Feather had wanted to stretch her wings, and see lands other then Abaven. She was happy to oblige her little companion. She crossed the rapids, the little Tree Swallow fluttering ahead of her on confident wings. The Stone Steppe was a territory she had yet to explore, and with its close proximity to Abaven, it had only been a matter of time. It was a short hike, her soft lope was comfortable, and she maintained it with ease. Soft grasses under her paw met her on the other side of Abaven, and she slowed as the stone assemblement met her gaze. There seemed to be a strange order to the placement of stone, a ring across grass and mud. She stepped gingerly over a fallen block, sniffing at the mossy creation. Feather danced across the tops of the stones, her brilliant blue colors bringing life to the greys. Shaye laughed and shook her head at the creatures antics, and continued her careful exploration. She almost missed the cry of a hunting bird, before the kestrel fell from the sky, talons extended. The hunting bird was hardly bigger then her little friend, and its first blow sent Feather tumbling on to a three-tier stone build, before it circled for another go around. Howling with rage, Shaye used a fallen, angled block as her launching pad, running across it and springing into the air. The circle of the kestrel fell into her reach, and her teeth clipped its wings, throwing it off balance as it tumbled to the ground. Shaye’s paws hit the ground shortly afterwards, and she turned rapidly, pouncing on the creature and snapping its head. She had no desire to admire how pretty the small hunting bird had been, her thoughts only for what it had done, and the fate of her bird. “Feather?” she called out, already angling toward the stone wall the bird had crumpled against. “Feather!” her cries grew more desperate, and her paws scrambled against the stone, but she couldn't bring herself high enough to see the bird. "Speech"

Rest was likely going to become a foreign concept if he kept up at his current pace. That was just as well. Hurriedly exploring this new continent Boreas was keeping him fit and helping Ig to prevent his mind from wandering to one of the many unpleasant topics he was currently avoiding. It seemed like the nastiness only multiplied while the good things were few and far between. Fortunately today he'd had the good sense to go relax for a while after arriving at the strange rock formations early in the morning. Picking his way to the top had been unnecessary but immensely enjoyable. Before, he rarely got to go out and just enjoy himself. It was always lessons, meetings, politics, training, work work work! For the first time in his life Ignatius could live free and do what he wanted. Finding the view to be every bit as delightful as he'd hoped, Ig had eventually curled up to nap a while since, as previously mentioned, he did what he wanted now. Thwack! Sitting up with a start, Ignatius searched for the source of the sound after being roused from his fantastic nap. Bleary eyed and a touch disoriented, he didn't notice the bird that'd crash-landed  nearby right off. First, he heard and leaned over to catch a glimpse of the frantic woman on the ground below. She looked like she was trying to get up onto another set of stones that were stacked a few high, higher than she could likely hope to jump onto. Stretching out his front legs, Ig watched her for a second. She seemed real desperate to get to... something. A... bird? Hm. Much as he didn't understand the situation, the one thing Ignatius could comprehend even if only half awake was that the woman probably needed help with something. Knowing his mother, wherever she might be, sould likely look at him with disapproval in her frosty eyes is he passed this woman by without offering assistance, Ig cleared his throat and called out, "Excuse me, Miss, do you need help with... anything?" The rock pile she was scrabbling against wasn't too far away, hopefully she'd hear him perfectly. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

She scrambled ineffectively against the stones, the memory of that sickening sound her bird had made hitting the higher ledge kept replying in her mind, driving on the insanity when she might otherwise have regained her senses by now. It was the voice of another that did it, bringing her back to herself as she paused her hopeless attempt to climb the wall and turned to see the brightly lit wolf who stood there, looking at her. She was breathing heavily, heart racing, and she knew she must have looked a little wild. Still, appearances matter less then her friend. “My companion, she got knocked down by a kestrel”   her eyes glanced over the still body of the hunting bird that Shaye had killed in her rage. She would almost regret that if her friends life didn’t hang in the balance. “I need to know if she’s okay, but this blasted wall wasn’t made for climbing.”  she would explain her situation, hating the time it took, but understanding that a fresh outlook might actually be beneficial for the Alpha. Shaye had once been a healer, she would know what to do for Feather once she got her down. "Speech"

