binding more than blood

She waved away Venom's apology with a small smile. "Be as bold as you'd like. These are serious negotiations, of course, but you're still a friend in my home. Speak freely." Then Venom went on, asking her instead what she would give to have Elysium allied with Ashen. It was a difficult question and one she had a firm answer for. She knew that Elysium would have the most to gain from the partnership since her pack currently did not have any firm alliances, but what price would be worthy of earning an alliance of such a large and well established pack? Surely there had to be something that Ashen could gain from the deal as well that Venom would find a suitable trade. There had to be something she wanted or she likely wouldn't have considered it to begin with.

"I suppose it depends on what Ashen's needs are and what you find valuable," she mentioned while still trying to decide what to offer. She didn't want to suggest something that wouldn't be equal to what Elysium would gain in the trade, but she didn't want to sound like she was begging for this partnership either. "We have a fair number of fighters that would come to your aid should you ever need it. We also stand in the opposite corner of Boreas from Ashen so I could offer a different vantage point and keep an eye on other packs and their going ons for you if you'd like. Our mountains are sure to hold a different plethora of resources than your islands do so our trade would be very diverse." The problem was that she still didn't quite know what all Venom was offering so she didn't know how far to extend her reach or how many cards to show.

Still, they could make promises and such and that would be all fine and good, but would it be better to have something more significant solidifying the tie between them? She glanced briefly toward Ikigai, her thoughts still turning in her head. "I do also have three children now," she said as she brought her aqua gaze back to Venom. The love she had found in Alastor made her hopeful that her own children would find something similar for their own partners one day, but she understood that in her family that was a rarity and more of an exception to the rule than anything else. "I would like to ensure that they end up with wolves of high caliber and strong bloodlines one day... If that is something that you are also concerned about."

"Manea Mendacium"