The river stretched out before him as gorged and grotesque as a plump tick. He couldn't even tell where its boundaries had once been. The banks had long since been overwhelmed; in some places the water was so deep the trunks of trees were hidden from his view. The water was as brown and opaque as mud. Judging by the debris being rapidly ushered passed him it was obvious the current was strong. Clearly he wouldn't be fishing today.

Turning away from the scene Valentine began to move westward. He hadn't come to the river with the intention of fishing, rather, he'd come to assess the damage. The effects of the flooding were readily seen in Imperium and while not catastrophic, the changes in his lands were impossible to ignore. An insatiable curiosity drove him beyond his borders. He wanted to see how the rest of Alacritia was faring.

OOC: Such a lovely starter, no? >.>;

Ara hadn't really left Fiori's territory since she and Novel had come home. Quickly after their arrival, they'd realized that both of their sons were gone. Why.. she didn't know. They hadn't gone to Threar - as they had suggested, and had anticipated might be something they were interested in - as Threar no longer ruled the lands they had once held. It seemed like more wolves had disappeared than she would have liked. Dealing with the disappearance of their boys was not easy.  They weren't necessarily gone, just.. not around. A soft sigh left her lips as she wandered closer to the Rio Grande. She hadn't realized just how bad the spring rains had left the rest of Alacritia. The Mangrove forest was always flooded; it struck her just how much damage had been done as she approached the flooded river. It was significantly wider than usual, coursing mercilessly over former grassland and even taking down some trees and shrubs in its wake. This meant most of the herbs that would normally grow at the riverbank would likely be swept away. Surely they could not survive the flooding. Just great. Feeling unusually sullen, she would direct herself to move away from it, feeling as though she wouldn't find anything at all at the river today. Certainly no herbs, no flowers, and probably no food, either. Ara hadn't realized she'd been heading toward a stranger - her eyes were downcast as she watched her paws trudging through the damp grass. Only when she lifted her gaze did she see a stranger in the distance. A rather.. terrifying looking stranger, too. Not necessarily mean, just large, and the way he walked had an air of importance that she could not at all relate to. She didn't necessarily want to talk to him. She'd never been the most sociable wolf, and she was too far from home for anything to go wrong. Quickening her pace, she'd seek to make a trail around him, eyeing him only briefly before casting her gaze to the earth once again.

What wasn't covered with water (which wasn't a lot) was drowning in muck. With snow still melting and the ground waterlogged it was clear that the water wasn't simply being soaked up. If he had his guess Valentine was willing to bet that somewhere downstream the water had broken through someplace and forged a new trail, and essentially begun to drain what had backed up at this stretch of the river. Silt, leaves and whatever else the water could get in its clutches had been left behind in places where the water was receding. There wasn't just debris on the ground. Valentine was amazed to see just how much garbage littered the branches of trees - and how high the water had been in some places. There were places - quite a few of them - that he couldn't reach with a paw if he stretched up on his hind legs.

The progress of the woman didn't go unnoticed. While she was still a speck in the distance his eyes were able to detect the distinctly feminine qualities that set her apart from his own kind. As he carried on with his own business Valentine watched the woman out of the corner of his eye. The King didn't openly watch her for fear of making her uncomfortable, but he did keep casual track of her movements. He didn't like surprises.

She was moving a bit faster than he and it was clear with the way she was trying to arc around him that she didn't wish to stop and chat, so he didn't rush up and greet her. Instead he kept on walking and when they were finally within range of communicating and he saw her eyes rise up, Valentine simply sought eye contact and gave a polite nod of his head.

Truthfully.. she was prone to keeping to herself more than interacting with others. Ara wouldn't classify herself as antisocial, but rather.. independent. She was often wary of strangers, and with good reason, much of the time. Her intention was to not bother the male - perhaps he had no interest in chatting with a stranger, and she wasn't terribly eager to test someone's patience by intruding on their space, either. She swore she felt his gaze on her, and briefly she would lift her own to get a better look at him. She returned the nod with a slight one of her own, her tail flicking absently where it lay at her hocks. "Sorry if I'm intruding," Ara would call out tentatively, though she wasn't even that close to him. "Quite a flood we have going on, no?" she'd ask conversationally, taking a tentative step nearer to him - but she was poised to flee if necessary. The very last thing she wanted today was trouble of any kind.

Apparently he'd read her wrong, which was perfectly alright with him. He wasn't going to pass up a conversation. After their eyes met the woman called to him and in response he shrugged before parting with the words, "You're not intruding at all." There was still quite a bit of distance between the two of them. It wasn't like she'd rushed up to him and invaded his personal space. He would have objected to that.

