The fight kicked off in an instant, and as the two women dodged each other, it forced her attack to land away from its intended placement on her target. She still managed to dig the ridges of bone atop her head near the front of Sparrow's right shoulder, painting her head with small splatters of blood. She began to turn away to reposition herself for another attack, but her opponent didn't waste any time in retaliating. Before Manea could put any distance between them, she felt Sparrow's teeth catch the skin at the top of her scruff, her quick turn making the bite land more solidly in the bunched up skin of her scruff rather than the thinner skin and fur closer to her skull.

Manea kept her shoulders rolled forward and scruff bunched around her neck so even though Sparrow got a decent hold on the loose skin there it didn't cause any serious damage besides some moderate lacerations. It was still enough to give her a sting of pain that made the corners of her snarling lips pull up in a grin. Now that blood had been spilled on both sides it could be called a real fight. She kept all of her usual defenses in place with her paws set firmly and evenly beneath her, her toes spread and claws gripping the ground, ears pinned back, eyes narrowed, muzzle scrunched up with a vicious snarl, her limbs slightly bent and ready to move. She kept her tail tucked in since she was in such close quarters and didn't want to give her opponent any easy targets. She also kept her chin tucked down and kept her head even with her spine.

Being so close to the woman, she could feel when Sparrow began to shift her weight, and with her head tipped down from where she had rammed her head into Sparrow's shoulder, Manea saw the woman start to lift her paw. She made the quick decision to not move her paw, but she did draw in the large tiger-like claws just to prevent as much damage as possible before Sparrow's right paw slammed down onto her own. A sharp pain shot up her leg as Sparrow stomped on the edges of her middle toes, bruising the delicate digits. The feline claws were a bit of a surprise as they cut into the skin around her toes and left some scratches in their wake, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to dealing with considering how common that mutation was within her family.

Her opponent's move landed Sparrow's front leg well within reach of her jaws. Taking advantage of this opening, she swiftly turned her head to the right and lunged for Sparrow's right ankle. She would rip her scruff away from Sparrow's jaws if she had to while she sought to to sink her teeth into the thinnest part of Sparrow's right limb and bite down as hard as her jaws could in the hopes of fracturing the more fragile bones there. A growl was pulled from her chest when she felt something sharp bite at her back left leg, but she was spared from losing her focus when a moment later one of her ravens came down from where it had been circling overhead, aiming to peck and claw at the monkey to chase it off. Manea didn't spare the creature a glance and ignored the minor lacerations Sparrow's companion left on her leg. Manea pulled her front right paw away from Sparrow's and attempted to bring it up to jab her paw into Sparrow's chest with her large claws extended, not looking to shove as much as she was looking to slice her claws into flesh with a downward swipe of her paw before going to place it back onto the ground again to re-establish her fighting stance with her paws gripping the ground, preparing for whatever Sparrow might throw at her next.

MANEA vs SPARROW for CLAIM OF INCENDIUM
Round: 2/3
Height: 44"
Build: Light

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

Sparrow's bite had hit close to her intended mark, the taste of blood fresh in her mouth. Her foot his its goal as well, giving Sparrow the satisfaction she needed in a fight. For the moment, Sparrow checked her defenses: her ears pulled to her skull, her weight evenly distributed, her tail flagged and her knees slightly bent for balance, her hackles raised down her spine, her eyes and face scrunched to deflect, and her scruff, skin, and fur around her front rolled for padding. The woman pulled down and Sparrow relinquished her grip on Manea's neck. The only thing down there was her legs, so the move was obvious. Sparrow redistributed her weight to her back legs and pulled her right foreleg up, seeking to beat the woman to the punch and ram the bottom tip of Manea's chin with her front wrist joint, aiming to force her maw shut from below before she could bite Sparrow's foreleg [COUNTER ATTEMPT]. Manea's front right paw rose and sliced along the lower middle of Sparrow's chest, causing two moderate, inch long cuts beneath the thick winter fur and rolled skin right between where her legs met her lower chest. They bled freely enough to drip from her fur, and Sparrow winced as she moved to start her own attack. "Bitch!" She teased through gritted teeth, though she still wore and exuberant, excited smile. With Sparrow's weight distributed on her back legs, she lifted her front left paw- sucking in a sharp breath against the pain of her cuts- and shifted towards her right, aiming to throw her left foreleg over where Manea's shoulders met her neck (trapezius). The goal was to pin Manea down with Sparrow's heavier weight while her (Sparrow's) own claws hopefully aided in both her grip and sliced into the bunched flesh there. Simultaneously, Sparrow flung her jaw open and aimed to bite and grip Manea's scruff in the center back of her neck. She aimed to get a mouthful in order to gain control of Manea's head, and thus, her movements.

