Word had been circulating among the loners that a festival was going to be held in the west. Svala naturally wanted to go and see. She was new to Boreas and couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn more about the cultures and landscapes that made up this new world. She packed a few of her herbs and other items in a square piece of deer hide, folding the four corners in to make it easier to carry and then she was on her way. By the time she arrived there was already a large gathering of wolves. Dozens upon dozens. It really was quite impressive. She found a good place to settle down, gently releasing her bundle as she took a moment to take in all the sights and debated what to do first.

Freshly groomed, though no amount of grooming would tame the mohawk of bristles that trailed down the back of his neck, and with the still-unfamiliar weight of the necklace Aurielle had gifted to him resting on his chest he made his way through the crowds of Nomads toward his mate's side. He gave her a gentle smile, and a wink for Ardyn. He had left the rest of the pups to make their own way there rather than try to ride herd on them in five different directions - the Nomads wouldn't let anything bad happen to them, and the young companions he'd given his children were under strict orders to sound the alarm if anything wasn't right. While not all of the birds were quite old enough to fly, they were certainly old enough to give a good piercing shriek if someone from another pack, or a predator, decided to harass one of their charges. He settled himself beside his wife and son, and swept his gaze benevolently over the gathering crowds. "I have a good feeling about this year," he rumbled thoughtfully. "Last year's festival certainly made me a much happier man than I ever expected. I wonder how we could possibly top it this year."

Justice shouldered her way casually through the gathering throngs, ignoring what the Nomads called music and she just called silly noise, and likewise ignoring the squealing pups that raced in front of her at one point. Her eyes were fixed on the crowds, not the trade goods or the vast array of colors and whatnot, because she wasn't really here to enjoy a festival really. She was here as security, and as such she was absolutely in her element, walking with a jaunty confidence as she bulldozed through the crowd with complete nonchalance. The only disappointment was that, in her experience, nothing was likely to happen and everyone would play nice. Oh well - she had the fights to look forward to, so she'd still get to sink her teeth into something. In the meantime she'd keep an eye out for any would-be thieves and assholes, and maybe someone she knew would show up to shoot the shit with her.

Eligos was still furious over being raided, and his pack was still recovering from their wounds, so he nearly decided to pass on Valhalla's festival. Besides, they'd only just had their own trade fair. But the opportunities provided by the festival were too much a lure for him to resist, and he led those of the pack who were well enough to attend the long distance to where Valhalla had chosen to set up. Despite the obvious impatient excitement of his two malinois companions where they flanked him on either side, he paused at the outskirts and swept his gaze coolly over the crowds to see who had already arrived before he strode forward, making his way through to where Aurielle and her mate were seated on a platform with one of the children who had attended Aerie's fair. Zee earned an icily neutral glance before he turned his attention to Aurielle. "Aurielle," he called up in greeting. "You have outdone yourself this year."

He carefully pressed his paw onto Kida's tail in warning at the furious glare she was sending the Ashen Armada's second alpha, and with a clear effort she stood down as far as to lay down beside him, though her gaze stayed locked on Zee's horned form. Cypher, seated on the other side of him, studiously avoided looking at Zee at all, clearly unhappy as well though his tail gave a tentative little thump when he spotted the pup up on the platform. They knew the rules as well as Eligos did - there was a peace accord in effect at the festival and if it was broken he would certainly not have it be one of his pack who did the breaking. Eligos seated himself with grace, even tilting his head attentively towards Aurielle to hear what she would have to say to them.

He could only hope that he had managed to drum it into his pack's heads enough on the way here that those who chose to attend would do so with dignity and honor.

Only her fascination with the music the Nomads and their companions were making kept Aoife still long enough to be groomed, and as soon as a bright blue scarf had been tied around her neck to act as a sling for the tiny, barely feathered swift nestling to ride in, she was off like a shot to see everything she could see. Her mohawk already flopped forward into her eyes despite the grooming - as usual - with the white-ringed quills sticking up along with it nearly hidden in the auburn, black, and gold rings of the mohawk's long hairs. She rocketed through the crowd, dangerously underfoot, bounding from one strange and wonderful sound to another until she spotted the platform her parents and Ardyn sat on and raced off that direction. She hit the side of the platform with barely a pause, tiny kitten claws and dextrous toes letting the lightweight pup scramble up the wooden side of it, hind claws digging in to scoot her up as fast as a kitten. Mum! Mum! Da! C'n I have a instament? Please?" Standing as tall on her hind legs as she could with her forepaws pressed to her mother's shoulder she gave her an entreating grin framed with teeth too big for her face. "Pleeeeeeease?" The naked little bird peeped out of the temporary sling with eyes wide at the wild ride it had just taken.

