There was a new sense in the air, that was for certain. Even if he was only in the position to learn, he took it to heart. Rivaxorus was filled with determination and more so a sense of responsibility. Stretching his limbs he had woke this morning with the intention of going around the borders. His uncle was still recovering from the challenge and he was certain many others were emotionally. He had heard that this man who challenged Leo was Amalia and Athena's son. For what he knew, he never met Athena but she was family all the same. He hoped for their safety as well as their mental well being. After all everyone had taken the challenge differently, and in his eyes he respected both the challenger and the challenged. Leo even more so at that.
Throwing the images of the challenge away, he continued onto the borders. Eyes alert and sound, everything seemed to be of accord. He stopped where the weeping willows connected with this land though. Ears perked forward staring off into the distance. It was the only place that had felt like home, but painful memories at with the fond ones. Making it almost impossible to cross that invisible barrier of scent. His gray tail flicked behind him, as he thought of what his future held. Holly was no longer here with them, and he had thought about visiting his sister. Simply because she was just that. Their family had been close, siblings tied down together. His father as well, how badly he wanted to tell him he had done something great.
Closing his eyes his head turned away from the border as he went to continue with his walking. Maybe he would talk with Amalia today, Athena was the lead fighter wasn't she? While it wasn't announced just yet the archduke like always felt a strong connection between all pack members was needed. When he got his own pack, that was how he would do things. For now he was training, and yet his intelligence meant a lot and learning was the key. Ignorance was true, but it would be fixed with effort and age at that. His two different colored eyes opened, giving out a sigh to all these thoughts filling his head.
It was so hard for her to believe that Diana and Jayne were already getting old enough to not need constant supervision. It felt like she had blinked and suddenly they had grown up. They were still very young of course, still pups by all means, but it still made her sad in the best way. She frowned as she lounged in one of the dry places between the many hot springs, catching brighter glimpses through the steam now and then as the breeze blew it out of the way. All she could hope for was for their daughters to to stick closer to home than her sons had... and perhaps for them to stay in a brighter state of mind than her sons.
She sighed and lifted her head from her paws, slowly pulling herself from her stomach to her haunches. She could see more clearly now that her head was over the thickest of the steam and the first thing she saw was a young man taller than herself moving through the hot springs. He seemed to be coming from the border and she watched him curiously. If she remembered correctly he was one of Leo's nephews... The pack had exploded in numbers recently and she wasn't sure if she had been properly introduced to any of them just yet. Well, she didn't figure she'd ever learn who was who if she didn't make an effort to do so. She padded closer till she was close enough to dip her head in greeting, her tail waving gently behind her. "Hello there."
Rivaxorus had been so distracted that he hadn't noticed the woman. Taking a step back as she approached him, and greeted him. Looking her up and down, her appearance matched the description but so many wolves looked like one another you could never be sure. She definitely had his aunt's scent on her, and what an odd coincidence that he would run into the one he had been planning to speak to. While he looked nothing like Leo or his aunt, it stood to reason because he was from the adopted portion of the family. Smiling as he noticed the wagging of her tail he dipped his head respectfully towards her.
"Morning there miss." he greeted brightly as he sat to be more comfortable. He had finished his rounds, so there shouldn't be a problem with him relaxing. "Are you... - do you happen to be Athena?" Rivaxorus asked raising an eyebrow for a moment as he then settled his expression down again. "My name's Rivaxorus II Adravendi I'm amalia and Leo's nephew. I was recently promoted to archduke so I wanted to meet you - well of course to add on you're family after all!" he didn't want to seem too pushy. That was a mouthful to say and so he quieted down so he could intently listen to her.
Athena was glad to see that the younger man seemed polite and happy enough to be talking to her. She would follow his lead as he spoke and settle onto her haunches as well. He'd correctly guess her name and she would nod with a smile to confirm that he was right. She wasn't too surprised that he was indeed Leo and Amalia's nephew and she would tuck his name away in her memory for later. What did surprise her some was the fact that he had been promoted to Archduke. That was certainly news to her! Although she supposed that Leo really hadn't had much chance to make an announcement of any kind with the challenge and his recovery.
