Astryd loitered around her den, pulling out tree roots with her teeth and tossing them outside. Sometimes living in the roots of a tree was crap and she couldn't' believe that she didn't think about that when she dug it out. But after all these years, it was home and above all, she hated change. It didn't used to be so. She had left home with no other thought but change and what she could do with her life. Now, she was growing older, almost too old to work. She had already chosen to join Alaunos with the rest of the Sohei in retirement. As far as she was concerned, she had done her part. She had carved out her place in the history or the Valley just like she had carved out her home in the bottom of this tree; with hard work and dilligence.
"Yo Astryd! Jitte! Look, I'm sick of us being the only ones runnin' these effin' borders. Where are the other Hawks? Are there any other Hawks? Something's gotta give, right? Maybe it's time to bring in some fresh faces."
The voice was familiar to Astryd and the female didn't even bother to lift her head from her work at first, not until he grew nearer. When she felt he was close enough, she emerged from her den, shaking dirt from her pelt. What the hell did he want? Her ears drew back harshly and she let a little growl slip from her mouth before licking her nose, trying to keep patient with the boy.
"The other Hawks? Boy, you really can't be that dense. When was the last time you even saw a heathen on the borders?" She asked sarcastically, beginning a slow circle around his left side, never taking her emerald gaze off of him. 'There was once a time when heathens stumbled upon our borders in droves, seeking redemption...a fresh start. There were so many of them, I could pick my fill and it wouldn't even matter. But the Valley is quiet now isn't it?" Astryd stated, watching Ronove for a reaction. Some might see what she said as blasphemous, saying the Valley why basically dying, falling away from their primitive ways and the culture that made them Oukoku-Kai in the first place. But it was true. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, and there was nothing Astryd could do about it.
"There simply isn't enough work to interest the masses. Over the years our numbers have dwindled... without heathens crossing our borders, what is the point of us?" Astryd asked, finally taking a seat. "But if you're so effing restless and are dense enough to believe you can magically make work for us... why don't you put some bite with that bark and step up to the plate.... Jitte." She nearly snarled.
A part of her hated Ronove. He could be a haughty little bastard and yet.... he handled teh borders how Astryd thought they should be handled. She saw a lot of herself in him and the way he conducted his acceptances. Good thing for him, she already had a reputation for him to step into. Of course he would have to make his own way in the end and she was sure that even in the few acceptances they had, he would uphold the strict rules and judgement she had always adhered to.
"But I don't plan on just tossing you into that... I will stick around and help with the borders until you can find suitable Hawks... IF you can anyway." She huffed. Either way, it was ultimately his problem now.