The sun beat down, hot and overbearing, as Throne entered the plain.

She'd spent the morning wandering, mustering enough energy to leave the clump of flatterned bushes she'd made camp in the previous night and venture further into the eastern lands. Now, as the sun bathes the rocky plain in bright, blistering rays of sunlight, the mahogany she-wolf strides forward at a hasty pace, eager to discover some reprieve from the heat. To her dismaym the stones merely burn and sizzle beneath her pads as she skitters across them, and the fae sucks in a collection of colourful profanities, wincing at the pain.

Finally, she comes to a ledge of resonable height and pauses, drinking in a cool breeze as it ruffles her neck fur. The crisp air is wonderfully refreshing. Thorne throws her head back, eyes closed, letting it waft over her face with a contented sigh. After a moment, she sits atop the ledge gazing out at the vast blue sky, watching the clouds, shift about in a graceful dance of their own, tracking each movement with a lazy gaze, tail tip twitching.

Rhyme finished scouting the borders for the day and he felt his paws pull him away from the territory. Occasionally he took a walk about, to scout out close herds and keep up with the locations of the lone wolves in the area. Imperia flew above him instead of riding on his shoulders. An arrangement he far preferred. She was quickly learning along with himself, how to appropriately ride on his shoulders. She hadn’t drawn any blood in days, which was already a vast improvement. They were becoming a decent team and he was becoming glad of her presence. The Raven sent out a call, which he had learned meant there was another wolf ahead. He looked up at her circling form as his pale paws carried him forward. He proceeded with caution, and kept his bicolored eyes sharp for the form. He eventually found her, standing tall against the bright blue of the sky. She seemed less of a threat than she could have been so the large alpha made his approach more slowly. Offering a quick bark to let her know of his presence before he got close enough to be considered a threat. He was wearing a smile though. Rhyme flicked his tail, a silent sign to Imperia to keep her place in the sky above them. He wasn’t sure if she wanted company, but he’d try anyway. ”Hello," He offered as he stopped, waiting for an invitation to come more near. ""

Over the wind, she hears his voice, cautious but friendly. Thorne pauses, peering over a shoulder to assess the man through bright cerulean eyes. He is much larger than herself, she notes, and painted in a dark shade pierced through with white markings. He stands nearby, carefully watching her.

Thorne hesitates only a moment, assessing her options, before turing to venture a single pace forward. She assumes a relaxed posture, fur flattening, shoulders dropping, ensuring to the male that she does not intend to be hostile. Internally, however, she prepares herself for the possibility of violence, the perpetually cautious creature that she is. At the first sign of trouble, she wouldn't hesitate to act. These insticts had never strayed from her, especially now, given her recent ordeal.

"Hello there". She is polite, poised. Her eyes aim to catch his, slowly assessing his own reactions. "Thought I might seek out a breeze. It's stiflingly hot today". She flicks her tail, indicating the previously mentioned ledge. For a moment, her gaze leaves his to trace the lines of his frame, mentally noting his stature, the way he holds himself, his blue eyes and long tail. Cataloging anything useful, helpful. Just encase. "Thorne" she offers finally, eyes returning to his own. "And you?".

Rhyme felt no animosity coming from the she wolf as she realized his presence. She was colored simply, but in appealing hues. Her relaxed posture made his smile creep up his lips as she turned and stepped more near. He took the invitation to close the distance so they might not have to yell at each other over the gusty wind. While outwardly she seems comfortable in his presence Rhyme couldn't know the caution behind her eyes. 

He held no intention of causing her harm, she had done nothing to garner his rage. Overall she seemed rather pleasant company. His tail swayed pendulum like behind his confidently held form, a stark contrast to the cowering slave he had been months prior.  He holds a friendly smile as well as her gaze as she returns his greeting with ease, even offering an explanation for her current position. He nods in understanding, feeling the oppressive heat upon his dark fur. She even offers her name as she asks for his own. 

"Pleased to meet you, Thorne. I am Rhyme Imperialis second alpha of Abaven, at your service." He bowed his head slightly, "Out scouting borderlands of the pack. I wondered if you might have seen anything unusual in your time here." If he could glean the information from her he might get a clue as to any threats that might linger here. Of course she could lie to him, but that was what Imperia was for. She could confirm any oddities Thorne offered up. Hopefully no bears or rogue bands lingered close.

He appears calm, nonchalant, and despite her vigilance, his easy-going stature eases the mahogany she-wolf slightly. And so, as he continues to speak, she makes the conscious decision to remain with him, at least for the moment. Perhaps, should he be willing to provide answers. She may even glean some important information about her surroundings. She was still so new, after all.

He continues to speak, offering a name. Rhyme. Silently, she admits it to memory. It is his title that catches her interest, however. At once, her eyes narrow in curiosity. She wants to know more. More specifically, she wants to know the significance of his title. Were there other packs? What were the established rules of these lands? Which areas should she avoid if she, say, didn’t want to cause any unnecessary territory disputes?

