Aurielle Adravendi

She’d been watching the goings on with quiet speculation. Several faces were familiar, though not many by name. She’d settled against the base of the tree, watching the gatherings and the way some clumped together for conversation or moved off to their own watching spot. At one point she spotted Harbringr of Ashen, casting him a brief nod, though she doubted he’d stop by for a chat. Eventually, she settled on her belly as Ayodele came over with one of the projects they’d been working on. It was a long length of Aurielle’s own mane, cut free right at the base in places so the shortened hair wouldn’t show in the rest of her mane. They’d made several already, and as the lemur offered the end of the locks, knotted and tied with sinew, Aurielle clamped her incisors over the end and held fast while the lemur began plaiting the three lengths of shimmering white hair into a tight braid, practically a cord. The two females were engrossed in their work, and Aelloshir kept watch on the crowd. It was quite a bit later when he rumbled and Aurielle’s eyes flicked up from the near-crossed stare she had on the braid stretching from under her nose. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Spring was well under way and as it carried on it would bring summer along behind it. With summer would come sweltering heat to the West areas of Boreas and as such Harbringr was scouting for a nice place up north where he could take a summer vacation if the heat started to get to him. Of course it was a bit premature. Ashen would likely move again and he hoped it would be to somewhere cooler. Although perhaps he wasn't being terribly fair to the redwater rocks. One nice thing about the rocks were that the formations could create nice patches of shade any time of day, one just needed to know where to look.

The festival served as a means to both take a look at the territories of the north but also to test his skills in battle against wolves from other packs. At the moment he'd taken a break before the tournament was set to begin. The walk would serve to clear his mind. As he worked his way through the woods he spied a familiar form. "Ahhh if it isn't Aurielle! What brings you out this way? Needed a break from the festival?"

Aurielle Adravendi

She was mildly surprised that it was Harbringr that stood before her, and she gave him a nod, but kept the braided cord of her shimmering hair clenched in her front teeth until Ayodele slid a sinew-wrapped moonstone onto the cord, fashioning a necklace and tying off the other end, leaving a two-and-a-half-foot long cord of white hair with a pendant dangling from it. Aurielle released the newly made bauble and the lemur tied the ends together, completing the piece as the women sat up to better greet the other wolf. “I was half a mind to remain at home, but, as my pack’s alpha, I should be here, if only for political reasons. It’s been a rough couple of seasons. I’m glad to see you’re well. How has Ashen been faring? Did everyone make it through the eruption?” Of course, she’d smelled the scent of the pack around Redwater Rocks, but she had chosen to leave the other pack to their devices—if they needed anything desperately enough, there was still the offer of trade that still stood. Or they might have been beating Ashen raiders back at the border. But true concern was in her voice and eyes as she unconsciously looked him over as though him being hale and hearty meant that the litter of pups had fared just as well. The thought of any of those children dying. Her stomach cringed at the notion. Where was her uncle? Geoffrey? Aramis? The last she’d seen of her dark-coated twin, he’d been off to the Nomads to find a cure for—The storm swirled. He hadn’t come back. And the Nomads had not brought word of his arrival among them to her when they visited. The damage the eruption had dealt her aging Uncle Tornach was horrifying. What if they’d… She clamped down on the swell of emotions and glanced around at the milling festival-goers, searching for an item of small-talk. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr brushed against one of the gnarled trees as he came to a stop. It was truly a fascinating territory with trees bending and twisting into the sky as if they had been dancing and suddenly froze once the sun had arisen. He glanced back to Aurielle. "Well enough, we are eager to move though. I home our pack lands made it through the eruption ok." There had been some separations but otherwise everyone had made it out alive. He was particularly glad to have his brother Hannibal back with the group.

"And Valhalla? I take it you are doing well?" He could sense something in her, sorrow perhaps. He rested his front paws on one of the trees, uncertain what she needed. Would it help to talk? Did she need distraction? Hari didn't know and so he waited for some clue.