Still trying to regain some alertness, Ignaitus listened as the woman explained her situation. There was still urgency in her voice even as she seemed to become less panicked. Studying the steep pillar of rock the bird was on while rising and shaking out his fiery pelt, he tried to gauge the distance between himself and the apparently injured animal. It looked to be a pretty small bird from what he could tell. Most of the wolves who had birds back home kept birds of prey, nothing small and fragile like this. He wondered if the bird was fatally injured, but… Oh, what the hell. Moving over as close as he could get from his own perch up high to line himself up with the otherwise unreachable spot the bird was on, he reassessed the distance with some trepidation. It was sort of far - not impossible to make but not a jump he'd make for fun. "Hm. Alright, watch out," Wouldn't want to smack into her if he failed miserably and crashed to the ground. Scooting back as far as he could to give himself a good stride in which to build some momentum, Ignatius eyed the distance one last time, rolling his shoulders and sucking in a quick breath as he settled his weight over his limbs before surging forward, taking one short stride before launching himself across the gap. He landed heavily, but with enough precision to ensure he wouldn't land on the helpless bird. For a moment he was worried he was going to slide right off the other side, but after sinking his weight into his hind legs he managed to stop with just a few toes hanging over the edge. Turning towards the small, prone form, he gave it a sniff and a quick look over as he contemplated how best to deliver the animal back down to it's friend on the ground. Scooping it carefully in his jaws while avoiding landing a tooth near any wounds, Ig turned and hung his head and shoulders as far as he could off the ledge. Maybe he could line it up so the woman could catch the bird from him? He just hoped the distance wasn't too far for it. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

Her eyes went wide as she realised the colourful brute was about to attempt a jump. She backed up a few steps, forcing herself to move away from the pillar her bird had gone down on. She watched with trepidation as he prepared himself, and launched Shayes nerves felt a little frayed as she watched him land and slide across the surface. His jump would be for naught if he fell off the other side. Instead, the man managed to brace himself and come to a stop. He then sniffed around Feather, and Shaye tensed, bracing herself for bad news. Feather had been with her for a very long time, and was a reminder of other days, and had been a friend thought hardships. One of the very few she had left. The red male picked up her companion, and then draped himself over the other side. Seeing his intent, Shaye moved forward, bracing herself on the rocks to reach up and was able to grab the bird from him with little jostling, as he released the creature to her. She landed as gently as she could back on all fours and dropped the bird to the ground. She then got to business, sniffing her wounds. There where a few small, red lines where the bird had held her in her talons, but her stillness was more because she was dazed. She gently nudged back an eyelid and assessed the bird. “She’s dazed, but looks like her injuries are very minor.” Shaye would explain with a deep sigh of relief. She gave the bird a gentle lick before turning her attention back to Iggy. “Do you.. Need a hand down?” she wondered "I'm Shaye by the way, and I thank you profusely for your well timed rescue." "Speech"

The bird made it safely down to her friend and he watched as the dark woman looked the little creature over carefully and eventually determined that the bird was going to be alright. While he couldn't be sure where the attachment to the small bird might come from, he was still happy for them both. "That's good," he said while his eyes drifted towards the ground below. While the daring rescue had been a success, he wasn't sure if he was about to be the one in need of rescuing. It wasn't a massive height, he was more likely to twist a wrist on landing than he was to break a leg, but it was still intimidating. "Nice to meet you Shaye, I'm Ignatius. It looks like I should make it down okay, but I've been wrong before." the jest in his tone didn't quite match the furrowed brow he sported as he looked down. Glancing back the way he'd come, he contemplated jumping back there first and climbing down the safer way but... Since he couldn't guarantee he'd make it again since he had less room to work with from here before he made the leap, the ground was looking like the only option. Without any further hesitation he strode to the edge and did his best to slide down part way before he pushed off with his hind legs. Landing was a little rough, definitely not pretty as he lost balance for a moment and had to roll once to prevent twisting a paw, but he got to his paws soon enough and quickly turned to Shaye with a smile. "Success. It's not often that many things go well in a row in my experience." Canting his head, Ig settled down on his haunches before asking, "Do you live near here perchance? I think your pack scent is familiar." He was still relatively new here, it wasn't all that often that he met someone who carried a scent he was at all familiar with. "TALK" "YOU" THINK

The man, who had been quick to jump to her rescue at the risk of his own limbs, now sounded happy for her, and was able to jest about his predicament. Of course, she could also see the worry in his expression, and Shaye braced herself. If it looked like things where going to go badly, at the least she could offer him a safe landing spot. After all, she owed him one. She watched as, displaying no fear, only healthy trepidation. He assessed his options and picked one. He moved to the edge of the stone and began to lower himself down to the ground. He didn’t get nearly an easy way down as her bird had, but he managed okay. She bit back her grin, not wanting him to think she laughed at him. “Nicely done.” she applauded him, especially his roll at the end that had absorbed some of the impact. “Don’t jinx it.” she teased as he pointed out how lucky they had been so far. She glanced over at her bird, but Feather was still unconscious, her chest rising and falling in healthy rhythms. She would get Vail to check her over, just to be sure, but Shaye’s assessment was that the bird would be okay. “I’m the Alpha of Abaven - it’s actually not far at all.” he was seated before him, and she was able to look him over properly now. He had a few inches on her, and the patterns of his coat where exotic and intriguing. He was nothing like the wolves of her pack or family. He also smelled a little like pack himself, but not one she was familiar with. Hmm, and here she thought she had been doing well at identifying all the packs in the land. “How about yourself, your from a pack too, right?” "Speech"

"Hah, I'll do my best. I have been known to speak too soon on occasion after all," he mused, suddenly hoping he hadn't actually gone and ruined a string of good luck. Maybe he wouldn't be superstitious about it before, but well, life hadn't been too kind recently and Ignatius wasn't really interested in taking chances.

