As promised, Bowen led an expedition of wolves out into the new territory that Venom, the Empress, was interested in claiming. The land was rich and green and one could both hear and smell the wide, rushing river from a long ways off. The small, copper and snow fae led her group to the edge of a drop-off where they could look out over the land in question.

"Tell me what you see," she prompted them. This would be a very beneficial land to acquire, as far as Bowen saw things. There was a multitude of different fish that she could see swimming below. The orchard would provide fruits and would most likely be a home to bees, thus supplying honey. The landscape itself was rather easy to traverse and there were paths leading down to the waters edge. Bowen, one very experienced in travel, saw these things. What did the others see?

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Sitri didn't know if he was necessarily the most qualified wolf to be going on this expedition to scout out this new land his aunt wanted to claim, but that certainly hadn't stopped him from volunteering when they were looking for wolves to go explore it! He had been out this way before, not that he should have been since he was unsupervised, but this was the first time he was going with any real intent on learning anything about the land itself rather than just to sneak out or find something to get in trouble with. He walked toward the rushing river along with a few of his pack mates—none of which he knew very well, but that didn't really matter when they were all still Ashen wolves regardless. When they got there, the smaller woman that was leading them asked them to tell her what they saw and he looked around, walking over to the edge of the water and peering across. "This would probably be a good fishing spot!" he commented, glancing down at some of the fish that darted by in the fast moving water. "Maybe we could set up a spot to stretch a net across or something. We'd have to be pretty careful though cause I think you could get swept away pretty fast."

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

Maverick wasn't sure how his years as a rambler could possibly help Venom expand the Ashen Empire in ways that she wanted, but when his partner had suggested using some of his navigational experience to get a lay of the land, he supposed he could lend a paw where he could. It beat sitting around feeling useless, at least. So the tall brute followed the expedition out to the lush lands of the Rio Grande, surveying the environment around him as they walked along the mighty river's edge to scout out what they could find. The expedition was led by a small russet fae whom he had never met before and didn't carry a heavy Ashen scent about her. A freelancer helping them expand, perhaps? It would have to be someone Venom trusted, so he would trust her as well.

The young woman asked them what they saw as they reached a midpoint of the terrain. One of the yearlings from Ashen (Maverick hadn't learned many of their names yet, there were so many) spotted the plentiful fish in the river. Good eats if they could set up some nets. Maverick gazed around the opposite shore of the river, spotting a small group of deer grazing safely on the other side. One looked up and made eye contact with the wolves before returning to eating. "The vegetation here is lush and thriving. It makes a great buffet for prey, which means good hunting for us," he observed. "Building some sort of bridge across the river would be helpful for traversing from north to south across it though. Like he said-" Mav glanced to the red-furred yearling. "you could get swept away pretty easily if you're not careful."

"Maverick"

Unbreakable Survivor

Her Empress had gathered several groups who specialized in certain areas and had sent them off to explore the Rio Grande. To her understanding the purpose behind these expeditions were to possibly expand the Ashen territory into the great river. Ciannait had volunteered, if only to explore the area. She had been to the river once before, but it was a brief visit. The earthen youth hadn’t taken the time to pay attention to the benefits of the area at that time.

The group she traveled with moved with cautious purpose and once they had reached their destination, the brown and cream woman who lead them requested that they begin to observe the land around them. It was a vague question, but Cian listened to what the others had to say before giving her own input. One mentioned the river being a good fishing spot, while the blue and white man mentioned a possible bridge to allow for travel across the river. Turquoise lenses glanced around the terrain, pondering what was already mentioned as well as what remained unobserved. ”We need to be careful of flooding, especially with the wetter seasons such as the spring thaw.” Cian stated as she glanced at the rushing river. ”If we’re to build a bridge to allow for travelers, we would need to compensate for this possibility.” Cian watched the river for a moment longer and turned her attention to the shoreline, ”The rocks and mud could be hard for those inexperienced in traveling some trouble.” the youth continued as if a second thought before falling silent.


OOC || —

”Speaking”
Thinking

After giving the others the floor, Bowen listened to their observations of the area. The young red boy noted the fishing that could be done and suggested stringing a net across the river. The small caramel fae nodded. "That would be a beneficial tactic for the more narrow parts of the river. Well done." She complimented the boy, then looked to the blue man. He mentioned the vegetation drawing prey and again Bowen nodded. "Absolutely. Ample prey will keep the pack fed and will provide meat and skins for trade. As for the bridge," Viridian eyes scanned up and down the river, "Beneficial for Ashen, but it could also be used as a more direct route for enemies. Just something to consider."

The woman spoke next, mentioning her worries about flooding and the difficult terrain. "Aye, the bridge would need to be elevated enough to avoid the flowing river during the rainy season. As for the rocks and whatnot, the areas that will be frequented could be cleaned up and leveled out." Natural declines down to the waters edge could be stoned and stepped so that wolves could easily make their way to the edge of the water.

Eyes closed for a moment and Bowen took a deep breath. Ears perked, listening to the far off gobble of a turkey in the area. "Plenty of birds as well. Meat for eating and feathers for crafting." Bowen opened her eyes once more. "Anything else? Do you believe choosing this territory is wise?" She was curious whether or not they would choose this land or another and why.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

The young woman made comments on everything the Ashen wolves picked out and noted, some positive and some negative considerations. She asked the group if they thought that choosing to claim this land was a good decision, and Maverick didn't hesitate to nod his opinion. "Of course it is." He was a sworn loyalist to Venom, but Mav was no fool. If this hadn't been a good decision on the Empress' behalf, he would have told her as much. The dire wolf meandered his way a few paces from the group, his paws pressing down into the moist, loamy soil at the edge of the riverbanks. Vegetation and plant life of all varieties grew in abundance here. "The earth is rich around the water. It would make good farming soil for crops or herbs for healers. Plus we're close by the swamplands where we'd have access to an even wider variety of herbs and plants."

