Archon made his way around the pack. He tried to envision it without snow. Although he was sure there were many beautiful lands in this region, he wondered which ones were best for packs. If God himself were to choose a land, which would he choose?

All of them, of course, and rightfully so. If there were to be a limitation on God however- which of course there wasn't- then how would he decide which lands to conquer? Perhaps the lands mattered not as much as the wolves within them. What kind of wolves lived in Abaven, Archon wondered. Sparrow hadn't been much help- both refusing to give names and to say anything other than "see for yourself" when he asked about what types there might be.

Archon sighed. He expected such a reaction, although it was becoming increasingly hard to deal with. New lands, new wolves, right? Archon squinted across the snowy landscape.

How long would he have to endure the cold, he wondered.

The youth was going on her daily run - a habit she established what seemed like ages ago in an attempt to keep fit when no good sparring partners seemed to be presenting themselves - and enjoying every moment of it. The world was a winter wonderland now and it was beautiful! Snow and ice covered everything, and her coat had grown thick and fluffy in preparation for this very weather. It wasn't thick enough to hid the lithe, toned muscle she was developing beneath her hide. She needed to do more though, but without anyone who was super interested in physical fitness, well... Her runs would have to be enough for now.

She watched her breath fog in the air, enjoying it as her paws pounded through the thin layer of snow, carrying her quickly along the worn trails through the territory that she now knew so well she could pick them out even under layers of the powdery snow that was bent on blanketing the lands. Having spent much time doing her favorite activities - exploring every nook and cranny of Boreas to the best of her abilities - she hadn't known about the arrival of the Abraxas man. Not until she saw him, with his unmistakable mottled pelt, standing up ahead in the middle of her path. Setting her jaw, Caelestis cruised up, putting on the breaks at the last minute and sending snow flying up in all directions.

"Who're you?" she asked curtly, eyeing him with suspicion she made no attempt to conceal.

At one moment, Archon was pondering. The next, snow was flying up in all directions and a pup- well maybe not completely a pup anymore- was asking who he was. Archon adjusted his head to look down at the girl, his eyes seeking her mismatched ones. She didn't hide her suspicion and Archon found it the slightest bit admirable.

"I'm Archon Abraxas, the new... Overseer of Abaven. And you are?"

Archon wasn't sure about the title, but he would see how this one reacted to it. The young girl was surely a member of the pack. Her coat was deeply scented of the surroundings. Archon sought to keep his expression soft. His own feelings were forgotten as he tried to gauge how the girl would take his presence. God forbid she freak out or start crying- Archon was no use at soothing others.

She'd eye him through lowered eyelashes even as a few flakes of now clung to said lashes. Lifting her head to a regal angle, the youth would assess the man properly for a moment. He was taller than her, something that was pretty uncommon thus far in her life. His pelt was the color of rusted iron, mottled like his kin. How apropos, a creature of decay was the one for whom her pack and seemingly her life was being upended and - in Caelestis' own opinion - slowly destroyed. Even a fool could see the pack wasn't the same anymore. Flicking a dark ear as he introduced himself, she huffed out a breath that would manifest in thick clouds of curling vapor.

"Caelestis," she replied after a beat. She'd stay standing, still not trusting the man who was clearly nothing but trouble. Ears flicked to the sides as her expression remained thoughtful. Once she'd seen her mother give a similar look, though Caelum probably did it better than the large yearling. Still, she did her best to remain aloof as she asked dryly, "Are ya' liking your new digs?" with a derisive undertone. Caelestis was nothing if not snarky to a fault, a fact emphasised by the way her words somehow hinted she didn't really thing he belonged in said 'digs', or anywhere near them for that matter.

One thing she could admit; he did really remind her of his relative she'd met once. What his exact relation to Malleus was she wasn't sure. Cousin? Or... Their scents were similar enough. Maybe siblings? Supposedly this was a big family, so she was careful not to mistake closeness in age for likelihood that these were litter-mates. This guy did kind of have that same initial calculating look about him though. It really was too bad she'd almost thought that plant nerd Malleus was okay.

The pup's name was Caelestis? Archon took a second to commit it to memory. It was obvious the girl didn't trust Archon, but he couldn't blame her. He sat himself as if to assuage her worries.

"Are ya' liking your new digs?" she asked.

Archon flicked an ear. What kind of language was this? His brow furrowed.

"My... digs?" he asked quietly, not able to resist looking at his paws for a moment, then at hers. Were digs a strange word for paws? They did dig. No- his paws weren't new. Did this pack call ranks digs? That was a possibility.

Slang was the worst.

Archon directed his eyes back to the girl, "I suppose I like my new... digs." He tried to figure out how to use the cool new pack lingo, but it was a loss on him. Maybe being a pack wolf was going to be harder than initially planned.

