Snowflakes were tumbling down over her fur in intermittent spurts. Valdís shook her pelt but paid it little mind as she moved across the northern territories. It was quite a shift from the heat of Auster. She was chasing a rumor that a pack had started up in the north but it had been rough going and the directions were certainly questionable in her opinion. Apparently the pack made its home in a cave with straight walls that echoed strangely. It sounded crazy. It sounded like some sort of fairy tale to get gullible loners like her good and lost. She snarled but the sound quickly left her as she gazed at what was probably the strangest mountain she'd ever seen. It reared oddly out of the ice and while it was much smaller than the mountains she was used to seeing it was pocked with dark marks indicating the entrance to caves. Sure enough, as she got closer she caught the border markings of a pack. Hmmm… could this be a new home? What would Ásvor and her family think? Tipping her head back she howled for the alpha, eager to learn more of this new pack. "Talk" "You" Think

Enrico had been acquainting himself with the new prey animals that made the north their home. Some were familiar - caribou who were much like elk, moose, musk oxen who resembled bison, dall sheep who were much like desert bighorn, and of course myriad small game who had negligible differences between their desert counterparts. But some were unfamiliar too - seals, particularly. He had never seen the strange flippered animals before, and had been crouched at a short distance from a breathing hole for some time, hoping one would pop up where he could observe it better. He'd seen, at a distance, a great white bear on the sea ice taking a seal as it came up for air at one of the holes, and he wondered about whether his pack could do so, or set a trap for them.

His patient waiting was interrupted by a howl at his border - strange, that. HIS border. He wasted no time, though, not wanting to keep a visitor waiting. If they were friendly, he could certainly use the paws here and keeping them waiting might discourage them. If they were... not friendly, then a long wait might encourage them to make a stab at causing trouble. Either way, he didn't want someone lingering on the border.

Arriving, his eyes lit up to see the young wolf he'd once hunted beside, though rather more grown up than when they'd last met. A smile tilted one corner of his muzzle as he came to a stop before her. Would she remember? His English was better now than it had been when they'd met - he had his time in Celestial to thank for that. But back when they'd met, he hadn't even known the word for pigs. "Oink oink?" he said aloud in amusement.

Valdís did not have to wait long for her call to be answered and when it finally was it was by the last person she expected. Grinning Valdís dipped her head in greeting to the foreign man she'd hunted wild boars with back when she'd first entered the territories of Boreas and Auster. She felt a sense of pride that he was an alpha now. They both had come really far since their first meeting. Valdís also felt silly that she never had asked the man for his name. "Oink oink?" "Porcini!" Valdís laughed. "We should go hunting for pigs again some time! I admit I didn't expect to see you here. How have you been? I never did get to introduce myself. My name is Valdís Thyre." She grinned, already feeling put at ease as the alpha being someone she'd met and hunted with before but that was no guarantee that she was a fit member for his pack. "I noticed this pack here and I came to ask you about it. I am looking to join a pack since my last one was challenged for." "Talk" "You" Think

Enrico returned her smile as the young woman turned to him with a delighted exclamation. "We should. The boar here are much fiercer than the ones in Auster. More likely to..." he grinned boyishly. "Make you ribbons." His way of speaking was still stilted, still accented, but was leagues better than it had been the last time they spoke. Speaking common exclusively did wonders for your knowledge of the language, but he missed the feel of his native tongue.

He tilted his head at her in acknowledgement of her words. "And I am Enrico Falcone. It is a pleasure to, officially, meet you, Valdis Thyre. It is unfortunate about your pack, but I cannot say I am sorry that its fall means you are here. As you see, I have made a pack of my own, but I find myself without reliable wolves. I still know so few in these lands. I have a few members with potential - " he thought of the feisty young Ferrous and smiled "- but they are strangers to me yet. You, I know to be an... industrious wolf, creative, and willing to work together." He beamed at her, in as much as the reserved gray wolf ever beamed. "Would you be willing to join me in this, Valdis Thyre?"