Aurielle Adravendi

A faint smile answered his assurances that they had fared well enough. She could imagine they were ready to leave the rocks—it wasn’t an incredibly lush land, and prey wasn’t a common thing there. “From what I’ve seen they’re not too badly ruined. I didn’t venture beyond the border, mind, but it seems your lands and the Moorlands under my rule were on the very edge of the blast’s range.” She was silent for a few breaths as he inquired as to Valhalla’s wellbeing. “There have been a few disappearances, but two of them were already missing prior to the eruption.” That was the truth, but it wasn’t all of it. She didn’t touch on the more recent loss. She didn’t need to show any chinks in her armor to a wolf from a pack that Valhalla could not yet call an ally. Ayodele came over with another long weft of shimmering white hair tied at one end, and she asked, before taking one end in her teeth, “Is there any need for transportation devices for your move back? We’ve several extra travois, and saplings aren’t too difficult to find to replace them.” Her teeth clamped tight over the end of the weft as the lemur’s deft fingers worked the hair into a tight, corded braid, though the Spirit’s eyes fixed on Harbringr’s face in query, though she wouldn’t hold anything against him if he declined. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr nodded as Aurielle spoke. "Indeed, I'm thinking it should be fine, assuming we even move back there. I can't say for sure what my sister is planning." Movement caught Harbringr's eye and he looked up to see a squirrel scamper from the branches of one tree onto the limbs of another. There seemed to be a myriad of birds and small wildlife living up in the trees. It was a really fascinating territory. He half wondered if it was possible for a wolf to build some sort of perch up in these trees. Now wouldn't that be a site?

"Much appreciated Aurielle, but I think we're set. Between Ashen's own stock and that of the Armada we should be able to handle the move." He leapt up onto one of the bending trunks of a nearby tree, his tail flailing for a moment as he centered himself.

"How has your pack's population been doing? Have you had many litters in Valhalla?" He was curious to know if other packs were experiencing the same boom as Ashen and the Ashen Armada or if his family and those they met were just particularly horny. He chuckled mentally at the thought.

Aurielle Adravendi

She listened as he answered, tipping her head slightly in a nod as Ayodele wove the tight braid further and further, though the gradated sapphire to sky eyes followed Harbringr as he bounded to a tree. Another nod answered his polite decline of her offer, a light shrug sending a wave of subtle shimmering color over her coat. The lemur was nearing the end of the braid, and it gave Aurielle time to master her reaction to that last question. How much to trust the male…. Honesty warred with a sense of bone-deep sadness and a need to protect her pack from any possible threat from another. The lemur tied off the end of the braid and Aurielle released the finished cord and glanced up at the male. So many conflicting emotions in those eyes as she responded smoothly, “I’m afraid none of my pack have found someone they like enough to settle with.” Her eyes returned to the lemur as Ayodele rifled through the contents of the travois, looking for the right stone to add to the cord and finish the necklace. “Try one of those sapphires, Dele…” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr wondered if he touched a nerve. He couldn't quite interpret Aurielle's expression and he noticed how carefully she had answered his question, stating that no one in her pack had found someone to settle down with. "Ah, that's too bad. My family is booming faster than I can keep up with. I have several nieces and nephews now with more on the way. Not that I know that much about being an uncle but I try."

Hari hopped back down onto the ground where he could place all four paws on solid earth. He moved a bit closer to Aurielle and settled down. "Doing some crafting? Care if I join you?" As if on cue Ari wandered over with a variety of supplies that he'd pulled from the scrap of deer hide he was carrying. Harbringr had more projects going on then he knew what to do with. He was currently working on a portable sun dial. Or at least that was the idea.

He reached down and selected a piece of bone which he then began to chew on. It was roundish in shape but not at all where he wanted it to be. He worked his teeth on it for a bit before looking back up. Hari was eager to continue conversing with Aurielle but he wasn't quite sure what to talk about. "Are you making something for someone in particular?"

