Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse was tired, and hungry and tired. It seemed like an endless cycle, her stomach hurt more than not these days and she only really managed to slip off to sleep when the hunger pangs faded from a lack of food. The girl had learned to go out in the morning to try and catch the few rabbits she saw around though she still spent the majority of daylight huddled away from the heat of the sun, that didn't stop her delicate skin from scabbing or her eyes from hurting. Often she was forced to return to the den once the sun was fully above the horizon and more often than not with an empty stomach. That meant the pup had a lot of time to brood, she'd gotten pretty sure this was the grey man's fault. Her mother had been angry at him the last she'd seen and she was sure that was the reason her family had gone away. Though as for why they'd left her behind? That she didn't know. Recluse watched from the back of the last den her mother had moved them too, pink eyes tired as she waited impatiently for the sun to dip below the horizon. "Speech"

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He had returned to his old territory after it had been abandoned, mostly to recover his armor and helmet. Thys was long gone and Hannibal had disappeared after losing against the lightning king. The pack scent had faded from the forest, and now Ty moved through the lands as he would in any unclaimed territory; with cautious steps, and exuding pride. He cleared away the discarded leaves that had fallen in his den during his absence, then paused. There was something on the wind. A scent of downy fur and the iodine scent of poor health. He followed the scent with his hackles rising, remembering the sickly bear he and his brother had fought that had been too emaciated to go into hibernation, the bear he now wore on his back, with its lacquered claws dangling from his throat. His first thought was a bear cub, left to be exposed for being too weak to survive until it could fend for itself in the fall, but a small iron ball of foreboding sat in his stomach that told him what he would find would be much more insidious. As he crept closer to the very edge of the territory he began to notice signs of chewed branches and disturbed underbrush, the telltale signs of a fight for survival. With a small skyward gesture off his head the raven that had been circling him for hours took wing, searching for small birds or vermin he could easily fell. He remembered the child from his final encounter with Thys, but other recalled that he hadn’t so much as acknowledged her when she made her snapping and growling entrance. He sat then let the rest of his body fall onto his belly, making direct eye contact with the girl and her brooding expression. “Where is your mother child?” He asked calmly, the white hairs of his armor waving like a plane of silver grass in the wind. Speech, Thought, You

Recluse Ithuriel-Klein The sounds of an approach roused Recluse from her near-catatonic state, her drooping eyelids flashing open and her nostrils flaring as she desperately tried to drink in the scent of whoever was approaching, her mind flashed to the black beast she'd encountered before. Expecting to see demonic blue eyes appear in the mouth of the den and Recluse was already preparing to retaliate. Her hackles were raising, her muzzle wrinkling as she drew her lips back to reveal still glinting fangs. When she saw a pair of brilliant yellow eyes peer out at her from the darkness instead of faltering her aggression only grew. The vaguely familiar scent of the grey man struck her and as he spoke she bristled further a weak growl her first response to his question. As if he didn't know, she was sure it was his fault after all. "Why don't you tell me?" She spat, her tone filled with all the vitriol her parents held for the man, she'd learned well. "Speech"

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He looked at the girl for a moment then gave a deep sigh. “I don’t know either I’m afraid.” He said quietly. He felt he had some understanding of the situation but needed to make sure. The girl certainly appeared much frailer than her brother, having inherited Hannibal's thin complexion. He looked skyward just in time to see his winged companion land loftily between them with a garter snake in his beak. With a soft croak Moses flung the snake at the girl’s feet before taking wing again and disappearing. “Take it.” Tyranis said, more offering than commanding his posture relaxed and non-threatening. “Where are your brother and sister?” He asked quietly, attempting to bring some semblance of understanding into his voice. The last thing he wanted was to make her hate him and he could only hope the small bribe of the snake would keep her from becoming agitated. Speech, Thought, You

