He decided to take his two new charges out of the den today now that they were stronger and had grown a bit more. The two fox cubs he had found were certainly full of energy and reminded him of himself when he had been young. The girl was silver based with white and black markings, while her brother had more earthen tones. They were an interesting pair, each with different personalities as well. They were a handful already, too. Keeping him awake at night most times as they clambered all over him when they tried to play. The two kits raced out ahead of him as they chased each other, while he sat just a few feet from yet another den he had dug out. He decided it would probably be a good idea to have one den in each territory, both in the event something happened to any of them (like flooding at the river), or in case Actaea and Ignis decided they each wanted their own dens. Ace had made this newer one because he didn't want the kits near the river yet, nor did he want them coming across a venomous snake in the plains. He watched them tumble around and yip and yap as they chased one another. He had yet to introduce his two new companions to either Actaea or Ignis, and figured it would probably soon be time to do that. On top of that, he figured he oughta get them checked out by a healer to make sure they were growing as they should be. "Speak"

She was becoming more familiar with the territories and with Rhyme's help was coming out of her shell. Her companions still joined her when she went to new places in Abaven's territories though and that's just what she was doing today. Rhyme was busy and Vail was busy with her garden most likely. She could of sought out Shaye to spend some time with her but Tana didn't really feel like spending time tracking down the busy alphess right now. She walked slowly with her companions keeping a close eye on her from the trees. None knew the direction they walked was the path of another, one that could potentially scare her back into her old ways. She walked almost completely confident, with her ears on the woops and chattering of her companions as they guided her from above. But the noises stopped as she made it deep into the thicket and she stopped, standing stock still. Without her companions eyes, it would be hard to navigate. Neither had seen the white wolf ahead before but Tana lifted her nose to the wind. Immediately she recognized the scent and her ears pinned. Basil was quick to drop down in front of her and Eye the male. His scent was familiar enough to the primate for him to connect the dots enough to stop Tana from walking in his direction, he was too proud of Tana's progress to let the male muck it up. Tana dropped lower and lowered her head. One of her master's had found her. In her mind he was here to either kill her or make her go back to being Elias's slave.   speech action

Ace was content here. Abaven so far had probably been one of his better choices so far. His mind often wandered to Elias from time to time. Lip curling a bit at the thought of him. There was nothing he could do about that now, not until Elias showed his face again. And when he did, well......Ace didn't get to think more about what he'd do to his brother when he saw him again, because he realized that the kits had gone quiet. Standing up, he frantically looked around for a moment, crimson gaze searching for the pair. Where the hell did they go!? He swore they were here just a minute ago! "Where the hell did you two run off to!?" He muttered under his breath as he set his nose to the ground to track them down. He didn't have to go far. Their scents got closer, and when he lifted his head he spotted them several feet ahead. He walked up to them, ready to scold them for running off when he noticed someone else was there. His gaze fell on the small form of another wolf, though she wasn't immediately familiar to him. "Hey sis, why do ya think she looks like that?" The male kit had spoken up, his olive green eyes staring wide at the she-wolf. "I dunno, looks like something tried to eat her," Ace frowned at their words, finding it rude what they were saying. "Enough you too! Don't be so rude!" He growled, making the fox kits shrink back a little. Didn't last long though before they went right back to gawking. Ace sighed, rolling his eyes as he started to apologize. "I apologize for their behavior, I'm trying to teach them some ma--" His gaze found the small woman's face, noticing that her ears were torn to shreds and her eyes were gone. Hold on a second...wasn't she one of Ruina's lambs before? He had seen her once or twice but didn't care much about who had been there before. "You were one of Ruina's lambs, weren't you?" His tone was neutral, though not hard or brash. He wasn't expecting to find any of Ruina's old members here, but then again...where else was this little-wretched creature going to go? He doubted she could navigate very far on her own and made sense that she ended up here considering Abaven was practically Ruina's neighbor. speech action

They were found first by two others. It sounded like young children and she did her best to make as little noise as possible. Even with their remarks about her appearance she didn't want to draw more attention to herself. Then he was there. His voice was raised, angry sounding and she dropped completely. She was practically kissing the ground and her body was already ready to submit. Her breath was coming quickly and her heart pounded quickly. She knew the voice and could connect it immediately. Then he was apologizing for the children's manners. Her ears pressed as he cut himself off. He recognized her. She couldn't help the trembling of her body. She was terrified of what he would do. His question was answered with a quick and almost whispered answer. "Y-y-yes, I-I w-waited f-for y-you a-and m-master E-Elias..... R-Rhyme f-found m-me b-before y-you r-returned t-though." she hoped if she explained why she wasn't in the lambs den still waiting he might have mercy and only scar her instead of taking something more from her. Basil's back hair stood on and and he was in between them. His teeth were bared at Acere as he dared him closer with his narrowed eyes. Alma stayed hidden in the trees, fully aware that she wouldn't be able to help anything right now. Though she wanted to call for rhyme or shaye. They had promised to protect tana and here was one of their friends masters inside the territory. speech action

He watched the woman cower, though he felt indifferent towards her reaction. He didn't know her then, and he didn't know her now. All he knew was her former position, but now it seemed they had both ended up in the same pack again. And while he was still her superior, it wasn't his job to contain her nor treat her as the slave she had been back in Ruina. His brow rose when she said Rhyme had found her before he or Elias returned. And honestly, if Ruina had disbanded the way it did, it didn't matter to him if the lambs had stayed or gone. Once Ruina had fallen, the lambs were free. Did she know that? She was no longer his concern as Ruina's property. That was his brothers decision whether or not to reclaim her. "You don't have to cower. I'm not here to take you back to Ruina because Ruina is gone. Do you understand?" Crimson gaze moved between her and the creature that seemed to try and protect her. Even if the creature wanted to, it wouldn't have been able to protect her even if he did choose to attack her. But he wasn't here for that. "You are free from Ruina's bonds, as am I. Since the moment my brother decided to abandon us, we have all been freed. You are no more Ruina's property than I am a member there. I'm not going to harm you, nor will I take you back to Elias." He took a deep breath, watching as the fox kits tried to creep closer to get a better look at her. "My name is Acere, I am no longer Ruina's Judge, but I am Abaven's Firethorn now. And You?" speech action