There were no other sounds in the woods, besides the whistling of the wind through the tree branches and squirrels and blue jays chittering as they gathered up acorns for winter. Dominick walked down the path at a brisk pace, ignoring the mild cacophony of sounds around him, until he reached a clearing where the trees were experiencing crown shyness, where a black wolf sat waiting for him on a tree stump.

Eliska was a person of mystery, though she was not unreasonable unless spited. Her partner had come to understand most of her eccentric habits by now, and that included why she was in her wolf form now instead of her human form.

It meant she had something important to tell him.

"Surely you can just use your human form"? he asked her.

She cocked her muzzle to one side. No.

"Okay then, what do you want to tell me"? Dominick asked her.

Eliska said nothing, but proceeded to get to her feet and begin to draw in the dirt with her claws. Dominick watched as she first traced a picture of a long-legged owl with a small crown on its head, then two smaller owls beside the crowned one. Then she proceeded to trace the picture of a net covering the crowned owl and drew tears falling from the eyes of the two smaller owls.

Stolas has been kidnapped, read the message.

Few kinds of news regarding what happened in Hell would actually interest Dominick, but hearing about the Goetia prince being kidnapped now shocked him to the point of silence. Who would kidnap the prince? And most importantly, why?

Eliska seemed to read his mind at that point. She erased the picture message with a quick swipe of her paw, then used her toes to sign a message.

Go find your mother.

"Do you think she might know who did this"? Dominick asked.

But Eliska only signed back. Can't tell. Too many eyes watching. Tell you after you meet mother wolf.

"Sure", Dominick replied, then raced off with Eliska in tow.