There had been many things as of late occupying her mind, causing her to dwell on the question of traditions and family. Teaching Vereux and Laufey the Finnvi traditions, the start of raiding season, Laufey's thrall, the possibility of a litter born in Yfir. Kapra would not likely take a wife, and she had no desire for a husband even were she not sworn to Freyja, so it was through Laufey that the line would continue. Yet Laufey was base-born, illegitimate, Jaeger having failed in his duties to claim his children before the eyes of the gods. The boy deserved better than he had been granted. It had been much in her thoughts lately, and perhaps it was time to act. As she patrolled the border as the light began to fade into twilight, she concluded that she needed to speak to Kapra on these matters. He was the only other who had been born into the viking tradition, the only who knew their ways as she knew them. Between them both, she knew, they could decide their best course of action in this. She already had a fair idea of what she wanted done, yet she herself could not act alone on it. Stopping her patrol at a point near the gorge, she lifted her muzzle to call her cousin to her. "" ""

He moved swiftly as soon as he heard his cousin's call. To her he was loyal - something offered to few wolves if any. He felt the same sort of camaraderie with Laufey, his nephew by blood, and with Hypnos he felt some attachment though to a lesser degree. It had been so long since he had been surrounded not just by his kin, but by wolves he looked upon with some kind of fondness and he felt the strength that had nearly abandoned him on the trip north regenerating once again. These lands, and this pack, was as close to home as he had felt in quite some time. His pace quickened as he drew closer to where Katja stood near the gorge, his stance relaxed though he was quite curious what she might want him for. When she came into sight, he would tilt his head to the earth in a simple nod of greeting, ears flicking as he came to settle near her, quite attentive. "Afternoon, Katja," he would greet with only the faintest simper upon his lips. "Have the gods spoken to you today?" Perhaps it might be seen as a foolish question by some, but despite everything he was deadly serious - there was little room for jest when it came to a message brought by the gods, if this was what was on her mind today.

There was something deeply comforting to Kapra's question, that it would be the first thing on his lips after a polite greeting. 'Have the gods spoken to you today?' Such a simple question, so often used mockingly by the faithless, but she knew of Kapra's unwavering faith as she knew her own and the question gained volumes of depth from that devotion. He truly believed, and in this land of unbelievers it was a great comfort. "Perhaps they did," she allowed, with a faint tilt to her head, "though it was your nephew who I have been thinking on." She wasted no time on further pleasantries, but rather jumped immediately into the problem presented. "I had not considered it before, but recent events have... called to mind a certain issue that I would do well to have your assistance in. Kapra, when Laufey was born, Jaeger never accepted him as his son. I doubt he ever knew the children existed - or if he cared. By our traditions and in the eyes of the gods he cannot be a Finnvi, regardless of his blood relation. Any children he sires and claims will be claimed within his mother's family, not the Finnvi. We have no heirs, none of us has born children except Jaeger. The Finnvi line would end with you and I." Now she paused, to collect the words and to underline the seriousness of the issue, mercury eyes intent upon her cousin. "Unless." The solution she may have found, provided Kapra agreed that it was a solution. "Unless he is adopted into the family as an adult, and legitimized as a Finnvi in the eyes of the gods and the law." And then she waited. Traditionally, as a female she could not do this. Only a male of the bloodline could adopt a male into the family, just as only a female of the bloodline could adopt a female into the family. It had always been that way, and there had been more than enough bending of tradition in these faithless lands. She would not add to it. And so, she would simply put the possibility before Kapra, and let him decide whether to pursue it as his brother had not. "" ""

Since birth, the only thing he had known was devotion. To his gods and their world. It was for them that he lived, and he had no doubt that it was for them that he would die. And though he was unpredictable at best, his unwavering faith was a constant. He was likewise comforted in Katja's presence, knowing she was as much of a believer as he had ever met. A slight smile touched his lips as she spoke, despite her own stony expression, and his eyes would shine with a curious gleam. "Laufey?" he would reply gently, a rhetorical question - for what other nephews did he have? To his knowledge, Laufey was the only one. Succinctly she explained what was on her mind. He was not a Finnvi, not to the gods, even if the two of them considered him such. He nodded slowly, musing over her thoughts quietly for a long moment. Her concerns were valid. He had no interest in children, not right now, and he knew Katja had sworn herself to Freyja. The thought of her having children was almost impossible to imagine. His talk with Laufey had only further proved his initial feelings about the boy - he had Finnvi blood running strong through his veins. He was loyal and showed so much promise, certainly more than most of the wolves he had met in Alacritia. How could he possibly deny him this? "He will make our kin proud," he stated finally, firmly, with audible conviction.  "I will do it. Shall we call him here now?"

Kapra agreed that it was the best course of action, and asked if they should call him there. Katja considered it a moment before shaking her head. "We will need witnesses, lest it seem we are ashamed of accepting him into the family. No, it would be best to wait until the time is right." They would know when it was; the omens would point to it. She was a warrior by nature, not a mystic, but surely even she could interpret something so simple as that. Cocking her head to the side she added, "This is an unusual ceremony for us. I do not remember a time when we adopted an adult into the family. Even Auora was already accepted before she was stolen by raiders. But I believe the ceremony is the same as accepting an infant though you will, perhaps, have a more difficult time wrapping him close to your chest to claim him." Her tone wasn't jocular, but thoughtful as she said that, because though the thought of Kapra attempting to wrap his foreleg around the considerably larger Laufey and tuck him against his chest may have struck another as funny, to Katja it was just an obstacle. She shook her head again. "I am certain he will do well as a Finnvi," she said firmly. "As you do now." "" ""