Build me up from bones, Wrap me up in skin, Hold me close enough to breathe me in

Drífa was working her way back north after a bit of southern exploration. She was still a ways off when she heard the challenge ringing out over the battlefield and she immediately flinched. Fyri had been so quiet and tucked away she'd rather hoped it had escaped the notice of violent packs and would-be challengers. Alas it didn't seem to be the case. To make matters worse she hadn't seen Ignatius in some time, even accounting for her journey.

When she arrived there was already a large gathering of wolves and she quickly took her place, waiting nervously to see what was going to happen to her home.

Aramis had been tending to his mother all day, making sure she had enough food and drink. He was still trying to figure out the best herbs to cure this illness that had overtaken her. The problem was, he'd never seen an illness like this before. She just seemed... depressed. And it was manifesting itself physically, robbing her of willpower and energy. The iridescent boy huffed a sigh as he left the den to get some fresh air and clear his head. It was hard, so hard, to watch a loved one fade away like this. He needed to speak with his sister. Maybe she had come up with an idea of something they could do. But just as he was correcting his path to search for his sister, a call rang out that seemed to shake the whole continent. Someone challenging for a pack? Aramis felt his hackles lift a bit. He hated that kind of conflict. And at the same time, it intrigued him. He began to entertain the idea of going and watching from a distance, when Aurielle sent up a howl that sealed the deal for him. If his sister was going, he was going. If anything went wrong, he wouldn't be alone. Aurielle had a head start and was certainly in better shape to be running such a long distance. Aramis kept up as best he could, following her scent to the battlefield. Gods. This place reeked of blood. Maybe he'd made the wrong choice coming here. But he'd made a choice, regardless. He was here now, and he was going to watch this thing play out. It might even turn out to be a good learning experience for him. His father would be proud to know he was making an attempt to learn more about pack relations and diplomacy. Aramis caught a glimpse of his sister. Her white, glimmering coat was difficult to miss. He trotted to her side, touching his nose to her shoulder gently. "Rielle," he said quietly, smiling at her as he took a seat by her side. "I thought I might join you, and perhaps learn a bit from this challenge."

She was slower in arriving than the others of her family due to her advanced age, but that didn't stop her from coming. The voice she heard calling for a pack challenge had been recognizable to her. When she arrived, she spotted the titanic form of Acere standing in the middle of the wolves that had gathered. She walked over to Dragon and her grandchildren to sit beside them, amber gaze roaming those who were present. She recognized a couple of wolves from Celestial by scent, some from Abaven, Risen, loners, some others who's pack scents she didn't know, and...was that Valentine? She grinned lightly to herself before standing and moving towards him, and as she sat beside him she gently brushed her shoulder against his in a friendly greeting. "You never fail to appear during these sorts of things, old friend." She chuckled, a hint of humor in her eyes. "Shall we make bets?" They were both getting old, might as well have a bit of fun before they croaked. "Talk" "You" Think

The pallid maiden had lingered too long in the north, morose and adrift in indecision. When the call rang out, a summons for the man who reigned over the only pack in the north, she was incited to seek out the source. It drew her to the battlefield, where she'd never before set foot. It was a dangerous place, one she'd been warned away from by her parents. Now, however, neither of them were around to stop her from entering. The champagne shaman plodded languidly closer to the group that had gathered around a central figure. A large man who bore many battle scars and stood at the same height her father once had. It was strange to see a figure so similar to her sire here. Perhaps it was a sign of sorts. Mismatched gaze roved over the assembled wolves, curious as to what sorts were drawn to the fray. So many of them were oddly coloured, and as she scrutinized them further, she was disappointed to find that none of them bore Jupiter's familiar face. The varied shades of blue among many on the far side of the gathering had borne hope. As she looked more, it seemed there were quite a few unique looking wolves here. One was entirely red, in fact. For a moment, she had thought there were two, but the other was a small female covered by a thick shawl. There was a woman with a long mane and fangs who seemed familiar, and the pale damsel remembered seeing her once in passing during a storm in the south. Well over a year ago, when she thought back to it. At her side was a similarly sized male, tinted blue by the sun. The rest of the wolves were a wash of greys and blacks, with the odd fawn coloured wolf added into the mix for good measure. Adjusting her satchel against her flank, the pale wolf settled in nearer the challenging male. She was only biased by his resemblance to her father, and was eager to see if Ignatius would make a grand entrance soon enough. ooc. since this is the battlefield, any high ranking wolves from a pack are free to claim her, or offer her a place in their pack! She needs something to do, and I can't decide what to do with her! Plz give my beautiful child a purpose "speech" OH, WHEN THERE'S NOBODY UPSTAIRS TO RECEIVE US

And the winner is...

