Aki was still getting used to being a father. He wished he could snag his boy by the scruff and drag him to the north now and send him climbing up a mountain with him at his side, he knew his desires were unrealistic. Kai had to stay with his mother, for now, until he could sustain himself without her.  Even then, he was a young, weak thing - perhaps strong by most standards but not strong enough to survive on his own. It wasn't exactly frustrating, but he felt restless.

He'd been invited to stay in Abaven lands for now, until he was old enough to take Kai away from his mother. It would be a while, still, and he wasn't intending on rushing things. As the boy slept, he found himself wandeirng through the plains. It was cool here, though much warmer than what he was used to. Tongue lolling from his mouth, he plodded through the dead grasses of the plains aimlessly. He'd told Bass it'd be like he wasn't here at all - but he stuck out like a sore thumb as he ambled through the lands without a care in the world.

table by argent/neffs

Piper was lounging on her back, watching the clouds roll by above her. From the time she was a pup she had loved watching the clouds and seeing how the sun rose and set around them. Sometimes she wished she knew how it all worked, how the world kept turning and things kept happening too far away for her to even really grasp, but she was pretty sure that if she knew it would lose all the mystery that kept her so intrigued. No, she would just enjoy the view instead and figure out what clouds meant that bad weather was coming. At least that was a useful bit of knowledge to have. The sound of paws crunching on dry grass caught her attention and her ears perked as her head fell to the side to see who was coming. Her eyes grew wide with surprise and curiosity when she spotted the large, red-marked male that had... tusks? Is that what they were called? She quickly rolled to her stomach and sat up on her haunches while she continued to watch the man curiously. Oh wait, that was staring! She glanced away, suddenly embarrassed that she had been so rude. But if he was new then she should make friends with him! She looked back toward him with a smile and got up so that she could trot over to where he was walking. "Hey there!" she called cheerfully, her tail wagging lightly behind her. "Talk" "You" Think

He'd told Bass he wouldn't be noticed - but the joke was that he was a difficult one to miss, even if he was trying. Still, he didn't intend on causing any ruckus. He was mostly concerned with keeping Kai safe, teaching him the basics of survival and promptly slipping away. After thanking Bass for letting him stay, of course. The oversized brute sniffed at the air as he wandered through the plains, noting some features in the terrain that surely made this place a good one to live in. Though the grasses weren't that verdant now, surely in the warmer seasons they provided good hunting grounds for smaller prey, and even larger prey once they came to graze. His attention strayed as he wandered through the lands. This place was nice and all, it really was, but he couldn't wait to leave.

Aki hadn't noticed the girl on the ground that he was approaching. She was young, in comparison to him, but she was not a child. He found himself grinning at her as she greeted him, his tail thumping at his hindquarters happily.  "Hello!" he called back in a similar tone, his voice deeper though, touched with a northern accent that he didn't bother to hide. "How are you doing today, miss?" He wasn't normally unfriendly, but he felt like he should be.. extra-friendly to her, since this was her home and he was only staying here temporarily, as a guest.

Oh good, he was friendly! She was relieved honestly. She grinned a little more easily once he greeted her in kind. His accent was different from her own and when she paired that with his tusks she was immediately even more intrigued by him. She was pretty interested in strangers in general, but it was more fun when the strangers in question seemed just as eager to interact with her. "Doing very well, thanks for asking!” she replied politely, her tail wagging away behind her. If there was one thing Bass instilled in her it was good manners and a general kindness toward others. "Sorry for bothering you, I just noticed you from where I was cloud watching over there and I haven’t seen you before so I wanted to come say hi!” she explained as she reclined back onto her haunches. "I’m Sandpiper by the way. What’s your name?” Now that she was a little closer she noticed that his scent didn’t smell of Abaven as strongly as her own did. Of course she had been born and raised here so even if he was just a newer member it would take some time before he really smelled like it. As long as he didn’t mind her bothering him for a bit she was certainly interested in learning more about him! "Talk" "You" Think

Amusement danced in his eyes as he watched the much younger woman. Though she was far from a child, she had a youthful air about her that felt wildly infectious. She seemed eager enough to meet him, and curious about who he was, which was enjoyable as well. His tail batted gently against his hindquarters as a chuckle fell from parted lips. "Good, good," he responded gently to her.

He shook his large head, a bit dismissively. "No need to be sorry," his loud voice boomed out easily. "You are far from a bother. I am but a guest here, anyway, so it is I who am likely to be the bother." Playfulness glimmered in his eyes as he angled his tusks toward her, taking a few steps closer. "My.. son's mother is a member of Abaven. Renhett, is her name. We're just staying here temporarily, my son and I, until he's old enough to leave." He recognized the scenario was unusual, but found no reason to hide it or disguise it as anything but what it was. "And my name's Aki. It's a pleasure, Sandpiper. Have you lived here for a long time?" Pack life seemed so... alien to him, and it was hard to deny asking questions when he found himself struck with curiosity. Truth be told, though, he couldn't wait to leave this place as interesting as it seemed thus far.