SPARROW vs MANEA for CLAIM OF INCENDIUM
Round: 2/3
Height: 44"
Build: Heavy

Even though she was more than willing to take the deeper wounds that her yanking away from Sparrow's grip would have caused, she was glad when Sparrow simply let go of her scruff instead. It meant that when her opponent pulled her foot back to escape her snapping jaws she didn't feel as if she had taken a worse wound for nothing. It did also allow Sparrow the freedom to start moving out of the way, and in Manea's pursuit of biting Sparrow's leg, she ended up having her chin clipped by the earthen woman's ankle on the upswing, making her jaws snap closed and causing her to recoil back a bit. Her right paw did manage to catch Sparrow's chest and she felt her claws cut through skin, splatters of crimson blood dripping onto the snow. A small victory after missing out on the chance to crunch down on the pirate's leg.

Manea flashed a grin up at the other wolf when she was so eloquently called a "bitch" and scoffed in response. Once her paw was back on the ground from swiping at Sparrow's chest, she saw the other woman beginning to shift and rear back, so Manea hurried to reinforce her defenses. Her paws were placed evenly under her and she made sure to tense her muscles with a bit of a bend to her limbs to be able to absorb the impact of whatever Sparrow had planned. She kept her ears pulled back, her muzzle scrunched up to help protect her face, her eyes narrowed, and she went ahead and flagged her tail to help with her balance since she had a feeling she was finally going to be grappling with the effects of the pirate woman's heavier build. Her toes spread and her claws gripped the ground, keeping her shoulders rolled forward and scruff bunched around her neck to protect it—though now there was a bit of a sting when she did so with the new bite wounds she carried. Her head and neck remained even with her spine with her head tucked down over her throat.

As she expected, Sparrow reared back and twisted to her right, and then the heavier woman's weight was on top of her. Sparrow's left foreleg ended up draped across her shoulders right at the base of the back of her neck. She winced when Sparrow's feline claws hooked into the thicker skin of her scruff and her legs flexed a bit while she adjusted her stance to bear the weight of the other woman. Before Sparrow could get a hold of the back of her neck, Manea quickly ducked her head down—narrowly escaping the worst of the pirate's jaws. She felt those teeth snap closed and graze the skin on the back of her neck, leaving a pair of shallow lacerations behind but missing the grip her opponent was going for.

Since her head was down low from her ducking, she turned her head to grab the dagger that was tucked into the side of her left bracer. With the way Sparrow was grappling her, with the pirate's left foreleg across her shoulders and right foreleg unengaged, it left Sparrow's chest exposed. Manea gripped the short hilt of the dagger in her teeth and drew the blade, then turned her head so that the deadly point of the weapon faced up toward her opponent's chest. She then attempted to stab with an upward turn of her head, aiming the attack toward the space between Sparrow's right shoulder and chest. Manea knew with Sparrow's bulk pressing down onto her she wouldn't be able to remain standing for very long, so anything she could do to end the fight or convince Sparrow to get off of her was fair play. Her second raven swooped in at that moment as well to lend its master some aid, attempting to claw and peck at Sparrow's face to distract her and hopefully get her to back off.  

MANEA vs SPARROW for CLAIM OF INCENDIUM
Round: 3/3
Height: 44"
Build: Light
Manea | Temno | Ciemny

OOC: Yall are free to begin yalls shenanigans again!

