howdy ho neighbor!

"Yes! She's an excellent fighter. We sparred long before she was a mother, and I believe before you formed your pack." She'd certainly smelled different then, not the heavy new musk that Sirius wore. This must be the scent of the Ashen Armada. Theory couldn't ignore that he was the one who'd captured each of her sisters in turn, but she just couldn't reconcile that fact with the strangely jovial father before her. He was almost... doting. His face completely lit up when she asked about his children. There's my opening! Now more than ever, Abaven needed strong allies. If Winterfell could turn on them due to Acere's own poor leadership, well, the future was unpredictable at best.

Theory wanted to rest knowing that her packmates were safe - and Poem herself had said that the titan hadn't treated her terribly. In fact, he'd helped train her to be the warrior that she was today. Even if the circumstances were questionable, he did return her sisters safely in the end. If nothing else, he was a man of his word. Unlike Acere. "Your family sounds lovely. I'm glad they're flourishing. Our own orphans - Void included - were recently reunited with their mother. She finally returned home safely after getting separated from the pack during the explosion," she murmured. "They're yearlings now. Can you believe it?" Which meant soon she'd be turning two as well. Was she really that "young?" Theo felt so, so old. "Abaven is getting on well. We're preparing for an upcoming raid. Acere of Winterfell in the far north has made some foolish decisions and bargained away his pack's services to a band of raiders. To my knowledge, it was on behalf of a less-than acquaintance. They are now taking orders from the same Valkyrie that ran the market you attended," Theory said carefully, dancing around Motif's enslavement. "They were our allies but I plan to sever our relationship after the raid. You can't trust a fool, right?" she laughed. Now she just had to wait for his response.