Chaos trotted out of his cave-den and took a deep breath. Ahhhh. Autumn. The temperatures had dropped to a pleasant one, with the faintest chill in the mornings but warming mildly as the sun came out. And look at those leaves! The fall colors were brilliant this year, even in the mountain region where few deciduous trees clung. He worked his way down from his den to the steppe, an idea percolating through his mind as he did.

"Say, Sgili," he mused aloud as the owl fluttered and swooped just above his head. "What d'you think, about time we hold a fair?" It had been an idea he'd spoken of at length with his two feathered friends. Sgili chittered approvingly. She and her mate had spent a great deal of time spreading the word among the birds and beasts, some who had regular contact with wolves and some who did not, that Crew would be holding a harvest fair for everyone to trade in preparation for winter. He'd alerted the few wolves of his Crew to expect it, and they may have been letting others know as well. The news would have spread to the wolf population like all rumors did among loners.

He'd gotten the idea off some weirdo he'd found living in the range when he'd gone to visit his parents recently and stolen it without even a tiny hint of guilt. Hey, nothing saying the guy couldn't just come to Crew's lands to do his trading, and it's not like a wolf living alone could really offer a whole lot of hospitality to traders anyway.

Yawning, he eyed the changes on the steppe with a practiced eye. Autumn was at its height now, and if he put it off any more the fine weather would be gone and wolves returning home from the fair would risk being caught in the first bad storms of the season. Not that he really cared about the health of wolves outside his pack, but if traders froze to death because he'd held his fair too late no one would come next year, and he was already planning for this to be an annual thing.

With a few words he sent both Sgili and Heecha off to alert wolves outside his immediate vocal range, then as they winged off in opposite directions he threw back his head and called out a deep, echoing invitation to all the creatures of Ardent to gather.


OOC: All wolves (and other species creatures!) are invited to a Harvest Fair. Check out the Crew pack page for a vague idea of what to expect. This will last one OOC month and for that month the Stone Steppe will be open to outsiders. Any posts in the Maw will be considered trespassing and will be treated accordingly, so stay in the acceptable boundaries only! If you have any questions Skype or PM me! ETA: Just to clarify, all wolves are invited, whether pack wolves (regardless of which pack) or loners!

She had been snooping around in the east when she heard the odd call come. Lifting her head, she let it fall to the side as an owl flew over head. Watching it disappear, she headed in the direction that it came from. This was the first time she had heard a call in this manner since she got her, and it got her heart pumping in her chest. With every step bells rang out, her scarf drifting behind her as she came to a scent marker. Oh, a pack border? Odd that it was on the inside, but the male who called had done so for all. Not able to contain herself, Jaelle crossed the border and past the stones with ease. She had already been here before, before a pack had made it home. Because of that it took her no time at all to find the dark coated male. Dipping her head, her bell-clad tail swung behind her as she eyed the saber tooth boy. It came as no surprise to her, she had met Aki and knew that there were wolves with odd growths that lived her. "Please tell me there will be drinking and dancing," Jaelle said with a smirk, taking a few more steps towards him. She had no idea where her stoat was, but perhaps it was best. With obvious excitement in her blue and brown gaze, she glanced around at the empty clearing. She was surprised that she was the first one here, but eager to see where this went. As a gypsy this wasn't an uncommon thing, but she didn't have the means to host it on her own. Tossing a toothy grin in his direction, she shifted her weight across her paws. Jae didn't stare at his teeth but her eyes did a quick glance of him, committing his looks to memory. She would have to seek him out more often if this was a thing. "Thanks for hosting something like this stranger. It's been quite some time since I've been in something like this, and I cannot wait." Too excited to remember to state her name, a wild giggle slipping from her black lips. Wolves needed to hurry so this could happen. "SPEAK"

I wish you could see me for something more than the things I'm confined and condemned to be

Unable to sleep Valdís had gone out on an early morning patrol, down the eastern side of the maw and onto the borders of the Stone Steppe.  It had been a long time since she'd suffered any nightmares.  The cool autumn air helped to cool the heat that had been baking her brain but she still felt terribly exhausted and on edge.  What she really needed was a distraction.  Maybe she could find someone to indulger her in a practice spar.  A good tussle would do wonders for her.

As if answering her silent wishes she heard the Boss call out, his howl echoing throughout the steppe.  Oh?  Now what was this all about?  She was at the far side of the Steppe and quickly made her way toward the call.  It had been an unusual summons being for all wolves, not just the pack.  What was Chaos up to this time?  

