Hattori's talons dug into the black sand as he set his gaze at the horizon. At a glance this place seemed remarkably similar to Obsidian Beach, but the difference was in the details. How even the grains of sand felt different beneath his paws, rougher and course, not like the fine powder back south. And then there was the sea, the waves were choppy, furling in on themselves as the cold northern current did well to encourage him to remain on dry land. Not that he wanted to go for a swim, not at this time of year and not in these conditions.

He was content with his life in Ashen, or at least that's how he ought to feel. And yet as of late he felt a twinge beneath his skin, as though what he had just wasn't enough any more. For the longest time they'd been striving to grow and expand the Empire, and yet after everyone had left those efforts had slowed. Hattori feared they would soon become complacent and fall back into old, tempting habits. And then there was their relationship with the newly formed Fenmyre, an alliance Hattori did not approve in the least.

Things were changing and Hattori wasn't entirely sure it was all for the best.

"speech"

A small raft floated along the choppy waves as a waterlogged girl laid upon it, passed out. She was small in stature with a coat as dark as midnight with white coating her as if someone dipped her in ink. Bright aquamarine eyes stayed closed until the raft hit the shallow depth of rocks and sand. It was cold out today and unlike her original home, this new place was cloudy and unusual. Her breathing was shallow and interrupted suddenly but a splash of frigid water went up in her nose. Sputtering loudly, she sat up quickly, almost sent overboard as she fought to gain her balance. Blinking saltwater from her bright eyes, she peered around quite confused. The horns upon her crown glistened in the twilight as she looked from the small raft to the water to the sand. Where had she ended up? Deciding that stable land was better than being whisked back out into the ocean, the small female stepped off into ankle-deep water. Harsh shivers rolled down her spine as she looked around and back at her form. Her own body was soaked and fur was sticking out in odd places. "You have got to be kidding me," Celeste mumbled in a frustrated tone as she pranced quickly onto the dry shore. The sand was rough, callous almost against her delicate paws. What an atrocious feeling. Her mind was in distaste as she looked around again. Off in the distance, coming closer to her, a rather large and red-speckled male was seen. Easily twice her size, she didn't cower at his image, yet. "Helloooo, sir, hi! I've seemed to have washed up on this shore and haven't a clue where I'm at," her tone is silky smooth as her lashes flutter, still a bit stuck together with salt. Disgusted with her image, she hoped he wouldn't judge her for appearing unsavory in these dire times.

Turning his head to look further down the stretch of beach, Hattori noticed a loner stumble ashore. A raft bobbed in the shallows, creaking beneath the strain of the waves as though it was about to fall apart at any moment. She was small and slim of frame, her body dappled with dark koi like markings. Close but not quite enough, as though something unwelcome had been added into the mix along the way. Notably a pair of ram horns coiled around her forehead, like curls of obsidian rising out of her skull. He'd been content to leave the "interaction" at a once over but when it was apparent she was coming over the Shogun's eyes narrowed.

What did she want? To ask questions it seemed.

Hattori stared, unblinking and thoroughly unimpressed by her little act. "Northern Boreas."

His expressions did not go unnoticed but they didn't bother her in the least. It was true that she was in quite the unruly state for the moment. Yet, his blazingly disinterested look made her want to scoff at him. Why would he wander a beach if he was not prepared to help someone in need? Pouting slightly to herself, Celeste looked inland where the terrain began to change. What an interesting place, much different than her original home. The gruff response given to her gave her no information whatsoever. Northern Boreas? Where in the world was that? Wrinkling her nose at him, she frowned. Did he need to have such a large stick up his butt? "Thanks for the information, I suppose," Celeste offers as she glances back over to mister moody pants. As she gives him her own once over, she does notice that is wonderfully handsome, but he's done nothing to want her to give him any sort of compliments. "If we got off on the wrong paw, I apologize. I'm Celeste Akizora, but I haven't gone by my traditional name in a long time," she offers with a shrug of her shoulders. Explaining why she went by a common name was a story for a different time.

Hattori blinked, knowing full well she'd been expecting more. Like a long monologue of information for her ears only, served up on a silver platter just because. Well tough luck. He'd been content to leave it at that, ignore her slight as though it was beneath him to even acknowledge, but she soon went onto apologise for her rudeness. Sort of, it seemed as though this was as close as she was willing to get.

