Araxina bounded down the thin bridge from the mainland to the ring of icy ebony peaks. The spring rains barely warmed the snow cloying to the stark ridges against the sky. Clumsy white paws reached the darkened sands and sparse evergreen island. Molten golden eyes looked up and up and up as the toothy peaks scraped against the sky. What was on the other side?

A bound and a flop as she tripped over her own puppy feet, then continued to roll over and use her momentum to continue on her explorative dashing about. Nose to the ground sniffing all the new smells of this island.

Walking along the perimeter of the Hebridean Sheep corral, Sephiran is testing the enclosure for weaknesses, ensuring his collection of sheep cannot escape his domain. An occasional alarmed bleat resonated from a sheep, alarm coursing through their bodies as a predator lingered just out of their ring of safety. But Sephiran had no interest in harming the herd- he’d commanded Azoula to collect them, after all - to build them an enclosure so they could harvest their wool and horns. They were another resource for him to exploit and use-. His. His. His.

Content with his inspection, Sephiran begins a patrol of the evergreen forest, peering over the drop-offs to view the rocky shoreline below. A small figure catches his eye- he can’t depict who it is from this distance, but he’s aware of their presence nonetheless.

"Sephiran Saxe"

Xina's looking around has her spy a natural trail through the grand sharp slopes. She dashes up it, stone stairs taking her up to a higher elevation. She passes a few spindly young evergreen trees as she nears the crest of the path. The sound of bleating alarmed sheep catches her wandering attention and she stops, setting her dark ears on a swivel. The sound came from... up? Araxina looks up along the slopes, a cliff edge high over her head. She didn't see any sheep but she did see a large form of a wolf there. She narrows her eyes and in the sun she barely catches a brilliant shade of purple. Are they spying on her? Ew.

She's been told not to stick her tongue out at strangers, and she bites it to keep from doing just that. Instead, she picks up her pace and races to the top of the path. The narrow steps were choked with loose stones and green bushes. A thin layer of snow covered the rock shelves around her.

For several moments, the Sultan observes the tiny silhouette on the beach, analyzing their movements as they traveled across the rocky terrain. They are quick to find the stone trail that would guide their way up the mountainside, leading them to the evergreen forest at the dome of the volcano.

Cocking his head slightly, Sephiran’s mind is churning, a contemplative expression replacing his previous look of indifference. Whose child might this be? It was a pup no doubt, given the size- but whether it was one of his, one of Absinth’s, or one of Elysia’s was yet to be told. As he contemplated, his claws tapped rhythmically against the ground, restless energy simmering within his gut. If this was one of his own, he’d make a point to torment them. To make them stronger, to instill fear, to morph them into a proper Saxe warrior as his father had done with him.

"Sephiran Saxe"

She crested the path. Her golden eyes hungrily drank in the scene of the pool within the dome, the evergreen trees thicker and more forested. What had created this strange formation? The air was warmer against her face here as she approached the overlook to the large pool below at a more cautious pace. Why was the air warmer here?

Her paws clicked over the dark stones a few paces, wondering if she could make her way down into the center of this strange circular island. As she stopped she heard the clicking continue on without her own paws. An echo? She looked around and saw the vibrant purple stranger making their way toward her. She furrows her ebony and golden brow. Wasn't there something she should know about an adult that was bright purple? He reminded her of her Not-Brother Zagan... She stands suspiciously as he approaches.

The silhouette was sauntering closer, revealing more of their appearance to the Sultan. They - no, she- is a patchwork of crimson and ebony, accents of ivory adorning her paws but for the most part, she is red. An Aresenn child, no doubt. Each step was tentative yet eager, her small paws navigating the carpet of fallen leaves and stones, fading in and out of the shadows created by the towering evergreens. Shafts of light pierced through the thick foliage, illuminating her sleek, velvety coat.

Hmm. What should Sephiran do with this one?

There were many options; he could ignore her existence entirely, or, he could pursue her. Test her. Mmm, the thought made his posture grow more erect, his shoulders squaring, his muscles coiling with tension. Perhaps they could play a little game. With a predator’s grace, Sephiran stalked forward, each step deliberate, purposeful, as he directly approached the girl.

As he closes the distance, his presence fills the space around them, shifting the very air they breathe, lacing it with a palpable sense of danger. "Little girl,” He croons, his eyes locking on hers with chilling intensity. “Who are you?” His head cocks slightly to the side, a curious look contorting his features- but his oppressive aura gives insight into the ploys forming inside of his mind - of the depravities that consumed every fiber of his being.

"Sephiran Saxe"

Her golden eyes narrowed as he stalked unabashedly toward her. His paws carefully moved over the ground with a swallowing presence that intrigued her.

