Honeyed Pasture But here you come alone and crying, now you want to be my friend

If Raleska knew the true extent of Donovan's deeds in the wild, hell, she'd have Opinions -- and if there was anyone with as many Opinions to be had, it was Raleska. She stored that interesting fact for later (aside: love the idea of scent mugshots, lol), focusing on the man she didn't know.

Raleska didn't piece the full context of attack, but her eyes slid to Mal in surprise as he mentioned he was a father. Oh, word? He looked much too young -- which was ironic, because he was the same age as her. She hadn't pegged Mal for the "settle-down-and-have-a-family" kind of guy, not by their first meeting. Maybe her initial assumption of him had been nothing but crow-crockery.

"You've told me a lot that has been helpful." Raleska finally spoke, mulling over all that had been imparted. "I don't have much in exchange. We mostly keep to ourselves. I don't think we have enemies other than Drageda -- but that doesn't stop the kind of monsters you mentioned from causing grief, anyway." She supposed even the most peaceful hamlets in the world had their slice of drama. "Can I come to you again in a few months? It's worth it to us to have eyes on the inside. We're so far removed we often don't know what is happening around us. I do not want my family to ever be taken by surprise."