Her family had lived here once, her Grandfather, Grammy and Oki too. It felt weird to see it so quiet, cause when she imagined the Ashen Empire it seemed sprawling and grandiose, more empirey then...well empty beaches with nothing but the cooing of birds and the rolling waves to fill the silence. She knew she was royalty by blood and loved the idea of it, but maybe too much time had passed or the collapse of the empire had made it all lose its gleam. Her characters were important, cool and competent, but Maki didn't feel that way. Even Delphi was a queen, even if she didn't wear the title, she was following in their Grammy's footsteps close enough that the shoe fit- if wolves wore shoes of course.

She came across a coconut half buried in the sand, it looked kickable- so she did just that and instantly regretted it. Let out a squeal, like a poked pig.

Erik had filled him on the downward spiral of Vidarr upon Tenshi’s death. Though he wasn’t as close to Vidarr as he was to Hattori, Akito still felt a sense of… fatherly bond with the man. Figuring he should probably say his goodbyes while he could, Akito set north to Fenrir’s Maw. He was already in the north of Auster when he’d happened upon his brother so the journey the rest of the way wouldn’t be so terrible.

Missing the comfort and humidity of the bamboo, Akito attempts a shortcut through the archipelago. The cluster of islands provided a breeze and cool warmth that felt more like home. Rising with the sun and hoping to finish the last leg of his journey that day, he was surprised to see a familiar form not far down the beach.

Akito watches Maki for a moment until he hears her yelp loudly. Being the diligent warrior that he is, Akito makes quickly strides toward her. “Maki, are you okay?” He asks once he’s within speaking distance, grey eyes looking her over to see where the pain would be emanating from.

"speech"

Hopping up and down-as if that would alleviate the pain- Maki whipped around, had been so caught up in the moment and hadn't noticed Akito approach at all. That habit of hers would probably bite her in the butt at some point, not that she'd know it. It felt like it had been forever since she'd seen Akito though, he hadn't changed much at all, maybe filled out some, gotten more muscular? Maybe not to the hunky extent of the characters in her stories but- aye aye, Maki probably shouldn't do that, he was a friend and very much real!

"I-er yeah!" She turned to face him, limping and staggering a little as she put weight on her sore foot. Nothing was broken, a bruise at worst. She really ought to know better, what a surprise that she'd hurt herself kicking something hard. "I kicked the coconut cause it looked kickable and yeah- it weren't. It's been...forever." Since she'd seen him, or it felt like it at least.

Akito stands patient and silent as she whirls around, regarding his presence. Was she…staring? His eyes narrow ever so slightly in question. True, it had been some time since they had seen each other, but it wasn’t like they had changed. She still very much looked like Maki, just more mature. Was it not the same for him? He finds humor in her words, grey eyes drawing down to the paw that she sets down upon the sand. At least it wasn’t broken. Her last statement though draws his gaze back up, bringing an agreeing nod out of Akito. “Yes, it has been,” he comments, shifting his weight, feeling slightly awkward. “How have you been holding up?” Akito questions, hoping this was the sort of thing he was supposed to be asking?

"Good!" She cheeped, tippy-tapping at the sand with her front paws, shame she didn't have kitty claws cause she'd definitely be a kneader. "Been workin' on my stories and tryna meet new people, Dad said I need to put myself out there some more." And he hadn't even said it in a rude or pushy way, just a gentle nudge in the right direction.

A lot had changed, wolves who had always been around in the background were...starting to not be. Made her head and heart hurt sometimes.

"My family used to live here, was the Ashen Empire yanno? My grammy is-was an Empress, think that makes me a princess or something. You really should bow to me." She grinned, all teeth, all mirth-knew she was being a pest.

Coming from Tojo-Kai, Akito is not well adjusted to the chipper and exuberant behavior of Maki. Her delightful tippy tappy of her paws is meet with stoic gaze and a minuscule raise of the brow. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the emotions that swirled inside of him as she explained that she was getting out into the world and meeting other wolves.

“Stories?” Akito questions, focusing on that instead. Prodding in only a way that Akito could.

When she explains that her family used to live here and her grandmother was an Empress, Akito nods. He had been given a history lesson or two from Hattori so the empire was not unknown to him. He does regard her in a slightly confused and awkward way. Was she truly expecting him to bow or was she joking? Her expression was a bit jumbled, he was never good at reading others.

“Hattori adopted me recently. Does that make me a prince?” He questions, the best sort of cheeky jab he could present to her. Of course, he didn’t know if Maki knew who was Hattori was or how he related to the Ashen Empire.