It was part whimsy, part frustration that had led Chaos off on this adventure. With Rhythm and Rhyme back, with the knowledge Valen had laid on him about their kidnapping, it had brought back a lot of memories. About Imperium, mostly, and how happy he'd been there before his dad had disappeared to try to find his mate and her kids. Then everything had fallen apart, and it hadn't been until he'd unexpectedly been landed with Crew that he'd found something that gave him that sense of really belonging again. He'd been an idiot to give that up and leave Artemis and Valdis and the others without a home. He hadn't really told his dad about that, because it made his fur prickle with shame. He'd have made his dad proud as an alpha, he was sure of it. But he'd gone and ruined it by walking away from Crew. He'd let them down, let his family down, hell he'd let himself down by assuming he couldn't hack it as a real alpha. He'd just been playing at it.

Maybe it was time to get serious.

He'd gone north to see if he could find Leto, or Artemis and any of their old group, but instead he'd found the border of a pack. A spurt of excitement flowed through him. He didn't believe in signs but hell maybe this was one if ever there had been one. He paced the border for a few minutes of thought while his owls found perches in the pines overhead. The right way to do it, the traditional way, would be to go to the battlefield and call the alpha there, challenge him all officially and traditionally where anyone who wanted to could come and gawk, but he'd bucked the system his whole life so why conform now? If gawkers wanted to gawk they could come here and do it.

With a devil's grin and his feet planted wide in the snow, he threw his head up and sent out a challenge to the alpha to defend his title.

OOC: Since this isn't going to be a judged, real challenge there's no point in putting it in the battlefield. Anyone is welcome to show up who wants to but I won't be waiting long because I want to get this played out one way or another.

Enrico's ears flicked up at the sound of a howl from the borders, then his brows climbed. A challenge? That seemed... highly irregular. He exchanged a grim look with Asriel, and without a word needing spoken the pair veered from their patrol to move down into the newer territory that they'd only recently patrolled. It didn't take long before they stood across the border from the would-be challenger. Enrico looked him up and down with eyes that remained a cool and distant blue, then raised one brow at him. "You're a little too old to still be this foolish, pup," he rumbled to the much-taller male. His eyes lingered on the male's lengthy canines, their flat saber-like lengths reminding him of Kestrel's companion, but when they returned to meet the challenger's stare they were flat and without fear.

Asriel's own blue eyes had shifted from the challenger to the trees, where movement had revealed the watchful eyes of a pair of owls. The big cat snarled at them, but they didn't take wing or move to hide from the predator, rather moving closer along their branches, hissing back at him, making their allegiance to the interloper clear.

Enrico didn't spare a glance for the interplay between the three companions, except to mentally note the location of the hisses around him. "So you want to take Niente from me, do you?" It cost him nothing but time to keep the younger male talking, except to make the challenger impatient. An impatient wolf made mistakes. Mistakes cost fights. As much larger and younger as this wolf was, Enrico would need the leg up those mistakes would give him.

Chaos wasn't left waiting long before an older male with gray fur and blue eyes and a snow leopard at his back appeared through the cold ice-fog to move up to the border. They sized each other up, then the other male made a snarky comment in a tone of voice so deadpan that it actually took Chaos a moment to catch the sarcasm. He grinned, baring long inches of fang. "Aren't you a little old to be trying to run a pack? I'm seeing an awful lot of white on that muzzle."

The alpha's leopard snarled at Heecha and Sgili, but the owls just hissed defiantly back at him. It was day, so not their preferred time of day, but they were still capable of flying and fighting. They didn't fear the big cat any more than Chaos did.

The alpha spoke again, trying to draw him into conversation, and Chaos gave a bark of laughter. "Save it, old man. I'm not interested in talking things out. We both know why I'm here. Just give up. Let your pack have a more capable leader. Forfeit."