Sparrow's teeth snapped only barely over Manea's flesh, although her left paw found purchase with her leg hooked over the base of the woman's neck. With the new stance, Sparrow double checked her defenses: She tucked her tail to defend from attacks, kept her weight distributed to her back legs evenly, her knees bent, toes splayed, and back nails dug into the ground for traction and balance. Her ears pinned to her skull and her eyes squinted as her face bunched, even knowing her face was somewhat safe from attacks. Her hackles laced down her back and she kept her shoulders rolled as well as she could to bring her scruff around her neck. She could handle this. The woman managed to grasp her blade, swinging it into Sparrow's right shoulder, near where the shoulder met the chest. It clanged against the front edge of her shoulder bone, stabbing moderately deep and allowing the blood to run down the shorter fur of her fight foreleg readily. "Bitch shanked me!" Sparrow called out after a brief exclamatory from the pain. Sparrow sucked in a breath, knowing that moving down would only cut her worse. The bird pecked at her face, but Sparrow squeezed her eyes nearly shut- the bird was little more than an annoyance. Sparrow kept her weight distributed to her back legs. She sought to use her grip with her left forearm to pull Manea close to her chest, flexing her claws to attempt to deepen the wounds on Manea's scruff and hopefully maintain her grip. Simultaneously, Sparrow aimed once more to bite and grip onto Manea's nape, just above where her (Sparrow's) foreleg rested in order to control better the woman's movement. Her free right foreleg sought to claw and hook around Manea's left foreleg just behind the carpal/wrist where the leg was easily flexible, aiming to grip it and pull it towards her while she pushed her weight forward (from Manea's right to her left), keeping her back legs engaged and balanced in an effort to topple the woman and pin her against the ground, winning the fight.

SPARROW vs MANEA for CLAIM OF INCENDIUM
Round: 3/3
Height: 44"
Build: Heavy

Old age was a merciless sonofabitch. Not once in his life had Valentine ever missed a challenge and he wasn't about to start now, especially not when it involved one of his kin, but fuck it if it didn't take him twice as long to get there. If his tardiness was questioned he'd make a mess of the fucker that brought it up and curse whoever thought it was a good idea to make a pack way up here in the godforsaken frozen boonies. Fuck them all, fuck the journey, fuck the north.

Needless to say by the time Valentine got to where the fight was taking place the proceedings were well underway and he was not in a good mood. He strolled over to where the bulk of Sparrow's supporters were huddled and settled his bony old ass down. Only after sitting did he really inspect his granddaughter's groupies. Some, like Theory, Tyrian and Pyralis, he recognized, obviously. Others were strangers. And lordy were they a weird crowd. There were horns, some sort of diseased dog, and his personal favorite, scabby looking patches he only recognized as scales after staring for a good long time. The world was just getting weirder and weirder by the day. What the fuck.

Valentine shook his head to rid it of weirdness and turned his attention to the fighters. He fixed a grim gaze on his granddaughter and awaited the outcome.

Armando was doing his due diligence as a watchful varmint of Aerie. If asked he would say he was going above and beyond here seeing as he'd made it all the way up to the north in time for the end of the fight on runty little legs. Granted, a solid half of the journey for him had taken place on the back of a deer, but no one needed to know that part. It was a much more impressive feat if they thought he'd made the journey entirely under his own steam. So, here he was in time for the results and - as far as he could tell without looking too closely - the only Aerie representative. Bringing the latest gossip back to the pack would be a nice little feather under his cap.

With a breathless puff he flopped down in solidly neutral territory. He was about halfway between the two 'camps' and content to stay there even though there was a lack of foliage that made him a little uncomfortable. With one paw he reached up to adjust his helmet. Naturally he'd worn his gear. There was a feeling of lawlessness in the air and while he felt somewhat confident in saying the wolves would likely focus all their chaotic energy on each other and ignore a harmless little ole varmint like himself, you could never be too careful.

