Looking for Ray

Venus slept comfortably through the rest of the night and woke up grateful. A couple cold hours on the ground of a tree made a bed feel all the comfier. In the morning Bwen made breakfast for Venus, Ern, and himself. Duck eggs, some salted pork, and wild mushrooms. Venus didn't normally care for mushrooms but tried them to be polite and found them delicious. Bwen had claimed the secret was butter.

When Venus voiced her concern that Ray had probably met some misfortune on the way back to Monet's grove, Bwen volunteered to help her look for him. At this Ern piped up through a mug of hot tea.

"You should take Cass."

Bwen groaned.

"Who's Cass?" Venus asked.

Ern answered around a mouthful of pork "Best tracker in town," Munch Munch Munch "Also, Bwen's ex."

"We don't need to bring Cass, Uncle Ern. Squabbling won't help us find this lost fellow."

"Now Bwen, I know you two have your... sore spots. But a man's life is potentially at risk and she's the one most capable of helping. Ray is a good fellow, even if his goat legs freak out half the village. Besides, if there really is anything dangerous keeping him from getting home, you know her aim will come in handy."

Bwen had grumbled, but shortly after Venus and Bwen found themselves at a smaller more ramshackle cabin. They knocked on the door, but heard a call from outside the home in response.

"I'm round back!" A woman's voice called.

As they rounded the cabin Venus saw a young woman in well worn, but well maintained, clothes with short cropped blonde hair spilling out of a leather hat. She was standing at the entrance of a shed, facing them.

She had a knife in her left hand, which was leaned against her hip lazily. Behind her in the shed was something akin to a wild boar hanging from a hook by it's ankles.

"Bwen. You've got a lot of nerve walking up here like it's no big deal." The woman, Cass, said with a stern expression.

Her eyes flicked over to Venus. "And with another woman. You don't learn much do you?"

"Now Cass. This isn't about you or me. This is Venus and she's looking for a missing person. That Pan guy, Ray who sometimes stops by the village."

Cass looked at Venus again. "The one with the abs?"

Venus shrugged "From what I hear, yeah."

"Wait, you haven't even met this guy?"

"His partner helped me out of a tight spot, so I agreed to look for him."

"He isn't single? Fuck." Cass said blowing at a loose hair dangling in her face.

Cass glanced back at her hog. Then grimaced and chained the doors of the shack shut. "Hope we get back before it rots. I'll help you out. You can go now Bwen."

Bwen sputtered "Wait wait wait wait. I'm coming too."

Cass' nostrils flared. "Not if, Venus was it?, wants my help. I don't like seeing your face. It'll throw off my ability to track the guy."

"Bullshit Cass. C'mon. I know neither of us are pleased with how everything ended up, but I agreed to help Venus here and Uncle Ern will have my hide, if I send you both off on your own with potential danger out there."

Cass laughed in his face. "You! Protect me! Good one!"

Bwen grimaced and just arched an eyebrow at her.

Cass sighed "Fine. 10 silver."

"You're charging to help rescue a man?! And 10 silver is highway robbery!" Bwen asked aghast.

"No," Cass replied venomously, "I'm charging, to endure your presence and that money better come out of your pocket, not hers."

"Gonna have to." Venus piped out. "Don't have any pockets to speak of. Literally or metaphorically."

After even more grumbling from Bwen, they made their way back East into the woods. True to her reputation, Cass seemed to spot hoof marks that she was fairly certain weren't wild. "Four legs wouldn't have a gait like this." She informed Venus, pointing at half smeared marks in mud. Venus knew what hoof marks looked like, but apparently not after a rainy night. So she took Cass' word for it.