As much as he didn't usually mind spending time on his own, it really had been ages since he and his brother had seen each other. He had made his way to Auster and lingered in the warmer climate for the duration of Boreas' winter and it had become very clear from his exploring around the southern continent that his brother hadn't landed there as well. Now that spring had come he was very eager to find his inverse twin again and made his way back up to Boreas to do so. Besides, the growing packs in Auster were starting to make the land feel a bit cramped and he was someone that liked to spend his time in new lands fairly often.

He skirted his way around yet another pack on his way back up into Boreas, finding it cool and overcast but at the very least most of the snow was gone and the temperatures were more mild. The interesting thing that caught his attention as he moved around the back that occupied the forest of pale trees was the fact that he caught a bit of his brother's familiar scent crossing part of it. He had lingered at the spot for a moment, wondering if maybe he was imagining it, but no, that was most distinctly Maverick's scent. He raised a brow and looked into the pale trees for a moment, scratching his head over the fact that his brother had either trespassed into a pack frequently enough for his scent to be noticeable among the other pack wolves' scents or somehow someone had convinced him to actually join a pack. He wasn't sure which scenario he believed more.

Making his way around the outer edges of the pack, he eventually found himself in a mostly wide open plain with very little breaking up the landscape. It wasn't the most interesting land, but it was close to where his brother surprisingly seemed to be so therefore it met his needs. He went a short ways away from he pack border and sat on a patch of dense grass. It looked like the plain was still recovering from the winter so there was still patches of dried, dead grass here and there, but it was slowly beginning to return with all the rain that had been happening as of late. Tipping his head back he howled for Maverick and then waited to see if his lucky tracking of the larger male had been correct.

"Gareth"

Maverick had been living in the Ashen empire for a couple of weeks now, and though it would take a good deal of time to grow fully accustomed to living in a pack once again, he was already beginning to show great progress. He was even starting to remember the names of the wolves he lived with and make friends with them! Perhaps the wild vagabond could be reintegrated into society after all. Venom had spent much of their time teaching him the ways of Ashen and of her Abraxas family, and though there was much for him to learn, Mav was fully invested in making this new life of his work, no matter how much effort it took on his part. The wolf was so caught up in the whirlwind of bedlam that came with the entire upheaval of his way of life that it was easy for him to forget about all the loose ends he'd left behind in the flurry of activity his days had become. That is, until one of those loose ends came calling for him.

Maverick had been learning some of the usual patrol routes of Ashen's warriors when the call from the neighboring territory came out for him. He recognized his brother's voice in a heartbeat, ears perking and head snapping up as a wide grin spread across his lips. He hadn't seen Gareth in some time since they'd both arrived in Boreas, each brother taking their own path to discover the strange new lands. Mav would never forget his brother, however, and while he just assumed Gareth had started making his own way after having not seen him for two seasons, the white and navy brute was more than eager to reunite with his rambler sibling! Mav abandoned the patrol route and rushed out the eastern border of Ashen into the wide field of tall grasses as far as the eye could see. With the murky spring weather bringing heavy gray clouds rolling about overhead, Maverick meandered through the vast plains, crunching dried grasses beneath heavy paws while teal eyes searched the golden fields for signs of his inverse twin.

He found him waiting amongst the golden grasses, bright coat standing starkly out against the land. Maverick's grin widened, beaming with fraternal affection for his brother. He ran up to his mirror twin, not even pausing as he went careening right into a tight brotherly embrace that pulled Gareth tight to him. "There you are! I thought you might've gotten lost and wandered into the sea or something!" he teased his smaller brother, playfully rubbing Gareth's forehead and nuzzling his cheek against his own. "Finally decided to come back and find me now that the snows are gone, huh? Not too cold on your little sensitive tootsies, eh?"

"Maverick"

He waited for a while for his brother to answer his call, and just as he had begun to wonder if maybe he had imagined or been mistaken over finding his brother's scent, Maverick appeared among the golden grasses. A grin pulled across his lips as Maverick's eyes locked on him a moment later and unsurprisingly his larger brother came barreling toward him. He braced himself for the impact and laughed lightly as Maverick slammed into him, getting pulled into a tight hug. "Well, excuse me for not looking for you around a pack of all places," he responded to the ribbing he got about possibly getting lost or wandering into the sea after being gone for so long. Now that his brother was here he could smell the pack fairly prominently on him, evidence that he had been living there for at least a short while. There was another scent mixed in even more heavily with his though—a lady's scent at that.

He grumbled between his laughter and started shoving his brother away at the nuzzling he got and the teasing about coming back now that the snow was gone. He rolled his eyes with a smirk, replying, "Some of us migrate to avoid the cold... Some of us apparently settle down with a lady to stay warm." His pale pink gaze was obviously curious at the massive development that had happened in his absence. His brother had always been the wild one between the two of them, the one that Gareth had been sure would never be the type to settle down or live in one place. And yet here he was, a member of a pack with what he assumed was some kind of girlfriend. "I'd tell you where I've been, but I don't think it'd be nearly as interesting as whatever the hell you've been up to so why don't you go first."

