Malleus was on the prowl. He'd been doing a lot of thinking lately. The longer he went without a word from his father the more convinced Malleus became that the patriarch's absence was the work of the Fallen God. Perhaps, he reasoned, He had elevated Malleus because it was his time to lead. If that was the case then it wouldn't do him any good to simply wile away his time waiting for Amon to return, now would it? No, it was time to move on. If he was in the wrong then God (or Amon) could put him back in his place. With that thought in mind Malleus had decided to find new lands for the Empire. The cathedral and the creek were decent lands, but in his opinion, there were better, more strategic choices out there. It was for that reason that he was making his way northward. He had his eye on the castle and the garden beside it, but he wanted to look them over once more before he made up his mind. It was with that destination in mind that spurred Malleus through the Oaks at a trot. He was taking the scenic route, sure, but that too served a purpose. It made sense for him to look over all of his options before deciding.

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The girl Riva had told her about the southern landmass of Auster, and she had been intent on making her way towards the lands to see if they differed much from the northern Boreas. The girl had not mentioned any packs within the south, though she had claimed a belief that seven packs lived within the two lands and had only told her the general locations of five of those packs. She wondered if she would stumble upon any of those packs that she had not been able to inform her of, or if her travels would result in nothing more than an exploration of more empty lands.

As she moved among the oak trees, she caught a scent that drew her in. Another creature that could potentially provide her with more information, or at the very least break the crushing silence that pressed in around her. She moved closer until her gaze found a large grey figure that appeared as though he had been deep in thought. She paused a short distance away from him, her paws planted firmly on the ground beneath her. She had done far too much traveling for her liking, and her mind had begun to grow numb from the lack of stimulation. “You look to be deep in thought.” She called out to him, hoping to catch his attention.

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A voice suddenly pulled Malleus out of his reverie and made him pause mid step. Against his better judgement he'd been daydreaming. A foolish thing to do, he chided himself, in rogue lands. The wolf that addressed him, though, didn't present herself as a threat. At least he had that going for him. If he'd been jumped he probably would have taken that as a sign the Fallen God disagreed with him. "Indeed I was, I have a lot on my mind." In addition to moving the pack, he needed to get a feel for how many of his relatives still called the pack home. It seemed like his father's generation was as tough to wrangle as a herd of cats. He would have to do better with this next generation. It wouldn't do to have them running hither and dither. With a purpose and a solid foundation they would be continue to be a great people. As individuals he feared they would run amok and sully their family name before simply fading into obscurity. Malleus studied the woman. She was easily a foot shorter than he and lean with fine features and bi colored eyes. He couldn't immediately suss out her proclivities, but he guessed by her stance that she was probably the confident sort. The only thing he was sure of was that she was mortal. She was a mystery to him and that made him curious. "You're not from around here, are you?" he hedged. She didn't smell like a native to auster so it seemed like a safe bet.

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The man was quick to stop at the sound of her voice and a small shadow of a smile crept across her face. His words confirmed her observation, and she nodded slightly. “Mm. Must be important stuff if it was capable of distracting you, no?” The question came across a bit playfully, though she did wonder what could cause someone to allow themselves to lose track of their surroundings. Of course, he could have been fully aware while thinking. She would have had no way of knowing, but she tended to assume less than the best in others.

His gaze seemed to study her for a moment, and she took the opportunity to do the same. His scent was strong, but it was mingled with the scents of others, which meant he could be from a pack, or he perhaps a traveling group that tended to stick together. She wasn’t familiar enough with the area or the natives to be able to tell, but all that mattered was that while it seemed no one else was in the area, he did not stand alone. His question came and she wondered how obvious it might be to others that she was a newcomer to the land. “I am not. My homeland is far from here.”

Thoughts of her home plagued her constantly, and agitation always seemed to follow thoughts of the place she had been forced from, but she did her best to push the negative feelings away. “I’m Antigone Dellis.” She spoke her full name out of habit. Her last name meant nothing to those who did not know of her family, though perhaps that was for the best. The name was now tainted by her spineless, traitorous siblings.

