Ravensblood Forest It's been too long

Not sure if they are supposed to be friendly, but i though since she knew Turo since he was a wee baby then they would be! @Arturo and for added drama @Lia

She had travelled for a while After her daughter left her, ignoring the annoying pain of losing her child. They always seemed to disagree with something or other, and Neasa being as  fair as she was couldn't really blame Lia. Lia was a grown woman after all, even though she would always be Neasa's little girl. The only problem was Neasa rarely showed affection toward Lia, and she couldn't understand if it was a problem or not. Neasa's own Parents had never really given her affection or been...parental toward her but instead treated her like their student and taught her to be royal.


She had entered Ravensblood forest not too long ago, and now smelled something far off into the distance. So far that she could only get small whiffs of it, only enough to lead her toward the scent. She followed it curiously until she could smell it perfectly. It was a pack's borders and there was two familiar scents. One brought her joy and relief, and the other shocked her immensely. Little Turo lived here, the boy she had watched grow for a long while. Lia was here as well, meaning her daughter was safe instead of roaming during the chilled days and struggling for shelter during the freezing nights. 


Sitting down upon the edge of the borders, a few feet away she lifted her grayed muzzle to the sky and howled for them both and the Alpha of this pack. Her call itself carried the air of importance though it wasn't intentional anymore, but something of habit.

It's been months since she's seen her family. Lia had never entertained the idea that some of them might follow after her just as she had followed after Arturo's example. 

Family was important to not only the Ceannasach but to almost every other family in Quicksilver Hollow. The Raurc family is no different. Neasa had always emphasized the importance of family; the family name is all that lives on.

Perhaps it was for this reason that she was accepted so readily by her mother and half-siblings. Lia is a Raurc, if only half of one.

Despite the half-Raurc's unquestionable loyalty and admiration for Neasa, it could never be said that she was particularly motherly. Mother was not a coddling type. Rather, Lia had been expected to uphold the Raurc name with all the sophistication that Neasa had carried it, alongside all of her half-siblings, which did not bode well for sniveling pups who could not leave their mother's shadow.

It is with much confusion that she heads for the borders upon hearing her name. The colleen has never considered that Neasa might leave the Hollow and the clan she holds dominion over, let alone her other children. In passing, Lia has not recognized her own mother's voice.

The doyenne weaves amongst the bloody forest, nearly stuttering to a halt as the one who called comes into view. She pauses for half a beat before regaining her composure and padding towards her mother. 

"Neasa," she says by way of greeting, much the way Arturo had first addressed her on these same borders. 

"Why are you here?" Lia's voice is confused, surprised. At first thought she conjures a horrible imagery of the Hollow and her family destroyed by some natural catastrophe.

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Worry creases Arturo’s brow as he makes his way to the borders as a very familiar howl resounds through the towering, ancient and sentinel sequoia trees; but it is only slight. He knows his mother well enough to know that she is stubborn and resilient and that he likely does not need to worry about the state of Quicksilver Hollow. Still, it strikes the gangster as strange that one of the Hollow’s constants: Neasa — whom was almost the constant that the Warrior Queen Boadicea herself was — ended up finding her way to Teaghlaigh. Of course, he reminds himself that her daughter Lia found her way here first and that she might be trailing after her.

As he approaches the two women, just in time to hear Lia’s last question in regards to their previous home, his worry has all but abated. He moves to stand a bit away from Lia, giving the woman space as she addressed her mother but he stood ahead of her, his posture giving enough away. “You look well Neasa.” Arturo speaks honestly in greeting, glad to see that she appeared as well as he remembered her to be as a young lad.

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Not entirely sure wat i should say about the hollow, so i created a reason that would provide an easy explanation for the Hollow Adopts to make their way into Teekon.

Neasa's gaze softened briefly as she looked at Lia before she corrected herself again, hiding the pleasure at finding her Daughter alive and well. Lia greeted her with surprise and seemed worried for Quicksilver Hollow, and Neasa couldn't blame her for it. Arturo showed up next and she stared at him, images of the pup he used to be flashing across her mind. She smiled slightly the edges of her maw curling up "Turo...I could say the same for you" she responded with a dip of her head.


Now to address the question of the Hollow. A pang of sadness struck her hard but she kept her gaze trained on them both "After me and Lia left, the Raurcs decided to Emigrate. The last I heard The hollow was still doing well." she informed them. How they would take this information she didn't know, but she just wanted them to know that the Hollow still did well.

The Ceannasach's arrival is not unexpected given her mother's call. Yet, Lia is so preoccupied with Neasa's sudden appearance on Teaghlaigh's doorstep that she has forgotten. Dipping her head out of respect, she steps back to let him take the lead but not without one last curious glance at the Raurc matriarch.

