It had been a stupid idea. She had been on Glacies and spotted another one a way off. She squinted and thought she saw trees, but it didn't seem to have the imposing cliffs that Atlantis Island had, so what better way to get there than to do it in one swim, instead of swimming back to the mainland, then walking, walking, then swimming back out to the island...

Problem was, as she got closer, the wind whipped the scent of pack towards her. Ah fuck, Well, she hadn't considered that, had she? Stopping far enough from the shore that her back legs could touch the sand, she tipped her head back and called out to the residents, asking for entry before she left the frigid water. Now that she had stopped paddling, the cold was starting to get to her, shivers rapidly settling in, so she alternated pushing up on her hind legs and moving her front legs back and forth. Man, that beach looked warm and inviting, even if it was winter. She was in for a long swim if they told her to fuck off, but at least she'd be moving again.

“Speech”

It wasn't entirely unusual to have a call from the border from time to time, though it was perhaps less likely out here in their corner of Boreas that was more tucked away than some other packs–especially now that their new neighbor had them slightly blocked off on one side. Still, even when they did have visitors the calls were always echoing from the mainland since the usual path to reach the island connected to one of their other claimed lands. That was why when Avacyn heard a call from much closer to the island than she was used to she was immediately alert with her brow furrowing with confusion and concern.

It probably would have benefited her to wait for her mate or one of the other warriors to join her before she approached what could have been an intruder, but she was quite close to the shore when the call reached her and she would rather have the chance to cut off the stranger at the pass rather than give them the chance to move further into the large island. It was only a few moments after the howl ended that she loped onto the shore, her dark gaze shifting from side to side down the length of the beach for the source of the summons... only to realize that the stranger wasn't on the shore at all, but perched out in the frigid ocean water.

Befuddled and concerned–and maybe slightly amused by the sight of just the head and paws of a wolf poking out of the waves–Ava hurried over to the edge of the water, motioning for the other wolf to join her on land. "Come onto the shore before you freeze!" she insisted, quickly deciding she'd rather keep the wolf from freezing to death in front of her and figure out how she ended up there later.

"Avacyn Mendacium"

She didn't have to wait long before a purple woman made her presence known, and for a moment, she wondered if she had accidentally stumbled across some long-lost relatives of her mother, with that galactic colouring scattered across such a dark base of fur. When she was invited onto the shore, she smiled widely and started paddling closer, “Many thanks,” she called out as she reached a point where all four paws could reach the sand and angled herself to make land out of shaking distance of the other wolf. It wouldn't be good manners to shower someone that had just welcomed her ashore, “I was ov'r there,” she tipped her head towards the barely visible Arden's Glácies on the horizon, “an' thought I'd spare m'self two swims, but I didn' think anyone might be livin' ere.” Finally she was free of the ocean, well, almost.

Shaking the water from her coat helped a lot to stave off the cold that had been threatening to seep into her bones in the water, some had managed to work its way into her undercoat, but she wouldn't catch her death immediately. She turned back to the woman that had come out to meet her, keeping her head respectfully low, chin tipped ever so slightly to expose her throat to show she meant no harm. “M' name's Deluge, I've been lookin' at leavin' m' family pack an' startin' up a band, maybe gettin' inter establishin' some trade routes, thought some o' th' islands up this way might make fer good route camps, but I can see now this one's already occupied! m' apologies fer th' intrusion.”

And it was no small wonder, this was one of the larger islands in the area and the beach gradually climbed to the base of an imposing mountain, the vegetation was established enough that it would have plentiful prey, at least in comparision to the island she had just come from, and it was easier to access than Atlantis.

“Speech”

The floating wolf quickly and unsurprisingly took her up on the offer to come to shore. While she certainly appreciated the fact that she made sure to move off to the side before shaking out her coat, Avacyn also took a couple steps back to avoid the spray of cold salt water that came flying off of the stranger. With that she moved back toward the other wolf, listening and glancing off toward the horizon as she explained how she had been on a neighboring island when she had decided to make the swim from island to island rather than cross by the main land. Well, that explained how she managed to get this far without realizing there was a pack occupying this space.

Her brows lifted with interest as she was told about the intent to leave their current pack and start their own traveling, trading band. It was difficult to pick up on the pack scent that Deluge carried through the strong scent of ocean water, but what she did get was a scent she wasn’t familiar with regardless. She gave a little shake of her head at the apology she was given for the intrusion and offered the other woman a small smile. "Not to worry. Mistakes happen and there’s no harm done. I’m Avacyn." Though the risk of hyperthermia was far less now that she was out of the water and on dry land, the air was still chilled as the winter season took hold so her wet fur wouldn’t do her any favors. Since she seemed amicable enough and not a threat, Avacyn nodded back toward the island behind her and asked, "Do you want to come get dried off and warmed up before you head back to the main land?"