She chuckled softly as he reasoned with why he wanted to meet her. It was very obvious he was still very young and figuring things out. It reminded her so much of herself when she first took control of Glaciem all those years ago. She did give him some credit though, for such a young man he held himself very well. "Well, it's very nice to meet you and congratulations on your new title, Rivaxorus!" she'd reply with a good natured grin. "I'm glad to finally get a chance to meet more of Leo and Amalia's family. I feel like I've lived here for so long now and I still hardly know anyone in the pack." She'd pause and add, "Leo must see good things in you if he's promoting you to Archduke so soon."
Athena already seemed like a fine young lady - he was very glad that he had the chance to speak to her. He also certainly hoped to know her better in the future especially as Amalia's wife. He didn't want her to be simple rumors he was hearing about or did you hear Amalia's wife this or that. "It's more of a training thing, I asked him to and he thought Archduke would be a good way for me to learn alphaship. It's my dream to have a pack, but there's still a lot I don't know." Rivaxorus explained to her as his tail switched sides for a moment. Yet that did give the notion that his stay in Fiori might just be temporary as it was.
"I always seek out those I don't know in a pack. I think connections and knowing wolves intimately is important. Not in a romantic way but yeah." he grinned playfully. Hopefully it didn't seem to much of him. "How are your pups? The girls?" he didn't know the two little girls names. But he knew that they were Amalia and Athena's kids. If he remembered - they had been at the challenge. However he buried the memory. He didn't want to bring that up with her.
Athena nodded as she listened to Rivaxorus talk about how Leo was helping him prepare for his own pack. It reminded her a lot of how she had ended up taking over her father's role. Of course her path had been a very strange and hard one, but she had gotten started by gaining a higher rank like Riv had. He spoke about getting to know wolves in the pack and she laughed lightly at his little mix of words at the end. She had known what he meant, but it was a funny thought anyway. "That's good. I wish I had done more of that when I was an alpha so I'd say you're definitely on the right track."
He asked about her daughters and she smiled. "They're doing well. I don't think the challenge really shook them nearly as badly as I was afraid it would. I think it helped that Leo won and nothing changed for them really..." She frowned a little. If they actually knew their brothers it might have been a different story. As it was they were really only familiar with their uncle so that had been the one that had mattered. But did pups really understand what a challenge was? She wasn't really sure.
Athena used to be an alpha? Well that was some interesting news for him. Her sullen expression explained to him that at the challenge that man had been her son. Something that he had to crawl out of his own head. That meant that the two kids were half siblings towards them. He certainly knew it helped him that Leo had won. The challenge was right after when he and his family had joined fiori. It would have thrown his bad luck into another loop if that had happened, but he had trusted Leo enough to protect their home. "If you or aunty Amalia ever need a baby sitter I'm here." plus it would be awesome to connect with some of his cousins for sure.
"Want to take a walk with me?" Rivaxorus asked her as he gestured his head for her. After all there was no better way to clear your head than a walk. That much he had learned. Whenever he felt the need to think that's what he did. That way any sort of negativity could be clearly flushed out of his system. Even if it was only for a matter of time.
She snapped back out of her thoughts as Rivaxorus spoke again, offering his services as a babysitter. That made her smile. She was so grateful to have so many wolves in their pack that were willing to keep an eye on their daughters. It made her feel safe letting them run around the pack lands because she knew that if anyone in the pack saw them they would make sure they stayed out of trouble. "I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for the offer, Rivaxorus." It made her happy to have so many of Amalia's family with them here. She missed her family sometimes, but she knew that this was a much better environment for her girls to grow up in. They deserved to know this kind of love and family loyalty that all of Amalia's family seemed to possess.
She'd nod in agreement at his offer. A walk sounded nice. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea." She'd stand and give her fur a little shake before falling in beside him and starting to walk with him through the Fiori territory. "So you want to start your own pack, hm?" she asked curiously, glancing toward him. She wondered if she would have ever had that kind of initiative if she hadn't inherited her father's back all that time ago. She had wanted to follow in his footsteps, but she honestly didn't know if she would have thought to build a pack from the ground up like that. Or if enough of her family would have followed her to do it anyway.
