only temporarily, it seemed. In a reflection of her mood, the skies had clouded over and the rain had begun anew when Niamh had announced to her packmates that she would delay her return to the copse in favour of combing the neutral territories for any sign of her daughter. 

Phox had suggested Alyx might've stayed put as soon as she'd realized she was lost- but Niamh had her doubts. She should have cried out if that was the case, and they should have been able to hear her. She suspected, then, that she'd wandered further than any of them had suspected, and crossed the river leading to the isle. So, then, did Niamh. 

Her search led her to find another- and while this wasn't her daughter, something tickled her about having found the sea-witch, finally on her own. Niamh knew better than to assume that Rosalyn wasn't close by, though, so she kept her distance. Silently, she wondered if Raleska had delivered her message- regardless, she figured she'd know soon enough. She maintained a wary distance, especially considering the fact that Erzulie had made a kill, but she chuffed to get the woman's attention, and regarded her with an even, calm stare.[/ooc]

yesSSSSSSS

erzulie had gathered the fawn back into her jaws, prepared to ford the water on the far side of the island again. but her awareness prickled; the small body slumped to the ground and she regarded niamh with an impassive stare.
the last time she had seen the golden bitch, erzulie believed niamh to have followed their small band, intending harm. she had threatened rosalyn, and it was the redhawks who had ousted caiaphas.
she was not trustworthy. but niamh did not attack, and after a long moment of crystallizing tension, erzulie lifted her chin somewhat and approached with a steady gait.
whatever life might have doled to niamh, she had retained the sharp gilded edge. and there was pain now in erzulie. the enemy was somehow a reflection of what nieve could have been. beautiful, capable nieve. her daughter would not have abandoned rusalka. 
"are we done wid all dis, niamh?" the harlot muttered, ready to meet any challenge if the woman offered it, but maintaining her own watchful, unthreatening demeanour.

Their gaze met, and both creatures remained still for a few moments, neither sizing one another up nor readying to attack. Niamh did not intend to provoke Erzulie- especially not when her family was nearby and her daughter missing. She had too much at risk, and after her conversation with Raleska, she found herself capable of maintaining a bit of calm, despite the prickling wariness that she felt when Erzulie padded closer to her. But there was no aggression in her relaxed gait, and her features- prettier than what Niamh had remembered them to be- proclaimed no demon. 

She blinked at Erzulie's question, and huffed- more a release of tension than anything else. She drew in a breath, and with a wry tightening of her lips, she responded.  "I am if you are," She said. Reluctantly, she nodded, and found her expression contorting to something between a grimace and a smile. "Especially now, considering Ambro- Firefly," She searched cautiously for a reaction.

for a long moment erzulie considered that niamh might not relent. the buttercut gold of the other's features thinned like a pulled rope, and then her expression became something lesser, something that gave the harlot an assurance of no attack. "i am."
like that, the threat of teeth at the back of rusalka dropped. erzulie was not so foolish as to believe every former redhawk — or firebird — might allow them their place in this forest. but the feud had been centered in niamh.
"firefly." she had never known him by ambrose; she had only known him for the littering of scars through his pelt, how he had run from them in the end.
a twitch of her dark ears. "how you be knowin' dat name?" did erzulie understand? some inkling, but she shoved it away, willing this both to be so and not.

Truce acheived, even if it was temporary at best, Niamh nodded, and sat down. Raleska had been unwilling to share with her the information she had sought about her nieces and nephews- but these might be questions she could potentially pry from the sand-coloured sea wolf. She wondered if Erzulie, too, might seek to keep the Firebirds at a safe distance by denying their relationship, but at least thus far she had been civil. Maybe this was only because Erzulie was alone- and maybe, if Rosalyn had been present, they wouldn't have shared one word. 

