SERAPHIM IMPERIALIS Phim lay atop the highest knoll in his father's domain. Well... once domain. Much had changed since the carefree years of his childhood, and Phim knew that he had become much more somber. He did not speak as much these days, going long days without seeing another soul and making not a sound all the while. He had no interest in howling except when he was close enough to check in on his mother and siblings, and now he no longer had borders to mark. He was free to wander as far as he wanted but... all he wanted to do was stay at home. The titan's head fell to his paws and rested there, a sad glaze to his eyes. Now that it was gone, he missed it dearly. Before his father's legacy and Imperium's dominance had felt like a weight on his carefree shoulders, but now everything was different. For the first time in his life he felt alone. So he'd been sticking close to Cascade now that he was feeling better, stopping in every once in a while to make sure they were doing all right and helping out with what he could. Valentine was also unwell, but recovering, and Phim didn't want to stray too far if anything were to happen. So he wandered the Range, watching the bison graze. He followed the deer tracks to their beds in the orchards, and drank from the same watering holes as he always had, but nothing felt the same. Despite the urge to nap, there were no longer strictly enforced borders to protect him or anything to keep the strangers away. He sighed, and let his eyes drift close for just a moment, while the buffalo grazed below. "Talk" "You" Think

Tornach trotted through the sere grasses, gaze fixed on the herd of giant horned creatures that were grazing on them. He'd never seen such beasts as these. One could probably feed a pack for a week, at least. And with such ungainly bodies, surely they couldn't jump over obstacles like a deer to escape. Though with those horns and those hooves they could likely easily hold their own against a wolf anyway... he slowed and crept closer, considering the possibilities. Could there be some way of keeping such fearsome creatures enclosed, so they would always be available instead of migrating away or hiding? He stopped his forward motion when the herd became restless and dropped to his belly at the base of a hill to watch them, his tail wagging slowly behind him. He was unaware that he was laying at the bottom of the knoll that had already been claimed as a vantage point - though the falcon who hovered high overhead had indeed spotted the drowsing wolf and called a piercing warning to her distant friend that, unfortunately, went unheeded.

Seraphim did not notice that he had company until the piercing shriek of a raptor of some sort broke him from his thoughts. He looked up, trying to find its silhouette amongst the searing light of the sun, but quickly gave up. He like his eye sight. Blindness would simply not suit him. Instead, the slate-hued behemoth looked around him, attempting to figure out what had caused the creature so much alarm. In the end he found a grey male skulking about in the grass below. To his surprise the stranger was almost as big as he was. Was this another one of his father's children, perhaps? Phim considered it for a moment before deciding that he almost certainly would have been told about another litter and besides, this one looked almost as old as he was. "The view is better from up here," he called out, not wanting to approach and startle the stranger. These used to be his father's lands, there had never been strangers here before. Seraphim stifled a sad sigh, rushing his thoughts along so that he did not return to dwelling on everything he had missed. "They're quite impressive creatures, aren't they? Even more intimidating to pups, I can assure you." He and his siblings had learned that lesson rather quickly. He had yet to see bison in other regions, and wondered for a moment if this colorless male had ever seen them before today. He might have said more, but he didn't want to insult the stranger by underestimating his intelligence. Instead, Phim fell back into familiar silence. "Talk" "You" Think