The conversational query she tossed his way first brought a faint smile to his lips. Valentine stopped walking and briefly turned back to look at the engorged river. He snorted a laugh and his gaze quickly returned to her. "You can say that again. I've never seen anything like it," the King called back. He'd seen whole trees piled together that had been uprooted and washed downstream.

The woman didn't seem too keen on approaching, which he took to mean she'd probably be made uncomfortable if he stepped closer to talk. He could be wrong, of course. He'd been wrong once already. Still, Valentine remained where he was. "Just passing through or did you want to see the flooding up close?" he asked amicably before shrugging. "I came for the flooding," he said with a crooked smile.

Valentine was easily a whole foot taller than her, and visibly stronger. Ara had no interest in bothering him, but if she was reading him right he wasn't at all opposed to her presence.   "Alright," she answered in gentle response, offering a slight nod as he smiled to her. Slowly, with obvious hesitation, she would dare to take a few long strides closer to him. Her initial impression of him - other than that he was a bit scary looking - was that he looked.. important. He held himself with a kind of dignity she was not familiar with, and she couldn't help but wonder who he was. "The rest of the world gets to know now what it's like to live in a swamp," she'd add with a simple laugh, a conversational piece - but she realized then he likely had no idea where she was talking about.   "I live further East, in the Mangrove forest," Ara would add quickly, to clarify what she'd meant. She had no issue with conversation; actually, it sounded nice right now, but she couldn't help but be guarded, even as she offered him a small smile and drew closer. She briefly took her gaze from him to eye the flooded river.   "Same, I suppose," she agreed solemnly. Once again, her eyes left Valentine to scope out the river. Many of the herbs she'd hoped might bloom this spring would likely not bloom at all this year from the flooding, and though she was disappointed, it was part of life.  "I actually wanted to get a good look at the vegetation growing around the river. It's usually a good spot for herbs, but I guess this year I'm out of luck."

His ears pricked as she joked about everyone now knowing what it was like to live in a swamp. He didn't have to wonder about that comment long. The Mangroves, eh? It was a neat place. "I went there a time or two when it was unoccupied. It's a cool place," he offered. It was a pretty interesting place. He had yet to find anywhere else like it, although it was rumored to be wildly beautiful on the other side of the land bridge that had surfaced not that long ago.

As she mentioned herbs Valentine's gaze turned from her to slowly rove across the flooded riverbanks. What vegetation he could see was mangled and/or drowned. Her assumption seemed to be sound. "Wish I felt confident enough to disagree, but I'm sure it'll be awhile before things start to recover." He fell silent for a moment as he tried to think of a direction to point her in for herbs. Off the top of his head he couldn't think of any place that wasn't currently claimed.

After a few heartbeats his eyes flicked back to hers. The woman had previous stepped closer, which Valentine took to mean she was possibly willing to engage in a full conversation instead of simply exchanging a few words in passing. It was about time for an introduction. "I'm Valentine, by the way."

A light smile touched her lips. He was a native to these lands, then - she hadn't meant to use her comment to decide if he was a foreigner here or not, but it worked nonetheless.  "It's interesting, definitely," Ara agreed easily.  "I lived further West for most of my life.  Near the Range." she'd add gently. She wasn't really sure why she was sharing this information, but he had a way of making her feel more comfortable than she might normally - maybe it was because he had an air of confidence that was so above her own.  "Took some time to get used to, but once you figure out exactly how to not get wet when you don't feel like it.. it's great." Her own gaze would stray from him for a moment to assess the riverbank again.  "You're probably right," Ara would agree with a soft, subtle sigh and a flick of the tip of her tail.  "At least now I know where to not go next time," she would add with a faint hint of regret. Not that it was a totally wasted trip.  "My name is Ara. Are you from around here?"

Near the Range, huh? Valentine's thoughts drifted back to the family that had been established there before he'd claimed the land. Some he'd taken captive, but he remembered that a few had wisely disappeared before he'd even laid eyes on them. Was this woman one of them? He tried to think back to what the captured ones looked like. Typical, bland Destructions, if he remembered right. The only thing that had set them apart from the rest of their ilk, really, were the ass-spots that marked all but the sire. This woman didn't really look like the kind of cookie cutter Destruction he was used to.

"...but once you figure out exactly how to not get wet when you don't feel like it.. it's great." At this he chuckled. From what he remembered that was no small feat. The roots of the mangroves were closely woven and difficult to walk on, so most steps were taken on perpetually damp silt. Each step had been almost as mucky as what they were dealing with here at the river.

Upon learning her name Valentine dipped his head in greeting. "It's a pleasure, Ara. And I am, actually. I'm from Imperium which is just over that way." He jerked his head in the direction of the packlands. "The Range is one of my lands, actually."

