The trip to the borders of Insomnia from the Armadaian lands, did not take the red woman to terribly long. She could have arrived within a day but, the woman wanted to give herself time to rest and look refreshed for the important meeting. So, Keahi had spent the night in the neighboring land and now, with her fur cleaned of any dirt, she strides toward the pack’s borders. Keahi had taken time to make sure her polar bear lined armor is clean and oiled while her special dagger has been places on the inside of her foreleg. With deft paws, the diplomat walks up to where the borders of Insomnia. Stopping a respectful distance from the invisible boundary, the tropical born wolf tips her head back and sings a call for the alpha. Into her howl, the red wolf weaves a simple request to meet and talk with the alpha. With her request voiced, Keahi lowers her head and gracefully seats herself, sitting at attention but with a relaxed, open posture. She is not here to fight, simply to talk, but, if the need arises, she is also ready to defend herself. Meanwhile, Māui, the woman’s red-crowned amazon parrot slowly circles above her, keeping an eye on the proceedings below. "Keahi Mogotsi"

Her ears perked when she heard an unfamiliar call at the border, and they were calling for...her? Her head tilted curiously, wondering who on earth it could be. Whoever it was sounded like they wanted to talk about important things. Was this part of being an alpha? Boo! She flopped onto her side and rolled onto her back, debating on whether or not to answer, but of course, curiosity got the better of her, and almost as soon as she had rolled onto her back, she had immediately righted herself and jumped to her feet to go see who it was and what they wanted. It didn't take her long to reach her border, and as she approached it, she spotted a pretty woman with vibrant blue eyes sitting close to them. She sauntered right towards the stranger, taking in the sight and scent of her, and caught the familiar whiff of Armada all over the woman. "You're from Azure's pack, what brings you to Medusa's pack?" She asked curiously, dual-toned gaze looking suspiciously past the woman as if expecting Azure or more of his pack to come walking out. Last she knew, they were kinda sorta friends with Habari, weren't they? Did Azure or Recluse send someone else to come get them instead? "Medusa"

Keahi sits across the border of Insomnia’s land, awaiting the arrival of the pack’s new alpha and, thankfully, she does not have to wait long. As the russet and white. skeletal marked woman appears, the red wolf swiftly stands, keeping a pleasant smile on her lips as she respectful, polite bow. The suspicion that darkens Medusa’s features is not unfounded and her words about the tropical born wolf being from Azure’s pack has the red woman giving a small nod. Without waiting for an invitation, Keahi once more folds her haunches and settles on the grass across from the invisible boundary while keeping her posture open, relaxed, and inviting as she faces the alpha. With a polite dip of her head, the red woman says, “I am Keahi Mogotsi, a Diplomat of the Armada.” Straightening back up, Keahi smiles warmly and says, “Congratulations on your win Medusa. Since our packs are now neighbors, I have come to see what Insomnia is all about.” Her words are simple, easy, and true. From what the red woman has heard about the pack challenge, no one can say that Medusa did not give it her all. For that she should be praised and, even though Habari had been their ally, Keahi will not start off their meeting without addressing that elephant in the room. The woman’s glance behind the red wolf did not go unnoticed and she adds, “I am here by myself. Well, I do have Māui but he isn’t a wolf.” At the mention of the name, the woman’s red-crowned amazon parrot descends from where he is circling in the sky to perch on one of her shoulders. His feet easily grip the polar bear coat that sticks out from underneath her leather armor and Māui trills his greeting to the Alpha before falling silent. Keahi is truly alone here and there no other Armada wolves that are hiding close by. If Medusa wished to take her prisoner, she could but that would set off a chain of events beyond either of these women’s’ control. For now, they dance the tight rope of diplomacy, something that has been happening since time began. "Keahi Mogotsi"

The stranger decided to sit without hesitatiion, which was fine because Medusa didn't mind if one wanted to be comfortable while they talked, and she guessed they would be talking for quite a bit. She didn't know a whole lot about the Armada, but she had gleaned enough from Azure and the few wolves she had some sort either direct or indirect encounter with, not to mention they were well known throughout the lands. Not that she paid a whole deal of attention to, but it was also stuff not easily forgotten. The woman who called herself Keahi, Diplomat of the Armada wasted no time in telling her why she was here. Apparently she didn't miss her suspicious look, either. She watched the companion join Keahi, and Medusa decided it was safe enough and that perhaps she was telling the truth. She sat down then, relaxing as her own companions came out to join and be witness to Medusa's first diplomatic meeting with an envoy from another pack. "What does Keahi want to know?" "Medusa"

It is easy for Keahi to talk, not because she likes the sound of her own voice, but because she has confidence in her diplomatic skills. A friendly smile is on her lips as she tells Medusa the reason she is here, understanding the woman’s mistrust of her appearance at the border but quickly reassuring the Alpha that she is here alone. Her parrot companion alights on her shoulder and she watches the skeletal marked woman’s own companions appear. Her posture remains open and relaxed as they approach and she offers them a polite dip of her head in greeting before turning her attention back to Medusa. The question that is offered has the red wolf giving a light shrug of her shoulders which causes Māui to take flight once more. Tone polite and curious, Keahi says, “Well, since Insomnia is a new pack, the Armada is wondering what it is all about. For example, the Armada prides itself on being a pack of warriors. We welcome wolves from all walks of life who seek to better themselves. What kind of wolves do you wish to see fill the ranks of Insomnia and what do you want your pack to be known for?” Head tilts slightly to the side as she talks, bright ocean blue eyes easily holding the taller woman’s duel-toned gaze as they talk. "Keahi Mogotsi"

