Seaside Moors raspberry pink lemonade

Once again, Kaertok found himself comfortably near the bottom of the ranks. His time at Legion had taught him a thing or two about leading. Namely that he did not yearn for it as some did. He would step in if the need arose, but with Erzulie at the helm here (and seemingly Raleska in some form), Kaertok saw no future in which he would lead again. This did not bother the Tartok wolf. He had always considered himself a solid member of any pack that he had been a part of, and that would not change here.

There were whispers that a child had gone missing, and he sought answers on that today. What was this child’s name, did they know anybody outside of Rusalka, and should he trek after him or her? Those questions would hopefully not go unanswered long. He called out for anybody who might’ve known the child on some level, unaware that it was Raleska’s blood who had been lost (and also unaware the child had been in her care when they'd run off).

It was Raleska. Raleska done did lost the baby. It hadn’t been her intention to meet a bear that day, but here they were one Valravn short and Raleska feeling worse than a crab dropped from a four hundred foot drop by a seagull.

She heard Kaertok’s howl and came upon him silently fuming. If he made any mention of HER losing Valravn he’d get the claws — but then again when had Raleska ever been anything less than sour? That’s just is. (Happy morning surprise.)

My hero. *swoons*

That Raleska should answer his call wasn't surprising. She was deeply entrenched in pack affairs, and she was his closest ally here. I want to look for the child, if you think that is a good use of time and effort. Is there anywhere nearby where they might've gone? Did they run away, or were they chased off? All these questions would hopefully narrow down the task and give Kaertok a better starting point than going around and asking strangers if they had seen a child.

He also needed to know the child's sex and appearance, but he started with the basics first. Something told him that if he did find the child, or at least aid in searching for them, Kaertok might be thought of more positively in Erzulie and Rosalyn's eyes. Always tactical, this one.

If Kaertok found the child, he'd be considered Rusalka's most eminent hero. Raleska as of now was his only ally -- if he brought back the cheery babe who'd gotten lost in the woods, he'd be lauded and maybe even something else, too. Winkgrin.

Raleska, however, felt a dark disappointment clutch her belly as the reason for his presence was confirmed. He wanted to find Valravn. Worse than that, he asked all of these questions about a subject she well and truly did not wish to think of. Her stomach fell further and she looked to the ground. "He was chased off. A bear came while we were at the Plains. I couldn't chase after him, I had the other puppies with me." Raleska bit her lip, silent fury collecting to the point she was surprised by the sudden bout of blood dribbling from her lip. "His name is Valravn. He's black and --" She almost said looks like me and stopped with a blanched expression. "I'll go with you to look for him."

Raleska explained, and Kaertok listened. He considered consoling her, but she would take it as an insult. In his eyes, she had done no wrong. Had it been anybody else, he would have ripped them a new one. Raleska, though, she had simply not been able to be everywhere at once. No, it was not her fault. The bear (and perhaps the child) were the only ones in the wrong.

Is there any other place he would deem safe? he asked. Perhaps he had ended up there. He went ahead and assumed she’d searched the immediate area where he’d been lost, but it was possible the boy had retraced his steps somehow.

LOL he knows her so well

She waited for the surprise. For the accusation. For the lift of his brow -- anything that would further incriminate her as the reason for Valravn's lost.

Raleska was almost disappointed -- in a twisted, relieved way -- that Kaertok was so stoic in the face of such ugly news being thrust on him. God, was he always so good, all the time? A vein of irritation flickered in and out of life, suppressed immediately by guilt. She was being uncharitable and defensive, and he didn't deserve that.

"I don't know. Rosalyn already looked in his favorite spot - it's back by the den. He ran, and then we ran -- I couldn't.. I couldn't go after him." Not with the rest of the kids' lives on her head.

While he was always quick to point out the weakness in his children, he would never do as much to Raleska. It wouldn't do her (or him) any good to do so. She made an apology for losing Valravn—or at least as much of an apology as he'd ever seen her make about anything. In that, the two were quite similar. Kaertok would never admit fault even if he knew he'd done something wrong. He tended to stick to facts in those situations, just as he noted Raleska was doing now.

Then we will look, he said. We can start by seeing if his scent is anywhere along the borders, then we can search within. The process would not be easy by any means, but if it returned any hint of where the boy might've gone, it would be useful. After that, we start looking to the surrounding packs. Are there any packs that he would know?

For once, Raleska was grateful for Kaertok giving instruction. Under any other circumstance, her back would bristle if a man told her what to do - but having Kaertok there, calmly dictating their strategy, seemed to settle her.

