Thud! The sound of the bolt entering the trunk of the tree resounded through the forest, off it's mark by only inches. A mixture of hard rain and lack of use, Haephastus decided, holding the crossbow at his side with his right hand to make his way toward the tree. The bandaged left hand and arm, which only bore two fingers, the thumb and the forefinger, moved to grip around the bolt and jerk it out of the bark. There was still a bit of daylight left, despite the thick clouds that shrouded the sun and brought more rain, and it he could compensate for the strength of the rain and the winds that pushed it, he might very well be able to get in a kill before sundown. That was, of course, if he could manage to find something out wandering in the rain.



The plan was a simple one, at least in his head, to take down some sort of large game. An offering to Geneva and the Patriarch, who had been kind to a foreign stranger and, perhaps, a little something that might give proof of the skills that he had claimed only days ago. With crossbow and bolt in hand, Haephastus turned away from his 'target' tree, moving off deeper into the forested area of the lands, head raised to the sky to search for scents. Blue eyes, slightly milked over with the forming of cataracts, would be of little use to him in such heavy rain. He could only rely on his sense of smell and his ears. Knowing this, the foreign male took off quietly into the trees, careful of each movement that he made.

The quiet sound of feet filled his ears almost as soon as they had started. Haephastus turned quickly, keeping still the crossbow, aware of the chances that the sounds of footfalls may very well belong to something that he shouldn't or didn't want to hunt. It was as he turned, gazing through milked over eyes, that he saw the tail waving like a banner in the wind. At first he was unsure of how to react, it was the tail of a canine but almost the color of the sky. Dropping his eyes farther, he took in the sight of the smaller female, finding himself both confused and intrigued. It was a member of the pack, the scent that clung to her fur told him so, but the coloring of the girl confused him.



"Hello." He offered her, keeping the crossbow still at his side to assure her that she hadn't startled him at all. He had learned to be careful with weapons, especially now that anyone or anything could be roaming about. "I am Haephastus, Miss." He offered his name along with a faint smile. "New to this pack." He explained, though the girl looked young enough that he doubted she would be suspicious of him. The innocence of childhood still seemed to linger in her and, for a moment, it brought the foreign man peace. It had been so long since he had seen that.

"Rendall." He tested the name that she offered him, hoping that his accent wouldn't manage to mangle the name, and it seemed that it hadn't. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rendall." He said finally, offering the young woman a gentle smile. Shifting his body around carefully, he turned just enough to settle the crossbow and the bolt on the ground, leaning against the nearest tree so that the weapon would no longer be a worry to either of them. He didn't want to make her nervous with it and didn't much feel like just holding it the whole time, especially while he was meeting someone from his new home.



Allowing her time to shift, Haephastus turned his eyes away from her, scanning the scenery before turning back to her as she approached. Her question had come as no surprise, there were vast differences between himself and other wolves in this area and the scent from his old home, however faint, still clung to his fur with all of it's strength. "A place called Jerusalem." He explained quietly, offering the information without incident. "Far across the ocean, a place filled with mostly desert." In fact, he didn't mind her staring, he was new and different to these lands, it was something that he had come to expect. "How long have you lived here, Miss Rendall?"

Quiet, Haephastus watched as the young female settled herself, offering a faint smile. "I've only been here for a few days." He explained quietly, perhaps some indication as to why he still seemed a bit awkward in the lands. "It seems like a nice place though, with nice people." He added as an afterthought, reminded of just how kind everyone had seemed to be thus far. Phoenix Valley seemed like a nice place for a young woman to grow up, perhaps much like it would have been to grow up in Jerusalem, had a war not been going on. It was certainly something that Haephastus would never be able to let go, the fact that he hadn't seen his old him in a time of peace.



Removing himself from those thoughts, which could become depressing at times, milked over eyes shifted to settle back on the younger female. "So what does everyone do around here?" It was a general question, though perhaps not one that she might be able to answer for him. Of course he knew that there was work to be done, that constant nagging that told him to always be alert, but he knew that it wasn't simply always work. Were there events? Did everyone just meet and greet on their own instead of big groups? There had been small gatherings in Jerusalem, full of drinking in story telling, just something to make them all forget the sorrows of the day.

Ears thrust forward, listening to the younger female speak, and as she did Haephastus noted a familiar name in her words. Xeris, the woman that he had met just a day or so ago, who had been kind enough to explain bits of the lands to him. Smiling just a bit, Haephastus gave a nod of his head as she finished speaking. "I've had the pleasure of meeting Miss Xeris." He admitted quietly, remembering their conversation well. "She told me about some of the other packs around here." Now that he thought about it, he'd had more conversations over the past few days than he had in months and he was finding that it was a nice change of pace.



"This Anya and Ty.." He began quietly, "I haven't met them yet, but I would like to." He smiled, deciding that it would be best for him to meet as many of the other members of Phoenix Valley that he could. He would always be the strange one, the one that didn't seem to fit in quite right, and he could accept that, but he didn't want to feel like a stranger in his own home. He didn't want the other members of the pack staring from afar, wondering who he was and why he was there. He'd make it a point to seek them all out, perhaps, if they might welcome a short time with company. "Do you think they would be interested?"