Stone Circle I need to find a place where my heart can go to heal.

Sleep had not come for him, and a restlessness filled him, one he was glad to stifle by attending the summons that lifted through the night. The call did not go out for him, but he would not stand idle; he knew his mother did not hurry to meet the strangers who approached them, but Merrit had little faith in the intentions of anyone but his family these days.

The stranger blended in so well with the shadows that pulled through the night, Merrit could hardly discern the line between the stranger and the sky. Yet he could see that he waited for an audience a fair measure beyond Easthollow. A smart decision, but not enough to win the Raven's trust.

"What is your purpose here, stranger," Merrit rumbled, his voice soft yet firm, while his stance spoke only of the latter; he flagged his tail, and held his head high, standing like a wall between the man of the night, and the family who sleep in Stone Circle behind him. Scrutinous eyes raked over the man, and sought to take in every measure of information they could see. "I am Merrit, son of Valette. We are Easthollow."