Rudy had left the castle to stretch his legs and run.  He had originally imagined stopping when he got to the wildberry grove but wasn’t ready to return.  Rudy slowed as he came to the Bifrost for some time to kick at the water with a paw, feeling the water moving against him as if to prove to himself again the ice was gone from this area.  Rudy trotted along, finding a sense of relief as he got farther from home.  It was like trying to toss off a layer of himself, the part that held all the hurtful emotions.

The motley grey wolf still couldn’t find much to smile about but at least he felt a little calmer.  Maybe it was the scenery that helped cool off the emotions that otherwise seemed to churn within.   Life had felt as if still frozen along the Bifrost as if time itself had stopped.  The young man slowed as he came to the fjord, looking towards the water.  Finally, the wolf seemed to be done needing to go anywhere.  He sat for a moment then chose to lay down.  With his head between paws, he watched the water as it flowed along.  His ears and nose stayed alert for any trouble but his eyes he let relax on the water to find the rarity of calmness it seemed to be providing.

Rudyard Carpathius

"You're one of hers, aren't you?" Eska had just come from the thickest of the pines, her dinner grasped in her jaws, when she saw the boy resting near the water. She hadn't gone terribly far into the fjord, staying close enough to the Auster territories that she could hear Ulric if he called for her. Eska had just needed to go far enough away to think clearly. Being so close to her rotten and dying mother clouded her brain. She needed a moment to think. A moment to breathe. Golden eyes rested upon the patchwork boy. The scent on him was thick with Hollows, so of course he knew her mother. The pensive look and the underlying tinge of Resin though... it made her think that he might very well be one of her adopted children. Picking up the ptarmigan in her jaws, the brindled fae moved forward to lay upon the bank. Holding the bird between her paws, she began plucking feathers with her teeth. If the boy wanted to talk, now would be the time. "Eska"

Rudy heard her approach but didn’t bother looking back.  The question was unexpected though.  One of hers?  That was enough to have Rudy raise his head and really look at the wolf.  Dark coat and about the same size and build as Rudy. At the word ‘hers’ his thoughts flew quickly to both of his mom’s.  Did she mean Resin or Tam or someone else altogether?  “I’m Rudyard Carpathius.  I guess it depends on which ‘her’ you’re referring to,” the young man responded neutrally.  Why was she choosing to eat her meal near him anyway?  Who was this wolf?  

Admittedly Rudy was normally a friendly and outgoing sort who might potentially also come up and try to socialize with a stranger but not every wolf was like that.  This one certainly didn’t have Rudy’s normal upbeat attitude but certainly wasn’t shy either.  Rudy lay his head back down but, on one of his paws and turned sideways to watch the dark lady, observing her with some distracted curiosity.  Did she know his mom’s or was it someone else?  Was it idle curiosity or if he did belong to the wolf she imagined was there more to it?  

Rudyard Carpathius

"Eska"

The boy seemed confused and voiced as much. Eska spat out a puff of feathers and cast him a sideeye. "Resin. You carry her scent." She continued to pluck the bird, allowing the wind to carry the down away. The larger feathers clung to the ground, some getting wedged between the plethora of rocks that littered the area. There was a seriousness to her, even as she carried out such a mundane task. Eska didn't think twice about eating beside a stranger. In the end, they weren't so strange after all.

"Eska Datura Timber," she gave her own name a short time later, once the bird lay naked and pink before her. "Resin is my mother." Surely the state of their shared mother was the reason that they both had such sour dispositions. It was surely the reason that Eska was so glum. The experience in the dungeon the day prior had been quite upsetting. She didn't look forward to a repeat performance.

"I believe I met your brother here yesterday." It seemed that everyone was eager to get as far away from the caged woman as possible. Eska didn't blame them one bit.

She knew his mom?  The stranger certainly had his attention now.  He watched her plucking the bird until her name was given and then the bombshell dropped.  She was mom’s daughter?  Did she mean like real blood-related daughter?  Why hadn’t she been part of their pack?  Rudy’s mouth was glued shut for all the questions, at least for a few moments. As to her mention of Art, that he didn't bother thinking on.  The way Art and he had parted ways still a painful problem to add to mom's fate.

“I see,” Two soft words, glancing back again to the water.  There was a part of his brain that threw out ideas of questioning her with a steady flow, to be charismatic and friendly, and the other part of his mind that didn’t want to put the energy into it.  Curiosity nibbled and a heavy heart dragged his eyes back to her.  She was considerably older than Rudy and so she was from a time before mom being with mom.  “Is that why you’re here?”  Rudy realized everyone had to be somewhere and it could be a coincidence but it would be a pretty crazy coincidence.  Rudy’s mind nibbled with curiosity that even depression couldn’t totally shake off.

Rudyard Carpathius

"Eska"

He mulled over her words, eventually asking if their mother was the reason that she was here. Eska gave a slight nod. "I've been searching for her for quite some time." With the feathers plucked away, the woman's teeth tore through flesh into the tender breast meat of the bird. She didn't get blood or gore on her face. Only a subtle ruby tinge on her bluish lips. Eska was careful and thoughtful with her bites.

"My condolences for what you and your family are going through. I've heard that she used to be a great wolf." Unfortunately, Eska didn't know anything more than what she'd heard in stories from her aunt Balaa. According to the woman, her mother was strong, just, defended the weak. She was a hero to some and a cleansing force to others. Eska never got to see any of that with her own eyes. This patchwork boy... he knew more of her mother than she ever would.

The past tense of Resin having once been great seemed to press along the wound in his heart.  She was great once but not now? No.  Still great.  Mom was strong enough to choose how she would fight the sickness, great enough to protect everyone in the only way she knew.  Mom was still amazing, it just wasn’t as obvious for those who looked on the surface.  

This stranger, this daughter of his mom, wouldn’t understand any of that though.  As Eska had said she hadn’t gotten to know her mom.  “It must be a bitter thing only to find her now then.” Rudy reluctantly worked to put his own woes aside to think of Eska.  “I only knew her a short span of her life but I could tell you who I know her to be if you want, a story or two about her.  She is amazing.” Rudy refused to speak of mom in the past tense.  Mom wasn’t dead and even if it was subdued the boy knew there was a strong spirit of hers trapped inside a failing body.  Mom was great.  

If this wolf was mom’s daughter then she was family.  If she was family that means Rudy had to think of what she might need.  Faced with someone that might be in need of help Rudy was able to find a sort of shaky calm.  The secret of life was simply knowing what you want to do and then take the path that made it happen.  Rudy wasn’t ready to search his heart for answer of what to do without mom but finding a way to help Eska was a thing he could do.

Rudyard Carpathius

"Eska"

Rudyard offered to tell her stories of the woman that bore her and Eska's brow furrowed for a moment. " I'm not sure." The brindled fae raised her gaze from the partially consumed bird and looked towards the water before her. "I haven't known her my whole life. Self preservation tells me that I should be glad that I don't know her, what with her current state being like it is." Was it selfish of her to avoid the woman in the dungeon? Was it selfish to guard her heart?

Suddenly, Eska's appetite fled. Looking down at the bird again, she took one paw and pushed it into the water, watching as the liquid consumed the avian and took it downstream. Eska didn't see it as cowardice. She lacked the strong emotion that others seemed to have and in that sense, was more like her mother than she knew. This boy though... he knew that his mother was trapped below ground. He knew that she didn't have much time left. He would suffer while she would not. So, after a short while, a sigh ghosted past blackened lips. "Tell me about her." Perhaps, if anything, it would be cathartic for the boy. For Eska... it would just rub in all that she had missed.