Totoka River right down the line

Please let Rosalyn respond first, then this is open to one other!

Perhaps if Kaertok understood beauty in landscape, he would have found this place beautiful. Instead, he simply trudged on, the wet ground below a mild annoyance. He was heading back toward the moors, hoping to catch a more recent scent trail of Valravn. Hopefully the boy had returned home, even if he had not stayed there once he realized his family had moved. In all honesty, Kaertok did not think it had been wise to move so quickly after the boy had gotten himself lost, but it was also not his call to make. He was no longer a leader in any sense of the word. (Had he ever been a leader, beyond his title, with Legion?)

He had requested that @Rosalyn join him (if she so wished), thinking that the boy would respond better if he saw one of his mothers. Kaertok's way of dealing with children was much different than he had seen outsiders deal with theirs. Most children were raised too soft, in his opinion (which he kept to himself, of course).

To their right was the ocean (and a small island), to the left was one of the many small bundles of mountains in the area. Beneath their feet was an almost paper-thin layer of water that splashed with each step. It was chilly, but it was also easier to traverse than attempting to cross the river further inland. Not to mention that the boy was more likely to stick to the coast, considering his origins.

Frequent returns were necessary, at least until winter truly struck.  Similar to Kaertok, Rosalyn hadn't liked moving with the boy missing... but they had searched without luck, and with winter at their heels, the choice had come down to moving now and continuing the search or remaining where they were until spring.  She could not shake the specter of Ironsea from her.

Instead they shared rotations to ensure the Moors were never left empty for too long.  If he arrived, the chances were good one of them would at least find his scent if not himself.  

Rosalyn's purpose in accepting Kaertok's invitation had been twofold.  She wished to help in the search however she could but she also did not know the man well yet.  This was her chance to ask him some of the questions that burned her, and true to her nature, she had little hesitation in jumping straight in, soon as they had traveled a ways.  The ocean at their side set a backdrop for tumultuous conversation.

So, Kaertok.  You knew Raleska before joining?  The water beneath their feet was unpleasantly cold - the conversation was as much to pull her attention from that as it was to get to know him.

WC: 204

Still open to one other for the duration of this thread. ^__^

Kaertok had always preferred to travel in silence, but there was something to be said about multitasking. What he wasn't keen on was small talk, something which his new(ish) leader seemed to impart on him today. There were dozens of conversation starters she could have gone with, and Rosalyn chose something that he both cared about and actively avoided talking about: his relationship with Raleska. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure what kind of a relationship it was. Whenever they met, it seemed to be a tumultuous time. And yet, here he was again, putting his loyalty into whatever Raleska wished of him because... well, his mother had more or less told him that was what he should do.

But the question Rosalyn asked was something he could answer in the straight-forward way that he always did. For now, at least, he was off the hook.

Correct, he said.

He was not the sort of wolf to offer more than was asked of him. Why waste his breath only to get himself into more trouble? As a Tartok, he was perhaps a bit more "intellectual" as they might say. "Less instinctual," Tonravik had called it. He kept many thoughts to himself because it was the Tartok way. Age taught him that was the smarter move. He wondered if most of his relatives did as much thinking as he did, but he had never bothered to ask. It didn't seem important and, once again, it felt like something he needn't waste his breath on.

Rosalyn smiled with a small shake of her head as Kaertok answered with just a single word.  She could forgive it, but he didn't seem to understand the gravity of the question.  Rosalyn put (far too much) weight on her opinion of him when it came to her daughter, a relationship that Kaertok might not be privy to, but one she took extremely seriously.  She didn't like that he'd apparently come before and left.  Men leaving was nothing new... and it was not a pattern she'd ever seen change.  She highly doubted he would be the first of his kind to prove her wrong.

Interesting, then.  She's never spoken of you.  Did you know one another well?

Normally not one to pry, in this one instance, Rosalyn began to edge upon breaking her rules.  If it chased him away then he did not deserve her... but the pirate would test him.  She wanted to know his role in Raleska's life, what he was and what he hoped to become.  She might not be under any misconceptions of forcing Raleska's hand, but she was for damn sure entitled to an opinion on it.

