Speaking with Hattari had given him the thought. He knew little of Habari, and what their intentions towards the Empire were. He would be able to hit two birds with one stone today. He was making his way through the Armada wolves, giving them one on one time to declare what they wanted from their lives. Today, he would be making his way towards Hana. his Wraith was one of the few wolves with his full confidence. Did she have an ambition to rise higher than she already was? He still had some higher tier ranks to fill, and of the wolves currently in his pack, she wasn’t far from his thoughts when he considered them. He could also make use of her talents, and send her to Habari. It was only polite to offer the new pack some of the Armada’s resources, after all. For Hana, he made his way to the ocean. His small fisher would likely be there, searching for tasty morsels. Perhaps he should warn her of the dangers of getting fat. He grinned, knowing she would smack him one if he dared, Warlord or no. "Speech"

The sea was angry today, the waves choppy and roiling as they stormed up the beach. Hanako watched from a safe distance atop a cluster of rocks, posture all dainty and proper as she sat there, her tail curled around her side. Her pale gaze flitted to the sky above and there was not even a hint of blue to be seen, just darkness with a storm looming on the horizon. She puffed out a sigh as her shoulders slumped, it was already pretty damn cold, did the weather really have to get worse? Her ears flicked as she caught the muffled sound of approaching paws, no one had sought her out for quite some time and selfishly she'd started to wonder if they'd all forgotten about her. That she'd lost her novelty and shine, too busy distracted by the newer, cuter, koi wolf in their midst.

"Heya. What's up?" She asked, turning a little to see him better...which it just Hanako or did he seem a little more fluffy? Despite herself she had to ask. "And what's with the hairdo?"

He founded her huddled on a collection of rocks, watching the waves roll across the beach. It was a high tide, and half his beach was hidden by the angry sea. Not the best day for fishing, was that the reason for her long face?

The Warlord didn't hesitate to hop onto the rocks beside her, settling down close, but without invading her personal bubble. She gave off an air of not wanting to be bothered. Alas for her, Warlords didn't care if they interrupted 'me' time.
Her words brought his thoughts to the 'winter cheetah' and he hid a smile. He was feeling rather well insulated this winter. If it wasn't for the defined muscles under the fluff, he might have thought he was getting fat. Shaking his head at his Wraith and saying with gentle patience. "Its called winter, Hana. I figured you understood that the way your filling up on fish flubber" he reached a paw out, slowly, daringly, and poked her in the side.

"Why are you out here sulking, anywhere?" He could get to the matter of his job for her in good time. It was strange to see her without Azure or Mortis chasing her tail. Was she jealous of Morts knew friend? And where had Azure been lately, anyway. Neglecting the wolf he had fought so hard for?

Hanako let out a sigh. Sirius was in one of his stick his nose in everyone's business   moods it seemed and when he was like this she knew there was no stopping him. He was quick to deflect her question and Hanako snorted, making it transparently clear she didn't buy that. Everyone's fur got a little thicker during the winter but his was in a whole 'nother league, like he changed in a way no one else had. Weirdo. Swatting away his paw, Hanako was quick to give him a jab in the ribs in return. It was fair game after all, he shouldn't start shit if he wasn't willing to get some in return. Except that he was right, her mood was noticeably more sour then it used to be in his company. And she didn't even have the will power or energy to hide it, not right now at least.

"I'm not sulking." She was a good liar but no amount of fluff could hide how she felt, not anymore.  "I just...don't feel like I have friends around here anymore is all." And that's all she said, if Sirius tried to pry she'd clam up. "But you didn't answer my question, what's up old man?"

She swatted at his paw, and shot as much judgment as she could into her glare and snort. He only grinned at Hanako, the wolf who was practically another daughter to the Warlord. Her paw jabbed him in the rubs next, but he barely felt it passed the thick texture of his coat. I’m not sulking he said nothing, just sat there patiently and waited. He was a good hunter, he knew how to wait out his prey. After a moment, she was more forthcoming. she didn’t feel like she had friends. That was it. Time to bash Azure and Mort’s heads together a few times. Hana had been there for them, if they had run off at the first sign of something new and shiny, he would make them regret it. Instead of saying all this out loud, he let out a soft, mournful sigh. “It’s just not hip to be friends with an old man, is it?” he teased. She moved on, wanting to bring it to business, and he accommodated her. Letting her change the topic, and cleared his throat with a nod. “I do. I figured Habari has had time to set up and settle down. It’s time we did the neighborly thing, bring them some winter supplies with a friendly face. Get an invite on their land, do some snooping. You know the drill. See if you can figure out where they think themselves in the Ashen hierarchy, and what pieces of the Empire they wish to adopt as their own mantra. Where the Armada stands. The little things, you know?” he grinned at her as he delivered the challenging task. "Speech"

