OOC: no family, please! Valentine skulked through the orchard with a level of broodiness that would have made a teenager jealous. His thoughts were still on his mate and son, and the ordeal they'd been through. They'd been stolen from him and no one stole from him and got away from it. No, he would have his revenge and their people would feel it for generations to come. He kicked aside a piece of fruit - a pear or an apple, whatever the hell grew here, he couldn't remember - and marched on down the lane with all of the brevity of a general mulling over battle plans. In actuality he wasn't even to the point of having battle plans himself. No, it was much too early for that. He still needed to wring details out of Rhyme otherwise his plans would be so general, so vague, they would be useless in application. Although he was aware of what he needed to do, Valentine was too caught up in plotting what he would do once all the hard work was done to actually get the ball rolling. Oh, the suffering he would inflict on his family's behalf. The former king had always been rather gray when it came to morality, but age and heartbreak had grayed him further. Only revenge or death would stop him now.

It had been so long since she'd been here, but she wanted to get away from the North for a few days. Since Talis' fall, she had guided her family as much as she could, teaching them everything she knew. She had been trying to keep herself as well as she could, her thick coat was smooth and shiny and she was feeling good despite her age. When it got too cold, however, her bones did ache and it took more effort to get up and she noticed she moved a bit slower. But here in the South with the warmer summer weather, she could almost be convinced that she wasn't old at all. Still, she was well past her prime. As were many that she once knew, if they weren't dead. Fiery amber gaze glanced up as her companions shadow flitted across the ground for a moment before dissappearing further into the sky. She always took comfort that her winged companion was around. She'd had enough of being caught off guard and surprised throughout the years. The ripe scent of various fruits wafted through the air, and as she went further into the Orchard, there was another, vague scent beneath it all. She paused for a moment as she sifted through the different smells, and then she realized who it was. A small smile curled her lips as she moved in search of him. It didn't take long, and once she spotted him through the trees, she could tell he was in a mood. "I never thought I'd see you again before I died. Much less looking so broody like my sons..." She stopped a yard or two from him, studying his demeanor. "What's the matter, Valentine." Her words were more a statement than a question. Whatever it was, she had already decided she would help if she could. He had done much for her and given her much advice. The least she could do was try to return the favor. "Talk" "You" Think

His head snapped up and his devious thoughts stuttered as a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in years, reached his ears. Valentine canted his head to the side and then, without looking, correctly identified the woman speaking to him. "Avalon?" She was one of those wolves he didn't think he'd ever see again simply because they were both so old. "I...Honestly? Same," he said with a sardonic snort. What was the matter? Oh, boy, oh, boy! Where did he start? "Let's see," he said dryly, his eyes rolling heavenward as he made a show of considering her statement. "Rhythm and Rhyme are back. Which is great news - fantastic news, even - and we can be one big happy family now. I could, if I wanted, spend the rest of my days glued to Rhythm's side and die fat, dumb and happy." "There is, however, one," he gritted his teeth and sneered the words, "Big ass wrinkle in my happy little retirement plan. Rhythm and Rhyme were taken by slavers." He fixed Avalon with a hard stare. "And I want to kill them all."

Avalon

A short and curt chuckled rose in her throat at his response. It seemed neither of them expected to see one another ever again, and yet, here they were. She older then him, but she was still up and kicking. Of course, age had taken her well past her prime years, but she was still a fighter. She was still here and kicking. Sickness kept its clutches off of her, and the only indication of her age was her grayed muzzle. She listened quietly as he told her what was going on. Rhythm was back, and she vaguely remembered the woman from her short time in Imperium. If she recalled, that was his mate from back in the day. So she was back eh? Well, that was certainly good news. She would have spent some time wondering what had led the woman to leave Valentine, which in turn had driven him mad at one point. But she didn't need to ask because he answered that internal question. Fiery amber gaze was trained on Valentine as he spoke, the only indication that she was listening as she motionlessly stood there. Her fur picked up, bristling at the tone in his words and the look in his eyes. If she knew anything about Valentine, was that he always went through with whatever his mind was set on. And she knew he was serious and that he'd do whatever it took, come Hell or high water. She stared back at him, the cogs turning in her mind. She wasn't a part of a pack, hadn't been since Talis fell. She'd been sticking around what was left of her family, but they were all well past grown now. Did they really need her that much anymore? They were all capable of taking care of themselves now. And though she was waiting for Dragon to take up the reigns again, she needed to do something. "I've known you a long time, Valentine. And if there is one thing I know about you is that you will do whatever it takes to achieve what you want. I may be old, but..." She lifted her head to look at the sky, thinking long and hard. "But...I am still strong enough to do what I have to do as well. My children are all grown. I have no mate. No pack. Though Dragon is fixing to take the reigns again soon...until then, I have been doing nothing but waiting. And I am quite tired of just waiting and rotting away." She turned her gaze sharply back to him, fire igniting in her eyes. "My question to you is...how may I be of service?" There was a seriousness in her tone she hadn't had in a long time. Quite frankly, she had been ready to give up long ago. But with all the resentment that had been brewing within her over the years, and the memory of when she had been taken as a slave when she was no more than a yearling, she wanted to help in any way she could. "You have my aid, as well as that of my family. When our pack rises again, know that you have allies to help you track and take down those that have wronged you, Valentine. But until then, I wish to help you serve justice."

