Esti neared the pack carefully. This was definitely where Laufey's scent was coming from. Wasn't this Katja's pack? Esti motioned for Ash to stay back a bit. He grumbled but obliged. Esti called out to her brother and the alpha if she so wished. Had he really become a pack grunt? She wondered if he had changed much. In case he hadn't, Esti braced herself for a fight. She never knew what to expect of him, but she figured he was very similar in thought about her. Maybe she was the predictable one. Shrugging off the thought, she readied herself at the border for Laufey and maybe the alpha to come. ""

They were away from the pack. Woop-de-do. Ashmedai wasn't feeling it. This wasn't making him feel better. Who's idea was it to take him out of the pack anyway? Was it his dad's? Was his dad trying to get rid of him? What about Vana? She was upset too, he was sure of it! His momma had told him, it was to "make sure he knew about life outside of the pack," but that was stupid. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be gone and at home and he wanted Rhythm to not exist and it to just be him and Gelus and Vana and the real family. His momma motioned for him to stay back, and Ash grumbled. Go, stop, go, stop, go, go more, you don't wanna go, well too bad. Her motion did bring him out of his thoughts though. He knew this scent vaguely. Could this be... Katja's pack. Ashmedai suddenly grew nervous. Why were they here? Was Esti going to make him go to Yfir? He wouldn't do it. He couldn't make her. Okay, maybe he was overreacting, but his mom getting all into aa tense stance wasn't helping. Was she.. smiling, though? Ashmedai stood, confused and overly aware, jumping at every noise he heard. "SPEAK!"

What was this? No way, Esti? Huh. How long had it been now, seasons? A year? When had he last seen their brother? He'd seen her once after that, right? In any case it had been awhile. A long, long while. Much had happened since then, at least on his end. He'd joined a pack, gotten a rank, participated in a raid and had a kid. Had her year been as interesting? Reaching his sister, Laufey's eyes were immediately drawn to the youngling at her side. His gaze drifted to Esti and he quirked an eyebrow in a question. "Long time no see," he commented dryly.

Aah, there he was: tall, brutish, blue eyes, Laufey. Esti's maw screwed into an amused- maybe sadistically happy- grin. He looked to Ashmedai, then back to her with a casual "long time no see" and Esti nodded, "Far too long," she would greet him in response, dragging the pause out as she glanced at Ashmedai, then to Laufey, "Brother." Her smile moved into more of a sneer for a second as she waited for the information to sink in for Ashmedai. Esti brought herself back to an amused grin, then turned to Ashmedai, "Laufey, this is your nephew, Ashmedai." Her smile calmed to a more gentle one for a second before she turned back to her brother, "Been a little busy. Looks like you didn't waste away, either. A pack, though?" her eyes glittered. She wasn't actually totally surprised that he was in a pack. Though it was a little odd, her comment was more of a conversation starter than anything. ""

Eventually another male walked up. Ashmedai looked him up and down and the brute looked at Ashmedai. He said it had been too long. Who was this guy? He knew Esti? Was he a past boyfriend of Esti's? Before Ashmedai had the chance to speak up, Esti went on to say it had been far too long. Okay, so they knew each other, Ashmedai decided. Then Esti called him brother. Ashmedai's ears perked as his mother gave introductions. He had an uncle? Uncle Laufey. That sounded weird, "An uncle? Uncle... Laufey?" Ash's face scrunched. So he even had family here. His mother had never mentioned a brother before, though. Why was she bringing this up now? Did it have to do with Rhythm? It had to do with Rhythm, didn't it? Esti went on to chat casually, stating she had been busy and whatever. How could she move on with such a little bit of explanation? How could she just be, "Oh, yeah, this is your uncle, so anyway, what was I saying?" and leave it at that? Was this really her brother? No smiles, no hugs? Was this a set up? Ashmedai eyes the tall brute carefully, summing up his appearance. They were similar, yeah, but could that really mean they were siblings? Did his mother really have a brother this whole time? "SPEAK!"

Nephew? Huh. Seemed they had a lot to catch up on. Not surprisingly the boy was big and Laufey could definitely see his sister in him, but that slate had to be from the father. No one in their family sported blue of any shade except in the eyes. Laufey wasn't particularly fond of the knowledge that someone out there knew his sister in the same way he had known Hani and while the overprotective side of him wanted to protest this and beat that knowledge out of Ashmedai's father's head, he was willing to bet that wouldn't go over well with Esti. So he kept that feeling to himself. "A pack, though?" Did he detect a hint of criticism in that tone? Surely not, since she herself stank of a southern pack. "Hey now," he chastised, "You don't get to talk - you who not only joined a pack but let yourself get knocked up." No offense, kid. "An uncle," the kid said in disbelief. Laufey's gaze swung to him and he shrugged. "Apparently," he grunted. "'Course she coulda found you under a rock or something." If that were the case that would definitely put his baby daddy beating thoughts to rest.