Following along the path she came upon Chaos and a strange woman.  Valdís eyed the woman suspicious but dipped her head in polite, if aloof greeting. "Chaos, I heard your call.  What is it?"

Artemis had found a splendor in her new territory's harvest. Well, in truth it was not so new anymore. She had worked tirelessly, familiarizing herself with the nooks and crannies of the place. She was to hunt for the pack, and part of that meant knowing the trails they walked, the watering holes they preferred, the best grazing, and more. It was like a game to her, in truth, and she played it eagerly from dawn until dusk. Chaos' call was an unexpected diversion, but not necessarily and unpleasant one. As it rang across the lang the cerulean woman perked. She found herself on the edge of the Steppe's northern border, not far from the inlet which would lead her north to the rock garden. She was hunting pika, ground birds, and other small game. She had stashed two quail and a hare since waking that morning, and had a lone pika dangling from her jaws. She had grown to like the small rodents quite a bit; they were perfect to snap up in a bite or two, and tender. Well, the howl broke her out of that right quick. It was an interesting howl at that, one that welcomed all wolves, and promised something grand and exciting. The tenor of it quivered something in her overly-excitable soul, and she ran with power and ease back to her stash of hidden goodies. Two vultures circled overhead, but neither had been able to get about the rocks she'd rolled on top of the lot. She snickered, uncovered her bounty, and was off. She made a comical picture, running about with over-stuffed jaws and limp bodies dangling about her legs, but she arrived at the gathering's start with a bit in tow. No need to be stingy if Chaos clearly hoped for large numbers in attendance. She tried her best to catch his eye as she came upon the few gathered so far, and send him a wink. Beyond the fanged behemoth, she caught sight of a rather pretty woman. Her dappled coat would make for excellent winter camouflage, she reflected, mind wandering even then back to the hunt. In truth she was not overly fond of large gatherings, but her curiosity won out. What did he have planned, anyways? She nodded to the stranger, and then to Valdis, but it was Chaos she spoke to. "So what's planned for us, O' Mighty Gamesmaster?" she probed with a chuckle. "Anything I should be worried about?" It was made in jest, mostly, knowing that he meant for this to be a festive, enjoyable occasion. Then again, she wouldn't put it past him to propose a game of 'Hunt the Bear' as an opening act. It's not that she wouldn't be down, she'd just rather know ahead of time, is all. Oh well, she conceded. He's aptly named, I'll give him that much, she thought with a smirk. Perhaps after she got the down-low from Chaos she could organize a hunt or something to fell a larger beast for the entirety of them. It could be a game for all she cared, and a good one at that too. Brimming with ideas and over-excitement, she waited to see who else might heed Chaos' call, and what he would have to say. "Talk" "You" Think

YOU'RE NOT AS BRAVE He didn’t want to go, knowing full well that with so many strangers about there would be more than a few that wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of his accent, and a few that might even mock him for it. He consoled himself that any attempt to fit in was a positive attempt and that he would much rather be mocked by strangers who would later be forced to leave than be evicted from the pack and be on his own. He slipped from his den and all but tumbled his way down the Maw to the Steppe, his expression neutral, although with his grizzled and mangled face it could easily be mistaken for being stern and serious. What had ultimately won him over was that festivals often meant fermented fruit, and it had been a good long while since he’d felt the numbing dizziness and emboldened fire that usually came along with it. Hell, there had been times- many times- since he landed on the foreign continent that he felt he needed a good bushel of turned apples just to keep going, although those days had usually involved fond, yet unwelcome memories of his wife. He took his place beside the familiar cerulean female and yawned, the call for festivities had pulled him from what he believed to be a well-deserved nap after a long day patrolling the steep border near his den. A stranger had already answered the call and he could feel a nervous chill running through him. This is talking AS YOU WERE AT THE START

