To say he was peeved was an understatement. He'd managed to get his paws on an older, supposedly tame lamb. The beast had cost him a great deal. His den was now basically bare and he'd scrounged up -what felt like - every bit of scrap metal for miles in order to make the trade. But at last he had which meant he had his very first ewe. The first of many, hopefully. He'd followed the trader's instructions and then left the youngster in Tashi's supposedly capable hands. Next morning he'd gone to check on it and discovered a passed out primate beside an empty sheep pen.

So now he was traipsing through an ash storm looking for a sheep. It was cold, it was ashy, but there was no way in hell he was going to stay home for the day. That sheep had been expensive and he wasn't going to write it off unless he had to. As for the bastard sheep-loser, he had been forbidden to ride on Tyrian's back and now wandered some distance behind Tyrian trying to shmooze a ride out of Zahir, who so far had the sense to turn him down.

He skidded to a halt beside a scent marker, his eyes fixed on the ground in disbelief. Tyrian looked first to the marker, then the hoof marks on the other side, then the marker again. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and then snarled up at the shadowy, ash choked sun, "TASHI!"

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Poem had been a bit quiet since Sirius broke his leg, but she didn’t have much in common with the wolves here and her lack of friends had her dwelling on thoughts of her mother more than she should. The Destruction girl was healthy and fit, but her heart hurt and she couldn’t hold a smile very well.

Edgar found her again. The raven’s return to her had been a vibrant light during this dark time in her life. The piebald raven was in the ash filled sky above as Poem patrolled mindlessly. Patrol, eat, train, drink, patrol, sleep. Wake up do it again the next day. Much of the time was spent too long in her own head. It was hard to remain when there was a shrill voice at her border.

As far as she was aware there were no wolves named ‘Tashi’ within the Armada’s borders. Curious and alarmed at the presence she made her way forward to find a familiar form. ”Tyrian.” She greeted him warmly as alabaster paws carried her towards him. He certainly didn’t seem pleased and she gave a slight tilt of her head as she tried to piece the puzzle together. ”What are you doing here? You seem.. upset.” She offered bluntly as she looked over his shoulder towards his companions.

”Looking for something?” There was genuine concern in her voice. She didn’t spend much time with him that day near the river but she had liked him. He was good at counteracting Noir at least.

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Before his name echoed back to him Tashi had the sense to make for the hills. The langur, never one to go anyplace in a hurry, broke tradition to fly from the small group in bounding, distance eating leaps. He was no fool and he knew better than to stick around now that things had gotten substantially worse. The odds of getting the lamb back - the odds that it hadn't already been munched - were not good, but before Tyrian could even go about finding out its fate he was going to have to stand on the border like a schmuck and call for the alpha. And then, like a good boy, he'd have to wait while the trail - if there still was one - for the lamb got colder. Fan-tastic.

Tyrian huffed in annoyance and pinched his already shut eyes tight enough to make stars dance across the inside his eyelids. He'd given everything he had for that baby. If he lost it he would of course buy another when he could, but it would set him back and the mere thought of that depressed him. He was trying to get into livestock so that Legion would have a sustainable source of food for when things got hard. Considering how things had been since the volcano, how everything stayed all wintery and gray, he thought it a pretty good assumption to think it was going to stay bad for awhile. The longer it stayed this way the more scarce food would become for prey. The more scarce food became for prey, the more scarce prey became for the predators.

A vaguely familiar voice caused his eyes to pop open. "Poem?" It was her. This was quite possibly the last place he thought he'd see her and yet there she was. It seemed odd to him that she'd leave her family pack, but he supposed she was plenty old enough to make her own decisions. "I mean I'm not upset," he said quickly, the lie transparent. "I just...got a little frustrated with that rat bastard..." He noticed then that Tashi had vanished. "Who apparently ran away like a little bitch..." he said quietly before carrying on in a normal tone of voice, "Because he lost my lamb."

It struck him almost immediately that his explanation was a weird one so he tried to amend it quickly. "Long story short, I bought a lamb to raise, my idiot monkey let it run away, and now I think it's wandering through your pack's land or worse." After a beat he added, "And my idiot monkey is gone."