TIME IS A BUTTERFLY, I'M RIPPING OFF WINGS He had heard his cousin's summons, staking a claim far to the north. Interesting choice, but he wasn't one to argue with the Matriarch. However, it was a hell of a distance to travel from where he'd found himself that day. Even at a steady lope, he only arrived to witness the tail end of a rather vicious fight between Manea and a dappled woman that seemed to be enjoying this as much as her opponent did. The horned brute lurked on the outskirts, head held high to observe through spaces in the crowd where shorter wolves had settled to watch the show. Ruby dipped banner swayed idly, sweeping over his heels while he took his time reading the crowd. There was a rather clear divide between the spectators, displaying their favour for either claimant. He'd just so happened to wander up behind the opponent's camp, and this gave him a prime view of his family, assembled in support of their Matriarch. His sister was already here, and she looked delighted to be watching the fight. The little ones were wriggling with delight, unable to contain their excitement as they watched the brutal struggle for power. They certainly were their mother's children. The crowd that had assembled in support of Manea's opponent was nothing to sneeze at either, and the range of ages that had settled to watch the brawl was certainly more diverse than his family. If he ahd to make an assessment, the woman who was battling for control of the dissolved pack was well established in these lands. Her family tree was deeply rooted, and she had garnered a great deal of support already. A formidable woman, nothing to sneeze at, certainly. He hummed thoughtfully, more to himself than anything, and skirted the crowd so that he could join his relatives in cheering on his cousin. As he moved along, he noticed a small, orange animal clad in protective garments. He paused, blinking at the unusual mammal that was lounging on the sidelines. He'd never seen anything like it, but it looked vaguely feline. With a dismissive grunt, he resumed his pace until he was firmly on the opposite side of the fray- dropping heavily onto his haunches at the very back of the group to observe the proceedings in peace. SPEECH || actions || OTHERS

So this was what had become of Incenduim? Hattori couldn't say he was surprised, Ashen's raid had simply been the beginning of the end, the start of what should have been a slow and quiet death was now ending in a clash of teeth and claws. By the time Hattori pushed his way through the snow and crossed the ice the fight was already well underway. He wasn't at all surprised to see Manea out here, she'd made her intentions known at Ashen's borders, but the same really couldn't be said for Sparrow, the self-proclaimed Pirate King. He couldn't say he knew the woman well enough to gauge her intentions here, or in general, but it seemed as though being the leader of a band wasn't enough for her. That she was willing to take the risk most wolves wouldn't to get what she wanted.

If nothing Hattori respected them both for taking the initiative, to tear down the old and use its remains to make something new. As to who he wished to win... Well, Hattori's feelings were lukewarm at best. Venom no doubt wanted to form an alliance with Manea and her lot, but was it really worth the investment? The Shogun then looked to the onlookers, those who made their alliance clear. If nothing else there was a lot to be learned today, to see where lines in the snow were being drawn, and who stood on what side.


"Speech"

I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis scowled but settled down for the fight. She'd with hold her judgement for now and hope Sparrow was going to come up with something worthwhile. As set in her ways as she was she could be convinced to keep an open mind, though she would likely kvetch left and right. Life was no fun if you couldn't complain about it.

Her train of thought was taken by the little Habari boy who mentioned her cart. She chuckled. "Fear not, my dear little firebug, the cart is safe until my injuries heal." She winked at the pup. What a little cutie. She wondered if Sparrow would let her kidnap him.

She shot a glare at Artisan. "I'll cheer when I'm dam well good and ready, but why don't you give me some rum to lubricate my lovely voice?" To her delight Artisan shared a bottle. She grabbed it hungrily, awkwardly holding the bottle with her paws as she popped the cork out with her teeth. She took a long swig… and then a few more.

By the time the fight started she was feeling warm and in a better mood. Pyralis watched carefully, taking in notes and at one point cheering loudly for her king. "Yea, Sparrow! Puncture that purple puke!"

Alastor watched the throng of wolves appear one after the other, sizing each one up as they made an appearance. Many came to support the fleabag pirate. Several supported his wife. Others sat neutral. He noticed Recluse amongst the neutral parties, disheartened that he hadn't been able to sway her over to their side, but perhaps she was being tactful and remaining neutral as an alpha. Hattori had also appeared, sitting neutral to watch the fight commence. For the most part, Sparrow's own crew didn't even want to be a pack. It was humorous to Alastor to overhear. It seemed Sparrow was a leader who did as she pleased, and not by the desires of those who followed her. A selfish pirate... how quaint.

