The mountains of Vufrien slowly melded into the rolling foothills and open flats of Crue Efros. A treacherous path tread, albeit only slightly more safe during the hours of daylight. He'd sent word through the scattered contacts of his recently deceased father in hopes of reaching the outlandishly decorated vampire which had provided him with priceless intel before. While he was entirely uncertain that such a thing was wholly wise, especially since the corruption of such a line was highly possible in the years since he had been gone, he hoped that the news would reach the immortal regardless.

His presence was sought near the remnants of Dunmeath. The chance to catch up and try to place some of the details together in a more orderly fashion. He didn't press too far on the matter in Sanctuary for the trepidation of exposing his identity, let alone his lack of humanity. He still yearned to know if his mother had indeed been slain or if she had somehow managed to escape the ultimate battle that had claimed his father. Though he was uncertain if the physician would have such intel, it would still be nice to just see a... friend.

While he was not the most prone for conversation and didn't truly know what he wished to say now, the heavy feeling in his chest whispered that there was something. Though he supposed it was more than anything the flutter of nerves for finding out once and for all if his dame had been amid those slaughtered. While his childhood had been far from ideal, he still held a silent ember of hope that she had been spared. That her gentle heart, bleeding and weeping for her imprisonment had the chance to finally spread her wings and fly freely like the birds she so idolized. It wasn't fair if she suffered the same fate or worse as the tyrant who had owned her just as he would another piece of land.

Regardless, his arms would cross over his chest, a deep sigh blooming from his lips as he reclined against the small bough of birch, listening contently to the bubble and roil of the creek nearby. Meanwhile, the tiny fire crackled softly within the stone pit, sending the thing string of smoke to signal his presence into the sky that was becoming dreary and overcast. Rumor had it that the lands near Lavalles were in a constant state of shade to conceal the night wraiths from smoldering in the sun, likewise some of those in Sanctuary believed that the shroud was bleeding out to consume Dunmeath as well. He just hoped it didn't start raining.

While he had to admit surprise over receiving word from one of the Markai line he was all to willing to accept an invitation to meet. That little wolf of theirs had always proven himself to be promising entertainment and the damned would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to see him again. He held questions especially after that little disappearance stunt of his. A life thought to be snuffed out until rumor had reached his ear from distant lands. It wasn’t his job to chase after what others deemed livestock and yet it would be a lie to say he was not tempted.

A lure denied then and yet when there lay evidence that a friend was once more within his reach it was an ache that could not be ignored any longer. However, the location selected was less than favorable for too close did it stray toward the sun’s flickering rays. The harshness of light daring to dance upon the horizon, untouched by the natural shroud encasing the land of the damned. Though despite the foreseen risks a venture is still taken. So long as the shadows remained it would be safe but whatever the case may be he had to wonder what it was the man desired.

One such as he wasn’t exactly a known conversationalist. Surely he wished for more than simply catching up on time lost yet if intentions truly were so pure then who was he to deny him?

The woods readily welcomed him, the blood of wandering beasts an alluring distraction though it is the unmistakable scent of wolf which ensnares him. It fills the senses as a mind first flashes to unease, an underlying aggression until focus came upon the familiarity which sifted through all else. Budding tension steadily ebbing away as what would have painted a snarl spread into fanged grin. Just the man he was after. Perhaps whenever this was through he could be convinced to humor him, to tag along in a hunt. He could think of it as payment for whatever it was he wanted here. Though such tones remain silent at first as a figure bleeds from the shadows to stand in the crackling firelight.

“Really Wolf, making me come all this way? And for what?” Crown tilted as regarded the other man without a sense of shame, “Surely you could have drifted closer. I wouldn’t have let them bite.” A knowing smile pulled across the demon’s lips for there was no guarantee that his own fangs would not be amongst those which snapped. “But I must ask, what is so important that you would have me risk the sun?” Wary gaze cast toward the distant horizon, the streams of light unable to pierce the shroud stretching over even these desolate outskirts. But there just across the way, that scorching light was a promised sentence.

“Really Wolf, making me come all this way? And for what?” The greeting chime of those known vocals accompanied the appearance of the shadow wraith. However, they merely coaxed forth the rare pallet of his cold smile. "Insurance. If you're followed, I'm sure you can guess what happens to them." A jest, in part. He held no reason to believe that the damned would seek to betray him by any means, a contact for long periods with his father, somewhat a source of intel that had more or less made Dimitris become familiar with him. A doctor he fancied himself, though the wolf would not speak poorly of his skills, seeking him out personally more than a few times when his brutish, basic methods had not proved enough to halt the flow of blood enough for survival or a repair that was beyond his allotted time for patience.

