It was always something. Hattori frequented Auster's beaches often, it wasn't uncommon to find something of interest. Be it a washed up relic from some civilisation he knew nothing about, or a someone who was usually on the brink of death. Today was the latter it seemed, all sodden and a little disoriented. It was clear she was canine, a familiar sort with a curled tail similar to hos own hound except-the bastardisation of koi markings on her coat gave Hattori a reason to pause. How they dripped like ink, rolling down and leaving what frankly looked like a disorderly mess to his pale eyes.

He made a rough hmph sound in his throat, as if considering it was worth testing out his theory. His gaze briefly moved to the shape further down the beach, another dog. A pure breed from the looks of it, her coat clear of- whatever this mess was.

"You understand me?" He asked in his native tongue, his voice a deep rumble. Smoother in intonation than when he spoke the common tongue.

Yarou was not concerned with her new location, in truth. She had been many places already, and now that she had pulled herself through here, there was no need to rush herself or --

-- ah.

The akita twitched her ears, shaking water out of her fur. Yarou had gone swimming, while her mother Hakki ran to hunt crabs and feed herself that way. Hakki had always been partial to crab meat. Yarou inhaled through her nose as the man spoke to her, and she was largely impassive, hard to read. Her tail flicked. "Of course I do." She answered his question with a statement returned in the same tongue. Yarou scratched under her chin and cleared her throat before yelling: "Mother! To me!"

Within moments, another akita-- this one with no touch of wolf blood at all, smaller, more demure, came trotting close with a crab in her jaws. "Yes?"

Yarou didn't answer. Instead, she jerked her chin to the stranger before her.

"Ahh. I see...." Hakki squinted at the Hattori before she dipped her head to begin crunching open her crab; it'd already had its shell broken.

Of course she did, well how was he supposed to know that? His nose wrinkled a little at her blunt choice of words, the iron of his eyes narrowing just so. Even for a man like him who spoke sparingly, said what was needed and little else he thought her rude. Or uncivilised, but perhaps that was his own prejudices creeping forward. He did not mistreat his companion or any other of the akitas that served Tojo, but then again none of them spoke to him like this either.

His gaze flickered briefly to her mother and it was- well, her situation was rather self-explanatory. It was known to happen, but not exactly something openly discussed either. A dirty secret, hidden amongst the dirtier laundry. Some men were easily led astray and with such vast differences in power and social station-well, it wasn't either of their faults really. Judgement came easily to him, but he didn't think himself entirely unfair. Mostly.

The waves rolled up the beach, covering their paws briefly before retreating. "Hmph. Which estate do you hail from?"

What the man thinks of her does not enter at all into her thought process. Yarou is adjusted to stares, to frustration, to men and women deciding she has an attitude when she merely speaks.

It has rendered her both rather unkind and hard to rattle. The Akita cross glances at her mother at the question and she flares her nostrils.

"Oogami."

Hakki steps forward, offering the Tojo man some crab meat in a shell. She passes over Yarou to do so, but the woman does not so much as blink. "My father is the second son of the Oogami Estate. And yours?"

Oogami That name was familiar, not so much on a personal level, but Hattori had heard it in passing, or perhaps had seen it on a list somewhere. Obviously, he could not be expected to know every noble lord personally, especially since the political situation had obviously changed a lot in his absence. It often felt like watching the tide roll in and out, some could withstand the pull of the waves and others were swept out to sea, their name dragged to the depths. He accepted the crab offering but made no move to eat it yet, or at all, he merely accepted the gracious offer and left it at that for now.

The second son, well that explained things further. Perhaps he was more reckless because he considered himself to have less to lose, or maybe he just hadn't cared for the consequences of his actions. Hm.

"Hattori." Some time ago his kin had been considered new blood, up starters who did not deserve their station. But their name was well known and mostly well regarded, through blood and grit they'd carved out a place for themselves in the upper echelons of society and were there to stay whether their rivals liked it or not. In a way he supposed such a description was befitting of his time in Boreas and Auster. His kin hadn't been here long, but indeed they remained.

Yarou's tongue touches the roof of her mouth. She dislikes her mother's subservience, but it truly cannot be helped; her mother is quelled by years of servitude, and despite her attending to Yarou and fighting alongside her now, the woman is... a particular brand of quietly submissive that Yarou despises. Her skin itches at the sight of her mother depositing the meal before the Hattori man; as he sits before the meal, Yarou has to choke back a snarl of frustration. For a moment - that does not reach her face - she has to swallow down a simmering rage.

She does not feel this rage often, but sometimes it touches her. He says his family name and she tilts her head to one side, clearly working to recall if she's heard of any of his relatives. And, much like the man before her, Yarou's familiarity is more... passing, than incredibly familiar. "I've heard the name." She says, and then stretches out one of her back legs, letting her toes curl, letting her joint pop.

"Have you an empire of your own?" Yarou's voice is gravel-toned, her ears twitching forward. Back home, back where home had been, Yarou ventured into the old cities and took care of dogs who had evaded justice, true. But she had, in turn, directed herself towards wolves when the need arose. They were always surprised, in the end.

An empire? Not quite, but it was a kingdom of his own making. Founded by his very own paws, his legacy set in stone and propped up by no one else. Her blunt way of speaking was not entirely unexpected, though admittedly he hadn't spoken much with her kind. Even his own companion who had served him for years did not speak much, seen but not heard unless spoken to. He could not say he outright disliked hounds, they were an integral part of society, but they weren't equal, not there at least. And here? Most hounds he'd met served as companions, so the expectations seemed similar both in Boreas and Auster, valued but not on the same level as wolves.

"I am the Kaicho of Tojo-kai." He confirmed, falling silent for a moment before speaking again. "And what did you do?" Because he was curious, she was unlike most dogs he had met. She had a roughness to her, a sense of frustration she struggled to hide.