Slowly Valentine ambled away from the festivities. He needed a break. It was nice to have Rhythm by his side and the occasional conversation to occupy his thoughts, but there were several things at the reception that were grating on his nerves. A little break from the shindig would do him some good and enable him to keep his promise to his beloved. The sounds of revelry faded away as he walked. His pale, cynical eyes never settled on one place for too long as he took in his surroundings. His thoughts, like his gaze, were a bit misanthropic. Honestly he couldn't help it. The chatter and merriment of the reception demanded that he snark and smirk as a matter of principle. Valentine stopped and sat down beneath a tree when no sound from the reception could be heard. He had a lot to think about. Decisions to make. Now wasn't the best time to devote to those things so he would do his best to keep his thoughts from them and focus instead on calming his mind and getting back to Rhythm.    "Talk" Think "You"

It was wonderful to see Vail so happy, to know that she was taking the path in life that she wanted most. And yet, the Alpha found herself watching the festivity from the background, skirting around it without fully joining in.

She had too much on her mind, what with Vlad’s entrance into the pack - something she was not happy about, and his closeness to all those she loved the most. She didn’t know much about the man, except that he was a slaver and he had come here to collect Rhyme and Epitaph. She would die before she let anyone near them, and just thinking about it make her blood boil.

Feeling her anger rising, the wolf decided to take a walk, letting the festivities fall behind her before she could cloud them with her mood. She found the scent of Valentine, and was curious what he was doing in her pack lands away from the reception.

She followed the scent, and it took her to a tree, the blue man beneath it. She gave him a smirk when she saw him, stopping not too far away. “Too much cheer for you?” she wondered, curious what Rhythm had done to ensure his best behaviour, other then the smirks, he had kept himself surprisingly well behaved.

Valentine was deep in thought when Shaye's voice reached his ears. He blinked, his gaze focusing slowly, and then cast a sly glance her way. "One can only take so much sappiness without retching and I'd hate to let all that cider go to waste," he said wryly. Speaking of cider, Valentine was feeling quite mellow thanks to the drink. He wasn't in the best of moods, but the usual fire that made his dark moods explosive was burning low. He eyed Shaye speculatively, his gaze suggesting he thought she had left the part for similar reasons. "What about you? I'm surprised you're not back there rolling in the sap."    "Talk" Think "You"

The dark wolf looked at her as her voice broke his silence, and she could see the sly smile on his expression. She couldn’t help but laugh at what he said. Despite her love for her sister, she had been feeling a little of it too, not in the same way as Valentine. Just… seeing other people reach the full extent of their happiness well she knew that such a life would never be for her.. It almost left her feeling bitter, but her love for Vail was too strong for that bitterness to be anything but a dampening on her night.

His expression was speculative, and she almost flinched, but managed to stay steady. No, there was no way he would guess. She was quick to bring the subject to something more serious. “Hard to stay there and be merry when we had a slaver held captive on our lands.” she sighed softly, “He can’t stay here, but I can’t let him go, either.” she had meant to talk to him about this at some point - he would need whatever information they could get from the slimy piece of wolf. Valentine would be going after his co-workers soon enough, after all.

Valentine's heavy-lidded eyes grew alert at the mention of a slaver. His expression became hawkish and he bounced out of the sated slump he'd allowed himself to fall into against the tree. The old king sat up and leaned towards Shaye so suddenly he gave the impression that it was all he could to keep himself from rushing Shaye and shaking more information out of her. "You have a slaver?" How long had they had it? Had their captive told them anything useful? Why hadn't he been told? Valentine had many questions but he quashed them all when a more important thought struck him. He licked his lips, his expression equal parts keen and malicious as he thought about all the things he'd do to a slaver if he got his paws on one. "What if I told you I had a solution to your problem? A way to keep him captive without keeping him in Abaven?"    "Talk" Think "You"

Woops, like gravity suddenly changed direction, he lurched suddenly towards her. She managed, just, to not take a step backwards at the sudden motion. The intensity in him was surprising after his earlier lax mood, and she realised that what she had said was very, very interesting to him. She almost smiled, this man had mostly dismissed her purely by her association with Abaven, but that pack was so far different from the old days the only things the same where the name and the lands. He had grudgingly trained her, and his method had been, ‘thrown her into the deep water and see if she drowns’ Now, she held something that interested him. She wondered if she could use that to Abavens benefit… “We do, he strolled to our borders in search of Epitaph and Rhyme like he thought we would treat him like an equal.” she snorted, Abaven didn’t treat with slavers, and with Shaye and Rhyme at its head, wasn’t afraid to show a little teeth. “My lead warrior knocked him down a peg, and now he is ours. Tell me, what is your solution?” ""