Her mind is whirling with questions when she answers him next. “I’m sorry, but I haven’t witnessed any strange activity”. She speaks honestly, aiming to meet his own blue gaze, shining with hints of lavender. ”Admittedly, I haven’t been here very long. But in the short amount of time I’ve spent here, there have been no disturbances”. She tilts her head, then, regarding Rhyme’s large, dark form with a confused frown. ”Forgive me, Rhyme, but perhaps you could tell me a little about this place?”. She nods past him, gesturing to encompass the territory stretching away into the distance. ”I have...yet to be acquainted with the ways of these lands”.

With his new freedom changing to constructive responsibility Rhyme felt more comfortable in his skin. In the slavers pack he had always walked on eggshells so as not to anger his captors. Not for his sake, he could withstand his own pain, but for his mother. He hated that they used their threats against her to keep him in line and doing what they wanted him to. Now, with his father and mother reunited and the giant of a man there to protect her Rhyme felt as light as a feather. 

He was not sorry when she mentioned that she hadn't seen anything, his pack was safe from threats in this direction at least. He smiled at her words and flicked his tail happily. Rhyme let her continue as she admitted she was new to the area. She went on to even ask about the area, of course he was happy to oblige. Abaven had no secrets he was worried about revealing. 

"You've no need to be sorry, no news is good news." He smiled contentedly, "Abaven resides close by, the borders are difficult to miss. I would advise keeping this side of them unless you have a desire to be attacked. I imagine most packs you come across react to strangers on their land similarly." he paused as he thought about his next words, "However, if you wished to join I would happily accompany you." He offered her his most charming smile, but he knew she wasn't likely to take up his offer.

His proposistion surprises her. To join a pack was a big decision, one she would not make carelessly. There was a part of her that found the appeal. Living in a group was what she was used to. Supporting each other, working together. And while she had always been an outsider in her father's pack, preferring to hunt and sleep alone, there was a certain comfort it provided, to be cared for and to care, if only out of obligation. But another part of her was not so hasty. She had not forgotten the tragedy of that night, of the trouble that packs could bring. She would not be so eager as to willingly delve back into the frey.

No, a decision like that was something to mull over and carefully assess. And assess she would. "You honour me, Rhyme, with such an invitation". It is true. There is no sarcasm within her tone, only blanant gratitude. "But I have yet to settle amongst these lands and there is much I intend to do. To join now would be a decision born of impulse, and it would not serve either of us. But I offer you this: I will continue to explore, gathering as much information as I can, and if I decide that I would like to join your pack, I shall find you again and notify you of my choice". She dips her head once, a gesture of respect. "Does this suit you?".

He didn't actually expect her to accept his invitation into Abaven, but she seemed like she had seen much and lived to tell the tale. He would have been more than happy to extend the invitation to her four times over. She did decline him with grace, and that might have made the rejection sting all the more. Thorne was correct though, such a hasty decision would lead to the possibility of heartache and disappointment. He didn't really know her after all, not anymore than she knew the lands around her. He bowed his head in defeat, but respect at her wise actions. 

He brought his dual colored gaze back up her her bright blue sapphires as she offered him a saving grace. She would not forget him or his offer. 

"Really that is much more than I should have asked for," he replied with as much grace as he could muster. "I appreciate that you will keep me in mind." He found himself grinning at the thought of being on her mind. He didn't have much experience with the opposite sex, when he was a slave most were his masters and now most were his family. He had never been alone with one that was neither, and the realization made butterflies explode into his gut. Thankfully his fur was dark enough she might not notice how red his cheeks flushed. 

"And if you do see anything unusual, don't uh.. Hesitate to stop by." His words were much less confident as he added an after thought.

"Thankyou". Rhyme's hospitality surprises her. Perhaps she had been unintentionally raised to expect the worst of others. Her father had been just and loyal to his pack, never one to punish those without a fair trial to seek out the truth, and for that, he been greatly respected by his commrades. But he'd also been a suspicious man, unwilling to trust only his most closest advisers. He had wanted to teach his daughter to be smart and cunning, as he had been, and perhaps he had succeeded. Thorne was not qualified to judge either, she supposed. But perhaps, inadvertently, his cautious nature had left a deep impression of the fae, hindering her sense of trust, her willingness to bond with others.

Regardless, she knew that night had fractured something inside her, something that had thrived under the care and affection of her former lover, something perhaps childish and naive, for surely it was only the dreams of a child that could have left her so blind to his deciet. She'd been honed into a creature of suspicion then, a creature wary and cold, with guarded walls and an iron will to survive. And so, to accept this man's kindness, to allow him close enough to help her...She wanted to shrink away from it, to bat at it like a poisionus fruit, refusing to indulge in the sweet taste it would undoubtedly leave for fear of what would follow.

Maybe this is why she merely nods, voice level and void of emotion. She hasn't moved, but she can feel herself already backing away, defenses bristling. "I will" she murmurs, eyes flitting behind him, to the territory streching away. "If I can be of any further assitance, do let me know". It is not a promise, evidently, for she offers no means of contacting her. Slowly, she begins to pad away, brushing past him, offering a sly wink even as her mind circulates through her next destinations and the possible threats they may produce. "If you truly are desperate to find me, wait in the shadows at midnight, when the predators roam freely amongst the darkness. They say that is when the truly nightmarish can be found".