Cricket Creek Bog Unless I say so, ain't your Barbie, no

Please let @Erzulie post first! They're close to Firebirds but far enough for Erzulie's comfort in returning Alyx! Ebony, lmk if you mind the howl powerplay, I kinda ran with it when you mentioned she'd howl from neutral ground! @Niamh @Phox @Towhee

Alyx couldn’t wait to be home, much as she'd miss her new friend(s) in Rusalka. She needed a good bath and a nap. The river was much calmer now, but crossing it was still an ordeal that wasn’t helped much by her squealing and hesitating half a dozen times. She had to follow Erzulie’s lead through Golden Glade and the marsh beyond, and that brought on a whole new bout of whining. She did her very best to avoid the mud, but despite her best efforts, she was filthy when the Rusalka Beta halted.

This isn’t Firebirds, she almost said, searching the woman’s golden face with a pair of curious eyes. Before she could mention it, Erzulie had her head back and was howling. Alyx noted there was something a bit lilting and exotic about Erzulie’s howl compared to the howls of her family, but she would never guess that Valravn’s fierce leader and secondary mom (or was it third?) was anything but a full-blooded wolf herself.

Alyx fidgeted. She wanted nothing more than to run and leap through the sunny copse, where the trees grew thin and high enough that the whole forest was a natural spotlight, but she also wanted to be mature and impressive so maybe she'd get to spend time with the soft-eyed Val again someday. So instead, she quietly said, thank you for taking me home, miss Val’s mum.