Without the option of being able to take the beaches freely Venom had already settled her mind on an alternative. Though she did desire the Obsidian beach, she was not yet willing or prepared to take the lands by force. As she had asked, Celeste had scouted the surrounding lands just as Venom had. The idea that the island dwelling pack would have another territory in which to fish had been too sweet to pass up. Still, she brought along a couple other pack members to glean another opinion. Perhaps their eyes would see something she had surpassed.

White gloved paws carried the Empress towards the river, right in the middle of the territory. Her sunset gaze never really ceased in scanning their surroundings. Not because she thought there was danger, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. There was no secret in the way she led her procession out into the wilds in hopes of taking the lands for her own use. She just suspected she wasn’t the only one to decide this was a plentiful place to take advantage of.

"Tell me what you know of the river. Or, what you think of it.” She added a caveat for those that were unaware or hadn’t been here before now. Venom’s gaze was torn from the brush, certain she had seen movement, and looked to each of her gathered companions.


"Venom"

She had spent many days, nights, and afternoons at the river. Even before Venom's suggestion that they expand north, she usually found most of her freshwater catch from this very area. Living so close to it had been nice, but if they were able to successfully expand, she could spend more time on the river's shore when everyone got tired of saltwater fish. A little variety every now and then never hurt anyone.

Following close to Venom, her petite legs took as long of a stride as they could manage to keep up. After their patrol, Celeste had gotten a feeling about how Venom preferred to move. Swift, graceful, and with purpose. The other two in their group she didn't know much about but would be willing to learn more about them in the future. If she was going to teach and be more intertwined within Ashen, she would have to make efforts to get to know everyone.

Pulling to a stop as Venom neared the water, Celeste glanced around their surroundings. Everything seemed to be calm, maybe a little off. As if there was something in the air. Her brow furrowed a moment before Venom's question drew her attention to the Empress. Glancing at the other two, she thought maybe it would help if she spoke first in case the other two weren't as comfortable.

"The Rio Grande is the largest and longest river through Boreas that reaches out to both coasts," her voice is confident but friendly as she lets her gaze settle back toward Venom and the river behind her.

Celeste Akizora

When Venom had requested her presence as part of the pack’s expansion, Pleione had been beyond flattered. The voice of her ego said it only made sense. She was Pleione Suhail, after all. It was only natural that no matter the leader she served beneath she would be a stand-out star above and beyond the rest. The longer she felt in Ashen territory, however, the more outclassed she felt. It wasn’t just genetics, either. Venom and many of her kin might tower, but even now, traveling with a wolf nearly half Venom’s size in their party, she could sense a wealth of experience that she simply didn’t possess. It made her equal parts furiously jealous and intimidated. Part of her tried to reassure herself that it was only her upbringing, the harshness of the world she’d come from that kept her from standing metaphorically shoulder to shoulder with her peers. And she was partly right- it was experience that she lacked, and experience that was stolen away from her by the need to simply survive from one day to the next under the harshest of circumstances. She couldn’t keep making excuses for herself. Pleione made a note to speak to the wolf called Celeste in private when she had the time. Plague had offered to tutor her during the meeting, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t source more lessons from third parties when she could find the time and opportunity. It was obvious now, just to keep up she’d have to make the time and opportunity. Celeste answered their leader’s question first, accurately gauging Pleione’s sheepishness to speak up. She wanted so desperately to be seen as wise when she spoke that she was afraid that anything she said now might be seen as stupid or obvious. Chastising herself in her head, Pleione reminded herself that that might be the exact point. Maybe there were things her untrained eyes might spot that the others, more familiar with this area, might overlook. “The deep, muddy banks indicate seasonal flooding in the summer,” she observed, “while it’s wide and quick moving enough that I doubt even the surface freezes in winter.” She looked to Venom, no expression on her face, but underneath she ached for recognition that she’d said the right thing.

Plague was always willing to support and do what he could to make Venom's plans come to fruition so when she came to him with the plan of expanding out Ashen's territory he immediately volunteered for whatever she needed him to do to help. She put together a group to do some initial scouting and observations about the land she had her sights on so he tagged along, following along behind Venom along with Celeste and Pleione. The river had long felt like an extension of their territory given how the shrine's forest butted up against a portion of it, so he couldn't see anything wrong with claiming this stretch of land between the edge of the forest and the bank of the large river. Venom brought them to one of the banks in question and asked them to give their knowledge of the river or their thoughts on it. He settled back on his haunches, his emerald gaze scanning the land around them as well while the two women with them spoke first.