Abaven... Abaven... Yes, that was familiar. "I think I've met one of your members," he said, clicking his tongue softly as he tried to draw the name back to him. He hadn't been forced to practice memorizing things in some time, probably was making him lose his touch. "C... Caelestis, that was her." A triumphant expression came over him as he announced the name in a similar manner to a younger who managed to remember the answers for a test.

"I am, I am the Konungr or Alpha of Fyri, I only very recently established it and laid claim to some lands in the north." He was still hurting for members, though he was mostly hoping that time and some more outings would bring more if luck continued to be on his side.

He took to her joke well, through she wondered at his meaning. Hadn’t been having bad luck, had he? Well. she supposed they all got it on occasion. He looked interest at the mention of her pack, and would admit to knowing a member of Abaven. She glanced at him in interest, wondering who it could be. Ahh. Cael, a strong headed young woman who had taken an interest in fight training.

Not one of the members she had had much chance to get to know well, but she was a good wolf, and hopefully had made a good impression on Ignatius - who was, as he admitted, an Alpha in his own right. “Fyri? This is my first time hearing about your pack.” she would say, looking at him with even more interest. Well, maybe this was a string of good luck.. “Interesting that you say this, because i’ve been trying to build alliances between Abaven and the packs in this land. I would love to hear more about Fyri and see if our packs have an interest we could build on.” she would admit.

It wasn't too surprising that his pack's name wasn't really out there. IN all honesty he preferred it that way for now. They needed a chance to really dig their claws in and get on their paws before attention was drawn his way. Trepidation was often his go to. Ignatius would rather be overly methodical than be caught off guard. His ears did perk up at the mention of an alliance, which was something he really couldn't afford to pass up.

"I would be very interested in an alliance, I far prefer them to simple neutrality, or enemies." He already had enough out there to worry about but friends were still in short supply. Shifting his weight and getting a bit more comfortable, Ignatius' expression turned thoughtful. "My pack is not interested in being passive. It is a home for all who wish to learn useful skills so that they can take care of themselves while developing bonds like family with the other members. Out goal will always be to help out allies, in good times and bad. It was inspired by the two... very different cultures of my homeland. One is very combat oriented and aggressive and the other is a very closely knit community of equally tough but much more peaceful wolves. I want to bring out the best parts of both places through Fyri."

"Trade is something I am especially interested in, though since my pack is so new I haven't many resources to offer up. Knowledge, however, I do have to offer."

She was intrigued to learn that Ignatius was an Alpha. He seemed like a gentleman, who had leaped to her aid without a second thought. If he held similar standards over his pack, then they were the kind of allies that Abaven needed. In fact, in seemed so far that there was only one pack that would cause Shaye trouble. The Risen Empire. His interest in an alliance was heartening. So far, it seemed that Abaven would be on friendly or neutral terms with all the packs in the land. If she could balance them properly, Abaven could really prosper, and friendships could grow. “Sounds like a really good motto, Abaven holds slightly similar standards, we want a chance to live and grow peacefully, but me and my second have already decided we, and therefore the pack, are not the type to stand by and watch well bad things happen. So looking after our allies plays into that.” she explained How had Rhyme put it? “As my second said about the nature of our pack - ‘One that could stand up for justice, promote self sufficiency, and keep those I care about safe.’ “ she recited, a grin growing on her muzzle. “We’ve had all summer to accumulate supplies, and we are always looking for knowledge, so we would be happy to trade the things you need for whatever knowledge your happy to provide.” Shaye said to him, already pleased with this unexpected meeting. She glanced over at Feather, who was starting to come to, shaking her little head and looking about her, eyes blinking. She looked like she was going to be just find. “In fact, you’ve already done me a favour, and i’m more than happy to return it. Let me know what you need from us to help you set up your pack, and i’ll see what I can provide.” "Speech"