"Avacyn Mendacium"

At the offer to stay and get dry, Deluge allowed her ears to flick back betraying her uncertainty, “Yer've already been so accomodatin' I'd hate ter be a burden...” Her polite refusal was cut off as a particularly frigid blast of northern wind left her teeth chattering and the mottled girl shivering where she stood, “But-ah, if it's not too much of an imposition, I reckon I'd be foolish ter not take yer up on it, 'specially if there's any more swimmin' involved.” Her grin was sheepish, a mark of her youth and inexperience. She really hadn't expected there to be a pack out here at all, she was exceedingly grateful they seemed to be a decent sort. Of course, if the purple lady before her chose to change her mind, well a run would warm her up just as well, right?

A quick glance around didn't lend her any clues as to what would be the shortest course back to the mainland though.

“Speech”

Deluge seemed a bit uncertain about coming further inland to dry off and warm up until a particularly strong gust of wind blew through and made the spotted woman shiver. As her unexpected guest quickly had a change of heart and agreed to take her up on the offer, Avacyn chuckled softly and nodded as she began to turn back toward the main part of the island that the pack used most often. "Not an imposition at all, I assure you. I'd hate to send someone away to become a walking icicle on the way home." She began leading Deluge back toward the central part of the island where the lake took up a good chunk of the area with a few spots around its banks that had been cleared out for various purposes.

A large campfire was burning at one end of the lake that had been cleared out and was kept as a gathering spot for meetings and such. She nodded Deluge toward the fire and told her, "Wait here, I'll be right back." She picked up the pace a bit then, darting off to one of the caves where they kept some general supplies and such that the pack could pull from as needed. She grabbed a thicker fur for Deluge to wrap up in and a couple woven cloths that she could use to dry off. Coming back to where she had left their guest, she handed off the fur and cloths to her, saying, "There, those should help." She sat down near by, keeping Deluge company while she got warm and keeping an eye on the unintended intruder at the same time. "You said you live in your family's pack currently, right?" she asked conversationally, curious about the island hopping wolf. "What pack is that?"

"Avacyn Mendacium"

Deluge gratefully took the offered items and started to dry herself off, allowing the warmth of the fire to seep into her bones. When Avacyn asked her of her family, she saw no reason not to be forthright with her saviour. “Raider's Hollow, m' dad took over th' Pirates from Sparrow an' moved us out ter Daager Isle. M' mum grew up on Dove Island when Ashen were there, so we've got some space over there too. Maybe 'e was hopin' if we had ter swim, we'd be less inclined fer mischief by th' time we reached th' mainland. Pirate's didn' exactly have th' best reputation after all.” She couldn't keep the lopsided grin off her face as she reminisced.

 

“I dunno that its doin' 'im much good, but 'e seems ter like th' job.” She shrugged. Deluge had intentions to form something much less structured. “Half th' pack barely seem sober enough ter make th' trip over, so things 'ave been quieter, tha's fer sure.” The change in management hadn't been widely publicized that she knew of, and information was all she had on hand for the hospitality she had received. She made herself a mental note to be sure to drop off something more substantial as thanks when she could.

“Speech”

While she certainly hadn't had any idea what to expect when she asked Deluge about her origins, she felt herself do a bit of a double take when she was told that she hailed from the the pack that had at one point been led by Sparrow. She had picked up on the fact that the pack had changed hands and shifted locations from her own scouting and the information she had gathered from their allies, but she hadn't heard until know what name they went by now or who their leader currently was. While her only experience of the Pirates had been at her mother's challenge when she was just a young pup, she had heard from others their experience with them and she nodded with understanding at Deluge's mention of their poor reputation. They most certainly had made enemies of themselves with her mother at least.

If she was following her mother's pre-established ruling of the Pirate wolves she by all rights should have escorted Deluge out then and there and threatened her not to return, but time healed wounds and Deluge's amiable behavior gave her pause. The fact that they had gone as far to move the group of rowdy wolves to an island in hopes that the swim to the mainland would deter their more wild notions did give her hope that perhaps they were in more responsible paws now. Only time would tell, of course, but Deluge had given her a bit of hope and made her reconsider her previous notions of the group. "I'm not going to lie to you, Deluge, we were one of those that had a poor impression of your group," she admitted with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm glad to hear that some steps have been put into place to temper things a bit. I certainly have no issue with some fun and a fight from time to time, but even that should probably have some kind of limit." She smirked as she thought about the fact Deluge shared about them often being too drunk to bother with the swim and added, "It does sound like you all have a good time one way or another, though."

"Avacyn Mendacium"

This pack certainly seemed like an alright lot. She finished drying herself off and snuggled into the fur, chuckling along the sentiment that fights and funs were alright, within reason. “We do try.” She admitted, though there was a hint of something sadder underneath it. Even the best laid plans didn't always work out. “I'd rather get inter tradin' so theres a chance ter chat before causin' too much chaos,” No harm in putting the word out there. “If I ever get m'self sorted.” She admitted with a self-depreciating chuckle. “Got a need fer anythin' in particular out this way?” Couldn't hurt to do some market research while she was in the area, and it might even give her a better idea of what to bring back as a gift when she returned.

“Speech”