Since Rhythm's episode Valentine had been careful to watch what he said and did around her. He wasn't perfect, but he liked to think he'd been doing a fair job of it. That being said, he could only go so long without saying and doing what needed to be said and done. Time wouldn't dissuade him from seeking revenge. It was for that reason that he now slipped away from Rhythm and aimed to put a fair amount of distance between himself and his mate. He would remain close enough to respond to a howl if she needed him but far enough away so that she couldn't overhear their conversation and scare herself into an early grave. Valentine stopped once he stood on the border between the soulless forest and the river. He then barked for Rhyme. Hopefully his voice would cover the necessary distance but go no further and hopefully his son was nearby. Rhyme had been spending quite a bit of time away and Valentine had yet to find out why. He'd been too focused on Rhythm and on plotting revenge to pester his grown son about how he chose to spend his days and where. It didn't concern him much; he was much more keen on plotting their trip back to the slavers. ""

Rhyme felt himself becoming more dedicated to his new pack, he had a great many emotions running through him and having an outlet improved his ability to cope. Of course he could never forget his mother miles away, but she had Valentine to help soothe her. With his new duties he has to make time to see her, and today seemed like a perfect opportunity. The sun beat down on his deep slate colored back, but the heat didn't seem to bother the middle aged wolf. His pace was steady as thoughts of all that had happened since his escape filtered through his mind. 

He was on track to seek out his mother when he heard the summons from his father. His ears perked in curiosity, but he already knew what he would be summoned for. Redirecting himself slightly it took no time at all for his father to appear in Rhyme's line of sight. He approached with a somber smile and a slight wag of his tail. Surely his father would be able to discern the pack scent upon his pelt. 

"Father," he'd start, adding a respectful nod in greeting. Even though he no longer held a kingdom Valentine would remain a King until the day he died. "I assume you're more than ready to speak of revenge, and.." he uttered a slight sigh, the last of his reservations about returning. "I am too." He rested himself on his striped haunches, getting comfortable for the conversation ahead. 

"But first, you should know I've joined Abaven. Shaye, I don't know if you remember her, my cousin is now alpha. She wants to come with us, and will bring any in Abaven who wish to fight also." He felt accomplished in his task, they were close to having their army.

In response to Rhyme's statement about revenge, Valentine nodded once firmly. Inwardly he was nearly giddy with anticipation, but outwardly he presented the chilly calm of a seasoned warrior. He'd thought of little else since Rhythm and Rhyme's return. Perhaps it was to his detriment, but even with Rhythm curled at his side, his thoughts were on the slavers. Valentine hoped that would change once they returned from their mission. Wait, what? Valentine blinked slowly as he tried to process what Rhyme had said after the bit about revenge. "You...joined Abaven." It took a beat longer for the facts to fully register but when they did his determined expression morphed into deep disappointment. Abaven, in his opinion, was the place where good little boys and girls went to live completely ordinary and unspectacular lives. That one of his own children would choose such an existence saddened him greatly. He reminded himself that Rhyme shared blood with the Abaven mice. Had he not stressed the importance of family when Rhyme was a boy? And he had no pack or band to offer his son a place in, so it did make sense for him to go there. Still, it stung. Valentine shook his head and then said scornfully, "Bringing any of them with us is unwise. Old and blind as she is, I'd take your mother over 20 Abaven mice. She, at least, had fight training in Imperium." ""

-ooc- whelp.. here goes nothin'

His father was quick to confirm Rhyme’s suspicion with a quick nod. Though his exterior was the calm foreboding presence of a King the boy knew only a single word had the potential to bring out the warrior beneath. Even in his advancing age Valentine was an intimidating force, but that did not mean he had the strength to take on the whole of the Slaver pack.

Rhyme couldn’t miss the disappointment in his features as the word of Abaven dripped from his father’s lips. The Imperialis descendant felt his claws dig into the ground in frustration, his father’s disapproval may have effected him more harshly in his younger days. However, Rhyme was determined. He would never allow his family, even those he couldn’t even name, to suffer what he had gone through the past few years. Now he would not hear a bad word about Shaye. Her determination rivaled his in her pursuit of happiness in those of their blood.

