It was almost official. The vikings had spent a season in Fireside and when it became clear that their relationship could be more than just surface beneficial the two leaders had entered into talks in search of something more concrete. Finally they had settled on a possible solution. It wasn't something he would have ever dreamed of as a solution, but the viking woman's mind had jumped to it immediately and there had been little he could do to steer her away from it. In the end he'd decided that fine, it made sense and yeah, it would work. And it potentially wouldn't cost him anything besides a little groveling and dignity. All he needed to do now was pitch it to his wolves and see how well it went over.

After settling down in the heart of the Knolls Tyrian howled for Chaos and Jupiter. In all honesty he was a bit nervous. Tyrian expected a great deal of resistance. He could handle one rejecting the idea he was about to propose because he himself could step in as the - not literal thank god - sacrificial lamb. But both? He'd either have to talk to Valkyrie about new potential candidates or try again to sway her to something else. Hopefully these two would see where he was coming from and why he thought it was a good idea. At the very least he hoped they would hear him out.

Jupiter, who had been sleeping on his back, rolled halfway over when Tyrian's call went up. He lay still for a minute to process the summons and then casually brushed the baby skunk off his chest. One of Lefty's brats had decided to join him for nap time. He hadn't minded at first. Her newest litter, like all babies he supposed, were noisy little things. The only time they were quiet was when they were asleep so when the little tyke had nestled against him he'd thought it'd be fine. What was one small, sleeping skunk, right? Wrong. The little thing had started farting almost from the moment it had fallen asleep. And, believe it or not, Jupiter had come to the conclusion that skunk farts were worse than skunk spray. Unbelievable but true.

The tiny baby, too much like Lefty to realize it was no longer welcome, peeped up at him sleepily, "Can I come?"

He shooed it away. "Nah, stay here and uh...keep catching them z's."

Unfortunately for Jupiter, it turned out Tyrian was very close by. So close, in fact, that when the baby skunk realized Jupiter wasn't going to go far it trailed after him as he approached Tyrian. Jupiter gave it a look before turning his attention to his uncle. "Something up?"

Retirement was nice enough, but more boring than Chaos had imagined it would be. Frankly, he was worried that he was going to start getting a belly if he didn't get out and work on his fitness, so he'd been working hard to keep his sleek form... well, sleek, and not old. It was amazing how much actual work it was to match the amount of energy he had expended every day as an alpha. He was starting to think it would be less exhausting to go try to get a high rank from Tyrian and come out of retirement, than to keep in shape as a retiree. It was almost as exhausting as raising his kids had been, and a lot less interesting.

So when Tyrian had called for hom and Jupiter, he had started out towards the call with interest. But the thought occurred to him to wonder what Tyr needed with him and Jupiter, and he began to rofle frantically through his memory for what he could possibly have fucked up badly enough to be called to the mat by his baby brother with Jup.

Arriving, he flashed his brother and nephew a cocky grin, deciding to play innocent. "Hey boys, what's going on?"

Tyrian didn't have to wait long. After Jupiter arrived so quickly and there was such a sudden, conspicuous lack of noise that the young King surmised he'd roused his nephew from sleep. Oh well, he couldn't help it now. On his heels like a loyal pet was one of Lefty's most recent litter. The little tyke had been pestering Tyrian and Righty earlier in the day before the elder skunk sibling suggested the babe find her own wolf to pester. Apparently the little one had taken that to heart because she was watching Jupiter like a hawk. Heh.

With Chaos' arrival Tyrian felt his stomach drop. This was it, the moment his unhappy relatives decided to tie him to two sheep and send them racing in opposite directions. Hopefully he could lay out his case in a way that brought them to his side and not one that united them against him. He was quick to assure them, "It's alright, nothing's amiss. I've just been presented with an opportunity that uh, requires your help to reap the benefits. As you both know, the Hjarrandi have been with us this past season in exchange for their instruction." He cleared his throat. "Well, the exchange has been going better than I could have hoped for. Valkyrie too is quite pleased. Which ah, led us to discuss a more permanent arrangement. And you see, in their culture these sorts of things are generally solidified with...with...betrothals." He said the last word carefully and then paused to assess the faces before him before continuing, "Chaos, you in particular were mentioned. Apparently you made quite the impression on their leader. So much so that she...is seeking a pledge from you." Maybe a little flattery would help? Right? It had to be flattering to know Valkyrie had made a point to request him. God Tyrian was hoping so.

Oh to be elsewhere. Tyrian could see the rising realization on Jupiter's face. "One marriage wasn't enough, apparently, and in discussing who else she remembered you from the market. Now, I've not met her aunt but I'm told she is highly respected and quite talented in...in...her profession." He was trying to avoid the word 'witch' which, while not one Valkyrie had used to describe the woman, was the distinct impression Tyrian had been left with.

To them both, he said quickly, "I realize what I'm suggesting is life changing, but please don't be quick to say no. At least hear me out. You won't be asked to go somewhere else, and aside from the uh," briefly he blanked on flattering words. Some things just couldn't be made more appealing, apparently? "Nuptials I don't think much will be expected from you. Surely you can handle that, eh Jupiter?" He didn't get the impression that his nephew was particularly picky in most cases so he was hoping to appeal to his ho-ish ways.

Fresh from a nap, Jupiter had arrived on the scene in a relatively good mood. That soured fairly quickly. Quite early in Tyrian's speech alarm started to show on Jupiter's face. At some point he started to shake his head in incredulity. He almost couldn't believe was he was hearing. THis was a joke, right? No way Tyrian was serious. This was some shit he'd cooked up with Chaos to pull his leg and have a laugh at his expense. Right? ...Right?

