She had already made herself quite familiar with the packs of Auster and southern Boreas that she had encountered and had made good strides in building relationships with those packs so now it was time to focus on the packs closest to their borders. Manea had passed the pack that occupied the near by thicket many times in her crossing back and forth through Boreas from the island she called home, but she so far hadn't interacted with them. It was a pleasant day with just enough cloud cover to keep the sunlight from being blinding so why not take advantage of the beautiful day to do a small bit of traveling off the island. She left her cuirass at home, but she did wear her bracers with a dagger tucked along the inside of her leg. She didn't imagine a simple meeting going south, but she hardly ever left home without them either.

Manea approached the pack's border and stopped just shy of the scent markers. It was a bit difficult to tell exactly how much land this pack claimed for themselves. She hadn't spent a significant amount of time scouting them out, but whenever she did need to pass by their borders to get to the lands further south it did seem like a significant amount of land was claimed by them. It made her hum softly with interest as she settled back onto her haunches before tipping her head back to give a call for their alpha. She didn't really know what to expect, but waited patiently to see who would answer her.

"Manea Mendacium"

She found herself having less and less time to patrol and not enough manpower to delegate the job to someone else. The act of it used to soothe her, but she felt permanently frazzled now. There was always another thing that needed doing. When she heard the border call, she was nearly at the very edge of the Rapids, about as far away from it as she could be. Cursing herself for... well, nothing in particular. It was out of her control, but it still felt good to cuss. Theory turned from where she had been heading to wash off after dusting out the student's quarters and splashed through the shallows instead on her way to answer the call. The dust on her legs and underbelly washed away, but a skunk's stripe of filth remained along her spine.

Theo pulled up to greet the stranger with a smile, dust and grime and all. One day she'd greet guests with a clean face again, but that would be after these final preparations were complete. So close. It was all tidying now, which meant she was all dirty. "Hello," she called from Abaven's border side. The purple female looked familiar. Her gut did a strange little skip-jump when it finally slid into place: this was the wolf who had battled Sparrow for the right to claim that vacant pack. "I'm Theory, Headmistress of Abaven. The school will be open shortly, by the end of the season, if that's what you've come to inquire about." Best to know her intentions first.

Manea waited patiently to be greeted by whoever might come to greet her at this unknown pack's border. Her aqua gaze roamed over the tangled forest of plants ahead of her, the thicket dense and looked like it might be difficult to traverse if you didn't know the land well enough. It was an interesting location to choose for a pack, though she did suspect that it offered a good amount of cover and potential den locations. She hummed curiously and let her gaze drift away off into he distance while she waited, her mind beginning to wander and think about things she needed to get done around the pack once she got back. They were still getting settled in so there was still plenty of work to be done and she did hope that this visit would be quick, but that was beginning to look questionable.

After a fair bit of waiting she heard movement coming from the brush ahead of her and she brought her gaze back to the pack lands in front of her, letting her gaze land on a monochromatic woman with simple markings that approached her with a friendly enough expression, her dark coat dusted in spots with dust and dirt. There wasn't much that was particularly notable about the smaller woman at first, her black and white markings not striking her one way or another, but the vibrant blue feather behind her ear was memorable and different enough to strike a memory in the back of her mind. The mental image of the loud, rowdy crowd that had gathered behind the earthen-hued ruffian during her challenge for the northern pack was seared into her memory and this woman had been front and center through the entire thing.

The easy, relaxed smile that had been lingering on her lips while she waited remained, but the recognition showed in her eyes with a slight flicker across her expression. The other alpha introduced herself, her title, and the name of her pack, all information that Manea stowed away for future reference. She didn't want to immediately jump to conclusions and opinions of the wolf that aligned herself with someone like the wolf she fought, but it was difficult not to have a sour taste in her mouth. She gave a small shake of her head to the notion of the school that would apparently be open soon, replying, "No, that's not what brings me here. I'm Manea, Genetrix of Elysium. I recently founded my pack and we have taken up residence in the island just north of here. Since your pack is our closest neighbor I wanted to come meet the leader and introduce myself... I do wish this was my first impression of you. Unfortunately it is not."

"Manea Mendacium"

And alas, she recognized her. Ah well, perhaps it was better to go over this now. Manage the bad first impression like she would an infection: drain it, apply a fragrant healing compress. Hide that nasty bit festering with some greenery and monitor it until it healed. "Pleasure to meet you, Manea. I appreciate you taking the time to greet me and I'm glad your pack found a place to call home. I recall your fight with my cousin on the battlefield - it was well met. A rousing challenge." Theory said with a quick, assertive nod. "As you may have seen, all of Boreas turns out for the spectacle of a challenge. It's something of a pastime for some wolves, and I hadn't seen one... I always show up for family," she said smoothly. That's it, lance it! Let that pus drain. "My school is a neutral area, accepting students from all walks of life. I'll instruct them well to respect your borders. Is your pack primarily family...? Many seem to start that way." Theory had a feeling the other female wouldn't be forthcoming, regardless of the questions she may or may not ask. She would just have to ride this out and see where it might go. Perhaps she would be proven pleasantly wrong.

While Manea wasn't afraid to hold a grudge where it was deserved, she was still fair and not vindictive toward wolves who didn't deserve it so she was willing to hear the other alpha out as she went on with her pleasantries. She was sure that referring to the challenge as rousing and a spectacle was meant to be complimentary since it meant that they had fought well, but she hadn't gone into the challenge wanting to put on a show or be entertaining. She despised the chaos the pirate and her ruffians caused that day and she didn't particularly care for anyone associated with them. However, she could see that Theory was at least attempting to save some face and smooth things over. If they were going to be neighbors, which now seemed unavoidable, Manea figured she might as well attempt to be pleasant with the other alpha.

She could understand the drive to show up for family and that at least explained away why she had been there on that side of the fight, but as much as she adored and was dedicated to her family she also knew when to separate herself from them or cut ties with those that no longer deserved to be called family. As long as you respect my borders I will respect yours," she responded in kind. She wasn't sure she would ever take part in the school that Theory offered, but it was an interesting concept at the very least to have a pack so open to others and willing to teach anyone and everyone that came to them. "It did certainly start out that way. About half the pack is made up of my family these days... though most of them have been with me since we were just a band and some feel more like family than my own blood." Irilyth, Chade, Ricin... These days she spent more time with them than her own cousins.

"Manea Mendacium"

She nodded in agreement at Manea's words. There should be no reason students would wander that far off and up the coast. "I will make it clear that we have new neighbors to our north and to respect their boundaries. There is no reason that you should see one of ours that far out of our territory, but some may be children who are far from home... I only ask that you show them leniency if one does get lost," Theo pleaded. If the alpha wouldn't agree to that, she'd had to take stronger measures to deter students from wandering off in that direction. Build a barrier? A ditch? "It is good to be surrounded by family and those you trust. Our core faculty are wolves I wouldn't hesitate to trust with my life. They are good teachers and kind wolves. If you have any interest in the school, I welcome all questions."