She watched the parrot fly off for a moment before turning her attention back to Keahi who began to explain what she meant and what she was curious about. Armada was a pack of warriors, eh? How fitting. Not that it was a bad thing, but it made sense after meeting Azure. She considered the questions that were posed for a few moments. Honestly, she had never really considered it. Hell, she had never even considered being an alpha or running a pack up until Habari pushed her to that point when she didn't know what else to do. She had worked her ass off to get zero recognition for all her effort and growth, and for that, karma got 'em. Her ears perked then as her head quickly swiveled back to look at Keahi. "Medusa welcomes others who feel they don't fit anywhere else. Others have said Medusa is weird, she doesn't deny that. Medusa is weird compared to the standards of what others consider normal. But Medusa was born like this, and she would not wish to change that! She welcomes others like her. Medusa also knows the way she does things is..." What were the words her companions had used to define it? "Chaotic. Erratic? Not like everyone else." Indeed, she was pretty different, and although she did have some very questionable morals, she also had morals that weren't questionable or strange. "Medusa is honest though, and she never breaks a promise. She worked hard in Habari after she got taken as a slave, and no matter what Medusa did, Recluse did not care. Medusa did not care to fight to be an alpha until she had no choice but to show that she was worthy. Insomnia is karma. There are no slaves. And prisoners will have every opportunity to earn their freedom, Medusa will not deny them that because she knew what it was like to have that taken, and kept away no matter what she did. No no, Curses will not be kept like that. Not by Medusa." It was ultimately up to those in that rank to decide if they wanted to work for that. So far...they didn't really seem like it. Which was odd to her, but hey, not her problem if they wanted to stay where they were, right? "Oh, and Medusa only Curses others who have wronged her or Insomnia, and also she plans on um..." She shifted as she glanced at her companions, wondering if she should mention the bounty thing or not. She didn't know Keahi well, and wasn't sure she trusted a former ally of Habari...so she had no idea what they'd do with that information if she told her. Instead, she switched topics. "Medusa plans on teaching others who don't know the things they should know. Medusa had to teach herself almost everything, Insomnia is the place they can be who they want, and learn what they can." Did she talk too much? Not enough? She was pretty new to all of this, but she was happy to elaborate or explain more or just chat away if Keahi so desired. "Medusa"

The red wolf tilts her head slightly as Medusa begins to speak and she nods along as the skeletal marked Alpha speaks. Once the woman finishes, Keahi allows a comfortable silence to lapse between them as she continues to turn the words over in her head. After several minutes, she speaks, saying, “That is very interesting Medusa. Tell me, is it difficult to have so many chaotic and erratic wolves in one pack?” She asks out of genuine interest, wondering how the woman reigns in all those personalities so that they do not cause the pack to implode. Thoughtful she continues on, “So you keep prisoners… er, Curses… sorry in your pack lands? I heard that you took almost all of Habari as pri… Curses. May I ask what happened to Recluse’s children? They were young at the time of the challenge and had nothing to do with what happened. Do you keep them in your pack too?” As she talks, Keahi remains calm and open, never once shifting into a defensive posture. Her questions are asked out of curiosity and hold no condemnation or rebuke. The red woman simply wishes to learn what she can before she goes back to the Armada. In the spirit of being honest, Keahi says, “It is a very noble endeavor, Medusa, to teach others. Does that include reading and writing? Teaching them trades like, crafting, map making, and the like?” Her smile is warm and gentle as she looks to the Alpha. "Keahi Mogotsi"

“That is very interesting Medusa. Tell me, is it difficult to have so many chaotic and erratic wolves in one pack?” The skeletal marked woman sat back and hummed. So far, everything seemed to be working out. There wasn't a whole lot of chaos like she anticipated, which was a good thing! But she was sure that even if there was, she'd be able to handle it fairly easily. "No, because Medusa knows how to handle it! She understands the chaos and the minds of those that live here. Plus, she has friends in the pack that are more...normal and good minds!" Like Ghoul. He knew how to handle Macabre, for instance. Whereas Medusa would probably only fuel the insanity in that kids mind! Besides, they knew how unhinged she could be, and she was sure that that knowledge alone kept them in check, even if it was just enough to not earn her ire. Then, Keahi asked about the prisoners. Asking about Recluse's youngest litter. Her head tilted in thought as she blinked several times (a light tic compared to her usual head bobbing). She had no issues responding promptly. After all, she hadn't seen the youngest litter since she left Habari. "Medusa does not know where they are, and she has not cared to track them down. She is sure Recluse hid them somewhere," She shrugged. She knew they were young, but she didn't care when it came to Recluse. And even if they did end up here, it's not like she'd mistreat them or anything.

“It is a very noble endeavor, Medusa, to teach others. Does that include reading and writing? Teaching them trades like, crafting, map making, and the like?” Her head cocked to the other side then. Reading? Writing? Maps...? The hell were those? She was visibly confused, blinking at Keahi like she had three heads. "Medusa does not know what reading and writing are, or maps. But she does teach crafting, hunting, fighting, and other things to learn how to survive. Medusa had to teach herself a lot about how to survive. She was not taught this...other stuff. If Habari knew how they did not want to teach Medusa anything." She was curious now about what else there was to learn outside of fighting, hunting, and other survival things.

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code by Cloudy; art by Cloudy