She wasn't one to seek out the company of others, but she found herself returning to greet Alsander out of both habit and yearning. He was a valiant brute, one that she found herself comfortable around in the same way that she was Taurig. Yet as Taurig and his family became content with each other on Inu Island, Io would find herself wandering more and more. Viridiana had seemed to have found herself a new home - and she would have to find the russet woman once again. This time though, she was sure that she was in Alacritia, and not too far away as to where Io wouldn't be able to find her. And so she would let her paws take her toward Valhalla's new borders. This time, opposed to the plains or even the Island that they had been before, she would scent the pack's borders near a lake. Night had fallen, leaving the little Sovari beneath the light of the stars. The moon was nowhere to be seen this night, a new moon. A stargazer, Io would pause beside the lake, her toes pressing against the cool grass that encased the area. It was comfortable, and almost completely swept away all traces of the earlier summer heat. The woman could scent many Valhallans here, but she couldn't quite make out specifics enough to tell whether Alsander was close. And so the tiny fae would tilt her head back just slightly and call for the charming brute - she wanted to know how Valhalla had fared against the earlier storm, and whether he was alright. She had not been keeping up with much pack news herself, especially with Taurig's pack currently being only his family.

Alsander

Alsander was doing his nightly patrol, his route set by Erani and Surreal. Surreal was down with a minor ache in her paw from stepping on a shard of rock that had cut rather deeply between her toes a week ago, it seemed. Apparently, she hadn?t hardly noticed it until now, and it was infected. Erani had given his cousin a stern talking to about paying attention to ones health, and put her to den rest. That was a few days ago, and the worst had passed. Tomorrow, Surreal would be up and about on light duty. In time for himself and Erani to take off for Ludicael. Erani had protested at first, but when her entire family; Surreal, Cormalin, Alsander himself, Sarak, Chrysanthe, and Caerul; had ganged up on her like a well-trained court like his foster parents had talked about, she had relented. So tomorrow, he?d be travel with his aunt to Ludicael, and, unbeknownst to her, Chrysanthe and Odette would intercept her and escort her to Ebony, a pack he heard had just taken up residence in the east. He hoped she?d be fit for the trip, after her illness. The trip to Ludicael was a long one, at least two days at a great clip with no resting. And he?d be requesting rest stops often, if he had his way about it. However, a sweet call sang through the moonless, starlit night. His head jerked up, eyes searching as his heart leapt a few beats. Io? Unconsciously, his heavy tail began waving through the air behind him, and his paws were already taking him to her. At a run. However, as he saw her ghostly figure settled beside the lake, he forced himself to slow down, wary of startling her with over enthusiasm. So as he came to her side, it was at a walk, while he tried to master his heart rate. ?Lady Io. It?s good to see you well.? Irish brogue laden baritone was warm and gentle, as he tried to quell his tail speed, as his rump met the earth. Mismatched green and gold eyes peered at her from either side of his white blaze as he tried to see if she was hurt at all. Why was she here, in any case? Was everyone alright where she lived?

His accented tones would pull her attention toward him, and the albino would greet the grey man with a tip of her head. Lady, she was a stranger to such formalities - it was enough to lure a small smile out of her. The woman would silently note that he seemed happy to see her - did he find her presence as familiar and friendly as she did his own? "Thank you Alsander." She would return his greeting, finally, with words of her own. Realizing it was she who called this meeting together, her magenta eyes would widen slightly as she began to speak. Heaven forbid she show up and have nothing to say, or be rude to the fluffy lupine before her. "I came to see you, I should have sought you out as soon as the storm passed. Taurig and his family are fine." 'And so am I.' She had wondered how he and his pack was doing, hoped that they were alright and had possibly evacuated Nephilim before the storm could take it's toll on the area and any wolves within. Her concern was more for him, though, than she liked to admit - it was his visage that came to mind whenever she thought about Valhalla and it's well fare. The pack itself was kind, but her services to it ended with Tortuga's disbandment... only to be something that she would willingly give even still because it was Alsander's home. "Is... everything alright?" The woman would ask, looking over him with the same curiously concerned gaze as he was giving her. Valhalla was a large pack, so there seemed to consistently be something happening with its members. It didn't seem that they had been dabbling in anything too violent though, as Alsander was uninjured.