Celeste mentioned the length of the river and how it stretched from one coast of Boreas to another and he nodded at the fact. It did run an awfully long way which was one of the reasons why it was so difficult to find a way around or cross, but it wasn't impossible. Pleione's mention of the muddy banks made him hum and he turned his gaze toward the banks for a moment, noticing what she was talking about. It was something it probably wouldn't have thought about or noticed so it was a good call. "If we decide to build or have dens out here we'll likely want to avoid them being too close to the banks then," he said, adding on to what Pleione mentioned. He looked around again, making his own observations of the area. "This border should be fairly easy to defend at least. The water runs too fast in most places to cross safely. If anything we're simply extending our borders out to include the river we've lived up against anyway. The only challenge is going to be wolves that have used the banks as a path around our borders previously."

Plague | Viridis | Procella

There couldn’t have been a more diverse set of wolves chosen from what the pack had to offer. Plague was her second in command, her brother, the one she trusted most. He would give her his honest opinion, if not perhaps somewhat biased sometimes. Celeste was her newly promoted lead huntress, her lead scout, and ‘friend’ of her son. Pleione was her wildcard, Venom still didn’t know much about the young woman, but this was a good opportunity to be given a peek at what was beneath the stoic surface. Venom was quite interested in what she would bring to the table here.

Venom’s sunset gaze looked to each wolf as they spoke their snippet of observation or knowledge to their queen. Celeste mentioned how far the river stretched, Pleione mentioned the potential of flooding, and Plague followed up with his own observations. There would be wolves used to using these lands but otherwise would be easy to defend. She nodded to each wolf appreciatively as she thought about what they had to say.

"Good points,” the Empress began as she returned her attention to the wide river before them. "If you were the one to decide, why would or wouldn’t you decide to come here? I feel the river is better suited to accommodate our island dwelling people. However, I am not totally unconvinced we should take the Armada’s old land in the plains.” She started before looking to each of the wolves with her.

"Venom"

Her gaze turned to the others in their gathered group. Thinking to herself once more that she should make a better effort to get to know the others better, she listened to what they had to offer. As Pleione and Plague gave their thoughts, Celeste nodded in agreement. Honestly, she thought their suggestions about the river were more informational than her own. Merely lifting a brow as Venom addressed them again, she gave herself a moment to really think about why they should take the river over the plains.

Glancing around at the familiar river banks and shady trees, she felt more at ease here. "The old Armada lands are very open. Unless we build underground, there is little cover to keep the pack safe. If we take the river, we can easily hide our supplies and ambush any attackers," Celeste is confident in her share of knowledge. While the plains were beautiful, open, and peaceful, there were undoubtedly fewer resources and less privacy there. Why the Armada had ever wanted those lands was beyond her.

Celeste Akizora

The recognition from the others made Pleione's chest glow with warmth. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt as good, possibly not since her puphood. It wasn't a lot, just a continuation of the conversation, really, but her words made an impact. It made her feel important, like she was a real part of the pack at last. Hunting as a pack just wasn't her strong suit, she decided. She'd do it if she had to, but if you really thought about it that kind of grunt work was beneath her, anyway. "It sounds to me that the river is practically ours already," Pleione boasted, extending her personal pride to the pack she was part of now. It surprised her to find that she was proud to be a member of the Ashen Empire, working directly with the great Venom herself. The excitement and adrenaline of their conquest was reaching her now, a thrill she'd never had the chance to taste before. A flourishing pack was an entirely different from her fallen kingdom and its constant struggle just to survive. "Why would we want someone else's old haunt when we could have an uncrossable border full of food? The river just makes more sense."

Venom took in all of their opinions and points about the land they were considering, but didn't give any of her own thoughts—instead just collecting the information she was given for her own consideration. He did always appreciate the way his sister thought things through before she took action on things. She had always been thoughtful, especially on important matters. She posed another question around why they would choose this land over the plains that had formerly housed the Armada Celeste and Pleione both spoke their preference for the river versus the other options available to them and while he didn't necessarily disagree, he did like to present multiple angles and options on such things.

"The plains could potentially be more difficult to defend, but I would point out that the Armada did it quite successfully for a very long time before their recent move. It's very possible and it would give us a more varied terrain since we already have one territory that is quite water logged and one that is forested. The plains could give us another option as far as a source of food goes since the river and ocean are more difficult to fish from in the winter months." He shrugged slightly and smiled, adding, "I agree that the river is probably the most logical choice as far as defenses go, but either option would have it's benefits."