"Maverick"

Sitri grinned a little at the praise he got at his suggestion, puffing out his chest a bit. It wasn't like he was a great hunter and the idea of sitting around with a net sounded very boring, but he could still suggest things that other wolves could do. Although, if one of his dads or his mom or aunt really wanted him to go fishing with them then he knew he would. Maverick pointed out how lush the land was and how much prey would be around because of it and he nodded, looking around like he knew exactly what he should be looking for. It logically made all the sense—even if he wasn't paying that close of attention. Then the suggestion of a bridge came up and he tipped his head a little as he looked back to the river and tried to imagine something stretching over it. That would certainly make it easier to get across... But as Ciannait and Bowen pointed out there would be challenges doing it and it would make it easier for enemies to get across as well. Well, it was a good idea, but they would have to workshop it some. When Bowen questioned whether they thought this would be a good place to claim, he nodded firmly in agreement while Maverick voiced his approval as well. It seemed like as good a place as any to him! Eventually his attention was drawn back to Maverick again as the older man mentioned how the soil would be good for crops and herbs. Just like with the hunting, it wasn't exactly his main interest, but he knew his mom would love it and that made it matter to him.

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

[

Unbreakable Survivor

She could already picture it. This river bustling with trade. Wolves coming and going from a bridge down stream where there was a narrower split between this side and the other. Little gardens of herbs tucked away, a few stalls selling goods which Ashen had procured. It was a good addition to Ashen's empire.

The golden maned youth nodded to each of her team's other observations, taking note of the blue and white man in particular. He seemed quite experienced in observing the land and it's benefits. His pack scent was weaker than the rest of them, and Cian supposed he had only recently joined their pack. She then wondered if he was a traveler before joining Ashen. Perhaps she would get to know him one of these days. Ask him about his travels.

”With all the supplies that can be found here, maybe we could set up a small border market for travelers.” she suggested. ”It would be a safe place to set one up due to the natural border the large river provides, and if we build a bridge across it, that would be an easily defendable position.” she finished glancing at each wolf in turn. Though there was a central hub for internal trade on the islands, she wondered if they could open a spot to start trading externally as well. It could open up opportunities between the other packs around, and could potentially benefit both sides. ”I think this land would be a good addition to Ashen's empire.” she answered the caramel painted woman when prompted.

OOC || —

”Speaking”
Thinking

The youngest of the group stayed quiet this time, obviously lost in thought by the expressions that crossed his face. He was thinking hard about the uses that this land had. The man mentioned the rich soil and Bowen nodded. "Plenty of fish guts and heads to mix into the soil as well." That would boost the soils nutrients to prepare for the following planting season. The fae spoke of trading stalls and the like on the far side of their future bridge and Bowen grinned. "Very beneficial to have open trade with Ashen. I think that would work very well."

Bowen looked around one more time, moving down the line of the river just a bit to sniff and explore. Aside from the few meager issues that they'd shared aloud, claiming this land seemed as though it would be a great addition to Ashen's Empire. The tiny caramel fae turned to the group and flashed a smile. "Shall we go and inform your Empress of our findings?" On their way back, she would choose a much different path, taking them through more of the river territory so that they could continue to observe.

"Bowen"

Bowen Arrow Carpathius

Sitri couldn't really think of anything else to contribute that the other wolves hadn't already said and it felt silly to just repeat things so he contented himself to nodding to show his interest and agreement with everything. He was just glad that Ashen was doing well enough to need more land and space to expand into and that he got to be included on the scouting mission. He perked a bit at the idea of some kind of market set up here by the bridge they wanted to build. "My dad is really good at crafting things," he mentioned, "I'm sure he could make some stuff for us to sell!" Maybe he and his siblings could get in on it too. He was sure at least Seere and maybe Saia would be interested in making some things to sell. With Bowen's approval of the idea he was already trying to imagine where they could set it up and how it would work. As they began to wrap up their mission here Bowen asked if they should go tell the Empress their findings and he grinned, nodding again before getting up and following their guide around through the river territory to head back home. Hopefully his aunt would be as interested in all of this as he was!

"Sitri Abraxas-Destruction"

It seemed that, with the area mostly scouted and its resources accounted for, this would conclude the wolves' expedition out to the Rio Grande. It seemed all of them were in favor of claiming the land for Ashen, as no one had found a reason not to seize the lush waterways for the Empire's purposes. Maverick nodded to Bowen's proposition to go report their findings to Venom. "Yeah, she'll need to know that we all find it a beneficial choice to add to the Empire's domain," he replied. The dire wolf rose and, with a shake of his pelt, began to follow the group as they made their way back towards Ashen lands. He couldn't wait to deliver the good news to Venom! Maybe his Empress would have a special sort of reward to offer him for his help later. The thought brought a small smirk to the man's lips.

"Maverick"

Unbreakable Survivor

It seemed that her mention of a riverside market had become a popular among the group. Lips pulled upwards in a small grin as she glanced at the caramel woman as well as the white and crimson boy. ”Great! He would be a welcome craftsman,” she nodded at the boy, turquoise eyes sparking with interest. The only one who didn’t comment on her suggestion was the blue and white man, however, Cian didn’t mind. It seemed he was ready to head back.

The golden maned woman’s gaze shifted over her group once again. Their lead spoke of returning with their gathered information and Ciannait nodded her approval, excited to tell her Empress of all their findings. Contrasting limbs shifted her slender figure, Cian moving with with her group, headed back to the Empire with their shared information.
OOC || —

”Speaking”
Thinking