fili sat inside his den, eyes shut. He was not asleep, but resting. He was exhausted. He had been up late last night. But he would have to move soon. He needed to hunt. He was one of the ebon knights, they were responsible for feeding the pack. He and Kaala would have to go hunting sometime soon, as they both were ebon knights. And well, it gave him another excuse to ne with her. He opened his eyes and gazed lazily around his den. It was a hole, a space in-between a cluster of large boulders. He had filled the cracks in the roof with wet mud, using like cement. He was able to get up onto the roof easily as the pile was easy to scale. He would have to work on it some more later. At first he had been wary, wondering if it was stable, but after launching himself at it three times and bruising his shoulder, he decided that it was stable. Ao there he sat, eyes half shut. The heat of The summer pounding down on him. They would really have to get food soon, before most of their prey migrated. "Talk." Think.

Raisa came upon her knight, holed up in his den, rather than basking (read: baking) in the intense sunlight like she was. She raised a brow and smirked, thinking, And here he's got nice light fur, unlike some others. She chuckled and called out to him. "Sir Fili, might I disturb you?" She would make no demands of him in heat like this. It was oppressive, and like as not to give him some sort of stroke if he exerted himself. (So far, the queen had been ignoring that possibility for herself, as a matter of convenience.) "I've uncovered a new warren, just this morning. I'd show it to you, if you like." Fili had thus far proved invaluable in the pack's hunting expeditions. In the stoney moorland rabbits and small game were much more numerous than large prey, and with the sun growing more and more fierce by the day, creatures the holed up by nature were easier to pin down and flush out. If not, of course, she had a mind to hunt down one of the glacial springs that popped up occasionally among the boulders. Either would suit the woman just fine. "Talk" "You" Think

As the voice of his queen reached his audits his eyes snapped open. "Sir Fili, might I disturb you?" he smiled and stood. Wincing a little at the subsiding pain in his shoulder. He had been rather stupid to charge at a boulder, and that, was another reason that he was an ebon knight, and not a Sola knight. He could be rather stupid sometimes. Of course you may he tipped his head courteously. I've uncovered a new warren, just this morning. I'd show it to you, if you like he walked out of his den, heading for the ebony queen. He felt rather sorry for her with her dark coat, for anyone with a dark coat. Yes please, lead the way M'Lady. I have been planing to go out soon, I was going to head out with the rest of the ebon knights on a hunting trip of sorts he smiled. He loved to hunt, the thrill of the chase. His mind drifted back to the things he and his brother had taken down as he waited for Rasia to begin to walk.

"Speech."

Fili's easy acquiescence sired a certain approval within the soot-coated fae. It was not a sense of power, entirely, but instead as if she had those around her who wished to assist. Fili did not come from his den because she had demanded it, but instead because she had asked, and he had agreed. This was a concept that had always seemed to elude her mother, having been passed off as a sign of weakness. Raisa wondered absently what else she had been wrong about. The man emerged from his den and made his way towards her. Raisa raised a brow, smelling a different sort of heat, noticing a twinge in his gait. "What has happened to your shoulder?" Her concern was tinged with amusement, curious as to how he'd managed to injure himself laying about in his den. Like as not she was going to be very impressed with his answer. Raisa chuckled and turned to the northeast, leading the way between monoliths and pebbles alike. "Talk" "You" Think

As Rasia's question reached his audits he chuckled. Well let us say that a boulder and I had a disagreement. Which ended up in me charging at it at full speed. there. A way of making his clumsiness, well stupidity seem a little less stupid. He walked alongside her. A little behind as she was taller and he was injured, maybe that didn't count towards it at all but he chose to ignore that fact. His paws hit the ground rhythmically as he made his way forwards, even if he was taller and his legs were longer, he still would have been a little behind her since she was actually showing him where to go. Knowing him, he would probably bound of miles in the wrong direction before realising that it was the wrong way. So for now he lingered a little behind her. He decided to break the silence, So M'Lady, any plans for Ebony that i should know about? He asked it sincerely, he wanted to be kept updated on the goings on of ebony. "Talk." Think.

While the man's explanation did little to explain the sooty fae did not question him further, but instead merely shook her head and laughed. Fili was boisterous in his own way, and an entertaining wolf to be around. His humor almost made her forget about the heat blazing down, if only for a moment. She led them in comfortable silence, dipping her nose to the trail every now and then to be certain they were bound for her target. Fili broke the silence once more, asking after the state of affairs. Raisa cast a glance at him over her shoulder and smiled. "What would you like to know? I've been spending time in Elsa's company, the land seems to be fairing poorly in the heat. I've been working at expanding our ranks as well. I've met with several wolves seeking a home, and one man who used to be king of Seracia. He may choose to move his family to our lands. If things go well for us, we may be able to expect another batch among us." It was a comforting thought. Several packs in the land were not terribly large, while others had staggering size, counting dozens among their ranks. As far as Raisa knew, Ebony claimed the fewest, but she knew each and every one of them had strong hearts. "Talk" "You" Think

He smiled when Rasia's sweet laugh reached his audits. He liked to make people laugh, to brighten the mood. That seemed to be a natural talent that both he and his brother possessed. The ability to make people laugh and make them happier. A talent that he was glad of. As Rasia began to speak of what was going on he nodded. Numbers are good. a simple answer, but an honest one. Numbers were good. More people to hunt, and if need be, fight with them. He did like to fight, but he did not want war. It was simply to catastrophic. Sure he liked a little chaos here and there, but he would never wish such destruction and loss of life upon anyone. Not even his worst nemesis. He was beginning to sweat with the heat. God he hated the middle of summer. Spring and autumn were his favourites. Not too hot and not too cold. He continued alongside Rasia, waiting for her to signal that they were near.

"Speech."

The sun singed her, but Raisa refused to show it weakness. Call it a stubborn streak but she had convinced herself that if she ignored the heat, it might just go away. Granted, she did not put much stock in this theory, but it kept her paws moving one in front of the other. She made only on detour before they reached the warren, and that was to stop by one of the glacial springs that dotted their landscape. It appeared that the glaciers that had deposited the boulders here had left reservoirs of melt-water within the ground as well. So far, she had been making good use of them. Raisa stooped, lapping up as much water as she would allow herself, mindfully conservative. Next week might be worse, she reminded herself, as she rose barely quenched. She turned to her companion then and said in a low voice, "We draw close, now. Perhaps a hundred lengths away is where they start." Raisa surveyed the edge of the spring, and in finding her quarry, flicked a paw to a rut in the grass. "This is their water hole, see?" Raisa moved off then, keeping downwind of the trail so that the surviving rabbits would not be convinced to relocate. Like as not they'd perish in the heat, and Raisa was not willing to waste the stock of her land. Closer and closer the crept, with Raisa finally stalking through the grass and moss, thankful for the padding that silenced her footsteps. With a grin, she nodded to the churned soil before them, having come to the mouth of a rodent's den. "Talk" "You" Think