It was hell to get Abaven. Pack dodging, crossing rivers.... not fun. But finally, the alpha finally arrived. He may have had to pause to clean the mud off him and dry off, but he did it. And now he stood on the edges of Abaven, where the alpha Bass was. He had met Bass not that long ago as the heir, when Allen left Borealis - but now he was coming as an alpha and lurking like the crown heir.

His tail wagging slightly as he gazed across Abaven's flooded lands, he took a deep breath. He would let it out in a howl, a song, a call for Bass. It was time they spoke of their relations.

"Speech"

He had no idea why someone would call him into his flooded lands. He stood at the markers between the plains and the rapids, eyeing the sea of mud and water with disdain. His ears lay flat against his pale head, yellow eyes narrowed as he let out a loud huff. He had a thought to just ignore the call and let them find their way to his less flooded pack lands. But with a growl, he made his way to the less muddy parts. The wet ground sucked at his paws, trying to pull his legs under. His tail lashed behind him in irritation like a cat, fighting with each step. He slightly recognized the voice that called him as well, which was the only reason why he was dragging himself through his hell-hole to get to him. What was the boys name again... Ren, right? Shaking his head, he gave a shrug of his shoulders and kept moving on. He tried to move as fast as he could, but it took awhile. When he finally made it to the point where he could see the blue wolf, he had to take a break. Shaking out his legs he dipped his head in greeting, although he was still too far to carry on a regular conversation without yelling. He took a moment to try an rid the clinging mud from his limbs before moving on. When he finally, finally made it to Ren's side, he let out a huff with a slightly irritated look on his brown marked face. Abaven had three lands, and he just had to call him to this one. "Ren, right? What's the reason for your call today?" Last he had heard, he was the heir of Borealis, and seeing him here so soon made him slightly worried. Had something happened to Marina and Cypress? Bass stayed standing up, not daring to take a seat in the soft earth. "Talk" "You" Think

It took a while for the other alpha to come - and Ren was not surprised, though it worried him. From what he could see of the lands, it was muddy, a waste-land while the floods were still ongoing. He felt bad; he wished he could have called on the less flooded lands, but this was the only land he could get to. One land was blocked by a lake that was more than flooded, and the other a river that he'd have to cross into pack territory to get out of. This was the only option for the boy.

After a while, he spotted the alpha.. his white fur thoroughly caked in mud. Ren winced, dipping his head in a return greeting and waiting silently as the alpha cleaned himself. He made it to Ren after a long while, and Ren would once more wince. "I'm sorry for calling you here to this land - it was the only land I could access," he would apologize before beginning. "Yes, Ren. I am... now alpha of Borealis due to unfortunate events. I would like to explore a relationship between our two packs, if you would be willing, Bass." He'd propose his idea immediately, with no hesitation.

"Speech"

He saw the boy wince, and Bass let out a long drawn sigh. He should have guessed that Ren had been flooded in on all other sides, but it was hard to get passed the mud and water. And very dirty. It was even more scary to navigate the lands, sink holes had started to pocket their way into the rapids from the flow of the water and the depth of the mud, one had to walk pretty carefully around there. He didn't want anyone coming to these parts, which was more in tune with his irritation. But as soon as the boy spoke of being alpha, he understood the reason why he had come. Blinking in alarm his head tilted to the side, it had only been a few weeks since he had met his mother at the borders. "Well, I hope that everything is okay. But you know, I was your age when I started up Abaven all on my own. If you have any questions, you know where I am." He said softly, his features losing all harder touches. He knew what it was like to be young and in charge, wondering if any wolf would respect him because of his age. But he was still here, still alpha after all of these years. When asked of pack relations, Bass hummed thoughtfully. "Abaven has always had an understanding with your pack, all the way back to when Arian was alphess. It makes sense that we are to continue it. Have you changed the ideals and workings of Borealis from what it was before?" He asked, curiosity alight in his golden gaze. He would not promise an alliance right away, he needed to know how the boy planed to run his pack, and from there if the two of them could even gain anything from an alliance. Abaven was a pack that was supposed to stand on mutual grounds with all packs, they were there for others to gain assistance off of. But that wasn't always the case, he couldn't expect to get along with everyone. "Talk" "You" Think

Ren would watch the other alpha carefully, blue eyes focused on him. He could see the alarm pass through Bass - and it was even more obvious when the other blinked and tilted his head to the side. He nodded in return to the gesture; he knew what it meant. It was almost asking for an affirmation - as if it really happened. And it had. Bass would speak then, and the boy would listen closely, smiling sadly at Bass' hope. Right. Everything alright. But Bass would continue on, and that would catch Ren's attention, making his ears prick and his own head tilt. His own pack at a year too? Really? Although... he probably had more than five wolves in his pack when he started. "It is appreciated, Bass," he would thank the much older man.

