Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Clouds were moving in, giving him a respite from the hot, summer son. Brandr strode towards the moor, his keen eyes spying the wall that was an indicator of Celestial's territory. After talking with his mate he had come to the decision to try and join Celestial. He hoped he could strike a deal with the leader of the pack to allow him to still spend a good amount of time with his family but in turn act as something of a look out for the border next to Wolfpaw Lake. Of course he would hunt for Celestial, attend meetings and do what was asked of him. He hoped in this way he could help strengthen another pack against the threat of the Abraxas, as well as keep his ears peeled for news of Abaven. Perhaps in time, he would chance a visit there again. He hoped, prayed, that everyone was alright. It didn't help that his fears were leading his thoughts to the worst possible conclusions.

Brandr neared the wall and shifted his body so that his front paws rested on the top of the wall so he could better see over it and hold a conversation.  Tipping back his head he howled for the alpha.

had such elegant graffiti

Patrolling took her along the moor's borders today, and she was giving some thought to taking one or two of the pups along on patrols at a time to get them accustomed to the routine. Herding along all five of them would have been more trouble than it was worth, but she could switch up which pups she took on which patrols to allow them each to have the chance. The borders had been pretty quiet lately, so she judged it would be safe enough to bring them along. It would be good for them to get some experience young, and since the pack didn't even begin training them officially until they were yearlings it would likely be that all their early training would come from her, so she would need to fit it in where she could.

Her ears tipped forward with alert curiosity when a howl reached her from not far away for the alpha. Well, if Aurielle were within the borders or close enough to hear, undoubtedly she would also make her way there, but Gwen was already nearby so she put on a burst of speed to her trot and followed the sound through the mists.

She came up to the sight of a younger wolf on his hind legs, his forepaws draped across the wall to steady him so he could see over. Gwen couldn't help but smile at the incongruously pup-like posture - she could see one of her own pups balancing against a too-large boulder just like that. Despite her amusement with it, she copied the young male's posture, rather than hop up to the top of the wall. It would put her at a dominant, slightly aggressive posture to gain that height advantage, and it wasn't what she was going for. Relaxed and friendly, she smiled at the male over the wall. "Good morning," she said to him. "My name is Gwen Adravendi. I'm Celestial's secondary alpha. What can I do for you?"

Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Brandr let his thoughts drift as he took in the sights of the moor. The light that filtered in through the trees was hazy and dim and seems to cast an ethereal glow across the terra. If he believed more strongly in things like magic he'd swear the place was enchanted. From his vantage point he saw a cream with with russet points approaching him and he wondered what her role was within the pack. She certainly wasn't Regulus whose bright red bulk was hard to miss, nor the strange unearthly form of the girl Aurielle. Had there been a change in leadership? For a moment he feared something had happened to Celestial but as the woman drew near she seemed relaxed and friendly enough to put his worries at ease.

Propping herself up on the wall in similar fashion to himself she addressed him and he smiled. She was certainly a pleasant spirit and introduced herself as Gwen Adravendi the secondary alpha. She did not introduce herself as Regulus' mate so he supposed their relationship was purely platonic. "Good morning to you as well Lady Adravendi. My name is Brandr Scylding. I have spoken with Regulus and Aurielle before on matters concerning the Abraxas as well as my family leaving Abaven to settle near Wolfpaw Lake.  With our young growing in independence and time to think I have decided that, if you will have me, I wish to be of service to Celestial. I wish to join the pack and aid in any efforts to enhance its security as well as protect it's borders. I am a skilled hunter and I can help to provide for your pack. There is one caveat though. As of now my mate and children will be remaining loners and living at the Wolfpaw Lake. Naturally I wish to spend most of my time with them. I hope our positioning might offer us a vantage point to your eastern border and I am close enough that I can hear the calls for meetings. What are your thoughts on this proposition?"

had such elegant graffiti

Gwen tilted her head as she heard out the young male, with interest and, she admitted, some confusion. Who were these Abraxas that he said he'd spoken to both Regulus and Aurielle about? After he had finished speaking and waited for her reply, she gave the whole situation a great deal of thought, both in the request itself and the way she should word her answer. "I am very intrigued by the idea of forward scouts living further from the border to give us warning," she said slowly. "I worry that living outside of the protection of the border will put you and your family at great risk, but it is a risk you are already taking by being loners now. You know that living where you do, it would mean that if you and your family are in danger, it may be that we would arrive too late to protect you from a threat?" She studied him somberly over the wall, the idea putting a worried crease in her brow.

