Khranbari steps were planted with purpose. He was overly agitated with the cream and tan woman. Having left him with Varushka to show her around. It annoyed him to no end. Not being ready to deal with that particular situation at hand. His face sketched into a scowl, he wandered the path leading to her place of solitude and rest. Asla's scent wafting from the very direction he trekked. A bear's coat keeping him warm from the frosted air as he went. Despite wanting to give her a piece of his mind in the way a brother would a sister. He had to remember that she still was his leader and she need not know of the soft he kept for her.

"Aslatiel." His voice dull when speaking out her name. Wrapped in a low growl to suppress his need to speak further out of place. He'd been doing so much of this and it fairly well shocked him. Bari was not one to speak. Silence became his best friend. A comfort to keep from saying things that lead to his beatings. This was not then. It was now. An affirmation he continuously told himself. For Valta was changing him.... Boreas shifted something. Asla opened a door and Varushka had entered with no warning. Nose flaring to expel a sigh of exhaustion, he stood in await of her presence. Eyes narrowed at the hallowed entrance.
"Speech"

Usually she was out doing thing but everyone had to rest at some point. Aslatiel had just laid down on the pile of furs that she and Indigo shared when a voice from outside summoned her. She noted that the voice sounded rather irritated. She also noted that the voice was Khrans. With a yawn and a long stretch, Asla rose once more and padded out of her den. The woman's amaranthine gaze rested on the monochromatic brute and she seated herself, tail curling around one striped hip. Grey ears shifted forward and she gave the man a grin. It was no secret as to why he was upset. He'd claimed that he didn't care about Varushka's joining, but it had obviously been a lie. Tasking him with seeing to the woman's comfort had been a test. A test of trust. Could he behave himself? Would he do anything that was asked of him? Asla needed to know that she could rely on him in all things. "Yes, Khranbari?" There was a look of amusement on her scarred face as she waited for him to air his grievances. No doubt she wouldn't have to wait long. "Speech"

His paw tapped impatiently as he awaited Aslatiel to reveal herself. The amount of irritation nipping at his insides making him pace back and forth. Stopping every so often to look at the dark mouth. Only to resume the motion. He should have stated his thoughts aloud on Varushka joining Valta. There wasn't a single argument he could present, however, on why she couldn't. What had the earthen woman really done to him? Besides leave Khranbari shortly after their moment of sleeping together? He snorted in annoyance. Tail swaying in agitation before he soon saw the cream and tan woman exit her home.

"I am a man of few words, Asla. Respect is all I have for you." The monochromatic male needed to state this first. He knew not what words would escape his mouth; but, he looked at her as more than just a leader. His actions clearly speaking this aloud. "Anyone else I wouldn't have cared to show them around. But her?" His throat felt dry as he spoke. "There are foreign emotions I need to shuffle through when it comes to Varushka. Please do not do that again." Liquid golds narrowed their gaze at Asla. Snatching his attention afterwards to look off in the distance.

"You needed to discuss something with me?"
"Khranbari Chah Fao"

It was clear that he was irritated but it didn't bother Asla at all. She would have been irritated if she'd been forced to work with someone that made her uncomfortable. Khran spoke of respect for her and the tawny fae nodded. He then continued stating that he had unresolved emotions tied to the new wolf, Varushka. Khranbari followed up by asking that she not do such a thing again. Interesting.

For a long moment, Aslatiel simply stared at the man, even when his gaze cut away. Amethyst eyes stayed locked on his face and eventually she spoke. "That was exactly why I ordered you to do it," she informed him. "I like you a great deal, Khranbari, but we are still new to one another." The fae's white tipped tail thumped once in the snow around her. "It was a test to see if you'll do what needs to be done for the sake of the pack despite your own feelings." The man was emotionally charged and intense. The test was justified for that reason alone.

"You showed her around. Did anything come of it? Work out any of those foreign emotions?" She used his wording and thrust it back at him. The seriousness in her gaze had shifted back to one of confident calm. She was inviting him to speak openly about his feelings and possibly work through them in the process.