Hanako shot him a side glance, as though she loathed the thought of calling him her only friend. But in reality it came as some comfort to her, to know that at least someone around here still cared for her,  that he'd always have her back no matter how much she fumbled and made mistakes. She was quick to shove all of that aside, it had been some time she'd done any Wraith work and honestly she had no excuse, had she been better she would have sought out Sirius long ago. That was her bad and they both knew it. The mention of Habari brought her ears flicking forward as she frowned a little, her pale lips twisting at the corners. Yeah, they'd been real quiet hadn't' they? As a new and upcoming part of the Empire they really ought to have put themselves out there a bit more, even Hanako knew that.

"I can do that." She said without much preamble, it all sounded pretty self explanatory.

She'd attempted the same with Lirim but that hadn't amounted to anything of interest and honestly in her mind had been a waste waste of both her and Sirius' time. The pack had been falling apart and had no doubt been blown away like dust on the desert breeze by now. But before she went even Hanako knew to ask some questions first.

"What do you know about them? I've never met a Habari wolf...they don't seem to get out often."

She shot him a sour expression, but his grin only widened. He did love to tease Hanako, after all. But, at the end of the day, she was his and had his respect and trust. He would always have her back, and consider her a part of his inner circle.

“Excellent.” he said, as his Wraith was quick to agree to the work. At least this time it wasn’t so much travelling to get to the pack. They were close to home. “I know little, in truth. Their leader is called Recluse, and she is a child of Hannibal. That makes her a half sister to Venom’s younger siblings, but not to Venom herself. She hasn’t played a big part in the Empires politics, so her move is surprising. Since becoming Alpha, she’s made no move to cement what her place is amongst the other parts of the Empire. So, what's her motive? Does she simply want leadership, or does she plan to do something with it?” he shook his head, his questions rhetorical. He wasn’t sure how much information Hana might be able to gleam, but anything would help.

Ah so she was one of those Kleins. Hanako had a hard time subduing a nose wrinkle, she didn't know too much but from what she'd learned during her time in the Armada the name didn't amount to much these days. It used to and apparently Kleins were all over the place but they'd either gone walk about or faded into obscurity. And from the sounds of it Recluse was trying to change that...except she hadn't done much of anything outside of her pack, that anyone could tell. Either way Sirius didn't seem too impressed and she figured the Ashen hot shots felt the same way. She took a moment to mull over what the Warlord said, it was a weird situation all around and even if things were really busy in Habari was that an excuse to just sit back and act as though the rest of the Empire didn't exist? Probably not. Recluse had gotten her pack off on the wrong foot, irking those who's support she depended upon. Even Hanako could imagine this ending badly and she wasn't even very world wise.

"If I had to guess...I'd just say Recluse just never fancied being a follower." Hanako surmised as she stared out at the sea, as though that would tell her all she needed to know.  She'd never met the woman before but Hanako had been in enough royal courts to be somewhat familiar with their inner workings. That and a healthy bit of guesstimation. The fact she hadn't played much a part in the political scene was quite telling though, making Hanako think she was a schemer. One who worked in the shadows. "She saw her chance and took it, can't blame her for that I suppose. But I think her silence says a lot. She said what she had to get power and backing and now she has it she doesn't even think Ashen or the Armada is worth the time of day."

Hanako got to her paws.

"I'll go talk to her but I don't think it will help much."

Well. He could understand that. He had done his time as a slave, as a follower. He might still be one today, if it hadn’t been for Zee. Now, he would never go back. He would be a leader, or a loner. He couldn’t imagine being anything less.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts as Hana spoke again. He didn’t really have an opinion on Recluse yet, and he wondered if Hana’s report would be clouded in judgment. He glanced at her another long moment, considering. In the end, he trusted her. Trusted her to tell him as it was. He bumped her shoulder lightly and nudged the side of her head with his. Spreading his scent across her coat. “Mine.” his inner circle was diminished, without Resin, Tamsyn, Magnus, Mal or Io, there was really only Hana and Zee left. How had the numbers dwindled so completely?