Upon hearing how Abaven had gotten its mousey paws on the slaver Valentine grinned wolfishly. "A dumbass," he hissed gleefully before roaring a rude laugh and booming, "That's marvelous! Let's hope the rest of his kind are of similar intellect." He was amazed that one of those slimy creatures had thought he could what, ask nicely and the captives would go back willingly? How such a man had made it to adulthood baffled him, but perhaps the leaders of the slaver band kept simple-minded men around for grunt work and this one had simply gone rogue. It was hard to say and he honestly didn't care enough to consider it more. "Well, you don't want him and I...do." Valentine grinned, the expression malicious and devoid of humor. "So give him to me; I'll make sure he never lays eyes on my son again." He didn't know who Epitaph was, and honestly, he didn't care. Rhyme, though? He wouldn't let anything happen to him again. A better idea struck him then and before Shaye could speak he purred, "No." His grin widened. "I have a better idea. My son Chaos is alpha of Legion, a pack in the south. There that slaver of yours will never taste freedom again. Perhaps I could facilitate a trade, hm?"    "Talk" Think "You"

She still didn’t understand what had been going through the man’s mind when he had politely waited outside the border of a pack that had sworn to kill of his kind. That they didn't immediately killed him was a kindness he didn’t deserve. Whatever he had hoped to achieve, she would see to it that he never, ever hurt or touched a member of her pack. So, when Valentine laughed, she gave a wry smile. She hadn’t fully decided how much time she would give Valentine with him and was thinking it through when he instead mentioned that he wanted the slaver, his solution was to take the man off her hands. She was tempted to say no, to keep Abaven in a large part of this slaver plot. Of course, Valentine then said the words that would affect her - to make sure he never laid eyes on Rhyme again. She didn’t want Rhyme to be reminded of what he had gone through every time he saw this slaver, what he thought in the fact that she had decided to let him live, and let Ace hold him captive. She hadn’t really talked to him about it yet, something she should have fixed immediately. Did Rhyme wish they had killed him immediately? She didn’t know, but the thought of Valentine taking him certainly appealed to her. “Alright, open up a trade with Legion over this, but i am aware that give you unfettered access to the slaver. In return for that, you take my three strongest wolves with you when you go after the slavers. Three experienced, hardened, warriors.” There. Abaven would have its part, it would have wolves to free and protect the innocents well Valentine got to rain blood. ""

As soon as it sounded like he was going to get his way Valentine became the picture of repose again. He leaned back and relaxed against the tree trunk behind him. Valentine wasn't quite sure what to make of Shaye's statement about the deal giving him unfettered access to the slaver since that was point of him offering anyway, but he was willing to gloss over that detail if it meant he got his paws on Abaven's captive sooner. Shaye's words made a flaw in his plan jump out at him. How much time would they waste in negotiations by traipsing all the way to Legion to get Chaos? He wanted the slaver now. The sooner he got him the sooner he could begin extracting information from him. Besides, he was certain Chaos would accept control of the slaver without question. No doubt he would be just as eager to get his paws on him. So would it really hurt to cut out most of the dealing in the middle and just show up at his den with slaver at his side? "Hm..." he mused. "You know on second thought, perhaps this should be between us, hm? I'm assuming you're eager to be rid of him, yes? How about just you and I deal so that the trade is made today. Right now. I'll still take him to Legion; there will be no chance of escape for him there; and you can go back to your party and enjoy it knowing your problem is gone." Valentine clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "If you find that acceptable..." He waffled for a second, then said, "I'll take three Abaven wolves with me on the raid. I'll even throw in the promise not to bitch about any of them." "Talk"    "Talk" Think "You"

he first spoke of a deal with Legion, and she was interested to build relations with that pack. So far she had only sent Rhyme that way, she had not spoken with his half brother herself. Before she could think on it much longer, Rhyme would then change his mind, and speak of making the deal now, themselves, pointing out that she would want the problem gone now.

Hmm, she thought it over, it was more fast-passed then she had expected, and did cut away her chance to make a deal with Legion - but perhaps it would buy her some good will with Chaos. “Very well, but this concerns Rhyme as well, the warriors are his to command, so his piece of Vlad is perhaps slightly higher then my own, i’ll call him over and we can make this deal.” she didn’t expect Valentine to mind, Rhyme was his son. Perhaps he would even think he would get a better deal with Rhyme here. Plus, they could then go on to talk about the logistics of moving the prisoner, if he wanted someone else with him or some means of securing Vlad. this was more than just passing him off to Valentine. They did not want him getting loose, and they wanted information from him.

As she thought this through, she cast a glance at Valentine. He was offering not to bitch about them and she gave him another wry smile. Yeha, she would believe that she she saw it.

She took a step back, and raised her head to call for Rhyme.

Rhyme was enjoying himself despite not partaking in any of the recreational activities provided. Partially because of his lingering desire to drink away his problems and partially because of the ever lingering threat over his head. The enemy could strike at any time, and now that they had one in their borders he felt even more uptight. He should have relaxed more but the slate alpha was unable.

He had noticed the guest list begin to trickle away. Vail and Solor had wandered away. Though Vail was the happiest he had ever seen her she still managed to give him a cold shoulder. He had shrugged it off, but it was still odd. His father had wandered away not long ago, and Shaye as well though the last place he expected them to be was together.

When Shaye's voice reached his ear he became perplexed. She had just been here why hadn't she talked to him earlier? He tilted his head and returned to his feet. Hustling he didn't rush, her voice hadn't indicated an emergency. He trotted towards her, soon seeing her lithe form as well as the mountainous one of his father.

