Chaos' tail whisked at the level of his hips as he trotted through the lands separating his pack from this one. He'd decided that a victory lap was appropriate enough despite having not actually won control of the pack from anyone, so he'd left the small pack with strict orders to have fun and not die while he set off for these lands. He'd considered going straight to Abaven to show off his new status to Rhys' relatives, but at the last minute decided to leave them hanging and continued past.

Other than Abaven, he really wasn't all that familiar with other packs. A lot of the ones from the old days in Imperium were gone now anyway. He only knew about Fiori because Raba had mentioned planning a joint pack exercise of some sort with them. He wished he'd been paying more attention but at the time it hadn't been any of his business. Now it was.

Stopping at the border in a spray of water and his tail waving at a jaunty angle, he threw his head up and howled for the alpha, half cocky demand and half laughing at the ridiculousness. It was so pompous, wasn't it, this whole diplomatic thing? He could just waltz right in if he wanted to and who could stop him? The lands were interesting enough, though he couldn't imagine anyone wanting to live in someplace so... wet, and gross. He sure hoped the pack had lands that were drier, or else he'd half expect the alpha who showed up to have webbed paws and gills under his fur.

Leo had just crossed back over into his pack's lands when he heard the call from the border. His ears perked curiously while he listened. It most certainly wasn't a voice he recognized, but that wasn't surprising. His paws were a bit tired and sore from his trip out to the range, but alpha duties never stopped. He considered letting Heather answer the call to get some practice at it, but after a moment he decided against it. Leo gave himself a shake and trotted off toward the opposite border. He remembered a time when he could travel all day and not bat an eyelash at it. That wasn't so much the case any more. He found the larger black and gray interestingly marked male fairly easily. He of course offered the younger man a friendly smile like he did everyone he met. "Hello there!" he said as he stopped across from the stranger, ignoring his tired joints for the moment. He noticed the long tusks on the man's muzzle, but he didn't comment on it. He had seen wolves of all shapes and sizes in his lifetime so this certainly didn't surprise him. "I'm Leo, the king here in Fiori. What can I help you with?" He smelled a faint hint of a pack sent on the man's fur, but it wasn't one he recognized. Perhaps a new pack? Or one in the making? "Talk" "You" Think

The wolf that showed on the border was probably twice Chaos' age, and with the arrogance of youth Chaos glanced him over and promptly categorized him as "old". Past his prime. Over the hill. Chaos' returning grin, while also friendly, held a hint of predator in it. Oh he'd play nice. Raba had made a deal with this pack and while he didn't know the extent of it Chaos was certainly willing to see about following through with it, but he was far from a play-it-safe lapdog like so many. He could not help seeing the potential for a great deal of fun to be had...

"Chaos Saxe," he returned smoothly, though the mischievous glint in his eyes probably gave a hint of his thoughts. He shifted his paws on the wet ground. If it weren't for the added humidity from the water it might have actually been an ok place in a normal summer, being able to cool off and all. Not something his Crew would have to worry about when they could just escape the heat in a higher altitude. "Raba - Karabela passed Ivory Ridge to me just a while ago. It's my Crew now." Some internal shift had prompted him to correct himself to Raba's formal name. Somehow it seemed more right to him, not wanting to share that connection with this stranger. He'd have done the same for Vana, too, and he actually liked Raba.

He tilted his head at the older male. "I'd been told you had an agreement with Ivory Ridge under her. You'd been interested in a joint pack gathering?"

Leo watched the younger man curiously, but it was easy to see the young cocky nature of the striped stranger. A small smile touched his lips at the thought. He had been young once, he knew how he must look to this man. Leo knew he was older now. He had thought to himself on more than one occasion that life hadn't dealt his body a kind hand of cards. But until Heather was ready to take his place he refused to let Fiori fall to the wayside. The news that Chaos shared about Karabela surprised him, making his brows lift slightly with the emotion. "Yes, we had been planning on a group gathering to hold a group hunt and exchange herbs for our healers." His first impressions of the young alpha across from him were uncertain, but he always liked to assume the best in others unless proven otherwise. "Were you wanting to still hold the gathering?" "Talk" "You" Think

"We do encourage self-improvement in my Crew, so we'd definitely like to keep it on the table for the future," Chaos replied to the elder, instead of admitting that right now the pack was entirely too small to bother with a joint training. Who did they even have to do either of those things? Sure, they had several who were trained hunters, but only Kassander who had anything to do with healing yet. But it wouldn't do to give another pack the hint that his pack may not be up to full strength. Though he had no doubt of his wolves' ability to throw off a raid, it was best not to invite that sort of attention just yet. "When my wolves have settled in more and the other packs know that trying to mess with us when we're off meeting you would end very badly for them." The smile he flashed was even more predatory than his first. "I wouldn't want to come back from a hunt to clean up a mess because some idiot tried our borders and got their asses handed to them by our border patrols."He eyed the other alpha blandly, hardly even a bare hint of his mischief reflected by his face. Clearly he was perfectly innocent, how could you ever suspect otherwise? Look at that puppy face. Clearly he could do no wrong. "How has your pack been managing lately, by the way? All clear on your borders and everyone healthy?"

Leo nodded simply in response to keeping the gathering he and Karabella had been planning on the table for later. He didn't want to turn away any chance for his members to practice and expand their knowledge so he let the subject lie for now. Of course he was happy to let this newly formed pack settle in and sort things out before they really got the plans underway. It had been years now, but he remembered how much work it was to get a pack on its feet. It was almost as much work to keep it running smoothly, but after a while he hardly noticed. It was just a part of his daily life now. Leo kept his expression neutral as Chaos described what might happen if someone were to try and cross his borders. "Certainly," was his only response. It was no secret that he had a much more peaceful take on the world than some, but he wouldn't criticize someone else's leadership style as long as it didn't interfere with his own. "We've been doing well," he confirmed with a slight smile. "We haven't had any illnesses or the like recently and with any luck it will stay that way." "Talk" "You" Think

Well this was a disappointment all around. Though Chaos didn't allow his smile to fade, he fought the urge to yawn in the older male's face. Man, how did Raba put up with all this stodgy formality and... and... diplomacy! Shudder. "Oh you don't need to concern yourself with my Crew's health," he told the other alpha through his false smile. "Every one of us is healthy and strong enough to hold the borders, no problem. No need to ask." Fuck, he needed to get some air. Just being here felt like being laced into a straightjacket - you could practically smell the Goodness and Light oozing out of the borders. "Yeah I think that about sums it up don't you?" He didn't wait for an answer, immediately turning with a splash of water and a sassy flick of his tail to trot away. "Good luck with that staying healthy thing!" he called over his shoulder without pausing. No wonder his dad had never really gone in for the whole visiting-other-alphas thing. Well, he'd finish out his circuit of all the packs, just to say he'd done it and to get a read on the different alphas (and maybe get the opportunity to tweak a few noses just for funsies) but he'd be damned if he did another meet-and-greet in the future.

-exit Chaos-