The morning was bright, and with summer waning they were getting cooler. In these early hours the boy was awake, in the midst of the tall grass of the Dancefloor, moving slowly. Today he had a mission, and though he moved at a slower pace than most he did move a bit faster than his own usual one. His bright eyes were searching for her -- Katja -- the one who ran the pack that now resided in his home. The boy had been sleeping in a den away from his usual one, and had not slept incredibly well, but it got him rested enough to open his eyes, get up, and function. Now, if he was the leader of a new pack, what would he be doing? The boy would think about it. He was intelligent, far more for a child his age. The dreams he had at night were what the boy believed to be the cause of that. Being shown things in the shadowy realm. It was like the true Thanatos was guiding him, syncing with his spirit. The boy was unafraid. But, though he was unafraid, he was still not one to get out of his norm so easily. So he would search, his soft pawsteps making the grass move just a bit, as if some smaller creature moved within. Walk "Talk" Think

She made it a point to be as aware of the Olympus captives' movements the best that she could. She would likely need to assign watchers to guard them - even if the pups didn't try to escape she would not doubt the Olympians would trespass in an attempt to spirit them away in a cowardly fashion. As much as she hated Virgil, she could not deny that at least the woman faced her problems head on, but she could not trust the shadowy bitch to do the same. It had been Helios Olympus to face her in the challenge and she respected him for that, but he had also sought to impose his will over her pack despite his own submission and that made his honor less clear. Her vengeance would not be simply snatched away by a cowardly thief, without honor. The pups would need watching. That was why as one of the younger pair of Olympus pups stalked her, Katja was also stalking him through the lush grass of the plain - a place she'd been startled to learn after taking it from Olympus was known as the Dancefloor of the Gods... perhaps a sign that this was the gods' will, or perhaps a coincidence. Soon no doubt the pup would be tiring of this long search, and she had other things she could be doing rather than follow one small wolf around the whole of Yfir, so rather than continue following his trail she silently circled around to seat herself in his path. If he continued the way he was going he would find her quickly enough. ""

Pup or not, one thing could be said about Thanatos was that, for his slow pace, he had endurance and patience. He could have continued to follow the trail all over Yfir, seeking the silver ticked, black wolfess, and it would have bothered him little. He would have given it credit to her being busy, an alpha, rather than the fact she too stalked him through the grasses of the dancefloor. But soon his search would come to an end, and teal eyes would fall upon the woman sitting there directly in his path. It was then Thanatos realized she knew he had been following her. He would come closer, so that his quiet voice might be heard, and he looked up at her with an unflinching gaze. Where his other siblings might have looked upon this woman with hate, with anger, he did not. Yes his family had lost his home to her, yet at the same time she had done it by proper protocol and laws of the world. She challenged and won. The mistake, it seemed, was claiming the Olympus children tied to his mother. But there were reasons all did what they did. ?You... Know I... Followed.? His words would come out slow and quiet, surely, but they held strength in their low tone. He was not flinching away. He would slowly recline on his haunches, able to face her one on one. It was better this way. ?...You challenged... Olympus... For a... Deeper reason... Didn?t you?? A brow would lift, and the intelligent boy would wait for the Drottning to regard him. How much would she tell the youth, however? Walk "Talk" Think

The boy found her as expected of him, and came before her with no sign of fear. He spoke, his words slow. "Yes," she answered him simply. She did not ask why, trusting he would come to that, and he did begin to speak again in his slow manner. She focused thoughtfully on him as his question became clear. He wanted to know why. She chose her words carefully, though she had little reason to impress him. Still, as a child she would have been offended to have her cares and questions swept away with no explanation offered, so she would make the effort. "Our cultures are... different. We put priority and emphasis on very different things. To you, perhaps it is knowledge, or family, or helping others that means most to you. To my culture it is the call to battle, the exploration, the acquisition of wealth and trading. Perhaps your people would consider it somehow wrong, distasteful, but we consider the lazy softness of the wolves here to be as such. I challenged for your pack because the gods bid me to build a pack and so I sought the one pack from whom taking power would be a pleasure rather than simply a duty. The challenge itself was duty to my family and my gods, for it is always the way of it that the strong lead." She fell silent to study him through slitted eyes. "Taking you and your siblings was vengeance... a weregild for your mother having taken the Xanilovs from their home. To my culture such a thing is honorable - forgiveness is weakness, the strong seek vengeance for wrongs done." It was a lot to drop on a pup so young but Katja saw no reason to coddle him or dumb it down even if the parents in this land did. Children his age in her culture would already be training. Besides, it did not matter one way or another, she was not trying to convince the child of anything. She was simply answering his question. "No doubt you were hoping for a reason more in line with what you have been taught is honor," she added dryly. ""

As Katja began to explain he would listen, trying to come to understand what it was that drove her. His heart lay in family ties, and keeping them safe. But she was a woman of battle, of wanting to wage war and such. They longed to be far more active in the art of conquest than his own family, who seemed content in what they owned alone. When she sought a pack to take it was more than simply wanting to hurt his family, but she wanted to do more than simply take a pack who needed a proper ruler. Thanatos remained silent, his bright eyes focused upon her. Vengeance. He would close his eyes, brow furrowing some as he began to think. It was a move to strike his mother, yes, but because another wrong had been done in Katja?s eyes. It seemed too that this woman had cared greatly for the other children that had been unjustly taken. He would open his eyes, shaking his head. Perhaps she thought he didn?t understand, but he understood enough. ?You did... As your gods wanted... And... What you felt... Was the... Right path.? His eyes shown some, a bit more at ease. ?My siblings... Hurt... And that isn?t... Completely right... Either.? He would frown some, watching her. ?Would it... Not be more... Simple... To strike... The one... At fault directly?? While he understood his mother had been gone, was it so honorable to attack those who had nothing to do with the pain caused? Walk "Talk" Think