But one voice from the pirates' side caught Alastor's ears. Obsidian eyes shot across the way to lock a glare on the black, blue, and yellow male loudly declaring celebrations in order "when their king kicked this purple lady's ass". The old haggard he spoke to made a similar remark, and she was on his list now too. Oh, you poor fuckers, you chose the wrong wolf to say that about... Alastor felt the trace of a snarl curl the edges of his lip. If Manea won, he would be demanding a sincere apology from the shimmery bastard, or he'd be leaving with the wannabe pirate's face in his jaws. Hey, he wasn't an unreasonable guy. Until the fight concluded though, he would wait, supporting his wife and restraining his squirming son, abyssal eyes never leaving his target. Already he was wondering what a sparkling wolf's blood would taste like.

The dire wolf's violent thoughts were interrupted when another wolf came to sit beside him in support of Manea's claim. The man was as large and bulky as he was, his fur equally as dark, though this wolf bore markings of white rather than the red Alastor sported. His saber fangs were an impressive sight to say the least, and he was sure Manea would enjoy seeing the gifts this brute of a wolf possessed. The man smelled of a pack they had passed by in their travels, and when he introduced himself as Sirius Fatalis, Warlord of the Armada, it clicked. This was no mere wolf. This was an alpha.

"'Warlord', what a marvelous title! Alastor Mendacium, future Genetor of Elysium." Alastor gave a dark chuckle, then turned his eyes back to his mate as the fight kicked off between her and Sparrow. "Well, once my wife takes care of a bothersome sea dog, that is." Black eyes turned with a curious quirk of his brow to the Fatalis patriarch. "You're the only alpha I know of to pick a side in this fight. What brings the Warlord to the Mendacium side? Just have something against pirates?" If that was the case, then perhaps Sirius would be interested in helping him chomp down on some of Sparrow's noisy cohorts in the peanut gallery when it was all said and done. A guys' moment, so to speak. Nothing more bonding than breaking the bones of your enemies together!


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________

"Well met, Alastor Mendacium, Genetor of Elysium." He murmured in response to the introduction. As for the question... "Ah," the Warlord said with a sly grin "anyone who tweaks the nose of that one interests me." He said, indicating the pirate woman with a tilt of his head. "Her and her merry band have been buzzing my borders like flies to carrion. I came to see if she would gain more power. I'm pleased to see another contend for this throne." He explained, wondering how long this wolf had been in Boreas for. He knew Sparrow had been born here, but only recently had the woman decided to harass the Armada. Firesides presence at her side didn't go without note. Fireside was a constant bur in his fur, first with the drunken instigator, then the spies he had sent buzzing at his borders. What they had planned next for the Armada he did not know. Sirius had always been content to keep his paw out of politics, but it seemed the ambitions of others would eventually force his choice. He would never forgive the pirate wolf who had maimed his daughter and attempted to burn his Plains.

He found himself staring moodily at Sparrow and co and returned his attention to Alastor. Not wishing to give too much away with the direction of his gaze. "I'd be interested to hear what you and your Lady have in mind for your Elysium. Perhaps the Armada might be inclined to lend a few paws to your setting up." He suggested, voice soft.

Word spread fast and what sort of diplomat would Hanako be if she didn't catch wind of a pack claim? Flexing her well-deserved freedom, she swiftly made her way north and came upon a rather expected scene. Wolves from all Boreas had flocked to the ice, huddled together as they watched the fight unfold with rapt interest. But who was fighting? Dotted amongst the crowd she spotted several familiar faces, most notably the pirates who seemed far more invested than most. Nudging her way gently to a decent viewing position, her brows near shot up and off her forehead she caught sight of the fighters. The big purple lady was a stranger, but the same couldn't be said for Sparrow. They knew each other very well.

Too well some might say.

Strangely, despite how things had ended, Hanako found herself flinching as she watched the fight unfold. Last time they'd laid eyes upon one another she'd said all sorts of nasty things, no doubt spread even worse rumours too, but even then Hanako didn't want to see her bleed. Least of all be stabbed!