"Gareth"

Maverick hadn't initially noticed Gareth's apprehension or suspicion when he had come running up to greet his brother, blissfully unaware that Gareth was already trying to suss out why the stalwart vagabond smelled of a pack or where he had been for the past several weeks. It was his retort that got Maverick's attention, expression alert and attentive as he realized Gareth had noted the changes in him immediately. While not ashamed in the slightest, Mav did wear a sheepish grin with ears folded to his head, perhaps because he realized that this new path was a dramatic departure from his usual modus operandi. "Hey, there's no better way to keep warm in the winter than snuggling up to a pretty lady," he remarked with a roguish wink and grin, chuckling under his breath. He just left out the part that he'd been shacking up with the same lady all winter—and for the foreseeable future for as long as he could see and hope for.

Gareth deflected his question about what he'd gotten up to down on the southern continent, instead insisting that Maverick tell his story first. Since it was clear that his brother wasn't going to give him any reprieve from this line of questioning until he'd satisfied his curiosity, Mav breathed a sigh and settled in to tell the story. "Well, it actually started just before the winter at the tail end of fall," he explained, recounting the day he had met Venom at the borders of Ashen. "It was a hot day and I was setting up a swing down on the coast for some fun. I was near the pack border when this fae approached me, all huffy and uptight, demanding to know who I was and what I was doing." That roguish grin grew on his lips. "I gave her a bit of hell, y'know how it is, but she was really pretty, so I entertained her for a bit. And I mean really pretty, bro. Like, drop dead gorgeous!"

Maverick breathed a wistful sigh as he remembered his first encounter with the Ashen Empress, a dreamy smile on his lips. "Anyway, her name is Venom, and it turned out she's the alpha of this pack here. Ashen. After that first day, we kept running into one another, and after I saved her life, we both started hanging out, drinking and doping, started hooking up on a regular basis. She's incredible, Gareth! You've gotta meet her. She's... I dunno, she's just great! Really fun to be with, wicked smart, keeps me on my toes." Tries to bite my toes, he thought but didn't speak aloud, a wry smirk on his lips. "We did this sort of secret affair thing for the winter. Then she asked me to stay with her, live in Ashen and start a real relationship with her. And I... I kinda said yes." Maverick's ears flicked back again with another bashful smile. He didn't know why, but talking about Venom just made his insides twist all up in a good way. "So I've been living with her in Ashen for the last couple of weeks. It's a new sort of transition, but I think I like it." There it was, that was his story. Now all Maverick waited on was to gauge Gareth's reactions to his tale. Would his brother be happy for him, or disappointed and upset that he'd gone and given up their swashbuckling lifestyle?

"Maverick"

Gareth responded with a snort of laughter and a roll of his eyes when Maverick commented on how there was no better way to stay warm than to curl up with a lady. It wasn't that he necessarily disagreed, but he had never known his brother to stick with one woman so consistently that her scent was the only one he smelled on him. It made him wonder about this lady and how spectacular she must be to have snagged his attention so firmly. Luckily, Maverick finally satisfied his curiosity and recounted how he had met this woman while getting up to no good, as would be expected from his rogue of a brother, and how he had entertained this uptight, serious wolf because of her stunning looks. He smirked and chuckled as Maverick went on and on about how pretty she was until he finally waved him on with a roll of his eyes.

He went on about how their relationship had evolved, getting the full story on what had kept Maverick so occupied in their time apart. He saw how dreamy and far off Maverick looked as he spoke about this woman who he soon found out was Venom, the leader of this pack called Ashen, and he was just so surprised by the whole turn of events that he couldn't help but just grin and marvel at how this woman had managed to snag his brother and knock him so obviously head over heels. He blinked with surprise when he explained how she had asked him for a real relationship and had asked him to move in—and not only that, but that Maverick had agreed.

As shocked and surprised as he was, he could tell that this really meant something to his brother which wasn't something that he saw from him very often. He was happy for him—if not a little jealous. "Well, I guess she gets to take on the role of worrying over you and your reckless antics," he said with a smirk, chuckling as he nudged Maverick's shoulder. "She must be a hell of a woman to have tied you down. I'll definitely have to meet her some time." This new revelation did make him wonder what he was going to do now. He had been pretty aimless over the last few months and his only real plan had been to find Maverick so they could continue their adventures or figure out their next move. Now that Maverick had gone and settled down that did disrupt his plans a bit. "Or... Maybe I could come meet her now?" he offered with a shrug. "I suppose I can interrupt my very busy schedule for you." There was obvious sarcasm in his tone when he spoke and gave his brother a little grin.

