He called for the slate male early that morning. Out of all the members who had followed him to the north Ashmedai had been the only one to have any objections. He wasn’t sure if the male still had criticisms or not, but he felt it was important to touch base with him. He was clearly the most skilled warrior they had, and he would make a great asset to Dauntless, although whether he would aid in his eventual plan to attack Abaven remained to be seen. For now he would keep that information to himself, this was more or less their first meeting after all, and the only other time he had seen the male was beside Sparrow. He sat in an empty patch of land among the towering pines, listening to the flutter of snowbirds in the otherwise eerily quiet forest. Speaking  Thinking You

Ashmedai had been making sure to acquaint himself with the land. By acquaint, of course, Ash was literally making sure every inch of this land carried his scent. He indulged in scratching himself on every tree. Anyone nearby would know Dauntless was here.

Whether or not Dauntless was going to keep him entertained long enough to stick around remained to be seen. He didn't have any impressions yet. Nothing bad, but nothing really good yet either.

As Ash bounced from tree to tree, a familiar image caught his eye. Hey- wasn't that the kid leader himself? Ash bobbled his way, still not missing a tree on his way there.

"Have you sufficiently marked everything, or did you just wanna leave that to me?"

It was an invitation of course. "Let's flex," it said. He wanted to continue marking this place to oblivion and back, so why not bring the alpha too?

He wasn’t quite sure he liked the remark. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked Ashmedai either for that matter. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you.” He said calmly, careful to keep his expression neutral as he spoke. “How are you liking the North?” He asked amicably enough and sat calmly as he waited for a response. “I know you seemed to have some…Objections when we last met.” He said, careful to refer to original claim of Dauntless as their first meeting. He didn’t want to ask immediately about Sparrow in spite of how badly the desire gnawed at his skull. “In due time.” He assured himself, his posture carefully monitored as he did. Speech, Thought, You

Aww Mr. Alpha was in a serious mood. Ah well, Ashmedai could roll with that.

He asked how Ash liked the North. Ashmedai shook out his coat and gave a lopsided smile, "I've loved the North every time I've been here."

Ah, now the real question. His objections? Ashmedai thought for a moment, his eyes flicking to a nearby tree as he pursed his lips and hummed.

"Objections?" he asked. "No, I didn't have any objections. Objections makes it sound more threatening."

Ashmedai flashed a toothy smile. He remembered what happened at the meeting.

"I was just astounded by your ability to not answer any of my questions. I thought about brawling it out with your brother to see just how worthy he was- no offense. It's just the way I was raised."

Ashmedai didn't shy away from the alpha. He kept his stance respectfully submissive, but he didn't back away from the question.

"I like things direct. Rules? Say them out loud. Questions? Ask them out loud. If or when I have real objections, you'll be the first to know, I assure you."

He shot a glance to Tyranis, "That's the least I can do for you as your pack member; be direct and be honest with you. We won't get anywhere with a ton of secrets and hidden animosities floating about. It's better to fight that shit out when it happens and get over it than to let it build up in secret."

Ashmedai shrugged. He wasn't sure if the young leader would understand him, especially coming fro Abaven, but he had hope in Tyranis. He could be a good leader yet.

Tyranis kept his gaze carefully neutral, although he was pleased to hear that he had simply misinterpreted his earlier interaction. “I see.” He said, his tone slightly more relaxed. “In my defense I was eager to set things up here. Allow me to use this opportunity to answer those questions now.” He said with the smoothness of a politician. “Remind me again what you wanted to know, and if you have any other questions you are free to to ask them as well. I want nothing but absolute transparency in Dauntless.” He said an sat calmly, waiting for Ashmedai to speak again. Speech, Thought, You