Veronica Plains was beautiful, a fact that no one could deny. Even in the heat of the summer, the land maintained and air of beauty that was inescapable. The way the plain grass gently folded under the strokes of the summer breeze, the stems slowly turning from a lush green to a brown. They were brittle under paw, but still the majesty of the land had yet to fade. In the fading sunlight, as the sun began to kiss the night sky in greeting, his world was alight in an orange haze, as the sun set on the side of the ocean. He wondered what the sunset would look like on the water, but he made no move to race to enjoy that beauty tonight. Instead, his pace would halt, his hind-quaters planting on the ground with a soft sigh, where he sat on a slight hill. Staring off at the pack-lands below him, he could almost see the signs of others mingling about, and his instinct pulled him towards them.

He was a social animal, but he still felt so out of place. The one idea he had held onto after losing his sibings- his father was no more. They had gotten here too late, and he felt the need to grieve for a man he had never known. What was Cairo like? Was he anything like Alice had told them, or was the man a total mystery? He wanted to meet those who would be his siblings, at least half of his siblings and wanted to know about Cairo. The legend of his father was great, and he wondered if he'd manage to be half of the wolf that his father was? There in the dying light of day, he watched, his eyes trailing over to the place that he had learned his father laid. Would he live up to the Adravendi name?

Seeing him was like seeing a ghost. Her stomach had tightened when the pack had come home, believing for a moment that Cairo was among them as he once had been, looming in spirit as they came home. Yet as she repeatedly glanced, she caught the man's scent, and realized that although there was something there that was oddly familiar - he was not her father. Her father was a ghost, scentless, no longer seen among the living... so who was this male that looked so much like him? Chrysanthe was at a loss, but her curiosity had been piqued. Perhaps she was acting on nothing at all, imagining the chance that he could be related to her somehow. The Adravendi family was vast and scattered, there was really no telling...



Approaching the other would be the easy part, finding out the right words to say would be harder. She was curious, a bit on edge for unknown reasons - but she would ignore those feelings and introduce herself. The way that she had grown accustomed to was no longer right - perhaps she should knock everything off save for her first name, or would he be curious about the ranks she held despite it not being one of status? She wasn't upset about not being alpha anymore, just a bit unsure how to go about things now. It was easy enough to keep her tail level and her one eyed gaze a bit softer as it wasn't her place to judge anyone anymore.



But her mannerisms would always be affected by growing into her title wouldn't they?



Trailing after the dark brown male, the woman would pause moments before she would be within his line of sight. Softly she would bark, alerting the other lupine of her presence. She knew exactly where he was standing - this was her father's grave - but what reason did he have to be here? "A great man was laid to rest here." She would say simply, but surely her visage would give away her curiosity. "Have you heard about him already?" Valhalla was close, but she didn't know that he would have heard stories of her father already. Perhaps though, he had been looking to be told because he knew who he was before getting here.



Seeing this male face to face up close, she was still flabbergasted at the similarities - it was almost as if her father was visiting his own grave, standing guard of his pack over his resting place. It was all too surreal... "Pardon my manners, I'm Chrysanthe. I saw you during the move, but we never got around to speaking."

Everything that they had gave, each sacrifice to get here seemed to be met with the failure of knowing that they hadn't gotten here, soon enough. His brother and sister were missing. He didn't even know if they were alive, and he had finally found the empire his father had forged- only to find that his father was dead. His father? Could he really call a man that he had never met that? He grieved in the moment for the father he'd never have. The legend he'd never meet.

A soft bark would interrupt him. His head would lift, turning slightly, as his blue eyes came to rest on a russet and white woman. He remembered seeing her, when Erani had called them to these Vahallan land. 'A great man was laid to rest here.' She began and went on to ask if he had heard of him. His blue eyes left hers for a moment, coming to rest on the grave. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I've heard minimally of him, though I must admit I crave to know more." He murmured, his deep voice strong. She went on to introduce herself as Chyrsanthe, commenting that she had saw him in the move. A second passed, and he would introduce himself fully. "I am Valerius Adravendi." His bright gaze would seek to claim hers as he spoke. He turned back to the grave, his head lowering slightly. "The man laid to rest here, was my father." He explained slightly, in case she was wandering why he was here.

