If he were being honest with himself, and her, he would have to admit that he had no earthly clue where he was going. However, that truth would likely scare her and so he hadn't come to the point of admitting it just yet. Besides, the earth had no end and so it wasn't as if they'd fall off into oblivion, right? A sigh drifted from his lips as he found that his paws were getting tired and very, very sore. It was hot here, and he felt his fur clinging to his skin uncomfortably. He knew Miliani was probably not having the time of her life either, but he didn't see a brighter side anywhere he looked. He continued to pace onward, a particularly sharp, jagged rock finding a sensitive crevice in his right front paw. He yelped out in pain, instinctively drawing his paw up close to his body. A droplet of blood stained the earth below him, then another, and another. A whine escaped his lips as he looked down at his 'attacker', nosing the rock abruptly out of his path. "Ouch," he let loose, a frown drawing the two half circles inside his eyes closer together. A tear threatened to fall from his eyes, but he blinked it away, looking off into the distance to ensure his sister didn't see his pain. "Why don't we rest for a minute," he choked out before lapping tenderly at his injured paw. It wasn't the nicest of places to wait, as they were in the open and extremely vulnerable, but he knew that it wouldn't be wise to expose his paw to the dirt for a while until the wound clotted. He watched as droplet after droplet of his blood slowly fell and seeped into the rocky terrain. He continued to hold his paw up close to his chest and peered around to see what his sister was doing.

Her trip through the lands of Alacritis had done little to completely cool her anger and anxiety over the confrontation with Neios, though her encounter with the silly young man at the end of it had forced her to tamp down on it. She'd made her way back north, but once more bypassed Imperium lands to head to the battlefield. She wasn't ready to see Valen and the kids, wasn't in the right frame of mind to treat them the way they deserved to be treated. Maybe she just needed to work off a bit of her roiling emotions in a fight.

But from the moment she entered the bloodwatered field she was aware of their presence. Children, too young to be on their own and yet here alone. Abandoned? Or runaways? At first she skirted around them, out of sight so they would remain out of mind. But it didn't take long before she turned back toward them.

Why? Maybe it was the way her own recent abandonment echoed the one in her childhood, dredging up memories of fear and loneliness she wished would stay forgotten. Maybe it was the way the boy took such care with the girl, something she'd never had and never would with a brother like Neios. Even before he'd gone off the deep end he was possessive, not caring. Not like this boy.

So she found herself before the pair, and she slowly lowered herself to her belly to look less threatening. "Are you all right?" she asked, keeping her voice low and soothing as she often had with her own children when they'd gotten into some scrape or other. "This isn't a good place for children to be. Do you need help getting back home?" Yeah, right. If they had a home would they be sitting in the middle of a battlefield?

it was as if a million tiny pin-pricks had been pressed upon her paw pads, every step was agony, torturous and tiring, but shaw put on a great show of appearing as if he didn't feel the weight of their travels. ever the mindful little sister she tried to keep her whining silent, and like her brother attempted to show as little of her discomfort as possible - with an expression obviously flushed with exhaustion, but trying to seem content with the situation, the bundle toddled after shaw slowly and without complaint. as she frequently did, the girl had become untethered from her earthly pegs, and her mind began to engulf her - like icecream the trees melted away and a sea of red began to lap at her paws, rabbits with coats of cotton hopped around her head and her mismatched eyes grew wide at the sight of it all; she almost felt like giggling.

just as she was about to greet an approaching herd of winged deer, a pained yelp carved a crack in her other-worldly adventures. miliani's attentions turned to her sibling with a curious compassion, but she was allowed no answers as his face turned and he hid his pain from her. unconvinced and intrigued by the tangy scent of blood the girl chirped indignantly, and moved to try and nuzzle her little head into the softness of his neck, a gentle attempt at comforting him.

her silence remained as he suddenly suggested resting, but a rush of relief enveloped her completely. she had no problems with the place they'd chosen to take a break in, unlike shaw she was unaware of vulnerability and exposure to the fangs of hostile creatures and disease, she was simply content to be off her feet. she slumped in a fluffy heap beside her brother, her eyes watching him closely as the world around her flashed in a rainbow of colors, "shaw, are you hurt?" she watched as drops of red fell to the ground below him and she waited for him to confirm the obvious and allow her support. "a kiss can make it better."

but silence captured the child once again as a most puzzling specimen approached her - it was a woman, her eyes opposites just as hers were and her coat glimmering as if it were a deep violet. words such as mischief and strength bounced around in the girl's head as the stranger crouched before them, and miliani's curiosity was sparked almost instantly. intrigued and eager to discover more the child fidgeted beside her brother, but she remained silent as she waited for shaw to lay his judgement.

shaw may enter any of miliani's threads.

