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.

Dammit all to hell. Why in the world did wolves keep calling him into the most mud covered part of his pack. He had three lands for crying out loud, but they just had to pick the rapids. He knew this caller though, they had once held an alliance when she ruled Ebony. If it were a stranger he would have ignored the call for sure this time. With a rumbling sigh he hung his head, pulling himself through the mud again. He took the long way, scouting the very edges of his territory to avoid the worst of the mud. By the time Katja was in sight, his legs, belly, and chest were covered in mud. It felt like it was dragging him down, and he paused far enough away from her to shake. Wouldn't want to cover his guest in mud, no matter how tempting the thought was. Trying to keep his grumpy look off of his face, Bass dipped his head to the woman. "Katja, it's been awhile. How have you been?" he asked. He stayed standing, not wanting to get any more mud on him than he had to. "Speech"

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?"

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her complaint. He eyed her raised black paw, or at least it would have been without the mud that clung to her. "Well, I do have two other, not so muddy lands that you could have called me to," he said teasingly, a grin touching his lips. His sour mood was taken away by her comment, asking him how he managed. Since she moved on so quickly he just shrugged his shoulders in response, listening to what she had to say next. He couldn't help but blink slowly when she announced having pups, Bass was unsure of why he was so surprised. It quickly vanished though, replaced with a grin once more. He noticed her comment about them being well guarded, and his jaws parted to tell her that he would never go up there to harm her pups. He closed them again though, deciding that it wasn't the best to start something like that with her. She was a new mother after all, she had every right to be protective of her young ones. It would seem that everyone in Yfir was reproducing, and her pack was growing well. "I'm glad to hear that, Katja. Congratulations on your litter, I am glad that they are all well and healthy," he said with a slight wag of his tail. When the dark female asked about Abaven, he glanced behind them and narrowed his eyes at the overflown river. "We've had a bit of trouble with the rivers here, the snow melted so fast that it quickly overflowed our lands," he started, turning back towards her, "but we have been well. Its mostly the rapids here that we have had an issue with, thankfully we have two other lands to sustain my pack on. We had another litter as well, only two pups this time." He said with a nod of his head. His ears pulled back slightly as he thought of when Finch went missing, but he decided to keep that news to himself. Now that she was home, there was no need to spread it now. Shaking his head to clear away his thoughts, he focused on Katja once more. "How is your herb growth in the north?" he asked, wondering if she would need to trade for some fresh products. "Speech"

"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.

Conversations carried on in a polite fashion, although he couldn't help but wonder why the woman had come to his lands today. It wasn't like she was close to his borders, in fact it was quite the trek from the north to here. She extended her congratulations as well, to which Bass simply dipped his head. Although things seemed to take a turn when she mentioned other means to get her herbs. A single brow rose at her smile, and he eyed her with a slightly narrowed gaze. He didn't know what she was getting at, but he knew one thing for sure. Kajta Finnvi was no easy wolf to read. Bass' tail tip flickered, but he let it go. There would be no use to bury into her closed off mind, he probably wouldn't get anywhere. "We are always here to trade with, if the need arises," he said smoothly, features relaxing. Then she asked about his elder litter, and his gaze searched her features. Mm, still a closed book it would seem. "Fine, I suppose. Dealing with their emotions as best they could," came his soft answer. With a sigh, he knew that there was no way around it. He had let just enough slip that she was curious. Maybe it would be good as well, as they did suspect that she had been poisoned. "One of my daughters went missing earlier this season. When they found her and brought her home, they suspected that she had been poisoned. After she woke up, her recounts of the incident furthered our suspicion, but there is no solid proof." His ears lay flat again, clearing his throat slightly. "An overdose of Foxglove, it would seem." "Speech"

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.

