Imperium had been growing really quiet lately, which was unusual for the large pack. She'd been smelling something strange lately, something foreign and dangerous. She worried that her children might be at risk, and two of them already had pneumonia once, and she feared that they might be susceptible to it again. So she left imperium lands in search of a place that might be potentially virus free, but she had no idea how bad the virus was this time around. The woman carefully made her way through the briar bushes, wondering if maybe this place might be less traveled and frequented by those who might be sick. A sick wolf wouldn't come this way right? Not with this kind of landscape, but she could be wrong. As she pushed through the bushes, she grunted as some thorns snagged and caught in her pelt, and she was lucky that her coat was thick enough to keep her from getting too many scratches. "Talk" "You" Think

'I... I have to be getting close... to home.'

At least this was the thought in Alfred’s mind as he plugged along, briar’s catching at his fur. The young brute was exhausted. A tired yawn escaped his maw as he slowed, blue eyes glaring ahead. He so desperately wanted to sleep. But he couldn’t... Not yet.

Alfred had been away from home for... Goodness he’d lost count. It had been days at the very least. Probably longer because of his little itty bitty puppy legs. He let out a small sigh, blinking tired eyes open once more. He was feeling a bit pessimistic about his whole situation. His anxiety was starting to flare up as well...

...what if he never found his way back to Fiori? Would his father look for him? Would Heather, Roza, and Lionel be worried? He let out a pitiful whine, ignorant of the other sounds around him. He longed for the warmth of his parents and siblings... But after this trip he wasn’t sure he’d ever see his mother again. Svetlana had been missing for some time now, as had Korrin, with no reason why... Alfred missed them dearly.

With a heavy, tired heart the young male let out mournful call to the sky. Maybe his dad would hear him and come to the rescue? He could only hope so...

"Speech"

What was that? The woman paused and stood still, head tilting and turning after hearing that sound. It wasn't a bird, no. It sounded more like a...pup, maybe? What was a child doing out here? Frowning, she hurried over to where the howl had come from, the large woman ignoring the tugging thorns and bushes as small bits of fur were torn away. That was the least of her concern at the moment. Through the freshly broken brambles, she could smell the child as she neared, and she could tell it was a rather young male. Slowing her steps so she wouldn't startle him, she pushed through the thorn bushes until she saw him. He looked ragged, tired, lost. Poor thing. "Hello? Don't be afraid, little one." She looked kindly at the pup, wondering where he might have come from. She'd not really met Leo or his partner, so the markings on the pup were not instantly recognized to her. "Where are your parents, young one?" "Talk" "You" Think

Alfred practically jumped out of his fur as the voice of a stranger reached his ears. He would spin to fast the woman, more worried because of his current situation than he might have been had he been back in the kingdom of Fiori. His ears tilted back, watching her for a long moment as he tried to make the decision if she was a friend or foe. Her voice didn’t seem threatening... And she definitely didn’t seem like one of those weird wolves with the foamy mouths.

The child breathed in slowly, drawing himself up so that he looked, hopefully, a little less pitiful to her. “Hello...” Alfred looked around, but as before there was nothing but the briars... “I... I don’t know about my mom... But my dad should be back in Fiori. I was trying to get there but...” Alfred let out a soft whine as his gaze turned back to the woman. “I think I’m lost...”

"Speech"

She felt bad when she realized that she had startled the boy, then again anyone in their right mind might have been if they'd seen a large wolf crashing through a field of briars. He did look frightened at first, but to her relief he greeted her before looking around. She listened quietly as the boy explained the situation, though he seemed frightened, so she would bite the hook and stride forward, slowly so as not to scare him. Lowering herself onto her belly, she smiled at him. "So your father is in Fiori? I know where that is, I can take you there." She stretched her neck forward a little so that her face was closer to him, kindness radiating from her gaze and her voice. "My name, is Avalon. What might your name be?" "Talk" "You" Think

Alfred watched as the femme came forward, lowering herself onto her belly so she didn’t scare him. His mother had told him to do that once upon a time, saying how his height could frighten other people. Alfie didn’t want to scare anyone though! He was honestly really kindhearted and loving. But his anxiety was another problem to deal with in the matter of making friends and such. The boy tried to keep his racing thoughts calm, managing his voice the best he could as he continued to speak to this stranger.

She almost reminded him of his own mother. Alfred would lower onto his belly as well. He was bigger than some pups... He’d be rather tall when he was fully grown. She didn’t seem scared of him but Alfred wanted to return her kind gesture. She didn’t seem to want to frighten him so he didn’t want to frighten her either.

Not only did this woman offer to take him back home but she gave her name, Avalon, and asked for his own. “Alfie! I uh... I mean Alfred... Alfred Adravendi!” Alfred's eyes were shining with a bit of hope. "Do you really know where Fiori is, Avalon? Promise? No tricks?"

"Speech"

She contained a little giggle and barely managed to suppress the 'awww' that lingered on her tongue as she watched him copy her position. He was a smart one, she could tell already. When he introduced himself, she was mildly surprised to know that he was an Adravendi, but she should have guessed that. She nodded to his other questions. My, how innocent this boy was. She couldn't imagine what might have happened to him if someone with...darker intentions had come upon him. "It's nice to meet you, Alfred. I can take you to Fiori, no tricks I promise." She let her maw slip into a playful grin, "Family is supposed to help each other after all." She winked at him, and the moment she'd gotten his name she knew whose child it was. He bore a resemblance to Arian's brother Leo. And with her having been adopted in by Arian, then it kind of made her this boys aunt, right? She thought so. "Talk" "You" Think

Alfred could feel a happiness mingling with his anxiety now. Avalon promised, no tricks! The boy was naive enough to believe her, still young enough that such innocence flowed freely within him. He would try to swallow down his worry, surprised even further when she said that family was supposed to help each other. His blue eyes went wide with wonder, a surprised gasp leaving him. “Y-you’re family!?” His voice was a happy little squeak.

