He had followed the traces of scents from Sonoticus's old lands to here and he now stood at the border of this pack. Some of the scents in the markers were very familiar and he could only guess that it was Cypress's scent he was smelling. At least they hadn't moved too teribly far away. The trip hadn't been too bad. Standing at the border of this pack and not smelling Arian's scent broke his heart though. He pushed those thoughts aside and focused instead on why he was here. He took a breath to steady himself before lifting his head to let out a howl, sending a plume of fog up into the air as he called for Cypress, whoever it was that was apparently ruling with him now, and possibly even his nieces and nephews if they so happened to want to see him. He knew he wanted to see them, but he supposed it would be up to Cypress whether he would be allowed to. He sighed and sat down to wait for one of them to appear. "Talk" "You" Think

The call was clear. Cypress would rise from where he was resting in his den, tending to his previous injuries. It was harder to eat now, what with some of his teeth broken, and there was a pain in his leg he just couldn’t shake. A limp. Something much like Arian once had. His heart ached at the very thought of his beloved, and the young man would heave a heavy sigh as he went to seek out Leo. He had not seen him since the deathmatch.... And the man deserved to know full well what he intended to do. Cy would approach the man, finding him respectfully at the borders. Perhaps, he thought, the children might come to see their uncle. Perhaps they would even choose to leave Borealis to be with him, for all Cy was doing was passing the pack on. He would take a breath, speaking in a gentle tone once he was close enough for the other to hear. “Leo... Good to see you again. I just wish... Things could be at a better state.” That was all the male would say for now, taking a seat across from the other. ""

A howl rose in the air not just for Cypress, but for her as well. Marina would rise, stretching lazily as she twitched her ears. Ahhh perhaps another alpha? It would do well to get to know her potential allies and enemies. She was wary of Imperium yet, but perhaps something could be forged between them. Marina would breathe in slowly, the thought of it being Valentine at the borders scary. But no... This howl didn’t give her that impression. So who was it then?

Marina would set off at a lope, arriving a heartbeat behind Cypress. She would sit quietly, respectfully, tilting her head to the orange and white male who sat there. Ahhh who was this? He definitely smelled of another pack. “Greetings there. How can we help you?” It was unlikely that this man knew of the changes to the pack. The rainbow marked femme would curl her tail around her toes, waiting for the man to speak, whether to Cypress or herself.

"Speech"
'thoughts'

Table by:: Eve

Leo rose to his paws when he saw Cypress approaching him, wanting to greet the man properly. He saw the limp in the man's gait and it was almost haunting. How cruel life was. Leo dipped his head in greeting when Cypress spoke, giving him a small nod. "Same to you, Cypress." Moments later another woman would appear at his side, drawing Leo's gaze away from him. He was momentarily surprised by her brightly marked coat, but even more so that she was greeting him. He recognized that her scent was indeed one of the ones that lingered at the border. The only thing that troubled him was that he had no idea who she was and she was apparently leading the pack that used to be his sister's. "Hello," he replied with a another dip of his head. He put his bothered thoughts out of his mind for the moment, reminding himself that Cypress was sure to explain everything in due time. "I'm Leo Adravendi. I'm the Sovereign of Fiori and I was Arian's adopted brother," he explained to this new woman, aware that she would have no idea who he was either. He spoke to both of them then, going on to say, "I really just wanted to come and see what had come of the pack since I noticed you had moved away from the lands next to mine. Arian had asked me to keep an eye on her children if anything were to happen to her or you, Cypress, so I just wanted to make sure all was well." "Talk" "You" Think

Usually he wasn't much of an eavesdropper, his size made it hard to do that. However the call from his uncle alarmed him greatly. As much as he wanted to go up and handle it himself, he knew it was the alpha pairs job to get it done. He stuck close, just close enough to hear situating himself out of range of scent and hearing. Bi-colored orbs watching them from the outside as his ears twitched. So his mother had known something was going to happen to herself - leave it to her to be a bringer of bad luck onto herself. His tail twitched a little, not all was well but it would be. Rivaxorus sighed, he might have been selling his dad too short but he understood that he was throwing a fit over something idiotic. He relaxed his muscles and reminded himself, don't get too heated. His eyes focused on his uncle, he wouldn't make himself known just yet. It only was if his father would be speaking for his siblings when he didn't even know the lives they were planning on living. "Talk" "You" Think

