There was something to be said about the friendship between Goddesses. Frankly, they behaved the same way normal women would. They would be super close, best friends, until something went wrong and the blame was perceived to belong to the other party. And then they would fight, and hate each other for no real reason, purposely hurting the other as a way to make the other pay for misdoings. Often times, this either ended in the women hating each other for life, or realizing that the fight was just plain silly and make up, and have a deeper better friendship. Such fights often cause rifts in families and even entire villages.

Now, imagine what such a fight would be like, if the two women were Goddesses on the opposites ends of the spectrum. 

When Angela had returned home bloodied and battered from trying to help Dalanesca through her grief and trying to help rescue her stillborn child, Adraejen had had a pretty good idea about how it was going to play out. Personally, he had hoped that the two women would just give each other the silent treatment, but that turned out to be a little more than a whimsical fancy. Apparently, kicking Angela out of her domain and sending her half way across the world to crash like a meteorite wasn't enough. Now the Goddess of Death was laying siege to the Sundering Gardens out of grief. Normally, Drae wouldn't have been worried, if it hadn't been for the fact that Angela was beating herself up about what had happened. She had the power to keep the Garden safe, but it felt like only just. Frankly, the constant barrage of attacks and shaking of the ground was getting tedious. His workroom was a mess, and it was hell trying to get Rohan to sleep at all with all the noise. 

It was a simple thing, really, knowing that things were only going to get worse if help wasn't sought, and Drae thought he had a pretty good idea about who he needed to go speak to. During his time talking with Sapphire, he had learned that the Goddess Moliira had played a pretty important role in both Dalanesca and Angela's lives, at times that were most grave like the situation they were in. He was confident that if anyone could get through to them, it was going to be her. 

The crystal caves were quiet, and were not effected by the magical onslaught that was going on in the Gardens. This moment of piece and tranquility was gratefully recieved as Drae walked in the dim gloom, Rohan snuggled up in the sling Drae had fashioned so that he could carry the infant boy without having to restrict the usage and movement of his arms and hands. The boy was sleeping now, for what must have been the first proper nap in days, and Drae was grateful for it. 

He walked for what felt like hours in the dark, but he knew certainly couldn't have been more than a few minutes when he saw the light ahead of him. The cave opened up into the massive stone circle that the warlock knew to be the center of Moliira's domain. The open air and peace of the wildlands called to his inner bear, and he shifted his shoulders as he took a deep breath of the great wood air. It was liberating. The breeze that blew around them tousled Rohan's dark hair and the infant whimpered softly with the chill. Drae tucked the sling about the baby snugly before he stepped out into the open circle and looked about. 

"Lady Moliira?" he called out respectfully, but loud enough to be heard if she were nearby.

She had made a promise to a friend, and Moliira was doing her all to keep that promise.  But the Huntress found herself extremely frustrated.  She had the ring from Marth, she had been able to trace his scent quite a ways around the world.  But there came a point where the freshest traces just… stopped.  She had gone over the traces again and again, but Moliira found that her friend's mate had simply vanished.

Except it wasn't that simple.  There were only a few things that could thwart her senses, and Moliira sat in her circle of stones and stars, brooding over a ring and a promise.  A part of Moliira dreaded having to tell her friend what she had discerned, which was next to nothing.  Another part of her considered a lie, simply so Dalanesca could move on.  But that would be doing her friend a great disservice.  So that was not an option.  But those were her old ways, and difficult to break at times. 

Then someone… no, two beings, entered her realm from Angela's cave.  She took a deep breath of the wind, and nodded.  Both were always welcome in Maral'hal, and she was a little surprised it had actually taken this long.  It had to be absolute chaos in Angela's realm right now, and Moliira had spent more time than she liked to admit in her search for Marth.  "Welcome, Drae.  And hello there, Rohan.  It is good to see you both.  I take it things are not going well?" she asked, concern written in her face.  A priest appeared with mulled wine for Drae, and warmed goat's milk for Rohan. 

"I have tried to find Dalanesca's lost mate, but I've had no luck.  Me, the great Huntress of Revaliir," she said, her tone bitter.  And it told here there would likely be no happy ending for her friend.

Fortunately, Moliira had made herself incredibly easy to locate. While Drae would not have minded a nice quiet walk in the woods, he wasn't about to risk getting into a fight while carrying Rohan.

"Moliira," Drae greeted the Drowess with a respectful half bow while craddling Rohan to his chest. The motion made the infant stir, and he whined softly and rubbed his eyes and face. 
"Nothing gets passed you. I was hoping that this all would have blown over by now, but alas. Dalanesca sees nothing but her grief, and Angela won't admit how run down she is feeling from defending from the siege. The constant attacks are keeping many of us from getting proper sleep, so it is effecting everyone's moods for the worse," he said as he accepted the mulled wine and goats milk from the priest and helped Rohan with the milk bladder. He took a sip from the cup of sweet warm wine and heaved a sigh. Hearing that she was having trouble locating Marth made him quirk a suspicious eyebrow.

