Eros had nearly missed his chance. He realized it only as he followed Ana's trail on its way out once again. Some things had changed, enough to warrant a discussion, even if brief. Their scout should at least have the heads up.

He picked up the pace the closer they came to the edge of the Backwater, and when he knew himself finally near enough, Eros let out a bark to catch the other's attention, asking he wait for a moment.

"Anatole? We need to talk a minute."

There was little of his usual congeniality. After @Vayko's departure, Eros had grown tepid at best. Underneath everything he did these days, there was an undercurrent of anger that he was suppressing beneath flat lines and sharp glances. To think, he'd nearly advocated against his very father for the man's right to sow life in his own mother's womb at the same time that Vayko had been planning abandonment of the family he'd already been gifted.

Being addressed so formally had once sent a ripple of whispered thoughts through his mind, but he was growing used to it, coming into his adulthood at last. Would he have ever grown up, had the world not pushed so hard for it to be so? Each time he thought he could let down his guard, or that a good hand had finally been dealt to him, fate, his opponent, pulled a new, cruel trick out from its sleeve. It was settling into place with harsh finality that he should never leave himself vulnerable to such surprises.

"Some things, yes," he answered, taking Anatole's lack of eye contact as a gesture of respect. His own heavy gaze watched the younger wolf's dark mask, hoping to see understanding for the warnings he was about to be given.

"I don't know how acquainted you might have been with Vayko," he bit down around the word, peach eyes casting askance a moment in clear agitation while his dark lips pulled back into a sneer, "but he's meant to be gone. If you run into his scent out there, avoid it. He's likely to see you as a threat, and you should see him as the same. If he's too close to home, come straight to me or @Viorel."

It would have likely broken @Clover's heart into even smaller pieces to hear him speak now, but Eros held firm that every ounce of pain that came from Vayko's decision were just that; choices he alone was responsible for.

Tole was attentive, the picture of a loyal subordinate. There was even a hint of underlying frustration, features twisting in a way that told Eros the source was not him or his instruction, but rather this new 'enemy of the state,' so to speak. Regarding him, it occurred to the leader just how little he really knew about the yearling in front of him. The forays he kept sending the young scout on did not help. He was asking evermore of him, and Anatole had yet to hesitate in stepping up to the bat, yet the connection between them was so tenuous.

He should change that. If their shared home really meant so much to the Gerau, it was the least Eros could do for him in return.

'Shall I sound an alarm? Attack on sight?'

The softest of snorts left his nostrils, a whisper of dry amusement before a taut frown took over. It was appreciated that the other was so ready to defend the Backwater, and it served to underscore his unspoken sentiment.

"It's not that simple, no. He still matters to my mother and siblings," and that was a line Eros would not cross unless forced to. Not even Vayko would push that far, right?

"Speaking of," a sigh, heavy, "add @Euna and @Jacynth to your list of missing, please. They likely went after him, though I'm not sure they'd do so together. Don't try to force them back and definitely don't try to approach them if you scent him too."

At least they'd gotten someone back, but the overall numbers were still harshly disparate. It kind of felt like fighting a losing battle, trying to keep a family together. But, these weren't Anatole's problem, just part of an assignment. Eros looked to him again with a thin, but earnest, smile.

"Thank you, Ana."

Eros found himself surprised when trepidation began to press and pull at the scout's words. His gaze focused even more intently on Anatole, watching the unfamiliar tension and emotion play across his features as he built up to his question. Once out, it widened the leader's sunstone eyes further. Were the younger wolf less earnest in his asking, the older's response might very well have been anger.

It had never occurred to him that Dead Empress Backwater ceasing to exist might ever be a concern. Had that happened, in the Gerau's past?

"We will always be here," was his instantaneous answer, passionate and certain as day following night. Eros stepped closer while declaring it, willing Anatole to face his sincerity. Not just a fact, but a promise.

"You never have to worry about that, alright?"

His peach eyes would search for acceptance of this, but also any further hints to what the other was thinking, feeling.

"Is there... something else, we should talk about?"