Ara thought she noted a touch of recognition in his eyes when she spoke about the Range, though the thoughts that were going through his mind were not at all what she expected. The very though of holding slaves seemed abhorrent to her, especially with what she'd seen when she'd lived with her parents in the pack that was called Ludicael, and the chance that she'd remain as comfortable with Valentine afterward was highly unlikely. Luckily though, the conversation didn't drift to either of those things, but remained as pleasant as she hoped it might. Her smile remained, her head nodding as she listened to him. "Oh," she'd breathe as she took in the information. "I'm not.. terribly familiar with the packs nearby," Ara admitted gently, almost apologetically. "Only recently did my wife and I return to Fiori. We were traveling in the southern continent for a few season." Her gaze fell slightly, before lifting once again. "Do you like it in Imperium?" She'd ask tentatively, aiming to continue their friendly conversation until she felt like she ought to return home.

"I'm not.. terribly familiar with the packs nearby..." Neither was he, really, which he supposed was kind of sad. He wasn't exactly falling down on the job; he was aware of his neighbors and had, in most cases, a basic understanding of what they were about, he'd just never made an effort to go any farther than that. There wasn't a need, really, to go any farther. Imperium had everything it needed and was strong enough to take care of itself. He didn't feel the need to pander to the alphas around him or make hasty alliances, so there wasn't much else to be done. And perhaps there was a little bit self-importance fueling his disinterest. He rather liked the idea of people coming to him instead of the other way around, of having the power and accepting or rejecting as he saw fit.

Oh, the southern continent? Fascinating! If not for his obligations in Imperium Valentine would have liked to take his time exploring those lands. He'd been all over the northern continent and while he hadn't seen everything, he'd seen the majority. The brute had heard all kinds of hard to believe tales about what existed across the sand. "Oh, I love Imperium. There are few things more precious to me than it." His kids of course where at the top of the list. "Founding it was the easily one of the scariest things I've ever done, but so worth it. My packmates are exceptional and it is a pleasure to live and work with them." Curiously he regarded her. "And what of you in Fiori? Is it still as Epiphron wanted it, still family-oriented and a uh," What was the word she'd used again? Communal? Hm.... "Democracy of sorts?"

Her demeanor would soften considerably, but not entirely. She was.. wary around males, though not as much as Novel was. Ara knew there was no reason to distrust him entirely, but she wouldn't let her guard down fully. Her gaze rested on him for a moment as she spoke, but she felt uncomfortable staring for too long, and she'd avert it soon after. She noted the interest in his eyes at her words. But his own were surprising. Oh, she thought to herself, feeling her breath hitch in her throat. Valentine wasn't just a member of Imperium, but he ran it. Ara didn't know how to approach an Alpha - she'd never really spoken to Epiphron more than once, and while Leo was a bit less intimidating than his mother, she still didn't feel like it was her place to bother him. Suddenly she felt terrible for just.. walking up to Imperium's ruler, at least without knowing who he was. "Wow," she'd say quietly, nodding as she listened.  "I didn't realize you'd founded the pack."  Ara definitely couldn't imagine having so much power; that sort of life had never appealed to her. She wouldn't be suited for leadership. She much preferred her quiet, simple life with Novel over anything else.  "It is," she replied to his question about Fiori.  "Her son has taken it over. Leo seems much like her. It's a good life, certainly."  Ara hoped he didn't think that she was bragging - her tone was deeply humble. She was certain Imperium was an equally good pack, despite whatever differences they had.

"Wow." Wow? Occasionally he forgot the significance of his title. Valentine would demand a certain amount of respect in all situations even if he weren't an alpha, so sometimes the reactions he earned upon telling someone his rank came as a surprise. Was his ego, he silently mused to himself, so big that he thought he deserved the respect regardless of whether or not he was Mr. Important Alpha? "Yes ma'am, I did," he murmured with a soft smile.

He was unreasonably dismayed to learn that Epiphron no longer ran Fiori. It wasn't like he'd known her well or anything, but she'd seemed so steadfast, so worthy of her title and more than capable enough to see her dreams become reality that it was hard to imagine her pack without her at its helm. Perhaps he'd have to see for himself if this Leo fellow was as good as Ara claimed. He had a hard time picturing it, but he doubted Epiphron would have simply given her pack away to any ole boob regardless of the relationship. "I'm glad to hear it, although I must admit it's a little disappointing to learn about the change in leadership." The names of Alacritia's alphas were ever changing.

Wishing to continue the conversation, Valentine almost made himself more comfortable by sinking back onto his haunches before he remembered just how mucky the ground was. He stopped himself just in time. The King settled for briefly shifting his weight from mucky paw to mucky paw as he said, "If I may ask, what was the southern continent like? Should I ever retire or be displaced I think I'd like to explore there. I've heard remarkable things." He was genuinely curious and telling the truth; should he ever have the time he wanted to travel the south.