Ok, it was on to pack number two! And honestly this was probably as far as she was gonna go for the time being. Maybe. She had other things to do and visiting other packs to talk about whatever was still new to her and not exactly on her priority list at the moment. But hey, the other pack she had visited took care of sheep and stuff! But what about this one!? So far, she noticed they had a pretty impressive looking wall. Did they build that themselves!? She tilted her head as she looked at it, wondering if she might pick their brain about it. It definitely looked like alot of work though, but still probably something similar could be doable if she really wanted to get it done.

Approaching the wall, she peered through one of the gaps (without intruding of course), to take a quick peek before stepping back and offering a "Helloooooo! Knock knock! Medusa has come to visit!"

Ardyn Adravendi

His nimble digits deftly worked a loop into the snare-cord, then carefully worked it onto the trigger, loop held open and ready by twigs on either side of the game trail. As he stepped back, a flutter of wings signaled Lyr coming in for a landing. The raven settled on his back and clarked softly. A visitor at the wall. Ardyn nodded with a smile and took off at a trot, ears alert as Lyr returned to the air. Soon enough, he could see the woman that had called for him. Her base was brown and black, but the white was what stood out. Markings that seemed outline the bones beneath her hide and flesh, a skull-like mask painting her face, rings of dark surrounding her two-colored eyes. An alphess, but not one he was familiar with. “Good day, Lady. What brings you to Valhalla?” _____________________________________________________________________ Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ----  "Hear" ---- Think

At some point while she waited, she had chosen to sit down and lazily scratched at an ear that had begun to itch. She wouldn't be surprised if she had fleas, after all, most if not all of the creatures in the world potentially had fleas. They were wild animals after all. Civilized ones, but still prone to catching fleas and all manner of things. Or so she imagined, anyway. She wasn't the cleanest, but neither was she the dirtiest. Did she still roll around in dead things? Sure! She adored her natural bite deterrent. But she had been getting into the habit of cleaning herself up from time to time. And according to Umbra, this was one such time she ought to look presentable. So she did...at least to the extent she still felt comfortable with herself. Her ears perked and her leg dropped to the ground when Seymour the vulture croaked the approach of someone from the other side of the wall, and Medusa's attention was once again drawn to the approach of an embery black figure with long flowing hair! She had only found one male to be quite handsome in the past, and now she found another one! She really needed to get out more, didn't she? He approached with a question, but what she was most drawn to was the fact he called her lady! Nobody had called her that before! Her tail beat the ground for a moment before she stood up. What was it that Umbra said was the polite thing to do when greeting another alpha? Oh yeah. She dipped her head in greeting to him before relaxing into her natural posture again. "Medusa has come for a visit! She's decided to visit a couple of the packs closest to her, so that means this one! Medusa is a newer alpha in the west, so that makes us almost neighbors?" Well, okay, there were a few lands that separated them, but they were still in the same general area of Western Boreas. She didn't recognize this guy, but she recognized the scent of Valhalla. In fact, she had caught a glimpse of an insanely pretty sparkle wolf at the challenge, and she smelled like this pack! Were all the Valhallans pretty? "Medusa"

Ardyn Adravendi

The woman’s smell hadn’t quite reached him, but it was her manner of speech that piqued his curiosity. She spoke of herself in the third person, and for a brief beat he almost thought she was someone sent ahead to tell Ardyn of the woman coming to see him. So this was a new pack that had claimed land in the west? Had this been a takeover of the pack Cassiela had mentioned? Or a challenge he’d been unaware of and hadn’t watched? “Welcome to leadership. Good neighbors are always pleasant. May I ask what your pack is like?” He settled back to listen, giving the woman his full attention with a pleasant smile, curious to see what Valhalla might be dealing with from an alpha who spoke – and smelled… - so unconventionally. _____________________________________________________________________ Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ----  "Hear" ---- Think

