Tyrian slowly picked along the shoreline with no real goal in mind. His efforts to stay busy at home had stalled today so he had ventured outside the pack in search of something to occupy himself with. He was hoping for inspiration; something to spark a flame of creativity in him and motivate him to fix or improve upon some aspect of himself, the pack or their livestock keeping methods. Anything, really. He just wanted something to work on and while he was certain of Fireside’s prowess there was always room for improvement.

He kicked at a rock and sent it skipping across the calm water. His eyes followed its movements and he counted the skips absently. One...two...three - and it sank. Not bad for minimal effort. When it came to skipping stones he definitely wasn't a pro. Tashi, his langur companion, could get six skips with minimal effort and many more if he actually tried. But that was primates for you. Tyrian envied their dexterous limbs. If he had thumbs and shoulders that moved out like that he would have been unstoppable.

The young king picked up another small, flat stone and crouched down in preparation of a throw. His shoulder may not have moved like Tashi's but his neck did. Maybe he could learn to throw it well with his jaws...

Hanako had been meandering about, getting a feel for the territories that surrounded the Ashen Empire and had somehow managed to find herself by the river. She wasn't sure where she'd exactly gone wrong but despite her initial rush of frustration she was quick to settle into her new surroundings, as she gracefully trotted along the river bank. Earlier she'd encountered a jasmine bush and on a spur of the moment whim she'd rolled all about in them, smothering any and all scents she carried with that of sweet smelling flowers. What could she say, she loved girly things.

She continued on, just enjoying the warm afternoon sun when her ears caught the sound of something dropping into the river. She slowed to a walk, her ears tilting this way and that till her sight landed on a tall, looming wolf standing by the river side. She watched him for a moment, wondering what on earth he was doing when she saw him bend down, pick up a stone from the shore and then toss it into the water. She expected the stone to sink, to just plop and vanish from sight but instead it bounced across the water for three beats. Plip plip plip and then plop. Unable to stop herself, Hanako let out an impressed "ooooh!" If she had hands she would have burst out into an applause, but she didn't so instead she wagged her tail high in a welcoming wave as she stopped at a conversational, friendly distance. She had no idea what sort of encounter he wanted so for now it seemed only right to stick with the basics.

"That's so cool, where'd you learn that?"

He sent the rock sailing and with a satisfying series of splashes it skipped across the surface of the water. Tyrian watched with no small amount of satisfaction as it sank. Not bad for his first "real" attempt. Apparently he wasn't the only one who thought so. The young king turned at the sound of another voice and was surprised - an expression that no doubt showed - by the appearance of the stranger who addressed him. She was younger than he, a yearling most likely, but already quite pretty. Thinking diplomatic thoughts he smoothed his expression. There were some in Fireside brazen enough to openly appreciate a beautiful woman, but Tyrian wasn't one of them. Yet? Yet.

"A primate friend of mine." Tyrian glanced around in search of Tashi, but the langur seemed to have wandered off. Too bad. The girl may have liked to see a demonstration from a pro. "He uses his hands and I've seen him get 11 skips in a row." He shrugged. "Without hands I don't think I can get that many, but 3 with a neck throw isn't too bad." A small and smooth, perfectly throwable stone at his paws caught Tyrian's eye. He unearthed it with a claw and then gestured to Hanako. "Wanna try?"

Hanako suppressed a smile when she noticed his roaming gaze, the way it lingered on her form and face, but was polite enough to not make a fuss. Besides, it would've made her a hypocrite since she'd given him a bit of an eyeful too. His long sabres were just as if not more impressive than those of the Fatalis', but she couldn't help but wonder if they made it difficult to eat. After all, how was he supposed to chew with those big teeth in the way? Pushing that silly line of thought aside, Hanako moved a little closer, standing a few feet from his side as she watched the ripples spread across the river, the rings growing larger and larger till the water calmed.

