He needed a meeting with Shaye, they’d spoken recently but not recently enough. He tried to stay in as close a communication with the first alpha as possible, but they were both busy. He couldn’t complain about that. They seemed a good team so far, and Abaven was running well in his opinion. He loped his way beside the rapids, the paath he and other wolves took was quite worn down after years of following it through the territory. Rhyme wasn’t sure where to find Shaye at this time of day, twilight would be upon them soon and he doubted she would be in her den but that was the direction he was headed. He wondered how much she might have to tell him. They were planning the wedding to be soon, the leaves were getting close to their peak colors. He would be glad to see his mother here, he knew it had been years since she had been within Abaven’s borders. Having almost all of his family together again… And joining Solor and Vail as husband and wife. He couldn’t deny he felt himself looking forward to their future offspring. He chuckled softly to himself as he continued down the path. "”

She felt like she was following the scent of Rhyme around everywhere she went. She did border patrols? His scent already lined it. Shes scented a few border interactions between him and others as well, when she had been out hunting or sorting out alliances of her own. Whatever the reasons, Rhyme was working hard and doing a pretty damn good job. They seemed to be passing each other by without actually meeting in the middle, and Rhyme wasn’t the only one who thought it was time for a catch up. So it was with a pleased smile, that she would look up from the fish she had been skinning and see her second Alpha. "Rhyme" she said in greeting "care to share a meal?" She offered him. Nudging some of the finished fish his way. "I have a lot to share with you, and I have a strong feeling you have a few things yourself." She gave a pleased chuckle, changing her seated position to one where she could look up at him over her work. "Talk" "You" Think

Rhyme didn’t find himself going far before Shaye was in sight, just a few steps after deciding to go to her den she called out to him. Rhyme halted, signaling Imperia who was circling above him to join them. She would certainly enjoy the fish that Shaye offered for a meal. Not that Rhyme didn’t like fish, he just liked mammal better. Now that he thought about it he would take fish over reptiles any day. He smiled quietly to himself as he switched directions and made his way over to Shaye. Imperia landed on his back gracefully as he stopped beside the first alpha. He bent down to take some fish and the raven hopped to the ground to take what she believed was her fair share. Shaye said she had much to discuss with him, and she had called his own reason for seeking her out all too quickly. He smiled and nodded silently as he finished the fish he had just picked up. He wondered if he should be silent and wait for her to tell him what she needed to. After sleeping on Spider’s confession he had grown a reluctance in sharing his words. Even now he still debated with himself on which path to choose. "Hello, Shaye. And you would be right.” He decided to wait for her news first. "”

She completed her work over the fish as Rhyme came to a stop before her. She grinned as Imperia fluttered down to take a share of the meal. Rhyme’s new companion was a beautiful sight, and even snatching pieces of fish was something she did with grace. Shaye took a bite of fish, letting the soft morsel squish between her teeth before swallowing. She grinned at her second as he admitted she had the right of it. Of course, it helped that she had a few things to share with him as well. “Please. Go on ahead and begin if you like. I haven’t had dinner yet.” she admitted, taking another bite. She would speak first if he preferred, but if he wanted to share his news first, it would give her a chance to eat her fish between anything she might need to say in response to his words. Plus, she was brimming with curiosity on what he had been up to, and a few of the scents she had smelled around. "Talk" "You" Think

Rhyme watched Shaye as she decided he needed to go first. He pulled his ears back and sat down, not fully through with digesting his own thoughts. Rhyme was silent for a moment as Shaye guzzled down her fish as fast as Imperia managed to. He stifled a sigh and tried to find his tongue. "I met a man at the border a few days ago.” Start with Tyranis. Shaye likely did not know him. "He said his name was Tyranis Preator and he asked about Abaven’s recent change in hands. I guess he had grown up here, and Bass had promised him a crown.” His voice grew a little dark, not sure what to make of the events the wolf had told him. "When Sparrow was given it instead because of her bloodline animosity festered, though since all those that had broken their promises were gone he didn’t wish us to be enemies.” He paused, not even sure if Shaye was keeping up. Had he remembered the story correctly? "He said he was on his way to building a pack, I’m sure that’s not the last we’ve heard from him” Hopefully he returned with peaceful intentions, but Rhyme was sure Tyranis would be difficult to predict. "I thought you should know.” He stopped, still in that moment debating what he should say about Spider. "”