Xephyris had long since left the North behind since his pack had been disbanded, and he had kept to the shadows, avoiding everyone as he licked the wounds of his damaged pride. He'd never thought he could fail the way he had, but it was true, he had let everyone down, even his own daughters. He felt like he'd become something he'd never imagined himself as. If ever he needed a distraction from the reality he faced, today would be the day. And it came with perfect timing, the howl of a stranger inviting other strangers into his land. What a perfect opportunity to include himself in an event that really held no long-term commitment of any kind. It was merely an invitation to come, see and leave again at one's convenience. The broken man would make his way with little haste toward the Stone Steppe, although for once his paws felt a little lighter. Perhaps this gathering would be good for him. He didn't expect to know anyone there, so perhaps it would be a chance for him to start over. He picked his way amongst the crumbled, ancient stone structures, until he saw a small group of wolves in the distance. He was sure he wouldn't know anyone. Yet when he came closer, it became very apparent that not everyone here was a stranger to him. He recognized the saber-toothed brute that had made an appearance when Xephyris had been claiming Vyper. But of course, most noticeable to Xephyris, was the beautiful, bell-clad gypsy. His paws froze to the ground and time stopped just for a moment as he contemplated leaving; guilt flooded his conscience. Why hadn't he done more for her? A sigh left his lips, and with his head low, the brute stalked forward anyways. He had nowhere else to be, nowhere else to go. He might as well be here. He wanted to go to her side but he didn't deserve to stand there, so instead he made his way to the opposite side of the group. He tried to keep his eyes fixed on Chaos, and when he arrived in front of the large brute, Xephyris dipped his head lower to the man, trying to muster a smirk when he looked up. "Seems we've switched places," he mused weakly, "Looks like you're doing better than me, though. What have you got planned for the wolves of this continent?" Falling silent, the man merely waited to see what would unfold. He wouldn't be awfully surprised if Chaos didn't remember his mediocre existence, after all, they'd only met once, and Chaos was much more recognizable than his own plain, small, gray-coated self. Silver, blue-flecked eyes flickered quickly, hopefully unnoticeably, in Jaelle's direction, before he glance back toward Chaos. He tried to keep his mind focused on this gathering that to him was rather meaningless, but it was difficult to pry his mind away from the one wolf in this environment that stood out most to him. "Talk" "You" Think

Oh we were sea bound and aimless at best...

Dómari was making very slow progress on his knowledge of herbs. It was difficult to pin down others that could give him lessons and it wasn't working much trying to learn on his own without making himself sick. The young man sighed as he lightly pawed at the fluffy little dandelions that had gone to seed. He'd managed to stock up quite a few of those. With autumn here and winter around the corner it would soon be time to move on to practicing the arts of battle.

An inviting howl caught Dómari's attention and he headed swiftly for the call, pausing for a moment to inspect the border he was crossing. He quickly came to a group of wolves and he blinked at them all for a moment before dipping his head in greeting. "Who called? I heard something about a celebration that is even open to loners?"

Peregrine wandered somewhat aimlessly. At this point she'd all but given up on trying to exact revenge on her captors. The trail so so old, the odds of picking it up again were as slim leaving it to chance. So she did her best t resume the life she'd led before, just striking out in whatever direction suited her. She was coming up into the Eastern lands when she'd heard the call of a male. Her ears perked. An invitation, it seemed. It pointed her towards pack lands, and she wondered what this had to offer. "You're going to go, aren't you?' Tsiry groaned out from beside her. "Can't you ever come across something weird and just leave it be?" Pere laughed and knelt down so Tsiry could clamber right up onto her shoulders. "If I did that we'd never have any fun at all," she responded as if Tsiry had wounded her. She turned towards the pack and began walking. "Of course not," the Lemur grumbled. Peregrine cleared a small thicket of brush and then kicked it up to a gentle lope. Tsiry's toes tucked in beneath the strap of her bag, and fingers tucked into the long, thick hair of her mane. It glided over the pack barriers with a grin, wondering vaguely in the back of her mind if this was a trap of some sort. Oh well, she could defend herself if push came to shove. The plain was rugged and very beautiful, and gave her the feeling that the land was very old. Each momentous stone felt like a pair of eyes. When at last she spotted the gathering of wolves, she came up short. Among them was a rather tall coal-colored male with canine fangs so prominent they protruded well past his lower jaw. A speckled woman and a nebulous woman, and a smattering of more naturally colored wolves as well. Peregrine gave a hard stare at the various oddities as she approached, trying to get all of her staring out of the way now. She approached the fanged male, who seemed to stand at the center of it all. Tsiry peered up over the top of her head. "I heard a strange call, looks like I'm in the right place. Hosting some event, are you?" She gave another look around. The company seemed... well, robust, to say the least. A mixed crowd. She smiled. Mixing a pack and rogues, eh? What on earth was this male up to? "Talk" "You" Think "Tsiry"

It didn't take long for the Finnvi sisters to disperse again. After reveling together in the north it was only a matter of time before the split off again. With nothing really to anchor them it wasn't a surprise. Naudir had decided to head east to continue exploring and perhaps practice her hunting. She'd toyed with the idea of joining a pack but after Yfir she really doubted she could call another pack home. She had just started tracking when a curious how called out. A summoning for both pack and loner. Curious and wondering if the gods had decided to send her a sign she followed the call into packlands where a group of wolves with mixed affiliation seemed to be focused on a young man with unusual teeth.

