Sirius wasn't willing to commit to anything, with the mostly unknown alpha with a hero complex. The least he could do was help her lug her load to Abaven. Rigging some straps on one, he hooked it through his miniature bears arms, so she could wear it as a backpack. Two more were strapped to the broad back of the direwolf.

This arrangement also allowed him to keep an eye on Aurielle, and learn more about her. He didnt understand her, this quiet, glowing wolf. Her pack was far enough away that the Armada scarcely ran into them, but its alphess had popped her head up a couple times. Knowing little about her pack, or the dynamic of it in the world, he wondered why she chose now to start speaking of trades.

He suspected there was something she needed. Winter was coming, and supplies would begin to run low. Was she trying to gouge what packs had what, to trade, bribe, blackmail, or steal them? She would find the Armada was full of teeth, if she stepped one paw wrong near their borders.

As they began to move away from the Armada, the Warlord would probe for information, by talking about the one thing he knew she wishes to discuss. "So tell me more about this festival"

Aurielle Adravendi

She had been mildly surprised at Sirius’ offer to help carry the cargo to Abaven. She’d accepted, however. It was both practical, and she didn’t mind the company in the slightest. Not to mention, it was a rare rogue that would attack someone who had a brute like him padding alongside her. Bears and other large predators might be dumb enough to try, but most bears were intelligently asleep by now. She padded easily, almost lazily as he inquired about the festival. A smile settled on her features. “Well, last Autumn I held a festival in the west on the Dancefloor. Deathbelle attended, along with her children, and several other members of Ashen. My allies, the Nomads, helped with much of the setup, and they’ve agreed to help this year as well.” She lifted her eyes to a now thoroughly star-strewn sky, smiling slightly. “If all the packs agree and are willing to travel so far, I’m considering the Sweetgrass Basin. The bottom would be a perfect setup for the gladiatorial tournament. The basin would give the onlookers a perfect view of the fights. Unfortunately, last year, the fights didn’t pan out, and I hope to improve upon that this time. There will be feastings, festivities, trading, so the packs will be encouraged to bring goods. Loners are welcome as well. It’s a good opportunity for them to suss out packs if they’re looking for a home.” Her head tipped to the side as she cast a sidelong glance up at the man, that easy, genuine smile on her features as she posed, “Do you have any ideas or suggestions to make it even more fun? I’m always open to suggestions of ways to make it a wonderful memory… especially for the children.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She spoke of a previous festival, and he tilted his head in curiosity, through said nothing. Instead, he readjusted the packs, slowing his steps to keep pace with the smaller wolf. He had not heard of the Nomads, and he wondered who these wolves were. Were they another power in these lands? Just one without a home, as their name suggested.

The idea of a tournament interested Sirius. A chance to show the other packs of the land the might of the Armada. His warriors were coming along well, and he would be interested to see how they performed. Raids were cropping up among the packs, likely because winter brought with it a sort of hardship. He would himself be able to judge the warriors of others packs, if they attended.

She asked him he had any other suggestions, and he mused it over for a moment. "Perhaps make it a joint affair. Give every Alpha who wishes to attend authority over some aspect of it. It should give them a chance to add their own flavour to it, and the authority might bring in more pack wolves then might otherwise have attended." He suggested.

