Hanako had news to share but it wasn't what the Warlord would want to hear. She'd tried her best and she knew he wouldn't be mad but she couldn't help but feel a tug of guilt as she sat beside the pond once again, watching her frowny reflection as she mulled over her report. At the very least she'd learnt somethings about Valhalla, that if Cairo was anything like the rest then the pack wasn't quite as friendly and approachable as they made themselves out to be. It wasn't natural of her to assume so, naivety still tugged at her strings, but she likely wouldn't have felt this way if Cairo hadn't made it so personal, openly insulting her because he didn't deem her as important enough. She wrinkled her nose, the affront not forgotten, as she batted a stone into the pond and watched the ripple spread across its surface, distorting and twisting her image into something, someone else. It was then she called for the Warlord, tipping her head back as she asked for his presence.

The Warlord came at her call, he had been in and out of the territory much in the last few days. Searching for signs or news of the whereabouts of his daughter. That she had vanished without a trace was troubling indeed. He should have realised sooner that she was missing, not travelling. But she had travelled so frequently well living in the Armada. Exploring, learning, visiting Cairo. She had almost been out of the territory as frequently as in it. To suspect every time she had stepped out, that she would not come back, would have been the path to madness. That he had always allowed her her freedoms had been born of his love for his daughter.

However, it meant now that her trail was cold, and he did not know if she still lived. Or where she had gone. He suspected, strongly, that she had gone after the one surviving family member left to her. Though she had suspected that even she was dead. If she had appeared in mal’s life, and needed his daughter, would she have even been capable of refusing? To do so without seeking him out was a betrayal, but better that then have her dead.

He shook away his musings. They had been following in both in wake and slumber since she had gone missing, but they did him no good. He stopped before Hana, bending down to lick the space between her ears, and return his scent to his travelling pack member. Possessive, and welcoming, but his patience wasn’t strong enough for pleasantries. There was no scent of Mal on her. He cut straight to the chase. “Report”

As always The Warlord never left her waiting long. His greeting was somewhat mixed; her offered affection and his scent of which she gladly accepted but he seemed distant, almost callous as he asked for a report. The Wraith couldn't blame him, especially since she'd come home with empty paws but she hoped-or rather knew- that what she had to say would be of interest to him. Perhaps even enough to distract him for a time. "I made good time and announced myself at the Valhalla borders and was met by a man, brown with darker smudges. Cairo, I assume. He told me he hasn't seen Malalia for some time, he'd expected to see her at the festival since she'd shown interest but she wasn't there. He turned up in his amour for some reason but...didn't appear to have been in any fights lately and I couldn't detect her scent on him or anywhere near the border. To be honest... I don't think they're involved, he seemed genuinely concerned for her, even if he had a very strange way of showing it." She explained, her tone dry, knowing that Sirius would want to know every detail from here on out. "He went out of his way to talk down to me, inferring that I wasn't important enough and that Malalia would be insulted by our search efforts. So of course I call him out on that and told him my rank and then Aurielle finally shows up and is about the same, very hung up on the fact I didn't take the time to deal with the formalities. I pointed out that they have weird priorities considering someone they care for is missing and they didn't seem to like that very much. And then she offers me refuge like she's doing me a big favour but starts throwing around accusations about your intentions, acting like you're not to be trusted despite how decently you've treated her and her lot so far. It was insulting really, seeing her act all high and mighty and I might have..." She trailed off, wondering how to best phrase it. Bitchy seemed like the easiest way to put it, but Hanako wasn't the sort to use such vocabulary, as fitting was it was. "I said that she was presumptuous and rude and that she could go and shove her hospitality." And that was that. Hanako let out a long sigh as she finally turned to look at Sirius. He'd told her to infiltrate the pack if possible and if she'd taken up the offer she might have been able to have a better sniff around, but the thought of playing along for someone who so clearly didn't deserve it...Well, Hanako was a people-pleaser but she wasn't that desperate for attention.

He took a seat beside her, leaning slightly against his smaller wolf as she began to launch into her report. Her explanation began with her announcement at Valhalla borders, and Cairo’s appearance. She admitted that she did not think Cairo responsible for Mal’s disapranace, and he trusted her opinion. He did not truly think the man responsible, or he would have crashed down their door himself. He was only covering his bases, and informing the man about his missing friend.

“Cairo spoke down to you?” he snorted in surprise “He tried to paint himself as a gentleman when he was here. Using up my resources, being cared for by my wolves.” he said dryly. Speaking of, Cairo still owed him a favour for that. Sirius intended to call upon it one of these days. Interesting way for him to greet the wolf of a pack that had nursed him back to health.

“They cared more about polite greetings then about our news of Malalia? Did they ask any questions about her? And what do you mean ‘accusations about my intentions’ Elaborate more on what was said.” he said, feeling his teeth grinding. He had been out from dusk to dawn and back again each day, searching for hide or hair of his daughter. “That you weren’t important enough for what to share news? Did they expect an Alpha himself to tell them about his own wolf missing? Did they realise it was a courtesy call that I was not obliged to give them?” he asked, is stoney voice not for Hana’s sake, but what she had gone through.