Pyralis stood for awhile pondering the curious call that had rung out through the air from a nearby pack. A festival? An open invitation? She couldn't be sure if Amon wanted them to lay low and if so how low that would be. Entering a strange packland all by herself was not a sound battle strategy. However, curiosity was winning out and she maneuvered swiftly and silently in the direction of the call. Picking her way through the barren openness of the steppe until she spied a gathering of wolves. Well now, this could be a useful information gathering exercise. "Hello strangers, the fun has arrived!" "Talk" "You" Think

The call was more than enough to convince Iskra to bounce on over the border. She'd been hanging around nearby ever since reuniting with Artemis, not that this was news or anything. Despite always being around Iskra hadn't really done a whole lot with herself. This however, this was the perfect excuse to go march on in and glue herself to Artemis. That and she was terribly curious about whatever this was. Head held high, with an excited grin on her lips, she loped her way to the growing bunch of wolves.

Sliding up to Artemis, she glanced over the rest of the odd bunch with a smirk. Not only was the pack itself an odd and varied bunch, it seemed they'd also managed to pull in quite the variety of guests for this... event? Event sounded close enough. "Been a while, sister," she said to Art, taking a seat beside her nebulous blue sibling. Hadn't been that long, but perhaps a bit more time had passed than Iskra intended. She needed to be better at this whole 'being around so much Art got sick of her' stuff. Ah well, practice makes perfect, or darn close to it.

While she waited for the toothy leader to tell everyone a bit more about whatever this was she took a moment to get a better look at the others. So many different pelts, shapes and sizes were here, it'd been so long since she'd seen such a large and diverse group.

Trudging on stiff legs, no one who laid eyes on her could deny she was looking tired and irritable, as per usual for the dark-pelted woman. She was standing there, swaying a bit while she tried to determine what to do now that her sleep had come to an end when a call came from somewhere nearby. It was an invitation to all. Not really something a grumpy wolf who can hardly stand a conversation with one stranger would be caught dead moving towards. But with strange calls like that, there were gatherings. Gatherings meant festivities if she was lucky. That meant she could drink, and be useless, and if she was lucky everyone would be too busy to bother with her.

A shrug was all that marked her decision to start wandering in that direction. After all it was an invitation, not a demand. Leaving was always an option, anyway. It took a bit to get there - likely due to her terribly slow, meandering walk - causing Mara to find herself arriving to quite the collection of wolves. She didn't really recognize anyone, but she wasn't exactly looking for familiar faces here. No one she knew would be found in pack lands. Huffing, she sat at the back of the group. When was this going to start anyways?

The first wolf to appear, surprisingly enough, was a stranger to him who spoke excitedly, hopeful that there would be dancing and drink, and Chaos gave her a knowing smile and a wink. Oh yes, gypsy stranger, there would be, there would be indeed. His pack gathered around him, but he continued to hold his silence smugly. If he had hands, he would have been rubbing them together gleefully. Curious strangers joined with his pack, some speaking, some not, and finally he waved his tail for quiet. "All right, all right!" he called out over their heads. "Some of you didn't get the memo about what's going on? That's all right, you're welcome anyway!" He grinned at all and sundry. "This is a harvest festival, and anyone is welcome to come into this land - and only this land," he added warningly, "to trade herbs or hides or meat - or hell, teaching, whatever you want to trade! All day every day for a month, and then at night? At night, we party!" He nodded over to where Kass sat (pretend Kass was there, y'all) and added, "This fellow over there brews some mean drinks and we'll be happy to supply some, but feel free to bring whatever fun party stuff you might have as well! Tell your friends, tell your family, your neighbors, hell tell any damn stranger you meet up with, Crew's harvest festival is officially begun!" He grinned again, a wide grin of excitement that took in all the strangers and deepened as he glanced over his pack wolves. "Let's get the party started!"