a sea among oceans

He'd been wandering for too long. Way too long. He didn't need to be alone anymore. And with that reasoning, it was time for a pack. One that could be manipulated. One that he could gain trust in. Rank up. He was older, yes, but he was not old. He was in the later years of his prime; he had a while to go before reaching old. He should rank up, unless he was so completely wrong about his choice - a choice, Mal would state, that he researched thoroughly before finalizing the decision. He had done it with all packs. It was Glaciem or Imperium, and Glaciem had been dissolved. And as much as he desired to lead a pack, he knew that without followers, he'd never succeed in it. He was too soft-spoken, too mild. He would be the mind behind the alpha, but never the alpha unless everything was falling apart.

Thus... Imperium. It was a hard pack, he discovered, with ranks that reflect military bearing. Being a rather weak fighter himself, this would be a challenge - he would have to make himself useful with his ability to discern subterfuge and problem-solving. It would be, in lack of better words, a challenge. A challenge the male was ready for.

Mal tossed his head back and howled, a request for the pack's alpha to come, for he wished to join. When the short howl ended, he sat himself down just outside the border; he was not a trespasser. He would not make that mistake, not when he knew what was done to those that trespassed. And, well, he was a bit more intelligent than that.