Manea had been scouting the border of the northern pack for some time. With her new home made within Alias Island, it was a fairly short trip to reach them and she would rather be over informed about her target than not at all. However, as days passed, she was beginning to wonder if there was really even a pack here to begin with. The scents along the border were infrequent at best and whenever she spied across the border it was like a deserted wasteland. Perhaps it really was as Chimera said - perhaps this pack really was no challenge.

Part of her was actually disappointed. She had been looking forward to the fight and had been training and preparing all this time, ready to fight tooth and claw to stake her claim. It seemed as though there would be no fight, at least not from whoever it was that claimed they owned these lands. For a moment she considered turning her gaze elsewhere, but this was the pack that Venom wanted eliminated and if taking this pack would please the Empress then she would do it - even if it felt like taking food from a pup.

The Mendacium matriarch brought her family with her on this day - her husband and children along with her handmaiden to keep an eye on the adventurous pups while she handled the business at hand. She told her children to stay well away from the border until she called, not wanting them to land themselves in the middle of trouble if for some reason it came to a fight. But the moment she ensured it was safe for them to be there she would bring them in so they could witness the moment she established the pack that would carry on into their futures and their children’s futures.

She walked up to the nonexistent border and strode across into the land with Alastor beside her, Aqua gaze scanning the frozen tundra and sparsely planted pines for any signs of life. As they neared the large ship at the back of the territory she slowed to a stop with a smirk. This was it. Time was of the essence and she was tired of waiting. She tilted back her head and let out a long, loud howl, laying her claim to these abandoned lands and calling anyone from this pack that might remain that would wish to join her or for anyone that might wish to try and stop her.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

After the little fight against her cousin, she had been sticking around the purple-pelted female like a bodyguard. Well, not really one but there as a shadow for them. But again she was there out of convenience, out of self-benefit. She though that sticking around would perhaps win her chances to find a mate and find stability. And in exchange she would be in Manea's service, in whatever she wanted her to be. And as she followed both of them in the distance, her eyes scanned the surroundings, for any watchers or spiers. And she would gladly remove any unwanted stalkers from this world. But so far the place seemed nearly abandoned, empty. And with that cold expression of hers, she stood by the two giants, waiting for anything that may would occur. "Speak"

The day had finally come. After months of planning and preparations, the Mendacium family would stake their claim in the world and found their empire to last the ages. He and Manea had scouted the pack the Ashen monarchs had told them about since they had moved to the northeast, checking for patrols, signs of life, any activity whatsoever. The lands, however, were barren and dead. The scents of wolves had long since begun to fade, and it was becoming more and more evident by the day that this pack known as Winterfell was no more. What a shame... thought Alastor, I was hoping for a challenge.

The Mendaciums approached the border, Alastor beside his violet queen, and scanned the horizon of the empty lands. A cold wind whistled across the frozen tundra, carrying with it the smell of the sea and pines, but nothing else. No wolves lived here any longer. The shadowed behemoth turned his dark gaze down to his two small children and their caretaker, giving Irilyth a singular simple order: "Keep them back here." Giving his beloved mate an excited grin, Alastor strode confidently past the vanishing border and into the vacant lands. Nobody came to intercept their invasion, nobody stopped their approach to the giant derelict ship washed up ashore in the mainland. The closer they got to the structure, the more Alastor's guard went up, anticipating an ambush from the shadows. It was what he would do, after all.

Unfortunately, that excitement never came. There were no wolves in the ship. There were no wolves anywhere. This pack was dead and gone, ancient history to be lost to time. Perfect. Manea let out her claiming call, and the dire brute beside her grinned wider. He dared anyone else to challenge his wife. He wanted them to step forth so she could gut them, rend them to shreds and leave them beaten and bloody in the ground. Found their new empire on a bloodbath. "This is it, my darling," he said with a nuzzle and a kiss to her cheek. "The beginning of our forever." All they had to do now was wait.


