OOC: For my own sanity to keep track of her activities, this is set after she goes to Lirim. Why she went south we may never know...


She still needed, like, an actual plan for what she was going to do. The fact that she was still running around with only vague ideas and a small list of short term goals was concerning her more and more by the day, but Iskra was determined to figure it out one day at a time, even if it meant she might just have to keep flying by the seat of her pants in the end. Dropping the little bundle of plants, which had grown to include the trillium she'd gathered and a bit of earth smoke, she moved to take a drink from the lake. It was funny how drinking makes one realize how very thirsty they really are. Drinking like she was about to die, she lapped and lapped at the water until at last she was satisfied.

Sitting down and letting her front paws rest in the cool waters for a bit, she yawned and glanced around. It was kind of empty here, for the most part. She needed to get out of the boring parts of this continent and start doing... whatever she was doing. It was hard to keep motivation for a self-assigned task with no clear ultimate goal. At least she had an inkling of an idea of what the favor she'd ask of Malleus would be, but.. Ugh. Growling, the celestial fae moved to trudge through the water, wading deeper until she felt where it dropped off into swimmable depths, leaping in without a moments hesitation. Diving down under the surface, Iskra hoped a quick swim would clear her mind.

With his message delivered to Sparrow, Brandr set back out into the field with the intent of finding the other packs and seeing if there was any collective knowledge of the Abraxas and their movements. He was still rather doubtful these individuals could be reasoned with but he hoped he was wrong. He wasn't sure how else they'd deal with them. By itself Abaven was far to small to stand up to them. They'd be crushed. With any luck the Araxas would be content with keeping their empire in Auster and wouldn't be interested in expanding into the northern continent. Currently Brandr was headed toward one of the western packs. He'd taking advice from a loner who attempted to steer him in the right direction. He was hoping this was it. There was something about a wall? That made him a bit wary. From what he'd heard the pack didn't sound particularly friendly but there was only one way to find out. Before he continued on he stopped at a nearby lake, drinking deeply of the cool water that soothed his dry and itchy throat. He hated this heat! He was so absorbed in quenching his thirst that he almost didn't notice the brightly colored woman not far off soaking her paws. He looked up and quickly lapped the water dribbling from his chin. "Oh, goodness, sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." "Talk" "You" Think

Splashing around the shore, she moved restlessly before settling back on the shore and returning to her previous activities. Sitting, staring at nothing, soaking sore paws. Blah, boring! The rosy woman was considering splashing out to the rock sitting in the middle of the lake when she heard a voice off to her left, jumping slightly but quickly recovering and delivering a cheery smile. "Don't worry, you haven't. I'm near impossible to disturb, especially when my boredom is cured by a new face. I'm Iskra Aeris, nice to meet you."

Taking in his scent, she canted her head and eyed him with curious blue eyes for a bit before lighting up as she asked, "Say, you're a pack wolf, aren't you? What's your pack called?" she hadn't smelled this one before, which meant this was one of the packs that she was supposed to visit with Rory! Wait, where was he? No matter, she didn't need him yet if this guy turned out to be easy to talk to.

For a moment she seemed to take on a far away look as she thought maybe she was forgetting something... Oh, wait,s he should explain! "Sorry, that was out of the blue, you see I'm trying to track down all the packs and see if anyone's seen a particular family of wolves up here in Boreas. I live in Auster and the pack I was in was challenged fro and taken by them. I wanna know more about them, and," a look that was a mix of mischievous and proud took over her features as she delivered the last bit of information, "I've made a deal with one of them that I want to use for... something. Well, I haven't really figured that bit out too well yet, but I'm supposed to bring one of them herbs and things in return for a favor of my choosing." Yeah, it was basically a perfect deal. How had she even pulled that off? If she wasn't a 'spirit' to those wolves she probably wouldn't have.

Eyeing Brandr she wondered if that was too much at once. Sure,s he could have made small talk a while, but beating around the bush was annoying and she far preferred to be direct and just talk about things.