Hanako hummed, he'd been far from gentlemanly with her. Maybe it was just the stress coming into play or his desire to flex at his pack borders but their meeting made Hanako feel as though there was a chance that Malalia didn't know the real him. That he'd put on a good and proper show just so he could win his way into the Reaper's good graces. "It really felt that way, they both gave me a lecture about etiquette and pointed out how lacking I was. It didn't really feel like they were trying to help me or anything like that, they just wanted to make a point. Or a power play." Hanako knew it was a bunch of rubbish anyway, she'd been given more training than they could even dream of. Their perception of etiquette and respect was so skewed she wondered if they could even see straight. "They didn't ask about her, she only insisted that she was: Not. Here." She repeated, mimicking Aurielle's emphasis on the words. "Aurielle said they'd help us in any way they can but..." The Wraith shrugged, She'd let Sirius decide whether she actually meant it or not, whether The Spirit was simply saying it from atop her lofty moral high ground. "I think if I'd gotten in they would have watched my every movement and doubted everything I said. We're just so untrustworthy, you know?" "She just seemed to think that you're suspicious and just using Malalia as an excuse. She made a point that under no circumstances should I report back to you about the packs resources and members, implying it had been your true intention all long." Like she was terrified of being raided. Maybe in her attempt to avoid such a fate she'd brought it that much closer. "Mmm. I think...they seemed very entitled about it all, as if even speaking to me was a favour to you. A honour even. Cairo even mentioned Mortis and said that he ought to have been the one to call at their borders, not me."

“So much for counting themselves among her friends.” he growled, truly angry now. “We came to them in good faith, owing them nothing, and they turned it into a power play? I’ll show them a power play.” He ground out, he had always gotten a strange feeling from Aurielle and her people. The feeling that they thought themselves superior and above. Now they had gone and done it, putting their own skewered idea of etiquette above the need of someone they called a friend. Malalia would be ashamed of them, if she knew.

He shook his head, astonished. He had opened his borders to Cairo, despite his own disinterest in alliances or the world beyond his pack. It was Aurielle who seemed to want to build relationships with every pack. Perhaps the radiation that made her glow had rotted her brain. Did she think herself a goddess perhaps, lounging on her high ground and watching the little mortals cry? He knew already what he thought of those that considered themselves gods. He thought of Archon with disdain. “Perhaps we ought to show her a ‘right proper’ greeting, befitting her lofty high ground and all that. What do you think, Hana?” the smile he showed to his wolf could only be described as predatory.

Had his anger been directed at her, Hanako would not doubt have been terrified, scared out of her skin by the intensity of his glare. But she was safe and cared for, a favourite amongst the Fatalis boys and oh lord did she know it. The Warlord's feelings were similar to her own, there was no sense of betrayal since they'd never considered them friends to begin with, but their insults just couldn't be ignored. Valhalla would no doubt get awfully smug if they were and would likely see it as a sign of weakness, that losing their Reaper had caused a crack to form in their ashy foundations. As if. Sirius seemed awfully keen to show them otherwise and Hanako saw no reason to deny him that, not that it was even her place to. She shifted her weight from paw to paw, pretending to think about it as a smile tugged on her lips. Far softer than his own, laced with amusement at his change in mood, he was in his element it seemed. His title couldn't be more fitting and he was eager to prove that to the world too, just because he could. Though she had to admit she very much liked the fact he was asking for her opinion on the matter, as though her words carried weight. "Mmm, that sounds fair, after all as The Warlord you really ought to make amends for a certain nobodies ignorance." She giggled, her eyes squeezing shut in mirth.

He chuckled softly, the anger still there, and simmering, but he was able to put it aside in favour of what he was deciding. He tweaked her ear with his teeth, easy to reach with his superior height, leaning over her slightly, possessively. Their greatest insult had been in the disregard they had shown to Malalia, a wolf they called friend. Their second was to Hana, who was his, and by association, the Warlord. He had done them a favour, and this was how they repaid it. He would ensure they paid it in full himself, doubly so. They should have treated his diplomat at their border with respect. Refusing to do so would proof a gave error on their part.

“Keep this between us Hana, I’ve some plans to work on. For now, tight lip. You went to Valhalla to tell them Mal was missing, as our diplomat. You did that, and came home, end of story.” He explained.

Hanako let out a little eep! as his teeth found her ear and swatted him away with a slap of her fiery paw. She always wondered whether she ought to be more proper around The Warlord but since he was the one to start it she only thought it was fair that she respond in kind. Besides wolves were social creatures by nature, it wasn't weird that as pack mates they had other interactions outside of just talking back and forth. When he told her to keep it between them she didn't need to ask why. "Mm hm. I'll leave you to your adult things, I'm going to go and have a nap." And a well deserved one too since she'd walked so far as of late.

He chuckled as she swatted him away from her ear. He might have continued his gentle harassing, but he could see that she was tired. Surely, and steadily, his trust and appreciation of Hana grew. He was glad she had found her way into his pack, and he knew he wasn’t likely to let her go easily. He relished the day her keepers came looking for her, and he could prove once and for all that she was his and only his. He would spill every drop of their blood if that's what it took to prove his point.

“Wait,” he called as she began to depart. She turned back to him, and he gave her a full, toothy grin. “Shoo, go on, dismissed.”

Hanako paused, her brows furrowing. She'd done her part for the day and whilst talking wasn't exactly tiring she still considered work. Since it was Sirius she...well expected it to be serious, but he simply grinned at her and told her to shoo, as seemed to be their tradition. What a strange bunch Fatalis' all were, very tough on the outside but soft and squishy on the inside. Or perhaps Hanako just had a way of bringing that out in them, pushing aside the manliness to get to the friend beneath. She turned to leave again for real this time. "Yeah yeah." And then under her breath but loud enough for him to still hear. "Old man."