Fishing wasn't as easy as Hanako thought it should be. She understood that it required a certain level of skill and that the fish wouldn't just swim into her waiting jaws, but really did it have to be so tedious?  Toshiro made it look easy as he dipped in and out of the water, each time emerging with a little fish wriggling in the grip of his teeth. But whenever Hanako gave it a shot, took her time to select a target and lunged in for the kill she only caught a mouthful of water. Droplets of water rolled from her brow as she scowled at her smug little companion as he nibbled away at his freshly caught snack. He didn't even offer her any. Hmph.

Glancing away from the water Hanako took in a moment to finally get a good look of the place. River aside it was thick with foliage, tangled trees and bushes all melded together to form one great green blur. It was nice enough, she supposed, but at first glance there was very little that interested her. Or at the very least nothing grabbed her attention and demanded that she explore, but since Toshie clearly had no intention to leave just  yet she supposed she ought to have a look around whilst she waited. She set off in a gentle lope as she moved parallel to the river, her ears tilting forward as the birds in the branches above made a fuss over her presence.

Natha slinked along the river banks, twisting and turning with the river as she sought out inlets with calmer waters. Fish were likely to gather in these inlets and it was there she could get a nice lunch. She paused for a moment in the shade of the reeds, squinting at the sun. It was far too hot. She was not looking forward to summer. Her large ears picked up the sound of splashing and she realized she was not alone as far as large predators went. A moment later she saw a pale wolf moving along the river. The wind brought the woman's scent to her and she realized the wolf was from the Armada. Curious, Natha moved forward, weaving her way through the brush.

"Hello there, I'm Natha. Lieutenant of the Armada. Who might you be?"

Hanako continued on, weaving through the vegetation- till from seemingly out of nowhere emerged a cat. Sneaky things that they were. Her eyes snapped wide as she sucked in a panicked breath that caught in her throat. She would've turned tail and ran, hoped that the cat didn't take chase, but it quickly became apparent that there was no need. That she'd spooked herself for no real reason. The cat, of which Hanako realised was a lynx, was not only friendly but talkative too. Her worries receded like the tide and tension eased from her form as she offered an easy smile, as though she hadn't nearly just leapt out of her fur.

"Oh hey, nice to meet'cha. " She wagged her tail in a short, sharp wave. "I'm Hanako...the student. Which isn't half as impressive but... " Hanako trailed off with a grin, a little self conscious.

It was still something that lingered on her mind, how best to make use of the skills she had instead of having to start completely from scratch. She could imagine that as a lynx Natha had all sorts of talents and strengths at her disposal, the fact that she'd easily snuck up on a wolf spoke volumes in and of itself. Hanako had an idea of course, she'd spoken to Azure about it and knew how he felt but she wondered if she ought to take this chance to test the waters a little, so to speak. As a lieutenant surely her words and opinion carried weight, if nothing it would look good that Hanako sought out her opinion.

"I know we just met and all, but can I ask for your opinion on something?" She planted her rear on the ground, her tail gently swishing the dirt.

Natha grinned and chuckled. "We all start as students. I'm sure you'll be a master well before you get to my age." She was on the downward slope of her life, she knew that much and the cats in her family never did seem to make it to their double digits though Natha planned to be an exception. Well, maybe. She was a fighter after all and if she was destined to go down in battle then so be it.

Natha's pink tongue licked lightly at her paw which she ran over one of her enormous ears, gently cleaning it as the girl asked her another question.

I know we just met and all, but can I ask for your opinion on something?

Natha paused in her cleaning, head tilting lightly to the side. "Certainly, ask away."

Though she didn't know her superior very well just yet Hanako decided that she didn't mind the power imbalance. With Azure it was natural, since he was a prince and all, but with Natha it was a rank she'd worked towards. And was one she clearly deserved. Hanako had met army officials before, leaders who wore their rank like a badge of honour or brandished it like a weapon, but the lynx was incredibly down to earth despite it all. And so with Natha's approval, she began.

"I've been thinking about what sort of role I want and...to be honest I don't want to be a warrior or healer. It's not because I don't want to work, far from it! It's just the Armada already has so many talented warriors and medics and I feel like I'd only get lost in the crowd, you know?" She sent Natha a look, hoping she'd see where Hanako was coming from. For obvious reasons she didn't mention that she'd had no training in either one of those fields prior to becoming a part of the Ashen Empire. "So then I thought about it some more, thought about the skills I already have and- well long story short I want to be the Armada's spy."

She'd already made up her mind of course, Azure had given her instructions and she'd follow them to the best of her ability, but as Natha-or anyone else- was concerned that conversation had never happened. Therefore Hanako had to leave a paper trail, just to make sure that all bases were covered and no risks were taken.

"This is where the opinion bit comes in. I want to ask Sirius for his permission to start work and training but...I'm a little worried he might think it's a stupid idea or I don't know what I'm doing." She frowned. "You know him and the Armada a lot better than I do, what do you think?"

Curiosity danced behind the lynx's eyes. She wondered what the new comer wished to ask of her and when Hanako began to speak she listened carefully. It was true that the Armada had many trained warriors and medics. She did not know what Hanako or Sirius had spoken of when the colorful wolf joined but she could see no reason why a wolf would need to take up one of these roles.

Hanako continued to speak before stating that she wished to be the Armada's spy. Hmmm… now that wasn't quite the role she'd been expecting the other to say. It would be a hard life if she chose to work under cover in another pack. Though perhaps she could start out with straight forward scouting. That information was critical and seemed to be a bit in short supply.