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A ghost of a smile quirked up his lips in response to her question. "I would say so - the future of my empire depends on it." Although he was joking a bit, his statement was more or less true. What he did next could make or break the Empire. He needed to rally the troops and whip them into shape, but he feared the rules had been lax long enough that they would flee from his iron grip and choose to cavort among the mortals instead of bettering themselves. She confirmed his suspicion that she was from elsewhere. Boreas, maybe. Or perhaps beyond like him and his family. While he called Auster home now, once upon a time he'd called a far away place home. There was no going back to it, at least not now. This place was where he would make his name. "I thought so. Foreigners can always tell fellow travelers apart from the natives. In one way or another, we're different than those who call this land home," he said with a shrug. "Malleus Abraxas," he said in response to her introduction. "It's a pleasure, Antigone." The respite from his thoughts was nice. While it was exciting to think of the future, at times it could be overwhelming and if he dwelled on it long enough he'd get stuck in a loop of what ifs.

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He spoke of his Empire and she nodded once more. So he was a ruler. It made sense, with his size and build, he was surely a strong creature, and the strong were the ones that rose in power. She wondered though what issues plagued his Empire. What was so wrong that he had fallen so deep in thought in lands that did not belong to him? But that was not her business to be prying into. It was not her home and she had no place to ask such questions, not that she really cared all the much anyways.

His next words implied that he too was not from these lands, though from how comfortable he seemed in the area, she imagined he’d been here for some time. Especially if he’d had time to raise an Empire. Had he been the one to raise it? Or had he merely taken the reigns after the people had already settled? Again, it was not her place to inquire about those things. Instead, she would bow her head slightly as he spoke his name. A formality. He was not her king, but she had always been one to ensure not to piss off the higher ups of any land without proper cause. A polite demeanor was something that she used when dealing with anything that could translate into politics. While their interaction was casual, old habits seemed to die hard.

“The pleasure is mine.” She responded. “I can only hope that one day I too will grow familiar enough with the lands to be able to pick out who is a traveller and who is not.” She hoped that she would not be chased from these lands, too. She was not keen on the idea of having to find somewhere else to settle when she’d already come so far.

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The respectful dip of her head didn't go unnoticed. Malleus appreciated the gesture and it brought his forming opinion of the woman up a notch. He wasn't the sort to be flattered easily, but the idea of superiority had been drummed into him since birth and her acknowledgement of his status was affirming. "In time I..." His gaze darted beyond Antigone as he became aware of movement off to her left. It was only a flicker, the briefest of flashes behind a fallen tree, but it was enough to catch his eye. He scrutinized the place he'd seen it before returning his attention to Antigone and continuing, "I'm sure it will come to you." There was another brief flash of something and this time Malleus listened to instinct. Through the leaves he saw bits of orange. They were disjointed and broken up by shadow, but there was something there. His hackles started to rise as he noted an unusual patch of yellow, white and black. It almost looked like... His eyes widened as he realized he was staring at an eye. The orange, the black, it made sense in an instant. "Look out!" he cried, his ears flattening and his lips peeling back in a snarl as a young tiger exploded out of the tangled branches of the downed tree. Its sights were set on Antigone; the smaller wolf perhaps a manageable meal in its eyes.

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She noticed his gaze shift away from her, and she couldn’t help but turn her head to try and follow her gaze, but her brief search turned up nothing. Her gaze drifted back to him, curiosity lingering in her gaze, though she did not question him, allowing him to finish what he was saying before her own lips parted to reply. But before she could get a word out, she felt the air behind her stir, a strange scent that she couldn’t immediately place permeating the air, but it wasn’t until the males sharp cry hit her that she was able to piece together the puzzle. The tingle of instinctual fear, the strange scent, the way he had seemed to be looking at something hiding within the shadows.

She hardly had time to spin and jump back before the tiger was before her, a massive paw coming down and striking her face, sending her tumbling to the ground. Her ears rung from the pain that seemed to split down her skull, and it wasn’t until she jumped back to her paws that the searing pain from the gashes in the side of her face truly registered. Blood dripped down her face, coating her neck and chest and adding a reddish hue to her dark fur.

