"No. Aislin went yesterday to pick up seeds and plants for her garden, but I did not accompany her. Why?" Saif frowned. Cadr sounded worried, which made him nervous.

"I think we may have someone trying to move in on the town," Cadr said. "Feline, judging from the tracks I saw. I couldn't tell how old they were, the last time we got rain was days ago, so they could easily be that old."

Saif's eyes narrowed. He didn't like that. He and Cadr had marked this town as theirs, so anyone passing through should introduce themselves. And someone trying to move in? Well, that was rude. And it pissed him off.

"I think we should find out who it is and make sure it's not someone just passing through."

Cadr nodded.

"You mind if I leave Sabine here?" he asked. "I'd rather not leave her at my nest while we look into this."

Saif nodded. "That's probably a good idea. The girls can look out for each other." It made him feel better, too, knowing that Aislin wouldn't be alone.

Cadr nodded.

"I'll go and bring her here, then," he said. "Then we can go look into the intruder."

Saif nodded. "Good. I'll wait for you." He went to go tell Aislin she'd have some company for a while.

Cadr nodded and headed back to his nest. Time to tell Sabine she would get to stay with her sister for a bit.

"Aislin," Saif called, walking over to her.

Sabine was currently working with one of the fabrics, although she glanced up when she heard Cadr.

Aislin jumped slightly and looked up promptly when her name was called. Getting up, she brushed the dirt from her clothes.

"Sabine," Cadr said, "are you at a stopping point?"

"I have some other business to do. But Sabine's going to come over and join you for a while. Alright?" Saif looked at her, quickly assuring himself that all was well.

"Um. Yeah. Why?" Sabine blinked.

Aislin nodded, smiling a bit.

"Of course," she replied. She always looked forward to seeing Sabine.

"There is something Saif and I need to take care of," Cadr said. "I would feel better if you stayed with Aislin in the meantime."

Saif nodded. "You'll stay here?" he pressed. He wanted to be sure, after all.

Sabine's eyes narrowed but after a moment she nodded. "What's going on?" she asked carefully.

Aislin nodded.

"I'll stay," she said. She had no reason to disobey him, after all.

Cadr debated telling her not to worry about it, and then decided against it. He didn't think she would appreciate such a thing.

"Someone is trying to move in on the town," he said. "Saif and I are going to look into it."

Saif nodded and smiled at her. "Good. I doubt we'll be gone too long." Hopefully, anyway. If the other one resisted, though... things might get ugly.

Sabine nodded. Okay, that made sense. More sense than him just kind of running off.

"Alright. We'll be inside, I'm sure." She got up and brushed herself off before making sure she had everything so she could leave. She didn't see any reason to argue about this, after all.

Once Sabine was ready, Cadr took her to the temple. He knew Saif would be waiting, and they could leave as soon as Sabine and Aislin were settled.

Sabine didn't dawdle, instead heading straight over to Aislin to check on her and make sure all was well.

"Everything okay?" she asked quietly, glancing between Aislin and Saif.

Aislin nodded.

"Yeah," she replied.

Once Cadr was sure Sabine would be alright with Aislin, he turned to Saif.

"Ready?" he asked.

Sabine nodded. "Alright. Well, let's go inside and relax for a bit."

Saif nodded, glancing back at the girls before he started walking. He figured approaching the other shifter as a snake wasn't a great way to start talks.

Cadr glanced one more time at the girls as well before following Saif.

"How goes the wooing?" he asked his friend as they walked towards the town.

"It... goes." Saif shrugged. "Not well, but it goes." He glanced over at Cadr. "Are you getting along with your girl yet?"

"Somewhat," Cadr replied. "She speaks to me, at least. It's something."

Saif snorted. "Well, I suppose any progress is good, with you." He grinned teasingly at his friend.

"Quiet," Cadr retorted. "Yours is harder to crack than you thought, too."

"At least mine likes me," Saif shot back. Then he shrugged. "But I'm sure we'll both get there. After all, we've got time."