The tall grass had started to turn yellow with the nearing cold weather. It was a fairly cool day as it was with little to no breeze. Azalea moved silently through the grass that towered above her. Ears quivered, moving to take in every noise. She had her mind set on a deer though it would be a feat on her own. At thirty one to the shoulder, Azalea seemed to be the only one in her family to draw the short stick. She blamed her mother. Being a small wolf was certainly not easy. For her mother, perhaps. To live a simple and quiet life was just not in her nature and honestly Azalea had no idea how her mother could be content with such a life. A life of servitude. Azalea stopped moving. She hadn't heard anything, there was no prey here, so she sat down, loosening up her slightly tensed body. Amber eyes cast around. She was on the game trail, thin and hard to trace with your eyes. With a sigh Azalea sat back on her haunches, completely relaxing. "Speech"

Hidden away amongst the grasses Baldur laid spread eagle on his belly in a light doze of contentment. He'd just polished of lunch and settled in among his makeshift nest. The air was getting cooler but that was a comfort to the large brute for he was of northern descent and his thick coat had made the summer difficult to get through. The kiss of autumn and further, that of winter, were the more succulent seasons for the brute. Winter was when he came into his own. Baldur turned his gaze to the sky for a moment and sighed. He'd been lazing about long enough he supposed. Getting gracefully, for once, to his feet he shook out his coat and set back to work. It was time for him to get back in the swing of his patrol route but as he walked another wolf caught his eye, a female sitting there as if in meditation. She smelt of Valhalla but he couldn't quite place her. Not surprising considering the vastness of the pack. Curious he trotted toward her making no effort to hide the noise so that he wouldn't startle her. "Good morning! I'm Baldur, a gamma. I don't recall meeting you before so hello!"

Azalea's nose tipped skyward, ears folding back and her eyes closing as she leaned back with a contented air about her. She soaked up the warm rays of the sun, uninterrupted by a chilled wind. She exhaled through her nostrils and then her peace was broken. Red face snapped in the direction of the sound as her amber eyes laid upon the large and entirely unfamiliar wolf. She held her ground, eyes narrowing minutely as she took in the brute. "Good morning! I'm Baldur, a gamma. I don't recall meeting you before so hello!" His friendliness seemed to betray his size and for all that mass she found herself staring at his face. He was undeniably a gorgeous wolf, albeit not very well her type. She found his notation of his rank to be unsettling, like a challenge. Azalea had been back only briefly, she knew not her rank anymore. "Baldur.""I am Azalea Adravendi. Previous rank Heir, current rank: unknown." Now Aza stood up, shaking out lightly her plush coat. Lighter toned brow spots seemed to bob as she inspected the wolf again, if only to distract herself from his piercing blue eyes and the darker mark on his face which demanded attention. "How long have you been in a part of Valhalla?" A nosy question, really none of her business. Truly though she was curious to know if he had arrived before or after her departure.

Oh rats, look like he startled her. One ear flicked back as he remembered the pregnant femme he'd accidentally scared stiff when he came racing in and flopping forward on his face. This femme however was no skittish lamb and she turned sharply in his direction glaring at him through narrowed eyes. She spoke and introduced herself as Azalea Adravendi. The former heir. Ohhhhh boy?. Baldur had the feeling he'd managed to walk right into a political mess. Had she not been to see Erani yet? Perhaps her current rank had been revoked? Come to think of it Baldur had utterly no clue who was currently the heir if they even had one at all. She asked him a question and he answered. "I haven't been here long, barely a season now. You should talk with Erani regarding your rank, as far as I know no heirs been named." He wasn't quite sure where to take the conversation, caught slightly by her unusual appearance now that she was up out of the grass. The crimson helm she bore contrasting sharply with her snowy gown. "I take it you've been away?" An extension to the conversation though not a question that needed answering if she chose to steer them in another direction. "Speech"