Enrico tilted his head slightly, studying the youth with a frown that he couldn't quite stop from forming. It wouldn't be the first time he'd encountered arrogance in a younger wolf. Some used it as a facade for deeper insecurities, some as a protection from those who would prey on the weak. Some came by it honestly enough through a pride in their own skill, some through pride in a bloodline. Looking at this male, Enrico was surprised to find he couldn't quite tell which he was. Like his strangely colored coat, he seemed a seething mixture of arrogances. Confidence and pride weren't negative by any means but by this boy's age he should have gotten that level of arrogance knocked out of him.

Looking at the size of the man, the way he held himself, Enrico admitted that he himself was probably not going to putting more than a temporary dent in the long-toothed male's ego. His expression didn't flicker at all, though. "I can't do that," he said calmly. "Even if I wanted to, and we both know that I do not. I promised my pack that I would protect from people like you, and I will do so to my last breath."

What was this, now? The sound of a battle cry instantly earned Asvor's undivided attention, drawing her away from her lazy patrols around Niente's territory. Life had been rather ordinary lately, and she wasn't sure it totally pleased her - so the sound of something new and exciting instantly perked her right up. Quickly enough she made her way to the male that had called, a rather large male with fangs that protruded below his jaw. Interesting. He was speaking to Enrico, and her ears perked curiously as she drew closer to the two. She only caught the tail end of what was going on, something about.. protecting Niente? Was this fanged-wolf intending to challenge for this pack? Head cocked, she hung back and listened to the engagement, wondering if any other Niente wolves might arrive to observe. Personally, it didn't matter much to her what happened to the pack; she'd told herself she'd remain where Valdis did, no matter the circumstances, and if they didn't particularly appeal to them they'd head off on a different course. For now, though, she as merely curious, watching and waiting.

The howl that wove through the trees chilled Ferrous more than she'd ever thought possible. Once recognized, the feeling confused her. Why did it matter if Enrico was being challenged? No skin off her nose, right? But this was her home too. She'd picked it, picked Enrico, and the thought that some unknown challenger could potentially change everything alarmed her. The diminutive fighter set off for the howler at a run and soon found herself on the scene of a standoff. Across from Enrico and standing on the other side of the border was a huge wolf with protruding teeth. Ferrous stilled some distance away and casually eyed him up and down. She assessed him openly and then once her mind was made up she sauntered closer with an expression that gave no clue as to what verdict she's reached. As she neared Zahir trotted from the treeline and moved to walk abreast of her. Together the pair stopped when they were just a couple yards away. She was within attacking distance should Enrico wish to just chase the man off, although she doubted quite strongly that he'd go that route. Maybe she was wrong but he didn't strike her as the type. Still, her presence evened things up a bit. Two cats versus two owls and if she stood on Enrico's shoulders they could almost equal one challenger sans fangs. With Asvor they had an edge. "Speaking" - "Thinking" - "You"

The man's head lifted at the sound of a howl that called for a challenge. A giddy feeling of excitement rushed through him - it had been much too long since he'd watched the excitement of a battle to defend territory, to see who would come out the victor and lay claim to the pack. He had to see this. Starting at a light trot, Xephyris slowly increased his pace until he was cantering smoothly. It felt nice to stretch his limbs, and he slowed only as he saw some wolves in a clearing between the scraggly pines. He recognized the large, striped male with the saber-like fangs, who appeared to be the one challenging an older male. Being older himself, he immediately began to hope for a victory for the senior male, although achieving such would be a painful and daunting task, if possible at all. Seeing that there was not much of a crowd, although he assumed other might gather soon, Xephyris meandered closer to one of the women who'd showed up. They carried pack scent, but it was not familiar to him at all. They must have come to watch her Alpha fight for the pack, although the one of them in particular didn't look too concerned. Interesting. What kind of pack was this? Seating himself a distance from them, he watched on, wondering what sort of battle was going to play out in front of him. "Talk" "You" Think

"speech" & 'thoughts'

She knew all to well what that howl had meant and it made her stomach drop and her ears flatten. Memories began to flood her brain bringing her back to the very first pack she had ever joined, with her father. Memories of her brief time in Myraid made her wince as she quickly realized that her new Alpha was now being challenged. She frowned and with a slight whine decided she needed to be there for support. Though she had never personally been to the challenge that ended Myraid, she knew what had happened. Now there was a threat that the same would happen here.

