Shadewood integrity, faith and crocodile tears

Just as he broke away from Kai's sleeping side and managed to encourage @Phex to journey along with him on this extreme path back to his Empress, Cry was pulled back to memories of his own required appearance at the borders of this fresh home. Shaking his thick coat of obsidian out, the assassin made his way to the end of the treeline. Breaking free from the shadows of the peaceful and slumbering woods, the Phantom assessed the howl long before he showed himself to answer the call. The pitch was high, wobbled slightly in octaves, and acute in length. It wasn't deperate, nor pleading in any way; seemed there nothing amiss. This was curiousity; and with a chuckle, the ex-Nightmare recalled how he was surprised to find Phex so freely behind the makeshift borders, enjoying her company with both Tula and the waterfalls of the Verona Bank - a section he had only recently named himself- which hosted enriching waters brimmed with minerals and a marvelous temperature in which to enjoy them. She was enjoying them, alright, and was bashless about it.

It seemed that with their added numbers, the youth who had come to seek whoever lived here knew not to tread past such a thickening border. That reduced the strain of hunting them down, and Cry immediately appreciated it. However, as both he and the tawn and ivory cream female came to the place of calling, the Phantom noticed not only him being right in assuming this was indeed a youth, but a youger youth! This was actually an adolescent, not even a year old. Cry, though he were near experienced in all other sections of reality, had near no understanding when it came to the younger-than-a-yearlings; hell, he hadn't even had any pups of his own. So Bat caught him as a rock in a hard place ought to be. However, it was clear her body had grown more than a pup's would happen to be, and the Guardian sincerely hoped her mindset was just as matured, if not well on way of ripening free of kiddy antics.

Walking up to the slim but leanly muscled youth, Cry kept his calm mask afoot as he greeted her. While his maw worked, his nares did also, sending his mind on yet another tirade of questions and answers. "Hello," he began while the avalanche began against the slate grey, nearly black in the night child. 'A youngling?! Who's? Can't be that coywolf's, no. Did she send them? Has their parent been made aware of this? Were they followed?' His glacials scanned the trees behind the youth, only to return as no movement convinced him otherwise. 'Seems not; but what would this seem to be to the parent?' Hopefully this child hadn't come seeking shelter; this could possibly start a massacre before they even got established! Kai was already repairing herself - hell forbid he die trying to protect her as she fought and killed herelf trying to protect him. And what would Gwen think? Him being unable to collect her - it would break the ivoria even more than what she was, already. Fuck.

"Did you need something?"

Every chant in his dome prayed this encounter go smoothly, calmly, and without tresspass or treason.