Oh, oh my! What was this we had here? A look of... confusion? Sure seemed like it. Cael had to softly bite at her lower lip to keep from snorting at the apparent lack of understanding the man displayed. Usually her parents might not fully 'get' her when she talked all lazy and riddled her words with slang and an excessive number of contractions but- oh it was too much! The tipping point was when he looked down at his paws, so serious and so not knowing what she meant.

At first it was a soft giggle, but soon the air was filled with Caelestis' raucous laugher that was so bright and loud not even the falling snow could muffle it. Reining it in best she could, sides hurting and lungs burning from the fit of laughter, she finally ammended, "Abaven. I mean how'd you like Abaven. Ahhhh man." It took some time to recover her composure. This dude was a riot. She'd never met someone who apparently couldn't decipher her improper speech. Not that it made her like him any more. On principal she'd keep that cold edge to her demeanor, though it might have dulled just a little.

At the risk of annoying him with her standoffish ways and cackling at his expense, she'd eventually decide to have the decency to change the subject a little. "Have you explored much of it yet?" she asked with more good-humor than she'd offered up before.

The girl was... laughing at him? Archon took a moment to decide if he should be offended or not. In the end, he decided it would be ridiculous to be shaken by a pup's mockery. Besides, she did tell him that she meant Abaven.

Duh, Archon. She was asking how he liked Abaven.

Digs, though? He still couldn't make the connection, but he accepted it nonetheless.

Now she was asking if he had explored it any. Archon shook his head.

"I can't say that I have. So far I have been talking to your alpha about the pack. I thought it wise to understand the history, culture, and ranks. Although..." Archon paused. How much should he reveal to the pup? She had been raised here, right? Well, she had certainly been here longer than he had been. Seeing as pups were usually honest to a fault and Archon didn't really love playing the whole socialization game, he though this might actually be mutually beneficial.

"I have to admit I don't understand the ranking system. Your alpha tells me it was one her father put in place, but I can't help but think it's... confusing."

Archon glanced down at the girl, "Do you, perhaps, have a good grasp of it?"

He explained what he'd been doing thus far; talking to Sparrow mostly about the pack and it's story. Caelestis supposed that was reasonable as a starting point, though it sounded dreadfully boring. Maybe she was just too busy and energetic to find such matters appealing though.

Her expression remained largely neutral as her laughing fit drew to a close. At his question about ranks the young woman scrunched up her face, thinking over what little - and admittedly it was very little - she knew of the ranks. "Hmm..." she hummed, pretending to think on the question for a long moment after she'd already decided her answer. Mismatched eyes flashed brightly as she chirped out a simple, "Nope! Can't say I do." Whether it was because she was a horrid student when learning things she didn't have an interest in, or because the ranks were actually kind of uncomprehendible mattered not to Cael. Although, if she gave it an honest assessment she'd say they might just need reworking. The pack was ranked and still held rules as though it was home to the wolves for hire it no longer posessed. She couldn't even find any willing sparring partners; these were no mercenaries. At least not anymore.

Casting Archon a look that was no less weary that the one he received on arrival, she'd study his mottled coat absently for a bit. Eventually something gave and Cael heaved a sigh before shrugging and adding, "I mean if you want input I guess I would say it needs changes. So far I'm not ranked or apprenticed or anything... Not that I've met anyone here I'm keen to learn from anyhow. If I had to guess though, I don't think Sparrow's that attached to it. Hence no official ranks assigned to myself or my family." There was a nonchalant shrug and a disinterested glance cast aside before she finished with, "Wouldn't tell her to do away with it though. More tactful, maybe tell her to make it her own? I dunno".

By now the girl was looking visibly antsy, shifting her weight from paw to paw. This little detour almost had her forgetting the rest of her morning run. It was the bite of the winter air that reminded moving was what had been keeping her warm. "If you think you can keep up, I'm not done exercising this morning. Guess you could come too and see more of the territory or somethin"

Archon was surprised that the girl had not been assigned a mentor. That, Archon knew, was standard practice in many packs. He was even more surprised to learn that this girl and her family had not been assigned ranks.

"How- how long have you been members here?"

There was no way for Archon to know that Caelestis and her family had come from a pack the Abraxas tore apart. He had never been against violence, but it was a different case when the violence was against someone known. He didn't know this family well yet, so the idea that they had escaped the Abraxas once wouldn't be a shock. It would simply be more proof that God had led Archon to them.

Caelestis proposed changing the ranks to make them more tactful. Archon nodded. Perhaps it could be a project for him and Sparrow to work on together. Perhaps it could form a bridge of trust between the two.

Caelestis mentioned that she had more exercise to do and mentioned that Archon could tag along if he could keep up. Archon searched her for a moment to decide whether or not she was joking about keeping up. He decided she was- she had to be. With the invitation in the air, Archon let a light smile cross his face.

