Dragoncrest Cliffs elsker at hade

| Open to anyone! He's heading toward the border with the intention to leave for a bit!
| Clear, 32F
| 3:00PM

Soon enough he would have to leave the cliffs and join the search for the missing child. Today would be the day as he began on his journey toward the entrance of Rusalka-- Sapphique's -- entrance that Erzulie had brought him to. He wasn't even certain if he was the right man for the job, believing his face would be enough to scare away any child as opposed to bringing it back home... but maybe, just maybe, he could talk the child into trusting him to come back with him should he find the boy. It should be easier now that his mothers' scent mingled with his once again as Sapphique's markers found its way back onto him the longer he spent here. 

Some time away from the pale man who decided to flaunt his position in the pack would be nice too before the nord did something he would eventually, maybe, regret. Some time to cool down to come back to a neutral state. Despite his respect for the wives at the helm, they seemed to be the only ones he had any respect for within the pack these days... perhaps the only ones he had any respect for at all in the wilds now that Tundra was away looking for her family.

In the wake of their relocation to the Cliffs, Chacal had begun to explore their claimed territory in earnest, having developed just enough confidence in herself and the guardians of their pack to feel free to wander about the area. She was not a terribly secure creature by nature and tended to shadow her relatives as much as possible- but her siblings were growing ever more independent, and she had not yet shucked the feeling of being different. The idea made her self-conscious and mouselike, and she wondered perhaps if she wasn't being a nuisance, constantly clinging to her mothers and siblings, trailing behind them like a little shadow. A growing sensation of insecurity made her feel as though she was no longer worthy of following in their pawprints. 

So she'd taken to becoming her own shadow, and began learning how to track small prey, and how to follow the trails of others- but from a distance. She meandered along with her head down, sniffing here and there to see if she could follow the scent trail left behind by packmates she could easily identify without necessarily tracking them down. She'd begun to learn how to tell a hot trail from a cold one, and how to adjust her pace to avoid stalking and catching others when she didn't intend to interact with them. 

But this didn't mean others would not cross her path- and she had been following a trail left behind by Solaire when she caught a glimpse of movement not far away- the tall, pale man whose face had been torn to reveal his teeth in a constant grimace. He was new to her, and a curious sight- but any who merited the trust of her mothers would also gain a base amount of trust from her as well. So she watched him move, with the sureness of a great bull elk, from a distance with her tail waving and eyes glistening with fascination.

Lingering on his own thoughts, he had barely noticed the little shadow that was trailing him. Too withdrawn to the inner turmoil that was brought up with one simple, silent gesture that spoke louder than any words were necessary. He even remembered the look Rosalyn had offered both men as she spoke, clearly sending a certain message out to them most of all as the tension had to have been palpable enough for her to do so - that or he was thinking too much into it. That was possible too. He frowned, wrinkles forming in their usual place as he stared down to the ground and --

A little sight caught his eye. A waving tail and big bright golden eyes looking directly his way. Now he could feel the eyes upon him, the feeling of being watched so to speak. Tilting his head just enough to get a better view of his observer, she was small... young, and certainly was one of the Alpha's children. Which one it was, he could not tell. 

"all de children in rusalka have only known us as mot'er." her words echoed, but not just the words... the undertone that trailed behind them. That certainty that she didn't see him as a father, that he should not think of it either to overstep the boundaries place (it didn't help that he and Rosalyn haven't spoken of said boundaries yet as all he does is assume ಠ╭╮ಠ)

To the best of his abilities, he tried to keep his head tilted so that the damaged side was as out of sight as possible, not wanting to give the child nightmares or scare her away. Gently he sat onto his haunches, focussing his one eye on the young lady and simply offered an inviting tilt of his head to see if she wanted to chat or something. He couldn't be certain of the members of Sapphique and how he viewed them, but the children, he would cherish them like any member should and do his part for their proper upbringing without crossing into "father" territory.

When he took notice of her, it was with only one eye, but hie stare was made all the more intense, perhaps, by the fact that his one seeing orb was matched with darkness on the other side of his face. It was only then that she realized that he hadn't simply been bitten or scretched- but that the scarring on his face was dark, and the fur short. She'd never seen a burn before, nor had she experienced fire- but she recognized that something different had happened to him. And she was made all the more curious about him when he approached, coming to sit not far from her, as though he expected something. 

She did not attempt to fumble for words, but approached him with a respectful, slinking posture, tail waving at her ankles as she came to his feet, and reached up- hoping he would bow his head and allow her to sniff noses with him.

One of the puppies was his. That he was certain, but which? He couldn't even begin to guess. Perhaps it was best that he didn't know, maybe, for who was he to assume there wouldn't be favoritism on his end toward the one he had helped to create? At least this way he could treat them all equally with the same indifferent respect brought on by their mothers. Maybe if he had known the one approaching him now so softly was that same one that came from Rosalyn's last litter, his litter, he would have acted differently than sitting there and letting her come to him instead.

Or not, knowing how frightening his face could be, perhaps this was the best option too to prevent her from running scared. Maybe his eye would have lost its edge instead, other than having that blunt sharpness as he did to most Sapphique members, maybe he would have been as tender as butter in her paws had he known this one was his little princess to cherish. 