He towered over her. She was used to adults towering over her, but he was looming and towering with an emphatic weight over her. She didn't flinch. She didn't balk. She didn't take step back or lower her gaze. But something told her she definitely furtively should. She curbed and swallowed a huff as her space was invaded by his intense mismatched eyes boring through her flesh as if he could see her bones. She really needed to pay more attention to what her parents were telling her about the purple-y ones, this one in particular.

He asked for her name in a voice that sent a weird taste to her mouth. Something metallic and slimy. She didn't want to give away that she didn't know exactly who he was. He didn't know exactly who she was but at least he was curious when the other... Kaino had just told her to go away. This one approached her.

Her golden eyes of molten metal carefully assessed him and she tilted her head back to answer him.
"I'm Araxina Praetor-Inferos. You're purple like Zagan." She stated, trying her best to keep her lip from curling. Her voice was naturally impetuous and defiant in tone, she didn't know how to soften it like her mama and Sera yet. Her tiny little heart thrummed in her chest. She had never yet felt how dangerous an adult could be, even after her meeting with Kaino, but this one somehow held her paws fast to the ground with just his gaze better than her father did.

Those unrelenting, defiant amber eyes were just like her Father’s- slightly narrowed, not out of anger, but clear, resolute intensity, swirling with determination and resistance. The conveyance of her refusal to back down, an expression of stubborn resolve, the impression of mental fortitude. Sephiran was familiar with that look.

But a child, especially one her age, could not truly possess these traits. Fear was an innate sense, gifted to them at birth; it would serve as a guide in her early months of life, as she would struggle to learn her place in the hierarchy.

No matter how steadfast she appeared, how unbreakable she may have seen herself. Sephiran had a way of worming beneath the skin of others, of imprinting himself on their brains and festering in their being until there was nothing left. Aurelia. Aurelia. Aurelia. Children were not spared. Nor his family. In Sephiran’s world, every creature was at risk of becoming a victim to fear.

“Araxina.” He says, rolling her name across his tongue, tasting it, savoring it. “Araxina Praetor-Inferos.” There’s an emphasis on her surname as it drips from his maw; a patronizing quality that dismisses its importance. Because she is not a Saxe. “Mmm, Zagan.” He croons, paws shuffling beneath him, his tail lashing out as he begins to slowly circle the girl- analyzing her, taking in every inch, forming an assessment that he would commit to memory. "He is ‘purple’, like me.” A short pause, as a cocks a brow at her.“Because he is my son.” If her resolve kept her planted in place, Sephiran would have completed a full circle by now. “And do you know who I am, Araxina?” His tone suddenly grows sharper, his voice higher and more clipped. There is a flash of sharp teeth, his lips curling inward, as he takes on a smile devoid of warmth.

Absinth, in all of her Motherly glory, had sworn to protect her children- assumably, she taught them who their Sultan was?

"Sephiran Saxe"

Pups were typically born with an innate sense of fear. It helped them survive and gave them natural protection. Unfortunately for the little demoness of the Praetor-Inferos type... She did not have that luck. Fear had to be taught to her, and she knew that fear as respect. A respect for water, a respect for Zagan, a respect for her father and mother. After the incident with Kaino, her parents had tried to drill into her head the knowledge of each Saxe...

He said her name... As if he was tasting a delectable treat while she felt the need to tuck her chin down and cover her throat. She eyed him warily as he circled her and repeated her name. She stood stock still and let her eyes keep him in view, turning her head subtly to look behind her as he circled her. The way he spoke her name again and let her surname drip off his tongue gave her a flicker of a curled lip snarl that she subdued before it forced itself out. It was more like a flinch of the lip.

As Araxina grows she will have the power and agility to match her willful spirit. Even now in her puppy roundedness, she was lean and bracing for her next move. Her tail twitched to expel overtaught energy as she stood before him.

Her eyes met his with a hint of skepticism when he admitted his son was Zagan. Her charcoal ears flicker as she hears the caw of one of her mother's ravens in one of the nearby trees. An answering croak from the polar sound let Araxina know her parents knew exactly where she was. But she was being tested here, and she would not let them down.

She was silent as he sharply asked her the question of whether she knew who he was. Fuck. She ran her tongue over the inside of her teeth. There were... six? No-four? Shit... a small number of Saxe men she needed to be wary of. The highest ranked was... Fenalli? Ferizan? Sephickiel? None of thooooose. She flashed her tail behind her in frustration.

She dared to blurt whatever came to mind. "Sezian Saxe. theSultineer." She replied boldly, keeping her tiny ebony chin to her black ruby throat. A white shattered heart marking over her chest. Recalling names was never her forte. But she was never wrong.