With instruction of expanding into further territories, Relm was given the task, or maybe moreso the challenge of discussing the potential danger and changes that expanding into firefly lake would bring. As it was not so easy settling into the island, she felt it would be the same moving into Firefly Lake. Luckily she knew the land well herself, and at least they wouldn't have to deal with current loner residents of the land.

She worked alongside Avacyn given the fact she was the labeled heir of Elysium. The information would be good for her to know and relay and help take charge of the protection and preparations of expanding into a new land. She grouped with those that had been assigned for the discussion and those that would be helping with patrols, layouts of the land, and Avacyn who would be overseeing and assigning tasks to others once they moved in.

"I'll start with addressing that we will need extra patrols around the lake once we have claimed it. We'll have to fend off any predators that would frequent the land and make sure no loners miss the new borders." Luckily the east had many water sources so once they made it past the rut, predators should get the hint to move on other places.

"Relm"

There was a lot of planning and preparation that would go into getting the Firefly Lake and the land that surrounded it ready for them to claim it as their own and in all of that they needed to make sure that this was the land that would give them the most benefit. There was a few options that were adjacent to the rock garden that they already claimed, but this one had been her pick. To her it had the most benefits and was in the best location, but she couldn't make this decision for everyone and that was why she wanted to pull in some more ideas and perspectives. Relm led the charge and she had entrusted leading the discussion to her after some brief discussions between the two of them, that way she could sit back and hear what they had to say without interjecting her own opinions too much. Then she could take all of this back to her mother so they could come up with a final plan.

She tried to get wolves from all different perspectives and walks of life so she ended up with Relm, Irilyth, and Desponia. She was fairly certain that none of them were very familiar with one another so they were sure to have varying opinions on things. As soon as they all gathered by the lake, Relm didn't waste any time getting into he conversation. She brought up how they would need extra patrols around this possible new territory to fend off possible predators and to make sure loaners would not miss the new borders. She nodded in agreement and replied, "I definitely agree with that. The good part is that with this land it will completely block off the land bridge to the island from the rest of the mainland so we can focus more of our efforts in patrolling the border around the rock garden and lake. Really, we shouldn't need to patrol more than the coast of the island that faces the shore as it is, but this way it gives us even more buffer from the main land." She glanced off toward where Abaven was located and mentioned, "This does force us to share a border with Abaven, but according to my mother they have been amicable."

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Honestly, Desponia wasn't really sure how much she trusted her sister or the sudden change of heart it seemed she'd experienced. But at least as far as the horned woman was concerned if her sister had some secret plan it wouldn't exactly help Desponia to continue to act openly hostile or avoidant. For the time being, she could at the very least maintain a bit of distrust but would go along with whatever was asked of her... Within reason. It was the within reason that honestly made her nearly say no, she didn't exactly have a good relationship with her niece. The last time they'd interacted she'd beaten her niece in their fight and frankly, her opinion hadn't improved much but well, there wasn't a good enough reason she could have given to really say no so she was here, showing up but her guard was clearly up. The woman listened, it was no surprise to her that her sister had expansionist ideals, but they were a mostly island-based pack, any land they took would be on the mainland and would pull on their resources more. Both the pink woman and her niece brought up some points but there was something so obvious to her not yet addressed. "Still the distance from the island to the mainland could put strain on our resources and members. If an attack were to occur at the lake the time between the start of the attack and our response could be hindered by the sheer distance from here to there. Which could also affect how soon we even hear an alarm go up." The island wasn't exactly small and there were many nooks and crannies on the island for a wolf to find themselves in that would make the ability to hear a call harder, on top of the time it would take to rush across the land bridge and onto the mainland. ""

Image by ArtByBeta

Irilyth had been quite surprised to find herself asked by Manea to assist in the expansion efforts of the pack to the mainland lake just along the northern shore of Boreas. Not because she still considered herself lesser or subservient to any of the wolves, but because she genuinely hadn't felt as if her skills and insight could provide much benefit to the expansion. Irilyth was not well versed in the intricacies of inter-pack politics, and her time in Elysium had been her longest stint as a member of a pack or band in her entire life. Still, she was honored that Manea had handpicked her for this job, and she would not let her alphess down.