Cypress would breathe out a soft sigh. Oh Leo, he would think to himself. If only he could have picked a better time to come. But alas it was inevitable. His nieces and nephews, Cy’s children with Arian, lived here. “Things are rough, Leo.” Cypress would not lie to the orange man at all. “Things are incredibly rough. This woman you see here is Marina Agatsuma, my secondary, and successor to this pack. It has been renamed Borealis, to be shaped in her image.” The man would keep his gaze on Leo’s own, though he longed to look away. “I meant what I said at the deathmatch. I meant it when I said I would go after Sin. I don’t know if I’ll live, I don’t know if I’ll come home... But I’ll be damned if allow him to take Arian’s life and get away with it. This pack needed fresh blood... Someone who wouldn’t be spat upon for being who they were. Arian and I...” He felt like he was choking on his own words. “We had strong wills... Good intentions... But we weren’t strong enough to protect our pack.” Cy could no longer hold Leo’s gaze. It hurt. Gods it hurt to say that. “I lost Arian’s best friend to Imperium, the pack that has given us hell, right before the death match. I can’t help but wonder if I hadn’t failed... If Avalon had been here... If Arian might have thought better on fighting Sin.” He hadn’t even realized that tears had formed in his eyes and begun rolling down his cheeks. “I... I can’t let Sin get away with killing her... Leo... I...” He’d glance to Marina, then to the orange man again, the tears flowing freely now. He couldn’t hold his emotions. “Should I fall... Should the children wish it... Could they find a home in Fiori?” ""

The orange and white man would introduce himself, and Marina would tip her head. Leo, the Sovereign or leader of Fiori. Cypress would be kind enough to introduce her, and for the most part the woman stayed quiet, waiting until the man finished speaking his piece to the other alpha before speaking up as well. “I’d like to say now that, should it be alright with you Leo, the children will not be barred from leaving this pack. Even if they chose to make their home elsewhere that is their decision. They are not prisoners of Borealis.” Marina would speak her words kindly. “Cypress has agreed to wait until Spring to seek out Sin, to give himself some time to heal. I’m sure things can be arranged for the family in the meantime.” "Talk" "You" Think

Table by:: Fox

Leo was quiet and thoughtful while Cypress spoke. When the other man introduced the woman to his side as Marina he would look to her briefly with a respectful nod before bringing his gaze back to Cypress. It saddened him to see Arian's pack changed so completely, but perhaps it was for the best. Her pack had gotten nothing but bad luck as of late, so maybe it was time to have that chapter close so a new one could begin. He would nod in understanding when he spoke of his and Arian's good intentions and strong wills. It was true. Arian, and in turn her mate he was sure, had been trying everything they could for so long. His heart went out to the man across from him and he silently wished he could do more to help. He remembered Rivaxorus saying something about Avalon being in Imperium the last time they had spoken, so he wasn't too surprised when Cypress spoke of the challenge he had lost. He wouldn't mention the tears that stained Cypress's cheeks. He knew better than to wound the pride of a man who was already heart broken. He wished there was something he could say that would stop Cypress from going on this vengeance filled drive toward Sin, but he knew nothing would stop him now. Before he could respond to Cypress's request his gaze was pulled to Marina, listening with appreciation and relief as she spoke of letting the kids decide their own fates and of Cypress promising to wait till spring to carry out his plan. "Any of my nieces or nephews that would want to come to Fiori will always be welcome," he would tell Cypress before looking to the rainbow woman again. "If any of them choose to stay here would you mind if I come to visit them from time to time? I will stay outside the border of course, I just don't want to loose touch with them." "Talk" "You" Think

Thank the Gods. Thank the Gods that his children would be safe. Cypress would breathe out with relief as he looked upon Leo. At least he knew should anything happen to him his children would be safe. That was his major concern, in all honesty. Many would see him as trying to throw his own life away, wanting to challenge Sin as he was. The man knew his chances might have been slimmer than he’d like... But... What would he do if the man targeted his family again? Could he bear that? The next question was directed towards Marina alone, so he’d leave that for her. ""

The woman was glad to hear that Leo would accept any of his nieces and nephews that wanted to come to his pack. The thought of any of Borealis’ members wanting to leave saddened her, but at the same time she knew that not all would stay. She wasn’t their former leader, their alphess and friend. She knew that there would be some who didn’t trust her. But that would be alright. They would get through things. Marina would breathe in, her gaze focused on Leo as she spoke. “But of course. From what Cypress has explained to me about Fiori is that your pack and his used to be allies. If you are willing, I’d like for that to still be a possibility. Especially if there is a possibility of the family being split up.” Marina would offer a gentle smile. “Only if you are still comfortable with that, Leo. I can’t guarantee everything about Borealis is going to be the same ideals as Sonticus, but I can promise we won’t do anything outside our bounds. We can always talk about this later too, of course, if you aren’t ready to make a decision now.” "Talk" "You" Think