Natha chuckled. "I'm afraid I do not know Sirius or the Armada as intimately as you might wish. I have been here only for a little over a season. However, I don't see any harm coming from running the idea by him. You could always start out as a scout you know. As Sirius seeks to increase the amount of raiding the Armada does it will be important to gather information about other packs. I can only see that as useful. Make your intent, your desire to be useful to the Armada and I do not think he'll react harshly to you. Does that help?"

Hanako's brows shot up in obvious surprise. Really? Natha had managed to climb so high in just one season? In a way it was a relief to hear that, knowing that as long as she worked hard she wouldn't be stuck at the bottom rungs forever. But at the same time Hanako felt as though Natha tread her own path, her skills and wisdom did the talking and that in more ways than one she stood out amongst the wolves of the Armada. Regardless of her lack of intimate knowledge the lynx had plenty of good advice to offer. The thought of starting out as a scout had occurred to Hanako, in fact it that had initially been the plan until Azure nudged her in a different direction. If that was what he thought was best then...how could she deny him?

Even if Natha couldn't see the whole picture her words still had a significant impact on Hanako. It was all she needed to hear really, that Sirius wouldn't think poorly of her for trying to take the incentive and that as long as she tried to serve the Armada's best interests then all would likely be well in the end.

"Yeah, it really does." She grinned, all toothy and earnest. "Sirius took a chance with taking me in and I really wanna repay his kindness, you know? But yeah, I'll ask him and see how it goes. No harm in trying."

In times like this it was easy to forget that her time in the Armada was only temporary. But who knew how long it would take for the Keepers to find her, she knew they'd come eventually but...Well, at least she could keep herself busy till then, she was sure Sirius and Azure would understand. Besides, she was slowly warming up to the idea of being productive, of having to be a bit more independent as she did things on her own. It was a big change and a little scary at times but it didn't seem so bad when she thought about how grateful Azure would be for all her efforts.

"I gotta ask though...what's it like living with wolves? As a lynx I mean. "

Natha stretched out toward a fallen tree resting along the river bank. She stretched out her arms, claws out, as she raked them methodically against the wood. She was still listening of course, just fidgety and eager to move. She was a navigator at heart after all.

Natha withdrew her claws and settled down on her haunches before nodding as Hanako stated she really wanted to make Sirius proud. She nodded more to acknowledge the others feelings than to add agreement. Natha wasn't necessarily interested in making Sirius proud. She had her own pride to please and it just happened to align with Sirius and the Armada's over all interests. Having a strong, stable pack with members who pulled their weight was directly beneficial to her as well as the pack as a whole.

Natha chuckled at Hana's question. "Strange. I'm still trying to learn your body language and customs. I think I am finally starting to understand howling, though it is difficult for me to participate. There are benefits though. I have tasted prey fresh that I scarce could hope to taste hunting on my own. And there is protection in a group. Is it strange to you to become part of a new pack? Were you of one before?"

Hanako imagined as much. She wondered what her life would be like if she, for one reason or another, had been taken in by a group of cats. As far as she knew they weren't overly social creatures but Natha seemed pleasant enough, a little standoffish but not enough for it to be an issue. And besides they'd only just met,  at no point did Hanako expect the lynx the star purring like they were the sweetest and closest of friends. In fact, if Natha wanted to hold her at a distant and just keep it civil then Hanako was more than willing to comply.

Hanako smiled a little at the thought of a lynx howling. Even if Natha tried Hanako imagined that the best she'd be able to muster would be a yowly sort of call, something harsh and throaty, lacking the subtleties of a true howl. Natha's way of thinking, even if it was strange and foreign to Hanako, did make a lot of sense and she soon found herself agreeing with the cat. Difficulties aside, the Armada was remarkably welcoming to those who joined it's ranks. Even Hanako, who prior to joining hadn't worked a day in her life, found it easy to integrate herself into the fold. To find a place that was snug and cosy and just the right fit. Thinking about it like that made her feel a little sad that all of this was only temporary, that as soon as her Keepers came for her it would all just be a thing of the past. But till then she had plenty of time to take advantage of what the Armada had to offer, food, companions and otherwise.

The wolf hummed at her question.

"A little. My old group was nomadic, never stayed anywhere for long. So it feels a little strange to just..linger, you know? Sometimes I half expect Sirius to tell us to just pack up and move out." She shrugged, knowing she'd have to get used to settling eventually. Whenever the trade was made her fate would be sealed. "But I think I get it, The Empire has its roots here, wouldn't make sense to just up and leave it all behind." 

Natha listened quietly as Hanako answered her questions. She could imagine the strangeness of moving all of ones life to suddenly being stationary. It wasn't something that Natha had had to adjust to. As a lynx and a lone hunter, having a set territory with needed prey was essential and she was used to patrolling her territory and keeping rivals out. If times were hard she might follow the movements of prey or carve out a new territory but that was pretty rare.

She nodded. "Yes, and Sirius had picked out a bountiful territory. As long as the land is well cared for and prey is bountiful I can't see us moving any time soon." Natha got to her feet and stretched. "Well, I better be heading back to the Armada. I'm due for a patrol soon but it was nice to speak with you Hanako."

-exit?-

Even for all her catisms it was clear that Natha had a lot of knowledge to share. Not for long bursts it seemed though, Hanako watched the lynx rise to her paws and took no offence as she made to leave. As a Lieutenant she was no doubt a busy woman and since Hanako had already gotten what she wanted there was no need to drag this out any longer. She waved with her tail as she took a step to leave as well.

"Mmm, it was nice talking. Thanks for the advice too!"  She called after the cat, thoroughly impressed by how seamlessly she faded into obscurity, as though she'd put on a cloak of invisibility. Maybe with some practice she could learn to do that too,it would certainly help with her spying shenanigans.

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