old habits die hard

The call came while he was patrolling, the malinois puppies trailing behind. Thalia, calling him to come to the border. His ears pricked in interest, and he changed his path to take him at a lope towards the call. The increased pace left the shorter-legged pups far behind, but they'd either catch up later or find someplace to play or someone to harass. He had no intention of keeping Thalia waiting on what could be a matter of importance.

Thalia waited for him there accompanied by another yearling. Eligos gave him a penetrating study a moment before turning his attention to Thalia. While there wasn't a great deal of physical resemblance between her and the newcomer, Eli vaguely recalled the boy as being one of her missing littermates, but he gave no sign of recognition. "Good day, Thalia," he said instead, giving his cousin his attention. "What can I do for you?" While he could surmise the reason behind the summons, he saw no reason to give the boy the benefit of immediate acknowledgement when he'd shown a marked lack of loyalty already.

Thalia, on the other hand, earned a rare smile of encouragement and gratitude for having acted as she had - calling for him on the border rather than inviting someone in, family or not. It was exactly as was expected and needn't have required notice, but he wanted to encourage the pack to continue in that manner. Simply being birthed from the loins of an Abraxas would no longer serve to make one worthy of being an Abraxas. Let them earn their place, as they had long ago been expected to.