ACERE! Due to Ignatius not posting in the allotted time the fight has been defaulted in Acere's favor and Acere is now the alpha of Fyri.

Tsarvix, it seemed, was unsettled by the mortal crowd. Pyrrhic shot him a scrutinizing glance to try to figure just how deep his anxiety ran. He himself was unperturbed by the steadily growing numbers. His father had braved this battlefield on more than one occasion and come away from it unscathed. He could too.

”If they try they will regret it,” he said firmly before adding in a softer tone, ”Calm yourself, Tsarvix, and enjoy the show. I hear these things can get quite raucous and I want to learn as much as I can from these mortals.”

To Proserpina, who appeared at his shoulder suddenly enough to cause him to tense briefly, Pyrrhic replied wryly, ”Terribly, I hope.”

Though Pyrrhic was a bit excited to witness his first melee it simply wasn’t to be. The challengee never showed and so the challenger won without so much as a whiff of a fight. Pyrrhic was disappointed. He had hoped for a spectacle, for proof that the heathen mortals were beneath him. What he got was...nothing. Well, not nothing. He know knew the face of Boreas’ newest alpha. That little scrap of information was next to nothing, but still.

A tall, pale woman some distance away caught his eye. She was alone and that ultimately was what had captured his attention. The rest of those gathered seemed to clump together loosely, but even standing behind the challenger the woman seemed apart from the rest.

To no one in particular he mused, ”Perhaps today hasn’t been a bust after all.” After a beat he took a deep clarifying breath and then said to Tsarvix, ”I wish to speak to that woman. You can join me if you like, but you mustn’t glare or you’ll scare her away.” To Proserpina he said, ”We’re going to stay in Boreas for awhile so if you make it home before us please tell my father about today.”

With that he was off at a lazy amble towards Marvel. His expression was good-natured and his demeanor relaxed but his approach was calculated. He hadn’t come to the battlefield to make friends but that didn’t mean he had to walk away empty-handed. ”I don’t know about you, but I thought that was a bit disappointing.”

Tsarvix Little argument would come from the male as he was asked to calm himself, forcing a wave of relaxation to flow from his jaw to the tip of his tail and down all the way to his paw pads. It was more then likely that there was more to this visit then Tsarvix knew. He reminded himself how the Fallen God had led him through the maze to find Pyrrhic, and considered that He was behind the scenes here, too. It explained Pyrrhic's nonchalance, at least. Lost in thought, Tsarvix almost didn't notice when Pyrrhic addressed him once more. He jumped slightly as his God's words broke through to him. ”I wish to speak to that woman. You can join me if you like, but you mustn’t glare or you’ll scare her away.” Did he glare that often? Tsarvix made a mental note to improve his social side, if only so that he could better help Pyrrhic with his path. "I'll come." He forced his voice to remain exceedingly calm and potentially friendly, willing himself to give his God no reason to send him from his side. Even if Pyrrhic's confidence was well-placed, the devout male had no intention to leave him alone in the battlefield. Pyrrhic fell alongside the albino female, and Tsarvix took a moment to try and see what it was that his God saw in her. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny that. It was as if the landscape had drained the color from her, leaving only a splash of pigment atop her face. Her eyes were different, too. Tsarvix had never seen a wolf who's eye colors did not match. There was a serene grace in the way she held herself. Was Pyrrhic drawn to her beauty, as well? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sighing softly, Tsarvix pulled himself to his full height and did his best to look respectable but at ease as he trotted up behind Pyrrhic. It wasn't hard to not appear intimidating when he stood shoulder to shoulder with his God. The stark contrast in their height meant Tsarvix might as well have been hidden in his shadow- completely insignificant. He was glad for it, however; surely if the female was to flee Pyrrhic couldn't blame his follower. "Speech"