It would not take long for Bass to answer his second question, and he would listen avidly. An understanding? Hmm. What was that understanding? And he has changed Borealis - it seemed the two had a lot to talk about. "What would that understanding be?" he questioned first. "I have changed Borealis as well. We are more militaristic than we used to be." He paused for a second, before continuing. "Our main ideal is honor." He didn't elaborate; he didn't feel he needed to. He wasn't demanding an alliance, but it was clear he desired friendly relations if possible.

"Speech"

Ren nodded his head to confirm what he had said, and Bass let out a large sigh. It would seem that Borealis changed hands so many times he was having a hard time keeping up. At least this young man had been able to come to Abaven to make him aware of all the changes. He was going to have to send his officers out to go and keep tabs on the rest of their alliances, if he was this behind on one, surly there was another pack that he was lacking information from. He wished to ask more about what had happened, but he bit his tongue. It was not his place to ask, if anything really bad had happened... Well even then he wasn't sure if he would be one of the ones to be told. He mentally shrugged it off, there were more important manners to attend to here. The young man asked what their understanding was, and the pale man just smiled softly. "It wasn't quite an alliance, but we stood on neutral ground with each other. We had an agreement to not attack each other and offered trades in herbs and hunting if need be. The way that Abaven works though, we are pretty much neutral with most packs. It's our main reason for being here, to let out our fighters if there is ever a need for them." His ears stood erect when the man spoke of changing the pack to a more military type pack, which really captured his attention. "Mm, it would seem like we have a lot in common than I thought. Perhaps an alliance would be a good thing between our packs, as well as perhaps joint training?" "Talk" "You" Think

Ren hummed in thought as Bass explained the previous standing. He did quite like that; it seemed to work quite well and with the distance between their packs it would not be that difficult to keep to. Bass would stand still and quiet as he explained Borealis' change in ideals and the type of pack, and the young alpha could see the interest in the Abaven alpha's posture. He would then go on to suggest an alliance - no, that would not do. But a joint training, yes. That sounded great. "Hmmm. To be honest, Bass, I do not know you as well as my mother did, or as well as Arian and Cypress did. Trust would have to be a bit more developed between our packs before an alliance is decided upon. I do like the terms of the previous understanding; perhaps, as trust is gained and we work together more, an alliance could occur in the future. I do think, though, that a joint training would be excellent. It would be a brilliant way to have our wolves meet and interact, and would definitely be that first step in a relationship between our packs." He felt comfortable with this training idea; Bass had proven himself to be a man of trust time and time again, and once he began to know the wolf more, he had no doubt that they would eventually forge an alliance.

"Speech"

Bass had to admit that he was rather impressed with the young alpha's words, his head nodding up and down. A smile stayed on his lips, this boy would do very well as an alpha. It was clear that he had a good head on his shoulders, he seemed very level and calm. That would come in handy for sure in the days to come. Licking at his chops, he nodded his head at the talk of joint training. "Let me know when a time suites you. But for now, is there anything else you wanted to discuss?" he asked. It was clear that his time was coming to a close with Ren. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with him, but they were both alphas and had a lot to do. It would seem that this is all the boy had come here to talk about, and Bass really had to get on with his duties. "Talk" "You" Think

Oh thank goodness. Bass wasn't angry at his words, and he did not sour a pack relationship. In fact, Bass seemed approving and though he shouldn't care, he felt relieved by that. Bass would affirm the joint training, and then asked if there was anything more to discuss; after a moment of thought, the boy slowly shook his head. "I will definitely let you know. I do believe we have discussed all that needs to be discussed. Thank you." He dipped his head to Bass, feeling only mildly awkward as he made his move to end the conversation. "I hope to see you again in the future, this next time with a concrete date in mind for the joint training," he told the alpha, before turning and heading off. The words were near a dismissal from Bass; though he felt awkward leaving, he knew it was time. Besides, he had a recruitment to do.

-exit-

"Speech"

He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from chuckling, it wasn't hard to see that the boy was awkward. Had he been like that when he was a first time alpha? He didn't remember, but he could recall being rather excited at another packs borders. How eager he had been then. Now he was getting old, having run his pack for nearly three years now. He had kids now too, who seemed to be aging by the day. Blinking back into focus, he dipped his head back to Ren as he drew their conversation to a close. "It was a pleasure, Ren. I do hope I see you again in the future. And good luck to you with everything! If you need help, don't hesitate to call on me." he called after him, a smile on his lips. Maybe it was because he remembered being a young alpha, but he felt drawn to the blue boy. He did wish to see him grow strong and do well in this world, it wasn't easy. Bass watched him leave, before he too turned and headed back into his territory. Hopefully that would not be the last he would see of Ren. -exit- "Talk" "You" Think