Seaside Moors tides

Looking for any Rusalka wolves! Tagging leadership but no pressure to reply <3 @Aningan, @Rosalyn, @Erzulie! YUELONG HAS QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Despite his insistence that he would never go back, Ruvik found himself once more traveling out from the safety of the island and onto the mainland. As he had crossed the land bridge, he felt his heart begin to hammer, becoming faster with each step. It did not slow, even as he rested at night. Over and over, the boy reminded himself that this task had been bestowed upon him by his queen and he had a duty to uphold. To find information, to see where the pack's trail led. He would not - could not - fail.

After having found the scent of the Rusalkians with Huā and Daiyu along Sea Lion Shores, Ruvik now followed it, going further down the coastline than he would have liked. As the trail grew stronger and began to curve slightly away from the shore, he became ever more alert, with his tucked tail and wide, frightened eyes betraying his utter fear.

This is a suicide mission! Huā knows about The Savior; she's sent you to die! These Rusalkians, they'll tear you limb from limb! Run! Run while you still ca—

He silenced the panicked thoughts with an abrupt shake of his head and began to tentatively sniff at the base of a nearby tree, frowning as he smelt the strong scent of urine there. They were close by.

erzulie had taken to marking the outermost boundaries more often, knowing the announcement of her urine would be far more pungent. she intended to cut a harsh mark all around the moors, for rusalka needed nothing the sea could not provide. she herself was growing more round by the day, though her tall legs kept up well with her burgeoning sides.
there, upon her gate, a boy. a pathetic, wary, wisp of a boy. but as her cinnamon limbs carried her toward him, erzulie caught the particular reek of wolves who lived beyond the reach of the tide.
unnatural.
"what you be wantin', boy?" the harlot growled, mismatched eyes hard upon him. this would not stand.

Closer than he had thought. The sound of a woman's voice cut suddenly through the rustling of leaves and the distant crashing of the waves, and Ruvik quickly retreated from the tree he was inspecting, hind lowered to the ground as his ears fell back flat upon his skull. He looked to where the call had come from to see a cream-coloured female heading his way, her duo-toned eyes upon him, sharp and demanding.

He skittered back even further out of fear, every fibre of his being ready to take off and never be seen again. Yet, he had been ensnared by the woman's gaze, his limbs rooted to the spot. "Ru-Ruvik c-come from...from Yuèlóng," he stammered as he shrunk before her, stomach nearly touching the ground. "H-have questions about...a-about Rusalka."

the faltering child, no older than her own, stammered out a response. what a weak individual, erzulie thought coldly, though the sheer pathetic sight of him softened the woman somewhat. "ying sent you?" she inquired, cutting through the shaking formality of his words with her own impatience.
"i am not in de mood to answer questions, especially now dat it seems we have been followed." be it words of alliance or a threat, erzulie was disinterested in hearing it.
"ruvik," the harlot hummed. "i will feed you an' send you back. you will find dat acceptable, oui?"

Short and sharp, she shot back a question of her own before continuing on without an answer, her exasperation clear. Ruvik stayed where he was, staring up at the woman with a mixture of fear and uncertainty, though nonetheless respectful of his place here. Her offer of food was met with the smallest prick of his ears, though her tempting proposal was not immediately answered as the boy inwardly fought with himself.

He couldn't just leave empty handed.

"N-no follow," Ruvik finally said with a shake of his head after summing up a minute amount of courage. "Yuelong want to kn-know why?" He managed to raise his gaze to meet her own for a moment before it dropped back to the ground at her feet. "Why Rusalka move?"

for a long moment erzulie was quiet, staring at ruvik. and then her nostrils flared; she snaked her spicecream body closer and lifted a lip. "you can make dis hard on you, ruvik. you an' i bot' know i could kill you here."
"an' yet de island wolves send you, an expendable scout. questioning rusalka, who lived before your mistresses stopped pissing demselves as children."
her mismatched glare cooled. "yuelong insults me by sending you an' asking after our decisions as if i owe dem a fucking t'ing."
erzulie gave him a challenging look. "do not ask me again. get up an' leave before you say de words a t'ird time."

The woman fell silent for a beat that stretched on for a moment too long, and Ruvik realised quite quickly the mistake he had made by so boldly repeating his question. In an instant she swept closer, fearsome despite her diminutive size - and state, he realised, noticing the bulge of her sides. Though his eyes hastily went from them to the flash of the Rusalkan wolf's teeth, and he skittered backwards as his ears disappeared against the fur of his ruff.

Her threat had been enough to wither away whatever modicum of confidence he had gathered. Whether it be by her own fang or an entire pack's worth, he knew as well as she that he could be slain on the spot should she wish it. "Sorr-so-s..." he attempted in response, but words failed him. All he saw was the burning gold of one of her eyes, the cream of her coat that looked so suspiciously like a certain feline's own.

With his heart in his throat, Ruvik nearly fell over himself as he spun and sprinted from the territory, not daring to once look back.

<3

she snorted as the boy fumbled once and then sped off over his young legginess.
let him return to the sisters and tell how rusalka threatened him.
when he was out of eyeshot, the harlot turned back to her pack, finishing a patrol before long proud strides carried her into the heart of the territory to speak with rosalyn.