He was tired of being alone. Tired of living on his own with no direction in life. He hunted. He fought. He was simply out in the world just surviving but not truly living. The last season and a half had been a bit difficult when the sun went away and all manner of things started to happen. The voice he occasionally heard had multiplied during that time, but now everything was quiet again. He knew by now that his brother had well and truly abandoned him. He decided to completely give up hope that Tyranis would ever return...he had nothing. He was alone in a world, and although he had cousins from an uncle that had passed away, Cloudburst didn't seem particularly keen to seek them out. They were pretty much all estranged family, and now? It was just him and his Osprey. He had scouted the packs that lived among Boreas. He's heard about them from passersby, and honestly...he knew at least the gist of each one. Most of them had been around long enough, save for the one on the island and the one with the rowdy bunch. Those two were the newest, but they didn't quite seem like his style. He was curious about Ashen, however...so he approached the borders and gazed at the stark white trees that grew beyond. He remembered this place...this was one of the places Tyranis had claimed as his own when he had his pack. Ironic, wasn't it? That he might potentially live in one of the few places that haunted him. Tilting his head back, he called for the alpha(s), the male standing a respectful distance from the border. Walk, "Talk" Think

He followed along with the monochrome male that had taken him in. The older male was related to him. An uncle. While Finan had been following Ignis for a time, his crimson uncle and former alpha had been scaring him as of late with the way he'd been acting. And when he came across this uncle while he was sick and hearing voices, Cloudburst had managed to calm him down and let him know things would be okay. So here he was, full and no longer a scrawny young boy fighting to survive since his uncle had been feeding him and teaching him the things he needed to know that his father didn't before he got himself killed. He waited patiently at his uncle's side at the borders of the pack his uncle had called Ashen. He was curious about them, though he didn't know much about any of the packs save for the pack Ignis once had.

Unknown voices did not often come to call the Empress from her borders. She was not summoned by name only by title so this was no known friend to the Empire. Slightly curious, and more so defensive, Venom made her way from a lesson with Shuriken towards the border. She wore a neutral expression as her slender form slipped through ivory trees and eventually emerged to find the source of the voice she heard. She had no doubt Hattori would be behind her, visible or not. Venom approached the strangers on white gloved paws, and flicked her tongue as she took in the wolves before her.

An older man, looking much like life hadn’t been entirely kind to him, with a near yearling at his side. Her gaze was scrutinizing as her voice filled the air. ”You’ve summoned the Empress of the Ashen Empire, what business do you have here?”