Her unending and far flung wandering happened to bring her within viewing distance of the Dancefloor of the Gods and even from a distance she could see the wide array of tents and lights and sounds that were seemingly covering up the area. It got the flighty girl curious and she edged closer till she was just on the outskirts of it. She had not a clue what was going on, but it seemed like some kind of party. A fair maybe? A festival? Either way, she was curious about it and she began to wonder if she needed some sort of invitation or something to go in. There were so many wolves here that she felt certain that if she just didn't draw a bunch of attention to herself she might be able to just sneak in... After a bit of careful investigation it seemed like there was wolves that smelled like all kinds of packs around and even some that were more akin to loaners. With her concern that she might get kicked out if she went further in to the festival dashed, Elise lifted her head and pretended she was absolutely supposed to be there without a shadow of a doubt... even though there was still a tad bit of doubt. She sauntered through the fair, weaving between the other patrons and peering curiously at the tents. There were all kinds of bits and bobbles that she would have never even thought about before and every time she passed something shiny or sparkly she couldn't help but pause and give it a long, wanting look. As she got closer to the center of the whole thing she noticed that there was a wolf up on a platform as if she was going to address them and... was she glowing?! Confused and amazed and still doing her best to blend in with the rest of the crowd, Elise turned her attention toward the wolf that seemed to be in charge of the whole thing and paused her would be shopping so she could listen. "Talk" "You" Think

Lynvarr had heard about the festival from an old nomad who was out spreading the word to loners in the more northern areas. He'd been resting at Waterfall Peak and planned to stay around there for the summer but the idea of the festival intrigued him and so he headed southward to the dance floor. He didn't have much to trade so he opted only to bring what he needed for the journey and his stay rather than extra items. Perhaps there would be some competitions where he could earn a few things here or there before making his way back north. It was a good day for travel and it didn't take him long to arrive.

Káti wasn't sure what to do with himself. He was off on his own now, officially kicked out of his former pack but what was he supposed to do now? He supposed he needed to find another but it didn't much like going around introducing himself. It was then word reached him of the festival and he figured this would be a good chance to see what the wolves of various packs were like and maybe he could find one to fit into. Ideally he could find a pack that would value him more as a healer than a warrior. His more non-violent ways had never settled well with his former pack though he knew the skills of battle were important for defending loved ones… but at the moment he had no loved ones to protect. Settling on the outskirts of the festival he focused on taking it all in.

While festivals and gatherings like this were far from being her thing, Caelia Adravendi knew attending would be prudent given how much effort Aurielle had put into this thing. Meeting with wolves of other packs, as well as with loners, was always a good opportunity even if she didn't particularly care for the festivities what would be happening, so that was why she forced herself to attend. Caelia was hardly good at letting loose and enjoying herself - and tonight was no different. Unlike her brother she hadn't dressed up for the occasion, arriving unadorned and likewise without much clue what the night had to offer her. Hopefully some of her siblings might be there to occupy her time, or someone else that she might know; though the list of wolves outside Valhalla that she'd met was quite small to begin with.

She slowed her pace as she approached, assessing the crowd. Quite a few Valhalla wolves were here, though most were strangers. She fought a slight wrinkle of her nose as she settled down on the outskirts of the group, taking in the sights at her own pace before deciding what she wanted to do - or better yet, who she wanted to speak to, if anyone at all.

Askan wasn't one for festivities. In fact he wasn't all too fond of socialising in any shape or form, but he'd heard rumours about a big festival, all were invited, and curiosity had gotten the better of him. He supposed, if pushed, he could see the allure, there appeared to be all sorts of goods and items for sale but since he was a loner he didn't really have anything of value to trade. Not that he much cared for material goods anyway, he wasn't like his sisters, that's for damn sure. Instead he meandered about, barging his way through the bustling crowds as he wondered what the hell he was doing here. Or more pointedly, if there was anything worth his while. Maybe some food, some friendly competition? Askan supposed he'd soon find out.