Shaking her head, Hanako was on the move again, her eyes roving over the crowd as she noted their positions were deliberate, as though outwardly stating their support. Normal folk were of little interest to Hanako but she was quick to spot several alphas, standing out amongst the rest with their natural airs of authority. Surprising no one, Tyrian was on the side that supported Sparrow, along with Ignis, Aurielle and a long and leggy woman Hanako couldn't put a name to.

But what of the other side? Well Hattori and Recluse seemed unwilling to make a call, which seemed very much like them and-oh was that Sirius in the purple lady's corner? Pressing closer Hanako realised that he was speaking to a stranger, of dark fur lined with red accents. Yet another wolf Hanako had never seen nor met before. He seemed awfully familiar with Sirius and the way they were talking made it seem as though they were already fast friends, but she had an inkling they were bonding over their mutual dislike for Sparrow, rather than anything else.

She cast her gaze back to the fight, how would this end? Would she be forced to dip out if even more blood was shed? Maybe, if the atmosphere kept ramping up, thrumming with each attack.

"speech."  

Ah, so the pirates were heckling the Armada pack as well, were they? Well, all the more reason for his violet goddess to leave the cur bleeding out in the snow. He winced with a wicked grin when he watched Manea shove her dagger into Sparrow's flesh, punctuated by the beautiful sounds of Sparrow's cry that she'd been shivved. The pain and shock in the woman's voice was delicious. "This must be a delightfully entertaining show for you then," he quipped with a dark laugh. He could see the embers of anger burning openly in Sirius' blue eyes whenever he gazed at the pirates—specifically at Sparrow and the old bitch who'd made the comment about his wife—and knew his feelings towards them all too well. Hmm, perhaps this could make for an interesting development...

Sirius asked about the plans he and Manea had for their pack, then suggested that perhaps the Armada could lend some paws in the set up. Alastor flashed pearly white teeth to the Warlord, having to wrangle in Saracyn's squirming for a moment while he replied. "My wife and I would welcome all assistance we can get, my good man! We intend to build our home on Alias Island, just a little to the southeast of here. It is to be a home for her expansive family. The Mendaciums are a proud lot, and they haven't been unified in one place in a long time. She wishes to leave a legacy of her family to last the ages, where her family customs and beliefs can thrive without fear of judgment."

Motioning with a tip of his muzzle over to the cluster of motley pirates, Alastor leaned in closer to Sirius. "If they've been causing you such issues, let's remind them of their place once my mate leaves the mouthy leader in the dirt." He motioned to the two that had made comments about Manea directly, the old bag and the flamboyant one. "You take one, I take another. It'll take less than a minute and you'll feel so much better!" He flashed another wicked grin to Sirius, wondering if the Warlord would show off the reason he wore such an impressive title and lend a paw putting down a pirate or two.


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________

The Warlord was also keeping a half eye on the fight. He was also very much aware that many wolves who he would consider a threat to him and his were here. He was keeping a careful ear on those around him, though he felt that sitting among Manea’s allies did separate him from those that had drama with him. In that regard, he had found something of an ally with Alastor. He had a feeling the equally towering dark brute might be more than happy to plunge into a conflict at his side against Sparrows allies if fighting broke out.

He grunted in response to Alastors words, his eyes flicking back to the battle as it progressed. He didn’t really care either way how the fight treated Sparrow. He had come to see if he would need to watch his back against another pack after this day.

The Warlord grinned at the wiggling boy in Alastors arms “Yours?” he asked warmly, though it seemed rather likely with the familiar way the dire was manhandling him. “Your story sounds familiar, the Ashen Empire was founded on a similar premises, of giving us a foothold on this land.” He explained “it’ll be my pleasure to help you build on Alias Island if you wish. I’ve had plenty of experience with all the dens, cellers, and gardens i’ve build on Armada” The Warlord admitted wryly.

When Alastor drew his attention to a pair of wolves on the opponent's side, he studied them for a moment. “It’ll be my pleasure. One looks to match the description my son gave me of a certain troublemaker…” he said with a low growl.

