The pale pirate trekked along the edges of the shores, his tail flagged behind them. He knew that they were close to completion, but he was obsessive of his territory. Smokestep moved with purpose, marking here and there to keep the scent of the Ironsea crew as strong as possible. It would be clear that any passersby would find that the bay was taken, and it would not fall again for as long as he lived. Skellige would have been proud that his son and daughter had accomplished what they had set out to do. While Smokestep did not always agree with his father's tactics, he was confident that he had done precisely what was necessary and the rest would be his own. Though he was Cairn, he had forged his own mindset and abilities and he was ready to thrive.

The pale creature could feel her before she had even come to his flank. With a slow swinging of his head, the brute curled his lips in a smile and drew in her scent, wondering where she had been. The pirate was pleased with her actions, no matter what sort of trouble she had caused. The golden cloak she wore was the only thing that he needed there – truly – and so he would allow for her rapscallion ways. It was, perhaps, his fatal flaw; Smokestep found it incredibly difficult to say no to his sister.

“Where have ye been, Piper?” the corsair inquired with a cant of his head. One ear swiveled to survey the surrounding terrain in order to make sure that no one else would be joining them on their patrol. He was curious, though, to know how she was getting along in their new home. More than this, he wanted to know if she missed any part of Warsaw or their father.

Her smile mirrored his own and he felt himself fall into a homebody-like peace. His eyes roamed over her, making sure that she was well enough – fed and without mark – and noticed that she had taken cuts to herself that appeared to have come from another wolf. Smokestep narrowed his brows as she explained her treks with Raptor and drew his tongue along his muzzle with some interest at the crab, but still she did not seem to mention that she had found herself at the hand of someone who had wished her harm. A small voice in the back of his mind had fallen to his sable-pelted friend and he wondered if Raptor really had gotten his way with Sandpiper or if the marks were from another.

“That's all, eh?” he prompted with a quirk of his brow. “Did the trumpet give ye those?” The pale creature gestured to her muzzle with his own and then smirked at her with a peculiar expression painted to his face. “I have been busy, right. We need the crew to be strong, aye? I'll go out and scout fer more soon,” he affirmed and swung his tail to bat against her softly. “So... what happened? Ye lose a fight wit a shark?”

“Ye catch his name?”

The tone that was released with fiercely protective. While the corsair was certain that his fiery sister could very well protect herself, he did not like the idea that someone had come along and caused harm to her. Sandpiper was dear to him in ways that his other siblings never would be, and never had been, thanks to their upbringing. She was all that he had left of his Cairn blood, and he hung over her like a vigilant guard. If he could get a name from whoever had attacked her, he would be sure that the crew tended to them once they had grown stronger. No one would lay a fang on one of the Cairn siblings.

Piper tried to change the subject, but Smokestep caught it quickly enough and found that the subject of Raptor was something of a sore one for him. He loved his good friend, but the question about whether or not Sandpiper was off limits had been surprising and frustrating for the Captain. “Right, I'm sure he was,” the pirate muttered with a curling of his lip. He shook his skull a few times and frowned at the thought. She tried to ask how recruits were going and he shrugged his broad shoulders.

“Ran into Moorhen, Piper... she's gone an' given up our good family name. Calls 'erself 'Sif' now. She don't even speak our tongue, sis. What kind of ripe fish gullets is that?”

Smokestep cursed at the sands when she mentioned she had no name of her assailant. He did not take kindly to those who might harm his sister. Curling his lip and baring his fangs, the pirate peered down the coast and snorted. “Least he's easy enough to pick outta crowd, eh?” the young Cairn stated coldly. If he caught sight of such a brute, he would be sure to leave a few marks himself. The yearling would tuck away the information for a later time and use it when it became necessary. Until then, he had more to focus on; the forming of the Ironsea crew would not take much longer. He would have felt better with more members under the ranks.

While Sandpiper did not seem at all bothered by her fight with the stranger, Smokestep opted to mull over it for a while longer before she made comment on Moorhen. It seemed there was more than enough to keep the young brute aggravated. He could not imagine why she would have abandoned their name and their cause. His golden counterpart asked if she had damaged her head and he snickered softly. “Had to have... she was a ripe wench, Piper. Trotted off like she was some sort o' queen. Makes me sick,” he growled in response. It was safe to say that if Moorhen was to come back to the coast, she would have been met with the baring of fangs and the lashing of his teeth. Smokestep did not carry very much of his father with him, but he would not tolerate the desertion of the Cairn clan.

Dismissing their sibling was something of a relief for the pale pirate. He looked away from Sandpiper for a moment and sighed; Moorhen would take whatever life she felt drawn to. Smokestep had done the very same, but he was too young and cocksure to realize his hypocrisy. Instead, he felt the need to damn her for her choices and to poison the remainder of the family against her. It was more in his nature as a Cairn than complete forgiveness. After all, his father had spent years of his life hunting down his own sister. Perhaps, he was not as far from Skellige as he had imagined. As that thought started to sink into him, he felt cold and turned to follow his sibling up the beach in search of their next task.