Now that things in Elysium were officially within her power, she felt the need to go communicate the news to the other packs–or at least to their allies. Perhaps she would stop by some of the other packs that they had previous interactions with just to introduce herself while she was at it, but for now she would focus on Valta, Ashen, and The Hallows. She briefly considered sending Ikigai to speak to the packs on her behalf as their ambassador, but she wanted to be able to personally introduce herself. If any of their allies ever needed to call for their aid or wanted to visit, she wanted them to know who exactly it was they were calling for. It did mean she had to leave Saracyn in charge for a few days while she made the trip around Boreas and into Auster, but she was confident he could handle it on his own for just a little while.

It was luckily a very short trip to their closest ally. Stepping away from the Elysium border at the Firefly Lake, she only needed to skirt around the fringes of the Rustling Thicket to make it to the border of Valta. She hadn't had the chance to personally speak with Kotori just yet, but she knew of him and had seen him before at various events and at the practice raid that their two packs held fairly recently. She gave her fur a quick shake to smooth it after her brief bit of travel and took a breath to steady her nerves. She knew there was nothing really to be nervous about, but this was her first diplomatic visit as an alpha! Tipping her head back, she let out a howl to call for Kotori and as the sound faded into an echo she settled onto her haunches to wait, hoping to herself that the visit went well.

"Avacyn Medacium"

Kotori had been cleaning a den meant for guests that was currently empty.  Some dried herbs that left a pleasant scent were placed along the inside walls and he was in the process of putting in one of several polar bear pelts when he heard the call from their borders.  Kotori stepped out of the den, glancing back to it before jogging off to the border.

Kotori recalled the purple wolf from the raid and even before he got close enough to catch her scent it seemed fairly obvious she was related to Manea in some form.  Stopping next to the Avacyn, the horned wolf dipped his head in a formal greeting.  “I’m Kotori Fatalis, Sumatar of Valta,” he greeted Avacyn with polite formality.  He’d seen her but he’d not actually asked her name considering they were in the middle of a raid.  He had thought of fighting her that day but another had gotten to Avacyn first.  

His thoughts had been on Ochitsuke just moments ago and now with an Elyssium wolf in front of him, he couldn’t help but recall the first wolf he had called his princess.  Two black and white beauties, both with perfect demeanor.  Well, it was highly unlikely Avacyn had come here to talk about Iki and certainly not Ochitsuke.

"Kotori Fatalis"

Avacyn wasn't kept waiting long before Kotori appeared, the distinctive spotted, brown male approaching her quickly and greeting her with a formal and introduction. She stood as he approached to greet him, not wanting to appear rude, and gave him a small, polite dip of her head. Even though they had crossed paths a couple of times or at least had been in the same space as one another before this was indeed the first time they had spoken directly and one on one so of course introductions needed to be made. "It's nice to see you again, Kotori. I'm Avacyn Mendacium," she said in turn before returning to sitting down across from him.

"My rank in the pack is actually why I'm here," she explained with a quiet chuckle, offering the Fatalis man a soft smile. "I have officially taken over the Matriarch position from my mother so I wanted to personally share the news with all of our allies and take the time to introduce myself to anyone I haven't had a chance to meet yet. Of course I do not expect all of the arrangements and agreements that my mother made with you to automatically transfer to me just by virtue of me taking her role, but I do hope that the relationship between Elysium and Valta can continue into the future."

"Avacyn Medacium"

She had taken over leadership of Elysium?  Manea either had lost a battle, been older than Kotori had assumed, been injured in some way, or had simply chosen to retire at a rather early age.  Well, what age did most alpha’s retire at?  Kotori planned to have his post for many years to come!  Kotori took a seat for himself as well, observing the young matriarch.  “Congratulations on becoming the matriarch.  An achievement to take great pride in.”

Still, Kotori had to know the ‘why’.  “Might I ask why the change in leadership?  Not faulting your abilities but I’m only surprised to see Manea step down.  Has anything happened to her?” Was Manea still in Elyssium? Another good question but one thing at a time. “Should I expect any changes in the way you would run Elyssium that would affect matters outside of your pack.  To affect Valta or any pack we consider allies.” Both by blood and by how she had handled herself in their raid Kotori already had some respect for Ava.  How much he could respect her would be seen as he saw how she ran things.

