Following the river downstream brought Malleus to the coast. He'd been making this trip daily now for the better part of a week. Some time ago he'd gotten the idea to preserve meat for the times when prey was scarce. The problem with that was that he didn't know what he was doing. Once he'd participated on the sacking of pack that appeared to have used fire to preserve meats, but of course he hadn't been able to ask any of them their secrets. With preserving food in mind he'd begun building fires and experimenting with heat and meat. In his tests he used a variety of meats, including those from the sea. The tidal pools and shallows offered many options and so he'd experimented with crustaceans and fish alike. Today he was here to get more test subjects. After digging a shallow hole just outside the water's reach Malleus got to work. He waded into the shallows and was still, only moving to strike at fish as they came within reach. Soon not one but two fish flopped helplessly in the hole he'd dug. He'd just zeroed in on another fish when out of the corner of his eye Malleus spied a small shark moving towards him. So far all of his aquatic test subjects had been small. A smoked fillet of shark sounded nice. The small fish was forgotten as Malleus attention narrowed down to the nearing shark.

With the dawning of her third year, Asharya had caught herself beginning to take stock of her life. She was back home at last. Her mother and brother were safe, and the Empire (though a bit smaller) was still thriving. They had a gaggle of young pups to prepare the next generation, and things were looking good. The dry season had begun, but they were strong. So she had spent the better part of the morning seeking out her cousin. There were a few things he wanted to discus with him, particularly about a certain shewolf she had taken a liking to visiting... Asha huffed to herself. She was no fool, really. A bit thick at times, but she'd always had a very honest relationship with her own inner workings. If Asha felt something, she wasn't the sort to push that down or try to lie about the nature of things. So.. perhaps she was a bit fond of Cael. She wasn't sure how Malleus would take that, but at the very least he deserved to know she would potentially be spending a good bit of time in Boreas, and of course, of a potential budding connection within Abaven. She found him along the coast, transfixed by something in the water. She watched from a distance, spotting the freshly dug hole and quickly deducing that the large male had been fishing. Whatever he had his eyes on must have been quite the prize. She advanced slowly, coughing a bit to let him know she was near. She didn't want to startle him if a flinch might cost him a kill, especially not with the conversation she had planned in their future. "Is this a bad time?" She joked quietly, taking mind to keep her voice low. "Talk" "You" Think

Malleus tensed as the shark swam closer. He coiled his legs slowly and prepared to strike. Any second now and it would be close enough. Three...two...one... Just as he was about to spring something seemed to startled the shark. It stirred up the silt at the bottom and quickly disappeared in the resulting cloud. Malleus frowned and straightened. Disappointment was etched into his features, but the expression cleared as soon as he became aware of Asharya's presence. Malleus twisted around to see her but kept his paws firmly planted in the surf. "Not at all," he said with a slight smile. "I could use someone to keep an eye out while I hunt. The coyotes have been getting a bit bold for my taste." After a beat during which time he considered Asharya's question, he asked, "Something on your mind?"

Her cousin seemed intent on whatever it was he had spotted, so it was clear the moment it must have startled away even if Asha couldn't see it herself. Mal straightened and relaxed a bit, and she was glad to see that when he turned to face her his expression seemed calm enough. Whether her arrival had caught him a catch or not, he didn't seem perturbed. He confirmed her thoughts with a small smile, and then, "I could use someone to keep an eye out while I hunt. The coyotes have been getting a bit bold for my taste." She grinned in anticipation and minced her way down onto the beach. "Gladly. Sounds like my kind of job." It had been a while since she'd roughed up some coyotes, and she was beginning to miss her favorite past time. But Malleus reminded her that she had come here with a purpose, so Asha cleared her throat and she forced her mind to reorganize. "Right, yeah. Just figured there was something you should be aware of." She sat, and tried to tell herself that being nervous was dumb. "Recently I've struck up a friendship with an Abaven wolf. Everything that happened with them happened while I was gone, and so I just kind of peacemealed the details together since. I figured it wouldn't be an issue, but I wanted to check in with you and see if there was anything particular you wanted me to know. Also to let you know I might be spending some time up in Boreas here soon." It felt very official, and Asharya was not by nature an official wolf. Even when Amon had been in charge, Asha had felt as if she answered to her mother first. Pyralis was where her loyalties had lain, and then for a long time she'd had no one to answer to but herself. Now that she had been back, she'd returned to find her cousin to be a strong and capable leader but it still took some getting used to. Maybe it was dumb to be bothering him with this in the first place, but seeing as she'd only so recently come back it seemed safe to err on the side of caution. "Talk" "You" Think

"Right, yeah. Just figured there was something you should be aware of." Malleus' gaze had returned to the water, but that statement brought his attention back to Asharya in an instant. That wasn't a very promising preface. Being fully aware of his family's penchant for trouble, Malleus braced for the worst. While it didn't show on his face Malleus was quite relieved to hear what Asharya had to say. He'd expected to hear she may have inadvertently started a war or stolen a princess, or any other number of things that would have tested his skills as a leader. That his cousin had made a friend was (probably) harmless. "There's not much more to know than what I said at the last meeting," he mused. His gaze dropped to the water, his expression thoughtful as he considered whether or not Asharya's friendship could benefit the pack in some way. "Our agreement is fairly simple; they pay us in knowledge and we protect them from their neighbors and our adventurous kin. The rest, at least in my mind, is behind us. Is that what you mean," he asked curiously, "Or are you asking for details about what happened while you were gone?" "And as for this business of yours, is it permanently or temporarily taking you to Boreas?" He wouldn't be angered if it was the former. As far as he was concerned every Abraxas had a purpose and not every purpose was with the main body of Abraxas. If she was meant to be elsewhere that was simply the way it was.