Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

The aging former Archangel made his way slowly down the ravine, walking off the stiffness of the combined cold and old age. A rabbit pelt lined fur cloak draped his still-vibrant red frame, and though his hind leg, the one crippled in Talis’ raid against Celestial still had a notable limp, his stride was so well-adapted to the injury that he had regained much of his old grace, if stiff, to the point that even the limp looked nearly natural. It was a crisp, sparkling morning, clear-skied, with a fresh inch of snow on the ground. Here in the west, the snow often melted off over the day depending on the weather. This year it seemed especially stubborn. He traveled slowly, mind turning over the usual thoughts and considerations. Though retired, his mind was still as forward-thinking as ever, wondering what the generations ahead would build with Valhalla. He hoped he’d live a bit longer to see it, and perhaps even see Ardyn rise to Spirit, or whatever the young wolf chose to rename the rank should he wish an overhaul of the naming system. It wasn’t all that unusual. Aurielle was constantly tweaking and adjusting the system, considering new Circles, and new ways that everyone in the pack could find a way to make themselves useful, even if their bodies might prevent them from the typical fighting and hunting roles. Around his neck, he still wore the pendant he’d found as a pup, the first time his mother had taken him and his sisters to the Bifrost. A sentimental smile touched his features at the memory, as sharp as ever. Those had been good times, even with a father taken captive by Arcanum. He’d been too young, and too innocent to know quite what was wrong, or why his mother had been sad when she thought none of her children were looking to see the pain. Or the cold fury. He came to a stop in a snowy clearing in the woods around the hillock, slowly settling into the snow with a groan of aching joints. He’d have to talk to Paladin about some pain medication, or perhaps he’d seek out that newest healer Aurielle had mentioned rising swiftly after his joining to the master ranks, and pick the new fellow’s mind for ways to ease the aches in his joints. It’d be good to see how the male’s remedies matched up or differed from Paladin’s familiar choices. He sighed, resting a vivid red paw over one of the graves, neatly piled with stones, as colorful as the pack could find. “Not a day or night goes by that I don’t miss you… any of you.” Fathomless sapphire eyes, as rich and saturated as his grandmother’s swept over the graves that sat in a line. He was so fortunate to have made it to see his daughter bring her first litter into the world, to see Ardyn and his brother and sisters growing and thriving. All five children were a pure ball of warm joy that buoyed him, kept him going, even on the achiest days. Yet his heart did still ache. Not for himself, but for his sister, and the loss of Nolan. Such a good, young wolf should never have been taken so soon. Slowly his head lowered, a sigh fogging the air and ground before his paws, ears planed to the sides, eyes half closing in a moment of melancholy.

Rhaegara was quickly becoming proud of her work. She had worked hard crafting the bracers she now sported around each of her legs, a set for the front and a set for the back that had been dyed black. She felt she was starting to adjust to these strange lands and everything that they brought with them. She was adapting… or at least, that was what she thought. She was circling around pack lands, Carlys in the sky as faithful of a companion as ever. A soft grin lit her features as she moved. She ought to seek out a spar later, and get to test what fighting might be like with the added protection to her limbs. Perhaps it meant she could try more risky maneuvers without having to worry too much about becoming crippled? Carlys came spiraling down, landing gracefully on her shoulders as she puffed up her wings. Rhaegara tilted her head slightly to question her friend, who simply motioned with her wings into the distance to show she had found someone. Rhaegara started eager on the path. She was trying to be better about meeting more packmates. What was that she said about having adjusted to these strange lands? She took it back, eyes widening to see a vibrant red frame that was mostly cloaked. The cloak was not what was off to her, for she had seen plenty of cloaks since coming to this land… no, it was the fact that the wolf was red. She had grown used to Aurielle’s glowing fur, and the fact that there was armor on damn near every wolf she met, and even having a horse as packmate, but fur of that color was once again completely new to her. Should she even keep trying to prepare herself for whatever might come her way? She looked closer for now, beyond the fur color. He was older, looking at piles of stones. She frowned lightly, feeling as though she was interrupting a moment. It seemed like she had a bad habit of interrupting wolves in mourning. She opened her mouth, but words never came out, instead her head tilting to the side in confusion. For once, the heiress was speechless. Perhaps she should just turn and leave… perhaps that was better. At least when she had interrupted Aurielle, she had known her beforehand, right? Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He heard her paws before she came into sight, and the aging man turned his head to study the girl with fathomless sapphire eyes, similar to Cairo’s own, though they shared no blood relation. His features smiled in welcome, tail tapping gently at the ground. “Rhaegara and Carlys, right?” His low rumble had only grown richer with age, and held only friendly warmth as his eyes flicked over the raven with a nod of respect to both females. “I am Regulus Adravendi. Aurielle’s father. How are you settling in?” His ears perked, his attention eerily like his daughter’s way of giving someone her full attention, as though whomever was under her eye was the most important creature on earth in that moment, as his head cocked to hear her response, a paw patting the space nearby him in invitation to make herself comfortable.