"I haven't been here long, barely a season now. You should talk with Erani regarding your rank, as far as I know no heirs been named." He tread cautiously with his words and Azalea's lips curled lightly and deliciously at his unease. "I take it you've been away?" Azalea looked past him, the way he had come. Really it all looked the same, his path, her path. "No, no I don't think I will. I am sure Erani has changed things, and as you say there are no heirs at current that suggests that with the fall of Valhalla also came the loss of my brothers rank. You see, he was named heir after me." That was entirely different story and Azalea made herself move on rather than ramble on about things this guy clearly didn't know. "As for being away... I have. It was foolish of me to leave and I am only lucky I have family and my good name to leave me something to have returned to." She looked him over once more, a half smile lighting her face. "Barely a season? Where are you from? Its a shame that place lost you, good looking and with a fighters build." Oh, how she flattered. Azalea's body warmed with the familiar behaviors previously forgotten after being taken by the pink lord.

Her gaze shifted past him and he wondered at the far away look in her eyes. There was so much history to this pack. So much he didn't know and doubted he ever would though he supposed he could ask Erani sometime for a quick history lesson on the pack, even if it meant he'd be sitting in with the pups. A soft smile spread across his face. He'd never admit it but he was rather glad that his brother Loki had had a few of his own. They were the closest he'd probably ever get to being a father himself. Hopefully he'd be able to see them more now that he was well. His brother's paranoia made things difficult some times.


Azalea spoke and Baldur tried to keep up. "I see? I had heard that Valhalla was ruled by Chrysanthe and that it moved after an attack from Glaciem but I'm sadly lacking in knowledge of the packs history."


If he was bald Baldur's cheeks would've been burning pink at her complement. He tried to hide it but he smiled all the same. "You flatter me, miss Azalea." His smile faded slightly. Lying wasn't as embedded in his nature as it was in Loki. and so he felt compelled to tell her the truth. "Where I am from is not a good place and they are very glad to be rid of me? but I am glad to be rid of them, haha, so it works out well?" though he would still need to return soon for his twin. Winter could not come fast enough for him.


"Before you left had you lived in Valhalla long?"


"Speech"

The delicate smile that lit his face did not go unnoticed by Azalea and she tensed her jaw to keep herself from smiling back. To her, happy smiles were always contagious. When she spoke, "I see? I had heard that Valhalla was ruled by Chrysanthe and that it moved after an attack from Glaciem but I'm sadly lacking in knowledge of the packs history." She nodded. She said the last bit with a smile, proud of her pack and where they had come from. "I can fill you in but there is a LOT." As she complimented him, commenting on his looks and build, the male smiled and seemed to become a bit bashful. "You flatter me, miss Azalea." She shrugged, a show of her complete innocence though her eyes said otherwise. "Where I am from is not a good place and they are very glad to be rid of me? but I am glad to be rid of them, haha, so it works out well?" She frowned for a moment before licking her chops as if to wipe the slate clean. "Their loss." She said pointedly. "Before you left had you lived in Valhalla long?" She made an "mm" sound as if she were thinking hard into the past. "All my life. I was born by the lake, Wolfpaw. My parents fled a volcanic eruption, along with everyone else. My father is the adopted son of Cairo, pack founder. Nearly my entire history is with Valhalla." She didn't want to ramble.

What did you expect to find?

Was it something you left behind?

Baldur settled himself down to listen to what she had to say, catching a glimmer in her eye that made him blush a little. He'd treat this as an educational opportunity, unsure of how much he'd be able to take in or remember but he'd try his best. It was critical to know Valhalla's history with the other packs in order for him to make accurate judgements of others intent at the border. Glaciem he figured was an enemy or at least now an ally to be wary of. But what was the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Baldur wasn't sure how much of that he bought. Keeping enemies close made it a lot easier for them to stab you in the back.


Azalea had been in Valhalla her entire life it seemed and so there'd be much to go over depending on what he would ask but he did not want to overburden her. "I see? Azalea. Forgive me if I open old wounds but what is the history of Valhalla with the other packs? Particularly with Glaciem. Should any of their wolves approach our border I would like to know what sort of judgements I should be making."





"Speech"

Don't you remember anything I said when I said,

Don't fall away and leave me to myself