He welcomed her role as a leader, and she beamed with pride. They had barely spoken, and so far she already liked him. Whether or not he'd like her after this was up in the air, but hey, Medusa wasn't Medusa if she wasn't honest, right? Besides, it's not like she had anything to gain or lose, anyway. "Yes! Medusa agrees! Good friends and neighbors are always good!" She exclaimed. He asked about her pack and while a wiser wolf might have lied, Medusa didn't care to lie. Sure, she could bedazzle the truth a bit, but what did it matter if she did or didn't? "Medusa calls her pack Insomnia! It's where wolves like Medusa can go if they feel like they don't fit anywhere else. Medusa didn't feel like she fit in her last pack, so she made Insomnia!" Okay, so that wasn't the exact truth, but still technically the truth. She debated with herself on whether or not she should spill the beans about having former Habari captives. That wasn't a dealbreaker, was it? Okay, maybe it was, but, everyone who was present for the challenge knew it was a thing from the get-go. Surely his wolf that had been there (Tel) had heard, right? Or maybe the gorgeous girl had left prior to Medusa saying that. She didn't know. Either way, it was common knowledge, or so she assumed. Sort of. She clicked her tongue for a moment as she made the decision. "Medusa will also say that she took Habari wolves when she won." Her voice was nonchalant. No big deal. Just a normal day in Medusa-land! But then her cougar companion chimed in, "Just to be clear, they have been given options to leave. Some have chosen to stay permanently, others ran and hid, and others have yet to make a decision or put the effort to go." She glanced at Medusa who now had a sheepish look on her face. Whoopsie! She forgot the details. "Habari's leader held her as a slave for longer than she should have been without being given the option - or knowledge - that she could've gotten out of the rank. Medusa did more than that half-blind wretch ever did, and while we understand that some of them had nothing to do with it, Medusa had every right and reason. But as she said, they've at least been shown mercy and given options. They are not ill-treated, nor are they slaves. That's more courtesy than the pack ever showed my Charge." Umbra looked at Medusa for a moment, then back at Ardyn. While Medusa didn't often feel the need to explain herself, Umbra felt it was important to be clear about things. After all, she was certain that Habari's allies and whoever else was present at the challenge believed she had taken them as slaves with no way out and were being mistreated. Which was definitely not the case. Would Ardyn understand? Or would he chase them off? "Medusa"

Ardyn Adravendi

A soft huff of amused agreement chuffed from Ardyn’s nose at the woman’s exclamation, and he nodded in agreement. His ears pressed forward as he listened to the alphess’s description of her pack. Insomnia. While the name brought to mind nights of restless sleeplessness, her description was amiable enough. A home for those who found no home elsewhere that suited them, or accepted them. So long as they caused no trouble to him or his people, Ardyn could accept such a pack as his neighbor. She was even honest that she’d taken the pack she’d challenged for, members included. The mountain lion that accompanied her chimed in, and privately, he was glad to not have to decipher each sentence, though he was becoming accustomed to Medusa’s way of speaking after a little listening. Ardyn listened closely to the lion’s words, nodding, features crinkling in distaste. Slavery was not something Valhalla favored. That some of those kept essentially hostage after Medusa’s takeover chose to stay, told him that while her takeover had been fierce, she wasn’t cruel. “I can understand that. Valhalla may not cause trouble, but we will finish it to the best of our ability if pressed. Long ago, in the time of my ancestress, there was a war between Valhalla and a northern pack called Glaciem. There was a great siege. Valhalla lost, but we kept our home. The few prisoners won in that battle were not ill-treated, and after a time of good behavior, they would be released… or if they won a fight to be freed. Similar to the former Habari wolves, I suppose.” Curiosity niggled at him, and he asked both at large, “Who was Habari’s alpha?” _____________________________________________________________________ Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ----  "Hear" ---- Think

Medusa had somewhat sorta absentmindedly listened to Umbra's explanation to Ardyn. Umbra often felt the need to make sure things were clear, and it was something Medusa really did appreciate because she knew she wasn't always. It was rare when her mind actually worked well enough to be as coherent as say, Ardyn and Umbra were. To have and hold a normal conversation. There were very few times she had been able to do that, and when that happened or what triggered that false sense of normalcy she had no damn clue. When he explained about his packs past with another pack that she had never heard of before, it seemed something similar had happened. "So Ardyn understands! Medusa is not cruel, not unless others deserve Medusa to be." And for that to happen, well...they'd likely really have to push it. Maybe. When he asked who Habari's alpha was, she whipped her head towards his direction, eyes wide. While she didn't know how long Habari had been around prior to her getting enslaved, she thought just about all the packs knew each other and had met before, but apparently that wasn't the case! Damn, Recluse really did slack as an alpha, didn't she? She couldn't help but giggle at the thought. "Recluse! Uh...Klein. White like a ghost, blind under the sun, weird stripey markings or something. She was no good, she was like a rat in the night!" She giggled again, "Ardyn never met Recluse or went to Habari? Medusa knows Recluse barely went to meet packs, she was too busy making babies all the time!" "Medusa"