Can You Hear The Drums?
Surreal Adravendi |
It was interesting, was it not, how things happened when she was so close to her goals? She had heard the song of Challenge for Threar. And she hadn’t heard the call of victory from Novella’s voice, or from Frith. Not long after, the next day, she had found the borders she patrolled so often rank with a pack scent that was not her own. Sin Armada. Naturally it had to be an Armada that ripped her home from under her paws, again. Well, she wasn’t having it. Battlesong had scouted, and told her of the new pack that had settled in the west, and in her home. They hadn’t directly come into contact Surreal and her family, but damned if she was going to give them the chance to uproot them again. She would kill if she must.
She recalled from memory that a Bass Destruction was a leader of a pack in the East. She had meant to stop by on her last trip through, when she’d spoken to Frith, but the pull of her family had been too strong to allow her to tarry for very long. Shai was a part of this pack, as well. Abaven. Was this Bass the same Bass that had stayed in Valhalla under her mother;s rule for a short time? She wanted to see. So she arrived on the borders of Abaven, taking a deep sniff of the scents. It was definitely a Destruction family scent, similar to Novella’s. Did he know about Threar’s fate? How could he not, when the two packs had been neighbors. Whatever, if anything, his plans were regarding this event, she wanted to know. Regulus came to a stop beside her, deep sapphire eyes serious. She’d needed to stop him from charging out to fight the wolves that had encroached upon the home. There were too many for their small band to take alone.
She could sense the restlessness in her eldest born son, so close to being a full fledged adult. Gently, she brushed her muzzle against his shoulder, uttering a soft growl. "Foighne. Más rud é nach mbeidh siad cabhrú, ansin is féidir linn bide ach ár gcuid ama, agus beidh mé cúram a ghlacadh de na bastaird mé féin." She yurned her head, lifting her muzzle to the sky to utter a haunting, polite summons for Bass. She had wondered where the fellow had gone. Now the question remained; would he remember her, and the home her mother had provided for the short time he had been there?
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Regulus Anatolii Adravendi |
Regulus wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He wanted to fight off the invaders that had so callously claimed the home of an entire family. But his mother had been adamant that he hold fast and follow her to the East. Tornach was large and strong enough to protect the others, and this would be a part of Regulus’ training for the future role of Archangel. So as they came to a stop at tghe borders, he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. His mother must have felt the restless energy in him, because she gave him a gentle nuzzle to the shoulder, and a growled reassurance. He didn’t want to bide his time. He wanted to be out there, tearing into the enemy. It was a new feeling, to be sure.
His mother sang a call for the leader of Abaven, and he went still, ears straining to hear any sound of a reply or an approach. His mother had mentioned the possibility if this wolf having once been a part of Valhalla. Did that mean this wolf would be willing to help? Was Aslan and his little sister Luck okay? That plucky little pup, now homeless. The thought alone was enough to draw a growl from his chest, one quickly stifled by a sharp glance from his mother. So he waited beside her, for whatever relief, or disappointment this leader of Abaven might bring.
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Surreal Adravendi |
So it was the Bass she remembered. As he came into view, she took a moment to look over the male. He’d grown well, and carried himself strongly. She didn’t have to reintroduce herself, either. The anger in her gut lessened, and she felt a warm smile pull at her jaws as he greeted her and Regulus. “It has been a while. It’s good to see that you’re alive and well. This is my eldest son, Regulus Anatolii Adravendi.” She tilted her head to indicate the massive red male, then settled her haunches upon the ground. “I do wish that these were happier times, but…” A brief sigh hissed from her jaws, as some of the hardness returned to her eyes and the set of her head. “I don’t think I need to ask if you know about Threar’s fall.” The somber tones to her voice held no pleasure at the news. She liked Novella and Frith. They had been good, kind wolves. She just hoped that they, and their family, were alright, safe somewhere.
She straightened slightly, tail flicking to curl about her hips. “There are vermin in my home. They claimed Vericona Plains, and a small portion of the desert just to the north of the plains.” Despite the anger in her heart, her voice was level, calm. It was the ice in her eyes that told just how deeply the anger ran. “I came to ask for assistance, or to offer my own, in routing them from my home. No matter if you will help, I intend to take action. I have children who need a stable life. And even if I didn’t, I don’t want those bastards to get away with what they’ve done to Threar. I know exactly how it feels to have your pack challenged for.” She’d had enough of being displaced from her home. That wasn’t what she wanted for her children, and Novella and Frith had just recently had a new litter. What of those children?
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Surreal Adravendi |
Bass’s change in mood wasn’t unexpected. In fact, she had hoped to see it, because it would confirm that he was as good as the rest of his family. The Destructions were, in many ways, like the Adravendis. Family meant a great deal to most of them, though she imagined that even the Destructions might have a black sheep or two, as the Adravendis had with Syrinx, Eos, and Neo, who had gone so far as to renounce the family, and wish to destroy them. She let him speak, listening with interest and sadness. “Any word of their newest born litter? When I visited last, they had just celebrated the births of two new pups…” She gave a fretful sound in the back of her throat, paws shifting restlessly. She was glad Bass was having thoughts of sieging, but she could definitely understand his hesitation, what with children on the way. “Congratulations on your upcoming litter, by the way.” The words were heartfelt, and honest. New lives were something that would always be celebrated, even in hard times.
His question as to her wants should he assist was answered with no hesitation, and her eyes met his in an earnest stare. “Vericona Plains is where I was born, where I grew up, trained, and fought to protect in the war between Valhalla and Glaciem. Our Patriarch, Cairo Adravendi, is buried there. Our dead are buried there, from the war, and from the plague. No place else has ever felt like home. I want my home, Bass.” So much emotion lay just behind the steadfast boundaries of her voice. She wasn’t begging, nor was she demanding, or even commanding. She was speaking the deepest truth available to the world. “I want my home, and to be able to raise my pack and my children there in peace. And I’m willing to fight for that right, with all I have. It would be an insult to my mother’s memory not to do so.” Her words and her voice were fierce, her eyes bright with the fire of determination. There was no backing down, and she knew Regulus could feel that power, in the way he looked at her attentively.
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