Aurielle Adravendi

Well, it was done. Her father had given her the pack. It had been a little more hurried than he’d meant, but he’d gotten a visitor late in the night – a Nomad who had news of her mother and brother – and he’d needed to find out what they knew. For all that he was loyal to his pack, he had borne the weight of worry for his love and son for so long while he took care of his responsibility. Now that Aurielle was old enough, he could make search forays—not only for them, but for the other missing wolves of Celestial. So, he had given her the pack and would stand as the Shieldknight until Aurielle made her personal changes to Celestial and her own ranking decisions. And then he had left. When he returned, in a week, he hoped, he would call the pack together and make his decision known. And then she would have full, open control of Celestial. It was down to Aurielle, however, to notify Gwenevere. So, she padded across the plains, following the older woman’s scent out into the Moor. She hadn’t quite completed her ideas in progress for Celestial’s future, but she knew with certainty the roles and names of the highest ranks and tiers. That there would be circles and a council. There were still a few little details to be decided upon, naturally, but for now, she set them to the side in her mind as she spotted Gwen ahead, giving a soft bark and making no effort to practice her usual apparition imitation. “Hello, Gwenevere. How are you, today?” The greeting was given with her usual easy smile and banner waved tail as she sought to draw abreast of the older, more experienced woman. For all that she was warm and friendly in her greeting, there was a definite sense of purpose and professionalism in her stance. Granted, Aurielle had almost always been a bit prim and proper, particularly in her later pup-hood into her yearling-hood, but this was something more… refined. Her head was held slightly higher, her gaze more direct. Much like her father, but with an underlying hint of steel that he hadn’t quite had. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Her patrol had taken her into the mist-shrouded moor that day, and the eerie hush that the constant fog gave to everything was in some ways comforting to the aging female. Winter had brought her heat upon her again, and she had begun dreaming of Lanse and their life together almost nightly. It made it difficult to sleep, knowing that he would be there to haunt her. Knowing that she wasn't sure she wanted to wake up knowing he wouldn't be there. The pack's reduced size meant that patrols had to be undertaken alone most days in order to be sure that the border was guarded at all times, but these days she'd been almost grateful not to have anyone join her on patrol. She wasn't fit company, and not particularly in the mood to withstand Justice's inevitable snarky comments and since the attitude-laden girl was one of the few warriors left they'd be paired up more often than not.

A soft bark drew her attention slightly to the side, and she stopped to wait as Aurielle stepped up to her. Even in her tiredness she had to smile at the way Aurielle's shifting white-based coat managed to blend her slightly into the fog despite not making an effort to hide. When snow finally hid the last greenery, quite likely only her eyes would be visible on the moor. "Good morning, Aurielle. I'm doing well enough. You look like you had something more on your mind than seeing to my health though." And sure enough the yearling had a subtle difference to her stance and gaze that piqued Gwen's interest even through the apathy that the season had brought her.

Aurielle Adravendi

A brief grin flashed across Aurielle’s features at Gwen’s answer, and she nodded, adding with a laugh, “Though your health is definitely very important.” Then she paused, gaze searching Gwen’s features closely. She’d noticed that the older woman who would be her Right Wing for a time had been hanging off to herself and not been as social. She already knew of the birds and bees from her parents—they hadn’t wasted any time in educating her or Aramis. She was observant enough to note the change in Gwen’s scent, and stated gently, with just a hint of curiosity, “Well enough, but not the best you can feel? You were born in winter?” Not prying, but an unspoken offer to talk about it if Gwen wished. If she didn’t, the newly minted Archangel wouldn’t press further. Honestly, though, she couldn’t deny her curiosity about what her own second year would bring. Her mother had told her what a heat cycle felt like, but Aurielle had to wonder if it was the same for all females. After all, her father had put in that her great-grandmother Erani hadn’t had a heat cycle until her sixth year and, having missed out on her own birds and bees talk due to the slaughter of her birth pack – and subsequently, her mother and father – thought she’d been coming down with a strange, possibly contagious malady. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Gwen gave a short huff of a laugh at Aurielle's curiosity. The way she'd said it made it clear that she knew perfectly well what was going on with the older woman, and was trying not to seem like she was being nosy. "Yes, this was my birth season, and yes, I'm on my heat cycle. It's not as physically uncomfortable for me as for many who seem to be more affected by it, thankfully, though I do make it a point to try not to be around males as much. It tends to make them uncomfortable, and some males will try to use it as an excuse to be a scumbag. Don't believe anyone if they try to tell you that a male can't resist the scent of heat," she added, with a dark note to her usually friendly tone. "It's a lie. They are not incapable of resisting it, they make the choice whether to act on their body's interest or not." Those heat cycles after they'd found out about his illness, Lanse had made the decision not to touch her during her heat cycle, just in case he was able to impregnate her despite the impotence that had shown itself before. They didn't want to risk bringing children into the world carrying the genes for his illness...

Shaking her head and putting a smile back on her muzzle, she shrugged. "So if I need to be around males for official business, it's certainly not a problem, but I tend not to be as social this season. You won't have a problem with your alpha duties during your own heat cycles once your father is ready to abdicate to you," she added, in case that was why she was curious. Of course, she had more personal, emotional reasons for not being social during the winter, but she chose not to bring that up with the yearling. She... wasn't ready to talk about her history, and likely never would be.