Though their plans were quite vague, having a very basic idea of what she and Valdis were planning was weirdly comforting. While Asvor hadn't ever been comfortable with the idea of finding a pack in the southern lands, in the north she couldn't help but think the wolves would be stronger, the packs here built on values more closely aligned with her own. That was what she hoped, at least. Naudir seemed interested in scoping out who might be around these parts, too, so Asvor could only hope she might have interest in whatever she and Valdis decided on together. Together. While she wasn't sure how that had happened, it seemed like the natural course of actions. They'd missed one another, they'd both sought each other out multiple times, and now here they were - deciding that staying near one another was the best course of action. While Asvor wasn't going to question it, she hadn't fully wrapped her head around it yet, either. But when she heard a howl that could only come from Valdis, she was swift to catch her friend's trail and follow after it. Perhaps she had found something of interest? Curiosity flared inside her chest as she finally spotted her, speaking to a stranger. Even from the distance the conversation seemed friendly enough, but Asvor felt a strange - and slightly disconcerting - protectiveness well up inside her. Her expression was void of this, though, as she moved toward the two, finally sitting down easily at her friend's right side. She'd only caught the tail end of what he'd been saying, but her ears flicked forward attentively. "I'm Asvor Finnvi, friend of Valdis," she introduced herself after he was finished speaking, offering Enrico a curt nod.

Enrico replied and Valdís couldn't help but grin. "Ha! I'll show them a thing or two. Your grasp of the Common Tongue has gotten much better!" He still spoke with a heavy accent but the words seem to pass from his lips more willingly. "Nice to meet you officially, Enrico. Or should I say alpha?" She was impressed. He'd gone from a stranger barely able to speak the language to the alpha of his own pack. It was crazy how much time could change. Valdís could feel a familiar excitement begin to bubble in her gut. She'd expected many different scenarios but seeing a familiar face now in the position of pack leader? That hadn't been one of them. If there were such a thing as signs she'd take this as one. She was just about to answer when Ásvor arrived. She turned to her friend with a grin. "Ásvor! Excellent timing. I'd like to introduce you to Enrico Falcone. He's the alpha of this pack and an excellent hunter and warrior. I met him some time ago when I'd first wandered into Auster. Ásvor, I think this may be the sign we've been looking for." She turned back to Enrico. "Do you have any opening's in your pack for a warrior and a healer? I've been through my first raid when I was in Talis, I took on the alpha of Celestial and won. I think you'll find me more than capable." She'd let Ásvor dispense her own capabilities. "Talk" "You" Think

A second female slipped up beside Valdis, introducing herself as a friend of hers. Enrico was quick to turn an inquiring gaze to Valdis for confirmation but she had already begun to greet the newcomer with obvious enthusiasm and provide introductions. Enrico relaxed minisculely, and then something Valdis said caught his attention and he gave a sharp bark of a laugh. “That was you, was it? I had wondered who had crippled Regulus. I was on the other side of that raid. Some rather vicious fights, from what I hear. I also heard good things of your skill. Well,” he added with a soft rumble of a chuckle, “They weren't complimentary, but they do bear out your skill. I would 've pleased to accept you as a warrior of Niente. A journeyman warrior, I call them Accipiter. For the falcons, you see. I find that wolves expect fancy rank names, here, and first impressions are important when we choose to interact with other packs.”

He turned to Asvor, raising his brows in an expression of polite inquiry. “I am pleased to meet you as well, Mistress Finnvi. May I inquire as to whether you are interested in the pack as well, or is this more a social call? A healer would certainly find welcome among us."