The nature of her name gave him reason to pause, his ears flicking forward slightly as faint recognition lit up the pale of his gaze. Akizora. Autumn sky? Speakers of his native tongue were few and far between in this land, but perhaps his recognition of her koi-ish markings had not been a brazen assumption. Perhaps his senses were sharper than he knew. That or more and more wolves of his ilk were flocking to Boreas, leaving behind the land of the rising sun for a myriad of reasons. Far too many to count and none of his business.

"Are you from Nihon?" He asked in his native language, still remaining where he stood with an expectant gaze.

Celeste had not expected him to speak the native language. Her aquamarine eyes blinked a few times in surprise. Having just arrived on this forsaken land, her mind began to register what the words from his mouth asked. Was she from Nihon? Nihon. Nihon, oh yes. It was familiar. Her brain struggled to bring up memories of her short path. She was still young, but so much had happened, but so much was already forgotten. What had happened to her anyway? A confused expression crosses her before she nods slowly. "Hai, I come from Nihon," her words are slow and slightly choppy as she fights how to remember the words of her ancestors. Meeting his expectant gaze with glassy eyes of mystery, she tries her hardest to bring back the memories that had slipped away. "They took my memories," Celeste whispers in common tongue, unable to meet his gaze anymore. Looking out to the ocean where her raft lapped at a shallow shore, she frowns. Who was she?

She responded in his native tongue and clearly understood what he was saying, yet someone remained wish-washy all the same. Like she wasn't able to put much thought into it, as if there was nothing for her to fall back onto. Very strange. She went onto to claim someone had stolen her memories, speaking as if they were tangible things a person could steal and Hattori's eyes narrowed. Unsure of what she was getting at, if she wasn't speaking nonsense.

Following her line of sight, he eyed the creaking remains of the raft. It appeared it was all she had left, everything else gone and forgotten. It was a sad fate and yet Hattori had never been the overly empathetic sort, her problems were her own and not his.

"What does that mean?"

She did not blame him for his questioning looks in her direction. It was odd after all. To be walking this beach and to have a stranger from your own homeland wash up on shore upon a very questionable-looking raft. Her own eyes stared at it for a while with a tilting face before she sighed. One ear turned slightly in his direction as he spoke again in their native tongue. Steeling her nerves, she shrugged. "If I had an answer, I would tell you," her words became clearer, more familiar with the language as her foggy mind tried to search. Flickers of memories tickled at the edges of her brain as she squinted back at him. Looking at the larger wolf did not jog anything at the moment. "All I can really remember is my name and perhaps I was supposed to be important," Celeste ended there as she shivered against the ocean wind. I wish I knew myself. Her thought lingers in her mind as she shoots him her own quizzical look. Maybe she had heard of him, but she didn't even know his name.

So she had nothing to offer him? Just vague responses based on faded thoughts? If she was telling the truth the fault was not her own, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was a poor attempt to hold her cards close to her chest. To feign innocence when all else failed. He blinked slowly as she went on to admit she'd only just managed to hold onto her name, like it had been an uphill struggle with the risk of losing it all looming over her shoulder all the while. But despite all that she somehow still got the sense she was important. How presumptuous of her, though he didn't say as much.

"I see." He told her in a disinterested rumble. "And from what you can remember, do you recall any of our kind? With markings like ours?" It felt like a significant question to ask, to know whether more koi wolves were on the move. So far it had only been a manageable slow trickle, but what if things changed?

Celeste wondered for a moment if he even believed her. The way he looked and spoke to her with disinterest was annoying, but nonetheless, he was the first she'd come across. And it was unusually peculiar that he was the one to introduce her to this new land. Her eyes narrowed as he asked if she knew anyone that looked like him or her. Pausing, the small girl let silence stiffen between them as she tried to will her memories back into existance. A frustrated sigh leaves her lips as she turns to look at the raft again. Staring at it in concentration, something does begin to trickle back. "Yes, my whole family looks like us," her voice is quiet as fuzzy images of familiar wolves drive back into her mind. Most of them bigger than her, some of them adorning horns like him, and all of them in a myriad of colors ranging from black to white to red to gold. Nodding, Celeste looks back at the large wolf. "Maybe I inquire your name? Perhaps it will stir something in this blank mind of mine," she asks, hoping he will oblige.

