Her nose was full of the smell of marigolds and lavender. It completely drowned out the still freshly formed scent of the pack that was beginning to build around the rocky terrain. Her paws carried her carefully up through the mountain to the den that she had picked for herself. It was small, but it was all she needed. She had begun to dig out smaller ledges along the back of it for her herbs to rest on. The ground sloped away from the entrance gently so it wasn't too difficult to get to. It wasn't the green landscape she was used to, but it was good enough. She was with her family so could she really complain? She padded into the shade of the den, dropping of the bundle of flowers in an empty place that she had yet to fill on her makeshift shelf. Daelos separated out the two kinds of herbs into separate piles before she turned back toward the sunlight that was filtering in through the entrance. There was little about all of this that she had let her think about too much - including the man that she and her mother had saved and the ritual of some kind that Elias had done. She walked back toward the entrance and stopped just before she left the darkness. Daelos settled down onto her haunches and looked out over the mountain range. She thought about the rolling hills of the knolls she had just visited with Kai and it felt like it was a different world. All she could really hope was that she could make a new home here, but she had no idea how she fit into all of this. After another moment of hesitation she finally got back up and stepped back outside, slowly wandering through the pack's territory while her mind wandered just as far. "Talk" "You" Think

There were a lot of thoughts filling the mind of Elias on this day. He'd met with Dimitri bright and early and issued him his first task, yet he hadn't given any to his children. It worried him that they didn't seem to hold the same enthusiasm of those outside of his blood, but why would they? They were likely to be uncertain after having been uprooted from their home and Lirim and brought to a new pack. Miach seemed to want to get to know him, and Daelos seemed to follow Zuriel wherever she went... but that didn't mean that either of them had any clue about what to think of this new life waiting for them.

He had been lounging in the the large den that had been claimed for he and Zuriel when he watched his daughter go by the entrance on the way to her own den, an obviously plentiful about of herbs in her possession. He was thankful that she was working on replenishing her medical supplies, the pack would need them if she was to be a good healer. Did she even want to be a healer? He assumed so, but he didn't honestly know much about her.

He brought himself to his feet and followed her in her trail, stopping short at the entrance of her den so that he could peer in. Red eyes found her and offered her the same gentle smile that he'd given her when he saw her back in Lirim. "Hey, got time to talk to me?" He was about to jump right into the conversation, though there was obvious hesitation as his nostrils flared and he took in the scent of Kai. He knew Kai from their hunt in the mountains, so it didn't surprise him that he was still hanging around the territory... had the scent not been on his own daughter, he might have even been happy to know that the guy was still hanging around. For now, however.. there was an irritation brooding beneath his skin and he did his best to mask it for the sake of presenting himself to his daughter.

Daelos looked out the entrance of the den while she contemplated what she should do next. She thought about going to check in with her mother or maybe trying to find Miach in an effort to reconnect with him more. After all she hadn't really spoken with her red-hued brother at all since he had returned to them right before their trip here. Before she could do any of those things her father's form came into view, looking more like a shadow as he was silhouetted against the sunlight. It was still strange to think of him as her father since she had only known him for a handful of days now, but it was something that she was trying to get used to. She still didn't know what to call him. For now she had only referred to him as Elias, but maybe she should try to work father into her vocabulary. For now she responded to his question with a simple, "Of course." Besides the fact that he was her father, he was also the alpha so it wasn't like she could turn him down even if she wanted to. It was pretty obvious she wasn't doing anything at the moment so there was no excuse not to speak with him. She had to get to know him at some point, right? She got up and padded to the outside of the den, settling back on her haunches just as she stepped into the sunlight and turned to face him. He was still such a mystery to her. What little knowledge she had of him prior to meeting him was fairly dark and violent just from what Kane had expressed, but nothing she had seen from him personally thus far backed that up. She didn't really know how to take the blood oath thing that had occurred when they first arrived, but she tried to keep a positive, open mind. "What's going on?" "Talk" "You" Think

His hackles began to prickle slightly as she neared him, though the change in his short furred jacket was so small that it might not have even been detected. He rolled his shoulders back to hide the way the scent of Kai was making his skin crawl and reclined his tall weight to his haunches, keeping his back out of her view. He didn't want to make a scene about it just yet, but the thought was there in his mind.. nagging at him. Whatever their reasoning for meeting each other was, it bothered him that she'd already met someone outside of the pack to befriend.. if not fall in love with. He hoped for the sake of her ever having a chance to be loyal to him and to Ruina's purpose, that Kai would move on soon. Wasn't that the way of Kai's father?

"I meant for everything to go a lot smoother upon our arrival, I had plans of making the introduction to that blood oath a lot.. less chaotic. Thank you for sticking with us through that." He lifted his chin and forced those concerns about Kai to the back of his mind and focused on the matters within their family, a smile curving the corners of his inky lips effortlessly as he focused on her pretty masked face.

"Have you ever seen anything like that in Lirim?" He wondered if the pack had any rituals or pack customs at all, did they celebrate holidays? What did their years hold for their people? He was curious but said nothing.