"Speech"

"Yes. Things were admitted. No. Nothing came of it because I did not allow it." Khranbari felt a change inside of himself since coming to Boreas. The moment he met Varushka and the day he stepped into Valta, meeting Aslatiel, there was a shift. "This place has done something to me. The same as I have told Varushka." It was time to be honest with himself. To finally accept what was beginning to happen. He could continue to rage and throw unnecessary tantrums. Where would those lead them, though?

He came to take a seat. Just as Asla had done as they talked. "A test? For what exactly?" Bari tilted his head in question. Gaze now curious and full of silent waiting. If he were to accept this new attitude of his, he needed to be wholeheartedly open to doing so. It didn't mean that others would come to see this new and approved Khranbari. This was only the first step.
"Khranbari Chah Fao"

The man admitted that nothing came of his discussion with Varushka because he denied the emotions. Asla made a small sound of knowing in her throat and nodded. "You know, one who is a true master of themselves doesn't fear their emotions, they embrace them." Someone had told her the same once upon a time. She couldn't remember who, but she had always remembered the lesson. "Turn what you believe to be a weakness into a strength." The small fae gave a light shrug. "Or don't. The choice is yours."

After explaining that her task for him had been a test, Khranbari questioned her. Asla huffed lightly through liver-colored nares. "To see if you could be trusted to do it even if you didn't want to." One grey-toed paw raised and Asla inspected the retractable claws that pushed from her toes. "Any high standing member of a pack is subject to doing things that they don't particularly want to do. If you decide to ask for a promotion, then this previous task won't be the last time that you'll do some undesirable task." Did he get it?

"Aslatiel Indarra"

He let her words sink in. Their components easily burying inside of his mind until words were able to form a response. "I will be grateful for whatever rank you bestow upon me." He turned fully to look at Asla. Her attention solely on the unsheathed claws pushed from their holdings. "May I be granted this promotion?"

Khranbari was no full and took heed in what she was hinting to. If he wished to be anything more than a mere member, he needed to open his mouth and ask. This is what he wanted. What was planned from the beginning and yet, it did not feel the same. Neither bad nor good. The monochromia male could not place a paw on what it was. He simply chose to ignore it for now and talk to Varushka about it later. Varushka. He wondered if she'd settled in to his den. Had she made it her own? Added a few touches to their... to his place? A tug at his heart caused him to cough out briefly. Such a reaction strange in the thought of it being their den. Not just his alone. "I will see what becomes of the earthy woman and I. Until then, I am focused on more important things."
"Khranbari Chah Fao"

"Aslatiel" Khran didn't seem surprised about the offer of a rank, but he did go on to ask for the promotion. "I'll advance you to Raitas for now. The hunters rank. Keep working on your skills and showing me that I can fully rely upon you and you'll move higher still." Asla had little doubt that he would try to do just that. He seemed the determined sort and that was fine and dandy with her. She was also the determined sort. A laugh pulled from Aslatiel as Khranbari spoke of seeing how things went with Varushka. 'Important things,' he said. The clawed paw that she'd been inspecting moments before reached out and rested on the grey brute's shoulder for a moment. "YOU are an important thing," She gave him a light, friendly push. "Make sure that you take care of yourself as well." She was more than capable of taking care of the pack without his help, but she much preferred having him around. "Without taking care of yourself, you can't take care of others. Remember that." One amethyst eye gave a little wink accompanied by a smile.

Khran had been listening as Asla spoke. It was when she'd pushed him that he gave her a look of confusion. What did he do? There was no need for him to be punished when they'd only spoken. Was it because he stepped out of line? Something in him nearly snapped. His tail threatened to tuck. His ears quivered to fight off being pinned against his skull. This was not there. She was not them. A whine managed to slip free as he took a few steps back. Gaze dropped for only a second; before, finding its way back to Asla's face. Hoping she hadn't noticed the shift in his demeanor. The monochromatic male left that side of him back on the lands of Japan. They'd died from his teeth. Never to return.

YOU are an important thing. This was beginning to become too much for him. He wanted to end this quickly and escape to corners of elsewhere. Anywhere but here. "Thank you, Asla." Khran cleared his throat. Returning his voice back to its original state. Having not realized that it sounded quite odd and off-putting. "I will take your words with great heed. I must go, however." He didn't wait to be dismissed. With a bow, he turned and walked off in the direction he'd come. So many emotions to work through and a past to bury once more.

/Exit
"Khranbari Chah Fao"