She helped herself to the fish well keeping a careful eye on him, he looked a little put out, and she wondered what heavy thoughts lay behind his gently blue eyes. Sometimes, she couldn’t look at him and not see his mother. She swallowed the thought, and gave him patience as he sorted through his thoughts and began. “Tyranis Preator? Will he be a problem for us?” Shaye asked him. She did not recognise the name and knew nothing about him. Perhaps she could enquire to some of the wolves who had been here longer then she. Promised a crown? She wondered what thoughts had brought him back to Abaven, or why Bass would promise this man rulership. She chewed over the thought. Rhyme said he didn’t wish them to be enemies, but she had not meet the man. What did Rhyme read from their meeting past what was spoken. She looked at her Alpha partner with respect, and knew that whatever he spoke in response to this, she would take to heart. “Thank you Rhyme, perhaps i’ll do a little investigating into the man.” she promised him. Of course, all names that were mentioned - Sparrow and Bass, they were gone. She noticed him pause again, and decided to give him some time to work through whatever was on his mind. She knew that if it was important, he would find a way to spit it out. In the meantime, she filled the silence. Perhaps they could do this turn for turn, instead. “Abaven has a couple new alliances in place now. One in particular - A friendly man named Branch now rules a pack called Kesali. He wants his pack to be a trading pack on good terms with all the packs on this land. He seemed like a sweet natured man, and promised us trade. I’m keen to build on that relationship, I think our packs will get along quite nicely.” Some good news after the somewhat troubling one that Rhyme had brought to her. "Talk" "You" Think

Shaye was usually easy to talk to, and he wasn’t sure why it was so difficult to tell her what the man had said. "I hope not, he would be a formidable opponent if he does.” Their conversation hadn’t hinted at any animosity left, but maybe he’d been as honest as possible with out giving away his plans. They would have to be ready for anything. Rhyme nodded as she mentioned she’d look into who the man was, though they would likely be meeting on equal terms when they came face to face next. Thankfully Shaye had some good news to report, new alliances had come through and he managed to smile at her successes. "I look forward to meeting him.” Their meeting might have been over at that point, did Shaye have anything else to tell him? She didn’t seem like it, and now he had to make his decision. Spider hadn’t asked him to keep his secret after all, and he knew Shaye deserved to know everything that he did. "There is one more thing..” "”

She shared the news about the pack alliances, bringing the topic on to a lighter note. She would still remember to keep an eye and an ear out for this Ty, and hoped, as Rhyme did, that the whole situation was just an honest curiosity at the fate of the pack he had once lived in. No one in Abaven now knew him, and whatever grudge he bore was to people now gone. She tapped a claw, still curious how the situation had formed in the first place. It seemed strange to her, that Bass would offer the boy a crown in the first place. She shook her head, the past was the past, so long as it didn’t come back to bite them. “I’m sure you’ll get a chance soon” Shaye promised, after all, she hoped for a working alliance between the packs. When he hesitated, the same hesitation she had seen in him for the whole meeting, she knew he had finally reached a decision about whatever was bugging him. She ensure she was settled, eyes upon him, so he would know she had her attention. “Go ahead, Rhyme.” she encouraged him as he trailed off, and hadn’t yet picked up his words. "Talk" "You" Think

Eventually he would meet Branch, the man seemed to have made an impression on Shaye. She mentioned he seemed good hearted, and Rhyme was honest when he said he’d like to make acquaintances. He couldn’t make an appointment now though, they had their own pack to look to right now. The question being could they trust Spider? In his head Rhyme didn’t think Spider was able to hurt a fly, but he’d confessed to him. His sister and her pups the victims, but his intentions had been.. good. He’d wanted to save the woman’s life at the base of everything. Though it seemed Spider was sure he was a monster. "Spider and I had a conversation last night.” That in itself might have come as a surprise. He mulled over his thoughts, "I don’t know how much he’s told you of his past, but he confessed something to me last night.” He tried to summarize the whole tale in a neutral light. "He told me of a sickly sister who fell pregnant with her mate’s pups. Spider claimed she wouldn’t survive the pregnancy, and when he tried to save her,” Rhyme paused, hitting the difficult part of the story. "He aborted her children and killed her in the process.” Killing was a part of a wolf’s life, they had to kill their prey to stay alive. When an enemy was at your throat you had to kill them before they killed you. Rhyme held only a couple of lives, but they had all wished him death first. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Spider’s deaths. “”