"Ruina is in your blood, Daelos. It wants you here, I want you here, but I would never force you to oath your life to a pack that you did not want to be in so remember that." His words held an unusually cold tone that hung in the air, though grew distant as he seemed to trail off in slight thought. He considered enslaving Kane and bringing him back here, he'd considered that for a few of his children.. but how many could he hold against their will?

"Starting a pack is a lot of work, if I am being honest.. and there are three main roles in Ruina that make our work as great as possible. I would like to tell you more about them and about what we do if you are committed to learning." Tall ears turned upright to spike his crown as his ruby eyes kept on her own stare. He wanted to read her like a book and find out who she was, how much of her was like himself?

Just like he was reading her mind, he commented on the blood oath that had taken place their first day here and thanked her for staying through it. She was a little confused by him thanking her. Of course she stuck by them. Even if she wasn't fully convinced on Elias, she would never dream of leaving Zuriel and her brothers. Of course Kane hadn't shown up just yet... but Miach at least was here and that was enough. Her family was enough to make her stay even when she wasn't entirely comfortable just yet. She returned his slight smile either way though with a small nod. To his question over anything happening like that in Lirim it was easy for her to shake her head to tell him no. Maybe that's why it had all been so strange and a little startling at first. It was a new concept for her and something she didn't really know how to respond to. Even though he seemed to grow incredibly serious when he spoke of Ruina being a part of her, she still appreciated the sentiment when he mentioned that he couldn't force her to stay somewhere she didn't want to be. She'd never thought about wanting to be somewhere. Lirim had been all she ever knew and had never considered the possibility that she could leave or move somewhere else. She'd been content there so there had been no reason for her to think about leaving, but she honestly never thought about if she had wanted to live there or not. This was the first time she had been given some kind of choice in the matter, but for now her decision felt pretty certain. She'd stay wherever her family was as long as they were still happy. She was strangely relieved when he mentioned telling her about some of the positions in the pack. Ruina as a whole still seemed like a big mystery to her so it was nice to have some answers and information about it being given to her. "I'd love to learn more," she said without hesitation. Her gaze was curious while she waited for him to go on. If there was one thing she loved it was learning so in a way it felt like she was sitting down for a lesson like she usually did with her mom on healing. The topic was completely different, but the curiosity was the same. "Talk" "You" Think

Her eagerness to learn more made him hopeful, this was apparent by the glimmering pride shining off the king's ruby eyes. He smiled to her and gave her a nod of appreciation that she was interested. The words she offered were not many, but they were enough for him. He looked away from her and out of her den.. taking in the view of the East that could be seen from up this high. He was in love with the soul of this land, but he was in love with how much they could see as well.

Elias' lips parted suddenly as he wrapped up his meeting with her, not wanting to consume too much of her time. "I am very pleased to hear that, I will be holding a meeting to explain it to you and the rest of our new members soon. Please stay close to the mountains so that you will know. There is someone you need to meet, your half-brother. I am hoping he comes as well. I wanted to brace you for this before you see him." He motioned his body like he was about to step away, though his eyes watched her for any signs of protest against that. He had informed her of all he needed to, he wouldn't hover over her.. she was an adult. Speaking of which, about that boy he smelled on her coat...

"One thing I'd also like to mention." He peered over to her, unsure on how she'd react to this.

"There are rules to Ruina I would like to remind you of, if you do oath yourself. You must not have romantic ties outside of our pack, it is too dangerous and loyalties become confusing when love and lust are at play. Keep this in mind, if a man wants you.. he must want the pack your family belongs to, as well." Aki had been a rogue, Kai was known to be a rogue as well.. he wasn't sure if their family had any pack ties at all, but he wanted to reiterate this to his daughter just in case. It was only one time he caught the scent, but one time was all some men needed. It was all he needed with Zuriel to create Daelos, after all.

Beyond that, he said nothing. He left so that she could think over his... warning.

She could tell that he was pleased by her willingness to learn about this pack, even before he stated it aloud. She had kind of expected him to begin his explanation now, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. Even though she was a bit disappointed, she could understand why it made more sense to explain things at a meeting so he could explain this to everyone at once. The one thing that took her off guard was the news that her half-brother would possibly be attending. Her brows lifted with surprise, but she didn't comment on it. She wasn't entirely shocked that he had other children. It wasn't like he and her mother had been mates up to this point. Maybe it was just a possibility that she hadn't considered before now. She was about to bid him goodbye when he turned back to give her a warning. Her brows pulled together with confusion and her ears flicked back against her skull, embarrassed in a way at the idea of him talking about "love and lust" in any regard to her. She watched him leave, her mouth gaping open for a moment before she finally just closed it again. She really couldn't think of a reason why he would be telling her such a thing, but then she remembered that she had just left Kai. Nothing of any significance had happened, but maybe his scent was lingering on her either way. Did Elias think something had happened? She was flustered and embarrassed at the thought, but she couldn't bring herself to chase him down and insist that it had been nothing. With a sigh she retreated back into her den to busy herself with her herbs. "Talk" "You" Think