Willows

She was a good listener. He knew that none of what he’d spoken of had any bearing or leverage upon Valhalla. It was, in some ways, a history lesson of Boreas. Valhalla had been among the first packs to settle on the continent after the eruption on Alacritia. Glaciem, Tortuga, and Seracia, a newly founded pack and the birth place of his grandfather Maverick, as far as anyone knew, had escaped the death and devastation wrought by a massive volcano even greater than the might of Mount Volkan. It must have been, for such a mass exodus to be necessary.

It was Cairo’s turn to listen as Malalia explained a bit about two brothers in the Armada. It was certainly a similar dynamic. And he had to wonder… if it came to the safety of all, would the good-hearted brother be forced to kill the darker-aligned one to save many? And would he, Cairo, someday be forced to make the same kind of decision?

A shudder rippled down his spine, and he fervently hoped that Artur’s fanaticism would not evolve into attempting to kill Aurielle and her family in order to ensure his views were unchallenged. He didn’t think it would. But even if Artur never actually voiced his hatred, it was pretty damned obvious each time he deigned to attend the meetings the Spirit called. He’d grown distant with even Caelia, who was, by far, the closest in agreement with the views. Cairo and Viviane, and possibly Geo before, were the gentler sort. Viviane loved all without condition. Geo had been sensitive. And Cai?

Sapphire eyes flicked to Malalia, a prime example of his own stance with the world. He loved friends, and didn’t put himself on a pedestal over others who didn’t share his blood. And he whole-heartedly viewed Erani and her descendants as family. Sure, there was definitely a level of worth one had to achieve to be worthy of bearing the name, but he was not one to hold the actions of past fools and insanity adopted in, against those who had shown again and again that they were loyal.

“She does her best. She’s had her trials and hurts like the rest of us, but she shows as strong of a face for us as she can. She was made Queen as a yearling instead of in her second year for reasons…”

He hummed an agreement on her remarks about names, remarking, “I have an adopted aunt… or had, she’s dead now. If the stories are correct, she was killed deathmatching a man out of some mad break in her mind. The details are sketchy. But from what I’m told she led and lost a lot of packs. But it’s my namesake’s first adoption that I think has colored Artur’s views so thoroughly. Their names were Preston and Neo. Preston kind of… faded. But Neo… He was the one who betrayed the family, somehow believing that he was loved less, though Cairo was always fair in his love, and did not differentiate between blood and not.”

His head cocked slightly in thought as he ran his mind back over all the stories, passed down from both his mother and Erani’s recollections passed down with intricate, solid detail.

“Neo vanished, joined a pack that Valhalla of old wasn’t friendly with, and shared pack information. He was challenged for, and became the first slave. According to Aurielle, that whole meeting was a disaster. Erani was there, lead healer and pregnant with her only litter, and had a lot of words to say against the alpha’s choices. Cairo had stepped down and handed the pack to Collision, another adopted son, to lead until Syrinx, the eldest, was old enough to rule. Well that all didn’t pan out much… My great aunt Chrysanthe ended up Queen in the end, up until she lost Valhalla by a challenge. Then Erani refounded Valhalla hours after that. She was Queen for a while, until shortly after a plague. She was older, and was challenged for the pack and lost. Then Aurielle’s grandmother Surreal founded Celestial, and Aurielle later renamed it Valhalla… and here we are, now.”

For all that he had a bit to speak of, he’d adopted the cadence he’d picked up listening to his Alphess and her father telling stories. It rolled and swayed through the times, never monotonous or droning but full of life and emotion.

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