Adrenaline flooded her body, and while she was small, and now injured, she wasn’t going to dance off and let the beast get away with disfiguring her face. She’d gotten into many fights before back home, but no one had even had the audacity to leave scars. The Emperor had four scars on the side of his face, and she wondered briefly if hers would be so noticeable, but she had no time to dwell on such superficial thoughts. Within moments of being knocked down, she was lurching back towards the tiger, trying to find an opening to get in a good bite while attempting to avoid another blow and hoping that this Malleus Abraxas would join in the fight with her.

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The tiger was lightning fast. In an instant it had struck the woman and knocked her to the ground. Thinking her down for the count, Malleus stepped forward and was about to seize her by the scruff and haul her out of the tiger's reach when the woman stood and squared off with her attacker. His surprise might have given him more pause had not the situation been so dire. Her moxie was impressive. Few creatures could shrug off such a blow. Fewer still, he was sure, would choose to stand and fight a tiger of all things. This impressed him, and it was for that reason that Malleus decided to join her. By all appearances the tiger was a young thing and that may have been why it decided to go after a wolf of all creatures. Its sides were thin, its face hollow, and it was clear that it had been awhile since it had a good meal. Hunger had made it desperate. The tiger, undeterred by her courage, skulked towards Antigone with a growl on its lips. Malleus leaped away and then spun around so he was facing the tiger's right thigh. Without wasting a second he charged forward and sunk his fangs into the back of it, right above its heel. He released it immediately and then ducked in the knick of time as the tiger's retaliatory swipe went right over his head.

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Her ears pressed against her skull and her head lowered to shield her neck, more out of habit than necessity given her small size. She sized the creature up in the few moments it took for her to reach it once more. She squinted her eyes to protect them from the beasts large teeth before tipping her head and diving in to latch her teeth onto the fleshy part where the front leg joined the body. She braced herself for the tigers teeth to wrap around her head, but it’s body twisted as it attempted to swipe at something behind it and she was forced to release her grip.

She jumped back for a moment, noting Malles’ position at the tigers rear, and that he seemed to have avoided injury this round. But the tiger had turned its attention to the male at least for the moment. Her tongue swiped across her lips and she tasted blood. She moved forward again, as quick as she could, a growl rumbling deep in her chest as she jumped and caught a mouth fur of skin and fur from the tigers neck, tugging fiercely before darting back and trying to draw his attention away from the man to give him a better opening to launch another attack.

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ooc: crappy tag, sorry! The tiger's swipe was so nearly a success that it felt as though he was being patted on the head like a good little puppy. One quick stroke that pressed his ears down and swiped off a couple loose hairs. It was so close that Malleus, aware of what he could have happened, got goosebumps. The cougar that had scarred him had been big, but it had nothing on this young tiger. Youthful and skinny or not, it was one hell of an adversary. Almost as quickly as it had spun to face him, the tiger whipped back around to strike at Antigone, who had bit into its neck. As Antigone had hoped, Malleus would wait until the tiger was preoccupied and then slide in for another attack. He didn't envy Antigone's position; he'd much rather deal with the back end of the tiger than the front, but her bravery spoke volumes about her character. Once the tiger was fully facing Antigone, Malleus darted forward. This time his target was the tiger's left heel. The great cat was simply too fast and he needed to change that. Perhaps a pair of wounded hind legs would slow it down or deter it from continuing the fight. At some point, if the wolves continued to wound it, it would decide the woman was a meal not worth having. As Malleus had hoped, he was able to sneak in and dig his teeth into the tiger's heel. He shook his head once, hoping to tear the puncture wounds and worsen the damage, and then he quickly released. The titan ducked, but the tiger had learned from their first exchange. It struck lower and managed to sink its claws into the base of his ear. Malleus bit back a howl as his ear was ribboned by the cat's sharp claws. With blood pouring from the wounds, he retreated, hoping Antigone was preparing to deliver another blow.

