It had been rather a lovely evening with Briar, rekindling a part of their relationship he hadn’t even realised had begun to fall dormant. Sirius wanted to be able to bond with all his children. From now till forever, he loved them with all of his heart.

So, while he might care little for diplomacy, he would venture out into the world with Briar at his side. Giving her an idea of the Alphas and styles of the packs in the land. Letting her speak with the word of the Armada, and how to carefully navigate diplomacy.

He had organised a time with Briar, brightly and early in the morning for her to prepare for a journey and meet him at the borders. The Warlord himself was there already, waiting at the edge of the Armada for his daughter to arrive.

Ooc: Hope you don’t mind the first post we aren’t ‘there’ yet just to give us a moment to set up for diplomacy lesson <3


"Sirius Fatalis"

Once Briar finished her breakfast with Lia she cleaned up and began making her way toward the border to join her father at the border. For so long it felt like she had just been running in circles and yelling into the void when it came to her father and her family, but seeing him hold true to the commitment he made to show her a bit of what diplomacy looked like and what it was like to speak to some of the other packs did make her happy. She was beginning to count down the days between now and the summer when she would begin making the move to The Hallows and she didn't want the almost season and a half she had left with her family to be a waste. She wanted to learn as much as she could from them before she took on this massive change in her life and these trainings and trips with her father were going to be exactly that.

She smiled as she approached him with a small satchel slung across her where she and Lia had packed a few things for the trip. The distance between here and Abaven wasn't all that long, but you never knew when you might need some basic herbs or might want a snack. She had been extra careful with cleaning and grooming her fur the night before so she was certain that she would be looking her best when they went to go meet Abaven's alpha today. "Ready to go?" she asked her father with a grin, giving a gentle wag of her tail. As she stood beside him she was reminded of just how much she had grown. She remembered being so small and how larger than life he had seemed back then, how even his paw was nearly as big as she was. Now she was only a few inches shorter than him with her adult height and barely had to tip her head up to look him in the eye.

"Briar Fatalis"

And there she was. She’d gotten so tall lately, her tawny form towering over the long grasses. The Warlord grinned at the sight of her, grabbing her as she approached and kissing her brow. Careful not to mess up her coat, even the old man Warlord could see she’d made efforts to look nice. “You look wonderful” he told her, releasing her and giving her space. “Indeed, let's be off” he said, sending Bast forward with a gesture. Marshal already glided soundlessly above them.

With his daughter at his side, the Warlord let them away from Armada territories, and towards their allies. It wasn’t long before they were approaching the rapids. As they neared the border, he nudged Briar. “Abaven is a peaceful pack. Theory, the Alpha here, likes to keep the peace. She’s always been welcoming, no matter that i’ve given her some trouble in the past” he gave her a crooked smile “Would you like to do the owners of calling out for her?”


"Sirius Fatalis"

She giggled as he grabbed her up into a hug to kiss the top of her head, shooting him with a playful glare as she shook her coat back out once he released her. She still grinned when he complimented her though, saying, "Thanks! I wanted to make a good impression." She nodded when he agreed to her question and began to lead them off toward their first destination. She glanced up at Marshal as he drifted overhead, remembering all the times her father's companions had accompanied her as a child. Being permanently back in the Armada for the time being had made her very reflective on her younger days, back before everything spun out of control, and sometimes she wished they could all just go back to those times. Everything had seemed so much more simple back then. But, then again, she wouldn't dare give up the growth she had accomplished or the relationship she had with Art so maybe the hardships were good for something.

While she was lost in thought and musing on her life the trip to the rapids went quickly and before she knew it they were approaching Abaven's border. She looked to her father as he nudged her, listening closely to what he said about the pack. She didn't know much about most of the other packs, but she had never heard anything bad about Abaven so she had assumed that they were probably pretty peaceful. She did make note of the alpha's name when it was given to her and she grinned as he gave her the chance to call for Theory herself. She gave a nod before tipping back her head to let out a howl to call for Abaven's alpha. Once she was done and she listened to the sound fade into an echo she slid the satchel off and sat it on the ground beside her while they waited, her tail wagging gently with anticipation.

"Briar Fatalis"

An unfamiliar call rang out from the borders. Theory had been quietly observing Fable while she fished, taking great delight in her niece's enthusiasm. She was the only one of the litter who had remained after Poem and Sparhawk had ventured to his homeland and she had taken a special affection for her. It was easy to pass the hours watching her lark about - it reminded her of the precious few months of her own late childhood before she had been called to alpha in her adolescence. Nevertheless, duty called, and so she answered. She stood up with a great stretch, told her niece to have fun (and be careful about the ice, it was still thin in places!), and went on her way to greet her guests. Sirius and one of his children stood at the border. She quirked her head to the side but offered the pair a friendly smile. They hadn't had the chance to speak much with the infinite winter dividing them and now this strange, half-light that devoured the land. No matter. At least the weather wasn't entirely inhospitable, if a bit odd. "Sirius - to what do I owe the pleasure?" Theory greeted him warmly and gestured to the maiden at his side, just a hair older than her own niece. "And who accompanies you?" "Speech"

He sat at ease at Briar’s side, feeling the cool wind in his coat, and the scent of Abaven stirring around them. He wasn’t sure what it was about Abaven, but he liked something about this pack, about its people. The strength of Poem and Theory had impressed him perhaps. Their endless kindness even in the face of hardships. They were unique creatures to find in this world.

“Theory” he said warmly when the younger wolf arrived. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. I came to renew the bonds of our alliance, and to introduce my daughter Briar here to diplomacy.” he gave Theory a wry smile “Sadly, she has to take these lessons from her grumpy old man.” he teased, summoning Bast forward with a gesture. “I brought you a gift, Theory. Some of the precious metals i’ve dug up near our beach” he said, unravelling a small pouch from his leopard companions neck, and passing them over to Briar to pass to the Alpha.

"Sirius Fatalis"

Briar waited patiently at her father's side and eventually they were greeted by a pretty, monochromatic woman with a vibrant feather falling from behind her ear and Briar sat up a little straighter, giving the woman she assumed to be Abaven's alpha a warm smile. The other woman greeted her father by name and questioned about her and her father returned in kind, greeting Theory in turn. Briar dipped her head in a polite bow when she was introduced, saying, "A pleasure to meet you, Theory." She smirked and chuckled when the Warlord made a comment about having to take lessons from a grumpy old man, giving him a little roll of her eyes. There was no one she would have rather learned from, old and grumpy or not, and he knew it.

She came to stand at his shoulder when he motioned her forward, letting him pull out the gift he had picked for the Abaven alpha. She was a little surprised when he handed it to her, but she still took it happily and presented it to the other leader, placing the pouch in front of Theory with a nod of her head. "I hope you can find some good uses for these." Taking a step back she settled onto her haunches beside her father with a smile. She was kind of glad that her first outing as a "diplomat" was with someone they were already friendly with. She knew that there were going to be times where she'd have to speak with packs that she wasn't as familiar with or perhaps weren't on good terms with in the future, but this was a good first lesson.

"Briar Fatalis"