Pleasantries are exchanged between the two and Lia glances at him; for once she is reminded that Arturo is more than Ceannasach. At one time he was a child and her mother would have likely raised her eldest half-siblings at that same time.

"All of them?" She is unable to refrain from jumping into their conversation, surprise evident.

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The Raurc matriarch returns the compliment and the gangster accepts it with a dip of his crown — reminiscent as to how a gentleman might tip his hat. It is a bit strange to hear his nickname fall from her lips and reminds him of years long since passed. Turo is informal but he supposes that in the same way he sees his own children that he will always struggle to entirely shed what memories she had of him growing up. He understands for he finds himself struggling with it in regards to Chusi. She is a woman grown now but he struggles between seeing her as his baby girl and seeing her as the independent woman she has become under his nurturing. “Why would the entire Raurc family up and leave Quicksilver Hollow?” Arturo asks if only because he finds it a bit curious. The Raurc family helped to found Quicksilver Hollow and it seemed …interesting that they should all abandon their investment. Arturo had no doubt that Boadecia could continue to lead the Hollow without Neasea, just as she did when Arturo left the Hollow behind him. He wonders if perhaps there was a falling out between the Matriarch and the Warrior Queen but he does not ask because …it is none of his business. Quicksilver Hollow is no longer his concern “The rules have not changed in this reincarnation of Teaghlaigh,” Arturo tells Neasea, fixing her in his fiery red-orange gaze. “Everything remains the same.” Except in the ways that it is, obviously different. “I assume you do not need a refresher?” But as always when it comes to business, Arturo is willing to remind and enforce …if needed. He does not intend to waste time as he is sure that mother and daughter wish to catch up and the quicker they can get the essentials ironed out the sooner the two women can speak privately. “Are you still willing to obey and enforce Ceannasach's Word as Law and The Family before Everything Else?” Arturo inquires.

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Neasa's gaze darkened slightly at the inquiry and she straightened up, before casting her eyes down "people...have changed" was all she said on the matter, as the reason was that herself and Boadecia had argued over matterof importance and the pack had been torn in two. Her attention was once again grabbed by Arturo as he asked if she needed a refresher and she replied "No need" she answered with a small quirk of her lips.


The next question startled her, as she was unsure what he completely meant by it. Was he asking her if she was willing to take a submissive status? If so then yes she was though she wasn't entirely pleased by it. She would just be immensely happy to be near two people she trusted, and loved. "Until the day I die Arturo" she answered with a slight dip of her chin, a show of respect that was hard for he to give. She herself had been raised to be a high class woman, never to bow down or stoop low into petty arguments yet she knew if she was to get into Teaghlaigh with Lia and Arturo she have to do what needed to be done.

She is tense, pale optics glancing between Ceannasach and Mother. She argues to herself that Arturo will not turn her mother away, not with so few members. The Fearghal's past with her mother will no doubt help, even a bit, to sway his decision. 

Neasa's words bring to mind Lucca. If her family has truly left the Hollow...what has her kind-hearted, loyal, stalwart older brother done to leave behind their legacy? What could possibly be so complicated that they would emigrate?

Neasa's next words bring her to the present and Lia waits once more on bated breath for Ceannasach's answer. The hope on her features is undeniable; Lia could not hide it if she tried.

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Arturo does not like the subtle hint that his mother is solely to blame for their departure from the Hollow: and he bristles slightly in her defense. They had never seen eye to eye and Boadicea had never been the most loving of mothers but she is his mother still and as her son Arturo loves her. His chin lifts as he studies Neasa as he would study a book whose contents he is not entirely certain of. He knows her: has known her, literally, all of his life but he is not comfortable with the implications that his mother, alone, is to blame. Everyone changes and besides that: while he is not his mother he is her son and in some ways he does take after her. He does not hold it against Neasa for leaving for he did the same thing though it is less because of an argument and more because he did not wish to live in his mother’s shadow for the rest of his life. “And will you so willingly leave Teaghlaigh if we have an argument?” Arturo asks because it is an important, pressing question and more than anything Neasa’s response will be the determining factor into her acceptance. It seems childish to him. No one will always agree with each other and he has no time nor patience for those who are so quick to abandon because on one matter they do not see eye to eye — though it matters little. Arturo welcomes the opinions of his Family on important matters and considers them accordingly but at the end of the day as Ceannasach his is the final decision, the final word upon all matters: that is simply the way it is. He knows Neasa will be a good addition to Teaghlaigh and he is willing to accept her but he has to know that her loyalties are not shaky and though he appreciates her honesty he finds himself needing to be sure of her and her willingness to be loyal to Teaghlaigh no matter what: especially with children on the way and the impending threat of Blackfeather Woods. He needs the Family united not divided.

