Haru had been settling into his new life easily, as if he perfectly aligned with the pieces of this new puzzle that would be his future. And quite frankly, he couldn't wait to see the picture it came to form.  He had spent the first three years of his life learning what it took to survive, taking the time to figure out his own strengths and weaknesses before allowing himself to commit to something. And it had paid off- enough to earn him a place in the pack, at least. And sure, maybe he was at the bottom of the food chain right now, but he wasn't exactly worried about that. He had waited three years to come to the border to seek residence, and the few weeks or months it would take to gain recognition were pale in comparison to that. In fact, rather then discouragement the honey-brown wolf found he was quite eager to properly earn his place. Hard work and determination were two things that went hand-in-hand with Haru, and by nature he was a people-pleaser when it came to the wolves he cared about.

Of course, Haru hadn't actually met any of his packmates outside of Hattori yet, but he was sure that too would change given enough time. After all, the wolves of Ashen were known for their loyalty to one another, and Haru craved the comraderie and companionship that such claims offered. His previous loner lifestyle may have been a purposeful choice, but he wasn't at all by nature the type who wanted to be kept in solitude with shallow relationship to other loners forever, and he was very much looking foreward to the day where he could name every wolf in the pack.

For now, he'd occupy himself with getting used to the territory.

The Shrine, as he'd come to learn, was the main housing area for the pack. The tall, barren trees of white no doubt were responsible for the 'Alabastrine' side of the territory name, and among the snow and grey skies they looked foreboding from a distance. Haru felt remarkably visible amongst it all with his honey-brown coat, but with no reason to hide he supposed it didn't matter- it wasn't like he was on a hunt or anything. More odd than the trees was the pool at it's center, though. It gave off it's own brand of light that glowed even in the dark of night, casting a purplish glow on its surroundings. In the past few days Haru had become increasingly familiar with it all, and yet, it seemed as if there was still more to see.

Were those... blue fireflies?

Light green eyes blinked in confusion, as if the action would fix his obviously flawed vision. It did not, and instead of a golden yellow the bugs remained a pulsing blue wisp in the dark. "That's weird. It should be too cold for bugs right now." he mumbled to himself as his gaze followed the specks of light that flickered in and out around him. Maybe it was something unique to the territory? But.. he hadn't seen them the last couple of nights here.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Haru padded farther into the woods and away from the gentle glow of the pond, able to better see the small blue lights in the shadows of the woods even if the moon was especially bright tonight.

After his meeting with Oki at the Shrine, Takeshi had been avoiding the place as much as possible. When he thought about the feelings that the purple pool had incited in him, he felt an uncomfortable chill go down his spine and send the tips of his fur on edge. He knew the thoughts weren’t actually him, but rather something that had implanted them there, but he worried that the anger that he’d felt could actually be something buried deep within him. He didn’t hate his father...right? Surely not enough to want to humiliate and dethrone him in the way that the thing had whispered in his ears, but he didn’t want to find out.

Still, he couldn’t help the concern he felt when he scented a new member in the shrine. He wasn’t sure if they would be affected in the same way, but if they were he was sure he’d need to pull them out of it. For the time being, the Shrine’s purple pool was a danger zone and he needed to watch out for his packmates with an abundance of caution. He emerged through the trees, offering a chuff of greeting that blew fog from his jaws, cast in a red glow from his bioluminescent maw. He motioned to the new wolf to come away with a toss of his head, vibrant red gaze eyeing the pool with distrust.

"Speech"