After traveling for so long, it was hard to keep her paws in one place. Even with a sick and dying mother, Eska felt the need to move, to explore. Having reconciled with a mother that thought she was dead, the silver streaked woman needed time alone to reflect and sort her thoughts and emotions into order. Resin was in very bad shape. When she was little, her mother seemed as strong as a mountain. Now she looked brittle and frail. Ribs were showing and muscle had melted away. Her mother was a husk. A shadow of what she had once been. It saddened the smoke and shadow fae greatly. Eska had followed the ocean upward to a place where stone embraced water and trees embraced stone. The place was cold, much like she felt. She still hadn't washed the dirt of her travels away and with nothing better to do, now seemed like the right time. Stepping down into the icy water, Eska submerged herself, holding her breath for as long as she could manage before resurfacing again to pull in large gulps of fresh air. She swam a bit, diving and resurfacing a few times. Eventually, she decided that the worst of the dust and grime was washed away. Pulling herself back onto the bank, the waterlogged woman gave her thick pelt a shake, sending water flying in all directions. Today, she would take advantage of the warm, summer sun that was slowly melting the rough winter snow. Eska leaped upon a dark stone slab and sprawled out on her belly. Her tail curled over one outstretched hind leg as she settled in, content to let the sun absorb the remainder of the moisture from her now clean pelt. The days and weeks that followed would be difficult. Her mother had told her that her father was gone, so there was no need to seek him out. With her mother gone, the quest that had taken up such a large part of the fae's life was at an end. What would she do with herself now? There was family in The Hallows, but she didn't know them. Would the mate of her mother feel awkward having her around? Perhaps she would question Ulric when she returned. He seemed a good, wise man and Eska wasn't above asking for advice. Up above, a crow called out and the damp woman turned her golden gaze to the sky, squinting against the brightness. At least the world was righting itself once more, if anything. "Eska"

I couldn't put a paw on what was going on with me today, but something was definitely off.
It was the energy that was sitting like a rock in my gut. Weighing me down and having me travel at a slower rate than usual. The search going south wasn't producing any results with anything that I was looking for. Maybe I was being impatient... I could accept that. But I needed new tools for crafting, some sort of field to get the right ingredients for that elixir I was working on, new sources of information that I could report back with, a meal, and god forbid there was a place around here that had a book or two about alchemy that was written in the old language. I was probably asking for more than the universe could provide with that one. On top of all of that, the information that I got about the ice bridge was great and all but I honestly should have had that chick LEAD me in the right direction.

I just wasn't thinking.

The sound of small rocks tumbling down off of the cliff face could be heard all around me as I scrapped my nails against the hard surface, trying to stop myself from sliding too far while I jumped from boulders to rock outcrops. My body tensed as I peered down from the height that I stopped at.
Not much father left... I hummed in thought while looking at the water's flow below. The small landing that I was on had a steep wall face, and it was difficult to see around the bottom for my next jump.

"Mmph."

I pulled my head back from the edge and searched around for another way down. There. It was a small skid to the landing closest to the ground. If I could slide the right way, i'd land on the next rock outcrop and then just bound to the valley floor. 'And oh is that water calling papa's name...'

A small grunt came out of my maw as I leaped to the rock slope, narrowly missing a small tree growing out from a crevice, and gradually skidded on my paws down below. The sad part was that my paws kept catching on the bumps of the rock's face and I had to keep them from latching onto anything because of the friction. The sadder part was, I did mention that it was hard to see off of the cliff I leaped from and everything below it right? Well. My momentum had me over-extend my placement and I was now jumping along with gravity forcing me to keep bounding to the bottom lest I wanted to roll there instead.

"Woah, Woah...Uhhh -"

Yeah, of course, someone had to be laying here. A black canine body came into view as I made another jump over a jut in the wall, causing a sudden flood of panic to overwhelm my system. Quickly, I looked for anywhere to put my paws that I wasn't going to step on this being - because I sure as hell wasn't going to be able to avoid it. Coming to the dark rock's surface, I landed first on my front paws between the wolfs back legs and placed my back feet... well, somewhere. I guess it was possible that I stepped on something whether it be another rock, stick, or it's leg, before slowing to a stop a few feet away.

