I gots you some cookies
02-08-2016, 12:33 PM
She'd continued her meandering route across the continent, exploring old haunts and scouting as she went, until her path brought her to an old ally of Ebony. Abaven. At first glance over the border she could see the sullen remnants of flooding, and indeed could hardly catch the scent of the border over the odor of mud. For a moment she thought it possible that Abaven had disbanded - possibly destroyed by the flood - or moved to drier lands, until she finally located a scent marker. She snorted in disgust at the mucky smell, muzzle wrinkling. All the more reason to be drawn to the north - it had been a slushy spring, but nothing like this... flooding, muddy mess. Perhaps they would hold off until summer to begin their raids, to avoid fighting in this slog. Frankly she was surprised Bass had stuck it out here instead of moving to higher ground, considering how soft and spoiled much of his pack seemed to be. No matter - she had business with him, and she would not let a bit of muck stop her from it. Rather than try to find a way out of and around the muddy floodplain, she stayed, though certainly she did not subject herself to the indignity of sitting in the mud, while she called out for the pale alpha, and for Yfir's young healer. It was well past time for Kassander to return to the pack, and she might as well collect him while she was in the east.
02-08-2016, 02:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-08-2016, 02:41 PM by Evelyn.)
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02-10-2016, 12:26 PM
Her call brought Bass in very short order, which was fortunate as she wanted to spend as little time as possible standing about in the muck. "Bass, your lands are disgusting," she returned his greeting with a blunt complaint. She picked up one booted paw to frown at the sticky mud that kept trying to suck it back down. "How do you stand this? Feh. No matter." She turned her attention to the white alpha, who seemed more mud than wolf to her. "I have been well enough. I birthed a litter of five at the start of spring. All healthy and well-guarded," she added pointedly. Though she knew Bass to be a generally good-hearted wolf and they were not enemies, one could never fully predict another wolf and it would not do for news to get out that Yfir had vulnerable young pups because she was foolish enough to assume anything. "My young cousin has also fathered a pair who are now of an age to apprentice. They both show great promise. This year has seen a great growth in strength for Yfir," she finished with satisfaction. "How does Abaven fare? You seem to have had trouble with your river - I trust you are all well?"
02-10-2016, 12:59 PM
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02-10-2016, 01:46 PM
"Hm," she replied neutrally to his assertion that he had two less muddy lands to have called him to. She would take his word for it - she had no interest in slogging through this muck to see if his other lands were in better shape. He added that it had been rapid snowmelt that had caused the issues. "Snow melt has not been such a problem in the north," she told him dryly - no, their snow had a tendency to cling on much longer than down here in the south. Slush, yes, but not flooding. To his news of a second litter - had she known of his first litter? She could not recall - she added, "My congratulations to you and your mate as well." She made note of his body language after he spoke of his litter, and wondered at the cause of it. Strife between the elder and the younger litter perhaps? It was not unheard of for siblings to display jealousy of each other. Stori and Eislief were proof enough of that. As to his question... "Snow lingers in the north. Cooler weather herbs are growing, but most have not yet begun. No matter, though. We can procure what we need." A tight, uncharacteristic smile showed a hint of teeth. Whether Bass knew it or not she referenced her pack's tendency to raid for what they could not produce for themselves - they would have little trouble invading another pack's territory to steal their stored herbs if their few healers could not gather enough herbs on their own. "And how do your elder children fare?" she probed carefully, seeking to confirm her earlier suspicion.
02-17-2016, 03:41 PM
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02-17-2016, 04:01 PM
Katja remained silent as Bass spoke of his children, only her unblinking gaze coaxing him on to recount what had him so concerned. Ah, a child potentially poisoned. Though no, the elder litter surely were not children any longer, and it seemed unlikely that someone had such close access to the younger litter. Her mind immediately grasped onto the worst-case scenario, that someone had chosen to deliberately poison the girl, and she mulled over it. One had to wonder, was the girl deliberately targeted? If she was, was it personal, or was it because she was the daughter of this alpha? Intriguing questions, and ones that she would, perhaps, look into for her own reasons. Perhaps she would add to Harekr's mission - the intrigue and the challenge certainly seemed up his alley. What she would do with that knowledge though, hmm there were countless possibilities. "My sympathies to her and to your family; I am certain it has been an ordeal for you all. I am afraid I know little about herbs," she added, "but perhaps we can keep an ear to the ground to see if there have been similar poisonings of late." Though she would not necessarily share such information if it came her way, she would allow it to be implied.
But this, while interesting for it's own merits, was not what had dragged her into this muddy wasteland. Tilting her head slightly in invitation, she spoke again, "Tell me, Bass, have you had knowledge of anything of interest in the wider lands here in the south since we last spoke? I am afraid that I do not get down from the north often enough and news travels slowly over ice. I do not believe I have been down south since... hm, since my pack raided Threar's hunting lands last spring." She did not know if Bass were aware that she had raided the pack so close to his, but it would do little harm for him to know. It was not as though she had been particularly secretive with anyone else about her pack's proclivities. She also had been south fairly recently, though it had been quite briefly, but she did not want him to leave anything out and you learned much by hearing the same stories from different perspectives, stories they might not tell knowing you already knew the tale. She still had news of her own to share, but she would bide her time that it might be fresh in his mind when they parted.