WC: 192

Perhaps another wolf would have been wounded by such words, but Kaertok was not surprised to hear that Raleska had not spoken of him. How often did she speak of anything? It solidified in Kaertok's mind the thought that Rosalyn really did not remember him from the summer previous when he had briefly been a part of Rusalka. Granted, it had not been terribly long: a month or two at most. For whatever reason, it had impacted him. The gravity of Raleska was strong, and she had made quite the impression upon him.

He sensed that Rosalyn would not be satisfied with anything less than a more lengthy answer, based upon her prying words.

I helped her search for her mother last summer when she went missing, he said. And I was there on the coast this summer. We seem to find one another when times are tough.

It was true that he had not stuck around, but the times that they had shared were tough ones. He had been by her side when she teetered on the cusp of life and death, and it would have broken him to lose her then. As he spoke, he realized there was a better way to frame things.

When we could not find her mother, I left for a time to return to my own mother. When I returned last winter, Rusalka had moved elsewhere. It took two seasons of searching to find Raleska again, and she was... uncertain about me.

That was a very light way of putting it, but it was the truth.

Rosalyn had been dimly aware that Raleska searched for Caiaphas, but not that she had acquired help for it.  Her face remained indecipherable but internally she felt a coil.  She'd never understand the girl's devotion to a mother who, in Rosalyn's mind, had failed her completely.  Perhaps not as badly as the pirate's own, but enough to deserve detachment.  She held her tongue each time it was referenced, yet she couldn't help the curdle of ill-born and (to her) righteous resentment.

To find and to lose one another, it seems.  She said offhand.  There was no judgement to the statement, though.  That call was for Raleska to make, not hers.  She heard nothing in his story that impressed her, though.  He was a blank slate; perhaps they found one another, but she saw no evidence that he had actually helped her daughter through these times.  Raleska had returned after Caiaphas' fall broken and alone.  It was the same when her children were born.

She would give him the benefit of not counting this against him, but she'd half-expected more.  Certainty is something we've all had little of.  I suppose you'll need to earn it.  Rosalyn eyed him sideways.  For what it is worth... I don't approve.  I suppose there will be fun in proving me wrong, if that is the sort of thing you take pleasure in.  She hoped, for Raleska's sake (and subsequently, his own) that he did.  

Then, without much segue, she began to scan the shore once more.  If he had been found, no doubt he'd have let them know where home was by now.  I don't like that there's been so long without word.  The statement was mostly made at herself, but it was an invitation to move on if he wished.  Valravn was a bit... scattered at times, but he wouldn't have remained away so long by choice.  Not without his siblings and without them.  He was either more lost than they thought or being kept somewhere, and neither was good.

WC: 336

Kaertok grunted. He was unlikely to take pleasure in proving anybody wrong. Instead, he needed only the approval of Raleska. To do that, he knew that he might need her mothers' approvals as well, which maybe was not as important as he had once thought. So long as Raleska vouched for his place in the pack, which she had already done, half the battle was over. Staying was the other half, and he knew now that he would rather not go on living than to be without her. His life in Legion had been more of an empty husk than anything, despite the pleasure he had found in raising his children.

I have asked Raleska already, but is there no pack nearby he would know?

Kaertok wondered if the boy had found somewhere familiar and decided staying there was better than toughing it out alone or even returning to Rusalka. It was, by far, the most optimistic of outcomes, but Kaertok thought it likely that was the only situation in which the boy would be safe and sound.

Or are there any packs that have ill will toward Rusalka?

He was vaguely aware of Caiaphas's reputation, although he had not been around for any of it. Besides, that was likely water under the bridge now, right?

Rosalyn considered it. There was a time when they'd had many enemies, but now she could name hardly any.  The Redbirds or... whatever.  She dismissed the name.  They disliked us for a time, but we returned one of their own chilren recently.  They wouldn't.  Besides, their pack was farther away, and she doubted Valravn would have run so far.  Still, her assumptions were most strongly born from her own ideals. She couldn't imagine a mother, knowing what children meant, keeping one away.  Especially not when a debt was owed.

But he may have found a nearby pack.  We should ask around.  If they required service in exchange for shelter, that could help explain why he hadn't come back home.