When it started to sink in that Tyrian was being serious Jupiter got angry. This was some shit. Why hadn't Tyrian offered to marry one of those bitches, why did Jupiter have to jump on this particular grenade? Huh? What sense did that make? Nah, no way. He wasn't going to fucking do it. Him, married? That was a laugh. He'd rather chew off his own foot. Tyrian was the fucking alpha. If he wanted this deal that he needed to do the hitching.

Jupiter gave one final, angry shake of his head and then sat down hard. Maybe he could talk to the lead bitch and make a better deal. His uncle may have been alpha, but he was young and inexperienced. Jupiter, on the other, had experience for days. He was certain he could schmooze Valkyrie and come up with something more acceptable - something that didn't involve him getting married. They were superstitious, right? Maybe he could sacrifice some chickens, put on a good show and make them believe Fireside would be held to the deal by a higher power or some shit.

Aw, fuck he was going to have to give up his freedom, wasn't he? The loss of nightlife would be a terrible blow. What would he do with all his free time? Being stuck with one woman sounded like it would get old fast. The thought was enough to snuff out his anger and leave him pensive. This was bullshit. He may as well admit he was old, give up the ghost and die already. No really, because who would he be without fun? Just a blue swirly middle aged man. All he would be missing was a passel of kids and he'd be the picture of propriety. The thought made him shudder.

The stages of grief went by in a flash and by the time Tyrian was done speaking Jupiter had been somewhat mollified by his own inner monologue. He still found the idea depressing. And he was a little angry too because fuck, what Tyrian was asking was the antithesis of everything Jupiter valued. The only thing keeping him from running for the hills was that this was family business. If anyone else had asked Jupiter would have laughed in their face and been gone in a flash. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck. Why did Tyrian have to be the one asking?

His tone somber, Jupiter finally muttered, "What the shit, Tyr?"

Well, when someone said "nothing's amiss" something was usually very, very amissed. Chaos' expression, though his grin stayed in place by force of will, was suddenly very wary. What trouble had Tyr gotten them into? He was used to being the troubler, not the troublee, except for a few times during his tenures as alpha of various packs, and it was quite uncomfortable to have the shoe on his foot instead of shoving it on someone else's.

As Tyr spoke Chaos' brows shot up - and then up - and then up. As the younger brother finished speaking, Chaos sat back heavily... and then his grin widened into a billion megawatt one with more than a hint of shark-smelling-blood to it. "So what you're saying is that you want me to marry Valkyrie? She wants you to want me to marry her? Our oh so dangerous, scary, tiger clawed maurader?" He threw back his head and laughed, and once he started he couldn't stop until he couldn't breath and was reduced to hiccuping. "Baby brother, if you can guarantee she wouldn't slice my dick off for giving her my 'nuptials' you have yourself one hell of a deal." He paused, gave it a moment of serious thought. "Actually, even if she did it'd probably worth it for the chance."

He grinned again, then slapped his less enthusiastic nephew on the shoulder. "Hey, Valkyrie's aunt, eh? If she's anything like her niece that ass has got to be worth marrying her for. Just imagine that under you."

Well, that was altogether better than he'd expected. Tyrian had really expected Jupiter to come unglued at the suggestion. Honestly he still expected him to at some point. The quietness was actually a bit disconcerting. Jupiter never did anything he didn't want to; he and Valentine had still been fighting over things when Tyrian was a pup and he remembered their fights vividly. If his nephew had said no, Tyrian would have tried coaxing him into it, but he'd never had any intention of really fighting him - or Chaos - on the matter. This was a big deal and unless they were okay with it, he couldn't in good conscience force them to. They were family and that's not how this worked.

Chaos' reaction was equally disconcerting but for vastly different reasons. They had to have had some history that Tyrian wasn't aware of because his brother was acting a bit cheshire about the whole thing. Well...that was good, right? Right? Surely so...

To Chaos, Tyrian answered truthfully, "Honestly, I can't make any promises." The woman was mercurial at best. If Chaos shared history with her then he surely knew the risk, and if he was willing to take it anyway that was great news for Tyrian and the deal he was trying to make. He just wanted this done. There was a lot to be gained from a merger; Valkyrie had even hinted at knowledge pertaining to animal husbandry. She could still be lying, but there was only one way to find out. And besides, she would be as invested in this as he would if she married Chaos.

"He has a point, Jupiter." He'd spied a couple of the band's women during the raid. There were some lookers among them. "You missed the raid, but there were some damn fine women in their ranks. Your odds are pretty good." Chaos was in; half the battle was won. Now if he could just get Jupiter on board...

Jupiter was making a point not to look at either man as they spoke. His eyes were fixed angrily on the ground. Valentine had stressed over and over when Jupiter was growing up how family was important and sacrifices were sometimes necessary for the whole and blah, blah, blah. He'd thought that had meant like, not knocking up chicks who might have three eyed mutant babies or whatever. This was the first time he'd considered those words might have another application. His complaints of his dad aside, what had this family done for him? An awful fucking lot. Valentine had raised him. Chaos and Tyrian had given him a home even though he was a bit of a blight. They loved him and tolerated his bullshit, and some of them got into trouble with him. And he fucking loved them too.

"Yeah," he said in a lackluster tone. He needed to psych himself up for it, was all. A little pep talk and he'd be fine. Jupiter did his best to picture this lady. He knew what Valkyrie looked like from the market so he pictured mostly brown with a hawkish, fuck-you-up expression on an otherwise pretty face. Muscular and strong; a beautiful, capable woman the others would be jealous of. Jupiter started to brighten a little bit as his thoughts took a naughty turn. He could see himself atop a woman like that. "Hmmm," he mused, already feeling his arms around the mystery woman's waist. "Alright, I'm in."