Eligos had been planning a trip to scout the current packs and see about getting a fair tally of the bands as well, when word reached him of stirrings in the still waters of pack politics. There was always an uneasy, deep void beneath those waters anyway, and any sort of ripple could awaken long held grudges. Something he felt he should observe for himself (#observe) and so he set out for the northern lands that had once held Winterfell and were more recently held by Incendium of which he knew very little.

On arriving he remained far back for a moment, watching the gathering-in of the chief participants, their supporters, and other observers like he himself. It didn't seem that the challenge was for Incendium as he had initially expected - rather that Incendium had disbanded, leaving a power vacuum that both the stranger and Sparrow each sought to fill. Were he a lesser man than he was, he might have supported the stranger just to oppose Sparrow and to tweak her nose for her generally annoying behavior, but he would then be visibly aligning himself with a wild card, an unknown, and he knew that would come back to bite him far more certainly than the possibility of ever truly being at odds with Sparrow. So when he finally approached he did so to sit alone, as equally far from either camp as he could manage it. Yes, it might be more interesting to sit beside the other alphas he knew well - Valhalla, Fireside, and Abaven - but this was better all around. He would not be distracted by the requirements a social setting created, and could instead best do what he'd set out to do (#observe). He caught a glimpse of Armando as he settled onto his haunches and was pleased to see the little red panda. It would be good to know there was a second set of eyes and a clever mind analyzing the crowd for Aerie's benefit.

His eyes swept the crowd, picking out those he knew, settling coldly on Sirius of Armada cozying up to the stranger's side before continuing to sweep over everyone. Hardly a surprise there, but Eligos made a mental note of it, as he did for the relative positions of the other pack alphas present. For all his bluster over Aerie being an unknown and therefore a target when first he and the Armada alpha met, Sirius certainly made no effort to treat other new, unknown packs the same. Didn't matter - what was done was done, and Eligos still burned deep inside with the rage born of that raid. Even if Sirius had chosen no side Eligos would have felt the same for him. He wondered though, where Sirius' wife was in all this; she'd seemed the more reasonable of the two of them.

Eligos finished his initial sweep and settled in to watch those he'd picked out more carefully.

Talon had had no idea of his sister's thought process, but his own was a chaotic whirl of confusion as he tagged along at his grandfather's heels to flop down near him. Sparrow was challenging for a pack? But they already had a pack and it was pretty grand. Did she not like the sheep? Was that why she wanted her own pack? Was that why she'd left to make a band to begin with? He thought Fireside was pretty great, and couldn't fathom why anyone would leave, let alone make their own pack. Still, Sparrow wanted to do it so she would have his full enthusiastic confused support. Seeing his sister bleeding though, Talon sat up, his jaws clamping shut with a snap as he froze in place, still for perhaps the first time in his puppyish life, and a rumbling snarl churned deep in his chest. They'd hurt Sparrow? No one was allowed to hurt his sister. If it weren't for the fact that his grandfather - who Talon idolized despite being terrified of him - was watching casually rather than setting on Sparrow's attacker, Talon would have flung his lanky self into the fray and honestly probably messed things up completely. As it was, his usually goofy face was set in uncharacteristically hard, angry lines as he watched.

He had arrived late, but it wasn't much concern to him. While he was miffed his dad had let the pack go instead of beating the subordinates into submission, who was he to complain about the way things were done? His dad evidently had a history with some of the wolves of Incendium, and in a way, he supposed he could understand why he hardly wanted to mistreat the wolves he practically grew up with.

Unfortunately, Ifrit didn't feel the same. He didn't care one way or another what happened to the rest of them, honestly. Family, pack mates, what did it all matter? Sure, he liked his siblings and could get along with them, but he wasn't particularly close to them. Least of all, Cina. Since they came back, his brother kept looking at him and Vulcan as if they'd done him dirty somehow. Like everything was their fault or some shit. All they'd done was follow their dad out of curiosity, and everything just kinda went from there.

No matter, he settled in behind Sparrow's side and watched as the fight was well underway. Curious to see who would pick up the remains of the pack that had been long abandoned. Whoever it was, Ifrit had no intention of letting them keep it for long...maybe. He was ambitious, yes. But he had yet to test just how much.

