Blacktail Deer Plateau I've got a jar of dirt!
Ghost
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#1
All Welcome 
He returned by way of the fields again, this time giving ample space between the borderlands to Kaistleoki and his trajectory; he did not want to encounter the giant a second time, nor anyone else of that pack.

There was nothing wrong with them mind you; Reyes was merely trying to cut his travel time down a bit, since he had been away in the mountains for far longer than anticipated. He was no mountaineer — it had taken far too much effort to work his way in to the vale, although finding the trees that @Erzulie spoke of wasn't much of a hassle.

As he crossed in to the valley and sighted the distant slope of the plateau, Reyes felt much better about all of the work he'd done. Between his teeth was a swatch of cherry bark, wide enough to be a little awkward, deep enough to jut out from under his nose by a few inches. His mother probably did not need such a large piece, but he could not figure out how to transport the skin of a tree back home without ruining it; so he'd chewed at this piece and cleaved it clean off.

The borders came and went underfoot. Reyes snaked his way between the pines and when he felt secure enough to stop, he dropped the shard of cherry wood and licked his muzzle over. His jaw muscles ached after carrying the piece so far and for so long.
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#2
it was done, the reason why she had sent her children away.
in a short time erzulie would know the truth of it, but she expected reyes and clementine back directly. roaming, the beta clawed her scent into the thawing soil along the border and quickened her stride into a trot when the scent of her son rose upon the wind.
he was returned; she smiled as she went to him, tail flagging with pride at what he had brought back. "so much of it!" erzulie praised, trading her usual touch of affection for a loving look; reyes did not seem to invite contact, not even from his mother. it hurt, but she had made her peace with it. "i will not be wantin' for dis for a long time."
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Ghost
backwater peon
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When Erzulie emerged to greet him he smiled, let his tail-tip dance a little, but he did not close the distance or offer her any physical affirmation. It did not cross his mind to do so until after she had begun to speak - he had seen a look in her eyes, a dimming light, which made him feel intimately guilty and Reyes could not understand it. He swallowed that feeling and feigned ignorance.

It was hard to bring the bark itself, so I had to bring this. Took some doing. He was not after accolades. Reyes nosed the segment of cherry wood closer to her and then sat back, feeling a yawning breath fill his lungs. This he exhaled through his nose (so as not to gape his muzzle wide for his mother, as a hungry bird might) and felt his ears pop. Climbed up the mountains. Before that though - I ran in to a guardian. Said he protected a place called Kai... Something. A little shrug of his burnished shoulders; specifics had eluded him.
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all erzulie could hope was that whatever had changed reyes outside the teekon would not plague him forever. that her boy would eventually return to her arms. and she would hope that against the reason of his age, the likelihood that as he grew older, reyes would become more distant.
she had already lost one son to the wilds.
"kaisteloki, it sounds," the harlot murmured pleasantly, intrigued that he had gone far. "what did dis guardian say?" she inquired, lowering her head to sniff at the bark and thinking of rusalka's very own rosencrantz.
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Ghost
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#5
Ah, she knew of it.

It sounds boring. He surmised as an answer to the question. Rolling his shoulders, Reyes thought back to the brief conversation and paraphrased, They said there was an importance held in trades, so I imagine that means you need a skillset to be of value. He was a big dude, so he was probably one of their warriors. If I had more time I woulda fought him and kicked his ass. He puffed up a bit, like a rooster, and smirked to his mother. There was too much doubt in Reyes when it came to fights like that - he was terrified of the giants in the world, even if he was growing larger and more like his biological father every passing day. His experiences with large and unyielding wolves had colored his own self-worth for a long time. Still, he played up the charisma and confidence for Erzulie's benefit, hoping to impress her - or make her laugh.
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she enjoyed his smirk, flashing a grin of her own. reyes had grown up to be a scuffling boy, but it was necessary if one day he was to take the helm of ruler. she then, would encourage it. "i visited dem wid nieve one day. dey expect to come back to de willows." erzulie pursed her lips, shook her head. "dat is not somet'ing we can allow to happen." not with children born in the spring. not with their claim already reduced.
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Ghost
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He understood the threat of a rival pack coming too close to their claim, and nodded when Erzulie spoke of her own worries; but rather than dissuade the formidable bear of a wolf and his kin from taking land that Rusalka felt was dangerous to them, he countered the logic with his own: Why? We could go back home instead. The thought came to him so quickly that he did not have time to temper it, or dismiss it. Surprised at himself, Reyes went quiet and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.
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ears cupped forward with a swift spearlike interest. "de sea be callin' to you too, den, reyes?" she purred, though of course it would. he and his siblings had been born alongside the brine. it had moved the loa of the ocean to permeate her birthing den with the salted energies; the ghost of them surely moved upon her son now.
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Ghost
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#9
He huffed a breath from his nose, his jaw tense. No, it doesn't. He refuted, except that she was right - and he was merely being petulant and resistant because the sea reminded him so much of Tortuga, and the crew. But it was home, and that's all he wanted.

But this place isn't home. This was supposed to be temporary, wasn't it? I've been to the coast, I've seen the state of it. Its not a mess anymore - not everywhere. His tail lashed behind him, his scruff puffing softly, a ragged crimson mantle.
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#10
an arch of her burnt honey brow; she did not believe reyes, but was disinterested in pressing him  further. instead her features blossomed into a satisfied smile; she glanced in the direction of the salt expanse and then back to her son. "we cannot go back to de soun,'" the harlot murmured. but her tone was not pensive, merely intrigued. 
"where would you have us go, reyes?"
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Ghost
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She sounded like everyone else he'd spoken to. It was like they'd all given up on their original home, which he didn't understand. Maybe it was his youth that empowered his devotion to this idealistic place—maybe it was his mental state upon returning to his family, too. The forest was intimidating. It was dark. There was too much around him at all times, and he could not keep tabs on all the possible hiding places. Who knows what could be lurking upon the plateau? But he doesn't mention any of this; he's already done his best and fallen short.

Then his mother asked, Where would you have us go, Reyes? And it felt like more weight was being added upon him and he did not like it. He shrugged, his shoulders rising slowly and then falling as he sighed. I don't know. Nevermind.
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#12
"i want to be upon de sea also," erzulie sighed after a long moment. "even if it is not de soun'. but we must find a proper place, reyes," the woman went on. it could not just be anywhere. the sea churned and spat out its denziens; the sea had turned upon them, but she ached for its taste all the same.
"nieve be wantin' to go also," the beta revealed, remembering her talk with the girl when they had plied the count of kaistleoki. "perhaps ..."
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