It appeared their presence had not gone unnoticed, a soft and admittedly bashful smile for the heiress crossing her features as the question came, a polite nod to show that he was correct in his guess. “We are.” She stated aloud to confirm. Regulus. He was the Spirit’s father… it didn’t appear that he glowed like his daughter, but she was still rather enraptured by the fact that he was red. He was polite, offering her an invitation to sit as she made her way over and settled down not too far from him. That question was both complicated and not complicated at the same time. “I have been settling in well. Everyone I’ve met has made me feel very welcomed.” She admitted with a soft smile on her features. “I’m still a little out of my depth. A lot of the things Valhalla has, I had never seen before arriving here. Scripts and writing and armor… it’s all new. Makes me feel like every time I gain my bearings, I get knocked off balance again.” She admitted shyly. She liked to think she was settling in well, but truthfully she had no idea. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

The old red man smiled as the two confirmed and Rhaegara joined him. “It’s a pleasure,” he murmured to the pair, fathomless eyes sweeping over them. He was glad to hear they were settling in well, and he listened with that old intensity as she admitted to just how much was new to her. He chuckled, nodding in agreement. He’d been a forward-thinking King, but Aurielle had taken the pack even further than he’d initially thought it might get. “I was the one to found the wall. Initially, the idea was sparked by a pup, Dragon. He was in a pack called Imperium at the time, and had wandered very far from home, and had crossed out borders. I scared him to make a point that not all packs will treat a trespasser as kindly as Valhalla, or Celestial at that time, would.” A frown furrowed his brow points, hackles rippling in visible indignation as he added, “I often wonder if his packmates at the time told him this pack would eat pups, because he’s used that insult on me since, last we met, which was him, once again, trespassing, that time to lead a raid against my pack. Which he came away from, blinded and unsuccessful.” He shrugged, eyes casting toward the wall, far from sight here. “I’d started the stone line around our border by that time. A wolf who I suspect was possibly a scout, because it was not that long before the raid, tripped over the line. Paladin was watching her. She inspected them, sniffed the border. Paladin intercepted and sent her packing without a hair on her hide harmed. He was pretty sure she was blind.” He hummed softly, thinking over the events. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, and years after the bloody raid, the sequence of events were pretty clearly connected. Sterling, too, may well have been a scout, as she had been among the raiders Talis had brought. He hadn’t asked her, and she was gone, dead or living her life far away, so he couldn’t ask her now. “After the raid, we built the wall higher, maybe hock height on myself, so that no one could miss it, and in hopes of keeping young pups from wandering off and being hurt or taken. It didn’t work, I’m afraid. Several children went missing at that time, and we never found them.” His head bowed slightly, admitting his failures. “After that, we began building the walls higher. I’m sure Aurielle’s told you about her plans for just how high and wide she wants to build it?” Here he smiled at the girl, amusement replacing the lingering sadness in his eyes. “All this that Aurielle has brought into the pack is relatively new, but I find I enjoy them. Heated stones in my alcove to warm old bones, heavy hides hung across them to keep in the heat. For an old man, it’s bliss.” He laughed, a rumbling, rolling sound of easy mirth.