Hattori was still unsure what to make of this place, what it was for and what all these strange symbols meant. There was a weighty, almost reverent sense to this place, like it meant something he was simply meant to not know. As the sun began to dip beneath the horizon, taking daylight with it the itched lines shone blue, carved deep into the rocks as though worn by time and the elements.

He padded to the centre of the circle, taking a rare moment for curiosity to get the better of him. To brush aside ambivalence as the glow of his eyes took in the sights before him. He didn’t even think of how his body had changed since the long night, he still felt himself, mostly, and that was enough. It has to be enough, to turn back now simply wasn’t an option. Never would be either.

Though he wouldn’t say as much, didn’t see any reason to, he did enjoy the quiet of Auster. The feeling of solitude tugged him under, was easy to submerge, and yet his fellow clan mates itched that social desire all wolves felt. As though he had achieved the best of both worlds.

He returned his gaze the stones once more. Could anyone alive even read what was said? Or like many things was the knowledge lost to time, saved only by word of mouth and repetition.

"Speech"

After meeting with Sparrow again, Theo had felt compelled to visit the Auster packs once more. Just to check in. Make sure no one else got unceremoniously raided, punked, or otherwise had. The journey this time was quick and to the point, no dallying along the coast like her last. Just stopping long enough to hunt, sleep, and move on. It helped develop what little muscle she had left to build after the sickness. No longer was she skin and bones - finally, her coat had filled out again with lean muscle underneath and thick, glossy fur on top. Back to normal, she'd thought when she caught sight of herself passing by a still pool of water inland. Whatever normal passed for nowadays, anyway.

Theory had passed around the castle upon arriving, saving The Hallows for her last stop before she turned back towards home. Hopefully Artorias would be understanding once she explained that, truly, despite their familial connection, she was as little Sparrow's keeper as a fly on the breeze. Nothing could hold her cousin back when she set her mind to wreaking havoc. Theo would just politely sweep away the wreckage left in her wake in the sake of keeping of appearances for the school.

Taking the long way around the island had been a treat. She hadn't stopped much to enjoy the scenery before. The glitter waters of Lazuli Falls, the hulking grapevine thicket where silence hung heavy between the vines. A contemplative sort of quiet, deep and true. Theo had just emerged from the vines to find she'd lost much of the daylight. A bloody sunset streaked across the sky, casting a warm glow across the land. Even here, the stones seemed to echo the sun's last rays of warmth. They glimmered. She slowed her step, and as she did, a familiar scent met her nose. Oh, good. Just in time to embarrass herself again. Pushing their last meeting out of her mind, Theory peered around a pillar of stone to see Hattori. "Hello, Kaicho," she called, hoping she'd pronounced his title correctly. It tumbled out of her mouth strangely, a language she didn't understand or speak.

To find Theory out this way brought a frown to Hattori's features, slight and muted but present nonetheless. He turned to address the Headmistress with due respect, form loose enough with his tail hanging still between his legs. It felt as though it had been forever since he'd pressed down into a proper, reverent bow, the motion so foreign he knew he would never commit it again. He could do a polite nod though and was quick to grant one in Theory's direction.

Despite her connections to Sparrow, Hattori felt no need to put up defensive walls around the Destruction wolf. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve, too readily if you asked Hattori, but that was neither here nor there. For what Theory showed too much, Hattori did too little.

"Greetings Headmistress." He responded in turn, stepping a little closer as he mimicked her somewhat formal greeting. He imagined his accent and intonations were worse than before, but it was a given considering who he'd associated himself with as of late. "You are far from Abaven. Why?" He didn't intend to sound so accusatory, like he was about to shove her back against the Runestones and demand answers, but that was just how he was these days, he supposed.

He was blunt and to the point, as always. Nevertheless, he cut quite the figure standing tall between the Runestones. The light reflected off of the stone and back onto his multicolored fur, setting him in colored relief against the setting sun. Reflections of runes spun across his pelt as he moved. Theory found herself staring, lost in tracking the patterns on the stone as they whirled across his fur. His voice broke her concentration. "I am running some errands," she said brusquely. There was no need to elaborate or let on that she felt compelled to smooth things over with the Hallows. Would she always feel the need to follow in Sparrow's wake, sweeping up the wreckage? Theo's stomach twisted. No, this needs to stop. This is the last time I do this. Sparrow's actions weren't her own - and just as Rhyme's relationship with Shaye should not reflect on her, neither should her freewheeling cousin's actions.

"And you? Is this where you now call home?" she asked, gesturing to the glittering stones. "It's quite pretty. But all of Auster has a certain charm... almost less a different continent and more a different world," she mused. "I've never seen anything quite like this in Boreas."

