She hadn't told anyone where she was going, didn't need to as far as she was aware. Her father was pretty hands off when it came to his pack. Flurry stared up at the giant mountain in front of her and for one of the first times in her life she felt nervous. She could fight and flirt with the ease of a pirate but she wasn't sure she could parley like one... She came in peace though and came looking for the side she'd yet to hear... Stories, all of it was stories and yet they'd built so much off of them. Been on the edge of war over stories. Maybe she'd be proven wrong... Maybe she'd come in peace and they'd jump her, maybe they'd take her prisoner. Then maybe she'd see what her father did, but all she could see was one wolf, one on each side, having done something and everyone else getting painted with the same brush. She almost wanted to believe as her father did that the warlord and all his ilk were like the baby kicking bastard, it'd be easier, she could go home and just tell Gil he was right, but... Well if she'd learnt anything through winter it was that no one ever agrees all the time... And sometimes you start making choices without realizing everyone else had information you didn't... And by you Flurry meant herself. Flurry knew it would be impossible to ever know the full truth, everyone had bias... Hell even she did, she'd been there, had helped to move Sparrow's literal newborns so the baby kicker couldn't eat them. But she wanted a fuller understanding, she needed one. She wasn't going to let herself lead in ignorance, provided she got to lead at all. Steeling herself Flurry finally tipped her head back and called for an escort onto the neutral market grounds, she wasn't sure if she needed to ask for anyone specific, surely there would be more than just one wolf with a story to tell right? Better to get as many perspectives as she could... Provided they didn't throw her in the dungeons first. "Speech"

Art by Perencreste

The Warlord wasn’t surprised to hear a voice calling from him at the border, what did surprise him was the scent of Raider as he approached. Worried that this wolf bore news of his son, the Fatalis picked up his pace, and trotted down to the white wolf. Meeting them near the marketplace entrance, which was the only spot that the Col could be reached by outsiders.

“Greetings, I’m Sirius Fatalis, the Warlord here. What brings you to my borders?” He asked, letting none of his worry show. If this wolf was here about Dread, he would hear about it soon enough. Shaking the woman and yelling ‘is my son okay!’ would only delay any news.


"Speech"

Flurry nearly lost her nerve as the giant man approached, she was struck with how much the grey boy her sister had been dragging around resembled him. It wasn't like she hadn't known that he was a Fatalis but, well it was one thing to know it and another to see it. The last time she'd seen the warlord was during the raid, when he'd gone up against her own father. Swallowing hard the young woman had to reach for her voice, finding it didn't want to respond. Her words were hoarse when she finally did. "I'm Flurry Fallen, The Scion of Raider's Hollow and-" Did she sound like a child? Why did she sound like a child in her own head? "I guess I'm looking for information. I just want to know... I want to know what exactly happened between my pack and yours." Yeah that sounded stupid now that she heard it. Oh how she wished the pretty purple princess had been the one to respond to her call, at least then she might have been able to lighten the mood some. "I've heard some of it but I guess I want to understand better?" Yep, just casually asking the man that led her own home's mortal enemies to give her story time. What a bad idea, she was pretty damn tempted to excuse herself and just go back home, head down and just admit defeat, tell her father that she thought one of the brats was a better fit; clearly she couldn't stop overthinking things to her own detriment, didn't know how to leave well enough alone. When had that happened? Somewhere along the way she'd gone from more than happy to just throw herself at their targets, flirt and think of nothing else, and now? Now she was going out of her way to be difficult... She'd thought herself the victim but now all she could feel was that she was the one who'd wronged them all. She wouldn't blame anyone for not forgiving her. Scald, Deluge, her father... They deserved better. Pretty sure being born was the crime she'd committed against her mother so nothing much to do there. "Sorry, dumb request, I'm wasting your time." Temptation won and the young woman tried to give the warlord an apologetic smile. Definitely looking like someone about to try and wiggle out of a situation they'd just gotten themselves into.   "Speech"

Art by Perencreste

At her hoarse voice, the Warlord tensed. His heart thundering inside his chest as he prepared himself for bad news. The worst news. She slowly started to introduce himself, and the urge to shake her and yell at her to spit it out was almost unbearable… I guess I’m looking for information.. Wait. what?

He blinked, shocked at the sudden turn of events. This wasn’t even about Dread? He let his heart slow, knowing the rising blood pressure wasn’t exactly good for a wolf of his advanced age. “I see” he said after a moment. “Knowledge serves a wolf well, don’t be ashamed to look for it. Tell you what, Flurry” He said, pulling her name from his thoughts - he’d almost missed it in his frantic moment earlier - “Why don’t we do a trade? Tell me what you know of Dread - is he eating, have you seen him smile? Is he well to the best of your knowledge? In turn, I will tell you the history of our packs.”