Aurielle Adravendi

Despite her own sadness, hearing about the population boom did bring one of those rare – these days at least – genuine smiles to her features, eyes included. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. From what I’ve heard most Uncles get to get away with things the parents can’t. From surprise fights with bears to sneaking snacks after bedtime.” She couldn’t say she’d gotten to have those kinds of experiences with her own uncles. One had only appeared in her life maybe… three times. The other had neglected his active duties, his rank, and eventually just up and vanished. And she could only hope that he had, perhaps, just decided to leave, rather than died somewhere far away. She hoped to rectify the former. Tornach had so much knowledge to give when it came to the raising of animals. She shook her head, shifting slightly aside to offer some of the comfortable spot at the bottom of the tree as her eyes briefly swept the passing wolves. Dele finally pulled a glittering blue stone from the small trove and offered it to the woman who nodded and took one end of the braid again, letting Ayodele string the necklace, before Ayodele added several oceanic pearls as spacers to either side. The pearls had been predrilled by the humans that had put them in the trunk of valuable goods, and now, the small holes were perfect for clamping the pearls to the hair braid. It would keep the sapphire from sliding around. At Harbringr’s question, she released the now finished necklace and shrugged slightly as the lemur tied it off tightly. “It’s a thought I came up with regarding alliances. A token, you might say, of an agreement. Or a close friendship.” She nodded to the first necklace, the rainbow moonstone glittering under the shifting light with a brilliant natural blue fire at its heart, contained by the icy veil of the stone’s outer veneer. Like Aurielle, it appeared simple at a distance, until you came to know the bright spirit within. “Those… I would perhaps keep for close friends. The other colored stones might signify the nature of a trade or alliance, or an agreement.” She shrugged before her eyes turned to the rounded bone Harbringr had been chewing, browpoints lifting in query. “And what are you making?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr worked on the disc with his teeth, chuckling at Aurielle's response. "Well, that's true." Once he had a disc He then passed the disc back to Ari who had a thin bone that he then used to etch markings into the disc. As this was a prototype the monkey worked at etching in four marks evenly spaced on the disc. They were for the rough time of the day and from there Harbringr could get a rough idea of the hours left in the day. Now, if he needed to have the ability to keep a finer amount of time he would just add more marks.

His ears perked up as she explained what she was working on. "Well, they're very pretty! Where on earth did you find those stones. I've never seen anything like them before." He glanced at the sundial then back to Aurielle. "I'm trying to make a smaller sundial. Something I can carry around with me in one of the pockets on my armor. I have a few permanent ones I plan to build at home but it would be nice to have something when I'm traveling."

Aurielle Adravendi

He managed to pull a slight smile from her as he complemented the stones. The expression saddened slightly as she explained, “When I was a yearling, my friend Amos and I went on an adventure to the Bifrost. We did some digging and found a large, strange log. It proved to be a trunk full of things… Metals, stones, cloths… many things. Last Autumn I hauled it home. Still thought it was an odd kind of log at the time, but there was something about it…” A shrug rolled one shimmering white shoulder as she looked down at the finished necklace between her paws. Her attention returned to him as he explained what he was making, head cocked slightly as she asked, “What exactly is its purpose?” Honest interest and a willingness to learn. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Harbringr carefully positioned one of his fangs into the center of the circle and bit down, gently working his teeth through the hide until he'd created a hole. From there he gently threaded through a small stick and applied a bit of sap with another stick to hold it in place. It wasn't perfect, but again this was a prototype. It would do for his current purposes.

His ears perked up at Aurielle's story. A strange log? "I wonder if it was a human thing. They make all kinds of strange things. Particularly bizarre caves, I have to be honest I hardly know what to make of the stuff sometimes." In general he found it unnerving but he could admit certain pieces did have a beauty to them. He glanced down at the sundial. "Well, it's meant to help keep more precise time. I have marks around the edge that coordinate to a certain section of daylight. I hope it will help with timing patrols and that sort of thing." Perhaps he shouldn't be so free with his ideas but being able to coordinate attacks, patrols and meetings by more precise methods of time keeping… well, it could have its uses.

At that moment Costanza came flying in. "My love, you're presence is requested back at the festival." He smiled affectionately at the owl.

"Ah, duty calls." He packed up his items. "Perhaps, we'll run into each other again?"

-exit-