Sleep still clings to her and it puts her on edge, her fur wishing to stand upright as her skin pebbles beneath it. Sniffing him reveals nothing except the fear that clings like a cloud around him. If someone had dared try to hurt him... a growl rumbles from her chest, her tail rising as she stares at him with sharpening eyes. Those of Iromar were underneath her protection. As Empress Aithne would not hesitate to hunt down another who would harm her own. While Halcyon had once been a while child, half feral from living alone as a pup, he had grown into a more mature male. He would be three this year, she knew, and he had a single minded purpose to earn his spot as her Elite Guard. It pleased her and she felt and intense connection with him, their childhoods somewhat similar in many aspects. She could understand him because she had once been like him.

When he begins to speak Aithne falls back onto her haunches, her eyes growing in surprise but calculation flickering across them. Tears begin to fall as the boy talks, his words spoken almost too fast in his rush to get them out, but she remains silent even still. She can feel the fear on him, feel his frustration and loss. It had hit home and of course it boiled down to her. To Jaidah. And a new male that had joined the game, it seemed. Was this the cry that hat went pup earlier? Did this male seek to steal from Taviora so that he might become king with Jaidah at his side? It seemed she had a penchant for finding those of the same ilk, nasty creatures with bad tendencies.

"How does she find these males?" The words come out as a grumble, her own brow dipping as she glares off into the marshes while she thinks. Best to let Halcyon collect himself although a small part of her wished to comfort him. How? How did one comfort another? She is unfamiliar with this loss, uncertain at what to do, so she lets him wipe away his tears while she thinks. "We must have faith, Halcyon, that Amoxtli can hold his own. He is young but he is strong. If all else fails then we will fetch your sister-in-law and niece personally and bring them here where they will be safe. It is a disgusting thing, cannibalism, and unfortunately it seems a widespread epidemic and she seems in the thick of it." A growl bursts forth as she stands abruptly, her agitation apparent as she paces back and forth, a grizzly with a grudge. "Halcyon, we must keep an eye on this wolf. I will speak with my advisers as the best way to monitor this situation. I am tasking you with seeking out loners who are young as you are and perhaps as alone as you were to offer them sanctuary. If they do not wish to come to the marshes then warn them of the dangers they face. Can you do this for me?"

She knows he needs this - a purpose, a way to make a difference from the horrors that this new wolf and Jaidah were committing. It was atrocious and she would seek Avery's advice on how to handle it, perhaps even seek out the assassins of Diveen. She stands before him now, dark green eyes searching, waiting to see if he will step up to the mantle she is offering him.

Seven - Empress of Iromar - fated for Praetor

aithne