Errands? This far south? He wondered what matters she'd attended but was quick to brush that line of thought aside, if she did not willingly provide the information then he wasn't going to pry. Not when in the end it didn't really matter, was unlikely to change the standing between the two packs. If there even was one, as of now. Hattori was content to be isolationist, didn't care what the other packs whispered behind his back when they were so far removed from his day-to-day life. Visitors really had to make a trek out this way if they wanted to butt their noses in where they didn't belong, this was where he was meant to be. Apart and yet he still belonged.

He turned slightly and pointed to the distant shadow of the bamboo behind them, tall and looming, the hiss of rustling leaves floating on the wind. A fortress of his very own.

"I claimed the Bamboo and Bay as my own." It was different here and thus exactly why he liked it so. "We do not allow outsiders within the bamboo, but the Bay is available for visitors if need be." That was the closest to an invitation he was going to get.

A breeze shuttered through the stones, carrying the distant rattling of the bamboo. It was beautiful and haunting in equal measure. Theo cocked her head to the side as he pointed, letting that noise pass through the clearing. She blinked slowly, contemplatively. "It seems a fitting place for you," she replied, imagining him stalking between the tall branches, sunlight dappling his red splattered coat. As she pictured it, it occurred to her that in the right light - obscured partially by shadow, maybe - he might look as if he was covered in blood. "Well, you certainly seem - " she pondered for a moment, weighing her words - "unburdened, here in Auster. Does your new realm please you?" He had always been stiff and withholding when she had encountered him previously, but here he was simply stalwart. Quiet, gruff, but content.

Was that how he seemed? Hattori had never put much thought into how he came across, how he may be perceived and it certainly showed. Some deemed him untrustworthy, assumed he harboured ill intent behind his sealed lips, but in his mind what was the use in speaking if he had nothing to say? Theory certainly seemed to like making small talk, even if at times she seemed to struggle in his company. He thought on her words a moment longer, blinking slowly in consideration. He did prefer it here, preferred his way of things and his followers seemed to share his sentiments, for the most part.

"It does." It suited him better, felt as though he'd managed to finally shrug off the remains of the long night and return to who he ought to be. A man of his own, unburdened by loyalties that did not warrant his attention. "And what of Abaven, your school?" He was still unsure if he agreed with the idea, whether it would work out in the long run, but that was neither here nor there.

This was the closest he could manage to get to small talk and it did serve a purpose, to get a feel for what was happening out in the wider world.

She nodded and smiled at his answer - of course it did. It was written in the subtleties of his posture. When she'd encountered him previously, his body language had always been tense, almost overly so. Always alert. Now there was a new element of lightness to his measured silence. He was the same man, but he had left whatever shackles had been holding him in his previous life behind. Theo wondered if he thought of his mate at all - their children. If any had chosen to come with him. In fact, she had a thousand questions buzzing in her brain, but she had to chose them carefully with him. Too many and she'd drive him mad.

"The school is coming along well - and thank you for asking. Construction is entirely complete and students are beginning to trickle in. Lessons will begin shortly. We've had pups from a few different packs. It's all coming together, really." She looked around the clearing now that dusk had fallen. The symbols still seemed to shimmer in the leftover light. Theory began to walk slowly towards the closest rock, inspecting it with a curious eye. Choosing her question carefully from the pile that she had, she asked: "Did any others join you from Ashen?"

Hattori supposed it wasn't the sort of venture that would happen all at once. But rather than be dismayed by the slow progress the Headmistress seemed pleased all the same, suiting the rather laid back atmosphere of Abaven he'd heard so much of. Whether it would work out was yet to be seen, but Hattori realised her pack as a whole had been around for longer than most. Surely Theory and her kin had to be doing something right, surely.

At her question he shrugged slightly, he didn't regard Ashen to be a sore topic but he didn't think the same could be said for himself.

"A few. I imagine I am not viewed favourably by Venom and her allies." Which was to say they looked down on him out of some shared sense of solidarity, as though she hadn't already moved on already. Found someone else to take the space he'd left vacant. Just a hunch, of course, nothing was certain in this life. "But if they are unwilling, or unable to construct their own opinions without letting biases sway them, then that is their problem. Not mine."

And that was the end of it really, nothing else needed to be said.

"Oh," she said softly. A niggling thought entered her mind, powered likely by the devil Sparrow on her shoulder: bad break up, huh? But she said nothing. "Regardless, you've made it here. You've established yourself." These lands weren't claimed by him, that much she could tell - but perhaps his new home was nearby. Theory peered around. His scent hailed from one particular direction, only growing stronger the more she focused on it. "I take it your home is nearby? What new credo does this pack follow, now outside of the fist of Ashen's empire?" Though he was a stoic man, she could see now that behind his silence lurked staunch opinions.