The coming of spring felt oh so bitter sweet, but very much needed all the same. She had pretty much grown up in the more northern parts of Boreas and over the last couple of years had grown quite used to the colder weather the region tended to get, but that didn't mean she wasn't relieved to feel some warmer breezes and see some of the snow begin to melt. However, the noticeably gray and cloudy skies felt like a reflection of her own feelings about the passage of time. This were moving forward and perhaps improving in some ways while some things were immovably the same. The frequent rains had put a damper on her plans to pay another visit to some of the other alphas that she hadn't seen since the start of her reign so she was taking advantage of this rare gap in the rains to try and cover some distance through Boreas.

Crossing the rustling thicket and walking around the base of the looming volcano had taken up the better portion of the morning so by the time she made it to the nook the sun was nearly at its highest point in the sky–not that she could really see it past the thick layer of cloud cover. Every once in a while she might catch a glimpse of sunlight as the breeze pushed the clouds along, but for the most part her trip was made in the shadows of these heavy, foreboding clouds. She always made a point of stopping in the nook whenever she was making these trips through Boreas, however–especially in the spring. The explosion of pink blossoms was beautiful and they never failed to bring at least a small smile to her face as she slowly strolled through them. It was evident that the heavy rains had taken their toll on the delicate flowers and they were not as full or plentiful this year. It felt almost poetic as she paused to look at one of the trees, her white-marked ears flicking a bit at the sight. Sighing, Avacyn continued on, using this opportunity to rest a bit before she picked up the pace a bit to make it to Ashen before nightfall.

"Avacyn Medacium"

After Avacyn had called off their betrothal Albion had reclused himself and wandered off from Elysium. He hadn’t mentioned his absence to anyone, though he had never meant to be away for so long. Still, it felt appropriate, he hadn’t quite wanted to be near Avacyn, but he hadn’t wanted to leave the pack altogether either. He had given a vow after all. Albion hadn’t gone very far, but he was far enough that he could be alone while close enough that he could return at a moment’s notice.

His pale form was laid up on a large boulder, a stark contrast to the dark bark of the redbud trees and the blossoming magenta flowers. He was silent as usual, never having been a man of many words nor one to be boastful about his presence. An unforeseen blessing when his mismatched ears swiveled at the sound of paw steps approaching. He turned his head to find the lithe form of Avacyn trotting easily down the trail. She didn’t look like she had seen him yet, and he doubted that she was searching for him either.

Albion cleared his throat slightly to alert her to his presence, but he didn’t go out of his way to meet her.

"Albion Baskara Klien"

As distracted as she was by the flowering landscape and her own thoughts, she allowed herself not relax a bit and not be on alert for any strangers or otherwise that might be near by. A mistake on her part, surely, but with all of the stress and strain she had experienced over the last couple of months it was a nice change of pace to just exist for a moment. However, that did leave her unaware of the fact that a pair of eyes were on her until the sound of someone clearing their throat pulled her attention and snapped her out of her distant thoughts, making her pause mid step as her ebony gaze turned toward the noise. Her eyes followed the side of the bolder up to the top till the pale, familiar figure of her former fiancé came into view.

"Albion," she said softly in surprise, his presence catching her off guard enough that the shock and relief showed clearly on her face before she was able to regain her composure as she turned toward him. She had seen little to nothing of him since the last time they spoke and while she had been concerned about him she had completely understood why and hadn't tried to seek him out. In truth, she was glad that he had been absent from the pack considering her life's recent events that she wouldn't have wanted him to be privy to at the time, but it was still a relief to see that he was still at least close by and seemingly well.

"My apologies, I was just passing through and clearly wasn't paying attention to my surroundings," she explained even though she was sure that was obvious. She just felt the need to fill the air for a moment while she debated with herself over whether she should try to speak with him or just leave him be so that she wasn't just staring at him in silence. "It's good to see you," she admitted after a moment. "Though I understand if the feeling is not mutual."

"Avacyn Medacium"

He was already well aware that Avacyn was preoccupied and hadn’t spied his pale form lounging there on the sun baked boulder. He was in the shade now, not that it made much difference with how wet everything had been recently. He was thankful for that though, he didn’t have the pesky sun boring down on him.

Surprise tinged her voice as she looked up to meet his gaze and said his name. He didn’t doubt that she would recognize him. Despite their history there weren’t any others like him. He did feel a tinge of guilt, but not about Ava, he felt bad for being so absent for his siblings still residing within Elysium. They deserved much better from him, but he didn’t regret his decision to make himself more scarce. "Avacyn.” He returned cordially enough as he gained her attention. Something he wasn’t sure he wished for.

Avacyn apologized though. Before he could reply again she offered a quick sorry for being so inattentive. "That’s not very becoming of a Matriarch.” He chided her gently, not truly wanting to offer her any negative feelings. She admitted that she was pleased to see him, but was aware enough to know that he likely didn’t feel the same. She had been the one to reject him after all. "You're Not wrong. If I wished to see you I would have sought you out.” He offered bluntly. "I suppose I owe you an apology as well, my behavior has been rude, just wandering off as I have.”

"Albion Baskara Klien"

Avacyn smirked slightly with a bit of a scoff as he informed her that her inattentiveness wasn't very becoming of a Matriarch. She shook her head a bit as she muttered, "Of all the things that I've done that are unbecoming of a Matriarch, being distracted is surely the least of my transgressions." She had questioned more than once whether she should continue to hold the power and rank that she did through all of the events that had lead her to her current situation, but short of handing the pack back to her mother or dissolving Elysium entirely she didn't have much of a choice but to continue on as she was. Her sisters weren't any more inclined to handle this kind of responsibility than she was and had been off enjoying the freedom they had to live their own lives for a bit now. Sometimes she envied them.