Sandpiper was surprised to hear that he was just a guest. Well, that explained why he didn't smell very much like the pack! Her brows lifted with surprise when he mentioned that he had a son with Renhett, which was why he was here. "Oh, I know Renhett! I didn't know she had a kid," she interjected with a smile. "We had a whole conversation about her healing and stuff. That's cool that you're here with her and stuff though." After going most of her life without her mother she knew how sad it could be to not have both parents around. She grinned again when he introduced himself and asked if she had been here long. "I like your name, Aki! I've been living here my whole life! Bass is my dad and he's been here since waaaay before I was born so it makes sense," she responded with a soft chuckle. It made her wonder how long her dad had been an alpha. She had never really asked asked him that before. Maybe she would next time she saw him. "Do you mind if I ask about your tusks? Or is that rude? I'm sorry if it is! I've just never seen a wolf with long teeth like that before!" She felt kind of bad as soon as the words left her mouth, but she was still extremely curious all the same. She just hoped he wouldn't be offended. "Talk" "You" Think

Aki couldn't help but raise a brow at her statement. Didn't know she had a kid? He wasn't entirely certain how to explain that to her. "He was born.. not too long ago,"  he admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders. The male was all too familiar with the sentiment that monogamy was the best way to live - at least, it seemed like most wolves in these lands shared these thoughts. Admitting anything different could be controversial, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset someone here. He wasn't ever so cautious but now that his son was living here, he was keen on making the transition from Abaven to rogue life as seamless as possible. "We're only staying for a bit longer. We should be ready to leave in the next few weeks."  As much as he didn't want to delve into the details, she'd notice eventually that Renhett was on her own and that he and Kai had left, so there was no harm in explaining it now.

"Do you enjoy living here, Sandpiper?"  He asked after a moment, his question a conversational one more than anything. It seemed a decent enough pack, if he had to admit it, of all the ones he had encountered. The wolves certainly were pleasant. He found himself grinning at her question. "I don't mind at all,"  he answered with ease, tusked head shaking side to side. "I was born with these. My father had them, too. I like to pretend they were a gift from the gods, but if you ask my sisters they'd be more inclined to say I'm some kind of mutated freak.""  He grinned quite fondly at the thought, letting out a chuckle after he spoke.

Piper was a bit surprised by his question. She had never really considered it before if she was being honest. It might be a weird thing to never think about, but it had never been a question for her of if she wanted to live here or not or even if she liked it here. Her family was here so of course she would live here. She grew more thoughtful for a moment before she replied, "Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, I like being close to my dad. And several of my siblings still live here too so that's always good. It does get kind of boring sometimes, but I feel safe here so I guess all in all I like it! It did make her think though. She hadn't really connected with any of her siblings, not even really Merlin as they got older, and her dad was always busy and she hadn't seen her mother since she was a pup so... why did she feel like she had to live here? She got distracted from her own musing though when he grinned and went on to answer her question. It was a relief to see that she hadn't offended him with her question. She grinned and giggled when he said his sisters would call him a freak for them. "Well I think they're cool! They're very unique." Her tail swished against the ground for a moment as she spoke. They kind of made her wish she had something unique or cool about her, but she was fairly average all around. Average height, average build, normal fur colors. She wasn't unhappy with anything of course, but it would be cool to have tusks or be super tall or be a cool color! Or maybe it wasn't so cool having those things. All things she liked to ponder! Suddenly a thought came to her head and her gaze focused in on him with a renewed interest. "Do you get to explore and stuff a lot? Since you don't live here usually, I mean. I really like figuring out the star patterns and weather patterns and stuff since I can do all of that here, but I really wanna go see some cool places some day. I don't know where I should go though!" "Talk" "You" Think

He found his tail wagging gently behind him at her words, pleased at her company and their conversation. It seemed, though, that his question had taken her slightly by surprise. Perhaps not all wolves thought about such things? He considered her answer, head tilting slightly to the side. "You don't get sick of your siblings?" Aki asked, his tone light, a hint of jest touching the voice. "I don't think I could stand either of my sisters for longer than a week." A chuckle left his throat at the thought. He was, perhaps, exaggerating slightly.. but only slightly. Spending so much time with them sounded unbearable for all parties, though he figured some wolves were used to it. "You'll just have to find ways to entertain yourself then!" He exclaimed gently at the thought of her being bored with things here at times.

He was rather amused at how much she seemed to enjoy his tusks, letting out another chuckle. Did he get to explore a lot? "My whole life is about exploring," he admitted with a shrug. He was being honest, and found no reason not to be. His ears flicked thoughtfully as he gazed at her, shifting his weight from one side of his body to the other. "I don't generally stay in one place for long, to be honest. I prefer going wherever my paws take me. " He beamed widely at her, tail flicking again behind him. "I do enjoy studying the stars, myself. They tell stories of lives far older than our own, and worlds we could only dream of." Was she interested in such things? He wasn't sure, but was glad to mention it anyway.