carve your name [challenge]

He'd heard the call and was already on his way when his mother had surged past him. He'd followed at a distance, before the river had slowed her enough for him to catch up. From then on, they'd been neck and neck, pretty much. He'd been close enough to hear her pained sound as they'd arrived, and his eyes found his brother's form a moment later. He had to force back the rumble of disappointment. This was the first time he'd seen Tor since he'd run off. Not a peep, though he'd caught whiffs of him on the wind. A brief glance was given to the male that stood central, around whom the throng seemed to have formed a circle. Leo was speaking, and as Regulus followed his mother to Epiphron and company, he listened.

Talk about circumstances. This fellow was challenging his own alpha? Or Ex Alpha? A frown furrowed his vibrant brow as he sat beside his mother, leaning close enough to offer a pillar to lean on. It wasn't Celestial being called for, but this was still their family's home being endangered. Vivid, fathomless sapphires roved the crowd, noting a few familiar faces, including one of the Imperium wolves who had been at the border collecting a wayward pup. The arrogant one. A brief nod was cast his way, even if he wasn't looking. The Imperium boy that had been at the Claiming was there, too. Did everyone turn up for these events?

His toes spread slightly, claws lightly dragging along the ground. Inside, he was a bundle of nerves. It was taking a lot of will to keep his expression detached and confident. So many varied emotions here; the air was thick with heartbreak, confusion, anger. Was this how it had been the day his grandmother had fallen in the Challenge for Valhalla? And in the times before that? Something to ask his mother at a different time, depending on the outcome of this fight.