She nodded mutely, feeling a lump in her stomach. It did no good that they were talking about her son; Kaertok had never asked, and so, Raleska would never tell. "No. I mean, I don't think so." Val had largely been a homebody, which made his disappearance all the more troubling. Her stomach chilled at the idea him sitting lifeless in a bear's stomach -- but the bear's tracks had gone north, and Val south. "Come, I know a place where his scent is still present. His favorite spot."

The white bear nodded, the information not really helping their search, but he knew it was best to cover their bases as much as possible. She gave the next instruction: they would go to Valravn's favorite spot, and that would at least let Kaertok know his smell. Even that alone may help in the search. He followed along silently for a few strides, then he asked more questions.

How old is he? You think he'll be able to survive on his own for awhile? It wasn't a particularly pleasant question, but it was one he needed an answer for. It would help them determine how long to keep the search going. If he was a mere month or two old, it was unlikely he would be found alive even a week down the road. If he was older, there was a much better chance he was alive and well and would continue to survive, even if they weren't able to find him.

They walked in silence for several strides before Kaertok spoke. Raleska turned an ear backwards, giving his query some consideration before answering. Ever practical, it did not bother her he was so blunt -- even if she felt a twist of guilt anew as she answered.

"He's five months old. He's.." She didn't want to say it, but breathed through her hesitation and said it anyway. "Resourceful. Whether he survives for a while depends on if the bear found him.. When I went back, the bear's scent went north and Val's disappeared at the southeast fringes of the forest."

Kaertok right now, making connections:

Five months. His own were about four months, and he was confident in their ability to survive on their own if they had to. At least Valravn was not an infant. If he had been, Kaertok doubted the boy would have anything but a grim outcome.

There was another connection, though. It had been roughly a month before his own children had been born that he had last seen Raleska. She had made no indication that her children had survived, and Kaertok had assumed that they hadn't. Did that mean this one was one of hers? He had thought all of the children were Rosalyn's or Erzulie's. And maybe that was the way Raleska had wanted it. Kaertok remembered nothing of what her blood children had looked like, as all his attention had been on her, not the mewling babes at her side.

That is good news, Kaertok replied. For all the thinking he did, he was not about to ask her whether or not Valravn was her own blood. It did not matter. What mattered was that they found him alive and well. He was part of Rusalka, which meant that he mattered.

LIGHT BULB! dont let Raleska find out *superlaugh*

They were arriving close to the little hide-away Raleska had found Valravn occupying more than once; it was a mossy den burrowed deep into the base of a tree. The hole was just the right size for a puppy -- but an adult like she or Kaertok would not find it easy to worm their way inside. Here the scent was largely faded; Raleska stepped back to allow Kaertok a chance to study the scent if he wished.

It was good that she was lost in her own thoughts, and unable to see the lightbulb moment that went off in the Tartok's skull. Had he asked, she would have vehemently turned on him: her emotions were complex and mostly confusing -- she had no idea how to articulate her reasons for leaving Valravn to her surrogate parents.. Moreover, she found very little reason to have to defend herself. "This is the place. Let me know when you're ready."

We can maybe wrap with your next post?

They arrived at the place Valravn had frequented, and Kaertok bent down to take in his scent. It had faded, but it was still there. The Tartok took several deep breaths (and several shallow ones), hoping to memorize the scent well. If he came across the boy, he wanted to make sure he did not make a mistake and let him go. That would be a serious offense, and Kaertok did not wish for that. He spent several minutes there, pawing at the dirt some here and there, checking all the way around the tree where the mossy burrow started. When he was satisfied, he took a step back, then glanced at Raleska.

He will be found, he said.

In what state, Kaertok could not know. Hopefully he would be found alive and well, full of life, if not a little bit spooked from living on his own for a time. All they had now was hope, and he knew that this was important to Raleska. To Rusalka, too. Losing a child was a horrible thing, even though Kaertok knew it did happen. Even some of his own younger siblings had vanished without a trace, never to be found again. He did not wish that on Valravn, Raleska, or Rusalka as a whole.

Raleska couldn't help the series of depressing thoughts that roamed through her mind as Kaertok busied himself with scenting the area. When he was done, Raleska straightened up. She admired his confidence, but he was speaking to the wolf that had lost everything one rainy spring day: not everything that was lost was ever found.

She thought of Rhakios and Kierkegaard -- both gone, no doubt, to the end in the clearing.

"I hope so." Raleska didn't want to throw firewater on Kaertok's hopes, but there was so little room in her weary heart for hope these days.

Grateful for his company, Raleska motioned towards the edge of the borders. They'd spend the rest of the day scouting the perimeters, and the next day would leave at dawn to roam the lands just beyond Rusalka's borders.