"Alastor"

Warning: Alastor is an explicitly mature character for violent and sexual content. Read his threads with caution.
As his mate, Manea may enter any of Alastor's threads not marked Private.
____________________

Now when Ignis had been at the Pirate Party, he hadn't mentioned giving up his pack, but he had been rather far away from it. He promised she'd see the pirate ship sometime, and she didn't expect to be able to see it simply because his pack had dissolved. Really, it was a surprise, but maybe it could be advantageous. Sparrow had decided not to go after Ashen in part by the advice given by her friends at the party. If no pack existed, though, then there were minimal hurt feelings when she'd stride up to take it, right? Apparently she wasn't the only one with that mindset as she heard another wolf call out. She followed it and it led her to a bright purple thing that rivaled Jupiter and her pirate brothers in brightness, but not complexity by far. The simple coated woman had some marks around her eyes that reminded her of a Destruction marking if maybe a spider had attempted it. Not a bad look, overall. Sparrow walked a respectable distance away from the woman as Friar and Pongolo surveyed the area from Sparrow's back. "It's a good looking ship, ain't it?" Sparrow asked, giving the woman a toothy smile. She gave her own howl of claiming intentions. "Surely you're not against some competition for this pack, right?" She remained relaxed. The two didn't have any beef besides desiring the same pack at the same time. Still, she was on her guard in case the other woman retaliated right away.

Hyacinth was not a fan of the cold. He was tall sure but built like a dancer and so poorly insulated from the chill, plus the north had the memories of that ice bridge. But he'd sworn he'd follow his king everywhere and so when her claiming call went up the young pirate would follow, even into the dreaded north. As he walked his pan flute bumped against his chest, the man's white dipped paws flew over snow until he stood before the behemoth of the metal beast. He slid his way towards his king, putting a decent amount of space between himself and the other wolves who'd gathered, his mismatched gaze traveling to land on the purple woman Sparrow was eyeing up.

Hyacinth moved to stand behind his king, though he was not threatening, simply an act of showing his allegance. He was here for a good time, one way or the other.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2021

Manea leaned into Alastor's affections as he gave his praise, giving him a grin as she chuckled. "Well, we'll start our celebrations once it's actually ours," she told him. She was confident and was certainly more than ready to call this pack their own, but she wouldn't count her ravens before they hatched. There was still opportunity someone might oppose her and she willed them to come and make this moment the challenge she craved for it to be. Imperia was close behind them once the call went out and she looked back at her cousin with a pleased grin. The monochromatic woman had promised to follow her and here she was, just as she said. She hoped that Poe and Naraca were near by as well. Having her family behind her would only help to complete her dream.

A few moments passed and another set of paw steps pulled her attention, her aqua gaze landing on a earth toned woman, covered in a dappled pattern of browns and creams. Her eyes were striking with a similarly bright blue gaze that held a mischievous mirth that Manea appreciated. She smirked as she turned to face her fellow challenger, the scales of her armor shifting and glimmering as she moved, stepping away form Alastor and Imperia a bit to make it clear she would be this woman's opponent should she wish to go through with this challenge for her claim. The woman was a heavier build than herself, but they were either the same height or extremely close, making it so she could look the other woman in the eye easily.

She chuckled at the assessment of the ship she had barely spared a glance at, grinning at the mention of a challenge. "I was just lamenting over the fact that there was no one to fight for this. It seems you've come to alleviate that problem for me." She cast a curious glance toward the ship before she looked back toward the nameless challenger with a raised, white-marked brow. "If it's only the ship you're here for you're more than welcome to have it... You can have your ship, I'll have my power and we can both walk away with what we came for." A more malicious grin spread across her lips as she added, "But if it's a fight you want I'm more than happy to give it to you. So what will it be?"

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

All this training and racing at least proved some benefit when his Pirate King's challenging howl rang out in the north. The distance wasn't excruciatingly far, but with how much snow was stacked upon the ground it very much felt like the worst walk in the world. Upon the pirate's back hung a rather large bottle of booze he'd pilfered from the band's stores - Sparrow obviously had forgotten to bring the celebration refreshments, and surely she'd not be angry that Art was thinking ahead in the preparations. He arrived shortly after his brother, sliding up alongside him to where he sat and offered his support for their Pirate King. "Does this mean we're gonna live in the snow now?" He complained to Hya beneath his breath, the words vibrating gently as he shivered. Shifting the booze off his back and between his paws, he thrust it into the snow as if it was a flag to physically plant their claim. "Talk" "Listen" Think