"Whoops. My fault."

I woofed, turning around to make sure it was indeed another wolf and not just a dead body someone threw down the Fjord.

"Bene?"

Latin lyrics flowed before I caught myself and quickly shook my head as if to excuse myself.

"I mean - you okay?"

'Good grief... that was close.'

I couldn't say I would be surprised if it was though.
Perhaps it would be in my favor for a free sacrifice during my next ritual.

"Speech"

A long yawn pulled from the leggy woman and she stretched, foreclaws digging into stone while her back toes splayed out, the pads upturned towards the sunlight. The woman rested her chin on one bent, silver dipped paw. The warmth of the sun as it soaked into her dark pelt was comfortable and calming. It was something that she needed. Tensions had been a little high yesterday with seeing her mother after so many years. And to see the woman in such a state... well... it took a lot out of Eska. She'd been both happy and relieved to have caught up to her mother finally, but wished that it had been under better circumstances. The state that Resin had been in was short of horrifying. Eska hadn't even recognized the woman that gave birth to her. She had been so slender. So...dull. She wasn't the same wolf at all. The steady presence of Ulric behind her had kept Eska where she stood, but there was a chance that, without drawing upon his strength, she very well may have fled both the dungeon and the Hallows lands. In place of her mother was a ghost. A demon. It was a lot to deal with. The silver and smoke woman needed this time away to decompress; to set her mind straight. She needed to plan out the next step in her journey. Would she stay with The Hallows? See her mother to her death? She could always continue traveling and learn more about this land that was so different from her homeland. There was time to decide and she wouldn't make it today, but it was still something to mull over. From up above, the scraping of rock on rock met the woman's dark ears first. Eska raised her head, neck curling to see what was happening. Rockslide? Soon, a new sound accompanied the sliding rock and, parting from the coniferous branches of the pines, came a wolf. And he was coming right towards her. Like a delicate dance, the man stepped upon the rock behind her just as Eska pulled her body forward, sliding gracefully off the front of the boulder to land upon her paws. By the time the wolf landed and righted himself, they were both on the ground, staring at one another. She flashed him a look of irritation, brows drawn together. He had the decency to ask if she was alright, but still... what an inconvenience. "I'm fine," she spoke, her tones low. The irritation would slowly fade, but for now, it had its hold upon her. She didn't ask how he was as he was obviously standing there in one piece. She couldn't smell blood on him. Nothing fresh, anyway. One silvered brow lifted in question. Was he going to stand around and talk or be on his way? "Eska"

Blood orange orbs melted into the golden ones staring back as the wind carried several pieces of debris between us. The moment of silence was in part due to me waiting for a response. The other was the fault of my mind processing what just happened and cursing the universe for putting someone else here. The plan was to lay low as much as possible until I was able to retrace my steps back north. After gaining that new information from the last lady I spoke to, it was a sure-fire bet that I wasn't going to find what I was looking for the further south that I went.

Her expression made an invisible distance between us, coming off as being irked at my sudden arrival/disturbance of her doing... whatever the hell she was doing. However, rightfully so. I'm sure I would have already been spewing some choice words for the idiot that didn't watch where he was going. I suppose I should have been thankful my head wasn't being chewed off right now. I smirked at the thought, dipping my head to the level of my shoulders and closing my eyes briefly.

"I always find it curious how the universe tries to keep me on my toes."

I said, making it more of a point to slow down and enunciate my words through my accent. My head lifted back up with a half-grin still pulling at the sides of my maw.

"I suppose it's trying to keep you from getting too comfortable too."

I laughed lightly, taking in her form. Hm, she looked wet? Not straight out the water kind of 'wet'  but I was thinking it hadn't been long since she had been in the water. Maybe the universe was trying to keep her from getting too comfortable in more ways than one.