But it seemed she was unaware, still, of Firefly's secrets, leading Niamh to assume that in the few short days that had passed, Raleska had not relayed this new information...And it was refreshing to know that Erzulie's willingness to let past feuds settle came from common sense, not from any obligation she might've felt once she'd been told the truth. Niamh curled her damp tail about her feet. Pain made her cheeks flush warm, but there was a small flicker of private amusement that shone in her eyes. "I crossed paths with Raleska the other day," She said, gentle fondness in her tone when she mentioned the girl's name. "I asked her what had become of him...And she mentioned you, and Rosalyn, and your children," She said.  A beat later, she breathed the revelation into the misty air between them. "He was my brother."

erzulie's ears fell backward. she had known? had she? had she not? why else would niamh have mentioned him? but truly, she did not, and the implications of it traveled downward with her splayed auds. but it was a formidable seize of surprise that drove now the nail of her interest.
"your brot'er." she studied niamh with a new solemn interest, noting yes, the gold that was in nieve, the coloration that seemed similar to that which the man had once borne. erzulie did not like to think of him, even now, but the moment demanded the contemplation. "so we be family, den," came her wry rejoinder.
it sufficed to be seen that neither the harlot nor the firebird cared a great deal for this arrangement. she too had taken a seat, curling plume over forepaws. "he gave us five children," erzulie opted to say after another pregnant silence had passed. "nieve, reyes, scarab, marisol, and clementine. she stays in rusalka. de ot'ers have dispersed. sought dere own way mont's ago." 
and it ached. niamh was old enough now to be mother again, though enjoyed the privilege of a younger age. it showed in her careful features, her carriage, the slim-limbed elegance. "i am sorry you know his end," the jezebel muttered, perhaps with a minute amount more softness than before. "i wish dere was more to tell."

She could feel Erzulie searching for resemblance in her features, but she herself had never really noticed too many physical similarities- aside from the golden hairs that decorated his nape- but they'd been similar enough in personality...Though Erzulie had seen Niamh's fangs more than she'd seen any trace of her personality, up until this moment. So when she mentioned the word family, Niamh cackled, her ears flicking back. She hadn't expected Erzulie to say that- or have a sense of humour. "Your words," She said. 

Erzulie patiently bode her time, and Niamh- hoping the silence might beg more information from the odd-eyed beauty. And she would be told that her brother had fathered five children- a feat that made her smile, though the expression was somewhat pained to hear that the majority of the kids had dispersed. Those kids were her blood alright- so easily swept away by fanciful winds. She heaved a sigh that fell flush against clenched teeth. "They do that." She said ruefully, considering she was no stranger to the feeling of waking up in the morning, and realizing that a child had run off. 

She nodded solemnly when Erzulie mentioned Ambrose's death, but offered no reply. It was too painful to speak of, now that his death had come with such finality. The sea wolf had nothing else to add, but Niamh- having grown up alongside Ambrose, had known him as a kindred spirit. "He was a great brother." She replied softly. "And would've made a great father."

erzulie, for a moment, wanted to fling niamh's words back into the gold-gleaming face. he had been a brave wolf to rusalka, but a cowardly sire in the end; he had run away from all his children the hour that both she and rosalyn had entered their trials. he had never come back, and then they had found him dead.
but perhaps firefly had been a good brother, a better sibling to niamh than he had been father to the firebird's nieces and nephews. opting only to nod with an agreement she did not feel, erzulie turned her attention toward the other mention.
"a child, carried by de river. she was washed up not far from heah." turning, a gesture of slim muzzle toward the forest on the other side of the waters. "i had wondered but ... wanted to be sure she did not catch a fever from de ordeal."
cinnamon auds now swiveling toward niamh.
"dis be somet'ing you know about?"

A child- 

And Niamh's ears flew forward. "Alyx- is it Alyx?" She interrupted, not bothering to listen to what Erzulie mentioned about her being carried there by a river. How had Alyx gotten to a river? She must have wandered off for some time in the fog before falling into the water, which triggered a small flare of anger at the back of her mind- but if she could locate Alyx, she might be willing to forgive her packmates over the next decade or so. Her breaths came in short pants as she waited for Erzulie to continue- she'd held onto the child, to make sure she hadn't been sick- and did she know-

of course she did.

"Alyx, she's mine- is she alright?" She asked urgently. "Dark fur, looks like a little wolverine, four and a half months old, orangeish eyes?" She spluttered. She had to make sure the child was a match. Niamh was exhausted- and the cold had begun to settle into her bones, so a voyage across the river to get Alyx and then return to the Copse would be arduous- but she had to know, at least, that her child had survived, and was being taken care of. Getting her back to the Copse was another matter altogether.

