He carried himself with a rare seen confidence, paws gracefully touching unfamiliar lands. The brave boy had decided to leave the confines of his home and take care of a certain duty that day. After explaining his plans to his mother, whom remained at home with Arivae and Garthinaw, he set off with a full stomach and a bright-eyed disposition. He hadn't left Sawtooth in so long, but now he needed to make his groundwork for his pack's future. As he came upon the rumored territory belonging to a pack, he remained on the outside of the border. He shook himself all over, groomed his fur, and then tossed back his head to emit a low howl. Silver and gold eyes closed as his song rose into the air for anyone to hear. He intended on gaining the attention of the pack's ruler, and hoped that he - or she - would respond accordingly. Dhiren gave a soft wag of his tail as his call faded and his gaze swept the nearby woods. Who knew what the ruler of this pack looked or acted like. "Speech" Lineart courtesy of Kaylink on dA - Character belongs to Wynn

Valeriya could tell the day was making out to be a hot one. The air was heavy and thick with humidity and Val found her coat to be a bit thicker than she'd prefer. The young queen languished in the shade of a crumbling wall, entrapped by the maze of stonework long since left to time. It was quiet, and provided a modicum of relief from Helios' brutal gaze. When the howl reached her, Valeriya frowned. It seemed an unusual day to come calling, brutal as it was, but she considered that it might be important tidings. When a graceful shove she pushed her body upwards and began to make her way along the over grown paths between the the walls. It was no great trek from where she had been to where she was bound, and the visitor's dark coat stood out in stark relief against the withered backdrop. He held himself with easy grace. As Val came to a stop several lengths away she realized that not only was this male a bit smaller of frame than herself, but he seemed to be about her age. "Greetings, stranger," she said amiably. "Welcome to Ebony. What can I do for you?" She saw no reason to reveal her station to him, not yet anyways. She might as well see what he wanted, first. He was surrounded with a regal aura and Val wondered what his own breeding might be worth. She waited patiently, with and open and easy expression, for the dark stranger to respond. "Talk" "You" Think

The temperature had begun to rise and Dhiren hadn't considered it when he had left that morning. His black fur began to absorb the heat, causing the young man to start panting. Thoughts of a large lake and him drinking from it made his tongue loll from his mouth, the desire for thirst beginning to overpower his mind. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind, but it was a weak attempt. Thankfully, he didn't have long to wait for a bigger force to help. She appeared from the trees on his left, vibrant frame rising and falling with the uneven land. Her bright blue eyes met his before looking him over with curiosity. Dhiren returned the curious look as she approached, remaining a proper distance from where he stood. She was a few inches taller than he, but that didn't bother him. Her words left her lips, questioning what had brought him to Ebony's borders. Ah, so that was the name of this pack...He would have to remember. Dhiren cleared his throat and with a gruff voice, he spoke. "Good afternoon, madam. I am Dhiren Destruction, Lead Beta of Sawtooth. I came today to seek council with your ruler, to speak of politics and where our packs may stand with each other." His tail gently flicked behind him as he paused to take a breath, shortly before panting again due to the continuing increase in the current temperature. Speech, Awesome pic by Seren <3

Damn, was it ever getting hot out. He felt like just staying in the lake and becoming an aquatic wolf, it would make the summer much more bearable. He had started to make his way towards the body of water when a howl rang out for leadership of Ebony. The large male grumbled, dragging his auburn paws towards the caller. He knew that he didn't have too, but if they wanted to talk to his cousin they better damn well expect a grumpy Fendar to be there as well. And grumpy he was, it was hot and he hadn't slept for two days now. Huffing, the brute slowly picked his way towards the borders, not in any kind of rush. Why bother? He wasn't going anywhere if he was waiting for Val anyways. When he saw the ebon male standing at the borders he smirked, he was young and small as well. What land was Alacrita that all the young whelps lead packs? He had nothing against Val of course, she was born of royal blood and raised to be a Queen. But what were all the older wolves doing here? Hiding in fallen logs and eating their hearts out? Another grumble left his lips as he kicked at a rock, soon towering over the two young rulers. Fendar heard the tail end of wanting to speak to the leader, and not knowing that Valeriya had yet to state her title, the man growled. "You're speaking to her boy." He said, his teeth gritting as he tried to control his sour emotional state. Val would most likely make fun of him for being so grumpy, but maybe that would make him feel a bit better. The key word was maybe. It was too damn hot to focus on much at all, and while talk of politics was something that needed to happen it was awfully hard to sit through it in these heat. He just wanted to go for a swim, maybe grow some gills if he stayed there long enough. "Talk" "You" Think