It seemed he was right to try and slightly change the subject. After all it was important to keep other's minds off all the bad things. Rivaxorus knew that too much for himself - maybe a huge downfall of being from an adopted portion of the adravendi's was his bad luck. As they started to walk, he made sure to keep pace with her. Since of his height he tended to walk a farther distance than most at times. Athena asked him about starting his own pack, making him laugh for a moment. Of course he'd be asked about that.
"Yeah, to protect the things I hold dear and close to me. I have a feeling I just want to positively know I'll be providing a good home for them." Rivaxorus looked ahead of them. "Parts of me also wants to do a much better then what my mother did. I hate comparing myself to her, but I've worked hard trying to get her reputation off our backs." He was happy many people didn't just look at him and see his mother in them.
Athena enjoyed listening to Rivaxorus talk about his reasons for wanting to create a pack. It felt very similar to the atmosphere that Leo had for Fiori so she was sure he was good in his intentions. That was one of the things she really appreciated about Amalia's family. They all seemed so concerned about keeping each other safe. Part of her knew that her father had wanted the same thing, he just went about it in a much different and much more dark way. She nodded in understanding when he spoke of the reputation his mother had left behind. She understood that feeling deeper than he probably realized. She let her gaze drift away from him to watch the ground ahead of them as they walked. "It took a long, long time to feel like I had gotten away from my father's reputation. I still think it comes back to haunt me from time to time. I never deny where I came from, but it didn't help that I fell in love with a woman from the family that he had basically gone to war with for most of my childhood." She chuckled softly and glanced at Riv. "I'm glad you're trying to do something so significant for you and your siblings though. That's very brave of you."
He hummed a bit, if he recalled she was an Armada. He and his siblings had heard a little about the stories from what his mother said before she lost her mind. Of she and her uncle, who had been slain by Athena's father. The ice king. Rivaxorus laughed a bit, death matches - they seemed to be something held in common in his life. "You can't help who you fall in love with after all." he said looking at the woman for a moment. "You're an Armada aren't you? My mother had quiet a handful to say about the family, mainly her uncle Syrinx and Isardis' scuffles. Our side of the family was actually adopted into the adravendi family my mother was adopted by Epiphron - our blood line goes by the surname Walker. Which is just as infamous as my mother I suppose." When Athena said it brave, he shook his head.
"I wouldn't call it brave, there's been a lot of stuff lost along the way. It's selfish too, but I'm determined to do it anyway. Leadership isn't something I'd give to anyone not thoughtfully anyway." he had seen the way it went. Authority figures and the like, they had a lot of things hanging over their heads. The protection of their people and more, if they made a mistake. It took a huge blow on more than just themselves.
Athena would nod when he asked if she was an Armada. His speaking of Syrinx and Isardis pulled many memories up to the forefront of her mind. Many scuffles indeed. She had been at that death match and she remembered the time Syrinx had come to challenge her for Glaciem only to refuse to fight her because he wanted to fight her father like it was yesterday. That had been a hard pill for her to swallow as a young wolf- the thought that because she wasn't her father she wasn't given the respect he had been given. To this day she didn't think she ever really earned than respect, no matter how hard she and Vereux had tried. She tried to focus her attention on Riv once again as he spoke of his mother's birth family. Walkers. She couldn't remember ever hearing that name... Oh, no, she had. Perhaps a couple of times. She had been pretty isolated when she lived up north. Most of the wolves she came in contact with when she lived there were family just by virtue of Isardis having so many children. She listened to his explanation of how his dreams weren't brave. It was a very mature way to look at it for someone so young. "I wish I had been as thoughtful as you when I was your age," she commented with a sad smile. She knew that maturity came at a price. She didn't know all the details on Riv's childhood, but just the fact that he had lost his mother in such an extreme way so young had to effect him greatly. "Looking back on it now, I know I had gone into my reign very blind to what it really entailed. All I wanted was to make my father proud and be as strong as he had been. I was very young and very naive." She shrugged her shoulders a bit as they walked, her two-toned eyes glancing at the area around them. "You live and you learn I guess."