"That said," she continued slowly, "It would be your risk to take, your burden to bear, and if it is one that you and your mate are both willing to shoulder, I would not stop you. It happens we are in need of a hunter, so you would be a great addition to Celestial even aside from that." She paused to think again, toes tapping against the stone of the wall. "I think that I would be willing to accept you, pending any concerns Aurielle might have concerning the situation. Without knowing if she would approve I can't in good conscience ask you to test to be a hunter, but I am willing to accept you as a member and plead your case if need be. Would you be willing to allow me to speak with your mate and see if I can convince her to join as well? It would be the ideal situation, to have you all eventually join the safety of the pack."

With the more immediate matter somewhat decided, she turned to what was bothering her about what he'd said. "I would like to ask you one thing, though... What can you tell me about the Abraxas, Brandr?" The way he had said the words made them seem of a great deal of importance, and it made her uneasy that the pack hadn't been informed of what Regulus and Aurielle knew. Was it that they didn't trust the pack with the information?

Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Brandr was pleased that she found his ideas intriguing but he shifted a bit uncomfortably as she spoke of the lack of protection outside of a pack. He knew how complicated their situation was and wasn't sure if he could succinctly summarize all that had happened to lead him and Corentine to where they were now. Instead he opted to remain silent as Gwen worked out what she wanted to say.  His ears perked up as she mentioned that they were in need of a hunter. That was excellent news for Brandr for that was the one area he felt he could really excel in and should Gwen put him to the test he was fairly confident he could succeed. She mentioned Aurielle and he nodded in understanding, he was just pleased to be accepted at all.

"Thank you, Gwen, I will do my best to prove myself worthy of your consideration. As for my mate…" he hesitated. He didn't want to pressure Corentine into anything but Gwen seemed nice enough he couldn't see what harm would come from them having a talk. "I will ask if she would like to meet with you but I can't guarantee that she'll say yes. We do have young that I think could benefit from lessons within a pack but you see it is for safety's sake that we have hesitated joining one. That and our own history. You see we were both raised within nomadic groups and we see wisdom in this lifestyle. It is just our group right now consists only of us. It is… complicated." Brandr glanced apologetically towards Gwen. He knew he could explain himself better if he'd given it more thought.

However, when she asked him to tell her about the Abraxas he realized that Gwen was addressing him without the full picture of his situation. This troubled him. If she was the secondary alphess then why hadn't Regulus or Aurielle told her of this threat to the free packs of Boreas? Were they wanting to keep it secret for now so as not to alarm their members? Whatever the reason Brandr was not going to hesitate to inform the alphess.

"The Abraxas are a violent family of wolves who believe themselves to be gods. As such they see the rest of us are lowly insects they seek to dominate. The attacked a pack in the south called Dragoste. Their leader, Amon, challenged the alpha for the pack and then killed him while the rest of the Abraxas raided the pack, taking some prisoners, maiming others. Three of their members fled and joined Abaven. That was my original pack until…"

He took a deep breath and sighed, still feeling the sting of shame at having left but he did not regret leaving in order to give his children a childhood unmarred by the looming shadow of violence. "Another of the Abraxas showed, a man called Malleus. He threatened the same to Abaven unless we willingly accepted an Abraxas overseer. There was talk of fighting back but the Abraxas, last I checked, had two sizeable packs in Auster. We wouldn't stand a chance. Our alphess felt she could not win a one on one battle either. They've accepted the overseer but I believe some of the members intend to push back from within the pack. My mate and I were starting a family and I could not in good conscience risk my pups or our lives engaging in subterfuge so my mate and I fled that we might get the word out to another pack."