The woman didn't seem bothered by Brandr's encroachment and instead offered her name. Iskra Aeris. Brandr dipped his head in greeting. "Nice to meet you Iskra. I'm Brandr Scylding." He moved around the edge of the water so that he would be closer and wouldn't have to wonder if he was speaking loud enough for her to hear. He nodded at her question about his pack. "Yes, I'm from Abaven, a pack in the East." Brandr inclined his head, ears flicking forward as Iskra stated that she was looking for information about a family of wolves. She was from a pack that had been challenged and lost to this family. He listened patiently as she stated that she had managed to barter a favor from this family. Brandr felt his stomach shift. Could this be the same family that had ousted Dragoste? "This family… they wouldn't happen to be called the Abraxas would they? We're sheltering a family from a pack called Dragoste that was challenged and claimed by a strange and large family of wolves. What was your pack called, Iskra?" "Talk" "You" Think

A gentle smile came to her lips as he introduced himself as Brandr. "Nice name." she commented absently. As he moved she would also pick up and seek to close the distance a little, settling herself on the water's edge a comfortable distance so they could converse more easily. The woman would file the name 'Abaven' away for later use. No doubt even if she had plenty of opportunity to get information form this guy, the nebulous fae would still likely find herself visiting Abaven's borders. After all, he didn't have the look or demeanor of an alpha from what she saw, and saying he was simply 'from' the pack was enough for her to figure she'd have to go there if she wanted to meet the leader face to face. More walking... yay.

As he brought up the name Abraxas she quickly cried, "Yes!, but would let him finish after her confirmation. Dragoste... Hm, that name didn't ring a bell, but to hear that something similar happened to someone else was surprisingly troubling. So, they did this more than once? Why? "It was called Talis, and the new pack that's risen in it's place is part of what the challenger, Ashiel, referred to as "the Abraxas empire", whatever that means. I've just come from visiting Lirim and they may have had an... incident with one of the Abraxas harming a pack member, although I can't actually prove it. She described him as tall, with striped brown and white fur, and called her... Pixie, yeah."

It was admittedly an interesting recent turn of events in her opinion. Some strange wolves bent on taking over multiple packs reasons - unknown to her, at least - was arguably an unrivaled way of spicing things up in Boreas and Auster. It did leave a bad taste in her mouth, though, knowing that they had some great plans but not knowing why or where it ended.

Brandr nearly jumped at the woman's recognition and his heart sank at her words. A pack named Talis had been conquered by the Abraxas as well and he filed the name Ashiel away, fearful for a moment that he recognized the name. She went on to explain that Lirim had had an incident with them harming a pack member. He filed away the description but hoped he didn't run into any more of these wolves. "I'm sorry to hear about your pack. What is your name if you don't mind me asking? If you need a place to stay you're welcome to accompany me back to Abaven." "Talk" "You" Think

Her memory flickered back through the day of the challenge, trying to dust off the bits she remembered and see if there was anything else useful to add. Nothing off the top of her head. A noncommittal shrug and a light smile began her response. Sometimes she felt bad for not being as attached to Talis as the others. Losing the first pack she'd joined as an adult did suck, but she recovered quickly. Iskra was far too adaptable to get pulled down that easy. "Thank you. It was unfortunate, but I suppose it could have been worse. I'm just thankful our alpha fared as well as he did in the fight." Honestly, if something had happened to Dragon in that battle she'd be far more inclined to go on the war path. As it was, all she wanted was to know more, and wait to see how things unfolded from here.

At his offer she would have to shake her head. "I appreciate your offer, but I was traveling with someone for now so I ought to wait for him. I will visit Abaven later though, it's one of the last packs I have to visit. Although, I haven't heard much of Dauntless other than it exists, or existed, according to Rory." She sighed and moved to search for her herbs and collect them, standing with them at her paws as she turned back to Brandr, "I should probably get going soon, but it was nice to meet you. I am curious... if they continue on their path for conquest, do you think your pack has the strength to fight back? There's not a lot one can do about more one on one challenges... Except strike first, I suppose. Increase numbers. Gather allies, fight back. All merely ideas, but, it is worth considering."

ooc: I don't even know what my timelines are any more but to save Iskra a trip I'm going to say Brandr knows Dauntless is no longer a thing xD

