"Which day?"

"Two days ago, and she only returned late yesterday."

"Suggestive. Ugh. Any idea where she went?"

"No, but I can ask around."

"I don't know if it'll mean anything to us but -"

Nod.

As it turns out, Dragon was staying home those days. Laithan asks some of her neighbors about what happened and finds out that she had a visitor during that period... and also that Dragon boarded up her windows about a week ago, a day after Eefa spotted her.

Who was the visitor?

He was wearing fine clothes and a scarf over his face. One of the neighbors claims that wasn't the first time he's visited.

Description of the clothes and scarf? Whenabouts has he been by before?

Black vest, emboridered, purple button down shirt, red scarf, black or grey pants. He's been staying at Elysium, actually. He came in with traders a few weeks ago - apparently he stays once a year or so. He visited one of the blocks in town where a gang has too strong of a foothold for Lucien to ask around without explaining himself, and also the cheapest brothel.

If she asks around at Elysium can she get a name or occupation or known habits or gossip about this guy?

He goes by Vertigan. He never takes off his scarf, which everyone assumes means his face is messed up somehow. He favors Cresta, one the escorts who lives at Elysium - apparently she doesn't charge him.

Good for Cresta. Does Cresta know where he's from or how he knows Dragon?

Cresta doesn't seem inclined to answer the questions - she's actually pretty confused by Pelape asking them at all.

She doesn't want to overdo it, it just would've been so convenient if Cresta was gossipy.

"I'm confused about him having fancy clothes, Cresta's attention, and then visiting the Jilted Lover, which is... not a place people who can afford better visit."

"Well, he might not have been visiting for the service, maybe his cousin works there or something?"

"That seems unlikely but as good as any other explanation that's coming to mind at the moment."

"Yeah. I'm going to try to get Eefa a look at him to see if he's a wolf but I'm sure she would have noticed Cresta if she were."

"Makes sense..."

"... I wonder how long she's been running from them."

"...who?"

"Eefa, running from wolves."

"Well, my guesses on that depend on whether I should be expecting her to have spent her life growing remotely like humans do."

"What's the alternative?"

"I mean, I for one am not human, and I pass a little less well than she does but still demonstrate that there are other species that look pretty close."