Aethril's head craned backwards to look at Elayne for a long moment. She should have expected that sort of blind faith, perhaps-- this one must have been but a child when Farina gave it her mission. Pale eyes swept up and down the Valkhound, though she was turning to resume her practice.

"They're of the Natural Order," she said. "Animals from somewhere else; not created by anyone. They just are." She thought of Overseer Cain and the puffin it'd showed her with some mild concern. It didn't seem like these animals were being spawned for any particular reason and that was enough to almost scare her.

The Hand was quickly trying to shake it off. In a fluid movement, she retook her grip on the corrupted leaves and continued to twist them, dripping oil one way and then the next. "It's a start," she told Elayne in the meantime. "'Not Fornax' is better than absolutely nothing. If we're to continue with some common sense-- not Draco, and likely not Cepheus."

One leaf bent uncomfortably backwards, like an elbow cracking out of its joint, and her brow furrowed. It'd need an element, then. "Stale trails are also better than nothing-- keep a list of them, perhaps, and keep near your sources of corruption."

It was bending forward again, back into its natural position, and then twisting upside-down to stop a droplet of oil dropping onto the scorched ground. Her brow furrowed just a little with thought. "Try to save it some corruption of its own, when I send it," said Aethril. "But, it's a good idea. It should be quick enough to go to and from, though it might be a while before it comes for you. It needs to be trained first."

@Elayne

Creatures that simply were. How quaint. Elayne inclined her head, lips pursing with a silent hum. Her gaze burned into Aethril for but a moment, before it drifted away. The Hand changed the subject, and any attempt to decipher her feelings about the Natural Order was left to the wayside.

Instead, back to important matters. It was a start indeed, small as it was. She gave a subtle nod, reclining her cheek into the plush, pearlescent pillow of her frill. "A map would be handy," she remarked simply. "To ensure nothing is overlooked." It was nothing more than wishful thinking; she had no way of knowing Aethril would have access to any of that, but the Hand was powerful and despite her sleep, knew a great deal.

"For now, I will continue my investigations around the Altar and the Spire," she agreed, at the least. "There will be plenty of resources to spare for your scholar when it is ready. I wouldn't see it any sooner." It would be a waste for a half-trained fledgling to come crawling into her lap, only to die at Jupiter's hands.

A small smile curled upon her lips as her gaze returned to the Hand at her side. There was more, perhaps, behind that expression she offered, but she did not offer any words to go with it. It seemed almost like a threat coming from the massive valkhound, but that intensity certainly wasn't intended for Aethril.

No, hm... It was a promise, in her eyes.

@Aethril

A map? Aethril didn't have one, but she could likely access one and have a copy made for Elayne's perusal. The library in the library would likely the best place to start for that, she supposed. Her shoulder rolled back once.

"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make promises for a particularly detailed or accurate map. There's a good chance maps of this nest are long outdated." Her nose crinkled-- but what else could you do? Maybe the little scout could double-check things, when it came around.

She side-eyed Elayne. "Thank you," she said quite mildly. She was getting exhausted, now, and with a last bout of violet-black flames she was done for the day. The Hand turned back and folded her arms over in front of the oilstone that sat, barely-visible, underneath the linen shirt.

"I'll send the scholar when its ready," Aethril went on. "If you need anything in the meantime, ask for me in Cepheus's palace. Is there anything more you'd like to ask before I return there?"

@Elayne

Aethril wasn't certain that she had a map, much less an accurate one, but the Hand's offer to scrounge up what she could appeased Elayne. "Even an inaccurate map would be better than nothing," she remarked, "it would be easy enough to make corrections." She presumed, anyway. She could try and map the caves herself, but without the equipment to measure it would be a rough estimation at best. That felt like a waste of her precious time.

"The pleasure is mine," she responded politely, mimicking Aethril's muted tone. She could tell that Aethril was beginning to wear thin after her extensive use of magic, and nodded in agreement that it was time to bid farewell to one another. This conversation had indeed been quite enlightening, but for now, her thoughts moved away from curiosities and instead slipping into plots and plans.

So when Aethril asked if she had any more questions, the Hound turned her smooth, blank-faced mask to study her one more. The molten pits of her eyes burned, and a faint smile broke the otherwise stillness of her face. "I believe that is enough to go on, for now. I will keep in touch, but should you have need to contact me, it would be easiest to send missive to the Altar between Canis and Orion." She preferred it there, close enough to Fornax while avoiding the busy nature of Polaris or... Well, she had little interest in Master Vargas's business in Draco, either. The Altar was private, comfortable, and typically a place she could be completely alone, if she so desired.

Though, now that she had met someone of equal mind and worth-- in her eyes-- perhaps her desires would change.

@Aethril

"I wish you well, in that case," Aethril's head inclined politely. If she couldn't find a map then she'd have to try and make one-- but Aethril always worked well under pressure, she found. With a twist of her wrists, Aethril was padding down the hill.

She'd have to get an altar set up in the Palace or someplace nearby for convenience sake, she supposed, but for now she was making mental notes. The altar between Canis and Orion-- tunnel K, then? --and to sent the scout there once it was ready.

Another note was made to seek out Farina to ask about Nemean, though where ever she was was far from Aethril's line of priorities for now. The Hand slid along the fields rolling along Pegasus and vanished close to the tunnel leading to Cepheus again.

exit

"You as well, Aethril," Elayne echoed simply, offering the same nod in mirror. The conversation had been quite the success, it seemed, and the young Valkhound had a smile playing on the edge of her lips as she turned away.

There was a lot to be done, then. She would spend plenty of time thinking of Aethril with the distance placed thoroughly between them, but she decided that she would avoid the urge to visit the busy Hand at her palace unless the situation very much called for it.

No need to be so plainly fawning, after all. Elayne let Aethril walk away, and then her soft paws carried her through the forest, back on to the path where she had been enjoying her quiet, peaceful walk. The birds would take a while to settle back into their song, but she didn't mind the silence.

; elayne exit