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Célestin had caught the scent of a new wolf among the more familiar ones of the pack and the young man couldn't help himself, he was curious to a fault. Where he maybe should have had some caution around strangers he trusted his uncle and Frostbite, though to a lesser degree, to not put anyone in the pack within danger. He trusted them to keep anyone who was a threat away... for a moment his mind briefly flashed to that of the angry man who had yelled at his mother and brother when he had been a pup. The man hadn't seemed to disappear, though the young Adravendi had yet to see him in a season or two... that was the only snag in his theory; as far as he was concerned the man was a threat, at least to his mother.

Driving the memory from his mind Célestin took after the unknown scent, tracking through the pack lands. He trotted with friendly ease, his stance denoting the relative confidence he felt in his home lands, though he clearly didn't consider himself dominant in any way. He pushed through drooping branches, his mis matched gaze sweeping over familiar landscapes in search of who he hoped might be a new friend.

Art by Blue-Onyx

It hadn’t taken him long to recover, mostly what he needed was to rest his weary muscles and drink. At the current moment he laid in the shade of a willow, his head resting between his paws as he dozed silently. For a man on a mission Pegasus was still very young and rarely kept his guard up. In his homeland he had always had the security of a guard to accompany him when he was outside his grandfather’s den. The boy was after all a prince and any harm done to him would be an offence punishable by death, both to the offender and to the guard who had failed in his duties. The male dreamt pleasantly of his family; he and his half-brother sparring in the courtyard and then of his father sharing stories from his numerous adventures, both as a crusader and in the near mythical land he had come from before landing in his mother’s kingdom. Suddenly his father’s face grew grave and the atmosphere darkened. He was back to just a few weeks ago when his father had determined he and his littermates were old enough to hear of the scars he carried on his soul. He awoke with a start, his eyes snapping open as he glanced wildly around the unfamiliar land. Suddenly he remembered; he had crossed the ocean, intending to avenge his father and earn him his freedom. His father was a man of triumph and strength. For him to fear any wolf was a stain on his reputation as a knight and as the paramour of his mother. He settled his head back down and wuffed a sigh. Now that he was here, the odds seemed stacked against him. How could one young boy hope to defeat a family of monsters? "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

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Movement caught his eye, someone laying in the shade of a tree. Célestin swung his gaze towards the unknown figure, taking a moment to draw him in. He was young, probably around his own age and handsom. Not that the boy was yet aware of what exactly that meant to him yet, still he felt a slight lightness in his chest as he looked upon the stranger.

Not one to be deterred however Célestin approached, a friendly smile upon his face and his tail still wagging. He gave a soft bark to assure the stranger was aware of his approach before drawing up a respectable distance away from him. "Salut! " He called out, slipping naturally into his mother tongue for a moment, which if he was being honest with himself, was entirely because he was showing off. "New here?" He asked, not so much of a hint of an accent denoting this language as any more foreign than the previous one, he had been raised in both after a all;  It was a rhetorical of course, he knew the young man couldn't have been here too long, he had yet to even truly mingle his scent with that of the pack.

" I'm Célestin Adravendi, pleased to meet ya!

Art by Blue-Onyx

“Pegasus, pr-“ He sopped himself before he gave his full title as a prince of Aytepios. This was the lawless land of Boreas he reminded himself, the though of him not only one day ruling a city but being regarded as a leader of a nation was a foreign concept to them. He cleared his throat and blinked feigning disorientation “Just Pegasus. A pleasure to meet you Célestin ” He said, closing his eyes and dipping his head respectfully in greeting. “And yes, I came here just a few days ago.” He said flatly. The male was, in a word, strange. The prince wondered if he had dyed his fur with paints like performers and acrobats did but he couldn’t find the pungent smell of berries or crushed seeds on him, only the overlaying scent of the pack and the wild scent of the desert. Was his fur naturally colored so vibrantly? He reminded himself yet again that he was in Boreas and found himself unable to suppress a smile. Wait until Chiron heard about this. If he ever saw his brother again that is. The smile faded quickly as he felt daunted by his mission, he closed his eyes briefly before returning his attention back to the male. He found himself caught off-guard by the male’s eyes, no one in Aytepios or even all of Theodebes had eyes like his; maybe eyes that were a different single solid color each but Célestin’s eyes were like uncut opals. He looked away, feeling heat rise to his cheeks as he caught himself staring. “Sorry, I’ve never-“ He found himself fumbling for words “You’re not like any other wolf I’ve ever seen.” He said finally and felt his ears burn feverishly with embarrassment. That had come out completely wrong, and he cursed himself for his sudden lack of grace. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

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Célestin noted his stutter but decided not to comment on it; he nodded instead as Pegasus gave up his name. Pegasus indicated that Célestin had been correct in his assumption. He felt the other man's gaze roving over him and he couldn't help a slight chuckle. He knew he must stand out, especially if Pegasus was new to the continent. Célestin knew of at least one other wolf outside of his immediate family with a rainbow emblazoning their pelts, so he had reason to believe he wasn't as big a rarity as one might assume. He gave himself a moment to watch the other young man; admiring him again.