Imperia waited with a blank expression, again she lost any emotions if she ever had them at all. She was here to do whatever Manea told her, ignoring the flattery between the two lovers. Feeling nothing but voidness, not caring at all. And it turned boring as she also wanted to have a chance to taste the blood of someone after so long. The assassin by trade haven't done any jobs of that sort and she really missed it, she missed bringing someone to cry for mercy before taking their lives without any inch of shame, of compassion. No one showed her that so why should she? But finally a few wolves came. Imperia quickly placed her eyes into the new comers, staring at the two colorful wolves. Intense, barely blinking her eyes. Then she looked at Alastor, silently asking for further moves on her end. "Speak"

I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis trotted along at a slower pace behind the other pirates. True, her age affected her movement but she was also still nursing her injuries from her adventure across the Armada border. For some reason Sparrow was leading them north into the snow but she didn't question and instead let her thoughts drift to the animals she wanted to train to pull her new and improved fire cart. How wondrous that would be! She didn't bother to bring it with her this time. It was safely stashed away.

Once they arrived in the north to see this supposed pirate ship it was to find that someone else was trying to claim the territory. Well, that was some rotten luck. Pyralis was ready to hog tie the couple long enough to do their exploring when Sparrow went and said she'd challenge as well. Pyralis blinked slowly for a moment before huffing loudly and striding right over to her king. "Da fuck you saying, Sparrow? We're pirates! We roam where we will, not tethered down by any pack lands. Why the bloody hell do you want to turn us into a boring old pack? Doesn't that freedom mean anything to you?"

Loners and pack wolves alike had funneled past Abaven's borders as they headed north to play audience to the challenge taking place. There were only a few options when it came to circumnavigating Mount Volkan, so it brought a fair few right past her doorstep. The news of the challenge had been interesting - finally, she could let out the breath she'd felt she had been holding for over a year. After casting out an old woman into the snow and claiming they would rain hellfire down around Boreas, Incendium had petered out to less than a spark. At least she could rest easier now when she looked to the north. When she arrived it was still early enough. Peering around to discern where the pirates were gathered, she chose a spot between two brilliantly colored males. They reminded her of lush tropical birds. "Don't worry, I'm here to cheer for the king," she murmured conspiratorially. The alpha's eyes sparkled with mirth. Boreas would never be boring again if her cousin decided to claim the northern packlands. "Speech"

There was some big to-do going down in the snowy bits of the land and, since Oxx was bored, he figured he might as well go see what all of the fuss was about. Anything was more interesting than sitting around doing nothing, right? There was a steady trail of pawprints cutting through the snow and here and there Oxx spied a traveler. Perhaps this little event would be more interesting than he'd imagined. The faint scent of pack wolves hung in the air, but it was an old, stale smell. Not that it would have mattered much anyway. Everyone else was doing it, so why shouldn't he? The behemoth traipsed over the border and riiiight into the territory. There was a pep in the beasts step as he made his way to where a mass amount of spectators speckled a wide open space. From the murmurings of the congregation, he guessed that this was some sort of pack challenge and from the way that the wolves were divided, he could see the clear cut sides, each wolf sitting with their team. Dark grey eyes scanned the crowd, falling upon someone that he knew. The big lady that he'd hunted with before and, fancy that, he remembered her name. Cutting straight through the center of the division, Oxx flashed the purple fae a grin, exposing a mouthful of serrated teeth, before moving to seat himself in support of her side. It was clear who he was backing here. "Speech"

