Kotori knew he was permitted on the property but it still wasn’t his land so, being polite Kotori howled for his sister.  He had skirted wildberry grove, staying at the coast border to get as close to the castle as possible before he howled.  It wasn’t the loudest or longest-lasting howl but it should do the job.  The horned wolf was perfectly proud of the battle scars he’d surely have but he felt rather impatient about how he’d let her get way too many attacks along his neck and head so that too many basic functions caused pain if he wasn’t cautious.  Howling was one of those things.  He sat with the waves at his back and the starlit plains facing him.

There was no rush in his call to Briar, just a desire to see her and news to share.   Kotori’s mind shifted from the wound and sister to his pack and the plans he had for it.  Kotori wanted a perfect pack to fit his dream.  That dream also included a mate to give him kids he could be proud of.  That part still had to be worked out.  It was at the hallows land he had learned Iki would not follow in line with his dream.  That was a bitter memory.  Ah well, he’d find the perfect mate at some point.

His own pack.  His own kids.  His own way of doing things.  Mistakes made would be from choices he made and right decisions his as well.  Kotori would be in control and that is exactly where he wanted to be.

"Kotori Fatalis"

It wasn't every day that she got a call from the border—especially not just for her and especially not from one of her siblings. Her ears perked at Kotori's voice and she grinned at the thought of seeing her brother again. She immediately tucked away the project she was working on and turned to hurry down the stairs of the castle and across the grounds to go meet him. The last time she saw him had been at her and Artorias' wedding and as much as she loved all of her family, Kotori had always been the one of her littermates that she had been the closest too so it was always a treat when she got to see him. Moving to the Hallows had certainly put a good amount of separation between herself and the rest of their family—especially now that Armada had moved to the opposite side of Boreas. She didn't regret her choice in the slightest, but for someone as family oriented as she was she did wish that she could see them more... especially now that she and Art were preparing for a family of their own.

It didn't take her long to find Kotori waiting for her at the edge of the plains and her grin widened when she spotted him, her long tail swaying faster behind her. As she got a bit closer though she noticed the healing wounds that would most certainly scar once they were fully closed and a bit of concern and curiosity twinged her expression. "You look like you've been in quite the tussle recently," she commented with a soft chuckle when she reached him, leaning in to give him a warm embrace while being careful to avoid any of his injuries. "Come in and tell me what you've gotten yourself into," she added, waving him across the border and starting to lead him across the plains so they could chat as they went up to the castle.

"Briar Carpathius"

Kotori didn’t see his sister often enough to have grown used to her tail now being so long.  It took a moment to remember what had happened to her after the long night.  Lots of strange things had happened then.  Kotori’s grin met Briar’s as she spotted him.

Briar greeted him with a comment on his new injuries and a gentle embrace.   Kotori had a notion of nudging her with his muzzle to assure her he was fine but the muzzle was one of the injured items.  Instead, he lowered his head further and tilted his head to press a side of his forehead up against her for a moment, a chuckle in the back of his throat at her words.  "It's good to see you again Briar.  You look great."

Kotori followed along with Briar, glad for a chance to spend a little time with her.  It had been a long time since the two had time to chat really.  There had been the wedding but his one conversation with her had been of bitter words of an unfortunate turn of events.  It had also been a celebration with wolves all over about the place and now it was just brother and sister.

“Oh yeah, it was a great fight.  Honestly, I lost the battle.” It might have been a humble-sounding statement but there was the expected level of proud confidence in the tone.  “It was a battle over land.  I’ve left the Armada Briar.  On good terms, of course, dad didn’t even try to argue it.  I’m going to start my own pack.  I wanted to make sure you heard about it from me first.  The other wolf, Corbie, I guarantee she took away her own share of damage but she got a few good shots in.”

"Kotori Fatalis"

Briar chuckled softly and leaned her forehead back into Kotori's for a moment as she shared a little moment of affection with her dear brother before she finally accepted that he really was alright and she stepped back a bit to talk with him more comfortably. They began to walk up toward the castle at an easy, leisurely pace, neither of them in a hurry and both of them clearly just enjoying one another's company. She was very curious to hear about this fight he had gotten into though and as he began to tell her about the fight that he had ultimately lost she kept her gaze on him and listened intently. When he admitted that he had left the Armada in pursuit of his own pack, her eyes widened with surprise, but she grinned with appreciation for her brother's tenacity and ambition.

She had never felt the desire to create something from nothing as he was, but she had long known that if her relationship with Artorias continued it would land her in a position of influence regardless. What her brother aspired to was far more difficult, but she could tell from the look in his eye and the confidence that he approached it with that he fully intended to see it through. "Well, I'm excited for you, Ko," she told him sincerely, giving his shoulder a little, playful nudge of her own. "I know how hard it is to get dad to let one of his kids go, but when you have dreams and ambitions like you do I bet he was excited for you too." It probably also benefited him to be the son of the litter rather than one of his daughters, but she didn't say that out loud. "Whatever the Hallows can do to help you and your future pack, just let me know. You know I'll always have your back."