Nodding slightly as Shaye described her own pack's nature. As she went on, his smile grew from the normally thin and difficult to see upturn of the corners of his lips into something much more obvious that reached his eyes and lit them up a little brighter. "I think our packs will have very similar attitudes then, that's very good to hear. Fyri needs friends like that." Maybe it was the faint glimmer of his bio-luminescence that made his face seem to almost visibly light up with hope, or maybe his expressions were just more lively given his normal, almost scowling look he tended to wear when relaxed. "A good deed need not be returned if it's truly good. I help because I want to," he said, looking faintly embarrassed even as he tried to maintain a regal posture. "I'm not certain where I'd begin anyhow, we have several needs to attend to since things were put together in a hurry..." Turning to see the faint movement of the previously stunned bird, Ig distracted himself for a moment being glad that the creature was turning out to be alright. "I suppose our most pressing needs will be food and herb related - we don't have enough trained hunters to take down as much prey as I'd like before winter, but we have plenty of herds of elk and caribou near us. If you could send a few hunters my way, once we reach a reasonable store of food I would be glad to send any extra back with them." A faint breeze blew past, ruffling his fur and adding to the sudden sense of urgency he felt regarding winter. Keeping the pack well fed and protected through the worst of seasons would be important. If someone were to seek to harm them it would be when they were weakest. Once they made it through though, there was much he wanted to accomplish. "If all goes well, maybe in spring we can arrange some more trade? I know a fair bit about crafting useful things, using fire, and making structures not too unlike those left behind by the humans from long ago. My intention is to one day build up an arena in the gorge so Fyri can host the gladiator battles and events I grew up with. They were very important to my people, and all our allies will be invited to watch once they begin." Initially he'd been wary of including that in his pack. He and his siblings were raised with the sounds of battle and fierce competition from the arena, but the other pack members, especially the northern woman Drifa, might have more difficulty understanding and adopting some of the fierce southern ways. "If you wish for me or any of my pack members to visit your pack for teaching purposes on any subject, ask at any time and it can be arranged." "TALK" "YOU" THINK

His smile seemed to blossom beneath the encouragement of her words. Clearly he agreed with something she said. As she finished speaking, she scooped up Feather and helped the creature onto her back, where she tucked herself between Shaye’s actual Feather and her fur.

As she did so, Ignatius when on to say that their packs shared similar attitudes, and she was grateful as him. It was good to find others who shared their idealisms, to know that others out there thought the same way. He said his good deed wasn’t something to be repaid, and that seemed to highlight his beliefs. Still, she was more than happy to help him, to build on the friendship between their two packs that seemed to be beginning today.

“I would be more than happy to lend you a few hunters. Will you walk with me, back to Abaven as we speak? I want to get Feather here checked out by my healer” she promised him, and then made her request. She only had one member specialized as a hunter. It didn’t seem to be a common job in Abaven, but she could spare him, and have others full the gap for a time. Rhyme had proven to be a capable hunter, and no doubt she could get her warriors to hone their skills with the hunt.

She would lend him Allegro and Solor, if they both agreed to go. “Craft is a thing that interests me” she promised him, and she wanted her pack to benefit from the things that crafting brought along.

He spoke of gladiator battles, and she had never heard of such a thing, she twitched an ear, curious, and thought that it might be something that would interest Rhyme. “Tell me more about the gladiator battles, I have a few warriors in my pack, and it could be a place for them to blow off some steam and test their might, but I don’t know enough about what you speak, to know for sure.” she admitted

"Absolutely, lead the way," he responded, happy to follow along as Shaye lead the way back towards her pack. It would be good to know where his newfound allies actually resided anyway.

She expressed interest in crafting which was good, as well as in the gladiator battles he'd spoken of. Ignatius smiled a thin smile that belied the mixed feelings he still had about the culture of his puphood. "Well, there were a few different types of battles that took place in the arena. The more common one was actually between prisoners who were captured. It was... believed that all should earn their keep one way or another." While Ignatius didn't think anyone should get away with slacking in a group, he wasn't always certain how he felt about pitting prisoners against each other. Of course, maybe he wouldn't mind so much if he had captives of his own. Hard to say. It would certainly not be the same with him making the rules though. "The battles were fierce, some to the death. However, the other types were significantly less brutal," he assured her.

"It was often seen as an honorable way to show the strength of our warriors and proclaim the kingdom's might. Anyone from low ranking soldiers to highly appointed generals were welcome to join in the battles, and I've heard that even before the neighboring kingdom was made an ally that they were invited to spectate. I understand why; my father wanted them to see how well trained our fighters were at the time, and it worked." Mars, no matter how much Ignatius disliked him on a personal level, had always been excellent at what he did, from fighting battles himself to ruling the great southern kingdom. How far would he have taken his people if he'd known that there was such a great expanse of lands here in Boreas? "During those... displays, everyone far and wide was invited to watch the battles that would take place. Feasts, trading, and general partying were also par for the course around that time." he chuckled.

"Of course it was also a serious matter. The battles almost always happened at or after dusk, by the lights of our many torches. There were some religious elements attached as well, offerings and praises given to certain gods. Oh, and any who wished to participate had to successfully enter the ring by walking over a bed of coals to get to the arena." Images of those fights, always made that much more dramatic by the flickering light of the fires, would flash through Ignatius' mind as he spoke. He imagined it would be an unforgettable sight to those who had not grown up with it.