Ravensblood Forest look the weather in the lee

For @Raleska — THIS WASN'T MEANT TO GET THIS LONG!!

So he would be going at this wild goose chase alone. At first, the pirate thought he had simply been sent to scout ahead, but upon returning to where he had last left his crew he had discovered the flaw in his thinking; he had believed they would stay true to their word. Oh, what a fool he was! Surely he had been running long enough with them now that he knew never to trust a fellow pirate.

Apparently not.

It was their surgeon, Lynford, who had confronted him and told him he was to retrieve the young Alizarin for them. For what purpose, he did not know, but Kingsley had been a fan of the lad; he would have made a great gunner-in-training. A little soft in places, but they could have been hardened had he stuck with them for a few more months. He wasn't exactly a fan of the plan (what happened to being a crew?) but the old mercenary agreed to it, if only out of respect for Lynford.

So he returned to the coast, slightly more than a little pissed but still with a leisurely swagger to his stride. He supposed he wouldn't have to put up with their bullshit for a couple of moons, at the very least, and the search for the little deserter could begin in earnest. Kingsley had veered his path from coast to inland, plunging deep within a forest that echoed with raven calls. A hushed, roughly sung yet somehow jolly shanty joined the chorus as the man stalked the wood, searching for even a hint of Alizarin's whereabouts.

you're the best for starting, and also, that was not long <333

A new sound coursed through the clacks and caws of ravens, the voice softer and more sonorous than the raucous shrieks Raleska had become accustomed to.  Under normal circumstances, Raleska would elect to avoid company, but she knew the wind was not in her favor today. Rather than play a grotesque form of hide-and-seek, she decided to meet the stranger head-on.

Passing through a palisade of smaller trees, Raleska spotted the man as he worked his way through the woods. By her count, he looked average at first -- but as more details fell into place, Raleska realized he was as heavily scarred (if not more) than the two women that lead her pack. Was he a fighter then, or had he earned those scars through cowardice? She cleared her throat in case he did not hear her approach, her posture neutral but her muscles coiled to run if need be.

<33!

Had he bothered to test the air, Kingsley would have realised quite quickly he was not alone in this wood (though it was not like that would have made much of a difference to his actions). No, he continued to stride onward with heavy paw falls, still murmuring the tune under his breath. It was not until he heard a cough and saw the stranger's lantern-like gaze in amongst the darkness of the trees that he stopped and turned to face her.

He stared for a moment, sizing her up before his tail gave a few relaxed waves in an effort to appease her. She was all legs, this one. Another youngster, Kingsley thought. "Well hey there, lil' lady," he crooned lowly, the genuine smile that spread across his lips being twisted into a fiendish smirk by his scar. He didn't mean to look so scary, honest. "Almost didn't see ya there."

Raleska's posture, while neutral, remained ready. She never knew these days: male wolves either wanted to fuck you up, or fuck you. She hadn't actually had that many bad experiences with men, but it Caiaphas' voice of caution that steeled her that day, reminding her to trust no one.

Not even scarred men singing in the forest.

While she was sized up by Kingsley, Raleska took the time to do the same. She didn't see any limps, or notice any areas where he might be weak. She did, however, notice that he had called her little lady. This set a prickle of annoyance up her throat. "I'm not your little lady." Raleska shot back, feeling her neutrality dissolve into something more suspicious. "What are you doing in the ravenswood?"

Her retort caused Kingsley's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise and he let out a huff of laughter. Oh, she had some bite! He loved a feisty woman. Backing away a step, the pirate lowered his head in what could almost be assumed to be a condescending bow, though he really did not mean to disrespect such a fine stranger. "Ah, my apologies, lass," he said, eyes still locked upon her dark features; something in that sharp yellow gaze told him to not underestimate this one.

"Ravenswood? Quite a fittin' name for the place," he replied offhandedly, before shooting her a quizzical look. "Aye, but I do hope I'm not tresspassin' on ye territory - I'm on a bit of a mission, y'see."

The man's reaction only served to earn him a harder glare: Raleska couldn't decide if the courtly bow was honest or pretentious. She sniffed, surprised by how defensive she was being of a stranger. She chalked it up to her emotions as of late, and the hardness of her life.

"It's really called Ravensblood Forest," Raleska chimed, her tone going from cold to gradually a bit less so. "But I think that sounds ominous. It's not my territory. What are you looking for?"

As she clarified, Kingsley's ears pricked to hear the far off sounds of a raven calling as if right on cue. He was curious as to how the forest had got its name - Ravensblood was indeed ominous - but the conversation quickly turned back to him as the girl shot him a question. Her guard had fallen from before, he noticed, if ever so slightly.

"Who, lass," he corrected with a toothy grin. "A young fella, 'bout yay big." At this he rose a paw to roughly Alizarin's height, though it occurred to him a second too late that the boy may very well have grown after his disappearance. "Kinda red all over, an' with golden eyes." There, that should about do it. Pity young Alizarin didn't have anything particularly conspicuous about his appearance.

"He ran off, the lil' bugger."

Raleska watched warily as the man motioned with a paw the height of the who he was looking for. The descriptor he provided didn't do much for Raleska - she hadn't come across many wolves at all as of late, and none fitting that appearance. She gave her shoulders a shrug. "Haven't seen anyone like that."

The nosier, more suspicious part of her wanted to know the why. She had never had much of a good impression of strangers (thx, mom) and this bandit was no exception -- especially since he kept calling her little pet names that somehow got under her skin (irritable much, Raleska??). So she did what her mom had always taught her to do in a situation where her gut was grumbling but she didn't have contextual clues -- she threw in incendiary fire: "Why'd he run away from you, lad?"

Her reply definitely blew the wind from his sails, but the pirate didn't show it, instead flashing a grin once more with an added shrug as if to say ah, no problem. There was no chance in hell the second stranger he came across would somehow know of the young boy, so he expected as much.

As for the question she shot back, Kingsley let his grin widen and he let out a loud laugh. My, she was something. His eyes traced her form for a moment, though she was a little too skinny, a little too young, for his liking. "Y'best be watchin' that tongue 'fore someone rips it off," he growled through a smile, dipping his head a little to meet her gaze before before adding in his usual, louder tone. "But y'know how th'young rapscallions are, always disappearin' and such, only took me eye off 'im fer one second I did."

Raleska detected none of the change in Kingsley's well-artificed demeanor. Sharp as her eye was, his command over his composure was sharper -- be it sheer will, or perhaps a little more experience.

She didn't much like the insinuation behind having her tongue ripped off, and was about to quip 'and who would do that, you?' when he spoke again, lamenting after the fickle winds that often blew the young hither-and-yon. Raleska's jaws firmed; she knew a thing or two about wolves taking sudden absence from one's life.

Getting the feeling this man was uncorked, Raleska kept walking.