It was one of those evenings where everything was dying down. The sun had just dipped past the horizon and the world was beginning to be overrun with the dark cloak of night. It was peaceful during this time. The nights were getting to be a little chillier than usual, but it was nothing a thick coat like hers couldn't handle. In fact she fully relished the slightly colder climate than what they were used to. While she adored all Auster had to offer in terms of sightseeing it had nothing on northern Boreas where the temperatures suited her Ancora styled coat. With the festival over Talis had died down a bit in activity, but not as much as before Dragon had called them all together. Now that everyone was dragging themselves out of the stupor they'd been in Afrit had been sticking around more often, if only to catch a glimpse of that pretty red woman again. She'd obviously missed a lot and new arrivals looked to be one of the most glaringly obvious things she'd failed to notice. She was just getting ready to go find a comfy spot to lie down for the night when a howl split the silence of the night. Ears flicked as she tried to see if she recognized it, but nothing came to mind. Instead she was left confused as she tried to make sense as to why Dragon was being summoned. She'd never witnessed a challenge for a pack before, but there was nothing good in the sound of that tone. She stood with a fair amount of hesitation as she decided on whether or not she should go support her brother. In the end she made the most adult decision she'd made in a while. There was nothing she could physically do for Dragon at the time and her being there probably wasn't going to help him focus. Her efforts would be better left to stay at the pack and make sure the borders were defended so she remained. So she headed away from the heart of the territory and towards the border. So much for going to bed! Walk, "Talk" Think

Malleus was disturbed to say the least. The fire spirit he'd met not all that long ago had shown up at the challenge in support of Talis' blind alpha. Not only that but they seemed to be an item, which he found all around disappointing. How could such a fiery, spirited creature stoop so low? While he wasn't quick to write off wolves with that kind of handicap completely, he certainly wouldn't put one in charge of a pack. And it was for that reason that he found Iskra's presence so disturbing. What witchcraft did she bring into the mix? Had the man struck a deal with her as Malleus had done? Not for one second did he doubt that his nephew would walk away victorious. No, with the fallen god on their side and a blind man on the other, whatever magic the woman brought to the mix wouldn't tip the balance. It simply couldn't. But that was assuming she directed her magic towards the fight. If the man was worth anything as a leader he would have her take care of his packmates; the wolves who would without question soon belong to someone else should Iskra not intervene in some manner. That seemed plausible, so Malleus had taken it upon himself to head for Talis. He would keep tabs on its members much as he had at the last pack challenge. Ashiel's challenge was different than Amon's. His father had challenged with a horde of followers at his back; it cost him nothing to let the mortals leave. Ashiel wasn't quite so lucky. Malleus couldn't speak for his cousin or make his decisions for him, but he wasn't about to let him take control of a pack only to discover it had been abandoned. No, he would do his best to keep an eye on Talis' wolves so that when Ashiel won - and it was indeed when, not if - he would have wolves to rule over. If he chose to release them later that was his prerogative. But Malleus wasn't about to let them leave without Ashiel's blessing. The pack was quiet so once he reached the border Malleus simply ghosted along the Talis side of it. He wasn't looking for a fight and he was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself, but he wasn't particularly worried about being seen or engaged. And it was a good thing too, because before he had gone more than a few hundred feet along the border he caught sight of a pack wolf heading his way. The plains were wide open and there was no place to hide, so he simply stopped walking and waited to see what she would do.