Stretching out her nose to take a sniff, he did indulge in her curiosity and lean down enough for them to touch noses should that be what she wanted. No words were exchanged between them, a comforting silence lingered between the familial strangers. Only the echoing lullaby of the wakes crashing against the stones of the wall below in the distance as even the songbirds flew to warmer weather by now. 

With Erzulie and Rosalyn sharing the burden of the children between them, even at this distance, he couldn't tell which this one belonged to by her scent alone.

Like a mustang tamed by a gentle hand, the stone-faced man bowed to greet her, bending forward like a willow under a breeze. She reached up and inhaled his scent, noticing how calm and quiet he was; not so different from her, then. And unlike most others, he didn't seek to break the silence with words, nor did he treat her like a juvenile, which was refreshing. She was encouraged then, in finding not only had nothing to fear from him, but also by the potential that she might have found a kindred spirit. 

Once introduced, she dipped back, lifting her haunches into the air and waving her tail from side to side, inviting him into play with a brief but dramatic play bow before she began to bound away. She crow-hopped like a filly and whirled around to cast her inquisitive gaze to him- would he follow?

Despite the outward calm, within him was a flurry of uncertainty. How does one act around one so young? Wasn't she afraid of the wound on his face? The perpetual snarl on one side? The purity of her curiosity and lack of judgment was just as calming to him as he was to her. Slowly letting his wandering mind fall silent and simply sit in bliss at the stillness of the moment. 

The one and half ears flung forward as she pulled back and offered something he hadn't seen in years. What was this called again... a play bow? It brought back the brief innocence he himself had with his brother before the duties of the pack were thrust upon them, stripping them of their playful days and into the harsh reality of life was as a barbarian. 

He stared for a moment in mild confusion and awe, deciding to eventually mimic the girl and awkwardly lowering his own front into well... the best of a play bow he could. It was stiff, but an effort. As she bounded away and looked back, he eventually rose and marched after her. Not bouncing, but instead something a little easier for him to do such as a dramatic march with his paws flying out in front of him, tail waving to keep his balance in the awkward walk toward her in his own attempt to 'play' with the child.

Cameo!  plz skip me <3

Rosalyn was passing along the opposite direction, coming in from the borders, when something caught her eye.  She paused in the shadows, likely out of sight of the pair, and affection bloomed in her chest when she recognized Chacal.  Her daughter was playing with Rosencrantz, and from what she could tell, the man was delivering with the polite reticence that had at first endeared him to her.

Fondness mingled with something unfathomable as she sat down where she was and proceeded to watch the interaction, hoping to remain unseen.  She did not want to break the magic of the moment, but she did want to share in it, and to see how a meeting played out between two figures who likely, at this point, had no concept of the connection they held.

He was a bit tense, but Chacal hardly noticed. There was no reason for him to be uncertain, at least, none that she could see. She hadn't spoken yet, so she felt there was nothing that she could have done that might have made him feel confused or worried about meeting her. She failed to take into consideration that perhaps he was more anxious about the impression he made, but in her childlike innocence, she'd not connected the dots between the amount of scars he had to what terrible things might have caused them. She didn't feel it necessarily reflected who he really was, anyway, and was willing to look past what she saw without allowing it to colour her judgement. 

And she was pleased to see, when she looked back, this massive and stately figure prance toward her. There was a lofty grace to his steps, but something unique and foolish about seeing someone so solemn fling up his paws and add a merry bounce to his step. Chacal's high-pitched laughter trilled on the air like a filly's whinney, and she spun in a tight circle three times before she slid to a stop, the tip of her tail in her mouth. With a cheshire grin, she looked over the dark fluff of her tail and raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to do the same.

Within his chest, a warmth was felt at her laughter and joy. This was something he brought to her, never in a million years would the frost-gargoyle had guessed that something like this would come from him. Especially with a face like his. There was something about a child's laughter and joy that would melt even the thickest of ice. 

The challenge didn't go unnoticed, the silent stare that ushered the dare stopped Rosencrantz for a moment in his place. Were he aware that one of the wives or anyone was watching from the shadows, he wouldn't have even given the challenge thought and brushed it off to keep with his image within the pack. Ignorance is bliss in this case, and with a few moments longer... he tried. At least, to his capabilities. Curling and snapping at his own plume, coming nowhere near it with his lumbering figure not anywhere near as flexible in comparison to the young lady. 

He tried clockwise, then shifted to counterclockwise in case he was more flexible on one side than the other... which he was, getting a little closer this time but still no tail within his mouth. Eventually, with a sigh, he quit. Casting a glance to the girl wondering if ihs attempt was good enough to please her.

She released her feather-soft grip on her own tail and dipped down into a play bow, excitedly chuffing soft breaths of air at Rosencrantz who- with all the care and ambling grace of a workhorse- attempted to catch his own tail to please her. His movements were neither frenetic nor lacklustre, interestingly enough, and she could tell that he did want to catch it...But he was not exactly built to be so flexible that he could perform the same task as a young teenager. Given the effort he put in, she forgave him for his failure immediately, and applauded him silently by flattening her ears and licking her lips in a show of respect. 

Her own tail winging in slow, low waves at her heels, she crept forward with a slinking motion, hindquarters hunched and head low as though in a pre-emptive apology. She chuffed an appreciative yip, and made as though to touch her nose to his chin in a polite and gracious gesture- only to side-step and spring like a youthful jackrabbit toward his haunches with her jaws agape. 

If he could not catch his own tail...She could catch it for him.