Recluse Ithuriel-Klein For a moment the anger flickered, a look of uncertainty taking over her expression. Then her defenses rose again, though now it was less directed and mostly there to help protect herself. The man did seem genuine and Recluse was filled with confusion. She wanted to believe he was lying, just trying to earn her trust but there was that nagging doubt. With hardly any warning a snake was flung towards her and Recluse scampered backwards, for a moment her defensiveness flaring but as the man spoke she allowed herself to relax a bit. Her gaze flashed to the snake, feeling her stomach clench and cautiously she approached it, gripping the long unwieldy body in her small jaws. She began to cautiously chew on the strange rubbery skin, but as she finally got her first taste of flesh in a while she found herself unable to hold back, chomping down on the snake with renewed vigor. The man lobbed a question her way and as Recluse swallowed she considered how to respond. "With my parents." She said plainly, certain that was the truth. That's what she assumed and she had no reason to assume otherwise. "Speech"

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“I see.” He said, his eyes closing momentarily. He had thought the worst of Hannibal and his freak of a mate but abandoning their child in the hopes that she would be exposed was beyond anything he had anticipated for them. He rose silently his golden eyes serious as he looked over the happily munching pup. Better to get it over with quickly. “These lands don’t belong to me anymore, they won’t belong to anyone for some time I imagine.” He explained. “Your only hope for survival will be to come with me and be raised alongside my children.” He waited patiently for the girl’s response anticipating a refusal or a stubborn assurance that her parents would return for her. Speech, Thought, You

Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse hated the man, she hated him for driving her father away. She was certain it was his fault her parents were gone, it was his fault that she'd been left behind. She wanted to hurt him, she wanted to be comforted. But she couldn't allow herself to be weak in front of the man. She glared at him as he rose to his full height and spoke. In her brief stint abandoned she had matured in a very specific way, mostly having learned to latch onto whatever means of survival presented itself, even those that wounded her pride. She didn't need to respect the man, didn't even need to like him but she could see the olive branch he was extending and she could latch onto that, at least until she was stronger again. "Fine." She said all the venom and hatred she felt poured into a single word. Recluse scarfed down the remains of the snake, her stomach starting to ache, suddenly more full than it had been in a while. "Speech"

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With little pretense, he reached forward to lift the small pup off the ground intending to carry her all the way to the North where she could settle in with his children. He felt sorry for the girl, truly, having lost her home and her family, only to have him come and replace it, a wolf she had no ties to, and who she had most likely blamed for the disappearance of her parents. “What’s your name girl?” He asked as he carried her, his eyes darting downward as he asked. He felt he had some idea, he had after all been in attendance when the freak bitch Hannibal had chosen had given birth, but the names of his children had escaped him. He remembered that day with contempt, it was the day he had first begun to suspect Hannibal’s treachery; him, his woman, and Leera all huddled together in a space of their own, unheeded of their supposed leader, and all holding their little secrets to each other. This girl would know exactly who her father was, and what he was capable of, what he had tried to do to him, and to the cubs she would soon call her siblings. Speech, Thought, You

Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Oh being picked up? That she did not like but the girl also didn't really have the strength to fight him much, squirming at first but quickly giving up, though she willed herself to be as heavy as possible. The man asked for her name and Recluse considered not answering, her name was what her parents had called her, it was her last tie to them. If this man wanted to claim him should he have access to who she was? But then keeping her name, secretly nursing it, that would be one more small act of defiance. "Recluse." She croaked. Already the afternoon sun was hurting her eyes, the girl wanting to close them but she forced herself to keep her eyes open, narrowing them as much as she dared and struggled to focus on the blurred shapes around her. She needed to learn where she was going, try and desperately memorize the way back. She just knew she'd need to be back. The longer they would walk the more the sun would start to irritate her skin, feeling itchy and Recluse fought the urge to squirm and try to scratch herself, both knowing that doing so would likely open up her delicate skin and create even more scabs than the poor child was already covered in and that the man had no idea how to care for her; and she certainly wasn't about to make that easier for him. If he wanted to pretend he cared he could do so but Recluse would look after herself. "Speech"

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