"aye, dat be de one. alyx." the girl had known her name; erzulie had not wished to know the title of her pack. but spoken all the same. she studied niamh's drawn features, gilded with sungold and a mother's worry. "my oldest daughter from dis yeah brought her back from de riverbank."
her flanks swelled with a steadying breath, and erzulie glanced toward the waters. they were still rushing, great; even now she was unsure how she might drag the fawn back over. best to fill her belly before the attempt, the seasoned pirate decided. logical mind operated separate of emotional, but now the harlot focused it all upon the firebird.
"she is welcome to stay until" and here a roll of her spice-dark shoulder, for who could know the ways of the stormclouds in these trying times. but that would be niamh's decision; it was odd, erzulie thought, to have so long a feud ended and rusalka given a true boon in alyx washing to their shore.

"Oh thank grapes," Niamh sighed, as soon as Erzulie nodded even the slightest. On any other day, she might have feared for Alyx's safety more, knowing she'd been taken in by the wolves of Rusalka, and might've even gone so far as to wondr if her daughter was being held hostage...But given her recent conversation with Raleska, and this current establishment of friendlier terms, she felt relief. Alyx was alive- and she was safe. And now, Erzulie suggested that she stay there, away from her family a bit longer. 

It made sense, but it made Niamh grimace and grit her teeth. She wanted to return home with her child- but having to ford the river to go and get Alyx, and tp try and come back across the river again with a child in tow...It was too dangerous. Her lips pursed, though they threatened to tremble at the edges. She didn't want her daughter to stay with Rusalka. Maybe if this had been Raven, or Quixote, she could take the news more easily...But not necessarily. She wanted very much to return home, daughter at her side, having corrected the mistake her packmates had made. At least, though, she would return home with news. 

"I....Think that would be best, for her," She admitted, though her disappointment was tangible. "You're...Living in the Shadewood now?" She asked. After all- as far as she'd known, the wolves had lived further up and along the coast- and had not expected to find them here. "We're in the Copse, just south-east of the Caldera," She said. "Can you...Tell her that we love her, and that I've been looking for her?" She asked, trying not to plead.

"yes, de shadewood. we were on de moors, but.." she rolled a lean shoulder, rolled her eyes at the never-ending rain. it occurred to her that already she had made several decisions without the input of her wife, but she saw no reason now to go back on them. erzulie was impetuous, stubborn; the pirate had known this.
still she was not fond of considering the way rosalyn might look upon her, in that still, contemplative manner that never grew explosive, nor outwardly angry, but measured the harlot. they had moved in unison for so long that erzulie felt suddenly rather bare.
"of course." niamh had no semblance of her own aloof nature; the golden woman wore her emotions embroidered openly. in this erzulie trusted, somewhat, for she did not feel that the other was acting. "she be in good care wid rusalka," the harlot assured. "i will bring her back myself."

Another casualty of the flooding, it seemed. Erzulie and her packmates had moved further south and inland, away from the coast where they most often dwelled. And fortunately for Niamh, it seemed, as their relocation would coincide with Alyx's disappearance. She nodded in acknowledgement and understanding, as she too had been forced to leave her home in order to avoid being trapped in a potentially watery grave. Alyx was still out of reach- but at least she was alive, and was being cared for. 

And so it would be, it came to pass, until the river waters subsided, whereupon Erzulie stated she would return the child. Niamh was wordless for a moment, and her gaze softened, falling to the ground. Her hear raced still, knowing that her child was alive- and that she, she had found her. What her packmates had ruined she had fixed- and she would return to her pack not with her child, but at least with the news that she had been found. She would have to accept those terms. She raised her gaze, and nodded softly. "I can't tell you how much that would mean to me," She confessed quietly. "I'll be waiting...Thank you, Erzulie," She said. Her trust was still as thin as flint, but it wuld have to function for the time being, and would be put to the test should Erzulie follow through with her promise. She would leave the conversation with a mix of satisfaction and dread, and would not rest completely until she had her daughter back, safe and sound, in the Copse.