Three days moved in silence into a fortnight and not once had Yale left the territory. He had made no attempt to interact with anyone but he assumed his presence alone would be proof enough that he intended to stay. Night-time strolls through the territory had become part of his usual routine; a way for him to stretch his legs without running into anyone. He couldn’t exactly place why he chose to avoid the pack as much as he had and could only assume it came along with the looming guilt that hung over his heart ever since he lost the boy Dagan. He looked into the shadowy woods before him and heaved a sigh. Some part of him knew the boy was better off dead but a far more present thought urged him to leave and find him or at least find his body and give him his last rights. He settled for marking a tree on the far end of the small territory as heavily as he could, in the hopes that it would lead the boy to him should he ever find his way. “Elm, he do brood And Oak, he do hate But the Willow-man goes walking. If you stays out late.” His low voice muttered as he stared into the hanging curtain of leaves above him. He wondered if maybe that was how he had avoided facing justice for abandoning the pup; heretic superstition of pixies and spriggans that mothers told their pups to keep them out of trouble. He snorted and shook his head, his lilac eyes fixed on the soft grass at the base of the tree.   Speech,

It was rare for Roza to be out and about this late now that the kids were around. However, sleep was hard to come by and she hoped that this would help clear her head enough to let her fall asleep. Ganta's words about having to act and time running out kept swirling through her head and picking up much more momentum behind her worry than was probably warranted. So far she had wandered to the opposite side of the willow forest from their den and she had only succeeded in making herself more upset. It was like a storm that was only getting worse with time. Her ears flicked forward and she paused a quiet muttering of words caught her attention from somewhere ahead of her in the willows. It wasn't a voice she recognized and for a moment she was on alert, worried that it was one of Ganta's siblings, but once she caught the man's scent she realized it didn't match Forsaken or Ganta's scents at all. Curious, she grew closer and slipped past the willow branches. "Excuse me," she said as she came to a stop several feet from the tan and white, black-marked man. His scent didn't smell heavily of Dragoste, at least not yet, so she wasn't completely sure what to make of him just yet. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid we haven't met yet. Are you a new member of the pack?" Talk Abbey Others

His ears perked and one swiveled in the direction of the spotted female. “I am.” He said, his voice a deep and imposing baritone. “Or I should hope I am.” He muttered to himself.  Slowly, he turned to face her, his expression calm despite the deep boom of his voice. He recognized her scent; it had been just as prevalent on Dragoste’s borders as Ganta’s and amid the smell of pup milk he could smell the alpha’s scent heavily on her. He bowed his head in a formal greeting. “Pleasure to meet you my lady. I am Yale Beaufort. ” He rumbled, issuing the same reverence a wolf of nobility was to give another wolf of authority in his home land. She was the first wolf he had met aside from Ganta although that was, to an extent, a fault of his own design.  He wondered if she had heard him recite the poem his Nann had told him when he was just a pup, one of many poems and tales that ultimately caused her to be maimed for corrupting a lord’s progeny with blasphemy. He pushed the memory aside and waited for the woman to return a greeting of her own.   speaking

Ah, a new member then! She wasn't sure what he meant by he hoped so, but she had to assume that it must be something he had worked out with Ganta. Even though his voice was deep and he was much larger than herself she didn't really sense any danger from him. His formal bow reinforced that feeling. She smiled and dipped her head in response with her tail wagging gently behind her. Being out this late wasn't a normal thing for her, but she was kind of glad to have someone to keep her company - if for no other reason than to keep her mind from worrying so much. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Yale. I'm Roza Adravendi." Although that name could change before too long. The thought made her smile softly. Her and Ganta did things a bit out of order from what she had expected, but now here they were with two beautiful children and a pac all their own. She was grateful despite the looming threats. "What brought you to Dragoste, Yale?" she asked curiously as she focused her attention back on her new acquaintance. She enjoyed listening to other's stories. This one was especially interesting since she was learning what made Dragoste interesting to outsiders. Maybe she could get some feedback on how to grow their ranks! Talk Abbey Others

His face fell, he looked to the ground and for just a brief moment his eyes narrowed in disgust for himself. In that moment, he was tempted to tell her the whole sordid story; of the affair between his brother and the prostitute and how the fruits of their labors had driven him from his home. He was tempted to tell her how he had come to leave the boy for dead and carry on building a new life as an outcast. He wanted to confess his sins and lay them bare in the hopes that he could be given the chance to repent. But he didn’t. He forced a sneeze in the hopes that it would serve as an excuse for his sudden and gruesome expression. He sniffed “Ah-sorry.” he mumbled and shook out his neck. “I am new to this place.” He explained “This was the first pack I came across and Ganta agreed to let me stay if I chose to and grant me an audience to hear the word of Ley.” He said with a soft smile. Speech,