He took another deep breath and continued. "That is why my mate and I chose to live as nomads. It is packs that are being targeted. Yes a pack might offer protection from predators, starvation and a number of other things but to these conquerors a pack is a target. My forbears lived as nomads for this reason as well as the practicality of following prey. They defined a pack by those that were in it not from ties to a land or territory, though I can understand the connection to home and land that others feel. It is… I don't know what to say, Gwen. It is complicated. It is all so complicated…" He felt old, far older than he was.

had such elegant graffiti

"I'm not expecting anything," she assured him when he spoke of not guaranteeing anything about her talking to his mate. "I just want to speak with her about it, for my own conscience."

He went on to lay out a story of immensely concerning danger, of a family fully as insidious, as deadly, as the Armadas had once been in Isardis' prime. She heard him out, from start to finish, growing more and more alarmed as he spoke. She kept her expression sharp and pushed aside the alarm to keep herself focused and calm. Sifting through what all it meant to Celestial, to her, to her pups.

"I understand, Brandr," she said gently. "A parent has to think of their children before their own wants. As much as I am certain you wish you could help your friends in Abaven, you had to do whatever you could to protect your children."

She stood there with her paws on the wall for a long moment, clearly deep in thought, before she stirred again. "I will not ask you to gather more information on these Abraxas. I am not going to put your life at risk when you have already risked so much to help us already." She smiled, somewhat crookedly. "But I may ask your opinions on occasion since you know far more than I do about what they have done in the past." She didn't know why Regulus had not spoken to the pack about these Abraxas when he first learned about them, or later Aurielle after she had spoken to Brandr. It was troubling, certainly. She made a faint, thoughtful humming sound. The last thing she wanted was to put her children at risk seeking out more information but... she felt a bit betrayed, like the alphas she had pledged herself to had been deliberately withholding information from her and from the rest of the pack about a grave threat to them.

She fixed Brandr with a questioning glance. "I believe I would like to investigate these... Abraxas myself. I would like to approach their leader and see if I can get the measure of him. See what kind of a wolf he is, and decide how to advise Aurielle based upon my own impressions as well.” It was a risk, bringing the pack to the direct attention of the would-be conquerors. But if they were already on the Abraxas radar, and they let themselves be taken by surprise… perhaps a strong approach would urge the Abraxas to caution. “Would you be able to tell me where the main pack is?”

Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Brandr took a deep breath, letting it go slowly after he finished recounting his tale. He appreciated Gwen's understanding and her reassurance meant more to him than she'd ever know. He'd been plagued with guilt since leaving and he feared what was happening in his absence. Even though it was a silly thought. He was just one, regular wolf. Even if he'd stayed it wouldn't have made a difference in their situation.

Brandr nodded slowly at her request. He did not like the idea of her going to investigate the Abraxas. What if she got in trouble or were taken captive? It was a risky think for a leader to do though he supposed she did have Regulus and Aurielle as backup. Surely the Abraxas would not be so brazen as to capture Gwen and instigate war but then… the were badly outnumbered. Brandr gazed at Gwenevere, seeing the courage and wisdom in her eyes. She knew what she was doing, even if it made him uncomfortable. "My knowledge and skills are at your disposal but… please be careful. I'd hate to think I sent you straight into danger. Their pack lies in Auster on the western side below the Lazulli Falls."

had such elegant graffiti

Gwen gave him a quick smile. He was clearly worried for her, and she sympathized, but this was bigger than just one wolf. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," she murmured, one corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. "From a purely personal standpoint, Brandr, I will try not to be captured. The thought of being a prisoner doesn't particular appeal to me. But I need to meet this alpha face to face sooner or later, and I'd rather it be on my terms rather than on opposite sides of a siege because we were taken by surprise." She gave a slight sigh. "All that aside, I want you to feel free to bring your children into pack lands at any time to play or to get training. I have children of my own who would enjoy having the playmates, and having pups other than their siblings to compete against in training would be beneficial to them."