Patiently, the woman would await the end of the other's silence as he took a moment to answer her question. He was not here out of chance, he had come to visit her father's grave on purpose, and eventually the Cairo look alike would answer why without even meaning to. Her single blue eye would light up with realization - he was family! Valerius Adravendi, did he realize how much that last name meant here in Valhalla? She would smile faintly, watching him turn his attention to his, no, to their father's gaze. "Adravendi - I think I've met the whole family, but there always seems to be more." She would say good naturedly, wondering what the other would think of the prospect of having more family. "Apparently we're half siblings, and you have a couple more here in Alacritia." This male here must have had a different mother than she - a woman that Chrysanthe herself didn't know.


"I'm sure he would have been happy to see you. He loved all of his children." Even the ones that he didn't get around to telling her about - or possibly didn't even know existed. She felt that he would be glad that Valerius came here though, as he wanted this pack to be a sort of base for their family. She had failed to hold up the banner, but she was still a proud Adravendi... even if the last name seemed a bit bigger than her at the moment. "Father never told me of other siblings. May I ask who your mother is?" She was curious, but if he didn't want her to pry he would understand.


"If there's anything you want to know about him, I'd be happy to tell you." She wasn't an expert, as he was in his last years as she grew up - but she would tell him what she knew. Whatever she didn't, she was sure that Erani would be able to explain.

He didn't know of his relation Chrysanthe, nor did he know of the extent of his father's bloodline. He stared at her, his blue eyes taking in her appearance, noticing how the russet color took over her face, excluding her right ear, and the scars that covered her right eye. He felt a pull of sympathy for her, followed by a strong rush of admiration. It took a warrior to pull through an injury like that. He noticed her slight smile before she spoke, his ears tilting towards her, as he took in her words attentively. 'Adravendi - I think I've met the whole family, but there always seems to be more.' She would say, and his head would tilt slightly to the side, as she went on to mention that they were half-siblings. He stared at her for a moment, his sister, shocked. "Siblings?" He echoed for a moment, shocked. "You're my sister?" He asked, to clarify. "A couple more?" He echoed her, in shock. He supposed he couldn't be surprised that his father had moved on. The little he knew of his father, was that his mother had left the lands of CIROC, and that was six years ago. It wasn't crazy that Cairo had found another love- another family.

It was almost as if she just knew that he might be over-whelmed because her next words seemed as if they were meant to extend compassion to him. He broke away from looking at her, eyes glancing at the grave of Cairo, looking back at Chrysanthe, his eyes raw with a wash of emotions. He couldn't say anything- God, what could he say? She asked who his mother was, and finally he spoke in a whisper, "Alice." He began, "Alice, my mother didn't tell us a lot, but she did say that she left Cairo before we were born." He was baffled, but his mind was slowly wrapping around it, around all the details. He glanced up at the sky, trying to reign in his emotions, before asking in response to her last statement. "Chrysanthe, what was our father like?" He inquired softly, noting with the word, our, the father that they shared. "If you don't mind sharing..." He added, even though he had offered, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. His blue eyes searched for hers, wanting to know everything, and he felt a prickle of jealousy that the woman before him had gotten to know their father, that he quickly stifled. It wasn't her fault that her mother hadn't carted her and her family off.

It all seemed to be a lot for the male to take in. Hearing the shock in his voice made her smile though, her single blue eye twinkling with mirth. Father couldn't have known about this male, this family that he had living off on another continent. Or had he? And the chances of this brute coming upon the pack he had left for his legacy were all things that he had expected in due time? How she wished she could talk to him again - about more than just her failures and of apologies - but about the life he had lived before her. This moment with Valerius was a bittersweet one because of the feeling, but she wouldn't let any of the yearning show on her face. She had a new brother to speak with - there were no need for tears!


It took the male a moment to be able to speak, and she would wait, not commenting on the subtle sparkle of tears within in his light blue gaze. It reflected how she felt quite well, almost enough to be contagious, but she would keep her visage pleasant in an attempt to keep this conversation going - and to keep her chocolate coated kin from having to see her tears too. When he spoke, he answered with a single word - the woman's name was Alice. Alice Adravendi had birthed this man, and however many siblings that he had. As many questions as he had for her, she felt like she must have had a dozen more - but she would answer his hearfelt inquiry. "He was a good man - and a strong one. There was something about him that almost made him seem invincible to those around him... but he was a big softie, especially when it came to his family. He wanted this pack to be where we could all come together and be safe - I'm glad you found your way here."


