Dragoncrest Cliffs the sugary smell of springtime

Anyone is welcome! Looking to put this to a naturalist trade.

He had found himself by the lake that the territory held. A source of freshwater. Also a source of reflection in the night. A star-lit sky with a moon pregnant as a summer mother. It spoke to him, beckoned his attention to be turned to it.

So his thick neck craned to look up to the heavens. Almost expectant, as if something would be revealed to him with each distant shimmer in the sky.

she mulled over the seafoam run. breath came tighter as she thought of the waves crashing down upon the swimmers. 
a new man had come to sapphique. erzulie knew nothing of him, only that her season was arriving swiftly, heat building beneath her fur as the snow began to melt. 
not yet, or she would not have approached the skull-faced man with confident steps. eadwulf, rosalyn had said. the cinnamon harlot prowled closer. "how are you settling into dis lan' alongside de sea?"

It was an accented voice that swept over him.

Good, He offered in his graveled tones. Short but honest. Eadwulf had not struggled yet. Although he had not spent much time down by the shore, perhaps...intimidated by its waves and winds.

It has offered plenty to look at. Pale muzzle swayed up to point towards the skies in all their glory. A shimmering sea much different from the one out on the sands. He wondered if she would be as enraptured by it as he found himself. Or perhaps it was nothing new to the wolves who lived here.

he was large and strongly built. she was reminded of aningan, who had faded from their borders, and rosencrantz, who lay interred within them. "i have never grown tired of de sights."
erzulie followed the line of his gaze upward for a moment, relaxing somewhat at the sight of the glittering expanse.
"poetry in de light," she said softly, returning her attentions to him.

She spoke of poetry and he wondered. Was she a wolf who spun words often? Perhaps based upon the skies? Or did it mean something deeper?

His head tilted to look down from the heavens. Towards her, specifically. A dark brow in his pale face quirked slightly. Intrigued.

How so?

"dat be dependin' on where you come from." she studied the ivory edge of his jawline. the skull-mask both perturbed and intrigued her; she wondered how he had come by it, what combination of blood and chance had given him such a visage. "where i be from, stars could be followed. dat de shapes held stories an' messages," and here she pointed out a cluster of the small glowing pinpricks. constellations, marie had said.
she would not pry into his own roots. such things came with time. 
"i be erzulie, obisidian in sapphique." gentle voice, museful as she thought upon all the star-tales she had seen woven over the years.

He hushed and listened as she spoke. Eyes followed when she pointed. He wondered if one could lead him to those he had lost. Not that it would do him much good now, would it? He had sworn to Rosalyn and he saw no reason to back on it now. Maybe he could simply find the stories in them.

Eadwulf. He returned with a little dip of his head. He still had much to learn of their titles, meanings and places.

Would you share more of the sky, Erzulie? A soft, deep request that she did not have to answer if she did not wish. He was simply burdened with curiosity now.

a pause, and then the courtesan settled herself to oblige. "once upon a time, maman paya lived in de house of de sun. she kept its fire. she was kind, and mot'ers came to have children in de sun's blessing. she was very loved to reward maman when she died, de sun took a piece of himself and put it in her hands. now she walks as a bright star. we say it be de one dat calls de babies and tells dem it is time to be born."
a grin; she watched eadwulf, wondering what he would make of that story. that one was not from marie; no; erzulie recalled that tale as the only memory she had of her mother's voice, slow and soothing in the hushed heavy heat of the bayou.

Maman she spoke and he hardly understood. The term lost on him but the message still clear. A house of the sun had become a place for blessed births. Only to be turned into one of those bright stars when her time came. He was touched by it. A tender feeling swept over whatever mood or mind he might have been in.

She has a very important job bestowed upon her. Warmth in his deep tones. Is she out tonight?

Curious eyes swept from Ezrulie's face to the sky. It was not his business, but he did naturally wonder if this Maman might call upon this woman's children this year.

"she is there," and erzulie motioned to a particularly bright spot of light, east of their position. the marvel of the heavens had never been wasted upon the harlot, not even now in company she was only just coming to know. "anot'er one, there," and erzulie indicated the north star. "anansi sits and weaves. 'anansi, what are you making?' he says, 'i will tell you when the sun dies.' but as you know," the harlot went on, tipping her mismatched gaze toward eadwulf, "de sun never dies. and so nor does sly anansi tell, guarding his secret in de same place in de sky."
it was good to recall the old stories and the old songs, the old tongue and the old memories. his skull-features, gleaming. "did you grow up wid such tales?"

He watched and listened. A star dubbed Anansi who would never give up his secret.

He could have listened to her tales of the sky all night. In fact, he would have preferred to instead of been faced with the question.

No, A little shake of his head. Coat colors, deer and elk. Very different from the sky. The barest hint of humor in his words.

something appearing briefly in eadwulf, but he only gave a sparse recount of himself. erzulie chose to take this as a boundary-line; she left its edge and sought to think of something more moderate in nature. "i once lived upon a plateau wid such animals."
she traced her eyes over the seapine forest. "beautiful creatures, but at de end of it all, it be de saltbeasts dat hold my attention de longest." in her now, a stirring for a hunt, but the starlight held the harlot in thrall.

Not necessary, but could maybe close and have something new if you'd like. :)

Beautiful creatures, indeed, he thought. Yet she spoke of saltbeasts that held her captive. He could feel his curiosity peak within his mind and heart.

Perhaps you can teach me of them sometime, as you have the stories of the skies. Despite the way he had worded it, it was more of a request than anything else. He was burdened with the fact that he knew little of this place. He would need to lean into the others here and soak within their knowledge.

absolutely <3

"i would enjoy dat very much," erzulie said softly. it was good to meet someone who enjoyed such stories. she knew she always had an audience in rosalyn and in her children, but the skull-marked man had shared a true thing with her this time. "for now, let me tell you anot'er one about de stars."
a smile, two wolves beneath the heavens whiling away the velvet hours.