Their Boreas-wide tour was nearly done with only one pack left to hear from. The days had been long and the walking exhausting, but Sol and Khonsu were determined to find the place where they fit in best and Sol had argued fervently that they could not do that without seeing everything this world had to offer. Next would be Auster, but that would be a trip for another day.

Tipping back his head, Sol called out into the rock gardens to politely request the presence of a pack member. It was Elysium's turn to explain to the twins what their home was like, and what sort of wolves ultimately would fit in there. "After this I'm sleeping for a week." Khonsu complained as they waited, his maw splitting in a wide yawn.

Sol & Khonsu

When it rained it poured it seemed when it came to visitors at her borders. A howl from an unknown voice made her head lift to listen to the call as she stood on the shore of Elysium's primary island, currently in the middle of discussing the upcoming plans of the pack with Avacyn. They had gone for quite a while with no visitors and a lack of prospective members, but seemingly all at once they had several back to back. She was certainly not complaining, but it did mean she had to cut their meeting a bit short with the promise of picking back up where they left off once she was done seeing to their guest. She turned then and made her way across the floating bridge that helped to supplement the land bridge that connected them to the mainland whenever the tide was high. Soon enough she was striding across the Rock Garden toward the figure she spotted at the edge of their territory.

As she got closer she was able to pick up on the very distinct feature–or features, perhaps–of the individual. At first she had thought they were a set of twins that were simply leaning into one another, but soon she realized that wasn't the case and she blinked several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her aqua gaze was no doubt curious as she came to greet the two-headed male, giving them–him? they?–a polite nod and a small smile. "Hello. I'm Manea Mendacium, the Matriarch of Elysium. And who might you be?" Usually she was fairly to the point when she had strangers come calling, asking what brought them here and the like, but having such an unusual visitor required at least a bit of interest in who her guest was first.

"Manea Mendacium"

They were not left waiting long. The purple wolf caught the twins' eyes from a distance, her bright coloring and unique features earning her at least more of a polite interest than Khonsu usually afforded strangers. This individual was gifted, a fact that spoke to a strong soul within her.

Khonsu's head dipped politely as she gave her name, speaking over his brother before Sol had a chance to even begin his rehearsed introduction. "I am Khonsu and this is my brother, Sol." The cobalt eyed wolf gave a small shy smile as he was introduced, but deferred to his twin and kept his mouth shut otherwise. "We are new to these lands and seeking a home. It's an important decision, and thus we've sought out every alpha of the continent to hear a bit about their packs before we decide. If it isn't too much to ask, could you share with us a bit about Elysium?"

Sol's warm gaze darted to his brother and back as his twin finished speaking. "If you are currently accepting new members, that is." He added after a moment's pause.

Sol & Khonsu

She soon got an answer for her uncertainty whether she should address them as one or as individual as the one with a pink-hued gaze spoke to introduce themselves, listing their names as Khonsu and Sol. She gave them both a smile and nodded to the introduction, noting the obviously different personality between the two with the more outgoing Khonsu and seemingly more reserved Sol. As he spoke, Manea settled back onto her haunches to listen, her tail curling around her hip neatly and nodding occasionally to show her interest. With the explanation of their newness to these lands and the request to hear about Elysium–as well as a clarification that this was all if she was accepting new members–Manea gave them another friendly smile and chuckled, replying, "That's quite an undertaking considering how many packs occupy these lands. I appreciate your diligence."

"It's not too much to ask at all and I am certainly accepting new members," she added, her gaze occasionally shifting between the brothers as she spoke. "We have been blessed and fortunate to find a place that more than supports our needs and there is currently plenty of room for more to join us here." Moving on to information about Elysium itself, she told them, "My goal here has always been to create a place where my members can live their lives however they see fit without persecution or judgement. I first built this pack for my family to have a place to practice our beliefs, but it's grown into something for anyone from any walk of life to enjoy if they desire. I have a few general laws for everyone to follow, but my only hard rule is to not bring harm to our members or the pack as a whole. I will not risk the safety of my family and members in order to fight a war that one individual caused, if that makes sense."

She paused for a moment, letting them absorb that much before she added, "Ranks and responsibility are earned by a show of skill here. Outside of a few selected advisors I keep, all of my ranks are open for challenge. I have my favorites, as anyone would, but I welcome a sense of competition and want to have the very best working beside me regardless of their connection to me or anyone else." Elysium was luckily not an overly complicated concept to explain so she left it at that for now, giving them another warm smile. "Is there anything else in particular I can answer for either of you?"

"Manea Mendacium"

Manea made herself comfortable and Sol and Khonsu mirrored her, their haunches folding slow to take a cautious seat before her border. At her chuckle Sol gave a brief smile, his cobalt eyes softening. "It's been exhausting." He admitted. "Your continent is vast."

Khonsu nodded. "However finding a place we belong and can be comfortable is important to us and makes it worth it. We have endured hardships growing up and acceptance can sometimes be hard to find." So far it seemed the wolves of this land were much more willing to look past another individual's oddities - people had stared, gawked and asked openly about their strange appearance, but nobody had been aggressive or cruel yet. It spoke good things for Boreas.

As Manea moved into her own explanation, the twins fell into a polite and contemplative silence. The description of Elysium seemed rather typical of a simple family pack, though Sol's ears could not help but pin as she spoke of her family's beliefs. "What sort of beliefs?" He asked, worry in his tone.

Khonsu's muzzle bumped against his brother's in a gentle reprimand. "That's rude." Turning his gaze to Manea, he offered an apologetic smile. "Sol was not socialized well, every conversation is a learning experience. Is there room in your pack for wolves who follow different beliefs, and is the practice of them openly something that is accepted?" While not as important to his brother, Khonsu knew he'd be unable to accept a home where he had to hide his own religion from sight.  

Sol & Khonsu

The brothers listened with attentive silence as she spoke and once she was finished she noticed Sol's concern first, listening as he immediately questioned the kinds of beliefs she meant when she mentioned making Elysium as a place for her family to practice their own beliefs. Before she could respond, Khonsu stepped in, reprimanding his brother for being rude. She returned his smile and waved away the silent apology with her paw. She hadn't been offended in the slightest and saw it as a valuable question, especially as Khonsu went on to ask if other wolves of different beliefs were allowed. "Of course," she replied easily, giving them both a gentle, reassuring smile. I feel that I would be a bit hypocritical if I expected respect for my beliefs without affording the same respect to my members," she added with a soft chuckle. She understood that there were indeed others out there that did just that so it was right of them to ask and verify, especially if they had beliefs of their own that they wanted to openly follow, but in her mind it had been a given.

She didn't often talk about her own beliefs with others outside of her family, but she didn't mind sharing when she was asked so she went on to tell them, "My family, the Mendaciums, believe that our souls are gifts from our ancestors, powerful wolves we call Ancients, and the physical traits we have been given like our unusual coats and various mutations are simply outward representations of those gifts. Our life's goal is to find the wolf that the Ancients made for us to be our counterpart, our Soul Mate, that has been given a piece of these Ancient souls and to bring them into our family so that when we pass away our souls can return to the Ancients and can be born again into future generations of Mendacium wolves and make each generation stronger than the last. We are to take only one mate for our life time and family is the cornerstone of our lives. We are also matriarchal, with a female descendant of the original head of our family always leading and guiding us." She chuckled softly as she said, "That is currently me, obviously, and my daughter will take my place once she's ready. I treat my duties as the pack's Matriarch and the family's matriarch as two different tasks, but my goals for both are fairly aligned. I just want to see everyone in my care do well and live their lives as they see fit."

"Manea Mendacium"