Ina had kept to herself for a while, hiding out in her makeshift bunker and practically hiding from the world. She mostly slipped out at night, mostly because it was not as hot at night time as it was during the day. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of her mother or her other siblings, and honestly it both disheartened and angered her. She had hoped her mother would teach her all the things she needed to know, but with her family disappearing on her, she began to think that maybe...just maybe...her mother and her siblings wanted nothing to do with her.

It was early morning when she emerged from her hiding place, making her way to the dried creek bed as she looked for a decent spot to drink from. Water seemed to be pretty scarce with the heat that plagued them, and she wondered if she might have to leave pack lands for the first time to search for a better water source. Once she located a decent spot, she drank until her thirst was satiated. The air was somewhat cool around this time, but she knew the later it got, the warmer it would get too. And she was not at all keen on being out in the heat. Pale blue eyes looked at her own reflection upon the small, pitiful puddle that she had drunk from. And she silently wondered why her mother had left her.

Malleus had just finished his patrol and was on his way back to the creek where he knew both shade and water could be found. The summer days, he'd decided, were too long for his liking. The sun rose too early and stayed too late all the while roasting the land below. It was simply too much. He'd kill for a storm. One teeny little rain cloud to briefly block out the sun and bring them respite from the heat. But today, just like every other day, was cloudless. Resigned to the fact that today would be no different, Malleus clamored down into the dry creek bed and began to make his way down it. The dirt underfoot was packed hard and cracked, but up ahead he knew there was a place where it was still soft and pliable, which meant water lurked below the surface. With a little digging he'd find himself a drink. He paused as another came into view. Immediately he recognized the girl and, after realizing it had been awhile since he talked to her, Malleus decided to join her. "I see we had the same idea," he said with a chuckle, noting the water at her paws. Lucky girl; it looked like she hadn't had to dig for it. He'd have to make note of this spot. "How's life been treating you, Proserpina?"

She wasn't sure for how long she had been standing there and staring at herself in that pitiful little puddle, but it wasn't until she heard Malleus' familiar voice that her gaze drew upwards until it rested on him. Her tail wagged slightly as he approached and spoke to her, at least his presence was making her day a little brighter already. "Hi Mally, I'm doin' alright..." Her gaze dropped down to the puddle for a moment, brow points furrowing for a moment. Her tail gradually stopped wagging as well before eventually dropping back down to her hocks. "Hey Malleus? Do you know where my family went? I haven't seen my mom and my siblings for a while...did they abandon me?" She sought to meet his gaze again, clear blue eyes filled with many different emotions. She knew she had family here, like Malleus. But she couldn't help but wonder why they had left...did something happen to them? Did her mom just not want her and took off with her siblings? Ina couldn't quite remember the last time she had seen them, most of her time had been spent playing in her bunker. All she knew was that one day...they just weren't there anymore. "Speech" <

His young cousin's mouth said one thing but her demeanor hinted at another. Even the inexperienced eye would have picked up on her struggle. After a moment she confirmed his suspicions by voicing the thoughts that plagued her. Malleus, sensing the depth of her feelings, sobered and seated himself beside her. For now his thirst was forgotten. The well being of his young cousin was more important than his comfort and the question she asked was a troubling one. Many Abraxas felt as if they could come and go from the Empire as they pleased and consequently, Malleus struggled to know who was coming and who was going. This made it difficult to keep tabs on his members. Considering he hadn't known of extent of Proserpina's predicament, that would have to change. If he couldn't trust a mother of all creatures to look after her child, well, changes would have to be made. "I do not," he answered truthfully. After a pause, he sighed. He wanted to make her understand that she shouldn't take it personally. Her mother's disappearance said nothing about her, Proserpina. It only said something about her mother. "I can't answer that. Only your mother knows what took her and your siblings away from here. Whether it was temperament, purpose or accident, I can't say." Malleus gave his next words a lot of care. He ached for the girl and what she must be feeling. If only he'd known sooner. Perhaps he could have brought her under his wing and helped alleviate some of her loss. She was still young though, so there was hope for her. Perhaps he could still help her. "I can't begin to understand what you are feeling, but I want you to know that I am glad you're here and if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please tell me."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malleus sat next to her on the bank of the nearly depleted creek, she looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes, but her hopes were soon crushed. "I do not," Ina's ears and tail drooped and a low whine slipped past her throat, her gaze slipping back to stare at the puddle again. She had hoped that maybe he knew something about her mother's whereabouts, or her brother or her sister...but no. He went on to say that he couldn't say for sure why her mom had left, but still, Ina just didn't quite get it. If her mom and siblings were out there, wouldn't they have come back for her? Or told her something? She felt her eyes sting as tears threatened to show themselves, her throat tightening as she struggled to understand why her? She couldn't say it was the work of their Fallen God, no. Ana had failed to teach her any of that. She had failed to teach her anything, and the basic things Ina knew, she learned from watching the other pack members. She couldn't say she was good at anything but hunting down cattails, but she was smart. Still, what was that worth when she didn't have any skills of her own? "I can't begin to understand what you are feeling, but I want you to know that I am glad you're here and if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please tell me." She looked up at him again, watching him as if she were studying him for a moment. Honestly, it was incredibly hard for her to even begin to understand what she was feeling. She was usually pretty stoic and unphased by most things, but the feeling of abandonment plagued her and made her feel confused on top of so many other things she didn't know how to describe. "Can you teach me about...well...everything? I know my mom said we were special, but she never told me why we were special. Or how to hunt or defend myself or..." Anything. She had so many questions about so many things! She watched random pack members from her special hiding place, but it wasn't the same as actually knowing how to do what they did. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Speech"

