Hushed Willows he don’t drink, or steal, or cheat, or lie

With @Kaertok along for the ride, the pair departed Rusalka’s sequoia-riddled realm and made inland. Raleska’s compass was sorely lacking — she remembered only the large stones of Easthollow, and had no earthly idea where it resided in their infinite world.

Nevertheless, Raleska was undaunted. She reproachfully considered asking Vercingetorix, but given her skepticism of the man (and reluctance to inform him of her errand), elected instead to approach the borders of Elysium. She had never been here — yet Illidan had once come for some fertility festival, and they were reported to be an amicable coven.

Once there came discernible evidence they were near Elysium’s claim, Raleska tilted back her head and a high howl seared into the heavens. Glancing once to Kaertok, Raleska fell silent after her cry tapered off, waiting carefully for any sign of an approacher.

given his insistence on slipping away from his guardians at any moment, they'd relaxed the perimeter little atwood is allowed to venture from. the bear remains fresh in their minds, but not in atwoods, who, despite the slight gift of freedom, continues to test those boundaries. and so of course he is at the border where he absolutely should not be, having snuck off from @Olive while she tends to his brothers closer to the den. there's enough routine in this that he knows he has only a short while before someone inevitably tracks him down and carries him back.

but the call of a stranger at the borders is too enticing for him to ignore. he approaches carefully, having enough sense to maintain some distance,  but watches the strangers with curiously solemn eyes. "hello," he intones, and takes a seat, waiting to see what they do next.

He stood, as he so often did these days, like a white shadow behind Raleska. If there was one thing Kaertok was, it was a loyal servant, and he had chosen her to be his master. If asked, he could not even tell the interrogator what it was that drew him to her. She just had a quality about her that he enjoyed, and that was that.

Some time after her call, a whelp approached them, and Kaertok pricked his ears forward. He had no reason to act on the appearance of such a child, and he looked to Raleska for the next move, whatever that might be.

Raleska stood besides her grave counterpart, silent and still save for the flick of her gaze in the woodlands. She had yet to articulate it, but she appreciated Kaertok’s company. Time would only tell if he proved himself in the eyes of Raleska’s guardians (Rosalyn chief among them), but for now he had earned the young Eyjolfur’s favor.

They were met by a wolf scarcely more than half a year’s age; Raleska watched him disinterestedly, expecting an adult to soon arrive to collect him. When none came, she peered at the ochre cub and spoke. Are your parents around? She was not a nurturing wolf by nature, and given the urgency of her mission, was not softened by the adorable (author’s impression) cherub that willingly met them.

impassively he watches them, not moving closer nor backing away from the weight of their attention. he's never had a reason to fear strangers -- even ariel's death did little, considering ariel was killed by a bear, not two wolves. and wolves visited elysium all the time, anyway. "mm, no," he answers thoughtfully, "my mama's dead, but my other mamas are somewhere else." probably looking for him now, come to think of it. 

he doesn't know whether it's strange or not that no one has come by yet; he takes for granted that probably they will eventually. "who you?" he asks instead, interested in seeing how long he can get away with doing this before someone comes to ruin his fun.

yikers sorry for not getting to this sooner

cortez still wasn't the greatest at promptly heeding calls at the border. often enough, sunny would get there well before he did, and the shakti would only need to glance briefly over the scene before slipping away again, going unnoticed by the visitors. this time, however, he arrived to find not sunny conversing with someone, but—

atwood, who's this? cortez asked, businesslike but smiling as he padded up to his nephew. the boy was quiet and well-mannered; he doubted he had caused any kind of trouble. he turned his gaze toward the pair, polar opposites. . .a burly pale male and a dark young woman. how can we help you?

they smelled like some of the wolves had from the fertility festival, strongly redolent of the sea. were they from the same pack that the skull-faced man hailed from? no, surely not—their scents were slightly but clearly different.

Raleska asked the obvious question, and Kaertok was content to sit back. It was as he had always done. The Tartok wolf was there when needed, and he faded into the background when not. He had come to accept long ago that his life was this way, and he did not dislike it. The child mentioned his mother was dead, then another mother, but thankfully their question was more directly answered when another adult arrived.

Yet again, Kaertok deferred to Raleska, allowing her to ask the questions and take the lead on the investigation into her mother's disappearance.

So, this kid had two mothers -- well, one, since one apparently was dead. A kinder wolf would have crooned and offered sympathy, but Raleska was not kind in that way -- not with wolves she did not know. She frowned, for Atwood's answer was... well.. unhelpful. Not what she was looking for, even though he was much too young for it to be his fault.

She stood at attention as she heard the tread of a wolf approach, glancing to Kaertok who had likely already detected a new arrival. Her posture was kept respectful, and she assumed this was one of the leaders. "I'm Raleska, that's Kaertok." The Eyjolfur introduced briskly, coming down to all business. "We're from Rusalka - we are looking for directions to Easthollow. My brother says we are allies, and I am not sure which direction in which to head. Do you know where that is?"

apologies for holding this up - feel free to skip attie pls <3

cortez materializes and atwood gets ready to stand his ground, but his uncle does not try to shepherd him away, instead addressing the adults. satisfied, he moves towards cortez and winds himself between his legs to listen to the girl speak. rusalka, easthollow - allies, even, is foreign to him, but interesting to hear. he stays silent, content to let his uncle take the lead.

he noted the names, feeling a bit sheepish—he wasn't an ambassador; this wasn't his place. he gave a brief, sidelong glance into the willows, wondering if and when sunny would show up (please, goddamn it, show up!). but it seemed that, at least for now, cortez would be responsible for this.

so he did the only thing that came to mind. . .he shrugged.

i'm sorry; i'm not familiar with easthollow, cortez responded, frowning in apology. i've. . .been really tied up, helping my sister raise her kids. i don't get out much anymore, and my time here's been short to begin with. it was a non-answer and would likely do nothing to satisfy the pair of wolves at the border. but what else could he do?

he sucked in a gentle breath, turning again to stare down the path upon which he'd arrived. i can fetch my co-leader, @Sunny. . .? he offered, gaze flickering back to raleska and kaertok. he probably would know. better than me, anyway. the bard chuckled nervously.

He had heard the call, drifting down the mountains a ways to where he had caught a fleet flooted hare after visiting Aliac's grave. He grunted and picked up the pace, eyes flashing apologetically as he picked up the last bits of conversation, hearing it was about Easthollow. He hurried to take over and dropped the hare offering a kind and as per usually, sort of dorky grin toward the Rusalkans "Hello I'm sorry for the wait. Easthollow is uh...hold on" he said and looked off seeming deep in thought before he turned back "If you go north into marshes just past our territory and then head southeast until you hit the marshes past the wetlands, Easthollow should be little more than a few hours journey south" he said giving a slow wag of his tail. He hadn't realised how easy it was to map out directions in your head though he admittedly could find Easthollow from anywhere.

<3333 going to be vaguey-vague wrapping this up. thank you guys for the thread!

So it was a dead end. Raleska's gaze flickered, sullen as she received the news. If no one knew where Easthollow was, how had her mother gotten there? If she had even made it there (if Verx's story was to be believed)?

She was about to turn to leave when the agouti offered to call another; interested, but not hopeful, Raleska waited -- and it appeared her patience paid off, for the new male to arrive was full of helpful knowledge. He gave her and Kaertok a fairly descriptive answer, and Raleska dipped her head in gratitude in response. "Thank you." To each of the wolves present, Raleska gave them a parting glance of stern thankfulness -- and then she and Kaertok were off.