The sandy blonde fae arrived to the lake along with the others, surveying the land briefly as they settled in to begin their discussions. The land had already been cleared of predators, scent markers put down by Manea and Alastor, and the hunters had located resources worth claiming here. The lake was a wise choice to claim—but it did come with its challenges too. "The lake is a major watering hole for many of the eastern territories' prey animals. It will make for good hunting grounds as well as keeping moist, fertile soil for herbs to grow plentifully," he pointed out, but turned a cautious gaze to Avacyn when she spoke of Abaven. "We must also not forget that, while they have been amiable so far, Abaven's alpha was the first to show support to your mother's nemesis, the pirate woman. They share blood, from my understanding, and it could mean a greater chance of pirates poking about our borders under the guise of a family reunion."

"Irilyth"

Manea hadn't originally planned on coming on Relm's planning expedition to the lake, instead letting Avacyn take notes to report back to her later, but she happened to be in between tasks when she noticed Relm's group heading off of the island so in the end she had eventually followed suit. She didn't want to interrupt them in any way so she didn't rush to catch up to them and approached the group just in time to hear Irilyth mention the relation between Abaven's leader and the pirate woman she had fought. She couldn't exactly disagree with the thought and it was something she had already considered herself. She was honestly a bit surprised that they hadn't seen anything from the disgraceful pirates since the day of the challenge, but she supposed that there was always the chance that could change with this new contact with their related pack. Manea took a seat near Avacyn, giving them a soft smile as she waved for them to continue. She was simply here to listen and take in their ideas and comments, letting the intelligent ladies of her pack show their astute observations. She knew where her strengths were and where they were not and she was not so prideful as to disregard the opinions of wolves she trusted.

"Manea Mendacium"

Relm mostly kept her gaze down on the ground between all of the wolves who had gathered, but her attention was solely on each one as they spoke even if she wasn't looking at them. It seemed that everyone's main concern was more on a raiding or intruding side, Relm was more focused on Desponia's mentions but everyone seemed to be on the same field.

Manea joined the group and immediately Relm was flushed but in a way that wasn't so obvious. She had glanced up just to see her before her gaze moved back down into the grasses. She had been looking down already so keeping her line of vision off of everyone else may have seemed more regular from her. "Maybe some of us could move out into the garden and the lake, or have an on call den of sorts for an extra paw." She glanced once again at Manea and then Avacyn, dropping the gaze yet again, "I'd be happy to move my permanent den out here."

"Relm"

Avacyn nodded to Irilyth as she talked about the benefits of the hunting land this place provided, but also the caution the lended to the fact that they would be bordering Abaven. It was true that the connection the other pack had to the pirate group that had originally kept her mother from forming their pack would be something to be concerned about, but she and her mother could continue building the relations with Abaven to hopefully prevent some of that friction from building. They would certainly need to build up their defenses along this border and keep more regular patrols. She glanced up with a bit of surprise when her mother appeared beside her, but she didn't say anything or contribute, instead waving them on to continue while she listened. Looking back to Relm, the pink marked woman mentioned some of them moving off of the island to have someone more permanently out here to keep an eye and then offered to move her own den out here. "I do think it would be a good idea to have some kind of more constant presence out here, but I don't know if you need to move your den out here unless you want to," she offered. "When we were originally scouting out the territory we had discussed making a covered pavilion of sorts on the edge of the lake for us to make use of out here. Maybe we can make something like that like a watch post on the other side of the lake closest to Abaven's borders. We could set up a schedule for the warriors to rotate out and take turns standing watch. Really, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have something like that in the rock garden too since it does take a bit of time to cross the island and go across the land bridge."

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Irilyth noticed another movement of violet out of the corner of her eyes, seeing the matriarch of the Mendacium family coming to join the group's discussions of expanding Elysium out to Firefly Lake. She greeted Manea with a polite smile and bow of her head when the Genetrix took a seat beside her daughter, clearly here to supervise and observe the future alphess at work. Relm suggested stationing permanent guards out by the lake as a preventative measure, but Avacyn was swift to dismiss the notion, claiming nobody needed to leave the island permanently. The idea of construction some guard posts did seem like a good idea though. "The guard posts would be beneficial in providing much needed shelter to our warriors as well, especially in the heat of summer or cold winters," she agreed. "If we're going to be using this land for a significantly greater amount of hunting and gathering, perhaps we could have your father construct a ferry system to cart supplies across the strait during high tide. That way we wouldn't need to wait for low tide to transport supplies back and forth across the channel."