Valentine had fully expected to startle Avalon into silence or maybe a few platitudes and then dutiful silence if she recovered quickly. He'd expected that then, once his audience was stunned, he could rant and rave until his cold little heart was content. What he hadn't expected, though, was the response he got. Perhaps forming an army would be easier than he thought. Fixing Avalon with a satisfied expression, he slowly sank to his haunches and regarded the woman who would so readily join his cause. For some reason this managed to calm him somewhat. He was still angry and would quite eagerly tear into someone if given the chance, but he didn't feel the need to pace and fume as strongly as he had before Avalon's arrival. "You can spread the word about these slavers and what we intend to do to them. If they were brazen enough to steal from me then they've no doubt stolen from others. Perhaps other missing people will be found among them. Wolves will jump at the chance to possibly be reunited with their loved ones, I'm sure," he mused, his thoughts instantly going to strategy and how he'd best acquire his army. Tugging on the heartstrings of heartbroken wolves was a good place to start. Valentine thought about it a second, then decided to be honest about his intentions as he wan't quite sure she understood the extent of what he planned to do. "And Avalon? If you are serious about joining me, you have to be willing to accept that I'm not looking for justice. I'm looking for revenge." He wasn't going to be a merciful vengeance-seeker. He wasn't going to spare those who weren't directly involved in the scheme or their families. No, in one way or another they were all complicit. And they could all die as far as he was concerned. He didn't care if his army was filled with reavers and rapists, no, he just wanted those who wronged him to suffer.

Perhaps in her younger years, she wouldn't have been so brazen. But at her age, what did she have to lose? She had seen it all. Been through it all. She had been a slave herself for a short time when she was barely a yearling, and nobody had come to her rescue until she was thrown into war. Even then, nobody had come to rescue her, but the she-wolf that she had been with at the time. She knew what it was like when your loved ones were hurt. When they were taken from you. When they were lost forever...she understood Valentine in those regards. She nodded to his words. It was something she would be sure to do when she came across others. Who knew, maybe there were other wolves out there who had family taken by these wretches. She eyed him carefully when he went on to say that it wasn't justice he was after, but revenge. She had gotten the gist of it the first time, and she understood. "I understand, Valentine. Even so, I will still aid you where I can. I don't know if you ever knew this, but I was a slave myself when I was no more than a year or two old. Held in captivity, beaten, and forced to join the war against Valhalla many years ago. I had nobody to come to my rescue. My family had scattered to the winds when I was just a yearling..." She shrugged a bit, "Rhythm has you to avenge here. My captors eventually died, but I did not get the chance for revenge, as you do now. As I said before, regardless of what you choose to do or how you choose to do it, you have my allegiance." "Talk" "You" Think

Valentine had no qualms with taking captives. The strong, in his opinion, had dominion over the weak. If you could fight to claim it, whatever it was, it was yours and came part and parcel with victory. Wolves most definitely included. But, he placed himself head and shoulders above most, and in the Imperium years he had reined supreme in Boreas. That someone had stolen from him during that time offended him deeply. He wanted to avenge not only his family, but his name. It seemed Avalon didn't quite understand where he was coming from, but that was alright. Her promise to aid him even though his intentions were unsavory was heartening. He'd only just begun his search for allies and he'd found a steadfast one. One that promised not only herself to his cause, but her family. "I didn't know that," he admitted with a frown. After a beat he sighed tiredly and said, "I'm grateful for your help, Avalon. I'll need all the wolves I can get; an army, really, if I'm to succeed."