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Her teeth sunk into the tigers flesh, but as she felt it begin to whip around to her, she leapt back. The tigers paw swatted out, just grazing her chest as she danced back, barking and growling to try and keep its attention until Malleus landed another blow. The tiger let out its own snarl, a deep sound that sank into her bones, but it did nothing to slow her down. It swung back around suddenly as Malleus made his next attack, and she didn't wait to watch him duck before she dove back in.
She buried her teeth in the tigers shoulder and began to pull, as though she were trying to take a chunk with her. The tiger moved, yanking his shoulder free from her grip before swinging his head in her direction, jaws snapping and trying to grab her skull. She jumped back again. her tongue swiping the blood from around her mouth, the excitement of the danger causing her heart to race in her chest.
She could smell the man's blood and knew he'd been hit, but her eyes didn't stray from the striped beast in front of her. Allowing herself to get distracted by how the emperor was fairing could be the death of her, and she was not ready to die. She was not about to go down like this.

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The tiger yowled angrily as the wolves continued their assault. It was beginning, Malleus wagered, to understand the mistake it had made. There were easier meals to be had elsewhere and if it were wise, today it would learn not to target wolves. Had Antigone - or any of their kind, really - been alone with this creature it was likely that it would have succeeded with ease, but a duo of skilled wolves couldn't be subdued to easily. Though they may not have known each other long, the two were fighting in sync with one another as if they'd been doing it for years. The speed with which the tiger whipped around to face Antigone convinced him she'd been successful. Because of that, there was no time to lose in retaliating. If he didn't take his turn in this game, then the tiger would focus all of its rage on the last attacker. Ignoring the blood running down his face and the searing pain radiating from his ear, Malleus lunged forward again, this time catching the tiger's tail in his mouth. He bit down hard and felt a canine tooth slip between two vertebrae. The sinew crackled and then the tiger roared in pain. This time when he retreated, the tiger didn't outright attack him. It hissed and swiped at the ground, but didn't lunge after him. Its lowered body and flattened ears now screamed 'defensive' and he got the feeling that it was on the verge of giving up and running away.

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There was a brief moment where the tigers attention seemed to be fully on her. She retreated backwards, keeping her vision locked on the tiger, ready to maneuver away from another attack if the creature tried to come after her, but her fighting partner kept up his end of the attack. She caught sight of him out of the corner of her eyes, but her attention remained on the more dangerous parts of the beast she was fighting. The sharp cry that it let out pierced her ears as it seemed to back down. It lowered itself towards the ground, seeming to give up, and she saw it as the perfect time to drive home the message. Despite her small size, she made up for the lack of height and bulk in tenacity and unrelenting determination. If the tiger were ever to stumble upon her in the future, she wanted to make sure this wasn’t a lesson that would need to be retaught. Especially since she was quite certain that not many others of her kind would be capable of working with her with such coordination in order to defeat it again.

She lunged forward again, jaws snapping and aimed for the tigers neck, but before she could latch onto it, the tiger dart away, fleeing back into the forest, leaving behind the bitter scent of fear. Blood still streamed down her face from the gashes where she had initially been hit, and now that the fight was over, she was starting to feel the pain. It was times like this that she was grateful she had happened upon the healer named Spider. Her wounds would need to be treated, and she only hoped that he would be nearby.

Her gaze moved towards Malleus, assessing the wounds he’d received from the battle. His ear had been shredded, but other than that, the pair seemed to be in relatively good condition, considering they’d just fought off a tiger. “Not many would be so willing to jump into a fight against a tiger to help a perfect stranger.” Her voice was slightly strained from exhaustion and pain. The fight had clearly taken a bit out of her, but the was a hint of admiration in her voice. So far, she’d met few characters in these new lands, but each one of them had proven to be more useful than she would have expected, and very beneficial to her survival within this foreign place

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The tiger's courage wavered and then was snuffed out as it finally realized this meal was too costly. It dashed back the way it had come and in an instant was gone, leaving the two wolves alone once more. Malleus breathed a soft sigh of relief. He would have continued the fight had it been required of him, but tigers were formidable beasts and he doubted he would have survived much longer without incurring a grievous mark or two. “Not many would be so willing to jump into a fight against a tiger to help a perfect stranger.” He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement of what he took to be a compliment, then said, "Not many would jump into a fight with a tiger in the first place." He considered this statement for a second, then went on to say, "Should you ever find yourself in need of a pack, don't hesitate to consider the Risen Empire to the west. We've need of courageous mortals such as yourself." Feeling the sting of his own wound, Malleus regarded the woman a moment longer before offering, "Do your injuries need tending? I'm skilled in wound care."