"Gareth"

The more Maverick explained his situation to his brother, the more Gareth looked more and more gobsmacked and skeptical. Okay, he did have to admit, hearing about his wildcard brother actually starting to get domesticated was quite a stretch from the rowdy rabble-rouser he had always been. But hey, nobody said he wasn't going to raise a little hell in Ashen! Maybe he was just reconsidering his priorities in life, figuring out what he really wanted for himself. He and Gareth had both just turned four, approaching their mid-lives. Did he really want to keep being the lone ranger living like a rambler, hopping from bed to bed and from woman to woman? Pulling in pretty ladies to slake his lusts and keep him warm at night wasn't going to get an easier the more gray their fur started to become. Maybe it was time they both considered what they wanted for the rest of their lives—although he certainly had a pretty damn good incentive when Venom was the one he was "settling down with".

Maverick snorted and gave a dramatic roll of his eyes to Gareth's initial remark. "Oh puh-leeeeease! Like you were so worried about me all the time, Mother Hen," he quipped back with a dismissive wave of his paw. He smiled all the same and returned his brother's shoulder nudge. Secretly, Mav was a bit concerned over what his sibling might do now. The two of them had been partners in their travels for three years now, thick as thieves since the day they'd been kicked out of their home by their oppressive sire. With him finding a new life in Ashen, he worried about his brother flying solo. Sure, Gareth was the more mature and responsible of the two of them, but this was a huge dynamic shift for the siblings. Would Gareth ever consider finding a place to settle down as well, or by joining Ashen did Mav just guarantee a parting of the ways for him and his best friend?

Fortunately, Gareth didn't seem to have that on his mind yet, as he mentioned meeting Venom. Maverick's eyes lit up with obvious delight at the idea, his grin widening on his face. "Oh hell yeah, you gotta meet her, bro! She's awesome! Fair bit of warning though, she's sharp and sarcastic, so be careful with how much sass you give her, because she'll turn it right back on you." The taller brute chuckled, recalling the many verbal spars he had engaged (and occasionally lost) with Venom. That woman could hold her own in a lingual battle and it was one of the many things he loved about the Klein matriarch. "Oh, you can interrupt your busy day to meet my girlfriend, eh? Hmm... well, I do think I have some time available in between all the times she's booked with me in her bedroom, so I might be able to squeeze you in for a meeting," he teased back, laughing while rising to his paws. "C'mon, I'll bring you to meet her! Maybe if you play nicely, you'll even get to see around the pack without getting your toes bitten off." He uttered a dark chuckle, a bit of inside humor that would likely raise more questions with Gareth than answers. He'd just have to wait and see for himself.

"Maverick"

Gareth smirked and chuckled as he was warned about Venom's sarcasm and sharp wit and how she would likely throw any sass he gave her right back at him. He could only imagine how the two of them managed to stay out of constant wars of sarcasm with how he knew his brother to be, but it seemed to be working for them regardless. As he brought up going to meet Venom and pausing his nonexistent plans to do so, Maverick retorted with squeezing him in between all their bedroom antics—earning a groan and an eye roll from Gareth as he shook his head with amused exasperation. Maverick had always been the Casanova of the two of them, always the one with a lady in his bed or some lady he was pursuing. His comical, but undoubtedly truthful mentioning of how often they were caught up in the bedroom certainly didn't surprise him. It was a little hard to not be the slightest bit jealous, but it was really nothing new and he had to be happy for his brother to finally have some kind of steady thing going that seemed like it would be a good influence on him.

The smaller of the two males got to his paws as well as Maverick stood to start leading him toward Ashen to meet this woman that was stunning enough to snag his wild child of a brother. The comment about playing nicely to avoid getting his toes bitten off made him raise a brow quizzically at Maverick as they began to walk toward the pack, chuckling as he questioned, "Where in the world are you taking me? Are you actually being held hostage? Blink twice if you need rescuing." He laughed lightly and bumped his shoulder into Maverick's, happy to just be with his brother again after so long. They weren't far from the pack's border so it was just a short walk to reach it, but he let Maverick take the lead since he wasn't sure what all the pack's rules and regulations might be.

"Gareth"

Gareth was quick to rise to his paws and follow at his side while Maverick led the way back through the tall sea of lush grasses in the western direction towards Ashen's borders. Given that this territory bordered the Empire's, it would be a quick journey for the two of them. Gareth's concern about whether he was being held against his will and if he needed rescuing brought about a barking laugh from the taller brother, a playful grin spreading across his features while his eyes danced with mirth. "Gare, if I ever ask you to rescue me from this situation, punch me in the face, because I've clearly gone senile!" he retorted with a snicker. Once his brother saw the life he'd somehow managed to land himself, he'd understand why Mav had decided to abandon his vagabond ways in favor of domestication. "It is good to see you again, little bro. I've missed you."

- exit Maverick -

"Maverick"