WC: 437

She managed to pull him from his wallowing thoughts, not knowing what was going on yet. He was visibly agitated and at the edge of Ashen. Tyrian greeted her in return, questioning her presence with the utterance of her name. She supposed it would certainly be odd to see her here instead of Abaven, but a lot had happened in the almost year since they met. She wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t made a deal with Sirius, but the young Destruction would have offered herself a hundred more times to keep Motif safe.

Poem listened as Tyrian started to explain himself, first denying his emotions as he told her about a monkey and a lamb. The former was much more abundant in the oasis than the latter. He seemed to be in quite the predicament, but she just so happened to be conveniently located. ”I can’t do anything about your primate.” She chuckled half-heartedly, it was still difficult to feel happy when she was still mourning her mother. ”But I could track your lamb.” She offered helpfully, or mostly helpfully.

”Edgar,” Poem looked up into the palm tree at the piebald raven. ”Will you try and find Tyrian’s lamb? Quickly, I wouldn’t want someone in the Armada to eat it.” Her raven took his mistress seriously, and in the blink of an eye he was only a speck against the ashen sky. ”He’s a good tracker. If it's still close, Edgar will find it.” She assured her relative confidently. ”I don’t mean to sound greedy, but if he is successful can I ask you to find something for me?” Poem asked almost hesitantly. She wasn’t being greedy was she? She helped him find his lamb and as a trade he would help her to find her own… item. ”I’ve been wanting to find a young predator pup. Fox, cat, anything with sharp teeth, to train to go into battle with me.” She explained, hopeful he might reciprocate.

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As far as Tyrian was concerned Tashi could stay gone until the lamb was back. The yearling didn't know if he could stand looking at the monkey's squashed, bug-eyed little face right now knowing his expensive, undoubtedly tasty, little morsel was running around the west just asking to be eaten. He knew how he'd feel about the little lamb if he ran across it. It was a well insulated mobile meal and he would have pounced on it in a heartbeat. "The monkey can stay gone," he told her firmly. "And I would appreciate your help."

Ah, so she wanted a trade. Fair enough, he could do that. "Yeah, no problem." He thought for a second, trying to mentally find the best place to look for such a thing before he physically went after it. It would be better to have a game plan than to just wander around all willy nilly in the hopes of stumbling across something that fit her criteria. After a beat he nodded slowly to himself and then sought out Poem's gaze. "I think I know just the place to look. How's about we go our separate ways and then meet back here when we've got the goods?" Confident she would agree, he was already turning to go when he added, "I'll be back in a flash!"

----

The boy had been thoroughly clawed to ribbons, but he came back victorious. A squalling caracal kitten flailed around in a bag that hung from his jaws. He hoped it was good enough. It didn't look like much to him, but it fit her criteria. It was young, it was a predator and it had sharp teeth. As for trainability he could make no comment on that. His experience with cats was limited to Zahir and Alarr's little cat, both of whom were bossy teacher-y types. And Zahir at least was resistant to teaching.

Tyrian set the bag down gently and carefully pinned the drawn-shut opening to the ground so the little captive could neither run away with the bag or work it open and flee. He hoped Poem had found his sheep in one uneaten piece. Though he certainly wasn't going to waste tears on something like that, he would be royally pissed if it was dead. Not at whatever had eaten it, no, but at Tashi who had bragged since they'd met about how his clan tended flocks and about how he'd grown up caring for animals like this one. And then promptly lost the very first sheep Tyrian had given him to watch.

WC: 335

”Thank you!” She called out as he turned to be on his way. He had been receptive to their trade, she really hoped he didn’t think she was asking too much. Trying to dismiss the thought Poem turned and followed after Edgar. It took awhile to find him, but when she did the girl felt relief that he was perched on the back of the young sheep. Poem grinned, and painstakingly slowly, herded the young animal back towards the border where she’d first met up with her uncle.

Tyrian was already returned and if he didn’t look proud of himself before she arrived she was sure he would when he caught sight of the lamb. Real excitement started to well up inside her breast, the animal was obviously in the moving bag and she wondered what he found for her. ”You’re in luck, I’ve found it still alive.” Honestly she was glad that she didn’t have to bring him a carcass.