Brandr nodded as Iskra mentioned she was just glad it wasn't worse. It seemed she was traveling with someone else but was planning to visit Abaven. At the mention of Dauntless he felt his heart sink a bit and he shook his head. "I'm sorry but Dauntless is no more. A member from Abaven broke off to start his own pack but when I went looking I couldn't find it. I heard from… wait… did you say your last name was Aeris? I'd heard from an Aerndis Aeris that it had fallen. She does look quite a lot like you." He shook his head. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you to. I'd have to talk with our alphess about that. As it currently stands were a smaller pack and alone we certainly wouldn't hope to match the Abraxas but with allies and an increase in numbers…" he shrugged. A first strike was a possibility but he doubted the risk would be worth the reward. He had a feeling the Abraxas were rather like a stubborn wart that would keep coming back. Of course, he didn't want to sit around and do nothing either. "Talk" "You" Think

A slight cant of her head and a furrowing of her brows twisted her features. "Oh. That's really too bad." she breathed, disappointed yet still glad not to have to make a trip far into the north for nothing. Her expression turned thoughtful as she considered the name Aerndis. Hmm... Oh, wait! "Ah, that must be my niece, then. Did she look well? I haven't met all of my sister's children yet. I meant to visit when I was up that way some time ago but... It never happened." Honestly that thought felt like a stone in her stomach. Cold and uncomfortable; guilty. She should make up for that when she wasn't running around on wild, haphazardly planned errands. No, she would make up for it. She'd find Art, of Art's kids wherever they were - Lato too - and be a better, more present relative. With stories aplenty to tell upon their reunion no doubt.

Iskra nodded slowly at his reply, considering his words carefully. Her blue eyes flickered side to side as she considered things. "Hmm... There are only three packs left in Boreas if Dauntless is gone. After meeting the other two alphas, I'm curious... With so few of you, and a common threat, what about a multi-pack alliance? Or rather, all of you, I should say. If you're few, and there is strength in numbers, it is not a bad idea if everyone's open to it. Or... maybe at least a meeting to discuss the issue at hand. If the conquest continues, I think it would not be enough to ask the Abraxas for peace. They will always want more, especially if total control is the goal." She shrugged in an effort to break up her own serious talk. Too much for too long felt... Too grim? Like they were fighting for their lives when she wasn't even sure what she was doing right now or who's side other than her own she was even on.

Smiling half-heartedly at the man, she added, "If such a thing happened, I'd love to be present. I think usually meetings of alpha's are one on one. To see a gathering of all those residing in this continent would surely be something. And, uncertain times do make the unexpected that much more likely. I should go, though, but perhaps I will see you again! If not when I visit you pack, then certainly sometime after I make my trip back to Auster." Standing a touch uncertainly, she'd wait for any additional words before heading on her way. Enough playing in the water, she had things to do, wolves to see.

Brandr felt bad for Iskra as he delivered the news. It really was to bad but at least he was able to save her a trip all the way north. So Aerndis was Iskra's niece? He figured they must be related. With coats that distinct it left little room for happenstance. "Yes, she seemed quite well and energetic though… I didn't sense any family nearby. I found that concerning but she seemed alright." Iskra's words fell heavy as she stated that there were only three packs in Boreas including Abaven. So few? He listened as she spoke and nodded. "I'd been turning the idea of a multipack alliance over in my head as well but since I haven't met many of the alphas I wasn't sure how crazy an idea it was. A meeting to discuss it might be worthwhile. I'm not the alpha of Abaven, Sparrow is and she'd be the one to make the decision. It certainly can't hurt. Though… with pack challenges seeming to be the weapon of choice it may take more than an alliance." However, should a pack be challenged for and defeated it was reassuring to think that there might be places where the members could seek refuge with their allies. "Sounds good, I wish you luck Iskra!" -exit- "Talk" "You" Think

Her brow furrowed lightly at the mention of Aerndis possibly being alone. Iskra wouldn't be surprised if the boisterous young Jupiter was off alone and making trouble like he had been at a young age, but back when she met him he'd said their mother was nearby. She hoped they were simply scattering because they'd grown old enough to do so, but still, Iskra would need to check that out and learn more for her own peace of mind.

She nodded, mulling over more thoughts before replying, "If your pack ever needs my aid, you are welcome to call on me if I'm in the area. I could be a great messenger or something now that I know all the alphas." She shrugged and smiled lightly. Hopefully there was a way to fight back against these challenge-hungry wolves. "Goodbye, Brandr."

-exit-