while we're alive

As he and the malinois pups trotted along towards the last of the packs he hadn't yet visited, he was mulling over what he'd learned so far from his conversations with the other alphas. Lirim and Valhalla would be a problem, though it seemed Valhalla might be more inclined to neutrality than outright hostility. Abaven was... complicated, though it didn't feel complicated when he'd been there with Poem, not being an alpha and just being normal. Uncomplicated. This was probably going to be another of those complicated ones. It was right next to Ashen, Deathbelle's pack... his uncle's old pack, as far as he could tell. He didn't know if that meant that this pack was allied to hers, or if it was a situation like his and Aurielle's, where they were less than friendly. He didn't know what either of those situations would mean for Aerie.

It was time to find out.

Flanked by the pups, who were glancing around with alert interest, he raised his head to howl for the alpha.