"What are you two doing out here?" He questioned as he came to sit beside them.

So close and yet so far. Still, he didn't expect Rhyme to give him much trouble and this way would no doubt still be faster than trekking all the way to Legion to fetch Chaos. The cider he'd had at the reception made it easier to be patient so he simply leaned against the tree and waited for Rhyme. "What are you two doing out here?" Rhyme asked as he approached. "Discussing a problem of yours and how to get rid of it." Valentine glanced at Shaye and then forged ahead. "I want that slaver, Rhyme. Shaye and I have been discussing under what terms Abaven might give him to me to take to Legion."    "Talk" Think "You"

Rhyme appeared fairly quickly, and she gave her Alpha partner a quick nod of hello, before turning her attention back to Valentine. He was quickly all business, laying out what he wanted. “That’s right - this way we won’t have to keep a slaver in the pack lands where two wolves are about to give birth, and we can still use the information he can tell us.” she explained to Rhyme, catching him up to her thought process.

“He could take the slaver to Legion, and promise a spot for three wolves in the slaver raid - yourself, Ace and Ody.” she gave Rhyme a little more of her attention here and lowered her voice, even though Valentine would still be able to hear. “So this is about what we might get back from giving this pack - which has less vulnerable wolves then us - the slaver, what would you want from this trade.” she said, giving Rhyme the floor.

As he took a seat Valentine was quick to offer their discussion. To be honest Rhyme hadn't thought much about Vlad since he'd spoken briefly about him with Shaye right after he'd conversed with the slaver himself. He cocked his head curiously, Valentine wanted to take the man back to Legion with him. He hadn't really made the connection, but it made sense that Valentine would want to question the errant slaver himself.

Rhyme wondered how Vlad might take becoming a slave himself. He wondered how his father might treat him. Of all the slavers he had dealt with Vlad seemed the most empathetic of his underlings. He looked back to Shaye as she spoke, and she was right. Rhyme didn't want to risk the lives of his unborn children. Any of them. What did he want out of this trade?

"He knows where my Half sister is." Despite Valentine's uncaring for Rhythm's bastards Rhyme had grown to feel protective of them. "If you can, would you be able to use him to retrieve her for me? He said he could find her, but I couldn't very well let him go out to fetch her." He wanted Eulogy to be safe, he wanted her to be free. She'd suffered so much, he didn't want her to live the life she had been trained for. "If it's not possible I will be content with Shaye's proposal." He added, knowing Valentine might not be able to guarantee such a request. It was all he had wanted out of Vlad to begin with.

Valentine very carefully ignored Shaye's "two wolves about to give birth" comment and focused on the task at hand. After settling down beside Rhythm at the reception he'd noted that the mangled, child-sized slave glued to Rhyme's side appeared to be pregnant, but turned a blind eye to her proximity to Rhyme and its implications, and told himself that his son couldn't possibly be that desperate to get laid. He intended to keep his promise to Rhythm today. Tomorrow...was another story. "He knows where my half sister is." Valentine didn't move or say anything in response to this and instead waited for Rhyme to finish speaking. He assumed Rhyme held the same affection for his half siblings as his mother so he was trying not to disparage them in front of his son. Although he had yet to get a complete feel for the extent of it, no doubt the experience with the slavers had weakened Rhyme and Valentine was unwilling to worsen his condition over such a trivial thing. If they wanted to love those little monsters, that was their business. "I have no doubt I can get that information from him," Valentine said firmly. It would be foolish to take their captive on a rescue mission. There were just too many chances for escape. While Valentine had yet to see the man, he was certain the slaver had lots of easily removed parts that would no doubt make it easy to enough information to send someone on a solo rescue mission. That struck him as a better option. "If you like, once it's obtained I can give it to you." His gaze went from Rhyme to Shaye and then back again, and a hint of an eager smile began to pull up the corners of his mouth. "So we are in agreement, then? The slaver is mine in exchange for information on the half sister and a place for three Abaven wolves in the raiding party?"    "Talk" Think "You"

Valentine remained stoic while his son spoke, Rhyme had little love lost for Vlad. He couldn't help but think he'd made a breakthrough with the slaver when they had talked but his little plans held no sway when the safety of his unborn were in question. Vlad hadn't made him think he would harm anyone, but he couldn't make it worth Shaye or Tana fretting over his presence. They could get what they wanted and send Vlad away, never to set foot in Abaven again.

As he finished his father was quick to offer the information he sought. Better yet Valentine would give him said information and wouldn't have to search out the young Eulogy himself. Rhyme felt a bit of relief flow through him. The girl was not lost yet.


Rhyme nodded as Valentine reiterated the deal. Vlad's head for Abaven's heavier involvement in the raid and information leading to the rescue of Eulogy. He hoped it wasn't too late for her. He hoped she had enough sense not to starve to death, but had a sinking feeling she had followed the first wolf that walked by her. "Yes." He answered simply, his gaze shifting from Valen to Shaye.