But this, while interesting for it's own merits, was not what had dragged her into this muddy wasteland. Tilting her head slightly in invitation, she spoke again, "Tell me, Bass, have you had knowledge of anything of interest in the wider lands here in the south since we last spoke? I am afraid that I do not get down from the north often enough and news travels slowly over ice. I do not believe I have been down south since... hm, since my pack raided Threar's hunting lands last spring." She did not know if Bass were aware that she had raided the pack so close to his, but it would do little harm for him to know. It was not as though she had been particularly secretive with anyone else about her pack's proclivities. She also had been south fairly recently, though it had been quite briefly, but she did not want him to leave anything out and you learned much by hearing the same stories from different perspectives, stories they might not tell knowing you already knew the tale. She still had news of her own to share, but she would bide her time that it might be fresh in his mind when they parted.
02-26-2016, 01:17 PM
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02-29-2016, 08:32 AM
Bass hardly reacted to the knowledge that she'd raided Threar - likely he either knew already or knew her well enough not to be terribly offended by it. He did give her a look when he mentioned his aunt having fought Sin in an attempt to defend her reign over Threar, as though seeking to know if she'd had knowledge... of Threar being run by his family, or of the challenge? She wasn't certain, so she simply returned his look with a dispassionate stare of her own, giving neither away. His summary of all that had taken place was bland and quite less than wordy, giving her nothing new, and she prodded again without judgement in her tone. "You led a siege against this Sin's pack, as instigators? Not hired to do so? I am curious - what led to such a decision? You must admit from an outside perspective it seems rather unusual for you."
03-03-2016, 11:22 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-03-2016, 02:17 PM by Evelyn.)
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03-08-2016, 10:54 AM
Bass finally divulged more information, dropping his eyes in a guilty manner and giving the appearance that he expected to be chastised for his actions. Perhaps others had indeed chastised him for it before; he kept company with wolves who thought themselves better than the laws of the wild, and would likely be shocked and horrified that anyone would seek revenge. A spark of his humor returned to him as he tossed in a sly jab about going senile in his old age. She snorted. "You are younger than I am. Bass, I could hardly berate you for seeking revenge, without myself being a hypocrite," she told him dryly. "We do not place the same value on non-violence that many here do." The knowledge that his son had trained with Arian Adravendi, and that Arian had been the one to pass on the information about Sin, that was new, and she mused over it a moment. Arian certainly did seem to have had quite the coward's touch with manipulation. It seemed her theory that Surreal Adravendi had pushed Bass into his vendetta had been incorrect after all. With Arian's subsequent death it really mattered quite little, though, except that perhaps she'd been overestimating Surreal after all. "For what reason would this Sin have sought Arian's death? Did he perhaps learn, somehow, that it was she that set you on the path towards his pack's destruction?" She did not care about Arian's death, not really. She simply wanted to know more of how Bass felt about these happenings, and to thereby learn more about where he stood with the world at large. It was a... useful thing to know, though it did not seem she would get much more out of him. Time to wrap things up and make her way to another pack, perhaps.
03-20-2016, 02:36 PM
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03-21-2016, 10:35 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-21-2016, 10:35 AM by Katja the First.)
"It is difficult to imagine Arian Adravendi beginning a vendetta with anyone," she snorted with the faintest hint of amusement. "Let alone engage in a deathmatch with someone. Not entirely unheard of; it doesn't take bravery to meddle. I suppose I should have expected it, considering how she sought to besmirch Yfir's... stirling reputation when I turned down her foolish attempt at an alliance." Now her muzzle curved into a cool approximation of a smile, recalling her various meetings with Arian's family and their animal wariness at meeting her. It was not a stretch to assume that to be Arian's doing, and it amused her. "Perhaps it is a family failing," she mused aloud. "As Surreal Adravendi sought to bribe me to not raid her pack not long ago." She tamed the urge to wrinkle her muzzle in disgust. Why was it that wolves here were so arrogant in their cowardice? She shrugged eloquently, clearly dismissing the Adravendis en masse. She'd learned what she thought she was likely to, here. Best to share her own news and be on her way. "As it happens, I am here for more reason than simply catching up on the news. I am seeking two former members of Yfir. One is a fugitive - a young male named Kismet Adravendi. White, but for a reddish gold on his head and two of his paws. One blue eye, one green eye. He abandoned the pack of his own volition when he was set to guard the borders during a raid, putting the pack lands and the pack as a whole in danger with his actions." She cocked a brow at Bass questioningly before continuing. "The other is a male named Vereux Armada - a slate blue with white undersides, green eyed but missing one. He paints a symbol of my people over his missing eye. He was a student of mine who went missing. He may be dead... the north is a dangerous place to live, and not all survive... or he may have betrayed us - I do not know which. If dead, we will give him the death rites of my people, as he chose to follow our path. If not..." Her teeth flashed dangerously, ears twitching back in unconscious reaction. "I do not much care for the idea of spies."
03-21-2016, 12:39 PM
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03-21-2016, 06:06 PM
This time Katja did not suppress her natural reaction, an expression of disgust and irritation flitting over her face. "I did nothing fearful to either of them. They carry on as though Yfir will rape their women and slaughter their children rather than steal their resources. I simply told Arian that yes, I would raid her pack. Eventually. Perhaps they would have preferred me to lie and attack through deception and stealth instead? Feh." She shrugged again. "The fact that Arian died before I ever did get around to raiding Sonticus is beside the point." She snorted again, then shook her coat out, as though shaking away her annoyance as she would water. "I thank you for your time, Bass. I will have my wolves keep an ear to the ground for your girl's poisoner and be in touch with you later." Her words and tone were clearly a sign that the conversation was, as far as she was concerned, over, but she kept her attention politely on Bass rather than simply walking away as she was wont to do - a long and steady acquaintance earned him that much at least.
03-28-2016, 05:52 PM
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