Things had changed considerably for her. She had gone through her first heat season the past winter, and she had been none too pleased about it. She didn't tell anyone, though she was pretty sure everyone who crossed her path had smelled it. So she kept herself secluded while she tried to deal with it, embarrassed and unwilling to run into anyone during the winter. Now that Spring was here, however, she could come out of that and do something instead of holing herself up in one of the many castle rooms and avoiding everyone she possibly could. While she knew she could always depend on her cousin Malleus, she was too embarrassed and uncomfortable to seek him out about her problem. Or at least...what she considered a problem over the winter. And Serene hadn't been around for quite a long time, so she couldn't ask her for advice, either. She wasn't really comfortable with anyone else, they were still mostly strangers to her. She could put names to faces, but her shyness often kept her from forging a relationship with the rest of the Abraxas. To be honest, she also felt like she didn't belong what with her mother abandoning her and all. But she was still determined to prove she was just as good as the rest of them, even if she didn't have to. In her mind, she needed to do it for the sake of her pride and to redeem her name. With those goals in mind, she silently vowed to make it all happen now. She was a soldier to the Empire, she needed to do better. And her first start would be a border patrol. Sure, she had been learning everything she could from Malleus, and he was without a doubt a fantastic teacher, but she still held her doubts and insecurities. Rolling her shoulders, Ina made her way around the borders, the babe well on her way to making herself better. Soon, she would seek out others to train with. Be they Abraxas or rogue, she would show the world how great she was. How great she was meant to be. "Speech" <

Pyrrhic had just finished his patrol and was on his way back to his room in the castle. He had a whole room to himself for crafting and various projects he was just itching to complete. Benkos, his companion, had fostered the desire to create since he was a small child. Pyrrhic was grateful for it. His dad had been teaching him about fighting and the Abraxas way for as long as he could remember, but he was happy that Benkos had shown him more. Thanks to him, Pyrrhic was confident he could make just about anything he could dream up - and that was a useful skill to possess. A form headed in the opposite direction pulled him out of his reverie. After a beat he recognized that it was his cousin Proserpina. His father had seen to it that Proserpina had been around the kids as they grew up, so Pyrrhic had basic knowledge of her. But he didn't really know her, did he? If he was going to be Emperor one day he needed to fix that. Though he was tired, Pyrrhic abandoned the path he was on in favor of Proserpina's. He took a couple bounding leaps after her to catch up. "Hey, Proserpina wait up!" "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ She was mostly focused on patrolling the borders, but when she heard her younger cousin call out to her, she turned to find him bounding towards her. She ceased her movement and stopped, waiting for him to catch up. She had been spending a lot of time with her younger cousins, training with them and learning what she could about the Abraxas way. She adored her cousins, so as Pyrrhic approached she gently wagged her tail, pale blue optics looking him over for a moment before she offered a greeting, "Hello, Pyrrhic. How goes it?" From her understanding and what she had glimpsed when she occasionally passed his room, she knew he had all sorts of strange trinkets and things that he tinkered with. She hadn't really been too interested in it all mostly because she wasn't sure what purpose such things had. But maybe if they were useful then she'd think about it. For now though, she was curious as to what her cousin was up to. It wasn't often that she spent a lot of time with her family, and it was usually due to her trying to train as much as she could to be among the best. But at some point, she had to stop and smell the roses. Perhaps a little time with her cousin would help get her mind off some of the more deeper thoughts in her head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Speech"

Proserpina paused to let him catch up fully and he skidded to a halt beside her. "Just came off patrol. Didn't see anything out there." That wasn't quite true. He'd spied Benkos with one of his wives. The mandrills weren't shy about things that should be private and it wasn't the first time Pyrrhic had seen them in action. Still, Benkos atop the smaller mandrill had disturbed him. He wasn't sure why this time was different and he found his feelings unsettling. No matter, he was too ruffled and admittedly a little embarrassed to ask anyone, let alone Proserpina, the questions that now nagged at him. He shook off the image that was currently seared into his brain and peeked over at his cousin curiously. "What are you up to?" Maybe if she was up to something interesting she'd let him tag along. "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"