When that stupid little lamb came into view a wave of relief broke over Tyrian. He sighed audibly and gave Poem a relieved smile. "You are a miracle worker! Thought that little butthole was a goner for sure." Without him having to say anything, Zahir, who had stayed with him through everything today, coaxed the lamb over and placed a rope around its neck. The moment the loop was tightened the last of Tyrian's worry vanished. They had her now; her adventure was officially over.

Ah, time for her half of the deal. Tyrian grabbed the mouth of the bag and carefully worked it down over the caracal's head so Poem could see what he'd brought her. the little cat hissed and spit angrily at him, but he paid it no attention. "Got you a baby cat. I don't know what kind it is, but I can confirm that all its teeth and claws are in perfect working order," he said dryly. The scratches all over his face and forelegs were proof of that.

Tyrian was obviously relieved as she appeared with the young sheep, Poem grinned as he praised her. Getting her end of the deal was a bonus, being able to help her cousin, uncle… relative, was a reward unto itself. Her striped tail wagged slowly at her hips at his words while she ushered the sheep towards the cat.

As the boy yearling was finally relieved Poem turned her attention back to the back and its contents. Tyrian worked the bag around the small kitten’s head. The young Destruction was met with ivory white fir and black tipped ears of a caracal. And a feisty one at that. Tyrian made his own attest to the sharpness of its claws and Poem grinned. If it had the tenacity to try and ward off a huge wolf like Tyrian it would certainly make a good companion at her side. If she could train it. But, here Tyrain was with a snow leopard and Sirius had the same. Surely she could manage with this little guy.

”It’s perfect!” She was already in love with its angry little face. ”Thank you, Tyrian! I am very happy with our trade.” She wagged her tail again as she moved forward slowly. ”Do I get to keep the bag?” She wondered if she could get it back to her place of residence without the help of constraints.

She was happy with their trade? Ha, Tyrian was so relieved the lamb was safe that he could have kissed both Poem and the lamb. He snorted a soft laugh and replied, "Me too. I thought this little bastard was a goner for sure." Much to the lamb's consternation Tyrian playfully tousled its curly head. He was so relieved it was okay. Yes it was just a sheep and yes he could have eventually gotten another one, but how much work had he saved himself by retrieving it?

Poem asked about the bag and Tyrian was quick to reply. "Oh yeah it's all yours." He smirked playfully then added, "You're gonna need it." Careful to avoid its teeth Tyrian gently pushed the bag towards Poem. He was careful to keep the neck of it pinched shut around the little cat's neck so it couldn't wiggle free. Poem could decide to close or leave it open as she saw fit.

"So..." Now that the crisis had been averted he could think about other things and Tyrian's curiosity got the better of him. "Is uh, Abaven here in the West too?" Everyone, it seemed, had fled west when the volcano erupted so naturally he thought that was why she too was here.

Poem was excited despite the next few days of claws she was going to get. She had her own kitten now! He wouldn’t be anything compared to Bast’s long claws. Tyrian was excited about his sheep too, already convinced the tiny thing was dead. He also gave her the container for said cat, and was sure that she would have great use of it. She wasn’t going to argue that, but she would vow that one day she’d show her relative how well trained he’d be.

She was eager to get started, first by getting the thing used to its new home in her den. Hopefully she could keep it around by feeding it or letting him find shelter with Bast. Cats would stick together right? Tyrian’s question caught her off guard, and her features fell as she averted her gaze from him. She was still ashamed about her loss to Sirius, and that was the whole reason she was here.

”No, just me.” She admitted softly, wondering how far she could go. It had been too long since she had someone she could really trust to talk to. ”I made a deal with the Armada’s leader and I’m training with him right now.” That was safe enough right? She didn't have to divulge the full scope of her failure to save her sister and herself from the overlord.

Tyrian was intrigued. She'd made a deal with the Armada leader for training? Interesting; Abaven sure got around. Probably as some sort of an alliance deal - information he squirreled away for later use - which was a neat idea. Poem didn't seem too keen about it though so perhaps it hadn't been her choice to go. He wasn't sure what to make of that bit but he didn't suspect anything nefarious. Chaos would probably be interested in knowing about a budding romance between the two packs so Tyrian decided to press for more information. "Oh? That's pretty cool!" he enthused, not really feeling it but wanting to fish, "As part of a trade program or something? It's neat that packs do that."