He’d faded well out of the way as the wolves had flooded the Dancefloor, watching from a distance as they set up over the course of a week or two. He’d sent Isolde to scout, and Wangui had gone to listen among the countless other primates, returning with a look of awe. A glowing white wolf, and a dark based, fiery child were among the many, and from what she’d heard it was a festival. All were welcome, and eventually, a song rose into the air, among the other distant, fascinating musical sounds coming from the grounds. It took him some time to decide to approach, and he kept to the outskirts, eyes scanning the mass of canines with some fascination. He’d never seen so many wolves in one place, not even smelled that many scents in the pack borders he’d sniffed at in passing. But the glowing female upon trhe platform held his attention. He’d not met a wolf that glowed like he did. His encounter with Malalia came to him then, and he realized that this must be the Aurielle the girl had meant. Had she been a mare, he’d probably have been smitten. As it was, she held his interest far more than her appearance. He’d heard the name Adravendi spoken a few times… or Wangui had and relayed it to him. Adravendi. The name he’d been searching for. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Sunder entered the wolf gathering with no small amount of caution. Most of the furred canines of Boreas he'd met had treated him well, or at least indifferently, but every once in awhile he encountered one who was convinced he was diseased and vehemently sought to be rid of him. Even knowing that was a possibility, he couldn't pass this gathering up. The chance to get his name out there and improve his status in life was too great. It was becoming more and more clear every day that he would likely be stuck here for the remainder of his days. Sunder was slowly coming to terms with that; that he'd never see his mother or his sisters or his friends, ever again. The thought saddened him greatly and even though it weighed on him constantly he was far too practical to wallow in self pity. He knew he needed to take care of himself and to make a home for himself here. It was for that reason he'd come to the festival. If he was going to live among wolves then he needed to get to know some and sooner or later he was going to have to pick a pack.

He paused to push the hood of his cape out of his eyes. In doing so he exposed the pale gray mud blaze that ran from between his eyes to the base of his nose. He'd applied the stuff thickly to protect his thin skin from the sun and it had been there long enough to dry and crack, leaving a trail of mud flakes down the sides of his mouth. It itched but he resisted the urge to scratch at it. If he did that he'd wipe it all off and have to start over or risk a burn - and he'd had his fill of those already this year.

The hood fell down in his eyes again and out of frustration Sunder flung it off. He valued his sight more than he cared about being stared at.

Before Armando entered the gathering he climbed a tree, looked out over those gathered and rubbed his paws together in glee. It was an ocean of possibilities. He didn't know where to start. Did he set up a fortune telling booth? Limp in and fall into the arms of a tender-hearted healer? Fly into the crowd in a panic and throw himself at the feet of a gallant hero? Or... He scrutinized the gathering. It was a huge gathering. Why not try something different in every corner? May the best scam win.

He scuttled down the tree and scampered towards the crowd. For this corner he'd just wander in and be normal, and since the place was loaded with non wolf companions Armando had a plan to go unnoticed. His eyes landed on a wolf (Eligos) with two smaller canine companions. The trio was moving to the center of the gathering and appeared to be making a beeline for the lady in charge. That's right about where the little grifter wanted to be so of of course he put on some speed and waddled after the canines as fast as his stumpy little legs could carry him. His goal was to get close enough for outsiders to think he belonged with them but not so close as to draw attention from Eligos and his companions.

When Eligos stopped to speak to Aurielle, Armando flopped down on his rump and pretended to be hard at work pulling a splinter out of his paw. His expression was dumb; he was just a wee cat thing brought along for the festivities. Harmless, dumb, and definitely not there to mooch free meals or steal valuables from shmucks.

Pyrrhic had followed Eligos from Aerie to the festival. He trailed far behind his brother and occasionally lost sight of him. It wasn't for lack of trying but Dantalian, one of his traveling companions and certainly the one with the shortest legs, was insisting on being independent today. She wanted to walk all by herself. Which was great, he had no complaints there, but for each one of his steps she had to take four or five and if he got too far ahead of her she complained bitterly about getting "mommy's little legs" instead of her dad's big ones like Asmodeus. To keep his ferocious little girl from getting ideas about stealing long legs from someone else, Pyrrhic was forced to slow way down to accommodate her.

By the time they arrived Eligos was settled down somewhere close to the woman in charge.

After giving his brother and the Ashen Armada woman a glance Pyrrhic directed Dantalian away and towards the many novelties that lay beyond them. The last thing he needed was for his daughter to sniff out one of the "thieving heathens". Knowing her, in a bid for vengeance she'd throw herself at the horned woman and not only would he then have to pry her off the woman's ankles, but he'd be forced to apologize to her - and that thought was too distasteful to dwell on for long.