The man had already been in the battlefield when he caught sent of the two young pups and adult female. When he had arrived here he hadnt know whether he was here to bandage up the wounded or to get into a fight that was guaranteed to get him killed. The first question to come to mind had been as to why a mother and her two pups were within the battlefield.

The next thought that hit him had the man trotting to where their scents were comeing from. He was glad that hee had decided to keep hurbs that could be made into bandages...though he hoped they wouldnt need anything more than that as he hadnt been hurb hunting in a while.

At his arrival relief had filled him, no one had been injured aside from a small cut on the boy's paw. As he drew closer however a further inspection combind with what he caught the woman say...they were clearly not mother and children. He would stand a short distance aaway for a short amount of time so that he could assess the situation to the best of his ability before moving to where they could see him.

He would set down what herbs he had carried with him to great all of them and offer a minor bandage. "Hello, do you want a bandage for that?" his voice would be as soft and soothing as his deep voices would allow.

"I'll be fine," he managed through gritted teeth. He was hurt but there was no sense in frightening her. He would get over it soon enough, though he imagined his paw would be sore for at least the rest of the day. It would be even more of a struggle to hide his discomfort in their travels now that he was injured. He breathed in slowly and deeply, ignoring the pain and her insistence that a kiss would make it better. He swiveled his soot stained muzzle toward her, softening his features as he responded kindly but firmly. "No thanks." Eyes of amethyst pivoted away from her at once as he noticed movement not far away from them. A woman was approaching them, her posture low and rather unthreatening. His brow wrinkled skeptically as he watched her come nearer, asking him if he was alright. He shook his head, but made no sound - still eying her as if she might morph into a pup-eating monster. She had lowered herself to her belly, which relaxed him ever so slightly, but he couldn't figure out why she was talking to them in the first place.

Oh that's right, they were pups. Alone. In the dust.

'This isn't a good place for children to be. Do you need help getting back home?' Uh well yes, that would be nice, if home still existed. He leaned into his sister, attempting to reassure her and keep as close to her as possible. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. "We don't have a home," he started, but wasn't satisfied with how that sounded or how it made them look. "We aren't from here." That sounded better somehow, like they had some intention of finding someplace in the near future. "I'm Shaw, this is Miliani." He hoped the information would appease the curious woman and keep her from turning into the pup-eating monster he still feared she might be.

Another appeared, a man who offered a bandage. His voice was deep and rumbling, and for a moment Shaw would turn his purple gaze upon the second stranger. "Um, I don't know.." he voiced, suddenly uncomfortable. He and his sister no longer outnumbered the woman, for now she had someone on her side. "Are you with her?" he queried of the dark man.

It didn't really surprise her that the pups didn't have a home - pups with a home weren't generally to be found wandering far from any pack, on a battlefield, if they had a family somewhere. They'd likely been abandoned, or their parents killed. She could sympathize only too well. "I'm Cascade," she gave her name in return without hesitation. "You're about the same age as my own pups. I know I would hate to see them wandering someplace this dangerous." She hesitated, wondering if inviting them to come back to Imperium to rest would somehow piss Valentine off even more, but before she could even word the invitation (because of course she was going to do it whether he was mad or not; how could she not?) a strange male approached.

Her head swung his way, and her mismatched ears laid back, her hackles bristling as she stared at him a moment in silence. "He is not with me," she finally said, and though she kept her voice as non-threatening as possible to avoid scaring the two kids it was all she could do to keep from leaping in front of them and snapping at the male. She was already on edge from the threat Neios posed to her children, and seeing another large black male - though he was no taller than her, he was built more heavily and immediately set her protective instincts galloping to the fore. "Is 'do you want a bandage for that' creepy-guy-with-the-tattoo talk for 'let me drug you with these herbs and drag you both behind a bush to have my way with you?'" she growled skeptically, seeking to keep her voice low enough to project only to the large black male her muzzle faced, rather than the two pups.