"He looked a lot like you - I almost thought I had seen a ghost seeing you the first time." Laughter would echo in her voice, dancing in her tone. He had thrown her for a loop, that much was for sure! "He had eyes like yours, and the same build if not a few inches taller." He would have liked him, of that she was certain. Hopefully he would like the family that their father had left behind. "Your siblings are Epiphron, Syrinx and Eos - but the latter two are off finding themselves it seems." They had a penchant for meandering off without a word, and then returning and being a force within any lives they bothered to touch. Regardless, she cared for both.


"Do you have any siblings, Valerius?"

He kept himself composed, but the stress of everything was eating at him. He'd finally found his father's home, but in the process he'd lost his brother and sister- siblings that meant the world to him. It was a lot to take in. Chrysanthe would speak of Cairo, and he'd feel a small smile pull at his jaws, and a twinge of jealousy stir in his gut. Oh, how lucky she was to have known the man who had sired them? He wondered if his father had made any effort to look for Alice, or had his father not known of them? Chrysanthe described Cairo as a good man- a fair man. Invincible, she had called him. That warmed his heart, and he wondered if he'd live up to that legacy. His ears would prick in interest when she commented on their similar appearances, and he'd chuckle slightly, as she admitted to nearly believing him a ghost.

"He sounds like everything my mother claimed him to be. I am sorry, that I'll never know him." He spoke quietly. He glanced away at the sky for a moment, his attention shifting back to his sister as she spoke of their other siblings. He nodded slowly, taking their names in- Epiphron, Synrix, and Eos. "I hope to one day meet them," he would murmur. He nodded at her question, and spoke. "I have two siblings- a sister, Vriel and a brother, Vaziel." He paused. "I lost them in the hurricane and ash storm, we were all coming to find our father... I don't know what happened to them." He admitted, the pain in his voice nearly tangible. They were all he had, and he didn't know where they were. Now he was in this new place, surrounded by these other wolves that he didn't know and it had moments where it was over-whelming, it was too much.

She was sorry that he would never know their father too. It was unfortunate, that he had arrived just a little while too late - but Cairo's spirit lingered here, she was sure that he would feel it as she did if he decided to stay. "I can introduce you to Epiphron, she and her family are always around." It was more than time for her to catch up with her littermate as well. Too much time had passed since she had been able to greet the woman, and with was with striking realization that she felt how much she missed having her near. As for Valerius's own littermates - she wasn't sure where they would be, or even what they looked like. . "If our family is anything, it's resilient - a storm won't be anough to stop them." She would say with a small smile, even though she did not know his siblings, she knew that they were strong like him - and like their father.


"I'm sure they're out there Valerius." The russet faced woman would try and console him, doing her best to convey her sincerity as they were more than empty words. There was a sureness to her tone, and she hoped it would pass on to her brother and lend him even a smidgen of confidence. They were Adravendi, she was sure that they had survived. "Perhaps they will make their way here too - you're here, after all." They might follow the same trails, the same leads that had brought him to Valhalla. Cairo was their common interest, as were Chrysanthe, Epiphron and the family that they all shared. They were blood - and eventually they would meet even if not all at once. "How do you like Valhalla?" She would inquire, wondering whether his time here had been good or bad. He had found that his father was dead - which he admitted was the reason he had come to Alacritia... but he had found a bit of family as well. With so much loss and gain, she could imagine that he was feeling quite a few things at once - hopefully he understood that he could tell her about any of it, whenever he so desired. She was always willing to listen.

"I would like that. I would like to meet all of my family." He tested the word, and slowly he was realizing that perhaps, though his heart ached with loss- he could feel okay again. She spoke of their families resiliency, and he nodded- if anything that was one positive trait he could say that all three of them shared. They could make it through anything, though he still would worry about them. Her words were gentle, consoling him- and he gave her a long grateful look. "I hope so." He rumbled, his voice deep, and sincere. They had to be okay. They had too- they had come to far not to be.

'How do you like Valhalla?' She asked, and he thought for a moment about the vast lands he had been exploring. Valhalla was certainly immense and beautiful, and though he hadn't met anyone yet as he was taking time to settle, he could only gauge by the hearts of Erani and Chrysanthe, that the wolves were pure. "The land is immense, and gorgeous." He commented, before going on. "I can admit though I am at loss on how to track people down to meet them." He chuckled, before admitting. "I do not think that I have ever been around this many wolves. The whole land is full of them." He couldn't believe how many wolves one land could hold. It seemed that the number never dwindled, only grew. "I can admit that it is time that I begin to socialize." He chuckled again. He had been talking a bit to himself lately- that meant he should probably seek out others, before he went crazy. i>