Enrico did help her realize to not dwell on the past, even if he never stated it on their first meeting, he proved it by how he talked. This may not be the same outcome and she had to remain positive until everything was over. When she arrived she was caught completely off guard, her eyes immediately falling on the familiar form, the challenger was a male she instantly recognized... How could she ever forget such a toothy grin? The male had been apart of Ivory Ridge. She then looked around and her eyes landed on another familiar form, an older wolf that had been apart of Myraid. niether males had she had any close relations with, but it was just odd to see two wolves from old packs she had been in.

She remained quiet as she moved towards the wolves who smelled like pack members. She stopped near Asvor and Ferrous and remained there, not knowing what to do, but watch.

Art by Carvalle

Chaos glanced around as wolves began to appear to his call. His lip lifted in a crooked grin, taking in all the faces. But Enrico's words wiped the grin away, his expression closing down into a cold, inscrutable mask. "People like me?" he repeated. "You don't even know me. You don't know who I am, or what I have planned for this pack. I've got nothing against you, old man. I've got nothing against your pack. This is just the way it worked out for all of us." He flicked his ears back and lashed his tail. "Let's just get this over with."

Let it not be said that Chaos didn't give him a sporting chance. The tall younger male backed off a handful of steps, giving him a bit of breathing room, and setting his defenses with a careless sort of confidence. Overhead, the owls began rasping calls and spread their wings, hopping along the branches in preparation for diving off them. "Leave the old man to me," he called lightly to the owls. "Let's make this a fair fight, eh?" They bobbed their heads, hissing.

Sporting chance or not, Chaos wasn't about to stand around waiting for someone else, so as soon as they had both set themselves, Chaos bounded forward to slam into the alpha with a snarl and flashing teeth.

Valdís was outside the pack border when she heard the challenging howl. She'd been chasing off a pair of coyotes that had taken to traipsing through the den sites at night. The dirty scavengers were seeking to raid Niente's winter stores and she'd had quite enough of that. She'd chased them clear out to the marble wash and managed to maul the male pretty good. Hopefully that would be enough to get the message out. Frowning she turned and started heading south toward the source of the call. Something about it seemed familiar but she just couldn't be sure. When she finally arrived she caught site of the caller and it made her heart stop.  Chaos. She stood stunned at the sight of her old alpha challenging for Niente. It was such a whirl of mixed emotions. Anger that he'd even dare to try for a pack. Excitement to even see him again and the idea of seeing Crew rise again. Crew was her first pack in Boreas and it had, and always would, hold a special place in her heart. She'd grieved its collapse. Set she felt loyalty to Enrico as well. Though he was certainly more straight-laced he had a good, level-head and was a much needed figure of stability. She eyed the loner that had come to watch and quickly moved to stand next to Ásvor, gently brushing against the woman's right side, she whispered. "I can't believe Chaos is the challenger. Remember when I told you'd I'd found a pack. That striped wolf was the pack leader." She dipped her head to Delaney and Ferrous and shot the stranger another look, moving slightly to keep him in her line of sight. "Talk" "You" Think

Though nothing else had bothered the would-be usurper up to this point, the implication that the pack needed protecting from him seemed to hit a bit of a sore spot for him. Enrico merely raised a brow, then nodded once, slowly, as the other male backed off. He spent a moment to look around at all the witnesses, some from Niente, some not, and he felt a spike of sadness at the inevitability of it all. He'd been certain that he'd go out fighting Basileus to the death, not having his pack taken by some young gun with big plans. Well, maybe this was better.