"It has got to take some serious mojo to hide a being from you, short of them being dead, and if Death were the case, I think Dalanesca have been the first to know, and her onslaught on the Gardens would be far more relentless than it is now. Do you have any working theories on what happened?" he asked, curious of her thoughts. Rohan drank his fill of the goats milk and squirmed and shrieked and squirmed to be let down, and Drae complied and put the little shifter down on the cool stones. The boy shrieked in delight and began running his hands through through the dark grass.

It would have been easy for her to hide from Drae and Rohan, but Moliira knew that this was not the time.  "Well, this is my realm after all.  And you two are welcome here for as long as you need refuge," she said in a soft voice.  I was clear the conflict between Angela and Dalanesca bothered the Storm Wolf.  And while Moliira didn't want to pick side, she had already resolved to offer shelter to whomever needed it.  And that was especially true for those who had no part in the conflict.

She wondered if Drae knew how refreshing it was for a mortal to understand her limitations.  "Were he simply dead, Dalanesca would know., and Angela would likely be able to do more than simply hold her off.  The fury of grief is hard enough.  But she holds onto hope.  Were she without hope, she would be reckless.  And vulnerable," Moliira explained.  She looked pensive, considering if she had done the right thing in offering her friend the slim hope of seeing her mate once more.  "I can only guess at what happened.  And there are only two real possibilities.  One, Marth stumbled from this plane somehow.  Two, he was pushed," Moliira said, her tone grim.  One suggested an accident, the other carried ill intent.

When Rohan was set in the grass, Moliira watched the boy's movements for a few moments before speaking again.  "I do not know how things will end.  But they will, one way or the other.  Until then, you can lead those seeking shelter here.  Anyone is welcome, so long as they abide by my rules.  Mainly, no fighting," she told Drae with a slight smile.  Moliira knew who was approaching, and the enormous dark gray wolf stepped out from behind a standing stone.  His fur was marked with subtle sparks of lightning, and a pattern could be seen, if you knew what to look for.  "He will not hurt Rohan.  Viggo is only curious about my visitors," Moliira said, watching as the wolf approached the boy carefully.  There as absolutely no aggression in Viggo's body language, only interest.

"Either way it doesn't solve the problem of which plane he fell into, or from what point he entered, if that remains to be the most likely scenario…" Drae said pensively. "Unfortunately, my knowledge of the planes and planar travel is a little limited, though I am willing to take the time to research," he offered. "Angela's library is extensive, and I have a lovely little librarian who could help me dig through those books," he explained, referring to one of Angela's younger daughters, Sapphire. "But I'll help in any way I can, and if it means bringing people here for refuge, then so be it. I am pretty sure I know who I can get to help with that as well," he thought out loud. 

He went rigid when the large wolf appeared and approached Rohan who was burbling happily in the grass. Moliira's reassurance didn't make him relax and he was ready to leap to his son's aid at the slightest sign of discomfort from the baby. Rohan on the other hand, squealed with delight at the wolf's approach and reached up to grab at the wolf's nose and fur and was remarkably gentle with the great beast, suggesting the infant had a profound respect. 

The baby boy squealed again, and then suddenly, he wasn't a baby anymore, but a smaller, blacker version of the great canine in front of him. This made Drae chuckle. 
"I don't know where he gets it. The bear cub I've seen, and the raven I've seen, but this one is new," he laughed looking at Moliira. "He looks as though he belongs here now," he smiled. The smile faded and he looked from the baby boy turned wolf pup and then back to the Goddess present. 

"What do you intend to do about Angela and Dalanesca?"

She nodded, though finding just where Marth had gotten himself too wasn't of the highest importance just right now.  "I have some knowledge myself, but right now, I would not worry too much about that.  Right now, people need to be safe first," Moliira said, firm in her conviction.  It was clear that she wanted to stay out of the fighting between Angela and Dalanesca, but she also wanted to help the people who were caught in the crossfire.  The idea of some intraplanar travel was appealing though, and she knew that she wanted to find Marth when it was safe here.  "My clergy are out bringing people here too, so you will not be alone in that.  With people unable to die… many just want somewhere safe," Moliira said with a sigh.

The drow grinned when Rohan shifted to match Viggo's form, and the wolf whuffed in what she knew to be amusement.  He was familiar with shifters, and nuzzled at the cub to get him steady on his feet.  But the conversation was serious again all too quickly.  "Between them… I fear I can do nothing.  Dalanesca is lost in her grief and anger, and there is no reasoning with her.  Until there is an opening I can use, I will do nothing to confront her.  And I have faith in Angela was she will do what she needs to do," Moliira said.  She knew her way sounded cowardly to some, but she was looking at the bigger picture, and staying out of the fight itself while protecting others seemed the best course of action.