Hushed Willows the hawk does not fear you, boy, and the hawk never will

at the borders! illidan is scouting his way toward swiftcurrent creek and searching for where kavik might have settled! :D anyone welcome.

there had come a point in which he could not move any further through the marsh. the branches had torn open one of his wounds and he had felt the sting of it for some time until the blood had dried and crusted in a line down his shoulder. the dark red was an obvious stain against his pale ashen coat. once the bleeding had ceased, he had found some of his strength return. it was there that he decided to skirt around the marsh and closer to the mountains.

in doing so, the young ghost caught wind of markings on a pack border. this piqued his interest, as illidan had been hot on his search for where kavik had wandered. he had hoped that he would have found the pack where the dark male had sought sanctuary after having left the plateau, but had turned up with little answers. once he neared the edges of the willow trees, he called out in a haunting howl for someone who might meet him on their borders.

The young man at the border was someone Lily had never seen before, nor did he look familiar. He smelled of the sea, though not Drageda. She canted her head in question as she approached, a smile blooming upon her face nonetheless. Her heat had abated, though post-estrus was now in full-swing, and the sweet scent still clung slightly to her figure.

Hallo, she greeted in her customary way, wagging her tail. What brings you to Elysium today? He looked hale enough, and from the multiple smells along his pelt, he wasn't a serial loner. He didn't, however, bring anyone with him today. A messenger from somewhere she didn't know about? What could they want with the sanctuary?

it hadn’t taken long for someone to approach the edge of the willows and greet him in a kind tone. the boy peered at the stranger on the other side of the border. his gaze was held respectfully low. he did not wish to cause war to break out with any of the other nearby packs. the young ghost felt a washing sensation of foolishness; he’d never even heard of the pack that she belonged to. yet, there she was on the edge of a perfectly marked border and speaking the name of her claim: elysium.
 
“mmm, my name is illidan and i’ve come from the pack on the coast – rusalka,” he offered her with a quick bowing of his crown. as he drew his gaze back upward, the young ghost caught the scent of her. it was not something that he had ever experienced before, so he could only think that she had done something to cause herself to smell that way. “i used to live on the plateau over the mountains,” he gestured with a swing of his muzzle, “but they’re gone now. i was wondering if any of them sought a home here.”

Illidan shouldn't feel too bad, for she had never heard of his pack, despite being a pretty well-established traveler. True, she had been busy. It would have been nice to be able to invite them to Yule, though. Her face fell from polite welcome to dismay as he mentioned the absence of wolves on the plateau over the mountains. She only knew of one such pack on one such plateau over there; the chances were small he was speaking of a different one.

They're gone? Lily asked, astonished. Fear began to curdle in her stomach. Kavik, Liri, Ruenna? No, they haven't come here, she answered, though her question established that already. The last I saw of them was at our celebration of the winter solstice, almost a moon ago. They seemed fine, besides Liri taking ill.

Her ears folded back as she began to visibly fret. I'm sorry--I've no idea where they would have gone. Liri and Kavik were with us at one point, then left to start their own pack. If they have family nearby, I don't know who or where. God, hopefully they were all right, and nothing terrible had happened. As much as she still bristled at the two leaving so abruptly, she nonetheless had always wished them the best.

the first few words from the stranger's mouth were surprising to the young man. his brows rose atop his head and he peered at her with a curious expression that did not seem to hold an emotion that could have been placed into words. she knew them, and that was the start to something, even if she didn't seem to know that the plateau had even disbanded. the pack that liri and kavik had created had been one that was well guarded and secure from the rest of the world... perhaps that was why it was so easy for them to have gone by unnoticed.

illidan felt a pang when the woman mentioned that liri had been ill. he hadn't even known. then again, he knew that he had been wrapped up in his own world for far too long. though he had done what he could to keep the plateau safe, most of it had been in hopes that he would have found one of his family members on the edges of the territory.

“you knew them, then,” he said in a quiet tone. his eyes searched her features with concern before he turned his sights to the terrain that surrounded them. it would mean that he would have to continue searching for the dark man and his pale mate. “do you know how sick liri was? or... what with?” the boy then asked her. she seemed as though she intended well, and he did not have a reason to distrust her if she was familiar with kavik and liri.

She nodded to his first sentiment, but gave a despondent shrug of her shoulders to the second. No, I didn't hear much about it at all, Lily said. Ruenna had told me that she was under the weather, but it didn't seem too dire. And no one else was sick, so. . . She trailed off, lips drawing tight in transparent worry.

I hope you find them, she added. If they didn't have family around, why wouldn't they have come here? Elysium had plenty of room, and even if they didn't, Lily would find a way. They were allies--friends, even. They always would be. I'm Lily, by the way, she hastily tacked on, forgetting that she'd not introduced herself when he had.

it seemed that the woman didn’t know what had ailed liri, or how severe it was. she tried to offer some words that seemed reassuring in that it seemed whatever the pale woman had carried, had not been transferrable to the others. this caused the young man’s shoulders to relax some. it gave him a sliver of hope, which he knew to be dangerous… but clung to, nonetheless. there was a chance that they were all fine and they had simply sought a different home. he would search until he could find them.
 
the woman offered him a few words of encouragement, saying she hoped that he was able to locate them. she then offered her own name: lily. it was nice sounding. it was not common that he thought about how names suited the people they belonged to, but hers did. illidan nodded his head softly and offered a haunting smile. “thank you, lily. i’m hopeful that i’ll find them too,” he returned with a small swaying of his tail. then, he felt unsure about whether or not he should continue to stand and talk to the woman or if he should leave her pack borders in peace.

Their conversation came to the point where there was no more to be said, and she nodded, smiling. I'll leave you to your search, Lily said softly. If there's anything else you need--if there's any other way I can be of help--please do let me know. The plateau wolves are dear to us; I hope that they are all right.

With a graceful inclination of her head, Lily began to withdraw from the scene, though waiting until Illidan had retreated over the horizon before making her exit entirely. She wished him well, and then turned, worry still churning within her as she went through all the possible fates her friends could have endured.

i'll archive this <3 thanks for rping with me

to lily, the wolves of the plateau had been good friends. to illidan, they had been the only souls who had saved him from death at a very young age. whether or not he felt love for them, he knew that he owed them something. for all that they had given to him in his time of need, he thought it a terrible thing to do to turn away from them and only discover later that they had vanished from the home they’d created.
 
the dark-hooded boy bowed his head and turned then, away from the pack that he had stumbled upon. his sights were set for the wilderness. there was so much for him to search across, but that was only a sign that he needed to start. the woman lily had been kind to him; there was a chance that they would not all be that way. instead of lifting his hopes, illidan merely set his mind on what he knew. he was capable, and he would not have been brought down before he felt that he was ready.