She couldn't remember much but still somehow was more than familiar with koi-wolves? Hattori did not understand this girl, or her line of reasoning but ultimately decided he wouldn't dig any further. Lest they run the risk of talking in circles, a thought that almost made him grimace. If she was someone of import...he did not immediately recognise her coat pattern nor did he see any flecks of gold, suggesting she can't be all that important then.

Regardless, Hattori's ears twitched a little as she sought out his name. He saw no reason to deny her this.

"Hattori. Heir of Iga and Shogun of the Ashen Empire." Two titles he's never paid together till now and yet strangely it felt right, like he should have done this from the start.

Now there was a sentence that rang clear bells throughout her memory. Turning her chin back to look at the male standing in front of her, Celeste narrows her eyes slightly. "You were before my time," she murmurs, her voice soft but thoughtful. The Iga clan. Not necessarily the bestest of friends with her Akizora clan, but not the direst of enemies either. Her clan hadn't been the largest or most powerful, but at least she believed worthy of knowing. She was young, though, and to be groomed to become not a princess, but a spy. Celeste's eyes flutter quickly as her body freezes. Memories flood back to her in quick succession. She couldn't possibly tell him what she want meant to be doing here. What exactly, that she couldn't remember, but it wasn't to bring good tidings either. "Clans from Nihon wondered where some of the wolves were disappearing to," her voice is a bit shaky, but confident in the knowledge she provided. Pictures of her parents, a powerful warlord, an older sister deemed worthy of marrying into a much more powerful clan, and so much more. She wasn't meant to be important. Her small stature and bland coating would make it easier for her to slip into enemy territory. All the while, if she was caught, she could get away with the simple guise that she was a female lost on her way to a market. Much more believable than a sturdy male with a flashy coat. Eyeing Hattori cautiously, Celeste thinks for a moment. "I do not come here bearing ill will, but in search of a new life," she ends with that and a roll of her shoulders to ease the tension rising inside of her.

Before her time? The Shogun eyed her once more, noting the youthfulness in her frame and the naivety scrawled into her features, like words written on a page. Yes, Hattori supposed it would be, though he quickly found himself irked at the passage of time. That it was all moving so fast, like each day was in a race to overtake the last. Sometimes he found himself wishing it would all just slow down, give him a moment to think and process before the moment was lost. Till it all became late and irrelevant.

And yet there was talk of wolves leaving, fading into obscurity in a land unknown to most. Paired with the fact Raijin had not yet returned, her words spoke volumes, earning a slight frown as Hattori's brows furrowed in thought.

"Then may they keep wondering." Hattori concluded, as far as he was concerned the less they knew about Boreas the better. Her admission she was looking for a fresh start earned her a very lukewarm, disinterested response. Going through social formalities once again. "If that is true, Boreas is a good enough place for it." All things considered this land had served him well.

She still wasn't sure how what to think of Hattori. He was vague but maybe in a good way? Uncertainty riddled her expressions as she nodded slowly. Looking over the large male once more, she wondered if he would be willing to give her any more information. His lukewarm disinterest wasn't entirely offputting as she knew a lot of wolves could be as such. Shifting her weight into a more comfortable position, she hummed quietly under her breath. "Is there anywhere you could point me toward to start off in this new life?" Celeste asks carefully, still unsure if he would even respond in a helpful way. Maybe he wanted to keep her away since she too came from the land he was from. Or maybe he would invite her to meet others like him? Wouldn't that be best?

Hattori shot her a look. He could understand a newcomers curiosity, the urge to latch onto something or someone of vague familiarity, but she really was asking too many questions. What could he even say? He didn't know enough about her to point her in a true direction, nor did he care to wander about improving every loner's life that he came across. It sounded like far too much work and even if it wasn't, Hattori was the sort of man who minded his own. No ands ifs or buts.

"I do not know, this is something you should find out for yourself." Or in other words, stop asking me.

Okay, so asking another question hadn't been the right answer. Flicking her ears back, Celeste looks away from Hattori. "You are not wrong, I suppose," she responds with a gentle flick of her tail. Dipping her chin, mostly out of respect, in his direction, she turns away from the beastly man. Walking a few steps away, she looks back over her shoulder one more time with a smile. "Until next time," Celeste says with a wink before making her way toward a forested area not far off. In the back of her mind, she really does wonder if their paths will cross. Either way, she has hope for the future. -exit-