He stood at the mouth of the billowing mountain, and lifted his head to call those that remained in the carcass of Ruina. They were his family; his true family, members of the Praetor line that he had sworn to, and he would not abandon them now like his miserable father had. Tyranis was a man of action and a man of opportunity, he would not let his family fall to ruin simply because his father had done what was so underlyingly in character for him and disappeared. They would not fall. In his call he summoned his uncle and his father’s latest get, along with whatever fellow bastards wandered the mountain searching for a purpose. It was up to him now, to give them sanctuary and a higher calling. In the far reaches of his mind Tyranis heard the soft mutterings of what he had been told were the demons of the mountains. The spirits of Ruina. In spite of his father’s abandonment they remained and they continued to protect the Praetor line. He would do for them what his father had been too cowardly to do. His blood would rule an empire, and nothing would stand in his way. speaking Thinking

Where the actual shit had everyone gone? One day had become readily apparent that Elias had left, and many others had followed suit. Eventually, she wasn't sure anyone had left at all - which could only lead her to wonder if they hadn't intended to stay in these lands in the first place. Bullshit. Kori thought back to when she'd met Elias and had been enamored with the man, internally kicking herself for being so impulsive and receptive to his charm. Ah, well. Little gained, just as little lost. It wasn't a huge devastation to her, it was mostly just ridiculously annoying, especially as she'd gotten quite fond of these weird lands. Maybe all the shit that Elias had told her, that Tyranis had told her too, was just bullshit. Either way, she hadn't believed it, but she'd been happy to play along with it.

Now, she was left wondering if they'd both just been playing along, too.

Huffing, she trudged on, though was surprised when a familiar scent touched her nose. Tyranis was still here? No less annoyed, the scarred black female continued on, her pace lazy and her face betraying that vague annoyance that lurked beneath the surface. She barely offered Tyranis a smile when she finally found him, instead fixing her eyes on him skeptically. "So, snake charmer," she quipped, thinking back to the first time she'd met him. "What happened to this grand empire?"

Fury raised his lip as none of the former pack joined him. He sucked in a deep breath and with all the rage in his heart roared “COWARDS!” into the surrounding silence. Elias’s line had been weak and they allowed the pack to fall to ruin, those that had been loyal to the bear king had failed him and now he stood alone with only the surety of his son and apparently Korinna beside him. He let a brief silence mount between them before he spoke to the gunmetal female. “Ruina has fallen, evidently whatever grand scheme my father had vanished with him, along with loyalty to his bloodline.” He spat bitterly. “Remain by my side and I will offer you a place in my own pack when it rises.” He said with considerable softness, his hackles still raised in outrage. “Remain loyal to me and you will be rewarded.” Speech Thought

Hm. At least Tyranis had some fire within him, a trait she could appreciate despite wondering herself if his rage was slightly excessive. One could never truly depend on others, could they? It was a lesson she learned, time and time again, and yet occasionally she had a lapse in judgment and had to remind herself of it again. It seemed Tyranis was experience a similar sort of epiphany currently. She was quiet and observant as she watched him, raising a single brow. She was skeptical, but was willing to hear him out, and go along for the ride if it proved entertaining enough. "Shame," the warrior drawled simply, a stark contrast to his own enraged speech. Though annoyed, she was distracted now by the promise of a new beginning with Tyranis, and she couldn't help but be curious if he might be capable of raising his own empire as he so believed. "Count me in," came her simple, almost playful response, flashing him a faint smile. As she couldn't match his outrage, she wouldn't try - her own annoyance was a mere spark compared to the wildfire of his own tremendous fury. "Tell me how I can help you, Tyranis. I'm not one for sitting idly by. Boredom doesn't suit me well at all." If she merely needed to hone her skills and scope out the neighboring lands, she'd gladly get to work, but lounging around doing nothing wasn't her style. Though able to get by on her own, she always thrived around others and in working toward a goal greater than herself. Life was always better that way, as far as she was concerned - screw trying to prove she could do it on her own. She knew she could, but things were always better in the company of like-minded wolves.

speech Thought

“We’ll move to the south.” He said resolutely. He’d had enough of the East and his time in the North had been less than prosperous. “We’ll be starting from nothing. Find us a pack that will do us justice.” He hissed every bit as venomously as his black scaled companion. “I’ll be doing recruiting of my own of course. Astraios…” He paused at the thought of his son, his tail flicking pensively. “Astraios will be staying with me. I’ll call you when I’ve found us a new territory.” He spoke with all the conviction his rage afforded him, his golden eyes steeled with determination. He would have to find a task more suitable to his son while they moved

He paused, then looked over Korinna again. “Were Ruina still standing, and you had your choice, where would you place yourself?” The lightning king’s own plans differed greatly from Ruina as they were but the woman had earned an opportunity to place herself wherever she desired, no matter how high the ranking. There were few others he would give such an honor to, but what none of them knew was that the foundation of his ranks were as dependent on the opinion of the pack every bit as they were on their loyalty to him.

His rush of anger seemed to be quickly reigned in, sounding steadfast now instead of wildly impassioned. They'd move to the south, he said, and she nodded in understanding. While the north personally suited her best, she wasn't picky about where she lived, but instead was more choosy in who she lived among. The south would do, she supposed. "Sounds like a plan," Kori agreed with a wide grin, deciding she was up to the challenge. He'd be recruiting and looking for a new territory, leaving her to do.. what? Wait and see when, or if, he called for her? Sounded boring, but she could do that, and the conviction in his voice told her that she could believe in him to stay true to his word, for now. His question caught her off guard though, and she pursed her lips in quiet thought. Where would she have placed herself in Ruina? "The truth is I don't really mind where I'm placed. I have high aspirations, but my true passions lie in fighting." Obviously, judging by the heavy scars that marked her features, fighting was something she quite enjoyed. "I wasn't too familiar with Ruina's ranking structure to begin with. I was just beginning to find my footing there when... you know," she shrugged. "Things went downhill. But I'm sticking with you now, and you know where to place me better than I do." No matter where she was stuck it wouldn't stop her from working hard to ensure a proper home for herself and for the others who Tyranis chose to rule over.