'I hope you aren't such a clutz like I seem to be and fell into the water...' I thought, deciding to keep the comment to myself.

"To be honest, since you're here..."

I fell into a sit and tilted my head slightly to the right, just enough for an ear to flop to the side.

"Maybe you can be of some assistance."

I blinked. The wind pushed another gust in between us and if it weren't for the sun beating down on my back, it might have packed a little bit of a chill along with it.

"I'm trying to find these... uh. Damn it."

Of course my mind decided to escape me right at that moment. I swirled a paw in front of me as if I were egging my thoughts to continue on.

"Dire wolves! That's it."

I sighed.

"I find that I've lived with one for so long and I cant remember that this isn't what they're called back at home..."

My voice was lower as if that comment was more for myself than for her.

"You know..."

I rose my paw up, gesturing to their height.

"Big fuckers.

My paw lowered and I casted my gaze out to the waters. It was a long shot that she would know anything to be able to help me along but besides the bargain that I had made with that dude a few weeks ago... shit, Can't remember his name anymore either. I wanted to find out for myself what drove them to do what they did to Armada - amazing that I remember the pack and not that guy's name - and if it had any connection to a biological mental state or was it just a plan being put forth. Maybe this would be helpful in my studies.

"I've been trying to find someone who might have more information about, well I suppose it was a raid. Or maybe just a random attack...Either way, I figured it might be the most helpful to talk to one of them. Or atleast someone who knows these lands well enough to lead me in the right direction of where they seem to be emerging from. "

'Unless they were already apart of this ecosystem. I suppose I hadn't really considered that.

I turned back to her, my expression more eager than anything.

"You wouldn't happen to have any info that could help, would you?"

I woofed softly, curbing my enthusiasm in case that resounding answer was a 'no'.

"Speech"

My, he was a talkative thing. Very animated as well. Stoic as ever, Eska stood there and stared at the man while he spoke, sulfur yellow pools fixed on his patchwork form. They were two completely different kinds of creatures, it seemed. He ran at the mouth while she stayed quiet. Just like her mother, she believed that only the important things needed to be said. Silence was golden and not enough people took advantage of it. As the one sided conversation switched to speak of Dire wolves, Eska lifted an obsidian brow. Were dires so uncommon where he came from? They weren't an anomaly here. Damn near every pack had at least one, usually more, in their ranks. A moment later he admitted that he'd lived with one himself, so again, she wondered why he was looking for something that he had at home? He finished his description in a very colorful manner and Eska released a soft, amused huff out of dusty blue nares. He was so strange. "Dires are not uncommon. My father was a dire. The pack where my mother resides has multiple dires in the ranks." If he was simply searching for dire wolves, he could skip a few lands away and reach The Hallows. The smoke and shadow fae didn't doubt that he could find what he was looking for if he approached any of the packs in Boreas or Auster. When he spoke of information regarding an attack, she gave a light shrug. "I'm fairly new to these lands. I've heard nothing of an attack." Unfortunately, she wouldn't be any help to him in this area. With a pull of her skull, she motioned behind her, down the fjord and towards the ocean. "There's a pack nearby, The Hallows. They might have some information for you. The alpha's name is Ulric." And, because it might help to tell Ulric how he knew to find them, she added, "And I am Eska." "Eska"

She was patient with me while my mind ran a muck through the information scattered around my brain.
I was grateful for that.
Although, her expression while I spoke didn't scream patience but rather the look of someone who's watching another flounder in the water and wondering why they wouldn't just stand up. Heat rose to my face as I finished my thought, tickling the part of my anxiety that I tried to keep at bay.

'Not...uncommon?'
I sat with those words for a moment as she went on in her explanation. Not uncommon... did that mean that that attack was uncommon for them too? That sat too well with my assumptions that something weird was going on. This girl's information was definitely more of an anomaly than the ones that I had received before from other loners and pack members. I sighed, clicking my teeth together subtly as I thought. Sirius was a Dire, he had to be. And if her account is right of her family having dires within them as well, assuming her family was still within these lands, then they weren't just beings crossing over at random. But that's not what others were saying. This just didn't make any sense... I groaned lightly at inner frustration.

