Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Brandr returned to Abaven as the summer was rolling in warm and sweet. The air was sticky and humid but the warmth was a relief from the cooler, rainier weather of Auster. He'd made contact with the Abraxas and was anxious to give Sparrow his preliminary report. Though he had intended to talk to the other packs as well he didn't want to stray to long between reports especially when he'd been able to gather information right from the source. Tipping his head back Brandr called for Sparrow hoping she wouldn't mind him summoning her in such a manner.

had such elegant graffiti

Brandr was back? Sparrow felt a small amount of excitement bubbling up. Not at the thought of Brandr, but more at the thought that he had actually done something. Maybe he had news.

How come he was the only one who was totally reliable? She didn't want to burn him out too. Maybe with Caelum and her family joining Abaven officially, the work load would even out and then perhaps the pack could grow and become more active.

As Sparrow neared Brandr, her tail began wagging softly.

"Brandr! Welcome home," she said. "Have your travels treated you well? You aren't in need of any healing, are you?"

Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Mind whirling with what he wanted to say Brandr carefully collected his thoughts. He hadn't learned all that much but it was still something. He smiled as he saw Sparrow approach. It was nice to be greeted so warmly. "It's good to be home Sparrow. My travels treated me well enough and I've managed to return unscathed." Except for perhaps a few rattled nerves. His expression hardened. "I found out some information regarding the Abraxas. It seems they started up a pack in Auster at the Cattail Creek and the Grapevine Cathedral. They seem to think of themselves as gods… the young male that met me kept referring to me as 'mortal'." Brandr didn't believe for a second that these wolves were divine. If anything they were mad! "They call the pack the Risen Empire and it seems to be heavily populated. Maybe a couple dozen wolves. Most of the scents were similar suggesting a large family… In addition I spoke with a woman named Iskra. It seems a pack in Auster called Talis was challenged by one of the Abraxas. Talis lost." His brow furrowed as he gazed at Sparrow. "I don't know what to make of this information, but it is concerning to say the least."

had such elegant graffiti

Sparrow listened as Brandr told of his journeys. Her expression became troubled. Gods? These Abraxas really viewed themselves as gods? That was an oddity, but if all the family were as large as the ones she had met... and if they were large in number, truly believing they were gods...

"It could be very dangerous."

Sparrow thought for a while. If Talis had gone down, that meant there were two packs that had fallen to the family. The growing concern was that they very possibly could come after Abaven.

"You've done well, Brandr. By what you've seen, what do you think our method of approach should be?"

The Easter Bunny hops on by!

On her way through, she drops an egg at the paws of Sparrow.

Then they went on to say the pearly gates

Brandr remained silent as Sparrow thought, his own brain tumbling over the information he'd gathered. Why did the world have to be like this? Why couldn't packs just leave each other be? She asked about a method of approach and Brandr turned his head, brow furrowing before he sighed. "I'm not sure, I've never had the mind for leadership, not like an alpha. I keep hoping that they'll stay in Auster and be content there but it's merely a hope." Surely the Abraxas didn't think they could actually conquer a whole world… but he didn't know. For all the information he gathered he turned up twice as many questions.

"As we are now we couldn't hope to defeat them in battle. We'd need to triple our numbers and advance our training significantly to stand up to them." Brandr didn't know how likely that was. Not that long ago Abaven was hurting for members and he didn't know how many of them could fight. "I think alliances might be worth while. I'm sure we're not the only one's that know of the Abraxas and there are likely other packs that are feeling just as vulnerable as we. I think there is definitely interest in forming alliances. Celestial seemed equally concerned about them." He thought back to his conversation with the Celestial alpha. They weren't to much bigger than Abaven, perhaps there would be something to be gained there. He hadn't visited Lirim but knew of it. Would they be interested as well? Of course he knew little on what it took to create and maintain alliances and that only protected them on one front.

"I don't know if it's possible to make a true alliance with the Abraxas. They think themselves gods and we'd never be equal in their eyes, we'd simply be used or tolerated until they grow bored and we're destroyed. I don't think I could live like that." He wasn't sure he wanted to be connected to such butchers anyway. Letting his own values soak and decay simply because he feared for his life? No, he couldn't do that.

Brandr fixed his gaze on Sparrow. "Sparrow, it's imperative to Abaven's survival that you keep your fighting skills in top form. Talis fell because it was challenged and while Dragoste seems to have been attacked outright there was a challenge with that as well. They may be trying to pick off packs by removing their leaders." His mind whirled with possibilities but nothing seemed that good. They really didn't have many, if any, good options.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling. I just… I just wish I had a concrete answer for you. I do have one other thought, but it's probably a last ditch effort. In times of hardship, when wars ranged around us, my mother told me tales of my old pack forsaking their lands and becoming nomadic. They would follow prey and move with the weather and because they held no land they held no value in the eyes of the packs that warred around them. It's possible that if we were mobile we could keep one step ahead of the Abraxas or not be deemed the trouble." It was no guarantee of course but it was an idea.

had such elegant graffiti