horrible

The Spirit watched as, gradually, more wolves filtered in, either to watch or stand by either fighter. A smile came to life as Torin arrived, with a lovely black and white female at his side whom he introduced as Derecho. A fleeting grin crossed her face as she noted the bond between the two, and she privately hoped that this meant she’d have little cousins to visit in the future.

“Spirit of Valhalla, now. I made changes in the pack, including ranks and the name of the Pack. Same locations, though. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Derecho.” She corrected Torin, smiling as she addressed the woman—she hadn’t missed that flicker of jealousy before Torin had introduced her.

Caelia arrived, and soon after, Aurielle noted Artur’s arrival, and the disdainful manner in the way he looked at the gathered crowd. The challenged male had arrived by then, and the fight burst into motion, but she leaned toward Caelia as he eyes scanned the crowd for any that she might recognize beyond Torin, Artur, Caelia herself, and Derecho.

Murmuring just loud enough for Caelia to hear, she said, “This,” she indicated Torin and Derecho, “is Torin, Kaliq or Alpha of Lirim, one of our allies. Derecho, the lady with him, is a member of his pack. And of course, you see Artur, I’m sure… Pay attention to how these wolves hold themselves. There’s a difference between simple arrogance, and actual alpha-ship, and it shows in our bearing and even our scent. See if you can pick out the alphas in this gathering. Torin, do you know anything about vthe contenders, per chance?”

Her own eyes were still roving the spectators as she posed the question to her cousin, a smile falling upon her features again as she nodded toward Brandr. Her eyes shifted to a male she’d heard mocking the challenger, and her head cocked as she spotted his teeth, ears perking ever so slightly. Sabers. Similar to her own. The markings and attitude marked him out as a wolf her father had described in detail. An alpha, and a bit of a rabble-rouser and trouble-lover. A wolf to keep an eye on. Chaos.

He'd been, in some ways, an entertaining nuisance in the past. But a nuisance could become a threat if given an idea for it.

Her eyes flicked to the wolf that had come with the challenger, noting the markings and considering. Based on the descriptions her father had given, and with the knowledge that a lot of times, markings ran in families, she wondered if the male might be one of the Abraxas. Perhaps she could ask Brandr—after all, the male was right there to ask… Not to mention, he seemed to be giving the male dour glances.

The fight raged on, and she watched, both the fighters and the crowds, ears taking in the snippets of conversation and storing them at the back of her mind.

Torin’s reaction to a male with crimson eyes caught her interest and she tilted her head curiously in silent question, half hoping he’d fill her in. She’d not met any of her other cousins but him. She knew of her aunt Zuriel, of course, and what had befallen the woman to bring about her first litter—her father had made certain to drill it into her mind to trust her gut around strange males, with her aunt as the example, unfortunately enough.

The scent she could catch among the many gathered, though, did suggest this male was of the Adravendi family descended from Erani.

A glance back to the fight brought with it a realization that the challenger had failed in his bid to take the pack he sought, and she studied the surrounding wolves to make not of their reactions. Who would be jubilant, and who would be upset by the failure? Those who had stood to support the albino piebald male would no doubt be upset… They had seemed like the over-confident ones, cocky in their sureness of his victory. All of this would be worth making note of and she glanced to Caelia to be sure she was paying attention. Later, on the way home, she would ask the young woman what she’d noted.

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