Table by:: Fox

The relief radiating from Cypress was obvious. He hadn't given a second thought to the idea of his nieces and nephews coming to live with him. To him, it hadn't even been a question for his doors to be open to any family that wished to live with him. That had always been his policy, whether it had been for Arian's children, Amalia's adopted sons, or any of his siblings or the siblings of any of Fiori's members. Family was family and family meant more to him than anything else in this world. He was glad that he was able to give Cypress a little peace of mind in this hard time, even if all he was doing was offering his family a home. Marina's answer would give him a similar kind of relief. He was glad that she was so understanding in all of this. He still knew very little of her and her ways, but he could only assume that she was a friend to Cypress and so far he had no reason not to trust her. She'd ask about their packs remaining allies and he'd pause, considering the thought carefully. It had been obvious to be allies when Arian was involved. He couldn't imagine not being allies with his sister's pack after all. Now the answer didn't feel quite so obvious. "Well, at the very least I can agree to a peaceful relationship between our packs," he'd reply, returning her smile. "I would like to speak with you again before we go so far as to agree to become allies. I hope you understand. I don't take being allies lightly and I just want to make sure it's in the best interests for Fiori and Borealis as well." "Talk" "You" Think

After listening to the adults for a small amount of time, Rivaxorus had debated leaving the scene before he was discovered. However, when it came to them speaking about him and his siblings - it was also the fact they had already lost their sister and mother. After all the fighting, and the grief, the male was rather angry with himself for not being able to be a leader for them. If his closest sibling had left, and he was no longer heir maybe it was that he needed to find something else to do with himself. Something else crossed his mind, as he finally crawled out of the place had been hiding. The large male came to confront the three of them. "Sorry - I've been listening this whole time to the three of you." Rivaxorus admitted his two different colored eyes moving over his father then to his uncle. He barely knew much of Marina but he knew more of respect to give her a nod of his head. "We've been thinking about holding a memorial for mom, and as for Fiori.... In the spring I'd like to move into the pack." his head turned to Marina. He had notified her already during the meeting, but it was always good to double check. "I don't know who of my siblings will be following me but, I thought long and hard about it and I feel like that's where my heart belongs. I'm sure Marina will do Borealis some good but without Sonticus it just doesn't feel like home." Rivaxorus shook his head. Maybe he had become far too opinionated. "Talk" "You" Think

Cypress was thankful. Thankful for Marina, as well as Leo being there. They would remain peaceful towards each other at the very least, and Cy honestly couldn’t ask for more at the moment. Borealis seemed to be on it’s way to thriving, thank goodness, and that left him to do what he needed to do. Cypress was about to see if there was anything more that Leo needed from them when in came bounding Rivaxorus. Seeing his son brought a certain pain to his heart...

So he’d been listening. He would explain the idea of the memorial, as well as his wish to move to Fiori. That would be the part that cut Cypress deepest. His son wanted to leave Borealis, leave him, and potentially the rest of his siblings too. Cypress would look down, towards the ground. “I hope you find happiness there, my son.”

"Speech"

Marina would give a nod to Leo, a smile playing on her lips. “But of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less, truth be told.” The woman would say in a gentle tone. “I’ll leave it to you to set a date then. Whenever you are ready, Leo.” While she wasn’t necessarily in a hurry to make alliances and such she was relieved to know that their packs could at least be on peaceful terms. The last thing she needed was enemies right off the bat. Then came in Cypress’ son. So he’d been eavesdropping. The femme would flick her ears back slightly, hearing that he wished to leave. Not that she wanted to bar him from doing so, but at the same time she did worry about Cypress and what he’d do if all of his children chose to leave before the outcome of the deathmatch was determined. Would it break him further? Would he have any will to survive? "Talk" "You" Think

Table by:: Fox

Leo was relieved to hear that the proposition was pleasing to Marina as well. "How about this same time next week? As long as nothing comes up between now and then." Not but a moment after he finished speaking his nephew appeared from the bushes and he blinked at the young man with surprise. He'd keep his ears perked forward to listen to Riv and he smiled sadly at his words. "Of course, Riv, you know you're welcome whenever you're ready. I'd gladly attend a memorial for Arian. I'll tell my mother and sister so if they'd like to attend as well they can. You just decide when you'd like to have it." With a glance to Marina and Cypress he saw the hurt on the man's face and the slight concern on hers. He looked back to Riv then with a slight frown. He had been so concerned with how his nieces and nephews were feeling that he hadn't thought much of how their leaving might effect Cypress. The children were the last pieces of Arian for the both of them, but these were his children. Leo took a step closer to Rivaxorous and brought his muzzle to his nephew's ear, whispering softly, "Stay with your father as long as you can, Riv. Look out for him." He'd take a step back then, letting his gaze meet Riv's to make sure he understood. He'd look to Cypress and Marina then with a smile. "Thank you for speaking with me. And I'll me back soon to speak with you on more pack related matters, Marina. I better be getting back." He'd dip his head and as long as none of them had any more reason to keep him he would turn and begin walking back toward Fiori. "Talk" "You" Think