"Irilyth"

Manea listened while Relm, Avacyn, and Irilyth all made points and suggestions mainly pertaining to the security of this new land and how they might go about filling those needs. Manea didn't like the idea of wolves moving off of the island permanently, but her daughter spoke for her in that regard and instead offered the idea of building a watch post of sorts near the Abaven border and scheduling a rotation of guards to take turns manning it. Irilyth backed up the idea with the additional points for the benefits of having a shelter for their warriors. Manea nodded in agreement and finally spoke for the first time since she joined them. "Relm, work with Alastor to begin putting a schedule of warriors together once we return to the island. Avacyn, perhaps you and Saracyn could work on building the watch post," she told them, delegating the tasks more officially.

Irilyth brought up another suggestion of building a ferry system of some sort to help transport supplies that they gathered from these lands they owned on the mainland and she was reminded of the ferry that Fenmyre used to get to their island. It was a great idea and one they probably should have put into place as soon as they moved onto the island officially, but they had been making due. "Good idea, Irilyth. They use something like that in Fenmyre. Scylla is staying with us... perhaps she knows a bit about how it operates and can help us start getting that put together. Avacyn, would you mind asking her about it?" Once her daughter agreed she nodded and looked to the others again. "I appreciate each of your advice and expertise. Is there anything else any of you would like to bring up or shall we start heading back?"

"Manea Mendacium"

Relm stayed quiet for the majority of the rest of the given points for each member of the group. They were all logical and thoughtful. Building watch towers combined as shelter both here and at The Rock Garden would be a big task in itself, but worth the effort and maybe a combined effort for those among the pack. Along with Manea mentioning to discuss with Alastor about a new patrol rotation, she would just nod in agreement.

She was still uncomfortable specifically around Manea, she would have been a lot... better off if the group was everyone but her. To no harsh feelings, just this anxious burst of expectations or something of the sort. She contained herself mostly, but she was silently uncomfortable the second Manea was there to observe them. Once she had asked if there was anything else to add or suggest, Relm went to stand as if the conversations had been over. She didn't leave though, just taking a glance over the wolves who were here together. "I'll be where ever you need me." She gestured kindly, if they needed help with the towers she would be there. Or the ferry. Or both. While socially she wasn't the best pack member she could make up for in other ways.

"Relm"

Avacyn nodded in agreement as Irilyth mentioned building a ferry to bring supplies across onto the island since they would be using the mainland more for supplies. It would certainly be handy, she couldn't deny that! They were very quickly coming up with a whole list of things that would need to be coordinated and built and while it did sound like a lot of work she was excited to see it all come to fruition. When her mother asked her to speak to Scylla about the ferry system that Fenmyre used for ideas she nodded again and added that to her mental to do list. They had made a lot of progress in a short span of conversation and it seemed like her mother was on board with all of it so she felt like it wouldn't be long before they officially made the land theirs. She gave a shake of her head when they were asked if there was anything else they wished to discuss and got up to start heading back to the island, her head abuzz with ideas.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

With everyone in attendance agreeing that a ferry system to the island would be a boon for the pack, it seemed that they had built a good list of improvements to add along with their acquisition of the lake. Shelter for their guards from the elements and the supply ferry were at the top, needing the most amount of construction and effort. Manea tasked Avacyn to speak to the girl from Fenmyre about constructing the ferry, and Irilyth silently committed to lending her paw wherever it was needed. Though not the strongest of wolves physically, the sandy blonde fae would be happy to lend her insight, planning, and supervision wherever it was required. With nothing further to discuss, Iri also rose to her paws, bowing her head in reverence to the Matriarch and her heir, and then began to head back to the pack alongside her Mistress.

"Irilyth"

With all of their discussion seemingly finished, Manea got to her paws to start walking back toward home. She paused briefly with a look to Relm as she said how she would be wherever she was needed and Manea gave her a soft smile and a nod. "I know you will be." Regardless of how they might feel about one another, Relm had proven herself a strong member of the pack and quite useful to them in many ways. She didn't doubt that the pink-marked woman would assist in however she was told. Turning her attention to her daughter she smiled and affectionately brushed her shoulder against Avacyn's, walking with the group for a bit toward the island before slipping back a bit to sneak Irilyth a grateful kiss to her cheek. She was always thankful for Irilyth's sharp mind and this had been no exception. Even though she hadn't originally intended on joining in on this cutting, they had given her much to think about and advised her well so she was glad that she had ended up coming along with them.

"Manea Mendacium"