Man, this was getting good. Artisan winced, turning his head away from the brawl as soon as the hidden dagger came out, glancing away to his side with squinting pained eyes and - wait. He blinked, bewildered for a moment, staring blankly across the spectators. "Bitch shanked me!." The voice might as well been a million miles away for how much Artisan paid attention to it. Right there, flopped down between the two sides was who Artisan had not-affectionately begun referring to as his arch-nemesis. The thieving raccoon who had ruined his introduction to Boreas and the best party he'd ever seen.

He got to his paws suddenly, thrusting the bottle of rum into Pyralis' awaiting paws. "Hold my rum." He told her firmly, lifting a paw and stabbing it into Hya's shoulder to grab his attention off the battle. "That's him." The man's eyes were locked firm upon the unsuspecting critter and the familiar accomplice bird that fluttered above him. Did he need to say more? Probably not - his siblings had heard of Artisan's obsession with Armando from the day he'd met the bastard, and surely he'd told the tale around the campfire to his new band-mates once or twice two, right?

Artisan did not wait to see whether his pirate brethren would take notice of his lust for vengeance, nor if his brother would agree that slapping some respect into the thief was way more important then Sparrow's approaching takeover was, he merely squeezed out from the pack of Sparrow-aligned-spectators and out towards no-mans-land neutral ones. There were some other scary fuckers there too, but Artisan only had eyes for Armando. "Temporary truce over!" He declared as he neared, before lowering his head and beginning a full-out critter flattening sprint towards the red panda.

"Speech"

Armando pushed up his too big helmet so he could rub at his eyes tiredly. This was a whole lot of bitey stabby nonsense. Why couldn't they just hiss and chase one another like reasonable creatures? Maybe throw in a little poison if the hissing and posturing didn't solve anything. You know, sensible stuff. That was something he'd never understand about wolves. They were too quick to fight and not quick enough to flee which is why half of the ones present looked like they'd fallen face first into a tornado full of piranhas. He could bitch for days about everything that was wrong with wolves, but he'd hitched his wagon to a pack of them so he supposed it didn't make much sense for him to carry on. The alternative was going back to the forest full of no good sleepy pandas and napping away his day...which somehow sounded less fun than getting stabbed by a purple dog.

"...truce over!" He peeked between his claws and yelped. Of course the guy with the never-ending bead grudge was here! Armando was up in a flurry of snow but he had no idea where to go. Precious seconds were wasted as he more or less ran in a circle looking for an escape. Finally he picked a direction and went barrelling towards the purple dog side of the divide. If bead dog came from pirate dog's group than purple dog's group had to be safe ground, right? Right? God he hoped so.

Still in neutral territory, Armando dove under the nearest pair of legs (Wendigo) and kept running. He was headed in purple dog direction but with a pot belly and short legs slowing him down it was going to take awhile. In the meantime maybe he could lose his pursuer under one of these "neutral" spectators. He burst out from under Wendigo's tail and then half jumped, half climbed over the wolf on the other side (Recluse). At that point he realized that making it to purple dog territory was hopeless so he switched gears.

Intending to use her as a shield, Armando skidded to a halt on the other side of the wolf that was laying down (Recluse). He then spun around to face Artisan to see what his pursuer was going to do. If Artisan went left Armando was going to go right and if they ended up running circles around these wolves, so be it.

Hyacinth shrugged as his brother asked if they were gonna be living in the snow and cold if their king won. "I hope not, all the drink will freeze!" He whispered back, then his mismatched gaze turned to the fight wincing with each hit and silently thanking the powers that be that he wasn't the one who had to fight for them, sure he was willing to get into a brawl or scuffle here and there but that knife looked nasty as hell and he wasn't about to willingly subject himself to that.

His attention was only jostled when his brother jabbed at his shoulder and he followed his brother's gaze to... Well, it wasn't a wolf. Hyacinth frowned for a moment and then he remembered the first party he hadn't even been allowed to come to. He shook his head and rose to his paws, following after his brother to offer him back up if he needed, or laugh at him when he fell flat on his ass.

"Speech!"

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