He couldn’t help the deep growl that rumbled in his chest at the word ‘mice’ though sometimes the truth hurt. He had seen some of the wolves who now called Abaven their home, though his father spoke the truth of some they still deserved to be protected.

”You are not the only one with a deep love for Rhythm.” He had no wish to fight his father, and no matter what they would reign justice on those who had wronged he and his mother. ”Her family deserve the chance to fight for her honor as much as you,” He kept his voice low, and did his best to keep his personal feelings from their conversation. He wished not to fight with his father, but how else would he get it through the King’s skull that he needed all the help thy could get? ”The slaver’s numbers are great, they live and breathe cruelty and blood. If you want to keep your promise to my mother and return to her,” His voice broke, he had kept himself mostly composed until this point. ”Please, Father.” Rhyme had begged when he was a slave, he didn’t think he would have to do the same with his own blood. ”Abaven is being rebuilt. I’m not saying the untrained whelps need follow us, but Shaye deserves her revenge as well.”

Valentine shot Rhyme a warning glance when his son growled at him. He hadn't had much to begin with, but age had chipped away at what little tolerance he had for disrespect. The old king had a bit of a double standard, sure, but he liked to think that he only took what was owed him. It just so happened he was owed a helluva lot. In response to Rhyme's plea, he merely harrumphed and eyed the younger Imperialis. It was a bad idea. Those Destructions could want revenge as much as he did - want it more, even - but what did that matter if they were worthless in a fight? Were they just going to wish themselves successful? No, if Valentine had his guess the pack was still full of useless plant gathering hippies - how else could that jackass Abraxas guy have kept them in line? No, any wolf who could sit on their ass for year and let someone walk all over them was beyond useless in his eyes. He didn't want a single one at his side against the slavers. They - not age or disease or a fucking heart attack - would get him killed. "So you would fill our ranks with wolves based on their desire for revenge and their love of a wronged relative? Tell me, how many of them have fighting experience? And I don't mean 'chased a coyote off a kill' or 'drew a little blood in a spar'. Real fight experience. How about that cousin of yours, eh? What kind of a fighter is she?" Valentine shook his head disapprovingly. "You put inexperienced fighters against experienced ones and you end up on the losing side. Period." He studied his son for a moment, then asked, "Let me ask you this: are you prepared to lose Shaye? Because if you can't answer my question with confidence, if you can't tell me she's a capable fighter, you're probably going to lose her to the slavers." ""

Rhyme had to calm himself, for years he had been unable to defend himself and suppressed his rage and frustration. He had to control himself now, not for fear of retribution but to convince his father and retain the relationship they were rekindling. He had to remain level headed, to think logically and with reason. Even if he had no desire to listen to his father's words he had to digest and consider every point. Valentine had much more experience in life, he did know what he was talking about and Rhyme had to believe him. However much he wanted to disagree.

He shook himself mentally, took in a deep breath and really thought about what the old King said.

"You are right," despite how much it pained him to say it. This only encouraged him further to become more involved in Abaven. The wolves within needed guidance, and Rhyme would give all of himself to teach every one of them. "And I believe I have misspoke, I apologize for my rashness. There are very few within the ranks that I might trust at my side. However, passion and instinct should not be underestimated. Shaye may not have lived a life of blood and tooth but she isn't as helpless as you make her out to be. She is an alpha and with that commitment comes the promise to fight for her pack and her family. I cant speak for her but i believe she is prepared to sacrifice everything for justice." If his cousin was the only other wolf present from Abaven he would not be disappointed. From what he had seen of their first meeting he had his doubts there would be more than her willing to risk their lives for revenge.
”I do worry for her though…” He thought for a moment, further humbling himself he decided to ask, ”So we are both more confident in her ability, would you train her?”

