Whispers reached the young prince about a few new wolves belonging to the Klein Empire. These ones however were not simply members to be 'respected' as his father required, but lesser in some way. Allowed to be degraded perhaps, or abused. He couldn't hold his curiosity long, in fact it was almost an unconscious decision for his wide paws to stray off the Armada border and into the Shrine. If he was asked why he was wandering in a territory that technically didn't belong to him, he could simply say he was looking for Venom. Having the next-in-line-Empress as his mentor did open some doors for him in that way at least, and while he was allowed to come and go freely from Ashen's lands he knew that prior to his friendship with the princess his parents might look twice when he willingly decided to leave the plains. After all, Azure was as proud as could be of his position of heir and the pack he might one day rule. It wasn't often that he chose to spend time elsewhere. The bleached white trees freaked the boy out, but still he pushed forward. In the back of his mind he remembered Banshee's story about ghosts and how they only bothered bad wolves. She thought she was making him feel better, when in fact it made him more afraid. Az was a bad wolf. One who liked hurting people and pushing them around. Perhaps if he could find these slaves and be allowed to mistreat them, it could help him keep that darker side of him in control at least for appearance sake. The only problem was he didn't know what the slaves looked like, their names, or where they were being kept. This might be harder then he thought. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

If there were any ghosts in the shrine they left Recluse alone. Maybe she was the ghost. The white woman almost seemed to reflect the light from the pool, almost glowing in the dim light. She had stashed her little toys in a hidden den at the shrine, she didn't exactly share their location. The woman knew they'd be kept within the packlands by her aunt and cousin but she wasn't exactly keen to have her more ambitious family members steal her prize out from under her paws. So she was always hyper-aware of when another drew close to the den site, at least whenever she was nearby. This time the small pawtread of a young wolf she didn't recognize drew her attention, a pup, though he was close to her own size if not at least a little taller. She couldn't tell from this distance, he didn't bear the scent of her family but that of the Armada, so he wasn't technically trespassing. Recluse rose from her spot where she was lounging, Lilith was back at the den with her toys so she was totally alone right now, she slowly approached the young boy, sliding between the pale trees until she was standing in front of him, silent and aware of her more than ghostly apperance. "Speech"

Creepy, ghostly, eerie sounds seemed to reach Azure's tattered ears and he pulled them back to his skull fearfully in response. He could hear the snapping of twigs, the moaning of branches high up in the trees and the wind beginning to kick up. Every strand of fur upon him bristled and his tail tucked low between his legs as he wandered further and further into the trees. A particularly strong gust of wind stirred the dirt at his feet, lifting the particles into the air in what looked almost like fog, but not. Betraying his tough guy persona, the pup began to quiver. In with the dust and dirt a new shape was visible in the treeline, and as it grew closer he absolutely one-hundred-percent knew it to be a ghost. Faster then his paws were used to, Azure was backpedaling. The heavy pup stumbled over the ground, tripped over his own feet and in the end found himself laying upon his belly with his paws over his eyes. His lips pulled back and he snarled the loudest, fiercest warning he could from behind closed eyes and waited. There was a chill in the air that felt as if it grasped at his bones themselves, he knew somewhere inside that when the cold chill was gone then so would the ghost be, and it'd be safe to open his eyes once more. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."