It also meant that I wasn't getting all of that free food I was promised.

Her words brought my attention back to her face, I hadn't noticed that my vision had begun to wander off to the rocks behind her.
'She was new.'
Of course, she was. I almost wanted to roll my eyes - not with her being new. But at my arrogance that I thought I was the only new one around these parts. Well. At least it was nice to hear that others were trickling in from the surrounding areas as well.
I sighed in a huff.

"It was worth a shot inquiring..."

Ears faltered slightly as I turned my vision to the waters a few yards out from us for a brief moment. I wasn't back to square one, but I did have a giant wrench thrown into my plans. I was beginning to think that this was something that I should let go of. It wasn't any of my business what problems others had. Especially since my loyalty was still to myself and perhaps my elder sister. But something still tugged at my stomach that this could possibly give me some insight on if any other dire was dealing with what my father was going through. What...I was beginning to go through. If it was indeed just a select few dires that went a-wall. Then... then maybe there was something there. I doubted it, and doubted it hard but it was one of the only clues in this area that I had to go off of. Talking to a master healer I supposed wouldn't hurt either.

I turned back to her with an open maw about to say something else when I caught the tail end of her motioning her head towards the water. I blinked, unsure of whether I just wanted to continue on my way or follow her down. My head looked up towards the sky as she spoke. Taking note of the suns' postion overhead before I lifted onto my own paws and followed her down.

'I still have time...'

I dipped my head in acknowledgment.

"Eska."

My tail casually swept behind my legs in a brief swing before resting over my rump.

"I can't help but feel bad for wasting your time with this. It seems like I get two steps ahead and fall one step back in this pursuit."

My voice was in good spirits despite how I felt.

"Ciel Mortifico."

I introduced myself back absentmindedly, my optics paying more attention to the gentle current of the water. My body sauntered forward into the liquid until it rose up to my ankles. Lumbering white paws sank halfway into the warm mud, almost covering the initial chill of the water. A shiver broke through my shoulders anyway.

"The Hallows, huh?"

I questioned, trying to commit the name to memory. Well great, another pack to talk to. Yeah, I wasn't too keen on that idea. But what other choice did I have?

"I take it that's where you're staying now?"

My voice had lowered as I came up to the water's edge. Peering down at the lightly ripping reflection of my own face.
I wondered if that was where her family was. She said she was new to these lands so maybe that wasn't the case and she was just staying around these parts momentarily. At any rate, I needed to know if she knew who I could talk to in the pack about my issue. I was done searching around frantically for the needle in the haystack - it was wasting too much time that I just didn't have.

"Speech"

"Eska"

He really was a strange fellow. After much mental musing, he eventually gave his own name, but only after saying her aloud. Ciel Mortifico. The surname tickled the back of her skull, but she couldn't quite place it. She could have asked her mother, but her mother was locked away in a dungeon, slowly going mad. Her aunt was a million miles away, so she couldn't ask her either. In the end, she decided that it wasn't terribly important or else she would have remembered.

Ciel worried that he'd wasted her time and the silvered woman huffed lightly through dusty blue nares. "Time is all that I have at the moment." She spoke more to herself than she did to him. Eska was waiting for her mother to die. A mother that she didn't know. It was a strange situation to be in and she entirely know how to feel about the whole ordeal. How deeply could she feel for a woman that she'd been separated from at less than three months old? All she had were stories and one nasty, dungeon encounter with a demon. That beast hadn't been her mother. Not anymore.

The discussion shifted back to Dires and The Hallows. Ciel questioned her residence and the brindled fae gave her head a shake in the negative. "Not at all. It's where my mother resides. I came to find her. Now I'm just waiting for her to die." There was no reason to lie or to blur the truth. That was the very reason that Eska was now here. Her mother had been found and the rest of her quest was to wait until the addled woman breathed her last. Then the journey would end and she would be able to decide just what she planned to do with the remainder of her own life.