One by one wolves arrived and took a seat around the would be arena. Ignis had arrived first, and although he knew his Nephew was excited, Acere had come to the field with the intention of remaining professional. He didn't return thr playful shoulder bump, nor a quippy remark. Instead, he nodded to his nephew as he stood there and watched as others arrived. He spotted Celestial's alpha arrive, though she was hard to miss, and returned her nod. To Shaye and Actaea he also offered a nod of greeting, and when Tana arrived he watched as she settled as far from Shaye as she could. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with her if she couldn't get over her fears. Nobody was going to hurt her, and if she refused to find the confidence to strive for better things then perhaps she was a lost cause. Even so, he would try to help her along, but he wasn't inclined to hold her hand the entire way. He would have offered her a nod, but seeing as how she couldn't see, he continued to search for the wolf he had summoned to meet him. Crimson gaze instead found a few wolves that appeared to be from Ignatius' pack...and his brows knit together slightly. If his members had come...where was he? He slowly turned his head to survey the crowd, wondering if maybe Ignatius was coming from another direction, but he was met with the sight of Elara and he couldn't help but offer a smile and a nod to her. He was nervous, heart pounding in his ears as more came, some he recognized and others he didn't. While he would have tried to greet them all, his attention was more focused towards mentally preparing for the fight to come. Or at least...the one he had hoped would come. He respected Ignatius, just like he respected most any alpha. But it seemed that Fyri's leader wasn't coming. Perhaps his observations had been right. The northern leaders scent had been scarce for some time, and he had noticed during his ventures in the north lands. He had hoped that this would bring him from the wood work, to at least reassure him and possibly his pack mates that he was still around and ready to defend his crown. He couldn't help but feel disappointed with Ignatius' absence...so after waiting a while longer and after the spectators stopped coming, he took a deep breath and sighed. "I suppose he's not coming." He glanced around as if to double check. That maybe Ignatius was hiding among the crowd ready to jump out like some sort of strange custom. But no. "It is unfortunate that Ignatius didn't make it, but enough time has passed. I am now Fyri's new alpha." He surveyed the crowd again, this time lingering on the wolves he assumed were part of Ig's pack. "Those who were under his leadership are free to go, if you wish." Standing tall, he addressed everyone else, mainly the rogues and his followers that were there. "I will be staking my claim in the North. Those who wish to find out more can follow me there, or seek me out later." That was that. He nodded to Shaye and Rhyme, then motioned to his niece and nephew that it was time to go. Of course, those who had decided to follow him before this would likely follow him as well, or he'd meet up with them when he made his first call in the North. As he moved past the crowd in his quest to the North Lands, he couldn't help but wonder what had become of Fyri's alpha...it was unfortunate that he hadn't gotten the chance to fight for the pack, but it was what it was. He could finally start this new chapter in his life. -exit- "Speech"||Thought||"You"

Almost as soon as she'd settled herself, the challenge was decided. "It is unfortunate that Ignatius didn't make it, but enough time has passed. I am now Fyri's new alpha." the titanic male boomed. There would be no battle to witness today. One brow lifted in surprise, and the femme hummed thoughtfully to herself. Perhaps she had not been too unlucky to have missed out on joining this pack under Ignatius' leadership? "Those who were under his leadership are free to go, if you wish." the man added, and only furthered his standing as a worthy contender and successor to the throne. It was gracious of him to release the previous members from their bonds, should they be so inclined as to leave. He was under no obligation to do so, after all. "I will be staking my claim in the North. Those who wish to find out more can follow me there, or seek me out later." That had the damsel's attention piqued, if it had not been already. She was eager to remain in her northern home, as well as within the sanctuary of a pack. Perhaps this was her chance to try again? The champagne wolf was on the verge of rising to trail after this new king on her way North once more, when a fawn coloured yearling approached at a casual amble. There was a smaller male at his side. Neither of them were at quite her own size, but both bore muscle where she was svelte and willowy. ”I don’t know about you, but I thought that was a bit disappointing.” he commented coolly. The other male neglected to speak, but didn't appear disingenuous. Two toned gaze flicked over their forms in a brief assessment, auds flickering to catch any whispers from beyond that might reference them. The spirits were silent, and no omens could be found. Though, there was something about the larger male's eyes that nagged at the back of her mind, and she wondered if it was a premonition building. In regards to his comment, she shrugged lightly. "It can't always end in a brawl, I suppose." she replied with a twist of her lips into a soft frown, her accent revealing the harshness of her mother tongue as a burr deep in her throat and an odd twist of her vowels. "I had met Ignatius briefly only a short while ago, I had considered joining him. Were you here in support of him, or the other?" she questioned curiously, turning her attention from the dispersing crowd to fix the males with her odd eyed, piercing gaze. The whorl of bottomless mercury and the eerie pink-red seemed so at odds with one another, and others tended to shy away from her. "speech" WHEN I HAVE NO KINDS WORDS LEFT, LOVE, FOR YOU