Aurielle Adravendi

The Spirit had already been on her way north to see just what was going on with the Northern kingdom, and why the radio silence had drawn out so long. She’d brought Tel for some training in diplomacy, along with Ardyn. However when she spotted the signs of a claiming – or perhaps a challenge? – she paused, then flicked her tail to the two yearlings to keep close as she padded forward, scanning the gathering crowd and spotting a few familiar faces. She slipped up beside Theory and settled, brushing shoulders with the younger alpha in a brief, friendly bump of greeting as she murmured, “What did we walk into, here?” Her voice was low enough for only Theory to hear clearly as her eyes scanned the crowd. Sparrow was familiar to her as the woman that had escorted Kaija back as a pup from one of her adventures. It was a relief that the girl was now old enough to wander alone, and had gone her own way as a loner. The vibrant woman in shades of violet and blue, however, was unfamiliar. Aurielle had enough of a read on Sparrow to guess she’d be one of similar behavior to maybe Chaos. There was a gleam of more under the tall woman’s smile than good-will. Mischief. The purple woman was an unknown entity. She shifted to glance at the yearlings beside her with a softs mile a she added to Tel, “Be still, stay close to myself and Theory here, and watch everything closely. Tell me, later, if you think you can see who supports whom here.” She had done something similar at a challenge with Caelia at her side, letting the young woman observe the proceedings, though that had been at the Field, and not at the lands of the pack being challenged for. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Recluse knew less than nothing about the northern pack. But when the challenging call went up Recluse decided it was time to make an exception to her usual rules. She would leave the pack lands before night set in, she knew it put her at a disadvantage but with Lilith and Galho her curiosity was enough to take the risk. Especially when the second responding call went up, so the king was making her move huh?

Recluse arrived to the party, not particularly early but well among the throngs, the various scents and Lilith's whispered words and instructions told her much about the two challengers, the most surprising part being that while yes she certainly knew Sparrow and it seemed that she knew some of the wolves on the opposing side, one of whom was a little more linked to her life than even she knew yet, though she had some inkling of the life starting to grow inside her. With a quirked eyebrow the pale alpha chose a vantage point that denoted her lack of allegiance, either way, the outcome would be interesting and she would have a few words to exchange with the victor.



Speech

Art by Vethysnia

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

After the favorable visit with Abaven, he’d been wondering how this trip to the north might go. He’d been pleased to hear that Tel was going along, too. The girl wanted to be a diplomat, and he knew such an outing would be deeply informative for her. So, he’d trotted contentedly along with the two glowing females, keeping to the rear to have Tel between two skilled fighters, especially as his mother’s demeanor shifted at the sign of possibly trouble ahead. Soon enough a crowd came into sight, and he was glad to recognize Theory as his mother moved to sit beside the Abaven Alphess. He followed his mother’s unspoken sign, taking a seat and scanning the crowd with interest, fire and ice gaze taking in the clues, occasionally glancing to Tel to see what the younger girl saw. To his eyes, there were definitely two sides; even Theory was showing her support, seated in such a way that the earth-swathed, tall woman was her pick. Friends? Family? His mother seemed to recognize the earthen woman, but he didn’t miss the consideration she gave the vibrantly colored woman at the other end. No recognition, just speculation. He nodded at her words to Tel, leaning to add in a low murmur to the girl, softly so that only her ear would catch the words, “Theory’s the alphess of Abaven, and an ally. Things like this can get crazy sometimes. Fights can break out on the side lines if emotions run high enough. Valhalla is generally supposed to stay out of such brawls even if it’s Mother standing in defense of the pack. We stand firm and united.” Mother… or me… I’ll be the one defending the pack against challenges one day. Not so far off, either. The thought hung at the back of his mind, even as he returned his gaze to the faces around them. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Úlfr followed along after the other pirates on their trip north. Unlike some of his companions he was excited to move up into rougher, snowier weather. Úlfr loved snow and his thick coat meant he was far more comfortable in cooler weather than in the balmy heat of the south. When they arrived it was to find an abandoned pack land and a strange pair of wolves staking claim. What surprised him was Sparrow throwing her hat into the ring. He cocked his head to the side and glanced about at the other pirates, wondering what their thoughts were. Úlfr was honestly fine whichever way this went though clearly Pyralis wasn't. He flinched a bit in embarrassment as the old woman voiced her concerns.

And I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack
And all around the world was waking, I never could go back
'Cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn wide open
And finally it seemed that the spell was broken

The challenging call that echoed through the lands didn't go unnoticed by many, and Kirsi was definitely no exception. It wasn't a secret that Incendium had been quiet for quite some time, and though it was hardly the sort of pack she'd originally signed up for originally, her attention had been elsewhere for some time now. Most of her time lately was spent training her children and ensuring they were ready for life's challenges; her packmates could fend for themselves, as wolves in the north were bred to do, and she spent little time dwelling on the affairs of others.. especially Ignis. If he'd gone absent again she hadn't noticed, but she couldn't shake the creeping feeling that history was repeating itself.