"Kotori Fatalis"

The question of why her mother had stepped down was of course valid and she appreciated the interest and concern the Valta male showed for Manea. "No, nothing has happened to her," she assured him first with a smile. "In very simplified terms, she was just ready to retire and wanted more time to spend with her family and children. She has been working tirelessly for over three years to found Elysium and get it to its current state on top of raising myself and my siblings so I decided it was time for me to step in and let her rest. She'll still be very much a part of the pack though and will be acting as my advisor along with my father," she explained, hoping that satisfied any curiosity or concern Kotori had on the situation. She was very grateful that she was getting to lead while still having her parents there to assist her in the venture since she knew that wasn't always the case.

As for how her leadership might change how Elysium was run or how it might impact matters outside of her pack, she replied, "I don't plan on making any grand changes by any means, but I do want to expand on what my mother started. My personal focus is going to be on deepening our relationships with our allies and working toward more trade and learning opportunities for us all. My brother, Saracyn, will be assisting me with the more military side of things and he intends to have our warriors better trained and more organized in the years to come so that we can be at the ready to defend or assist when needed." It was truly no different than her mother's goals, but she hoped that she and Saracyn could bring a renewed interest in these goals and push them even more to the forefront as they get settled into their new roles.

"Avacyn Medacium"

It was good to hear that Manea was well and that wasn’t some challenge for power to be concerned by.  How old was Manea to be stepping down now?  How long did most wolves try to continue running a pack for before passing it on to the heirs?  Kotori couldn’t imagine giving up his status as alpha for a long time.  

Kotori listened to the rest of her answers on what she intended to do now that she was leading the pack.  “It sounds like you already have a good plan set on what to do.  Good start” A slip of a smile formed as the notion occurred.  “Your mom and I had mentioned a bet in regard to the practice raid earlier.  Things had been busy and we hadn’t got together to discuss Valta’s win.  The prize was losing pack had to host a feast for the winners.” She might have already heard of it but stepping up to leadership probably had a lot on her plate.

“So, could Valta expect an invitation for a feast and fun gathering?”  The question was offered lightheartedly.  If the new alpha had a lot to handle right now Kotori could certainly let it slide.  Maybe just set up a future raid with them later but Valta could do the attacking?  Really, that would be fun to do either way at some point.

"Kotori Fatalis"

Avacyn smiled thankfully at Kotori's approval of her current plans, giving him a small dip of her head to acknowledge his praise. As he went on, mentioning the wager that had been set for the raid they had held a little ways back, bringing up the feast that Elysium should have held as Valta's prize for winning. The realization showed clearly on her face at the obviously forgotten feast, quickly followed by the guilt that she felt for letting it slip her mind. In the wild whirlwind that had been her relationship troubles, her mating ceremony, and now the newly added responsibility of running the pack that was definitely something that had gone to the way side. Absolutely you can," she agreed immediately when he questioned whether or not he should be expecting an invitation for a feast and gathering soon. "As a matter of fact, why don't we plan on having a feast at the turn of the season? Autumn on Elysium's island is beautiful." Plus, it would give her just enough time to make the preparations for a proper feast and let her finish up the loose ends she had from becoming Matriarch. "I appreciate your patience and very much apologize for the delay," she added with an apologetic grin.

"Avacyn Medacium"

Kotori grinned at the clear signal on Ava’s face that she had indeed forgotten about the wager. Well, stepping into the role of leader likely had her busy with both plenty to do and plenty to remember. He wouldn’t fault her for that.

That sounds excellent. I’ll let the pack know to build up a big appetite.” He had never actually been on the Elysium island and offhand he guessed most the wolves in his pack would say the same. Kotori didn’t have the urge to travel all about the land as some wolves did but that didn’t mean he never enjoyed checking out someplace new. Especially the Elyssium pack. Even if he had given up on her, he’d like to see Ikigai again as a friend to friend.

“No need to apologize. It was a friendly bet and you had more important matters to deal with.” Kotori dipped his head to Avacyn politely. “Thank you for coming to tell me of the change in station. May you enjoy it.”

"Kotori Fatalis"