The other male gave him a moment to settle his defenses before charging at him. Enrico dodged to the side, but his reflexes weren't what they once were and he was out of practice. He'd not moved entirely aside when the boy hit him, shoulder to shoulder, the force spinning him to slam his chest into the side of the taller male's shoulder. Enrico bit back a yelp, instead slashing with his teeth for Chaos' shoulder. They snapped at one another, blood blooming on both dark coats.

The two broke off slightly, a few inches of breathing space that gave Enrico a moment to try to put weight on his injured foreleg, but it wouldn't hold his weight. He took a deep breath and settled himself on his three good legs before the larger male rushed him again.

Chaos backed off for a breath, not daring take his eyes off the alpha. The smaller male had scored a few hits on him already, and he didn't want to risk too much more damage. The alpha was faster than he'd expected for his age. Moved like a dancer, smooth and silently, and it made it difficult to pin him down to trade blows. Chaos would need to end it quickly if he was going to win without more damage than he'd like. No use having a pack if he was crippled up from fighting the previous alpha.

Bunching his legs beneath him he rushed again, slamming himself into Enrico's bad shoulder. When the older male gasped in pain and his leg folded beneath him, Chaos threw his foreleg over the other male's shoulders and pulled him shoulders to chest, pinning him beneath Chaos' chest as Chaos ground the front of his flat, saber teeth against the back of his head. "Submit," he hissed through his closed jaws. "You can't do anything for your pack if you're beaten half to death. Just submit!"

Enrico tried to brace himself against the challenger's charge, but the male shifted just enough to slam into Enrico's injured shoulder and Enrico staggered with an unbidden gasp of pain as the leg folded. His gaze went white with pain for a moment, and a sudden weight staggered him further, throwing him chest-first against the ground with Chaos' forelimbs wrapped around his neck. His head was pressed down against the ground, and however he struggled he couldn't get his legs beneath him to squirm out of the larger wolf's hold. His vision was fuzzing, breath coming in faint pants through the increasing pressure of Chaos' hold. "Nnn..." he tried to snarl. He couldn't give up. He had to fight. His paws scrabbled at the ground, the movements getting weaker and weaker as black crowded in around him. No. No, he was done. He could do no more. "I yield," he finally gasped out. Chaos immediately released him, leaving him gasping and coughing on the ground. Flecks of blood stained the ground before him as he coughed, and it was all he could do to gulp in the fresh cold air.

The alpha - former alpha - finally gasped his submission, and Chaos was quick to let go. He didn't need to rub it in. The guy had put up a good fight. He sent his gaze out around the crowd. "Niente's mine now," he called out to them. "I have no interest in causing anyone in the pack any trouble. You can leave without any prejudice, or you can stay. You should know that I'll be moving the pack south to where my family lives. Anyone of you are welcome to come with me. Even you," he added, glancing down at the alpha he'd defeated. "I could use someone with your experience and determination."

He licked blood from his muzzle, glancing around. "I don't know enough about your pack to know if I'm going to change anything. If you've stayed and I do change something, and you don't like the changes, you'll be welcome to leave." His gaze stopped on Valdis, and he blinked, a grin slowly spreading over his muzzle. "Valdis, that you? Hell, what are the chances of that?" His grin faded as a wave of dizziness swept over him, and he lowered his haunches to the ground. "If any of you are healers, regardless of whether or not you're staying with Niente, please lend him a paw." He tilted his head towards the fallen alpha, indicating him. He needed it more than Chaos did - Chaos' fangs did a lot more damage than a normal tooth - and he'd earned it.

OOC: If you know if your character is going to go or stay, you can either post in this thread or catch a private thread with me later. Probably will throw up a meeting next week so that's also an option!

