Of all the time that he had spent in the northern territories, he had never really been north- other than the one sweep through with Sephiran when they were much younger. But now as they stood on the threshold of founding whatever version of a kingdom the Saxe prodigy had in mind, they could use some more thorough intelligence on what lay between the Armada and the coastline. The Polar Sound was comfortable for the most part, but was it where they wanted to set up a permanent operation? It wasn’t something that they could be certain of just yet. Thus it was agreed upon that he would take a few days to skirt the neighboring pack for a scouting mission. Gather what pertinent information he could- if there was any- and report back his findings. However, he wasn’t expressly ordered to go alone. While Seph seemed to have other matters to attend to that kept him in place, Aresenn had made the executive decision to inform Absinth that she had been volunteered to tag along. She didn’t need to know it was for the benefit of his own selfish interest.

Aresenn made his way toward the heart of their temporary, unclaimed territory in order to call for his ward. Wherever spot she had picked to shelter in, he had specifically never sought it out. She was stuck in a limited range, he didn’t want to invade whatever privacy she had managed to secure for herself. But of course, if she ever gave him a reason to have to hunt her down~ he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth’s pursuit of happiness- or rather- excitement had left her with quite the few scrapes and bruises. Her ear had a few, tooth shaped notches in it, and her lip kept bleeding due to the cold reopening the little love bite Yarrabelle had given her. It was really annoying. It had been exhilarating in the moment- she supposed. But at the end of the day none of the wounds were battle scars; they were more akin to the marks given to a whore. At least in her mind. Ugh. It left her with a need for vengeance in a sense, or at least the need to have some actual fucking wounds and not these superficial bitch shit ones. Just as she was sneering to herself in displeasure, there came a call. One that elicited a grin of delight from her immediately, and sent her on her way towards the summons of her warden.

As she came to slow down on her brisk pace, she approached Aresenn with a rumbled greeting and a smirk. He looked like he was doing good. She hadn’t set her eyes on him for some time; so the fiery boy was a very appealing sight. “Did you finally decide to be honest about wanting my company?” She drew closer, glancing around them for a moment in case there was a bear, or Sephiran, or some other dangerous explanation as to why he’d called. When she found none she returned her emerald gaze to him, and cocked her head to the side in questioning.

wormwood

It didn’t take her long to manifest in his proximity. Upon her approach, he flicked an ear in acknowledgment, though his amber gaze couldn’t help but get lost in her familiar curves- how did he still keep getting himself lost in them, though? He didn’t notice the newly acquired wounds of her’s at first, but in the end, he saw them plainly enough. The notches in her ear- the dried blood on her lip. He couldn’t deny that there was a part of himself that wanted to taste it. “I suppose you could say that.” He answered with that one-sided smirk of his. “But it’s not without ulterior motive.” He continued to add, not wanting to inflate her ego too much. Perhaps there could have been several different intentions behind his open sentiment, but rather than leading her to them- she was a smart girl, he didn’t have to- he’d move on to the actual purpose of the summons.

Clearing his throat, he went on. “We have been instructed to go on a scouting trip along the northern side of the Armada’s territory.” As the words rolled off his tongue, he wondered if she had ever been that way before. He knew enough to keep himself oriented, but this wasn’t just hasty search. Sephiran wanted details- and details he would have.

"Aresenn Praetor"

At Aresenn’s playful- if you could call it that- answer she felt a quiver run through her lips, renewing her grin in that unsettling manner she could not control. Her next words she purred as she drew closer to her friend.  “Mmm, doesn’t everyone have ulterior motives? I certainly do.” Emeralds drifting lasciviously across the waves of red, ginger, and brown that made up his coat. Now, he could take it at face value due to her consistent spoken desire for his fur- or glimpse the growing hunger for him that she kept just beneath the surface of her facade. She didn’t bother much to worry about how it came off, since he did enjoy saying he was not clever. How far did that dullness go? It was tempting to find out…

But they had matters to attend to; so she would be on her best behavior- mostly. Depends on your own personal preference. Her best might just be a touch higher than your opinion of impertinent. “Sounds like an absolute dream. Tell me, What fuckery do they pledge in Armada?” With one brow raised Absinth shot her question at him with a sneer. She wondered if they were the type of pack to help the homeless and spread good will on earth- or if they were actually something more interesting in nature. Either way- it sounded like they were formidable enough to scout, the question was what sort of consequences might they get themselves into stalking around an established pack's borders?

wormwood

Her voice- the meaning layered in her words. She was dangerous. He couldn’t help but wonder if she intentionally weaponized her allure. “I would expect no less.” Aresenn answered lowly, holding her invested stare as she overlooked himself in a very similar way to how he had for her. He remained still, lingering in the moment of sudden closeness before continuing on.

Absinth took the news of their orders rather well. Pressing for more information about the Armada in response. He immediately thought of Andromeda at the moment. Most of his impression of them came from her- but the brief exchanges he had with Sirius Fatalis made him think that she was not an accurate indication of the whole of her massive family. “I don’t know much about them.” He answered honestly. “They maintain a public marketplace though- it’s supposed to be neutral territory.” He supposed that was probably what they were most known for. He himself hadn’t ever really spent much time there … having been kicked out on the front doorstep. “I say supposed to because Sephiran merely looked at the Warlord’s daughter in a way that he immediately got his ass kicked for it- and mine for being in close proximity to him.” It was amusing to think about now- they had been much younger then. He smirked at the thought. Though, now with his investment in Andromeda, he couldn’t say he blamed the massive brute. Aresenn was keenly aware of how quickly he would defend the girl against Sephiran in the event he ever had to. But that was Andy. She was tough, sure. But she led with her heart and lacked any sort of grit against those who wished to do her harm.

His current company, he held no such concern for.

Blinking away that particular line of thought, Aresenn continued. “Anyways. We can talk more about it along the way.” It wasn’t necessarily about the Armada, as it was investigating territory of interest. But if they happened upon some valuable information concerning the behemoth pack, he wouldn’t ignore it. Looking at Absinth then, he motioned her on. “Grab your shit- anything you can’t live without for a couple of days, and meet me at the entrance of the valley.” He didn’t know if she carried anything with her. Though, in preparing to be gone for a few days, there were a few provisions that he wanted to take along to make traveling a bit easier. Offering a brief nod in a momentary farewell, he turned on his heels to go gather the supplies off the short list he was making up as he went along.

-Exit unless stopped-
"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth enjoyed their standoff of wills- if you could call it that. There was a palpable tension in the air, and she rather hoped it was obvious. All the better. She reveled in it. But the topic at hand would come first before any fun.

She nodded in acknowledgement as he began to share his experience with the Armada. It was an interesting thing, their control of a neutral ground dubbed the market place. She would have to visit to see for herself just how much influence they held… As she pondered this, her companion clued her in on a significant bit of information. So. They were already at odds with such a powerful pack? Leave it to Sephiran to make enemies before even claiming his own territory. “‘Merely looked’? Oh Aresenn. A look can be so little, but it can hold everything.” Men. It did draw a chuckle out of her though, thinking about him and Sephiran being thrown out by their scruffs. She was sure Sephiran had gazed at the daughter with such a perverted expression; she wagered the Warlord was well within his rights to ban them.

Absinth nodded again as he mentioned talking more during travel, and she moved to make her own preparations as he did.

[Exit Absinth]

wormwood