The stranger seemed welcoming enough and answered her question with ease, going onto explain that his primate buddy had taught him. She found herself imaging a wolf with monkey hands, naked and fur-less with wormy and spindly fingers, like something out of a bad dream. She wrinkled her nose, hoping that the stranger hadn't noticed. He seemed a little ambivalent about it all, perhaps a sign of  his competitive side rearing it's head as he admitted that he couldn't get his stones to skip nearly as far. He might not have thought much of it, but Hanako figured the fact he could make it bounce across the water at all with a neck toss was really impressive in and of itself. After all, it didn't take a genius to figure out that wolves weren't designed to throw things, let alone use their necks in such a deft maneuver.

"Not bad at all, more than I could do for sure." Her grin was sheepish, she didn't mind dragging herself down to lift others up. But when he offered her a chance to try she lit up like the stars, eyes shining with anticipation as a big smile tugged at her lips. She danced close, tail wagging as she nodded eagerly. "Sure, I'd love to!"

She bent down and retrieved the stone, nudging it with her paws as she looked to the stranger for guidance.

"Is there some sort of trick to it? Or do I just throw?" She imagined it'd be the former, she'd thrown pebbles before and they just sunk to the bottom with no exceptions.

He chuckled softly in response to her self-deprecating comment and then said, "Nah, with a little practice you too can be this mediocre at stone skipping." Trying not to crowd her, Tyrian then leaned back a little as the girl stepped forward to retrieve the stone he'd unearthed. Up close her eyes were a pale silvery blue not unlike his own, but whereas his could be best compared to a bright but overcast day, hers reminded him quite strongly of the moon at its zenith. They were really quite lovely and Tyrian found he had to very deliberately shift his gaze to the water lest his attention linger to long and give credence to claims about staring.

Tyrian hemmed and hawed softly for a second as he tried to decide how best to answer her question about technique. "Again," he said with a flash of a bright, teasing smile, "Remember your teacher is an amateur so take anything I say with a grain of salt. But there is a bit of a trick to it. You'll want to keep your head level as you go through the swing - and it's definitely a swing and not a throw; you want the rock to lightly bounce off the water, not slam into it."

"Here," It would probably be better to show than to tell. His gaze darted around in search of another smooth stone. "Like..." Finding one, he snatched it up and continued speaking, "Thith..." Slowly he swung his head around as though readying for a throw, but he didn't let go. At that speed the rock would simply fall out of his mouth and crack one of his toes. Tyrian then glanced at the girl to see if she'd followed. Then he threw it for real and watched quietly as stone skipped once, twice, three times across the water before sinking.

More often than not Hanako laughed to put others at ease and to stroke their ego. At a glance it seemed harmless enough but sometimes it left Hanako wondering if she even had a sense of humour, whether it was just another "you say jump and I ask how high" sort of situation. But his dry remark took her by surprise, drawing out an honest laugh that left her feeling a little breathless. There was something charming about his wit and sense of humour, so far removed from the stuffy and uptight wolves she often used to rub elbows with. He was so laid back and at ease with himself that Hanako found herself feeling a little envious, they'd only just met but even then he was remarkably likeable and made it look so effortless too. Dang him and his easy charisma!

That aside Hanako was a dutiful student, quiet and attentive as he went over the technique. She understood what he was getting at in theory but she suspected it was far harder in practice. With her paws she batted her stone from side to side, her brows drawing in concentration, it all sounded like a little more effort than she wanted to put. To say that Hanako could be a little bone idle was putting it gently, to say the least.  But if he was willing to go out of his way to show her how it was done then the least she could do was pay attention and give it a shot, right? Her eyes roamed over his form as he gave her another demonstration, taking note of the way he gripped the pebble and how he angled his neck. For an amateur his technique looked pretty damn solid, his motions swift and fluid as he sent the pebble flying. She watched the pebble skip across the water, letting out another impressed hum as she nodded to herself, as though he'd revealed to her the secrets of the universe.