Alsander

Alsander felt the smile tugging at his muzzle try to turn into a goofy grin as Io turned and replied after a moment of resting those lovely cherry blossom eyes on him with a smile. He didn?t think he?d ever seen such a pretty smile. And he very much liked the way his name sounded on her tongue. His head cocked as he mastered the goofy grin, as her eyes widened slightly as though in realization. Her next words sent a thrill through his spine and set his heart to leaping mountains again. She came to see me. Me! The thought made him giddy, but he forced himself to stay seated and listen as she continued to speak. She had a lovely voice. Soft and soothing like wind and running water, or the air after a thunderstorm as the sun peeks from behind the clouds. He was glad that Taurig and his family were alright after the storm, and he caught the unspoken additive at the end. He wondered if this was what love was like. His foster mother had said it was like being lifted off your feet and floating, and Laoch had said you would feel like you could take on anything, if only to see a smile on her face. Io spoke and his ears perked as she looked him over. Alright? Everything was wonderful as of this moment. It was a lovely night, and the company was even lovelier. However, he marshaled his scattered brain and thought a moment. ?Well, everything is alright now, but not long ago, we had more trouble with the northern wolves again. One of the Ice King?s lackeys challenged for Valhalla and won, releasing all but the children of Azalea. My Aunt Erani reformed Valhalla and brought us home to Vericona Plains, but she sent myself, my Uncle, and my cousin out to claim three more areas to surround Vericona. This is one of them. Druids Moor is another, and the third is Whisperer?s Gorge.? He smiled at her then, mismatched gold and green eyes twinkling under the faint starlight. ?Erani?s quite the tactician. Druids? Moor is heavy with fog, and I could hardly hear myself walking there. She intends to train us to fight in silence in the fog. She and I are also heading out tomorrow morning to see about alliances. Ludicael is our first stop.? He looked her over again, eyes curious. ?How have you been??

Things were alright now - but the pack had yet again been put through another test of their will to stick together. But they had overcome it - and Io was pleased to know that a capable wolf had taken over the beloved pack - she had met Erani while helping the wounded soldiers during the siege. "What happened to the children?" The albino would question, children were always a bit of a soft spot for her - it would be truly unfortunate if they needed some sort of help. There was little that Io herself could do, but perhaps she could keep an eye out for the woman's children. They claimed a good amount of territory, some beautiful places in the West to surround their original home. She knew that Erani was an excellent healer, but the albino would have never known the wise woman was a tactician as well. Should she expect all Valhallans to be jacks of all trades? "Good luck with your travels Alsander." She didn't have much to do with the information, but she would definitely keep in mind which territories belonged to Valhalla under Erani's rule. Although it was more to know where she could call for them than to avoid trespassing - at this point, she felt something of an ally to this pack despite her rogue status. "I haven't heard much from Ludicael myself." But it was her next stop looking for Viridiana - the red woman had meandered off and she didn't want to loose track of her family. "I found another Sovari - Viridiana, but I seem to have lost track of her again." At least this time she knew that she was within Alacritia. "We have the wanderlust in us it seems, and Vi seems to be a" wild card' "free spirit." Either way she loved her kind, and although she probably considered all members of her family a bit too highly, she only about them a little more than she should. "I am fine, the life of a rogue suits me." It always had. "You, though, make me miss pack life." She would always find solace in quiet, in the moon and stars, but she had gotten used to the trails of other wolves being scented that weren't days old - and the cooperation and coabitation that they took part in without even really realizing. Alsander's voice as he spoke of his Aunt, of Valhalla's new territories, of their plans to further themselves with allies, he really seemed to care. It was different - almost odd to her. He was refreshing.