""

shaw's gentle rejection came as no surprise to the girl - she was used to his shell, to his tough guy attitude and his insistence in making it seem like their little lives hadn't been turned upside down time and time again, just for her sake. her wide eyes watched as another stranger approached them and giddiness bubbled in her chest; shaw leaned into her, an attempt at keeping her reassured she thought, and he spoke to the pair much better than she could have. the girl's gaze washed along the scene excitedly, but she faltered as the woman - cascade, she'd said - suddenly explained the man's true intentions in offering a bandage to her brother.

it was only natural that the child would tumble into the web that cascade was weaving, the man had seemed nice enough to her. with a distressed whine she sank into the warm fluff that was shaw. she was unprepared for the growling and the hostility, and her ears fell back against her skull in confusion. she searched shaw's expression for answers, her eyes drowned in questions: from the moment of her existence, he had been her only connection to reality and its puzzles, surely he should know what was going on here.

Had Max not seen the way the young girl had reacted to the womans words, he may very well have blown up on her for asking such a question. To him she had just insulted him and thats exactly how she had ment it. However he did see her cower into her sibling with confusion and worry so his reaction would be much calmer. "No. it was a simple answer though his eyes told her he wasnt happy.

He would look at the two children with a much softer, friendlier look and answer the boys previously asked question. "No, im not with her. She was telling the truth on that matter." his tone was once again as soft and reassuring as his deep vocals would allow. His eyes would turn back to the woman and he would watch her for a moment as he tryied to decide on telling her exactly what each herb was.

Finally he woulld make his decision and spred out the mouth full of hurbs he had with him. When hee finished he would place his paw on the flowered leafy ones. "Thiis is called Lambs ear. It is a good bandage for minor scrapes, as it is quite soft. Crushed, the leaves are said to help swelling and irritation of small wounds. The only way it would hurt him is if he is allergic to it. And this one... " he would move his paw to the second plant. "is called Horsetail. When applied topically, it helps bind open wounds. It Can also be ingested for kidney and bladder issues, and may also support healthy claws. Again the only way it would hurt him os if he is allergic."

When he had finished his minny lesson, Maximous would wait patiently for the womans hackles to lower and for the boy to make a decision. He had also hoped that it had helped to lower the children's worry and confusion.

The woman had a name: Cascade. It was different, a name he'd never heard before. Eyes shifted over her, comforted by the fact that she seemed to genuinely be trying to keep them from fearing her. Then she said something that explained it all, she was a mother - to children about their own age. An ear perked at this knowledge, suddenly even more interested than before. A mother wouldn't hurt them. A mother cared, loved, protected. That's what his mother had done, right to the moment she died. Cascade answered his question about the man, he was not with her. Shaw's gaze diverted to the stranger as Miliani pressed into him. He didn't like it when she was afraid. His lip curled, but softened as the man explained his intentions. The man seemed to be trying too, as his voice seemed restrained - calmed. Oh, this was confusing. He spoke for a while, explaining each of the herbs and how they could be used. Healing was a foreign art to him, as he honestly didn't recall anyone using herbs on he or his immediate family in his short life. Brow raised skeptically as the man explained, finally falling silent apparently to let Shaw choose for himself what he wanted to do. "Thanks but.. I don't think I want anything. It's no big deal, really." His paw still hurt, but the blood was beginning to clot and there was no sense in worrying Miliani further over the subject. He'd survived worse than this. Amethyst gaze drifted from the man to Cascade, brow still raised in question. "You have pups?" The idea of children his own age was appealing - he'd never really had the chance to be around anyone besides Miliani and his mother, at least not that he could remember. "What are they like?" He pressed further into Miliani, knowing this whole scene was making her nervous. In reality it was unsettling for him as well, but somebody had to be the man of the family.

She raised her eyebrow at the male's recitation. "Don't spend much time with kids, do you?" she murmured. "I assume if you did you would have found out by now that horsetail's got toxic effects when ingested by pups. Anyway," she raised her voice on the last word, turning her head so the pups could hear her once more, "He's a tough kid, he doesn't need a big clumsy bandage for a little cut." She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully as she studied them, the adult male apparently dismissed from her mind though she kept one ear flicked toward him to keep track of him. The boy, Shaw, had asked a question about her kids. An easy subject, them. "Yes, I have three pups, two boys and a girl - Angel, Phim, and Vana. They were born the very first day of spring." She paused to think - how to describe them? "They're playful, funny... mud and frogs seem to be a big thing with them. They're friendly. All three of them are learning how to hunt, and do first aid, and protect themselves if they have to." She didn't really know what a kid would want to know about another kid, so she just kind of trailed off. "You know, you would be welcome to rest and get something to eat with us, both of you. My pack's border is just outside this field, you can probably smell the scent markers from here if you try really hard. We have very, very strict laws against harming pups - you'd be safe there until you are better rested and can decide what you want to do next."