Even as Valeriya was set to respond to Dhiren's calm speech, her knight broke in. The auburn queen couldn't help but flinch a bit at his gruff tonality and she gently admonished him. "Be gentle, cousin, he meant no offense." She would turn back to the darker youth and jokingly say, "Forgive Fendar, his withered old joints pain him. He is right though, if you seek the Queen of Ebony you have found her. I'm Valeriya Xanilov." She would sit and gently sweep her tail forward, a delicate and relatively sophisticated stance. She hoped Dhiren, being young himself, would not think less of her for her age. While their own system of rank did not correlate exactly, as they had no lead beta, she could infer enough to realize his own rank was significant. "It would be my pleasure to discuss such matters with you, Dhiren. Where shall we begin?" She hardly preferred this polished way of speaking, but this position still at times sat strangely on her shoulders. The weight of it all often compressed her into shapes she would not take otherwise. In time perhaps this would change but until that point she would so as she had been told, be a proper young lady, and try her damnedest to remember the few lessons of courtesy Raisa had deigned to give her. "Talk" "You" Think

The arrival of another wolf, this one larger and more grumpy, caught Dhiren by slight surprise. His voice was gruff and brutally honest as he told the young man that Ebony's Queen was, in fact, present. Dhiren's eyebrows rose and slowly he looked back to Valeriya for confirmation. She gave it and his look of surprise melted into one of relief. So she was the Queen? What luck he had, indeed! As she lowered herself to the ground, Dhiren did the same. His black tail swept around his paws and gently landed around his left wrist. She opened the floor for discussion and he didn't waste any time to give his proposal. "Sawtooth is the once well-known Ludicael, but our name underwent changes in the past couple of weeks. We are a proud pack, one that encourages our wolves to practice honor and respect for each other. In the past, we have worked on learning scholarly lessons and keeping up those lessons for our future generations." He took a deep breath and regained his momentum as he continued. "Our pack is a neutral pack. We don't look for war, nor do we wish to create harm unless we are threatened." The tip of his tail gently curled against his white paw as his respirations slowed from the consistent speech. He smiled as he waited to see what the Ebony Queen would say. Talk like this

The idea of a scholarly pack was indeed intriguing. A collection of wolves devoted to learning and passing along wisdom was certainly a concept Valeriya could get behind, and it sounded like a good alliance in the making. The ebb and flow of knowledge was something all wolves could benefit from. Her mother had told her stories of the harvest festivals, where the Sage Moots would convene and share all they had learned in the past year, share it with anyone and every who would come to listen. It had made old Ebony wise as well as strong, which in turn made them the post powerful force in their region. From all she had heard, Val very much doubted the Sage Moots would be continuing in her mother's homeland under its new regime. "A scholarly pack?" she questioned. "That sounds wonderful. Perhaps, if you would not be opposed, the future might see our own healers and scholars coming together to share knowledge." She offered an easy grin to the young man, considering it further herself. It was unlike most healers to withhold the secrets of their trade, but if he did happen to disagree she would not push the matter. It would not do to leave him wondering about her own collection of comrades, though. She allowed her chest to swell, the smallest hint of the pride she felt seeping through, as she began to talk about her own pack. "Ebony is a neutral pack as well. We will not set ourselves against friends for the sake of another ally, unless the transgression to too great to allow an alliance to continue. In peace times we devote ourselves to creating a refuge for all wolves, taking and making strong what once was weak. We have two orders of knights, one devoted to the art of battle and another to that of learning, and each are revered equally." It reminded Val that she very much needed to appoint new masters, to recruit squires and grow the strength of her ranks. It would come with time though, her pack mates were still getting used to her, or so it would seem. "It sounds as if our packs would be well suited to friendship," she said amiably, a bright light taking root behind her eyes. If Dhiren agreed, that would be two friendship secured, and her followers would be that much safer, come what may. "Talk" Think "You"

She spoke of how their packs would be able to come together and learn, if they were allies. His tail softly wagged behind him at the idea of wolves coming together to learn, grow, and mature into better beings for the world they lived in. Valeriya also explained how her pack was one of refuge for those who needed it in the peaceful times. She continued to say that two different orders of knights were part of her kingdom and their duties were indeed separate. Dhiren couldn't help but smile -- he was liking what he heard. Slowly, he dipped his head in a polite nod, eyes continuing to sparkle as he replied to her words. "I would be honored if we installed an alliance, Queen Valeriya." He felt excited, but didn't show too much all at once. Instead, he chuckled softly and continued. "I would also love to see our two packs unite and teach each other what they may know. Who knows what will be tossed our way to test our knowledge?" Talk like this