“Surely you could have drifted closer. I wouldn’t have let them bite.” There it was then, the all too well known glimmer of fang and playful antics. One that had him rolling his shoulders in a slight shrug, arms finally relenting from their cross along his chest, instead picking up the prod he'd been poking the flames with and stoking them once more. "I'll be sure to mention you invited me personally on my next trip to Lavalles." Those his intonation still rang hollow and flat, there was no denying the dry sense of humor that accompanied the statement.

The next inquiry, a more serious repetition of the first had a slight frown pull at his lips however. “But I must ask, what is so important that you would have me risk the sun?” A small sigh left him, a half breath still reserved as his brow furrowed and his gaze was affixed to the smolder of the coals that yawned within the bed of stone. The kindling of wood was slowly fading out, the broken pieces barely anything more now than disintegrating black lumps.

"I want to know... if you've heard anything about my mother." The words left him alas, tapping the burnt end of the stake upon the edge of the formed rock wall. Another crack within the devoured lumber send a small splay of sparks and embers to dance within the air. Ones he withdrew his attention from, looping his thumbs listlessly through the loops of his pants. He could understand if the woman wanted nothing more to do with him, in truth. He would be naught but a constant reminder of the harsh cruelty she endured through her captor, but he still wanted to know of her fate. If she was a prisoner, he would not see her suffer again at the hands of another. He could think of none other connected well enough that he could pry the ear of other than the vampiric mender, along with the simplicity of allowing the man to know that he had indeed made it back across the sea. "I've heard her body wasn't found in Dunmeath. I just want to know if she survived, or if she was captured."

Eyes rolled despite the smile which hung upon his lips though attentions were quick to fixate upon the ways the other moved. How shoulders rolled and those arms finally uncrossed, a guard dropping - even if only slightly - around one known for so long. Though all too soon the damned found his gaze resting on the ways Dimitris poked at dying flames, the steady crackle of burning lumber shifting beneath the pressure as light flickered over skin and cast its warmth against the surrounding area. Yet ears would perk as hissed laughter pressed between fangs, “Oh and I am certain they will heed such invitation! I’d like to think I’m rather adored.”

A hand rose in grand gesture, jeweled fingers pressing briefly to his chest. However, such claims were a far stretch for a number of those shadowed wraiths loathed the way he communed so freely with the wolves, with those who served as nothing more than potential feasts in their eyes. And yet his was a presence tolerated. A source of entertainment for some, one of medical knowledge for others whenever they were in need for blood alone could not always mend all which plagued their flesh. But just as quickly as it had risen that hand flicked away, a grin steadily fading upon hearing the very reason another had beckoned him out into the woods.

Fangs still flashed as his expression soured yet twas in the curl of a lip rather than his typically display toward this particular creature. ’So that was why.’ Familial bonds? One of which the kirin could not truthfully say he knew the fate of but that would not stop the way lyrics snapped. Harsher tone breaking the silence he’d fallen into, “And just what do you expect to hear from me? That I’ve heard tales of the war? How your father’s head was beheld upon a pike? That his now widow was seen fleeing the scene?” Breath fell in a sharp tsk as arms fought the urge to fold beneath his chest yet features would softened.

The vibrant luminescence of his gaze never straying from the wolf perched before him. A slow sigh as lyrics touched the mind upon gentler phrase, “If I am honest with you,” and for the most part he always was, “It would be by some miracle that she got out of there alive. In times like that there is no room for choice - no care for it - on who is to become the devoured.” Preferences cast aside in the frenzy, potential delicacies not those easily relinquished when it came to an opportune feast. “I’d wager she was torn apart just as any other had been. Contrary to popular belief we can eat more than just the blood. The meat, their organs, nearly all of it may be consumed, leaving so little to call remains.”

Yet there was nothing known for certain. This woman his companion desired to know of very well could be alive, no matter how the damned may doubt. “But if it would ease your mind I can look into it further. I know a few who are more than eager to speak of their part in the slaughter, though on the rare chance those involved decide to hold their tongues we could always pay a visit to the dungeons themselves. There are a few ways in… most of them breaking in if they are unwilling to allow visitations.”