Abaven had proven to be a bust. Circe was a bit disappointed that she hadn't caught up to her brother there, but she had the same curiosity for his band that she'd had for his pack. In due time she'd catch up to him, but for now she was satisfying her curiosity. She'd heard there was a volcano near Archon's old pack and she was determined to see it. Liquid fire that bubbled up from the earth was a novelty. Circe had never seen lava before and had no experience with it, and she was curious about the properties it held. The rogue she'd talked to hadn't been much help and she'd left his company with more unanswered questions than answered ones. It was for that reason she'd decided to find the answers herself. As she neared the summit Circe noted the warmth beneath her paws and the stench of sulfur that wafted from the crater above. These things, she decided, were fitting accompaniments for a fire that supposedly flowed over the land like water. "Circe" "Gwydion"

Archon was somewhat pleased to see that the pack that had regarded him so coolly the first time he visited had ceased to exist. Archon picked through the lands that were once off limits to him. He couldn't find much evidence for what had happened. There was no smell of sickness or bloodshed. It must have been purely God's will that had brought them down. From his first impressions of the pack, it wasn't a huge loss for the pool of mortals.

Obi hobbled behind Archon, gathering little odds and ends. Archon followed the scents and Obi followed Archon, collecting bits of fur and whatnot. Archon had asked him what he was doing, but the monkey simply gave him a long gaze. His lips moved, hushed tones barely passing into Archon's ears. It must have been for one of his spells, Archon figured.

Neither of them expected to find non-pack members already inside the pack lands. Archon had thought himself lucky to find out the pack had fallen apart, but there was a new scent. Obi could tell by the way Archon's direction changed that the wolf had found something, but he didn't have a chance to ask. Archon was large enough that keeping up with him was a struggle on occasion and Obi had no intentions of losing him.

Eventually they came to the steeper parts of the mountain. Obi became less sure of his footing and the heat beneath him. Archon motioned for him to stay back and climbed ahead. There was something he had to find.

And finally, he found it. Yes, Archon decided, the pack disbanding had to be God's work. Stars and everything aligned or whatever. Before Archon stood his sister. A slight smile tugged at his maw as he approached.

"Don't tell me you're planning on culling yourself," he said. "Should you at least give your brother the honor?"

Her brother wasn't entirely forgotten as she braved the summit, but to say he was at the forefront of her mind would have been a lie. Circe was consumed with the sight before her. The fire, the heat, it made her hackles rise out of instinct. Before her was pure, unrestrained power. Before now her mind had been full of the potential uses for the liquid fire. She'd thought of possible ways to bottle it, to craft with it, to use it to her advantage. All of those schemes she was forced to abandon the moment she laid eyes on the pool of lava. Circe huffed. She had her doubts now. But, she consoled herself, she still had plenty of time to play with the stuff and get a feel for it before she needed to be on her way. It wasn't like Archon was expecting her or anything. She wasn't in a hurry to reunite with her family, either. Oh, speak of the devil. "If I did that we'd be losing our generation's brightest star," she said with a sly look over her shoulder. "And we can't have that, can we?" "Circe" "Gwydion"

It was good to see Circe speak back to him in jest. It seemed they were not all without humor, although Archon was willing to concede that he was one of the more serious ones... at least for the most part. Archon allowed a broad smile to cover his face- a smile reserved for family only.

"Certainly not," Archon responded. "So what has our shining protegee been up to these days?"

Archon was curious to find out which ways God had worked in his siblings' lives. Of course Malleus had the pack and probably was the most like their father, but Archon did not think that specifically made him more God-like than his siblings. Archon was sure that God worked through each of them differently and while approval felt good, it wasn't completely necessary. For that reason, Archon was willing to listen without judgement. After all, it wasn't like he was speaking to a mortal.

"Oh, you know," she said with an innocent shrug. "Carrying our family's legacy on my shoulders. Typical shining protegee stuff." In reality she'd been all over the place. She'd gone "home" for awhile, meddled in family business, taken stock of the state of the OG godlings, and then high-tailed it back to the "greener grass" side of things. "What of you, Archon? I heard you had a pack but gave it up for a band." She quirked a brow at him, her unspoken question quite clear: why? Shaye had mentioned he'd felt led elsewhere, but that simple statement left many questions unanswered. "Circe" "Gwydion"

Archon let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head at his sister's description of what she'd been up to. She returned the question, adding on what she knew. So she must have spoken to Malleus. Or Shaye. Either way it was a little unpleasant. Archon flicked an ear back.

"That depends on what you mean by 'had a pack,'" he started. "It was an occupation. It was more or less like watching cattle without being able to hunt them. We could and still can annihilate them if God wishes, but I was not called to that duty."

Archon looked his sister over for a response or reaction. He was eager to see if she would accept his explanation. It wasn't that he felt a need to prove himself to her, but that he would rather people let his decisions be his own. He could understand Malleus feeling come claim over what happened to the pack, but he still had wished his brother took his decision in stride.

"But yes, I've been called to a mobile band. Something with more of a reach than a standing pack. Something God can use as a tool to convert or to inflict as he sees fit."

Archon didn't think God had led him to his sister for no reason, but he was trying to figure out just what the meaning behind this meeting was.

His answer to her unspoken question brought a laugh to her lips. As soon as the sound died away she fixed him with a contemplative gaze and looked him up and down as she considered how to respond. All the god nonsense was just that - nonsense - but she could appreciate Archon's enthusiasm for their religion and she certainly saw the benefits of it. "I doubt I'd have been satisfied with a position like that either," she said, lying for his benefit. Had she been in his place she'd have made the people love her and her rein would have been glorious, but this was not about her. "A band certainly sounds like a better fit," she offered. "So, say a certain shining protege was interested in this band. How would she go about joining?" "Circe" "Gwydion"

Circe offered that she'd wouldn't have liked the position he was in in Abaven, but Archon didn't quite believe her. He let out a breathy laugh as if to prove the point, but he didn't particularly care. He had made his decisions and he didn't have time to second guess them.

Speaking of, Circe asked about the band, asking how she could join if she were interested. Archon gave her a glittery look, "With a proper blood oath and sworn loyalty to God, of course. Not to mention the approval of the band leader."

Archon let the words sit for a moment. He was only joking a little. New members surely would have to prove themselves, but for his sister?

"I imagine, being a prodigy, such a wolf would simply have to say they were willing to join," Archon said with a small smirk. "So... are you?"

Circe's gaze rolled heavenward and her mouth screwed up as she made a show of considering the requirements for joining his band. Blood oath...sworn loyalty...leader's approval. She appeared to waffle in the face of the "taxing" demands. Gwydion, who until now had been coiled between her shoulders, rose up with hood flared and fixed glittery black eyes on Archon. He'd been quietly listening to their conversation and, being familiar with the flow of Circe's thoughts, was becoming excited by the prospects that were opening up before them. "So... are you?" Circe's indecisive expression turned sly as her gaze came back down from the heavens to fix on Archon. "I am. So count me in." "Circe" "Gwydion"