"Speech"

Flurry froze at first, her eyes rolling upwards as if she was scanning the words above her head, trying to understand them. She'd had one paw in the air, ready to twist around and get her ass out of there... Dread? Had she heard that name before? Yes! Deluge had mentioned he would be going with her, and by Sirius' questions he must be the grey boy, the warlord's son. Flurry put her paw back down and grimaced slightly. "Not exactly what I'd call a fair trade." She said her next words cautiously. "Don't think anything I can give you will be worth what you're offering." Still he'd sounded so... Concerned? Fatherly? Wow was she getting soft? Maybe she really ought to resign. "I can tell you for free, I don't see him too much? He's spendin' a lot of time around my sister and-" Nope, she wasn't getting into the whole "I'm coping so poorly with my siblings leaving that I'm yelling at them for things they couldn't have known would set me off and going to go talk to our mortal enemy before I'll even approach anyone in my family about anything" thing. That said she hadn't exactly hidden the creep of sadness into her voice. Flurry cleared her throat and when she spoke next her words were much more even. "The last few times I saw him he seemed, fine. He's got access to any food we got and he seems happy enough." Practically love sick if she was being honest but maybe it was just the jealousy talking. Jealous, over something she'd chosen. Flurry wanted to be king, but she wanted it with her brother and sister there! Hell she wanted her other brother there too, the bastard. If he hadn't bounced out of their lives with no warning, no goodbye, would she be handling this better? "Speech"

Art by Perencreste

The Warlord listened to what she had to say. He had heard so little news about Dread, that he found himself straining his ears to catch anything she was not saying. He was spending all his time with his girlfriend, he was eating, and seemed to be cooping. As best this wolf could tell. He didn’t miss the fact that Deluge was her sister. “Thank you.” He said, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to know that Dread was still around.

“Very well, I’ll give you some highlights of our history, but it’s not a pretty one.” He warned her softly “I believe much of Sparrow's hatred for the Armada began in the shared interest of a girl. Hanako. She picked Azure over Sparrow, and the two poked at each other ever since. In my opinion, the pirates took things too far. She had wolves trespass into Armada territory and set fire to it when my second litter was still nursing - in that same territory they set aflame. When myself and my son went to put it out so it could not reach the nursing den, they fought us, and attempted to maim Azure.” He said, ticking off a toe like this was strike one. “ Sparrow attempted a force claim on my son.” strike two.
“One of the pirates harassed my daughter Gossamer every time they crossed paths. She attempted to maim her multiple times, and attempted to murder her.” Strike three, four. “They kidnapped Hana and held her in the pirate's pack until Azure went to free her. I believe that was when Sparrow herself was giving birth.” Five. “Gil himself trespassed into the Col to terrorise Hana and hunt her through the caves. The Pirates have proven themselves to be a danger to the lives and well being of those I love. This animosity seems to have carried on to the Raiders Hallow. I will always defend my wolves, and my children. So long as they are at risk from the Raiders, we will remain enemies. That is our history.” He told her softly.


"Speech"

[/color][/color]