"Briar Carpathius"

Kotori was hardly a wolf anyone would label as the social sort that enjoyed idle chatter or even sharing life events with every wolf he saw.  However, telling these game-changing details of his life to his favorite sister it was an enjoyable, refreshing event.  She listened with true interest to his recent endeavors with no sign of doubt of his abilities.  

When Briar mentioned getting dad to let wolves leave Kotori nodded agreeing.  “I actually thought there would be more talk to it than there was.  I said I was leaving and he asked me what I needed his help with.” Kotori shrugged, “no doubts or reminders of what it would mean.  He didn’t even suggest I would need to do another one of his crazy chores to earn it or something like that.  Any time I challenged him to a fight it always came at the cost of some crazy job if I lost.” Kotori shook his head, “I expected that so, a welcome surprise.”

Kotori winked at Briar, “I didn’t ask for much, mainly alcohol.  He also offered to let me take some wolves with me.  In the end, Mortis came with me and will be part of the pack.  Also, Aslatiel, her children, and Indigo will be joining the pack.  A lot of our family will be there.”  Kotori was actually surprised he’d ended up getting so lucky with how many of his siblings would trust him enough to join Valta.

When it came to the offer of help Kotori shrugged, “For the most part we are doing fairly well buuuut,” Kotori dragged out the word a bit, “as much alcohol as dad gave me, I could still use a bit more.  I’m going to be throwing a party, a really big party.  It’s going to include a drinking contest, plus drinking for fun so if you have any to spare that would be great.”  The tone shifted a bit, more sincere as he added, “I hope you will come as well.” His tone back to more relaxed as he added, “and anyone else in the Hallows of course.  The only wolves that won’t be permitted are the pirates.”

"Now," Kotori realized even if the visit had been so much of talking about himself, everything didn't revolve around him. At least when it came to family not everything revolved around him, "What about you?  Anything exciting to share with your brother?"

"Kotori"

Briar chuckled softly and gave a shrug as Kotori shared how their father hadn't fought him on the decision at all—not even in the form of a challenge or chore to do it. She had stopped trying to understand her father or his motivations. Sometimes his possessive and clingy tendencies showed and sometimes they were more lax. Regardless, she was happy for her brother and these ambitions he was acting on and proud of her father for letting his children go out on their own even though she knew how hard it was for him to allow that at times. Her brother then shared how many of their siblings would be joining him in his endeavors and her ears perked as he listed them off, naming all of her closest and dearest siblings among them. She grinned happily at the mention of Aslatiel especially. Ever since their older sister had set off on her own with her children it had been difficult to know where and how to find her so now she was glad she would be able to find her more easily.

At her brother's request for alcohol for a party that he planned to throw, Briar grinned and laughed lightly. It was certainly not the kind of help she expected to be asked for, but boy was it one she could certainly deliver on! They had just crossed through the castle gates into the courtyard when he asked about providing drinks for his gathering and invited her—as well as all the other Hallows wolves—so she decided to show him what they could offer in the way of libations for the party. She gave his shoulder a light nudge with her own and she replied, "I wouldn't miss it. As long as I'm able to get there you know I will be." She didn't elaborate on the fact that it might end up being a bit difficult for her to get there depending on the timing of said party, but... she'd leave that news for a bit later. "Come on, let me show you what I've been working on!" She led him into the castle, though the main dining hall and into the storage cellar underneath. Some light was filtering in through narrow windows at the top of one of the walls and it showed the rows and rows of casks and bottles of various kinds of wine, some of them marked with various symbols to help her keep track of which kind was which. "I've started making my own wines since moving into the Hallows," she explained, "with some help from some of the other members of course. We've been making great use of the wild berry grove and the grapevine cathedral to make all kinds of wines so I think we can definitely keep you stocked up on drinks for your party."

With her hard work shown off to her brother, she took them back up to the great hall and took a seat at one of the long table, motioning for Kotori to do the same across from her. The hall was more plain than he had usually seen in since he had only been here during large events that they had done up the hall in decor and flowers for, but it was quite a useful space in their day to day lives regardless. He then asked if there was any news she wanted to share with her brother in turn. She smirked and figured now was as good a time as any to share the little secret she was keeping. It was still very early on in her pregnancy—so early in fact that she hadn't even gotten to officially tell Artorias—but she would rather tell her brother now since she wasn't sure if she'd see him again before she was extremely round with pups. "Well... It's still very early and a lot of things could happen, but... I can say that it's probably pretty likely that you'll be an uncle again fairly soon," she told him, the grin widening across her lips as she spoke. It was still really too soon to tell if their attempts had fully taken hold, but she had a good feeling that they had and it made a nervous, excited flutter kick up in her stomach.

"Briar Carpathius"