And then it was her turn. Flicking the stone, she scooped it up between her teeth and adjusted her stance so she was standing as close to the waterside as possible. She shimmied her rear, her tail outstretched as if she needed it for balance and whipped her neck out, sending the pebble flying. It bounced once before submerging beneath the surface with a plop. Hanako broke out into a big grin as she jumped once on the spot, mimicking her attempt.

"Watch out, I'll beat your record in no time Mr." She stepped in close and gave him a shoulder bump in jest. Perhaps a little too forward of her but she'd always been a little touchy feely.

Watching her focus on the task was a small pleasure unto itself. Her white brow spots bobbed and knit together over a mottled black brow as she considered the technique he was trying to teach her. It was endearing to watch. He kept catching whiffs of a pack scent on her under all that greenery, and in truth it was a crying shame because he was smitten already. Time would tell whether or not he became tempted to try to steal her away; after all, right now he had little but beauty to go off of as far as his opinion of her went. If she turned out to be as charming as her expressive browspots suggested he'd have to try. It would be a travesty not to.

He watched silently as she readied her swing. Although he was invested he tried not to look too intense lest she be the type to choke under a heavy gaze. She surprised him with a pre-throw wiggle that immediately drew the eye to places improper. Oh fuck. He snatched his gaze away and pointedly turned his eyes to the water as she let go. Dutifully his eyes followed the path of the stone. When it bounced he broke into a big, pleased grin and turned his attention to her just in time to see the mimic. That drew a chuckle from him. "See? Not too bad, right?"

She bumped his shoulder and declared she'd soon beat his record. This he pretended to take seriously; his overly serious expression at odds with his tone when he spoke. "Oh-ho, think so?"He motioned to the riverbank around them. "Well, there's plenty of rocks here. What would you say to a friendly little match?" Maybe some stakes were in order to make it really interesting. He'd wait for her response before suggesting anything. At the moment he couldn't think of anything good but minor anyway.

OOC: if she's interested, maybe dice roll decides who rolls what out of 6?

Hanako nodded with an assertive hmph. She did think so, thank you very much! Struggling to subdue her smile she followed his line of site, her lips smushed into a frown as she made a long show of contemplating his offer. She hummed and hawed, pawing at the dirt and unearthing another pebble, as to which she admired it as though she'd stumbled upon a precious stone. Regardless of what was on the line she'd take him up on it, she had nothing better to do and it sounded like fun. She owed Sirius and the Armada a lot for taking her in, but sometimes she couldn't help but feel as though the daily grind of it all was just so...not for her. She admired her fellow pack mates for their stellar work ethic and all but sheesh, surely they knew there was more to life than just fighting, right? This guy seemed to get it, in that regard they were like birds of a feather. She dropped her snooty facade like a hot potato then swiped her pebble in his direction, wondering if he had the reflexes to catch it or at least deflect it aside.

"Oh you're on!" She rose to the challenge and shot him a wry little side eye. Yet another one of her flattering angles, as if she had a bad one. "What are your terms? Hm?" She leaned in close and tipped her head up to look at him, why did everyone in these parts have to be so tall?

He waited patiently as she mulled it over, his pale gaze flicking between her scrutinious gaze and the water. Tyrian had just glanced back at the girl when she suddenly flicked the stone she'd been examining at him. He was fast but not quite fast enough and had just enough time to raise a paw to swipe at it when it bounced off his chest. It clattered to the ground uncaught and he snorted a laugh before picking it up and flinging it back at her playfully. "Don't lose that, you're going to need it here in a second."

Tyrian's eyes rolled heavenward in thought. "Just for that I ought to make it a good one. Let's see..." What to do, what to do. A sly smile spread unevenly over his dark lips. Oh ho, he had a good one. "How about this...if I win, you have to bring me the tooth of a mudcat." Tyrian quirked a brow at her, daring her to take the challenge. Mudcats were catfish and the river had many nooks and crannies the (sometimes) giant fish liked to lurk in. He was using the colloquialism in the hopes of throwing her off the scent of his scheme because of course, he was scheming here. "I'll even be nice and show you how to catch them."