Laufey was quick to catch on to Esti's comment, starting with a "hey now" that led Esti to snort. Oooh, he was commenting on her getting knocked up? Esti batted her eyes, "Laufey!" she fake gasped, "Don't tell me you've never felt the gentle caress of true love!" she almost sang, looking up to the sky wistfully. Quickly she dropped the act, bringing her gaze back down, "Nah, it was a total accident. 'Love him though You're what, one of how many of your father's litters? Two with a third on the way, right?" (no one knew of Chaos yet) she would bump her son's shoulder with her hip softly, earning a groan. Man, this was still fun! Poor Ash. Esti could have laughed at Ashmedai's confusions. She did, in fact. A hearty chuckle escaped her lips, one that continued at her brother's comment, "I WISH!" she laughed, "Would have saved me from all sorts of pain!" After a moment, she could feel Ash's glare on the back of her head. Okay, maybe that was her imagination, but the thought was there. Shifting her weight, Esti grew a little less teasing... for a second, "You like it here? Got a family? A harem? Ehh?" She smiled, playing her comment off with a raised eyebrow. ""

At his mother's comments, Ashmedai would groan. She was definitely making a point about Rhythm. She mentioned how he was one of three litters by his father and Ashmedai's ears flattened slightly, his brow furrowing. She was so light and teasing. Ashmedai didn't know what to make of it. This guy was really her brother? Ashmedai still couldn't believe it. Did Valentine know she had siblings? Uncle Laufey made the comment about finding Ashmedai under a rock, to which the boy made a solid "hmpf" sound to. Esti loudly commented that she wished she had. Ashmedai's maw made a small "o" as his fur fluffed. Finally, his mother calmed down and started asking normal questions... kind of... Ashmedai kept quiet and listened, pouting the whole time. "SPEAK!"

Esti's teasing words caused Laufey's eyes to narrow briefly. The "gentle caresses" one was irksome enough, but the flippant mention of his sister being one of many to someone really annoyed him, although he supposed amusement could be taken from her apparent willingness to be someone's side bitch. Kind of undermined her supposed grip on superiority, didn't it? Her questions first pulled a confirming grunt from him, then a verbal response. "I do. Our cousins live here; one, Katja, is the alpha. Our ideals are similar." For a moment he studied the pair. Laufey doubted very strongly that Esti would hit it off with Katja. Her catty exuberance and her flippant words were sure to irk the Drottin and if he had his guess the dislike would be mutual. If he told her about Stori she'd undoubtedly want to meet him and to meet him she'd have to go through Katja. But...he couldn't just not tell his sister about her nephew. He'd have to chance it. "I have a son named Stori." His expression playful rueful, he went on to say, "No harem yet."

Omg Esti talks too much. I'm so sorry.

Ohh, so Laufey had joined because of family? Esti smiled, her eyebrow quirking, "We have cousins... AH, Wait. I've met Katja before!" Her eyes turned to surprise, "Steely woman? Proper, but not flowery? Really?" She was laughing now, "If I had known, maybe I would have stopped to introduce myself instead of dragging Ashmedai away when his father showed up for their little alpha meeting!" She looked at her son, who looked equally shocked. Turning back to Laufey, Esti soothed herself, "The same ideals? God, you make it sound like you joined a cult or something!" Esti listened when Laufey mentioned he had a son, but no harem yet. She nodded, a coy expression on her face, "Who's the lucky lady? Or was it a one time thing with somebody? Moreover, did you learn your lesson? I did with Ash- that's for sure. How old is he? Ash stayed pretty exuberant until... well, until his father's newest litter was announced." Esti could feel Ashmedai shift beside her, "You know, sibling rivalry." The tall woman tossed a wink at her brother. They had had their fair share of fights, that was for sure. "I thought that taking him on a little trip might show him that siblings aren't the end of the world, but it looks like he's gained even more family than he originally thought." Esti smiled back to Ash, "See, you have a cousin and the sun's still shining, how about that?" ""

The contrast between the two supposed siblings shocked Ashmedai. While his mother was loud and violent, Laufey seemed quiet and stoic. When Laufey said Katja was their cousin, Ashmedai's ears shot up. His pouting was forgotten, "N-no way?! KATJA?!" His mom seemed surprised too. She looked back at him, but quickly dropped the subject when Laufey said that he had a son. Of course Esti had something to say about it. Ashmedai knew he talked fast and asked a lot of questions, but was he this bad? He hoped not. Esti looked back to him as if having a larger family than he expected would change everything. If anything, it taught him that he could ignore his siblings and move far, far away. Stori looked at Laufey, a nervous expression growing on his face, "H- how old is Stori? I'd love to meet him sometime... And Katja... to apologize for bothering her when she came to talk to my dad... Um, also... Did you really grow up with Mom? You're so... different." A small grin spread onto Ashmedai's face now, "Was she always like this?" "Speech"