Dantalian's attention swung back to Eligos suddenly and Pyrrhic's heart dropped. He nudged her with a paw, then said, "Listen, do you hear that? I think I hear singing. Shall we investigate?"

By the time they reached the festival grounds Dantalian was panting hard. Every time her dad looked at her she quickly puffed out her chest and acted like she was fine, but the moment his eyes were elsewhere she wilted. Matching his pawsteps was hard. She practically had to leap from print to print, and even then she almost couldn't make it. Why was he so big? It wasn't fair. Everyone was big! It was really dumb. If it wasn't such a mean thing to do she'd cut them all down to her size. No. She'd make them smaller so that she was the tallest wolf around. Yeah, that sounded better.

When they passed by uncle Eligos, Dantalian straightened up and tried to look casual, like she wasn't about to pant herself to death. Did she look frumpy? She felt frumpy. Dantalian paused to smooth down her fur. "Listen, do you hear that? I think I hear singing. Shall we investigate?" She whipped back around to look up at her dad. He wanted to listen to singing? Normally she'd frown at the suggestion but right now she would happily settle down anywhere as long as it meant she could catch her breath. "Yeah papa let's go!"

Meriadoc roved aimlessly through the festival grounds. He stopped occasionally to listen to a singer or watch someone set equipment up but was quickly on his way again. There was simply too much to see and not enough time to see it all in. Some elements of the nomad group reminded him of Delilah's family. How easily they all worked together. How they were a unit; like many parts of a single organism. Somehow it was different than a pack. The reason for that he couldn't put into words, but there was something about a nomadic lifestyle versus a 'fixed' one that fundamentally changed things. If he were being honest Meriadoc missed it. Some parts of it, anyway. The distance between himself and Delilah's rougher family members was quite nice, but he desperately missed the camaraderie he'd felt from the group as a whole. They'd felt like a family. If he thought about it he could still hear the shrieks of laughter from the horde of pups who ran amok through the camp. He could smell the smoking meats hanging from Aaron's drying racks. Feel the heat in his cheeks as one of the boys embarrassed him in front of Delilah. Ah, memories.

He snapped out of his reverie quite suddenly and was almost disappointed to find himself back in the festival grounds. Meriadoc mentally shook himself - this was a good day, he was going to enjoy himself here - and then set out in search of family. At least one of his kids lurked around here, and since this was Valhalla's shindig no doubt his siblings were around too.

It had taken the yearling a little extra time to decide whether she would be attending her father's-cousin's festival or not. It would be the first event of it's kind that she'd have been to since she was a little pup, full of singing and dancing and all the things Aryn loved. The worry for her was whether she'd be pressured into one of the many competitions being held, and seeing as she still sucked at pretty much everything she knew that to display her lack of talent would reflect on Lirim as a whole. In the end she'd decided it sounded too good to miss out on, arriving quite late in comparison to everyone else.

She stepped through the Dancefloor of the Gods lightly, giving a timid smile to each new face whom she passed. There were so many wolves present and most of them she'd never met before, the prospect of so many new potential friends was both exhilarating and terrifying. By the time she reached Aurielle there was already a crowd forming to greet her.

Aryn was not the type to shoulder through so many strangers and her father wasn't here to escort her to the platform. Rather than butt in to give her own greeting to Aurielle the girl resigned herself to patiently waiting, casting shy glances towards the back of the alpha's heads and waiting politely for them to disperse.

Deus followed along obediently behind his uncle, father, sister, and the other members of Aerie who had decided to attend. Normally on such a long walk the boy would be inclined to wander and explore, though this time Danta had requested to walk all by herself and that was enough for Deus' attention to remain firmly upon her. He kept a protective eye upon his big sister's tiny form as they traveled, casting her a multitude of glances and stares to reassure himself that she wasn't overly exhausted. It bothered him that he was the healthier of the two and so many times had he wished he could take her tiredness away for her and that they could play together for hours like other pups got to do. One day when he got bigger he'd be able to offer her his shoulder, literally, to ride upon when she felt too drained to continue.

Eventually the group came to a stop and Deus started to let his eyes wander. The crowd was so thick that it was intimidating and Deus found himself drifting without thought towards his father's leg to find security there. Scattered amidst the many wolves were even a few pups! He'd never met a pup who wasn't his sister before, and before he knew it his tail had begun to fiercely beat against his father's leg in excitement.

"Speech"