She sat, and looked over at the dark coated male. She thought about how hard he had been working to keep up with alliances, recruitment, and general pack activities. He was a good man, loyal, with a heart of gold, even if sometimes he liked to pretend he didn’t have the patience for the weaker members of the pack. She still caught him looking out for them. She hid a grin at the thought, knowing that whatever RHyme had to say was important. Indeed, he opened with the mention of Spider, and a conversation the two of them had had. Her ears perked in curiosity. Despite her patience with the man, she had not been able to get him to open up about his past. “Very little.” she admitted, then fell silent again as he continued. He started about a sickly sister, children, an abortion, and death. Shaye stood silent a moment, processing all of this. She didn’t come from a family that believed in abortion, if she did, her mother would have done so to Shaye when she realised she was pregnant. She shook aside that thought, considering Spider’s situation. Her second said that the sister was sickly, to the point where she wouldn’t have survived the pregnancy. Sounded like a no win scenario, where Spider’s interference made it more his fault then the fault of nature it would have been. “Was her death caused by incorrect dosage/herbs, or simply because of her already weakened state?” Shaye asked at last, no indication of what she thought of this on her face. Not yet, at least. She was still processing it, warring between the sick feeling the idea gave her… and her pity for Spider. A part of her wanted to keep him far, far away from her tiny, innocent, and engaged sister. To snatch Vail and run. It also reminded her that Vail had been sickly as a child, that she was a small wolf, and Shaye often considered her delicate even when Vail proved her mettle. The idea of Vail dying in childbirth was making her sick. She lowered her head, breathing softly, trying to compartmentalise this and not mix up her emotions where they didn’t belong. "Talk" "You" Think

Shaye didn’t hesitate to mention that she knew hardly anything about Spider’s past. He didn’t think she did, but continued on with the man’s tale. When he finished Shaye was quiet for a long moment, and probably felt much like he had. There was a moral gray area here that he hadn’t quite decided where to side. He knew Shaye was troubled even if she hid it well. He listened to her line of questioning, figuring he would need to explain more than he had said. ”From my understanding it was the herbs he had given to her. Though I didn’t ask directly, she could have passed from her previous weakness.” Rhyme’s eyes narrowed as he watched Shaye take in the information, surely she wasn’t so upset over a she wolf she could do nothing about. The only guess he had was she was putting Vail in the woman’s place like he had done. ”Shaye..? He ventured, even taking a pace towards her. ””

She knew she was letting her sudden, and impractical panic for Vail effect her emotions. She needed to push past it, and view Spider’s case without the prejudice she would inject into it well thinking of Vail. Rhyme would tell her further about Spiders case, that it was the herbs more than her illness that had caused the death. Shaye had wanted to be the other way around, for the death of the unnamed wolf to be out of anybody's hands. Instead, Spider had accidently murdered her. Of course, it sounded like if he had done nothing, it would have been her death regardless. She heard Rhyme step closer to her, and lifted her head from where she had let it hang, looking into his blue purple-tinged gaze. “Sorry.. Sorry.” she whispered “I… It was Vail for a moment.” she explained. Rhyme hadn’t spent his entire life at Vail’s side, but he was still fond of his cousin. Perhaps he could understand some of the worry the protective older sister was feeling in that moment. “My thoughts are compromised on the matter. I don’t know that I could make a ruling over it - or even that I should. It was in his past, and he’s paid for it with his confidence and a miserable life.” she would say. “Oh grief, Rhyme, Childbearing has a lot of dangers, and she’s our best healer. If she.. If they.. Did you think Rhythm would stay in Abaven throughout it, if she got pregnant?” she asked at last. "Talk" "You" Think

Shaye looked back to him as he moved closer, and he was sure he saw fear in her eyes. He couldn’t imagine she felt afraid of Spider, the poor man could barely function with the amount of fear and guilt he’d heaped upon himself. Shaye gave him her attention quickly though, apologizing as she admitted that she was worried for Vail. He’d done the same, though not to as serious of a degree, so he couldn’t very well scold her. He shook his head to tell her not to worry about it as she went on. She managed to give him similar thoughts to his own. Rhyme was glad he knew of Spider’s past and what he had done. However, he couldn’t make himself judge the man. The past was gone and no one could say if his sister wouldn’t have died anyway. He had punished himself enough over the years it seemed. For a moment he almost answered and then they were speaking about Vail again. He supposed since they likely wouldn’t carry out any action she was alright to keep worrying about Vail. He’d seemed to have found Shaye’s real weakness in her sister. Worry for Vail might even cripple the normally even headed alpha. He’d have to keep an eye out for that, but would only try and comfort his cousin’s fears tonight. "Vail knows how to take care of herself," he assured Shaye, though he knew she already knew this. "I doubt my mother would linger through the whole pregnancy, though she likely would help at the birth." He would gladly help for that matter, he had been there to help birth his younger half siblings. Rhythm hadn’t wanted anyone else’s help but his own, not that he could blame her with who they’d been surrounded by. ""

