Pyrrhic lay with a work-in-progress spear clamped between his forepaws. He'd been wound far too tight lately and was trying to remedy that by forcing himself to tinker. It had been quite some time since he'd gladly sat down and worked a project. He'd thought he couldn't remember the last time, but after working on his spear for awhile it clicked. Pyrrhic could remember the last project he'd worked on. He'd worked on the meat drying rack with his dad. Malleus had wanted a bigger rack and he'd enlisted his son to help. It was simple, practical project that had revolved around a need the pack had, and it was the last thing he'd done with his dad before going to the mountain.

That knowledge brought tears to his eyes. Pyrrhic set the spear aside and lay still for a moment with his head bowed in thought. The moment was bittersweet. He'd gotten to spend his father's last days with him. They'd talked about anything and everything while they walked and before that they'd debated the pros and cons of Pyrrhic's proposed meat drying rack. Mundane stuff, all of it. If he'd known it was the end would he have done anything different? Talked about other things, things of substance? Maybe. But he hadn't and all he could do was treasure those simple, mundane memories.

Quietly Pyrrhic picked up the spear and began to work on it again.

A frustrated snarl fell from Thalia's lips as she pulled back from one of the smallest of the runestones. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing but there was one thing she was absolutely certain of - she needed change, and she needed it now. It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that the Abraxas - at least the most recent generation, since she couldn't speak for those generations above her - hadn't left a permanent, lasting mark on the world. Not that she'd seen, at least, and that knowledge was making it feel imperative that she do something about it.

But what? She was young, untrained, and despite her unwavering convictions she knew she wasn't the strongest nor the most capable Abraxas. When Pyrrhic had asked if anyone had wanted to rule Risen, she'd said nothing, done nothing. She wasn't meant to be the one to rule their family nor lead them to greatness, but sitting idly by wasn't a very good option either. Something needed to be done, anything at all, and her sudden nagging urge to leave a mark was what led her here, trying to engrave a simple shape of her choosing into the stones. Long ago someone had clearly been able to do just that, and for some foolish reason she'd assumed she might be able to do the same, with time and patience. Quickly she found out that no amount of digging at the hard objects would leave more than the faintest mark, regardless of her force or the repetition of her claws; and after a laborious task she pulled away and stare at the result of her fruitless efforts.

One of the stones was now heavily scratched, though the residue was likely from her claws rather than any real damage done to the stone. Wrinkling her nose and trying to calm her slightly labored breathing, she pulled herself away from her pointless task and started moving. It was hard to focus on much in particular these days, and she found when she did zero in on something her thoughts regarding that thing were anxious and almost compulsive, and she knew she needed to pull herself away before she continued.

She saw Pyrrhic out of the corner of her eye as she wandered, so deep in her thoughts that she'd nearly missed him. Her agitated demeanor quickly fell away - or was concealed, rather - in favor of a much more pleasant expression, offering him the faintest of smiles. He seemed to be doing something as well, though even from a distance she could tell it was significantly more pointless than her own prior task. "Pyrrhic," she greeted him quietly, taking a few long strides toward him. Did he want company? She did, even if she wasn't always good at showing it, and he hoped he felt the same.

The quiet tread of approaching paws pulled Pyrrhic from his project. He lifted his head and quietly pinned the work in progress spear to the ground as he waited for whoever was approaching to come into view. When he saw her Pyrrhic was surprised. He didn't think he'd ever spent much time with this particular cousin. As far as he knew she was always off doing her own thing or perhaps training with her father who had no doubt instilled her with the family's values and trained her physically and mentally, in their ways. That's what he chalked their nearly non existent relationship up to, anyway, as his own childhood had been filled with such things. It struck him as perfectly reasonable - no, as all but guaranteed - that she had been raised the same way and only now as a yearling she was getting a chance to stretch her legs.

"Thalia, what a pleasant surprise." He glanced down at the spear he had been working on; one of many that would soon fill a pit trap. Perhaps he should now make an effort to get to know this cousin better. She wasn't like Iroh who had only the one parent to raise him and thus had needed more support outside of his immediately family as a child, no her two parents had made things different, but now, as an up-and-coming adult, Thalia was ready to find her place in their world and thus it was probably time for Pyrrhic to bring her into the fold. "Care to join me or do you have places to be?"

Feeling inconsequential was equal parts terrifying and comforting; while it was hard to feel like she was being weighed down with more pressure than she knew how to withstand, it was just as hard to feel like nothing she did mattered. As a child she had hoped to be an integral part of her family, serving them and their God to the best of her ability - but here she was, doing what felt like nothing at all, and it was honestly tearing her up inside. At least Pyrrhic was a welcome distraction. Somehow, spending time with her family members made her feel less like she was wallowing in her own self-doubt.

"A pleasant surprise indeed," Thalia agreed, her smile lifting slightly. Spending time with her cousin would certainly lighten her mood, she was certain of that... or at least it'd be a good enough distraction. Her gaze drifted to the spear he was working on, intrigued by it. She knew little to nothing about crafting, and the realization made her feel a sudden jolt of anxiety. She was so behind in everything... why hadn't she been training harder? "I'd love to join you. What's that you're working on?" She had nowhere to be, but she wasn't about to tell him that and remind herself of how listless she felt lately.