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Neasa felt a pang of hurt at Arturo's question, almost like he was accusing her of causing the issues at the Hollow herself. Nobody was completely at fault, all arguments take two to continue. Flattening her ears and abandoning her normal composure of coolness she looked at Arturo sadly "Two Hollow Members fought one another and one was killed. My standing was to punish the remaining member because he had not went to the leader for instruction, but instead brutalized and killed his pack mate. Boadicea's standing was to let him walk with little consequence other than a nip to the rear, as he was in self defense." she began to explain what had happened, so that Arturo would get some information instead of continuing to assume she had blamed everything on his mother.



"The hollow's rules have always forbidden raising a paw against a packmate. I know self defense may have come into play, but for which member we cannot know. All I know is that they were perfectly capable of calling for help, but they chose to duel instead. Boadicea may have taken it into consideration, or she may have ignored it. Either way the member at fault walked free and is still considered respected. The Raurcs were highly displeased by this fact, and even tried to hold anothe vote with the pack, which was ultimately denied."


"So to answer your Question Arturo, No i will not leave if we disagree but I might be frustrated or annoyed. We left The hollow because everyone began to look at the Raurcs in a less than respectful way, just because we wanted true justice" She finished honestly, her ears flicking slightly as she cast a sad glance at Lia wondering what she must feel toward her packless and demoted mother now. Preparing fo the worst she decided there was nothing more to lose, and flattened herself to the ground. "Turo I know it sounds like a messy situation, but i left so that the rest of the Hollow could finally settle down. Us being there and showing our displeasure was causing it to tear apart. Your mother and I parted on fair terms, I would never have left without telling anyone else. I promise I will give Teaghlaigh my all, even as a lower standing than I am used to."

Tension builds between both sides and Lia finds herself unable to truly state whose side she would be on. Her mother is family; Arturo is her Ceannasach and Family. 

As soon as the words had left Neasa's lips she had assumed the Raurc family to be at fault. They were influential and prominent but not the true leaders of the Hollow. As a younger woman, a child really, Lia had been unwaveringly loyal to Boadicea. It was the way of things for the Raurc family to be loyal to their Family. 

The story that unfolded was nearly unbelievable. Lia stumbled back half a step, shocked. Such violence in the Hollow? There were never dissenters. There was never murder between Family.

 And Boadicea's response? Surely it couldn't be true. The Banríon was just; she would have punished the perpetrator. 

Lia shakes her head in denial, regarding her mother with guarded eyes. Was it true? If so, where were her siblings? Why were they not with Neasa?

last post from me & turo. <3

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Arturo listens as Neasa recounts her story to him, attentive and impartial as he listens. Yet, this is the Boadicea he knows for no one had punished him when he had killed that boy (whose name and face he had forgotten over the years) — one of the older boys that had called him half-breed and bullied him. Arturo hadn’t needed to kill him: but he did and he would never regret it. It is not Arturo’s place to make judgement for Quicksilver Hollow is no longer his concern. “My mother’s choices are her own, but she has shown similar behavior when I was a lad,” He draws his salmon pink tongue across his lips. Perhaps Neasa had forgotten. No one stepped in to shield Arturo from the slurs uttered his way and no one dared to cross him after the older boy’s death. “I am not arguing, merely stating. Quicksilver Hollow isn’t my concern anymore.” He had said his goodbyes to it and that was that. Their politics and feuds were meaningless to the Fearghal monarch. He accepts her submission and gestures for her to rise with his muzzle. “Lia has asked to be a Comhlach and so the Family business is to be kept from her until she has proven herself.” Arturo informs her mother. He respects Lia’s decision and her want to devote herself to Teaghlaigh, strange as he finds it. “I will rank you as Saighdiúir, Neasa. I suspect you will want to catch up so I trust that you can give your mother the tour, Lia?” He addresses the daughter now. His words are less of a question and more of an assumption and with a final glimpse at the pair he turns and heads back to the heart of the Forest, back to Lotte confident that if either woman needs him they know to call for him.

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Times are different it seems. 

Lia finds it a difficult concept to swallow; yet, if Ceannasach can accept Boadicea's ruling then the colleen will try to believe her mother. 

She is reminded of the murder Arturo had committed so long ago. Lia does not put it past him, he is a man with the force to put meaning to his threats, but often it slips her mind. Family is Family, no matter their sins. 

The circumstances are not the same. Ceannasach killed that boy with reason. He was a whelp who cared far too much for blood. 

Perhaps her own dislike for Ceannasach's victim is her own shame at her illegitimacy.

"Yes," she agrees simply. Lia dips her head as he passes, before turning pale eyes to her mother. Her gaze lingers there. Hard, probing. 

Lia beckons, turning towards Ravensblood Forest with Neasa at her back.

slight pp at the end. I can edit if you'd like, last from me