Blacktail Deer Plateau aitareya

tag for reference. <3

with they birth of the newest cairns, rusalka was loathe to leave his wife and newborns' sides ... but admittedly, there was nothing that rusalka could really do to help with them at the moment. blind and deaf and reliant solely upon @Solveig's milk to keep them alive, rusalka's a bit helpless beyond offering body heat, bringing solveig food and offering to keep them close to his chest for a few minutes so she could stretch her legs.

duty, that day, called him to the borders in the form of an unfamiliar howl that crested along the plateau's treeline.

rusalka is quick to make his way to it, tension filling each step until his shoulders are as tense as stone when he finally approaches. the scent is that of morningsong, and though it offers him some comfort, rusalka, despite it being his second rodeo, is still a father to four newborns and that stokes the fires of his protectiveness in a way that is both familiar and different than the ones he'd exhibited during her heat and pregnancy.

still, he has to remind himself he is a leader, now. and a king, father or not, has diplomatic obligations to fulfill.

hail stranger, greets the cairn, steps slowing upon his approach. i am rusalka cairn and this is ravensthorpe. what can i help you with?