The girl's disappointment radiated off of her in nearly tangible waves. While it made him a touch uncomfortable, he couldn't blame her for this show of emotion. If he'd been in her place Malleus would have assumed his mother had taken her favorite children and ditched the undesirable one. Whether or not that was true was another matter entirely but he would have been convinced of it, if only to underscore the unhappiness he wallowed in. Her query first alarmed him, then angered him. What kind of mother abandoned a child like this, with so little education? With so little training she may as well have been a babe still? A bitch he hoped never whelped again. There were some creatures - even some Abraxas, apparently - that were unfit to be parents. It saddened him that Proserpina had the misfortune of being birthed by one such creature. Absolutely, he said without hesitation. "Where would you like to start?" The day may have been hotter than Hades' balls, but he owed it to Proserpina to begin working with her immediately. He was prepared to teach her whatever she asked for.

The door was open for her to learn something today, and she was determined come hell or high water to learn something valuable. Even with the heat beating down on them, she wanted to know. Would it be better to first escape the heat in her bunker? She was curious to know if Malleus would fit in there, and she was sure he would...even if it was a little tight maybe. She had been making it roomier as she herself grew. "First uh...can you tell me more about our family? I know a few of them, but I don't anything about our history or where we're from or anything like that." She peered up at him with wide, curious eyes. As she sat there, she flicked a fly away that had come to bother her, then she decided that perhaps it would be better to find some relief from this god forsaken heat and the bugs before they got swarmed. "Y'know cousin Malleus, I think we can both fit in my hideout over there. I made it 'specially roomy, and it's cooler there...I worked real hard on it since I was smaller, wanna see it?" If she could convince him to go in there, then maybe they could settle in for story time, or even a lesson! She was pretty excited to actually learn something, plus she wanted to show off her den. She was pretty darn proud of it! "Speech"||Thought||"You"

Ah, their history. That was perhaps the easiest lesson of them all. Again he was reminded of Anamalech's failings. Their origin and mission were Abraxas 101. Prosperpina should have been learning these things from day one. She should have lived and breathed their history; tellings of their conquests should have been her bedtime stories, and tales of strength and courage should have inspired her to strive for greatness as a pup. "Do you know who The Fallen God is?" He felt silly asking, but given what he knew of her mother's failings, the question wasn't unwarranted. Starting with the big man himself seemed like a good idea. She spoke of her hiding place and Malleus, exhausted with the heat as he was, jumped on the offer. "I would love to." He got a quick drink from the little pool of water and then turned to face Proserpina expectantly. "Lead the way, my dear, and get us out of this blasted heat."

He asked her if she knew who the Fallen God was, and she sort of felt ashamed as she shrugged. She didn't know who he was, or how they were supposed to be connected. But she was excited to learn about this Fallen God, just as soon as they got out of the heat. With a wagging tail, she led Malleus to her hideout, lowering her head a little as she led him inside. The main entrance was a bit narrow, but inside, it was big and roomy. The cattails hung and bent over to form a roof, and she had even fortified it enough with more foliage and even tied some of the reeds together so that when it rained, it remained dry. The floor was soft, lined with duck feathers, moss, and more reeds that had been tampered down enough to where it was nice and comfy to rest and sleep. And all around were various trinkets, bones, and random arrowheads and fossils she had found in and around the creek, as well as around the rest of the territory. Once they were inside, she turned around to face Malleus before sitting down. She was proud of her work here, and as much as she would have liked to gloat and bask in praise of work well-done, her curiosity and thirst for knowledge overrode that. "So who's the Falling God? Is he a cousin too?" "Speech"||Thought||"You"

The entrance proved to be a bit problematic for the broad shouldered godling. Malleus eyed the narrow entrance skeptically then watched as Proserpina disappeared inside. He was just going to have to go for it and hope his cousin had braced the reed walls well. Malleus shouldered his way inside and was more than little relieved when the reed walls held. Inside, Proserpina's shelter opened considerably. It was clear she'd put a lot of time and effort into constructing it, and Malleus was impressed. It was clear she had an eye for such things so he made a note to keep her craftsmanship in mind for future projects. "I'm impressed. Nice shelter you've got here." "Is he a cousin too?" If given the chance Malleus was quite certain he'd strangle Proserpina's mother. That his young cousin was so thoroughly ignorant to their heritage was a tragedy. Malleus had to bite back a smile - both because he was afraid of wounding her and because it really wasn't funny. "Not a cousin, no," he said gravely. "The Fallen God is our ancestor. The grandfather of our grandfathers, if you will." After taking a deep breath Malleus launched into a more thorough explanation. "Many, many years ago The Fallen God ruled this world from the heavens. He was so powerful, so wise, and so feared that the other gods became jealous. They banded together to overthrow him and threw him into our world. Since then He has been trying to reclaim His throne. We, the Abraxas, are His descendants, His foot soldiers. It's our duty to spread His name, to ensure He gets the honor and glory He deserves, and in return, when He ascends He will take us with Him so that we may depose the pantheon of lecherous gods and take their place."