His smile was grateful, head dipping when she offered to keep an ear open for anything about the wolf who could have done this. He longed to have more information, things were pretty hazy on all angles. Soon enough Katja changed topics, perhaps to the main reason why she had come to see him today. He watched her carefully when she asked for information about the happenings down here. When she mentioned raiding Threar, he blinked at her, a bit shocked. He hadn't heard about that, but it must have been quite some time ago. Trying to get over his shock, he thought back to everything that had happened in the past bit. "Well, a man named Sin challenged for Threar, and beat my aunt," he said, eyeing her to see if she realized his family had ran the pack beside his, "and took over. He moved the pack to the west. Not long after that, I seiged against Hellstrom with Imperium as aid." Not that he needed it, Hellstrom had been a lot smaller than he had been told. Humming to himself, he tried to think if there had been anything else. "Two new packs, although I haven't been to their borders yet." Was that all? He couldn't really think of anything else. Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he fell silent, thinking hard. "Speech"

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."

Bass eyed the woman carefully as she just stared at him. Honestly this wolf was more than a closed book, she was like a stone wall with eyes. She did scare him a touch, it was hard to know what she was thinking at any given moment. She was trying to dig at something, and he just wasn't sure what that was. Ears flickered as he tried to figure her out, but it was like trying to explain rain to the sky -- impossible. When she dug a little further about the siege, his gaze flickered to his paws. It had been out of character for him, he was usually a very placid wolf. "My son went North to study with Arian, when they still lived up there. She told him to pass on a message to me to beware a man named Sin. Soon after he challenged for my family's home," he had tried not to judge him before then, but after he won the challenge his anger had grown. "I was worried that he would come for my lands next, or that he would be a threat to my family. Or perhaps it was just the anger of him taking a home from my aunt. It wasn't too long after we beat them in a siege that he fought Arian to the death, and took her life." Was that really an explanation? Maybe not, and maybe he had acted rashly. Was it really just for revenge, and all the rest was an excuse? He shrugged his shoulders slowly, looking up at Katja to see if she was pleased with his answer. "Maybe I am just getting senile in my old age." he mused with a smirk. "Speech"

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.

He just snorted back at the woman, the tip of his tongue sticking out from his lips. She wasn't that much older than him, in fact only a year separated them. There was a different air to Katja though, making her seem older than him. Perhaps it was the fact that she was more wise, while he still held on to some childish antics. He gazed at her when she spoke about the non-violent nature of most wolves here, and he had to agree. Even his own family seemed to prefer peace over fighting, to talk over using their teeth. While he himself didn't always resort to fighting, He wasn't afraid to do so to protect his pack and his honor. When Katja asked about the death match between Sin and Arian, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "I know nothing besides what my son has told me. They seem to have had a vendetta between them, but other than that..." He shrugged once more. It was a shame that he had slayed Arian, he had cared for the woman. "I don't believe that he had found out, but I don't know for sure." "Speech"

"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."

His brow rose at the humor in her statement, it would seem that Katja had a dislike for the Adravendi family. At least, that's what he was picking up from her words. When she spoke of Surreal trying to bribe her, both of his brows shot up. Really? He had thought of Surreal as a stronger woman than that, and that bribing would be rather below her. "You must be really scary then Katja," he teased, flashing her a toothy grin. If Yfir planned on raiding Abaven, he wouldn't be upset at the woman before him. It was just a way of life, plus as she had said, living in the North was rough. They needed herbs and prey, and Katja was too proud a woman to trade for all her needs. But that didn't mean that he would try to bribe her out of it, it would be an interesting challenge, actually. He didn't dare say any of that though, she would more than likely take it as an open invitation. The darker woman moved on though, getting to the reason for her visit. He listened to her words, taking in the description of the wolves that were missing from her pack. Bass nodded his head, his features growing more serious. "I will be sure to keep my eye out for them, as well as tell the rest of the pack about them," he said slowly. He didn't doubt that those wolves would have to be fools to get on the wrong side of Katja Finnvi. "Speech"

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.

This time she didn't stop the emotions that crossed her face. He shook his head slightly back and forth, letting out a bit of a laugh. Katja was quite the character, there was no doubt in that. He nodded his head when she said her parting words, waiting to see if he had anything left to say. "Thank you for everything Katja. And, try not to be such a stranger, mm?" he said softly, flashing her a toothy grin. Now it was his turn to sit and wait for her, giving her space to leave. He would wait for her to take her leave before he would back away from his borders. Bass didn't doubt that Katja was a slippery creature, but he knew she wouldn't try anything right now. Or, hopefully. "Speech"