Pegasus spoke and Célestin could feel his cheeks growing warm beneath his fur and he quickly adverted his eyes. He chuckled again. "You've not met any of my family then I take it." He wasn't trying to be humble so much as cover up the sudden fluttering feeling in his chest, trying not to sound as flustered as he felt. "Though if you don't mind my saying, you're not exactly hard on the eyes yourself." He finally slid his gaze back towards the male, doing his best not to stare. "It may seem inane but I've not met a wolf who looks quite like you either." And that was a truth, there were certainly more "plain" wolves around, though he'd be loath to ever refer to them as such, none had quite the same regality as Pegasus and his coloration and markings were unique to Célestin.

Art by Blue-Onyx

His eyes widened with sudden shock and he gave an involuntary glance to the side at the guard who was not there. Males simply didn’t complement males in Aytepios, especially not on their appearance;  for him to have done so to Célestin was a slip in his manners, but for the rainbow hued wolf to do the same so casually was nearly scandalous. “This place truly is lawless.” He thought then cleared his throat to hide his discomfort. “Thank you.” He said plainly, all emotion carefully removed from his tone. It may seem inane but I've not met a wolf who looks quite like you either." At that he couldn’t help but smile and quirk his eyebrow mischievously “Sounds like you haven’t met any of my family either.” He  said slyly and followed it with a short chuckle. “Would you mind telling me more about this place?” He asked more sedately after a moment of silence passed between them. Maybe someone in the pack knew more about the Abraxas, maybe even some way he could defeat them. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

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Okay so that hadn't exactly gone as he hoped. It seemed if he was trying to make Pegasus his friend he was going about it the wrong way. Célestin only just managed to suppress his frown and decided to switch gears. He settled calmly onto his haunches still maintaining the distance.

Pegasus still responded positively to his own comment on how he hadn't seen many like him and Célestin was glad he hadn't chased him off. He couldn't help but chuckle along.

Pegasus asked about the area and Célestin thought for a moment. He wasn't sure what he could offer but he'd certainly do his best. "Depends on what you want to know." He began, fixing the other young man with a lopsided grin. "I've lived in Lirim all my life, and haven't had much chance to explore outside the pack lands yet... barring one notable misadventure, so not sure what I can offer about areas outside Lirim. He tried to brush past his embarrassing misadventure, the one that had gotten him and Bas into trouble and seemed to have caused his uncle a lot of trouble.

"From what I've learned, Lirim is mostly a family based pack, my Uncle is one of the Alpha's and I know his brother and mother have been alpha's before him... and I think he's got some other siblings around..." It was probably a strange sentence to say aloud but in truth Célestin was estranged from his adoptive family. Hed never met Faite though his own mother had spoken of her before... as well as Uncle Rory but he knew nothing else about Faite's other children. He was unaware that to some of his Uncle's family he was very much an unwanted addition.

"I know that Lirim has a sister pack called Celestial further south from here, through the desert but I've never been so I couldn't tell you much about it" He watched for a moment trying to gauge the other man's reaction.

Art by Blue-Onyx

He listened to the young male with interest his head subconsciously cocking to the side. He gave a small smile as the boy tried to brush past what sounded like an interesting story, and after a childhood raised on his father’s adventures he was always happy to hear tales from others. His features dropped slightly as he mentioned Lirium was a family pack and gave a soft sigh. “I’m guessing a family pack wouldn’t want a stranger like me around then.” He was mildly surprised by how disappointed he actually was that he might be asked to leave as soon as he was well, and the thought of crossing the desert to find the sister pack made his stomach turn. He glanced up at the male who was watching him intently and was momentarily reminded of him and his uncle playing Crow Whistles. He smiled genuinely at the memory and Célestin then cocked his head to the other side. “So tell me about your misadventure.” And chased it with a small chuckle “Can’t exactly let you wave that under my nose and not tell me the whole thing.” He settled onto his hip to make himself more comfortable, any thoughts on the Abraxas momentarily gone from his mind speaking Thinking  you