Flurry was much better at hiding her feelings this time, face remaining much more neutral even as she felt her stomach drop. The worst part was to some extent she could understand it, she could see how the version of her that hadn't been just making everything more complicated would have agreed to go with it had she been alive. If some amount of responsibility hadn't found itself on her shoulders and she'd not picked a path that would separate her from her siblings... She'd have just kept right on trucking. If Sparrow had still been the one leading them into battle, she'd always been so easy to follow. Even worse, some part of Flurry wanted to go back, she wished she could still feel that way. Would that mean she'd be part of the problem? Absolutely but it was easier for her to accept that in ignorance than realize what knowing all this meant. She kept her gaze on his paw, counting as he spoke. She even nodded as the day on the beach, the day of Sparrow's birthing were mentioned. The last one... Her own father going to harass the woman just because he could. Flurry sighed and closed her eyes. Well she couldn't deny there was some disappointment. None of this was what she'd once believed it was, what she wanted it to be. Picking fights, bedding women, creating friendly rivalries... Everything in good fun. Not courting war. Courting war over one woman like there weren't hundreds of others who'd have given anything to pick the former king... Hell, another woman had picked her! The only good thing as far as she could see was she now had a name for the bastard baby kicker. Flurry opened her eyes as the warlord finished and she nodded again. "Thank you warlord." It felt right to be formal here, she even dropped her  more casual speech pattern. "I was only aware of the kidnapping and when Azure attacked Sparrow while she was in labour. I was quite young at the time, about all I knew was that our King was being attacked, newborns were in danger, that we had to help get the puppies out and that Azure had kicked my sister hard enough to send her rolling." While she was keeping her tone restrained it would be a lie to say Flurry wasn't feeling a tiny bit defensive. No doubt Azure had every right to anger and to taking his mate back but he'd also chosen to directly endanger children who had been completely unrelated prior to that moment. He'd thrust all of them into a fight they had no part in, but now did. Her siblings, and even Sparrow's children... They had all been innocent... And Azure hadn't cared. True Deluge had thrown herself at him, but what of Sparrow's children? They couldn't do any more than helplessly crawl around blindly. "It wasn't until I was older that I understood how the two were connected. I know now how there is some justification to the actions I bore witness to, but at the time I was a child who only knew a man I'd never met before hated me and my family and everyone I knew, and tha he hurt my sister, to my eyes, because he could." She was being as diplomatic about this as she could. In a sense she wanted to say everything was justified, that they had wronged Sirius' family to a degree it left her reeling and wishing she hadn't asked... And yet she couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated that she was even forced to ask why she'd had to watch her sister get kicked, why they'd had to move the newborns quickly... Was there a line? Would they only ever stop once they'd destroyed each other fully? Would it only be enough when but a single wolf was left between the two of them? Would they keep dragging children into a war they had no part in? Flurry took a few breaths to calm herself, it was all too much. She had her own personal shit to be dealing with she didn't want to have to try right now to navigate where this left her as the current heir apparent... But she'd done this to herself. "Thank you." She said again. "I know it's not worth much but I am sorry. If it were up to me it would have ended the moment innocent children had become involved. The first time would have been it, there would have never been a second, third, fourth or fifth." She's been watching him counting off, and all five met her criteria, even if he didn't see them all that way. And her words were at least true. Flurry felt more sure than ever she was not fit for leadership, she was pretty sure she didn't want to go home for a while, but if by some miracle she had the power to end this bullshit? She would. Even if it made them resent her, they could take a number! She was starting to resent them for making their mess her job to clean up. The young woman remained silent then, waiting for what would happen next,  half prepared to be attacked verbally or physically for the insinuations she'd made and half prepared to be chased off the warlord's lands. Maybe 1% of her was waiting for him to dismiss her, to signal she could go. Where to? Well only she needed to worry about that. "Speech"

Art by Perencreste

The Warlord gave a disappointed sigh as Flurry went on to explain what happened when Sparrow was in labour. “I didn’t know the full story, but I must assume he wasn’t thinking entirely rationally…” He said, after all, he’d been there to save the mother of his own children. But kicking pups… that wasn’t something the Warlord could condone. Children were beloved to Sirius.

He nodded his head as Flurry went on to explain her feelings. “Yes, that’s how these things become generational. One person is wronged, so they wrong another, and in turn they or their’s are wronged back. It’s… unfortunate.” He said. He wasn’t exactly about to apologise. He well knew how Sparrow had put his own children in danger, time after time. But he understood.

“Perhaps it isn’t up to you, but so long as Dread choses to follow the Raiders, I will choose the path of peace over war. I will defend my own, but I will not instigate anything, I will not fight my own. You never clarified if you came here as a diplomat or through your own curiosity, Flurry. So I don’t know the weight of your word, but feel free to carry that back to your Alpha. I have no wish to continue what's between our packs, and lose my son.”

"Speech"

[/color][/color]

It was a relief somewhat to learn that the Warlord didn't know all of the story either, that he at least didn't agree with Azure's actions. Maybe, just maybe there was something to hope for there, an end to such brutal hostilities. Flurry wasn't looking to end all fighting, far from it, she liked being a raider, a pirate, she liked raiding. But she couldn't help worrying raiding wouldn't be where it ended, that it'd end with death and an endless cycle of it. But she could see it now, a very small pin prick of light at the end of that deep dark tunnel. If only she'd be allowed to grasp it. She nodded quietly as the man continued to speak. She didn't have it in her to explain the complex relationship currently forming between his son and her own family, that technically he wouldn't be a raider but that as far as she knew he'd be a pirate but that her sister's crew would be an offshoot of theirs, affiliated if not somewhat separate? Flurry certainly had no plan to think of her sister's crew as anything but directly allied... A sort of bitter smirk pulled at her lips. "I came out of personal curiosity and I guess, some sorta professional duty?" She shrugged, not sure if the words she was about to say would even be true once she had the guts to actually go home and talk to her father but for now she'd rather give the warlord something to hold onto, maybe some hope for the both of them. "Scion is the official name of my rank, for the time being I am the one set to inherit the Raiders Hollow and if it does become mine I have no intention of changing my stance." Flurry couldn't help herself, no matter her doubts about her place in anything right now she couldn't help the way a grin tugged at her maw or the wink she tossed the older man. "But you never know, got a lot of new siblings to contend with." She had nothing else to ask of him and with a quick nod the young woman spun to leave the warlord with his own thoughts. She wasn't going home, no she had to get her head right but she wouldn't intrude on the Armada any longer. -Exit Flurry unless stopped- "Speech"

Art by Perencreste