Just as she now envied Albion's ability to simply leave and escape the problem that she had created. His comment about how he would have sought her out if he had desired to see her did sting slightly, but it wasn't unexpected. Why would he want to see her after what she had done? His apology for wandering off was met with a shake of her head, replying, "No need to apologize. I certainly do not blame you. I'm sure I would have done the same thing if I had the freedom to do so." Regardless of how he felt about their unplanned meeting, she was genuinely glad to see him after how he had disappeared. She hadn't had any question as to why he had gone off on his own, but that hadn't stopped her from thinking and worrying about him.

"You're free to take as much time as you need or want out here, but if you do decide you'd like to return I do still hope you'll join my Council. Scylla became our Master Warrior recently and the position for my Advisor is still vacant," she informed him after a moment. "I'm aware of the fact that me asking you to work closely with me is probably a ridiculous and laughable request, but I want someone from outside of my family in that position and I haven't met anyone else that I trust the opinion of more than you." She paused then, not really expecting an answer, but not really ready to walk away just yet either. "I don't need an answer now, but... just know the offer is on the table."

"Avacyn Medacium"

At the very least Avacyn seemed quite in tune with her mistakes and misdeeds as she argued her distractedness was one of the least of her worries. He returned her smirk, feeling a small bit of satisfaction in that. The Matriarch felt regret in the breaking of her vow, and he had known that since she had transgressed. Seeing the regret still there was enough to raise his confidence, and bring a bit of respect back for her. She would hold on to her mistakes for the rest of her life, and he could see that fact plainly on her features.

She waived off his apology, there was no need for it when she fully understood the why of his actions. "From my understanding, it is rude to walk off on your alpha like that, so I will not retract that apology.” He followed up in either case. She swiftly went on, giving him reign to dawdle for as long as he thought necessary, though he didn’t quite expect her next words. His sister had attained her well deserved rank, and if and when he returned he was welcome to do the same. Despite their differences he was one of the few that she could trust.

"Our relationship was supposed to be one of business, I should be able to recover swiftly. If my services are still in demand, I will adapt to the best of my ability.” He told her as she explained herself. "Rejection was not a comfortable experience,” he admitted to her hesitantly. Albion wasn’t one to be open about his emotions and feelings. "My ego appreciates the feeling of being needed however.” Time healed all wounds, surely he could find a partner out there somewhere. If not he had grown up with Chimera as a father, there had to be a girl he could take for himself out there somewhere. "I believe I’ve taken enough time to sulk. I accept your offer, and as my first duty I’d appreciate you allowing me to accompany you while you are so distracted.” He slid off the large boulder with the grace only a Klein of his stature could posses. "I wouldn’t wish to see my Matriarch come to harm because of such a silly mishap.”


"Albion Baskara Klien"

Even though she gave him every opportunity to not give her an apology for his reaction to her breaking off their engagement, he still insisted, citing the rudeness of walking out on his alpha the way he had. "Fair enough," she relented with a small smile. He was nothing if not honorable and loyal, after all, which made her actions that much more difficult. It would have been easier if they hadn't been compatible at all or she had some other issue with his behavior to point toward for the reason of her betrayal, but she didn't have that to fall back on so her selfish reasoning was on full display. Regardless, he and his siblings had stayed and she was grateful.

As she moved on to the rank Scylla had earned and the one that she offered to him in turn, she watched him consider the offer before mentioning the fact that their relationship was meant to be one of business and because of that he should be able to recover and adapt. Something about that statement stung a little more than it was likely supposed to, causing her expression to falter slightly for just a heartbeat. "Business. Right," she agreed with a slight reluctance and with a small nod. She was glad he was willing to work past the rejection she had wounded him with in order to accept the opportunity she wished to task him with. It was a position that she had struggled to fill after their falling out and he was the only wolf she could think of that could fit that void so perfectly. She needed someone with a view of the world formed outside of Elysium's influence and a shrewd mind to help her make decisions when there were difficult options in front of her. She had every confidence that he was the one she needed for this task.

When he officially accepted her offer she smiled with relief. It would be good to have him back around the pack once more and she felt like this was a step in the right direction to at least get the two of them back into a good working relationship. She hadn't expected him to agree so readily, but perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised given the fact that Scylla had accepted a more prominent rank as well. Maybe all she had really needed to do to keep them around was acknowledge their obvious skill and give them the power within the pack that they deserved. Still, he caught her further off guard as he insisted on accompanying her to protect her from her own inattentiveness. Even though she could have easily insisted that wasn't necessary–especially as she watched him slide off of the bolder that had been his perch and she struggled to keep her attention away from the obvious grace and toned muscle beneath his pale coat–she didn't want to turn away his offer that was an obvious olive branch.

"Of course, my Advisor," she agreed with a slight grin. She nodded in the direction of the path she was traveling and continued on with him at her side. "I'm actually on my way to visit a few of our allies," she explained with a glance over at him while they walked. She was in no real hurry so she didn't hurry their steps, but she did keep up a moderate pace. She wanted to cover some ground before she got tired and had to stop for the night. "No need to accompany me for the whole trip, of course, just go as far as you wish. I'll start at Ashen and then make my way south to the Hallows and finish at Ethne." Since he was now officially her advisor, she figured she might as well put him to work while they had time to fill. "What is your take on our allies? Or our relationship with them at least?" she asked curiously. "Ashen, Valta, the Hallows, and perhaps Ethne after this trip is done... Do you believe they are beneficial relationships to maintain?"

"Avacyn Medacium"