"Yeah, I'd like to see that."

Caelestis shrugged in that non-committal way before answering the man's question. "Dunno, since I was sorta little. We were here a bit before I turned a year." There wasn't much more to add. Well, not much more she was willing to divulge to the mottled man at the moment. He was one of them and that was always gunna be a problem.

There was a bit of a pause before he accepted her offer. Cael grinned in the most impish and dangerous way possible. Poor guy, if he thought being in shape meant he'd keep up on her route he had another thing coming. Dancing from paw to paw, she nodded back and turned to continue down the path that was so engulfed in snow that the only way she knew if was the right one was because she'd traveled it daily for months.

Loping through the white powder, the girl lead them for a while down the same straight path before hitting the breaks and taking a sharp left before leaping back into a lope. The next trail had lots of twists and turns, and required a lot of focus to miss the occasional patches of ice that lurked beneath the snow waiting to make traversing it a little more dangerous. Another sharp right and sharp left a few paces after took them to a spot where half-rotted fallen logs and thick patches of brush served as obstacles to jump. Caelestis bounced over each one neatly, picking spots where she'd land with maximum traction each time. Once she hit a patch of ice that was new, but her tail flagged out and she scrambled quickly to correct herself before she fell and was soon off again.

By the time they reached the point where she normally wrapped up, Cael was panting lightly and looking quite pleased with herself. She hadn't bothered to check on Archon before, so now she'd glance over to where he ought to be and asked, "Snow didn't swallow you up, huh?"

The girl's smile had Archon raising a brow spot. He assumed from her reaction that he wasn't in for a typical, everyday run of the pack borders. He was proven to be correct only a few moments later. Caelestis bounced and bobbed through the snow, cutting sharply in some directions at random intervals. It was more like tracking a wild hare than going on a walk with a pack mate.

As pack wolves were known to do, Archon followed her movements precisely. A few times, his large paws would slide a bit on the ice and he would stabilize himself before continuing. Honestly, Caelestis had to be using up more energy breaking through the snow than he was by following her.

By the time they stopped, their panting was nearly matched breath for breath. She asked flippantly about the snow swallowing him up. Archon glanced behind them, "It's not so bad when you have someone breaking up all of the snow ahead of you."

Looking back to Caelestis, Archon tilted his head, "Is that it? Are we done?"

She snorted softly at his comment, though for a moment she was too busy trying to breathe a little more normally to offer any of the snark she was harboring. At his question she did manage to finally steady her breathing long enough to chuckle and shake her head for a moment before responding, "For me, yes. If you wanted the full experience you'd have to be here earlier. I do this route multiple times in the morning, this was the last lap." It hadn't originally been as long of a run as it'd become, but the more fit she got the more she increased her time and distance.

For a bit she let them sit in silence before she turned her gaze back to the Abraxas man. There was still a look of suspicion and distaste in her eyes, but they were also tinged with curiosity now. An idea hit her and she couldn't help but finally ask, "Wanna spar with me sometime?" Always quick to the point, that was Caelestis.

The girl laughed at him and told her that if he had wanted the full experience, he would have had to arrived earlier. Archon shared a soft chuckle of his own, "I will try to be earlier next time, then."

There was a silence between the two and Archon took the moment to clear off a few chunks of snow that clung to his fur. Eventually, Caelestis spoke up again. Asking if he would like to spar with her sometime. Archon quirked a brow at her.

"You're not scared that I'd suddenly go rogue and try to attack you? he asked. That seemed to be the notion everyone else had of him, anyway. He couldn't blame them, but it was a little tiring at times.

"If that's the case, then I would like to spar with you, Caelestis."

Part of her wasn't too sure about the prospect of having company again for her morning routine, but, on the other paw maybe it would serve as good motivation to push herself even harder and go further. Couldn't hurt if the guy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, right? Plus then she could try and better figure out this dude. "Good," she said simply with a cheeky smile.

Pausing at Archon's question, she gave it some real consideration. Scared of him turning on her? Maybe weary that that was a possibility, but she wasn't really frightened at the prospect of such a thing coming to pass. Even if she did still hold fast to her distrust of him, she had to admit his concern about this did ease some of the tension she carried. Shrugging, she snorted, "Nah, but I wouldn't shy away from a fight like a scared pup anyway so, no reason to be scared." She might even welcome the opportunity to get a real taste of a fight, even if it was foolish. Cael had no doubt that she'd lose though - Archon almost definitely had more experience and training.

Now that she'd caught her breath a bit she felt her stomach growling like mad. Breakfast time. "Okay, cool. We should do that soon," another growl interrupted her before she added, "For now I'm gunna go eat. See ya around?"