It became apparent quickly that Valdis had met this man before, and now he stood claim over his own pack. Perhaps this was the opportunity that she'd been waiting for after all. A rare smile tugged at the viking woman's lips, beyond pleased with the company of Valdis once again, as well as the possibility of a place for them both to settle down in together. It'd been too long since she'd truly flourished, and she knew Valdis needed a place to do the same.   "It's a pleasure as well, Enrico." Briefly she tilted her head, gaze scouring the lands behind him. Without a doubt, he'd chosen a fine place to claim as his own - these lands were the sort only the strongest could thrive in, especially with winter on the horizon. Asvor had no doubt that Valdis would be useful to this pack. Even without seeing her abilities herself, Asvor had heard tales of her friend's achievements; she was able to claim the ranks of whatever pack she pledged herself to in remarkable time, as far as she knew. She was equally as confident in her own abilities, and she nodded as Enrico directed a question toward her. "Wherever Valdis goes, I will go," she admitted, glancing sideways at her friend - as if searching for her reaction - before composing herself again.  "I am a healer, though my expertise tends to lie in herbs with... uses that aren't exactly medicinal. But I do know my basics in standard healing as well." She knew a fair bit about poisons, and more about herbs that had psychoactive effects. Perhaps her knowledge about traditional herblore was lacking, but she had confidence that she too would flourish within a pack setting.  "I do believe this pack will be a good fit for us both."

As Enrico turned to her she nodded. Ásvor was indeed a good friend of hers and, if she ever found the courage, perhaps one day more. Valdís blinked in confusion when Enrico barked out a laugh at her triumphant maim of an alpha. She wasn't quite sure what she expected but it certainly wasn't laughter. However, he went on to explain and she felt a sudden rush of embarrassment at realizing Enrico was on the other side of the raid. Either way though, she was glad that he was at least pleased at her show of skill and didn't seem to think less of her for having once been an enemy. "Yes, that raid was vicious. Far more so than I thought it would be. I didn't see you at the raid but everything was happening so fast I could have missed you." Her chest puffed out just slightly as Enrico named her a warrior of Niente. An Accipiter. She chuckled at the mention of fancy names. Well, he wasn't wrong there. She turned her attention to Ásvor, hoping Enrico would be willing to let her join as well. Valdís had not considered what she would do if she was allowed to join the pack but her friend was not. "Talk" "You" Think

"I was not at the raid itself so I am not surprised you did not realize," he demurred, shrugging to dismiss any need for Valdis to be embarrassed. "I was a hunter there, not a warrior. I saw little reason to rush into a fight with the rest of Celestial's fighters and leave the rest of the pack vulnerable, so I chose to remain with the pups and elderly to provide a modicum of protection while the fighters spent themselves in direct confrontation." He smiled tightly and shook his head. Direct conflict certainly had its place, but in his opinion both leaders had acted foolishly with the choices available to them. "But that is past, and I am no longer a member of Celestial, so why should it concern me who their enemies are now, or hold a grudge against their former ones?" He chuckled. "Regulus can manage that well enough on his own."

But as for Valdis... He turned that fathomless blue gaze to Valdis' friend, studying her. "You are most certainly welcome, Mistress Finnvi." With the reference provided by Valdis' introduction, he had no issue accepting her with no reservations. "I'll have to verify your skill with healing..." somehow... he was admittedly somewhat at a loss without a verified healer already among them... "if you wish to hold the rank of our journeyman healers, kestrel. Otherwise you can start as an apprentice healer, what we call creance, or as an unranked member, a haggard. But a friend of Valdis' is welcome as a full member of the pack regardless."

Ásvor listened intently as the two spoke of the raid that they had both been part of, on opposing sides.. though Enrico admitted he had not been fighting himself, but staying back to protect the young and the old members of the pack. He held no ill will against Valdis for her role in fighting against the pack he had been part of, since was clearly no longer part of that pack, instead commending her with a hearty laugh. She found herself beaming slightly, too, pleased both with her friend's success as well as their decision to join Enrico's pack together. Things, finally, were beginning to look up. He seemed willing to let her join as a healer, a journeyman to start until he could somehow verify her skill. Perhaps she would simply demonstrate it to him some other way, though the thought of starting at the lowest skill rank wasn't totally appealing to her.   "Kestrel sounds fair," Asvor agreed casually, though shrugged her shoulders. In the end, it was Enrico's decision and she was confident that she too would climb the ranks with relative ease.  "But the decision is ultimately yours. I will pledge my allegiance to Niente regardless." She offered Valdis a gentle grin, wondering what this place had in store for them.