He would squirm closer to her, taking in her scent. She didn’t smell like his father or aunt Amalia... But... “If you’re family, how come you’re.. You’re not in Fiori?” The boy asked, looking up at Avalon curiously. His heart was beating even faster now. But whether from excitement or fear the boy no longer knew.  Maybe a mix of both.

"Speech"

She laughed at his response, nodding softly she crossed her paws and adjusted her position. "Yes. I was adopted as a sister to your late aunt. While I'm not related by blood, I am considered a family member." She chuckled slightly. "I guess you could say I'm your aunt."

He asked why she wasn't in fiori, and honestly it wasn't hard to answer. "I was in your aunts pack first, but now I'm in a different pack. But who knows, maybe next time I see you I'll have my own! " That was the truth. She moved to a sitting position, her tail wagging as she watched the boy. It made her wish that her kids were younger again, but maybe someday she'd have kids his age again. "How did you get out this far, anyway?" the thought had suddenly struck her, and she was curious.

Alfred frowned, tilting his head to the side. Late aunt..? Who was late? Aunty Amalia? Alfred tried to shake the thoughts from his head, just getting confused the more he thought on Avalon’s words. Apparently because one of his aunts had adopted Avalon as a sister that meant she was kind of like an aunt to him. The pup realized as Avalon spoke on that she wasn’t part of Fiori... That whichever aunt she spoke of had owned her own pack.... And she might even have her own one day?

His blue eyes widened with wonder, getting to a sitting position as well as his ears perked forward. “Really!? Do you think your pack is gonna be friend’s with Fiori?” Nervousness was abandoned as excitement began to wash over Alfred’s frame. He started to wag his tail, at least until Avalon asked how he got out this far... He looked down guilty, trailing his paw in the dirt. “I... I was looking for my mother...” The child spoke in a quiet tone.

“She went missing... I thought dad might be sad without her so...” Alfred let out a sigh. “But I couldn’t find her and I got lost...” His blue gaze would return to her amber one. “...Now I just want to go home. I’m sure dad’s been worried...”

"Speech"

He had spent so long worrying and refusing to leave Fiori for more than a day for this exact reason. After Svetlana had gone missing he had refused to let his children out of his sight or the very least out of his family's sight. It had taken him a long time to convince himself that they would be okay without him for a short time. He had left for just a couple of days to widen the search for Svetlana and when he came back he couldn't find Alfred anywhere. Dread settled deep in his stomach. He'd already lost Svetlana, he couldn't imagine loosing one of his children. He caught a few traces of his scent, enough for him to find the trail. The longer he tracked him the more he wondered how Alfred could have gone this far from home. Leo ignored the strain in his muscles and pushed on as he jogged along the trail of his son's scent. Relief began to wash over him as the scent started to get stronger and soon enough he spotted Alfred's russet and white form. A sigh passed his lips and the tension fell out of his shoulders. Thank goodness. At least he looked okay. Leo's eyes found the woman laying across from Alfred next, and his brows lifted with surprise. "There you are!" he called as he got closer, his tail wagging behind him and his gaze focusing back on Alfred for a moment. He came to a stop next to his son, relief on his face. "You can't just run off like that, okay? I nearly had a heart attack." He smiled and lifted his eyes to look at Avalon, giving her a grateful smile. He hadn't seen her since Arian's death, but he was glad to see her now all the same. "At least he found a friendly face. Thank you, Avalon." "Talk" "You" Think

Maybe she was saying too many confusing things for the boy. She often forgot they didn't understand like her older children did. Dismissing it when he got excited and asked if she'd be friends with Fiori. "Well, I hope so. But that's your dad's choice too." He told her then that he was looking for his mom, and her heart went out to him. She couldn't blame him, she had done the same thing when her parents disappeared too. "You know, I lost my parents when I was a pup too. I went on a big journey to find them, some bad things happened but I'll tell you when you're older if you'reever curious. I'll get you home, and I won't let anything bad happen to you, okay?" "There you are!" Her head turned to find exactly who she was going to take the boy to, her tail wagged as Leo approached, watching the exchange before dipping her head. "No problem, leo. You have a brave and curious boy here. Smart too." She knew alfred would grow up to be the adventurous boy someday. "Talk" "You" Think

The sound of his father’s voice was surprising, but certainly welcoming to the young man as he turned his head towards the direction of the brute. His ears perked up, an excited smile spreading across his face as he got on all fours, pressing up to his father’s leg in relief. “Dad! Boy am I glad to see you.” Having expected more of a scolding, one that would probably come later. His blue eyes would shift to Avalon, his tail wagging happily. “She’s been really kind to me, dad.” He smiled happily at Avalon.

“She was going to help me home... But then you came along! Oh Dad! Avalon say’s she’s gonna start a pack. Can our packs be friends? Pleeeeeease?” The boy had lost all sense of anxiety now, replaced by excitement as he looked from his father to his aunt. Then he looked back to Leo, giving a soft whine as he pawed at the dirt. “I know we’ll probably talk about it more when we get home but... I wanted to say sorry for wandering off...”

"Speech"