Felltree Marsh Singer stylist

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Things were... calm. Tense, but calm. The wolves from Sagtannet did not appear to be starting a war with them (yet), and there seemed to be some kind of uneasy truce between them. Kaertok did not trust it, even as the days wore on, but time would make him a little more comfortable here.

He strayed away from the cliffs for the first time since he had arrived, wondering if he might run into somebody who had information on Valravn. There was a chance he was still out there somewhere, out there somewhere alive and well and ready to come home. Kaertok furrowed his brow, wondering if anything had happened to the boy while he was out there. The most likely scenario was not a good one, but there were plenty of other edge cases that could have happened.

Perhaps he ran into somebody he knew outside of Rusalka. Raleska mentioned that he knew nobody, but perhaps she hadn't been aware of any connection.

Perhaps another pack had taken him in, eager to add another able body to their ranks. He was old enough to contribute, but still young enough to mold to whatever they wanted to shape him into.

Perhaps, in some twist of fate, Valravn had made his way to Legion. Wouldn't that be ironic.

Kaertok wondered how his own children were doing in his absence.

"Fine," he thought. Probably wondering where he was, but Arbiter had likely made up some story about him by now. Let her have at it. Kaertok was no longer hers, and when the children were old enough, the smart ones would find him.

Arbiter had taken advantage of everything Kaertok had to offer, and she'd given little, if anything, in return. Not once had she offered him a seat at her side. Only the rung below her on the ladder. Bitter emotions hung in his heart toward her, made clearer by the distance he had put between her and himself. She had only used him for what she thought he was good for: children. And when he had done that, the hopes she had given him slowly faded. Her contact with him diminished, and Kaertok sought the only wolf he knew who could fill the void that had once again taken a place in his heart: Raleska.

It was her he thought of now as he trudged through the unsightly terrain of sludge and fallen trees.

"Felltree Marsh indeed," he thought with a grunt. It was not a pleasant place at all, but getting to know the surrounding areas seemed like a good way to spend his time. And if he happened across somebody, he could always press them for information about Valravn.

There was tension in Sagtannet, and she knew it was not only the looming war between the two packs, but the factor of Taikon's and herself's questioning toward Wylla's judgement. While she did not openly say so, Asra had found it to be rather rash and unndeeded, she could not understand why they desired to destroy a pack, that held no ties to the previous bloodshed, to be moved away. Perhaps they could've been allies, and renew what was once a historical bloodshed 

And even Stag, seemed to brush them off.

The frost-striked woman was new and knew not of their ways, but she saw them just a peaceful, family pack that Mahler so described; yet that image seemed to dimmer as she could not forget the looks Wylla would give to her so. Sometimes she felt she was but a nuisance, and however still strived to be more then just.. An outsider, a thrall.

She desperately wanted acceptance, but perhaps it was not enough.

Today she decided to to step out of the mountain, but avoid the coast. She had saw Taikon head that way, and wishing no trouble for herself, especially with the thoughts of battle looming, Asra would go in any other direction. Upon going further then the place she saw Izumi, there in the gloomy trees, was a white wolf, reminding her of the northern homebound.

"Hello there," she greeted a hint of a warmth to her voice, as the Sagtannet wolf never personally smelled Rusalka, she would not know his alliance, "it's quite.. An interesting place, isn't it?"

Kaertok pivoted himself toward the speaker. He blinked at her, wondering why she was talking to him. Then he remembered why he had come out here, and why he had approached so many strangers in the past. Everybody was looking for something, and very occasionally, they could help one another out. In all his months of searching for Raleska, nobody had helped him. Perhaps nobody would help him find Valravn, either. Still, it was worth a shot. It had to be, because what else was he going to do out here? He had to keep searching, keep asking around, hold out hope that somebody would have spotted them. The last thing he wanted, though, was to deal with small talk. Kaertok absolutely hated the thing, especially with those he did not know.

Have you seen a young wolf anywhere around here? His name is Valravn. He has a dark coat and green eyes. Probably fully grown now, but he'd still be filling out. A bear chased him away from us, and we are worried about him.

Yes, he had avoided the question, but something told him the answer to that question wasn't going to help either of them. Whatever she was actually looking for, her real motive, had nothing to do with how "interesting" this place was. Kaertok wouldn't even call it interesting. It was drab, depressing, and wet. But anybody could see that, so he had instead decided to focus on what he wanted out of this interaction.

A practical move, and one Kaertok hoped would pay off.

Asra blinked at his thrust of questioning and bluntness. She was expecting usual small-talk, however the company seemed to not prefer such and immediately desired other things. She only desired to but do so, and perhaps gain information on what else- and who else was outside of Sagtannet. The frost-striked wolf was quite unfamiliar with any around, and as days and tension grew, she became more curious.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but i'm afraid to not have seen him," the shook her head, "if I find him, who should I redirect him to?" Her glacier-eyes matching his own auburn.

Kaertok was used to others reacting to his abrasive way of speaking. And, quite frankly, he didn't care. Let others see him as they wished, so long as he got what he wanted from them. Unfortunately, this particular wolf did not do him any good. At least she offered to follow up if she did run across him.

Rusalka. We live on the cliffs, Kaertok said, gesturing back toward Rusalka's new home.

My name is Kaertok Tartok.

He realized, just then, that this could very well be one of the Sagtannet wolves. If that was the case, he supposed that she might turn on him. Then again, maybe meeting her wouldn't be such a bad idea if she was one of them. Maybe Kaertok could learn a thing or two about the pack that sought to push them from their new home.

Are you with Sagtannet? he asked. No need to play guessing games when he could root the information out by simply asking for it. It had been too long since he had come into contact with stranger at their borders, so he did not recall the exact scent that the man had held. Still, they weren't that far away from their respective homes, so it wasn't a totally out of the blue question.

She froze- it wasn't the best situation at the moment. As tensions were keen between the two, and as a newcomer, she felt being caught with the other was simply a bad situation overall despite Kaertok not doing anything. After a few moments of silence to gather her thoughts, she nodded to his question, "I'm afraid I have to go."

Though it was better to exit while she can.

She departed after only a brief statement, and Kaertok stood without words as he watched her leave. His jaw clenched. It appeared that either she was from Sagtannet or she had some kind of alliance with them. She had commented on none of it which said more than she probably expected it to.

Only when she disappeared from his vision did he proceed, searching still more for Rusalka's lost son.