This time, the outcome would be less clear. She gained little additional information as she headed to the rapidly growing gathering. Her gaze fell on the two who were beginning to stir as if about to brawl - they stood out like sore thumbs, at least to her. Not a single other wolf from Incendium had gathered, she noted quietly. Her scent was plainly Incendium but she showed little distress at the sudden threat to her home. Her loyalty - when it came to wolves beyond her family - had always been alarmingly fickle, easily swayed by shows of power and dominance. Mostly she was just curious what might unfold. Making no move to avoid the growing crowd she settled somewhere near the edge of the group, hoping Song and their children might arrive soon. This was as good a learning experience as any for them.

Since he'd already been having a good nose up around the north, it was only natural Kuroki made himself at home amongst the gathering of wolves. He didn't really know what all the fuss was about but they all had to be here for a reason, cause it was worth their while. Kuroki got the sense people were taking sides, one group vs the other, and unless things simmered down there was gonna be a fight sooner rather than later. Cool.

Trotting onto the scene, Kuroki noticed Theory and shot her a wide and beaming smile. The sort that read: Lady. Oh and look, Recluse and Wendigo were here too, small world huh? Sauntering over to the leader of Habari, Kuroki figured the Empire's eyes and ears-well maybe not eyes at this time of day- would know what was going on.

"Yo what's happening? They gon' fight?"He asked gesturing to the brown and purple wolf.

Dómari followed out after Aurielle and two of her charges. He knew they didn't really need any protection. Aurielle and Ardyn were accomplished fighters and far younger than he was but it still eased his concern to to along with them, just to keep an eye on things and offer a set of fangs if needed. They were headed up northward when they arrived at a land dispute. It seemed two wolves and their groups were interested in some territory. He settled down next to Aurielle, eyes scanning the present wolves and making calculations as he observed. It wasn't uncommon for side fights to break out in a situation like this. "Speech"

The changes in the pack hadn't gone unnoticed to Bronze, but he wasn't even a yearling yet and didn't feel much of it concerned him to begin with. Ignis had returned home but he'd made a lot of assumptions that weren't true, and Onyx had denied his words publicly, and he'd joined her. Generally he wasn't an outspoken wolf but he didn't like assumptions being made about his family, especially when he was proud of what they'd accomplished so far. Sure, they were young, but they'd been training and taking care of themselves just fine. That was their parents' biggest priority, after all; making sure they were strong and independent, no matter if they had present leaders or not. And it seemed... Ignis had disappeared again? Strange. At least someone was calling to stake a claim on their pack. Bronze hesitated at first - and then again even more when he headed toward the S.S. Antiox and realized just how many wolves had shown up. Every fiber of his being begged him to run, not out of fear, but out of sheer dislike of being around so many others. Especially strangers. Wearing a face that screamed annoyance, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he skirted around the edge of the group until he found his mom. When he settled in beside her he caught a familiar feature across the crowd - was that Oki? - and he gave him a wide-eyed look, wondering why he was here. His mom's calm exterior told him he had no reason to be on edge but, to put it quite simply, he hated being around others most of the time. He just hoped this would be over as quickly as it had started.

Haüyne trailed behind his mother and brother, his curiosity was piqued. Much of his understanding of the world was still mostly theoretical. He was aware of what the call had meant but in practice, he had no real understanding of what it meant for his life going forwards and the young Destruction was incredibly eager to see for his own eyes what that meant. So he settled on the opposite side of his mother from Bronze, gently leaning in towards her for a brief moment of seeking comfort. While he was an incredibly analytic wolf the boy was still young and the uncertainty that hung in the air made him nervous, for many of the wolves gathered the outcomes were probably less impactful to their lives than it would be for his and his family's... outside of maybe the fighters themselves. Still, he would sit and wait in silence, roving his gaze over the gathering, trying to take in as much information as he could. Ears perked for any words he could catch or his mother's voice, wondering if this too would be a lesson shared with him and his siblings. "Speech"

Art by Flowerewolf