Ashmedai had found another pack, lucky him! This one was older than the other one. It smelled a little familiar, but maybe he was making it up in his head.

Ash skirted around the border for a while, watching to see if anyone was moving within the pack. He made sure to keep his posture neutral. Since the snow was melting everywhere, it was tempting to go and explore everywhere.

Ashmedai figured he would try to see how many packs were around. He thought maybe there would be something... new? Exciting? He wasn't quite sure, but he was going to find out. As long as he minded his manners, it would be relatively safe, right? Ashmedai brought himself to the border and called out.

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Spring had sprung. Things were growing, even under the stubborn snow that wasn’t quite ready to release its hold on the land. He was finding that this Spring felt more special. He had a mate. It kept hitting him, repeatedly, each time better than the first. He had a mate. And Spring was her season. Nevertheless, despite wanting to stay glued to her side day and night, he was an alpha with duties. Patrolling the borders, for one. He was finishing his circuit of the Plains when the howl came from ahead. His pace picked up to a smooth trot. The minor hitch in his front leg would always be there, but by now, it was just something he was so used to he forgot about it. Fathomless sapphires glinted with interest as he saw the male waiting at the borders. This one was vaguely familiar. Where had he… ah! “Good day. I am Regulus Adravendi, Archangel of Celestial. What brings you back this way? Last time I saw you, you attended the claiming of these lands when my mother raised Celestial’s standard.” His tone was easy-going as he looked the fellow over. He’d never caught the boy’s name, but he’d carried the scent of Imperium. What had he done when Imperium had fallen? What had he gone through?

Oh wait. The red on the horizon. He had seen that wolf before. It had been a while. Was this the same pack? He had all but forgotten about it.

The male- now the alpha or archangel (for real, where did people get these names?)- seemed to recognize him too. Ashmedai let an easy smile fall onto his face, "Yeah, it's been awhile, Regulus , huh? I guess I was curious about the surrounding packs then too."

Ashmedai laughed to himself. What luck. He didn't consider the male a friend or even an acquaintance, but it was good to see someone familiar.

"I'm actually just kind of asking around with the local packs. It's been a while since I was in one, and I'm not really ready to just join one until I know all the ones I can. Maybe that's crazy? Formally, then, I guess: I'm Ashmedai Imperialis."

He didn't really know what else to say. "I guess I ask you questions, now? What all's happened since that day? I bet a lot." Ashmedai readied himself to listen. He was honestly wanting to know a brief history of the pack. It had changed hands. Was his mother alive? Was it a peaceful transition? He wanted to know. Was that too nosy?

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

The Archangel smiled easily at the younger male’s response, nodding and letting his hips lower, haunches settling against the ground as his tail swept about to tuck neatly around them and his front paws. He supposed the interest in the surrounding packs could mean the male was seeking a home to live in, and Ashmedai confirmed some of that assumption in the next breath. "Always a good idea, certainly. Better to find a pack you fit well with, rather than one you’ll chafe in.” He grinned at the male’s introduction. There had been some familiarity in the coloring and some of the fellow’s build. There were differences from Chaos, of course. The scent differed. “I met Valentine once. He struck me as a strong male, and we’ve all heard of the reputation he and Imperium carried.” He nodded at Ashmedai’s guess, then huffed out a breath as he thought over the last several years, sighing as he considered. “Hoooo… where to start. Plenty of meetings. All in all, we’ve been relatively peaceful, though there’s been a slight rise in trespassers in the last few seasons. This stone border is our attempt as adding a visual border to the scent border…. We'll be working to build it high enough wolves will have difficulty just hopping over and pretending they didn't know what they were doing..." He fell silent a moment, pondering, thinking back. “My mother stepped down in the late stages of her last litter—she was getting sick a lot. That’s when I stepped up. Later I promoted my sister to be my secondary…” A frown puckered her brow as he continued. “Then I and my cousin and father left with my mother, because she wasn’t getting better, only worse, to find the Nomads, healers that are the best of the best.” He blew out a sigh. “Mother had cancer. By the time we found them, the Nomads could do nothing to save her; she was too far gone. So we came back home to bury her. Not a few hours after I got home and my sister gave the pack back to me, a wolf by the name of Liar Walker challenged for Celestial.” He cocked his head to indicate the obvious outcome, and the land behind him that he still ruled. “Obviously, the fellow was unsuccessful in his bid... My father died a few seasons back, as well as another of our members… We’ve had wolves missing, including a pup, and most recently, a male in the north who calls himself Satan attacked and raped one of our members, and another wolf, a female I suspect is in league with the other, attacked one of our yearlings, and murdered his father when he intervened. “ I tracked them as far as the Fjord above the land bridge between the two continents and turned back. I’d have kept following, but I need to be here to care for the pack. Their lives are forfeit, however.” There was a deep chill in those fathomless sapphire eyes as he recounted the more recent events, and his simple finishing statement was unwavering. The two wolves had made a deep mistake in attacking wolves of Celestial. The chill thawed as he looked at Ashmedai, attentive once more as he asked, “What would you like to know about Celestial? A few things have changed since the claiming, including rank additions and changes… I’d be happy to describe them to you, if you like.”

Ashmedai listened intently as Regulus spoke of his pack and gave a brief history. Ashmedai could sympathize. He had lost his parents in one way or another as well. Ash was glad, however, that Regulus knew the Imperium name and reputation, whether it was for better or for worse.

So they had been having trouble with intruders, right? Sounded like they had similar problems as what Sparrow had said Abaven was dealing with. "Yeah, I've heard of some similar stories, though I don't know if it was by the same person."

Regulus asked what else Ashmedai would like to know about his pack. Ashmedai pondered this for a bit.

"Well," he started slowly, "This may be none of my business, or this may be secret intel, but how do you plan on dealing with these guys? Do your members know their scent or looks? The man just calls himself Satan? Not that it's my pack, but I do have friends and if someone is being so reckless, I'd like them out of the way too. You think they are hiding out in Auster?"

It was a lot of questions, but a good leader needed to know how to act in these trying times. It would speak of either weakness or strength to the whole pack as well as the surrounding packs. If there was a threat this severe, Ashmedai wondered how Imperium would handle it. An all out war front on them, no doubt. A death match at the battlefield, maybe, for something more personal.

How long had this been going on? Ash wanted to urge them to go kill the perpetrators right away.