"speech" & 'thoughts'
She watched as things went down, her gut turning within her. She feared that this fight would end in death and it brought back the memories of her mother’s torn up body that she had clung to for days before Max found her. She wasn’t all that fond of watching other wolves die and it’s what stirred her original drive to become a healer. She felt like things drug on, but finally Enrico was pinned and no matter how he struggled he couldn’t get free, Chaos’ fangs piercing into his flesh lightly making him bleed. Within moments Enrico had given up and things were over. The whole battle itself hadn’t seemed like Chaos was out to kill and she was glad he hadn’t. She was even more glad when he wanted Enrico to remain in the pack he was building. When chaos called for a healer she stride forward without any hesitation, going to Enrico’s side and looking over his wounds. He seemed stable enough to move and looked to the others.

“May I get some help moving him into the warm ship so I can properly tend to him,” she looked towards the others and for Enrico’s companion.

From there she would patch him up and get him warm. She didn’t want him to have any chance of going into the slightest of shock out here because that would mean she would have a harder time getting him warmed up.

Art by Carvalle

Valdís quietly watched the battle, treating it almost as a learning exercise. She watched the two fighters, analyzing their moves and taking notes for her own future fights. To be honest she didn't really feel she had a dog in the fight. She was willing to follow either of them. When at last the fight concluded it was with Chaos as the victor. Well… that was that then. She glanced briefly at Ásvor, uncertain what her dear friend thought of this development. When Chaos addressed her she smirked back at him. "Well, there's only one woman who looks this good so I'd say yea, it's me." Her tone switched from joking to more serious as she said, "You better not go disappearing this time or I'll have to chew your tail off." She glanced once more at Ásvor. "What do you think? Think you'll still stay? You get to use him as a practice dummy that's got to be worth something right?" It seemed Delaney was on top of the healing but that was probably just as well. It would be a good lesson for her friend. Valdís stepped alongside Chaos. "Go ahead and lean on me. Delaney, lead the way. Ásvor is a healer to, she can help as well." "Talk" "You" Think

It didn't take long for Valdis to find her side, grateful she'd come to witness the challenge. The truth was that Asvor reveled in such excitement - the chaos fueled her and inspired her, and she'd enjoy the spectacle despite the uncertainty of what the challenge itself would entail. She wondered what Valdis thought, though she spoke quietly to her before she needed to initiate a conversation herself. She admitted that the man challenging was called Chaos, and he had ruled one of the packs she'd been a part of. Interesting. "And he was a good leader?" Asvor asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention from the fight to their conversation. Likewise, she focused on watching the battle unfold. She had far less experience than her companion in fighting and quietly told herself she ought to focus on honing her fighting skills soon - she'd been so focused lately on trying to gather useful herbs and learn about them with the limited resources she had, that she'd been slacking in that department. Her eyes narrowed as the fight unfolded. Chaos was an honorable fighter, and though Enrico looked worse for wear he suggested the healers of the pack help him. He also acknowledged Valdis, and her cheeky comment earned a low chuckle from Asvor too. "I'll be staying if you intend to. A practice dummy does sound quite nice," she agreed, raising her eyebrows in appreciation as she glanced toward Enrico. Delaney took control of the situation, asking for help guiding him into the ship. Valdis quickly stepped up, inviting Asvor to join them. She nodded, glad to help - Enrico had done her no wrong and his pack had been challenged for fairly. Not that she'd be opposed to less.. traditional methods of taking control, either, at least personally. Asvor was willing to help and trailed behind the group as they began to lead Enrico somewhere safe to assess his injuries.

Chaos grinned at Valdis' return salvo. "Valdis, if I abandon you guys again I DESERVE to lose a limb or two. Hell you'd have to stand in line to take one." He was glad she seemed willing to forgive the idiocy of the young and stupid male he'd been back then. He'd made mistakes, more than a few, but the only one he'd ever really regretted was walking away from Crew. Now he had a chance to change that. Still smiling, he shook his head at Valdis' offer of her shoulder to lean on. He stood proudly, if tiredly, ready to walk into his pack's territory on his own power.