Aurielle Adravendi

She grinned, tail flicking – and leaving a blur in the air for just an eye-blink – as she nodded, “I intend to. Ideally, the hosts would change with each festival tournament, each pack taking a turn. I do like the idea of spreading the responsibility. Someone to oversee the games, the hunt, the fights—perhaps all the alphas could preside as judges?” He’d sparked a light off the woman, and those eyes glittered with ideas and forethought. She bounced one of those ideas off the Warlord, ears perking with interest, “What would you say to an interpack tournament that takes place each year. The packs’ best fighters compete with their fellow packmates and train their hardest, and the wolf who comes out on top in each pack fights as that pack’s champion in a tournament as a sort of friendly competition? “The winning pack of the year – or season, even, if it’s an idea that everyone really likes – gets something from the pack of their choice. A pass to hunt one large animal, or gather an herb that might only grow in that pack’s territory. There would have to be a treatise witnessed by all alphas and betas so that there cannot be false accusations of trespassing, I’d think.” How would he, and for that matter, the other packs think of the idea? It was a chance for the packs to flex their muscles at each other without serious injury. It would certainly be an optional thing. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He knew the way to the abaven lands, he had travelled the spaces between it enough times in his exploring. It meant he could traverse it now with little attention to the direction they went. Instead, his thoughts were on Aurielle and her proposal. He did have some interest in a festival, but he also wondered at the dynamics of bringing every pack together. Acere for one might still hold a grudge at Sirius, despite the Armada alpha defending himself against the others maim attempts. He doubted Abaven and Winterfell were on good footing now. He had spoken to Theory back when she knew his raid was coming. The rest of the packs were mostly unknowns to him.

"Its possible," He said to her first part. She would have to see how many alphas and their packs wished to take part. "A constant tournament? I would not think each pack would guarantee their attendance. Their may be times I do not want the powers of this world to know what I hold." To do so would be to never have the element of surprise. He was not a trusting soul.

"As for letting them on my terratory... I would not let a soul that had embarrassed me or mine onto my land. Not without a fight. You would have to think of a different reward." Not that his attendance was guaranteed, either. It would be something he would have to speak of to both Deathbelle and Zee, if he was interested enough.

Aurielle Adravendi

Aurielle listened with some intensity to Sirius’ views, nodding with a faint chuckle as she amended, “Perhaps instead of on pack lands, then assistance in a hunt by that pack?” She pondered over his words regarding embarrassment. “To be honest… If it were my own pack champion that lost, I’d be more likely to take it as a learning experience, to see where we needed to improve. That wolf has already proven him or herself the best fighter in the pack itself. And knowing my apprentice, if it were Cairo, he’d be determined to improve on himself even if he did win. He doesn’t embarrass easily.” She laughed out the last statements, thinking of the grinning young man. Speaking of, “He met one of your members—actually, he’s met two of them, though he encountered Skyfire shortly before she joined your pack, if I’m correct on the timing. But the one that stood out to him was Malalia. I met her myself on my way here. And no, don’t worry, she gave nothing away about your pack that would get her in trouble. But I did enjoy talking with her. It was a good chance to rest, in any case.” She paused abruptly with a mild jolt of surprise, peering around her shoulder at his side. A long moment of study, and a look of such deep, and utter love settled in her features as she looked at that faintest little flicker of feeling within, before she continued onward. Much more softly, she asked, “Forgive me for asking if it’s too personal, but… what is being a parent like?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He frowned, taking her words as a personal insult, for reasons she wouldnt yet understand. "Ah, well, perhaps it's no secret to those that know me, that I am not a modest wolf. Truth is, if I competed with my pack, it's likely no one else would go to the tournaments but I. It is no fault of my wolves, who practice day in and day out. I have yet to find a wolf that can beat me with ease." He admitted. Zee had done it at least one, in close confines, when her horns could be a difficult weapon to miss. Once or twice a wolf had gotten in a lucky shot, but the truth was, the Titan struggled to find wolves in his weight class.

"Perhaps you should send your best to me for a spar one of these days soon, I would much appreciate the activity." Perhaps that was why the tournament interested him. He would like to meet a wolf that would be his match. He didnt make any further comment about her prizes, he couldnt guarantee his mood to the wof that beat him. He might be enthusiastic, or he might be bitter. He wouldnt be making promises he couldnt guarantee he could keep.

He glanced back to Aurielle as she spoke further on parenthood, and made it clear that she meant herself. "It is difficult, and it is rewarding. Some times I want to throttle them, but in every moment I want to give them the world. They each come into their own personalities, and no matter how much you nurture them, their natures can still surprise you. In the end, no matter what they become, you will love them. I pray there is never a day when someone threatens them. The blood bath might scar them." The Warlord could be an asshole, and a scary beast, but it was clear, despite this nature in him, that he loved his children.