Balthier had managed to get out of the eyes of his parents for the first time though little known to him that they were letting him out itno the pack lands to explore. There was no better way to learn than to find out yourself, right? He wasn't necessarily aware of the borders of the pack lands though it had already been driven into his head as a rule in the days leading up to his freedom outside of the den. He thought himself rather smart though so any little worry his parents could have had was miles from his thoughts. He found himself in the thicket, the tall grasses hard for him to peak over, but each time he tried to crane his head he would give up rather quickly in looking where he was going. Though he didn't know it, he was most likely lost in the maze of the grasses and brush. It wasn't even an option in his mind but if it came down to a darkening sky, he'd probably start to panic a little internally then. Lucky for him, the day was early so there would be no panic by the time he discovered he was lost. Walk "Talk" Think

Ruin had taken a liking to the Thicket, so much so she'd gone and claimed a little patch of it as her own. Unsurprisingly, he spot was where the grass and foliage was at it's thickest, where she could be bathed in shadow even when the sun shone high in the sky. As to what she got up to hidden away in the Thicket...well wouldn't you like to know? Unless they were patrolling or making sure Ruin wasn't up to no good it wasn't often that her family came out this way, and so Ruin's ears were quick to perk when she head the rustle of grass being disturbed. At first she wasn't all that interested, small animals passed through all the time and whilst it was fun to catch and play with them for a while it was a game that didn't hold her attention for long. The same couldn't be said for being a menace though, that was most certainly her favourite pastime.

Slinking out of her little hidey hole, Ruin peered through the brush and smirked when she caught sight of the trespasser. She knew vaguely of Abaven's newest litter and in all honesty she didn't see them as family, Ruin had no sentimental attachment to them and thus-in her mind, anyway- she was free to menace them to her hearts content. And seeing as this one here practically wandered into her den, well they were kinda asking for it, no? But what to do, what to do. Hmmm.

Stepping out from the brush, Ruin's smile was soft and sincere, her tail wagging high. The picture of friendly innocence, oh yeah she was getting better at this. She'd noticed the slight glimmer of nervousness in his eyes, as though he was unsure of where he was, where he ought to go, and she knew this would be far too easy. She couldn't resist, not when the prospect of mischief was being dangled in front of her nose like this.

"Hey! You lost?"

As the older girl would come out from her hiding or whatever it was she was doing, Balthier would show no fear to her surprise presence. Though he wasn't expecting to meet anyone away from his den for sure. Especially in a place like this. He had seen wolves in the pack lands from afar but they hadn't had visitors inside the den. Unknown to him it could have been that Aranea was an outsider and one that wouldn't be around for long. And even better, meeting a young wolf opposed to an adult though he couldn't really tell the difference from afar. He'd look around for a second after she emerged, but would look back at her with a forward nose to sniff a little in her direction, "No, I'm jus' explorin'." His eyes flicked around at the tall grasses around them before pulling his nose back into himself, "You are too?" honestly he wasn't treating her any different than any wolf he would have met, a pup or an adult. And inside he was all too eager to meet more wolves out in the world. Boy, was he in for a rude awakening. Walk "Talk" Think

If he wasn't lost now he would be soon enough. Ruin smiled, wondering just how gullible of a pup he was. He seemed happy enough to see her though and Ruin was quick to latch onto that fact as she trotted on closer, careful not to brush against him lest his scent linger upon her coat. When she was done she'd clean herself up and shoo away any suspect clues but it was better to be careful anyway, even if only for a harmless little game such as this. She glanced up to the sky above, where Lyre circled overhead, he no doubt sensed that she was up to no good and probably disapproved but so what? It wasn't as if she was being that mean, they were still within pack territory and even if he did get lose someone would find him eventually. Probably.

"Nah I know this place like the back of my paw. I Know all the cool places." She bounced on her paws, as though an exciting idea had sprung to mind. "Hey! You wanna play a game!"

Balthier bit his lip as he thought about what kind of mastermind could know a place like this so well. Sure he was actually lost but he figured it wouldn't be hard to find his way out given time and thought. A map, or marking where he had been maybe. Or was it too late that he had already entered the thicket? Ah, it didn't matter much to him right now. "I'd like to know them sometime." His tail wagged gently as he thought what a great friend he could have and explore with. Not that he thought Ruin was his friend now, but he certainly found potential. She'd offer to play a game and with his tail still at a bit more eager of a wag, he wouldn't reject, "Yeah, I sure would!" Ruin's real intent would go over him, she was pretty good at what she called a game after all. "My name's Balthier by the way, what's the game were going to play?" Walk "Talk" Think

This was too easy and Ruin was loving every damn second of it. About now would have been a good time for her to start feeling guilty, but she didn't feel anything but a tingling sense of amusement at the thought of him wandering, lost and alone in these tangled bushes. It wasn't as if he'd get hurt out here, Ruin had never stumbled upon anything dangerous and since they were still in Abaven lands she knew he'd probably be found soon enough. Probably. It all depended how Ruin went about this. She leaned forward on her tippy toes, attempting to stand taller as though she was a figure of authority.

"Heya Balth, I'm Ruin!" Her name was well and truly fitting, whoever thought of it had seen the storm looming on the horizon. "We're gonna play hide and seek, okay?" It was pretty self explanatory but he was young and probably dumb. "So you find somewhere real good to hide, and I'll stay here and count to um...sixty. Then it's my turn to look for you and find you! But you can't ever come out till I've found you, cause then it's not fair. "

Ruin's game was pretty easy to follow, but Balthier wouldn't announce that he thought it wasn't that fun. Maybe for the person seeking, but he didn't really want to go hide somewhere in the thicket, even it was a really good place to hide. But since Ruin asked him to play the game, he wouldn't object to her searching first, he was still outwardly excited though to make a potential friend. "Okay!" He'd turn around to start his search for a decent hiding spot, "You can start counting." And he would disappear through the brush and sticks. He wouldn't go too far away from his seeker, but enough to where her counting would fade to a point he wouldn't even notice it whilst his search. He'd find a place between two thick bushes and dig a little bit to make a small hole so he nestle up between the leaves and branches that met on the ground. It wasn't really the best hiding place, if Ruin walked along the crowded path she could spot him easily mostly because of his facial markings. But Balthier didn't see a better way to hide considering most of the thicket was the same. So he supposed he could crawl into a giant bush to hide, but then he knew he'd struggle and get stuck coming out. Besides, he wanted to be the seeker! Walk "Talk" Think