Only a few short hours into the festivities and already Aryn was mentally drained. For all of her life she'd tried to be a perfect little lady but never before had she smiled for so long or forced herself to make so much small talk with strangers. While the other wolves broke off to enter in their various events and competitions she took the opportunity to decompress, finding herself a private section of the thin river and placing herself gently at it's bank to stare into the water. With a single claw she broke the surface tension, watching with fascination as the water split around it to continue on it's way downstream. Faint but lively music still hung in the air and already she was finding herself starting to relax. Soon she'd feel ready to rejoin the celebration, maybe find a seat at the feast or spectate an event.

Needing a moment away from the bustle of the festival - a bustle he was frankly not used to, and as a very private individual one that he had no wish to get used to - he found himself walking beside the river, the sound of running water soothing his tension and the walk settling his mind into stillness. He paused in hesitation when he came upon a girl laying beside the water, but he had come upon her too unexpectedly to avoid notice, so he continued towards her.

And nearly turned and walked away again, manners and reputation be damned, when he smelled the pack scent upon her. He had gotten the distinct impression that Torin wanted the Abraxas to have nothing to do with his pack, and he would no doubt not thank Eligos to be speaking aline with one of his yearling girls.

Perversely, that was what decided him to coninue forward to stand beside the girl. "I am surlrised to find a young lady like yourself all alone out here instead of enjoying the festival. Is everything all right?" Gentle concern colored his warm voice as he addressed her.

Aryn was lost in her daydreams and with a mind so far away that the approach of the man slipped past her notice. Were his words louder and without the gentle warmth of concern she might have been startled alert, a reaction the yearling would have shamed herself for having. The soothing tone complimented her daydream and embellished it rather then broke it, and it took a few more moments before Aryn realized someone was actually speaking to her.

A few rapid blinks of her sharp pink eyes brought her back, her head turning toward where she thought the sound had come from if it was in fact a real voice. There beside her were legs - tall, muscled, charcoal legs - and Aryn had to tilt her head back high to look into his blood-red eyes. "Oh!" She peeped meekly, a hot flush blooming in her cheeks. She must look so apathetic, laying there by the water and ignoring the concerned approach of a gentleman. To her credit she remembered to attempt to be graceful as she stood to greet him appropriately face to face.

Blowing out a soft exhale she attempted to bring back her liveliness, and to prove to him that she was indeed well she gave him a gentle reassuring smile. "I'm fine, really. Just a bit overwhelmed by it all." Lirim had never held such large events and their pack was a rather small, cozy size. Aryn didn't think she'd ever seen so many wolves in her young life. Rather suddenly it had occurred to her that this man too, she'd never been introduced to. "Pardon my manners, Sir. I'm Aryn Valentine, of Lirim."

The girl continued to daydream a moment before she turned her head as though surprised to see someone really there before rising. Eligos nodded with grave understanding as she claimed to be just overwhelmed by it all, and spoke to reassure her. "I understand. It can all be a bit..." he paused, searching for a polite word, settling on, "...much." He bowed his head gracefully in greeting at her introduction. "It is very much a pleasure to meet you, Aryn. I am Eligos Abraxas, of Aerie." He could have withheld his surname as he had with Poem in the hopes of avoiding the inevitable 'gasp its an Abraxas the cursed child rapers and murder hobos' but it was more exhausting to invest a great deal of time and effort into a conversation before the downward spiral that wasted it all, so it was better to get it over with immediately just in case. It had worked out when Poem had found out. His face softened, mouth curving slightly into a wistful smile at the thought, though he kept his attention on the girl in case she collapsed in hysterics or something.

The hesitance with which he spoke came across thoughtful, and Aryn gave a shy encouraging smile as he searched for the word. Continuing his introduction only solidified that impression further, her interest in this polite gentleman manipulated only slightly by the surname he gave. Abraxas. She'd of course heard stories and not all of them good, though her father's wisdom on not judging a man by his name kept the yearling from thinking on him too harshly.

"The pleasure is mine, Eli." She repeated softly, the warm blush returning to her cheeks. "Can I call you Eli, or do you prefer Eligos?" Surely he couldn't have been one of the Abraxas' from the stories she'd heard. Already her fantastical mind was putting a story to the man, labeling him as a kind and gentle soul and of course not at all one of those murderous heathens from outside of Boreas. Not a man who raped or pillaged or conquered, a true gentleman.

"Have the festivities gotten to you as well? I find the sounds of water here to be soothing, but maybe that's just my being raised around so much of it." She pointed fleetingly towards the river that split the territory, then smiled down at her paws shyly. He'd not want to hear about such silly things and a polite lady would ask about him before divulging her own life's story.

"You may call me whatever you wish," he assured her, quite relieved that she was not going to react badly to his surname as her alpha had. He moved to seat himself beside her so that she need not crane her neck to speak with him. "I am not much used to the bustle of this many wolves either," he admitted. "There's certainly a great deal more noise than I am used to." The constant chatter of hundreds of wolves, traders calling out their wares, and under it all the unfamiliar music that tended to jangle at his nerves rather than please him. He was much more used to sitting on the sidelines and observing, but as alpha he by necessity must be involved publicly.

At the girl's prompting, he let the sound of the river come to the fore. "It is beautiful," he murmured to be polite, though in all honesty he could only think how the sound of another's approach would be masked by the river, and sitting here beside it facing it mad him feel tense and naked. He showed none of that, though, as he smiled down at the girl. Let her have her enjoyment of it. "There is not much running water where my pack is now," he said, casting around for a subject so as to not be rude. "Though we do have a lake, which is pleasant in the summer heat."

He hadn't had a preference to what she should call him, so she mulled both options over in her head and decided. "Eli then." It was short, sweet and friendly sounding, and served to soften the intensity of his blood-red stare. He might be dangerous, she couldn't let herself forget that small possiblity no matter how much she wanted to. He sure looked dangerous, at least. Tall enough to tower over her and with enough strength so clearly in his lean muscles that she knew she'd have no chance against him in battle. Aryn inspected him curiously as she considered, wondering if she looked close enough if she'd see any scars.

She'd realized she'd watched him too long, and turned her head back to the water. Her lips parted into a small 'o', releasing a short exhale that she hoped might be grounding enough to force the blood out of her cheeks. Eli continued the conversation and she latched onto the topic gratefully, unaware of his true feelings regarding the soothing sound. "You don't strike me as the type to enjoy soaking in a lake." Aryn said suddenly, her smile tugging wider on one side. While it may have been how some wolves chose to relax, she'd expected the fighters to go out seeking more bloody ways to wind down. A full-body shiver climbed over her as she imagined the dark man locked in battle. Banishing the image, Aryn continued. "Is Aerie close by to here?"