She took a soft, stelling breath, and let the momentary panic escape her. SHe knew she could be a little compromised when it came to Vail. she was the last immediate member of Shaye’s family, and she had clung on tightly to her sister over the years. She could be a little over protective, even when Vail proved herself, time and time again. It was always a battle for Shaye to take a step back from Vail, to let her sister grow. She had managed it all her life, because despite how she felt, she knew that Vail would resent her, and her life, if Shaye shadowed her too closely. It was a delicate balance to keep, and she knew she had been toeing the line just then. “Your right, of course.” she admitted to her Alpha partner, giving him a faint smile. “And that would be good, if she could be there for the end. It would ease my mind, and likely Vail and Solor’s as well. Perhaps i’ll speak to her about it soon.” she sighed softly, shaking out the muscles of her neck with an arch, and refusing to let herself sink back into the hysterical, senseless emotions that came from the thought of her sister pregnant. She would have to face them, and come to terms with them, before her sister sealed the deal, so to speak. “Alright, well we both agree that Spider’s whole life has been punishment enough. Neither of us will take action in regards to this news, and we’ll keep it under wrap. It’s his secret to share as he wishes. I’ll get him into mentorship, and he’ll learn, learn enough that he won’t repeat his mistakes.” and if she didn’t let him use her sister for training purposes, it was only because he needed more time to learn. That was all. She took another breath, she would get past it, and she did trust Spider, she was just.. Paranoid, when it came to Vail. Clearly. “But, bringing us back to sharing news - I have never really sat down and spoken about the terms of our Alliance with the Risen Empire, and that could prove to be a mistake. So, listen well, because this was not an easy alliance to make…” another long, soft, sigh escaped her. She still wasn’t completely sure she had done the right thing, yet even now saw no other answer. “I approached him not longer after I became Alpha, and before any new members had entered the pack. I came to him, because I knew that Archon would make his way there and tell Malleus how he had released the pack to me. I knew enough of him and the Abraxa’s line to know that would be a bad thing without a little interference. Sure enough, he laid out his terms to me very clearly. He didn’t want to come away from Abaven empty handed - but I was able to gain from the negotiations, which perhaps we would not have, if I had not gone. He promised us aid in a siege - and he has many warriors in his pack. He also said that if we are ever challenged, he would actively oppose our challenger. In return for this, we are to offer his wolves a safe place to stay in Boreas when they are passing through, and we are not to ever work against him politically nor offer aid to enemies of the Empire.” she cuffed a paw into the dirt, wonder at Rhyme’s thoughts to all this. “He made it very clear that if I walked away without an agreement, Abaven would be in his line of sights, and likely would have been destroyed by now. Crushed beneath his superior force.” she looked up at her second, expecting to see judgment in his expression. ""

Thankfully Shaye seemed to relax slightly at his words, and she managed to catch her head fully. He mostly smiled and then nodded as he agreed with what she had to say, when finally she got to something much more important to the big picture. Rhyme sat up a little taller and focused his swiveled ears directly at her. The Risen Empire, ruled by Malleus. Rhyme was given a brief history lesson and then quickly noted their terms to memory. Shaye almost looked ashamed. She had stopped looking at him a while ago, and he wondered why she looked so sullen. Rhyme leaned over and touched her shoulder with his nose as she looked back to him. He offered an encouraging smile as he sat back, sure she would be surprised by the sudden affection. A gesture not often used by the slate wolf. "They sound like a strong ally, Shaye." He said first, sitting back up. Feeling more like a free wolf than he had yet Rhyme didn’t spare his cousin a hard eye. "You can never doubt yourself like that again." For a moment he felt like the older one. "While you don’t trust them as long as they hold true to their word we can rely on the negotiation." While he couldn’t talk to Malleus himself in that moment nothing Shaye said made him doubt the strength of the pact. "You did well." ""

A Wild Santa Paws Appears!

What's that? Is it Lil Ardy dressed up as Santa? No, silly, it's Santa Paws!

Already in the Christmas spirit, Lil Ardy - err, Santa Paws, can be seen dragging a large bag of gifts behind her. As she approaches Rhyme, she rummages through her things and tosses a bundle of gemstones at him.

100 Gemstones have been added to your credits!

She laid out the full experience she had gone through with Mal and his pack, and the alliance they had agreed on. There was no judgement in Rhyme’s eyes as he looked at her, and told her how they sounded like a strong ally, and not to doubt herself. “I feel we can trust his word, that seemed important to him. My only concern is - if one day, there reaches a point where this alliance and a situation cross lines, and we have to choose between our word or our idealisms.” she said, shaking her head with a sigh. “But if that never happens, then your right, and it’s a good deal. It strengthens out rule, in fact.” she admitted.

She moved so she was sitting beside Rhyme, and gave another sigh, the whole ordeal had been a stressful one for her, and she remembered that feeling as she sat there. “I think that’s all of my news, was that all of yours?” she asked of him.