A mix of curiosity and concern colored her face when she saw his face fall. She had a feeling that there was a deeper meaning and story behind that reaction, but he quickly played it off and covered his initial reaction with a sneeze. Roza let it go... for now. It would be rude of her to press the matter with someone she just met if nothing else. She put a smile back on her face and nodded to his apology. Perhaps once they knew each other better she could ask about it again. Her curiosity returned again though when he mentioned something called "the word of Ley". She had never heard of anything like that before. She had heard of some wolves following a "religion" of some kind, but her family never taught her anything like that and she really had no real concept of what it would be like to believe in it. Most of her life had been spent within Fiori and she hadn't had a whole lot of contact outside of her father's pack until now. "Well I can be your first audience if you want!" she said with an encouraging smile, her tail wagging gently behind her. Talk Abbey Others

“If it would please you your grace.” He said with a cordial bow, the boy completely forgotten. He would need to give her the abridged verion, although he doubted she would mind, the full and complete story of The Conquest Of Ley was meant for a large audience of many to hear of the greatness of the god they had forgotten and the powerful templars who carried the stories to them. “I’m sure by now you’ve seen the relics; the strange stones and formations far too purposeful to have been made by nature and far too elaborate and heavy to have been crafted by wolf.” He started and sat to make himself more comfortable. Without waiting for a reply he continued. “It’s because they were crafted by Gods.” He said, his voice deepening gravely. “These gods once roamed freely and for eons their kind tormented wolves; hunting them like deer, stealing them from their homes and using them to create demons. The true lord Ley saw these abominations and wept great tears of fire onto the earth killing the heathen gods and freeing the spells put on their demons although they no longer resembled any mortal wolf.” His chest had raised as he spoke, with conviction, every word an infallible truth, his pale eyes steeled with higher purpose. “Wolves were free once again to take their place on this great earth as the children of the one true god, but as time passed many forgot of his great conquest.” He looked to her again, his features softening as he spoke. “Some demons still held the old gods in high regard and forced wolves to forget, others were simply too apathetic toward his gift and failed to pass on the tale of his conquest to their children and their children’s children.” He explained. “One wolf however passed the Great Tale to his decedents, a good and holy wolf named Obadiah.” He said and paused to see if heh ad lost the woman’s interest or if  he would be allowed to continue. speaking you

Roza settled down with her ears tipped forward attentatively so that she could take in Yale's lesson. She loved when others were willing to share something of themselves with her. She personally had a hard time being vulnerable with anyone besides Ganta and while this wasn't directly about Yale, it still seemed very important and personal to him. She wanted it to be obvious that she recognized that fact and respected it. As he began with the mention of the relics and formations she nodded with recognition. While her traveling had not been very wide spread, she had seem some of these sorts of things before. As Yale began to describe these gods and their fates from the fire that Ley destroyed them with her eyes widened with shock. Was something like that actually possible? It was beyond even her wildest imagination, but the conviction behind Yale's words made her believe that it was true - or at least that he believed it to be so. She was completely enthralled in his story and when he stopped she felt like he had paused at the edge of a whole different tale. "What happened to Obadiah?" Roza prompted as Yale paused, eager to find out more. Talk Abbey Others

He smiled slightly and continued “Obadiah traveled the world telling the great tale however many did not believe him, and even more still prayed to the heathen gods.” He explained. “However, one morning Obadiah went to pray…” He paused for dramatic effect. “And there, waiting for him in his prayer spot was Ley himself.” “Obadiah wept and bowed before his greatness, proclaiming that he was not worthy, and Ley soothed him and reassured him that he was indeed worthy, for he had followed him loyally his entire life.” The man said, his eyes closing, momentarily wondering how it must have felt for the prophet to have seen Ley in all his glory before he continued. “Obadiah said to Ley: ‘Holy father of light, I have tried to teach others of your greatness and strength, however none will listen, they cling to the heathen gods and listen to their demons.’ And Ley nodded solemnly in response. ‘You must tell them that there is a place where the heathen gods still reign and torment my children and if they refuse to listen the heathen gods will take them for themselves and turn them into demons." “Obadiah nodded and spoke again: ‘but how will I convince them that yours is the true way to eternal peace?’  And Ley said: ‘You will tell them my ten truths.” Yale paused and took a deep breath, he supposed it all sounded frightening, if he didn’t clarify now the poor queen might think her ancestors were damned. “There is a difference you see; between being ignorant to Ley and denying him. Ley is merciful and grants eternal peace to all that follow him and those that have not heard the Great Tale, but to hear the tale and claim it as false or deny the strength of Ley, that is an offense He does not take lightly.” speaking you

If nothing else Roza was completely enthralled with Yale's story. It was all a bit much to process right in this moment for her to decide if she really believed all of it, but it was a captivating story none of the less. Part of her almost wanted it to be real. It sounded like Ley was very kind, especially as Yale started to explain that only the wolves that knowingly denied him were not allowed this eternal peace. The idea that there was someone looking out for them all like this was comforting... especially with the turmoil Ganta's brothers were causing in their lives. While she wanted to believe that she and Ganta were strong enough to protect their children and their pack on their own, it was nice to think that there was something else possibly in their corner. She nodded occasionally as he spoke to show that she was following along and absorbing what he was saying. "What are the ten truths that Obadiah was supposed to tell everyone?" she asked as Yale's words lulled into silence. Eventually she would need to get back to the den and force herself to get some sleep, but for now she was too wrapped up in the story to not hear it to the end. Talk Abbey Others