Rhyme and Valentine were more or less in agreement when it came to passion and instinct. They were as integral to the fight as anything else, although Valentine suspected his son placed too great a value on them. He would take an experienced but apathetic fighter over an inexperienced but passionate one any day in a fight. Had they been talking about training he certainly would have chosen the latter, but in a life or death situation? Without question he'd take the former. Rhyme's question caught the old king completely off guard. He'd expected their little exchange to last a few more rounds as Rhyme tried to convince him and Valentine tried to reason with him, but he hadn't, not even once, considered the possibility that Rhyme would ask him to train his cousin. He was baffled by the query and it showed in his face. After getting over his surprise, Valentine's next reaction was to snort derisively. What a silly, useless endeavor...right? ...Wasn't it? His amused expression vanished and he frowned deeply as he considered his son's proposition. Training some wet-behind-the-ears alpha would take time, time that would be better spent gathering experienced fighters. But, and this was a big one, training Shaye would appease his son and probably Rhythm too. While he wasn't fond of the idea, he'd just gotten them back and it wouldn't do him any good to strain their relationship with something like this. Against his better judgement, Valentine found himself nodding. "Alright...yeah...but I set the terms and if she finds them disagreeable she can forget about coming along." After a moment's thought, he added, "I'll give her a fair shake, but if I don't think she has what it takes and I tell her no, I mean no," he said firmly. ""

Rhyme found himself sure in that moment that Valentine would outright refuse his request. He'd thought maybe they might find an easy compromise, and as his father made his amusement audible. Rhyme's ears fell to his skull and disappointment crawled over his features before he noticed Valentine's change of expression. He tilted his head slightly as his ears returned to their erect state and he waited for the next part. 

He waited a long moment in silence, his father was obviously seriously considering the suggestion. Rhyme extended his neck slightly, his brilliant sky and lavender eyes trained on the old King's expression as he waited. Hoping he might not be denied. 

Suddenly he would receive confirmation, Rhyme lifted his head confidently. He was elated they had come to some form of agreement, he'd never expected Valentine to be so vehemently against the extra claws. His reasons were sound though, and even if they were to protect his own skin a side effect would be the wolves of Abaven would have no need to risk their own lives for what boiled down to Rhyme's mistake. 

Rhyme found himself nodding as the ground rules were set, he had asked for the world and tried to be disappointed when he'd been given what was deserved. "I appreciate you giving her a chance." he was determined to be thankful with the inch Valentine offered, and he would not take the mile. He would offer the respect and gratitude his father was due. "Thank you." he bowed his head slightly with those last two words, truly thankful their dispute had not gotten out of hand like it had threatened to.

"Don't thank me just yet," he said grumpily, partially because the gesture was premature and partially because it made him a bit uncomfortable. Genuine thank yous, like I love yous, were things he didn't say freely and didn't expect from anyone except maybe Rhythm. In his mind, in most cases they were best left unsaid. A gesture was better than words. This belief enabled him to give his kids shit and to snark all he liked all the while being secure in the knowledge that his kids knew how he really felt about them. Had it not been one of his sons asking this of him, there's no way Valentine would have considered it. No, he'd have laughed in the asker's face, had some fun at the Destruction family's expense, and gone on his way with an amusing little story to tell Angel or Chaos later. So to say he was displeased with this arrangement was an understatement. But, there was still a chance he could get something good out of this deal so he wasn't ready to write the whole thing off. He just hoped Rhyme's cousin wasn't as disappointing as he anticipated. "No time like the present," he friskily. "How about we go see that cousin of yours?" ""

His father had agreed reluctantly, but with how completely against Rhyme's plan he'd been the boy would consider this a victory. He had plenty of time to mold the Abaven wolves into their full potential, for now having Shaye there by his side would be enough. Or the potential for Shaye to be at his side. As valentine said, nothing was guaranteed yet. Valentine wanted revenge, Rhyme wanted justice. However there would be no trial, no jury. These wolves were guilty, and other than trying to rescue the rest of his half siblings they would all die. The smart ones would run, but he knew his captors too well, none of the guilty parties knew how to flee. He would be fighting for his life, but unlike when he had escaped with Rhythm the slavers would be too. 

Valentine wasted no time, and he gave a little prayer that Shaye might be ready. There was no preparation, he just hoped his small spar with her a few days prior had readied her enough for what his father might put her through. She was an adaptable wolf, and while Valentine anticipated failure Rhyme felt confident in her ability to learn fast. 

"Let's be off." He wasn't about to hold the old King off. With no more hesitation than it took to say those three words he rose and headed in the direction of Abaven, to see if Shaye was warrior enough to accompany them.