Plague | Viridis | Procella

Already Venom felt like their time here had been fruitful for their goals. Even if none of the wolves gathered before her had the full picture, the Empress was impressed by what she heard from all of them. She was proud of her pack and what they accomplished.

Celeste spoke about the openness of the old Armada lands, and Venom agreed. Flat, without much shelter beyond what they could build. Venom herself was a fan of natural structures. The Matriarch nodded, knowing the words she said were true. Maybe they would make for good hunting lands, but they likely wouldn’t be as defensible or useful.

Sunset eyes shifted to Pleione, who was looking quite proud of herself as she offered her observations and opinion. Like she was really feeling like she was integrating into the pack. She took possession of them with ferocity in her fiery gaze as she spoke up next. She was certain of the decision to take the river, certain their logic was sound.

Plague decided to speak as the devil's advocate when she turned her gaze to him. Her brother and Daimyo brought up a good point as well, the plains would vary their terrain a bit more. Venom’s argument to that fact would be the varied terrain over the islands. She didn’t voice them though, as he mentioned the river being the most logical choice. Venom nodded slightly.

"I’ve been given much to consider, thank you all.” She started as her eyes scanned the horizon once again. "I was reserve judgment until the other teams and completed their tasks, but I believe this will be the land we take under Ashen control.” No one could deny they needed more room, Ashen was vibrant and growing. They needed more room.

"Venom"

Pleione's words backed her's up which caused Celeste to smile. The girl was right. Why take someone else's old haunt when they could take a place that everyone cherished? It was no doubt that the Rio Grande was a place that many frequented for its diversity and abundance of food. Not only was the river teeming with fish, but there were other small to medium animals they could harvest.

Then it was Plague's turn and Celeste turned her aquamarine gaze to him. He had point and while it was opposite of what they thought, Celeste nodded in understanding. New terrain would be beneficial to the pack. A change of pace and if the Armada were strong enough to hold it, they would be too. Yet, the seclusion brought by the Rio Grande's dense forest and wide expanse of the river to keep others at bay, her mind would not change.

Thankfully Venom would agree that the Rio Grande would one day be theirs. Moving her attention back to the Empress, the petite girl nodded again. "Sounds like we've made a fine decision. I hope the other tasks go well," she smiles lightly while already looking ahead to leading three of Venom's children out on a hunt to help further the expansion efforts.

Celeste Akizora

As practiced as she was at taming her temper, Pleione was having a surprisingly hard time controlling her excitement. It was as if her body had a mind of its own, her forepaws kneading at the soft earth between her toes, her tail sweeping back and forth, thumping against her own hindquarters. At least she managed to keep her expression regal and composed, unaware of how that made the rest of her body language all the more youthful by comparison. Maybe it was wrong to view her own emotions as childish, but that didn’t make her feel any less self-conscious. Pleione listened intently to her party, biting her tongue and steeling her paws, though she couldn’t stop the wag of her tail. She nodded her head at each of them in turn as they spoke, a fresh spark of determination glowing behind her eyes. This was what it felt like to be a member of the winning team. She could get used to this. It ached in her chest to even tease the idea of forgetting her history and truly starting fresh, but she thought she might even be happy here. It was a terrifying thought. She cleared her throat, and said, “Of course. Glory to the Ashen Empire, it’s been an honor working with you all.”

With all of their observations and opinions given, Venom began to wrap up their brief meeting near the river and thanked each of them for their contribution to the project that was taking on more land for their pack. He grinned with pride, giving a small dip of his head in response while Celeste and Pleione both gave their well wishes and appreciation in return. Despite all of the hardships and the uncertainty their family had faced in recent years, Ashen always seemed to have a way of rising back up and making itself stronger for all of it. With their fact finding mission completed they all began to rise and make their way back to the pale forest that had been their home since he and Venom were born and he fell back a bit to walk beside his sister behind Pleione and Celeste. He leaned his side affectionately into hers and gave her a grin. More space would mean that their family could continue to grow and that was something he was quite excited for. He was eager to be an uncle again and all of this talk of expansion and growth only reminded him of the conversation the two of them had on the matter. The future was looking bright and he was simply happy to be here to support his sister through it all.

Plague | Viridis | Procella