Kaertok's attention intensified when Rosalyn mentioned "Redbirds." Could she mean...

Redhawks? he asked.

Kaertok remembered Towhee and how she had been looking for someone: Sugar Glider. He had never found her, but it sounded as though the girl had eventually been found when they had met up afterward. His world felt a little bit smaller now, knowing that Rusalka had a connection to them. Not a terribly pleasant connection by the sound of it.

He agreed that they should ask around. If Valravn had not yet come back, that meant that he was either with another pack or something far worse.

I am on good terms with the Firebirds. I can ask about Valravn if they are still on the plateau.

That was news to her!  She gave a small laugh.  So was I.  Funny, it seemed to change while I wasn't there.  She hadn't realized that her stay there would incur a debt larger than a thanks, not when she hadn't asked for the aid in the first place.  She'd helped their number a fair few times over the years, and no matter if it was only the one who held a grudge, she wouldn't forget it anytime soon.

But if you like.  We shouldn't ignore any possibilities.  She sighed softly.  She'd vowed this year would be different, yet here they were.  She'd run the what-ifs a good number of times, but she couldn't regret her and Erzulie's choice.  She could only loathe the bear.

Do you have children, Kaertok?  She surmised not, judging from his lack of mate, but that wasn't always the right answer.  Only, it seemed, the most common one.  Generally speaking, the men recently had all had hopes and no prospects.  She didn't hate that.

Ah, so Rosalyn had lived there by the sound of it. His world continued to shrink, and Kaertok was amused by this. Since they had a connection, he decided he would seek them out and see if Towhee had heard anything of the boy. Perhaps they had not brought him back, but there were all kinds of explanations for that. And, as Rosalyn said, they shouldn't ignore any possibilities.

The next question was a harder one, and yet easy enough to answer. Knowing now that she would not be satisfied with simple answers, he prepared himself for a longer one.

At my age, what do you think? he answered wryly.

They are grown now, on their own.

Even the children Arbiter had birthed would be two seasons old now, plenty able to take care of themselves. His heart ached at the thought of them, but he knew he could not go back... at least not until he had a plan.

His answer told her a lot about him.  So he did, and acknowledged them... therefore, he wasn't the type to scorn children.  But there was no sentiment to his words about them.  He told her nothing about them except to explain why they were not here.

Some aren't so fortunate, and some don't view it as fortune.  So I generally don't assume.  She responded with a casual air.  She could press him about them, and about if he saw more in his future, but she would not nose too far into that route just yet.  Somehow she felt Raleska wouldn't thank her for it.  This meant that the previous mother was either dead or parted... and she marked that a curiosity.

When you see the Firebirds, ask them how Alyx is doing.  Tell them we wish her well.  Maybe that will smooth things, if you need it.  She did not know if Kaertok would run into trouble, but there was no love lost between their packs.  If they knew where he come from, the greeting he got might not be the one he expected.

He did not get any particular vibe off of her response to his, and she left it at that. He did miss Inukun and Piguktuk, although he had never really bonded with Atuaserk. Perhaps that was for the better than he did not yearn for all three of them to be here. The two he liked most were likely thriving without him, he told himself. Doing well and making their way in the world. Perhaps one day they would find him.

She mentioned a name, perhaps one of the members of the Firebirds (Redhawks? I don't remember how Kaertok remembers them, LOL) that they were on more friendly terms with. Maybe it was the child they had returned to them. He nodded at this info, thinking it good that he had some leverage to make things go well (if it was needed).

Good to wrap this if you like!  My last post if so <3

He fell silent and simply nodded at that.  Rosalyn too lapsed into quiet, content to range alongside.  Every so often she'd draw out in an arc, nose to the ground, then tasting the wind.  Any sign... just a hint that he was okay.  That he was still out there somewhere.  Outwardly she was languid, but internally, she was coiled.  Where are you?

She would call it when she thought it necessary, when too much time had passed and they needed to return.  At that point, perhaps another could take their place.  Until then, she'd keep on tirelessly, mulling over his suggestion and what it might mean.  If another pack had him, would they fight to reclaim him?  Would they need to?  Did he not want to come home?

None of these were easy to think on, but all of them plagued her as unwelcome guests.