Célestin hadn't really thought of Lirim from the perspective of an outsider, nor had he considered what his words might mean to someone who didn't live in the pack like he did. "Oh uhm..." He stammered for a second trying to reassure Pegasus. "I don't think that's quite what they mean... I mean, Frostbite isn't related to my Uncle as far as I can tell and he's a well respected member... it's more like... " He thought for a moment, furrowing his brow and cocking his head to one side in a hyperbolic facsimile of being deep in thought. "It's more like the pack becomes the family, if that makes any sense." He chuckled slightly, unsure he was even forming coherent sentences. He certainly couldn't see Uncle Torin or Frostbite kicking anyone else for not being family. Pegasus seemed to have picked up on his desire to push past his less than respectable adventure and he groaned as the other male questioned him on it. "Trust me it's not as exciting as it sounds." He gave a half-hearted attempt to throw Pegasus off the scent before giving a shrug and sigh and starting to speak again. "This was back when I was just a pup. Me and my brother Bastyan decided we wanted to see what was outside the pack lands... without telling anyone where we were going." He grimaced slightly, older now he could understand at least somewhat why things had turned out as they had. "As it turns out no one else thought we were as clever as we felt. When our Uncle finally tracked us down he made us drag our butts back here and things got... well let's just say there was a decent amount of yelling and Bas and I had to spend what felt like a lifetime of time being confined to the den and babysat." He felt his face flush again, and darted his gaze away. He felt embarrassed by his own childish foolishness. "I guess it wasn't a total wash though, turns out it's not just my own family with the whole rainbow thing going on. Blew my tiny pup mind at the time." he chuckled at that memory. Even with all that had happened after he couldn't help but hold that particular part of the whole ill advised endeavor dear. "Speech" Think You

Art by Sterling-Raven

He couldn’t help but laugh, his nose ducking behind his crossed wrists as a wide grin split his features. “I did the same thing when I was a pup!” He said excitedly, overjoyed that he and the stranger had something in common. “I snuck out of my grandfathers keep during the guard shift, my father had half the country looking for me, blessed Ley he was furious when I came home.” He had gotten so carried away recounting his own misadventure that he hadn’t even realized his words might be lost on the other male, how did one explain sentries and masonry to a wolf that had only ever known the natural wonders of the world and the combined efforts of fellow packmates rather than the sworn duty of seasoned fighters? Something else Celestin had said caught his attention then; he thought it had gone without saying that there would be other wolves with the rainbow pelt he carried, but it seemed he was an oddity in this land as well, despite the implication that he had siblings with similar coats. speaking Thinking  you

Quite frankly the way Pegasus ducked his head as he laughed, as if he was trying to hide his laughter was adorable and Célestin's grin grew wider. He was glad someone could at least find amusement in what he considered one of his least favorite memories. Pegasus immediatly jumped into his own story and Célestin perked, his eyes lighting up as they fixed on the other young man. Pegasus' story didn't exactly register with him as well but the idea that they had both shared an ill advised adventure as children certainly made him feel more at ease. Still there was a curiosity his story had conjured and Célestin couldn't help it as a question tumbled from his lips near as soon as Pegasus' tale was done. "Can you tell me more about where you came from?" As much as Pegasus seemed curious about the area he found himself in now Célestin wanted to know about where the young male had come from; he got the sense it was very different than the world he knew. Quite frankly he felt himself drawn towards the male but he had gotten the sense he needed to proceed with caution earlier so he wasn't going to push to hard. "Speech" Think You

Art by Sterling-Raven

He felt his face flush slightly at the question, he hadn’t met too many wolves since arriving, but no one had bothered to ask where he had come from or what his homeland was like. No one it seemed even knew about his father, which was particularly distressing given the renown he had made for himself before he had been sired. He glanced up at Célestin which only made matters worse. In spite of what the young male had said the wolves of Theodebes looked incredibly ordinary, unlike nearly every wolf he had seen since arriving. The tips of his ears burned and his mouth suddenly felt dry, he cleared his throat and began. “Well… I come from the kingdom of Aytepios in the nation of Theodebes. There are eight kingdoms; packs of sorts I suppose, only the kingdoms are vast; thousands of wolves live in Aytepios all living underthe laws of the king; my grandfather Odysseus, I suppose you could say he’s an alpha, but as a king he has the role of the senatari, advisors to the emperor of Theodebes: Asterion. The kingdoms all follow their kings but the kings follow the emperor, and the emperor follows the Senatari.” He paused to give him time to absorb what he had just said, feeling more and more embarrassed as he tried to explain the vastly different world he had come from in a way Célestin could understand. “I’m a prince of Aytepios actually, but I stand little chance of inheriting the throne. It will pass to my uncle and his children, my mother is Odysseus’s oldest, but females can’t have seats on the Senatari.” His face grew hotter at that. It was an archaic law, one that his grandfather didn’t even approve of, which must have seemed barbaric in Boreas where males and females stood on equal footing. speaking Thinking  you