Time's A-Tickin'

At his words, Surreal gave a dry smile. “Normally, I would be tolerating the heat fine. But there are other kinds of heat, as well.” His reassurance that he wasn’t seeking trouble and was merely passing through was answered with a nod of approval. Beneath the water, her hips shifted, allowing her hind legs to stretch out to the side as her front paws crossed languidly. “You aren’t intruding so long as you continue to mean no harm. These are, for now, unclaimed lands to outsiders. To my family and I, however, these have always been claimed by the Adravendis, even when such packs as Arcanum were squatting on them.” She paused to allow him time to enjoy the water, much in the same way she had, a faint smile on her jaws.

She knew precisely how good dunking one’s head in the water felt; her own fur was still damp, and she thought she might have a drop of water slipping down toward one eardrum. A flick of that ear dispelled that odd sensation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Glacier Elementas. Alpha of…? She let the title trail off in an inquiring tone as her mismatched eyes locked in on his face. She was curious, when that pack scent wasn’t a familiar one. With a pleasant natured leader like Glacier, they must not be half bad.

She smiled at his question, however, answering calmly, “The Adravendis claimed these Plains before my birth, after their previous land had been destroyed by a volcano erupting. The pack then was called Valhalla. My mother was the lead healer of the pack, and the adoptive mother of the Alpha’s litter. He stepped down upon the claiming of these lands to hand the pack to his adopted son, Collision, until his firstborn was old enough to take the helm.” She paused, thinking back on the history her mother had drilled into her head along with her siblings, and back to her memories. “Collision stepped down after my mother yelled at him in a pack meeting regarding a choice he made; many choices, really… He demoted her, but my adoptive sister reinstated her when she took control. Good thing, too. Mother was the most experienced healer in the pack. Then there was the war with Glaciem against Isardis Armada. Basically, he liked one of our females, and when he tried to take her, he was told no, and threw a tantrum and started a war. Ironically, my mate, Falk, is one of Isardis’ sons.” Surreal flashed a grin at Glacier, a soft chuckle panting its way from between her jaws.

“Not only that, but my mother adopted another of his sons, who was Falk’s full brother, after he left Glaciem to claim a pack called Tortuga. I wasn’t there, but mother said Isardis maimed his own son, even though Taurig was offering an alliance to Glaciem, and then Isardis put a price on his head. After the siege that Valhalla lost, my sister Chrysanthe, who was the alpha at the time, moved the pack to Nephilim Island for a short time, but no one really felt completely at home there. I was promoted to a Beta status. Then a yearling from Glaciem challenged for Valhalla, and Chrys lost. The winner didn’t stay on these lands though so, my mother brought the pack back from the ashes and took us back to these lands. We lived here for about a year and a half before some red bitch Viridiana Sovari challenged for Valhalla again. My mother was old by this time, and we had just gone through fighting off a plague that hit the whole continent. This woman is the same one who brought us the cure, and then turned right around and challenged for our home.” The grim tone to her voice and stern set to her face was a clear indicator that even if she had let go of the past and wasn’t going to be dumb enough to seek out the lady for retribution, she would happily tear the woman apart if she ever showed her face again.

“Mother lost the fight, and we holed up on Atlantis Island until she was healed, then came back and stayed in the whistling willows until my eldest children were yearlings. I recently relocated us back to these lands, last autumn, just before my second litter was born. Arcanum squatted here during most of that period in time. They were brought down by a siege from the pack called Ebony, and a few of my sister’s wolves from Fiori.” Oh the relish in her tone as she spoke of that event. She hadn’t been there, but she’d heard tell that Arcanum had been utterly crushed. Her eyes turned to Glacier’s. “I intend to revive the pack my mother lost. Valhalla will rise again, but under a new name. Celestial. So, yes, you will eventually find a pack border around these lands.” A grin flashed across her face. “Ah, forgive me. I hadn’t intended to give you a full history of the place.”

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think