Aurielle Adravendi

Aurielle listened as Gwen spoke, nodding easily. “Mother and Father both told myself and Aramis the same thing when they gave us that particular lesson in life. Apparently, Father missed his first lesson as a pup and had to get it again from my grandmother when he was a yearling. So they wasted no time with us.” She flashed a brief grin as she added, “And I doubt any intelligent male would try to force a female who easily out-fangs him in the tooth department. Mind I said ‘intelligent’. I’m more than ready to rip open a fool who won’t take the word ‘no’ for an answer.” As Gwen brought the subject to her father’s abdication, Aurielle nodded, and finished the subject in her next answer. “He gave it over to us last night. The Nomads visited last night, with news of my mother and brother. He couldn’t let this opportunity to possibly find them go pass. He’s off searching with them, now, but should be back in a week, to call the pack together and announce the changes, and if not by then, then in the Spring. Hopefully with them both in tow. If he’s still gone by then, we’re to call a meeting ourselves to discuss the changed with the pack. ” She couldn’t help the ache of hope in her tone as she finished speaking. She hadn’t seen her mother in so very long, and like any twin, she felt the absence of her brother deepest of all. He was her other half. The dark to her light, even if he’d easily be remembered as timid and infinitely sweet and gentle. Dark in coloring only. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Gwen nodded, though she urged caution with a quiet "Don't make the assumption that your fangs will give you the edge in a fight. You are still smaller and lighter than most males and like it or not that gives THEM the advantage. It's unfair but true, females simply have to work harder to put themselves on equal footing in a fight." She knew that Aurielle's teeth did give her an advantage over many wolves in terms of arsenal, but she didn't want the young female to let it make her over confident - Aurielle's natural confidence would likely insure that her warning would not send the girl too far the other direction, into a paralyzing self-doubt. Teaching meant striking a balance, something that Gwen was constantly analyzing herself for.

But it was easier to muster a smile now in the new alpha's confident presence. Seeing a former pupil - though Regulus had most of the training of his daughter owing to her unique position as heir, she still considered all the pack's children as such - grow into adulthood gave her a sense of pride in the girl that cut through the dull depression of winter. "So what are your plans, noe that the pack is yours to shape?" She asked curiously. "And on a more personal level, I admit, do you still wish for me to be your second until you hit your stride?" She certainly had no objection, but it was many a yearling who would insist on going it alone to prove themselves. Aurielle had never struck her as the type, being a level headed girl, but she would give her the opportunity to decide for herself.

Gwen’s warnings didn’t fall upon deaf ears, and Aurielle nodded easily. ”Yeah, Da made sure I had that lesson drummed into my head, too. It’s why he suggested I focus more on moving quickly and less on brute force attacks. He said you’d be a good wolf to learn from for inspiration in ingenuity.” She added the last comment with a grin aimed at the woman.

At Gwen’s question regarding her plans, her head tipped to the side in thought. “Well, I’d like to revive some of the old times. Like from Cairo’s time. Great Grand-Mother Erani, when she refounded Valhalla after it was lost to a challenge, made sure it would be a message that we will never die, either the Adravendis or the pack he founded in the Old Land and led here when the mountain erupted. I’d like to try to bring in a few customs to help the pack bond. And festivals and gladiatorial events to encompass all packs and loners… Make it a championship sort of thing. I think some of our fighters will like that…”

Her eyes searched the sky, though not really looking for anything other than words to lay out her ideas with as she added, “I’m also fully certain that we’ll be doing away with Alpha assigned mentor-mentee pairs. It’ll be down to the pack-members to pay attention to each other and seek out apprentices on their own, then tell you or myself, and I can announce them at the next meeting.”

Her eyes flicked down to Gwen’s features, head cocked as she added, “It might help lessons run more smoothly if apprentices can have more control over whom they learn under, I hope…”

Then, she smiled at the older wolf, nodding affirmation as she answered, "And of course I'd still like to have you lead with me until things are fully running smoothly. You're experienced, level-headed, and diplomatic. That's the kind of face we want loners and wolves from other packs to see and attribute to this pack. That we're polite, diplomatic, but will pack one hell of a bite if they make trouble with us." Her features twitched in a faintly wicked grin at the last words.

Gwen just nodded and smiled. She was a firm believer in unorthodox fighting methods, as Regulus would well know from her training sessions held in mud and snow and all sorts of crazy conditions, but it was still a pleasure to know that he'd indicated his faith in her ingenuity.

"I don't know much about how Valhalla was run," she did say. "I was, of course, born in Serecia where my parents ruled, rather than in Valhalla. While I don't agree with a few decisions my grandfather made, my mother held him in high esteem and made certain we knew that there was much to be proud of him, and Valhalla, for. That would be a good time to emulate, certainly."

She was a little surprised at the idea of doing away with the practice of assigning mentors, though. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "It might make it a lot easier for a group of pups to miss out on training, if no one happened to take an interest in them, or their parents kept them too sheltered from the rest of the pack. But with the rest leaders in place for the different specialties, you're right, it could make sure the pups end up with mentors they're more comfortable working with."

"When you're comfortable making contact with the other alphas to renew our ties with allies and the like," she asked as a thought occurred to her, "would you prefer that I do the initial visits or would you rather do them yourself and have me run the pack for a bit in your absence? Both plans have their pros and cons," she added. "If you visit it would establish you immediately as the alpha in your own right and set a solid precedent with the other alphas, though your youth may count against you and put us at a small risk if they think your inexperience makes us a target. But if I go, while my age and, as you say, level-headedness might impress some, it might also make you look less confident and, again, make us a target." She smiled wryly. "Politics can be a very thorny game to play. There are a lot of 'what ifs' to look at."