Built to Last

"Ah," he said simply, observing the tubes - the irrigation system - that she was putting in place. He had no particular interest in plants, but he supposed they were much like any other living creature, and needed water regularly. "I will gladly help with the digging." Manual labor he could manage just fine without needing to know the mechanics of the system, but he regarded the pieces she'd already put in place curiously while he maneuvered himself to where the next one needed to be dug in. He wondered if there was anything else the tubes of water could be useful for other than irrigating plants - maybe bringing water from the lake to fill something in the ravine, so that they didn't need to go all the way to the lake for their immediate water needs. Maybe even keep fish in it for a ready food source...

He shook himself out of the whirlwind of half-formed plans he'd gotten dragged into, glancing up at Riva - his sister-in-law, he supposed, though the Abraxas didn't lean towards monogamous marriage as some did - as he dug. "I wanted to speak with you about your future in the pack," he told her. "About what your plans are. We did not get a chance to speak about what you intend to do when you first came, with Pyrrhic needing help as he did." It wasn't a pleasant memory, how sick Pyrrhic had been and the way it continued to drag at him and his daughter. Pyrrhic had been Malleus' heir, and Eligos had spent his life looking up to him. To see him so low had been a knife to the heart, a stark reminder of his family's inconvenient mortality. The idea of losing one of his brothers frightened him more than he would ever admit to anyone, and only with a great deal of soulsearching would he admit it even to himself. He pushed the thought aside and smiled at Riva, a rare soft half-smile. "I know I am not alone in hoping you plan to stay for good, to build a life here with Aerie. On your own merits, not simply as the mother of my brother's children, of course."