Aurielle Adravendi

With her trip to Abaven completed, Aurielle had returned home and immediately flopped in amongst her children, cuddling the lot of them for hours, snuggled against Red in the process. She’d slept for hours, pups suckling happily, sleeping, squabbling and ear-biting. Come morning, she was well-rested, and made the best of her regained energy once the children were fed for the morning, leaving them under Paladin’s care as she patrolled. There was a raid to be planned, and she hoped Torin had prepared Lirim as well. She worried for her older cousin. His mate and son were missing, and she knew from experience how much it hurt to have not one but two of those you loved missing, not knowing if they were safe, why they’d vanished, or if they were dead or taken by slavers. She hoped that the prospect of a raid to defend against would give him something to focus on. Eventually, her paws led her away from the pack, northward. She’d climbed for hours into the evening to the top of a peak, from which coursed a great waterfall, its water cold and clear. She spent a long while drinking her fill before she moved to gaze out over the lands she could see far below. Miles and miles spread out below, and she took in the sights with a quiet contentment, breathing in the cold air as it lifted her mane on its fingers. She wouldn't tarry for long, but while she was here she could enjoy it. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She felt a little stiff, though the minor scrapes and bruises she’d received were starting to heal thanks to time and Octave’s abilities as a healer. Carlys rested on her back, her wings sore from scouting ahead of their position all day. She’d simply been circling the falls, eager to get on her feet and move around but was eager to stay close to the waterfall and the relief it could provide. Compared to her home climates, the spring weather was hot and that water cooled her down significantly. It was a glow that had caught her attention as she made her way to the top of the peak.

It was a wolf, fur glowing, long fur carried easily by the cold winds. Her eyes widened and her maw nearly dropped to the floor. She remembered Askan’s story about the woman with glowing fur, but in the moment it went out of her mind and she simply thought of one thing: The Ancients. Had a spirit graced the lands to visit her, perhaps give her some insight? She couldn’t help but gasp aloud, bowing as she stated the familiar words off her maw. “Ancient One, I am honored by your presence.” She was certain even her father had not had the honor to meet a spirit. “Have you come to guide me?” She asked, hope glimmering in her eyes.

Perhaps Carlys would have offered her some advice had the bird herself not also been mesmerized, bowing atop her head.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

Aurielle Adravendi

Paws tread behind her, followed shortly by an audible gasp, feminine. She turned, rising to her paws as she went to study the girl that spoke through a bow. Ancient One. That was a new one. However, offering guidance was something she had no issue with doing. But the term touched a memory, of a brief conversation with Cairo before she’d collapsed into bed with the pups. He’d mentioned the girl he’d encountered…. Rhaegara. Gradated sapphire to sky-blue eyes studied the young wolf before her, head cocking slightly before she smiled gently. “I’m afraid I’m not that old. However, if I’m right, you are Rhaegara? And… Carlys?” She let her haunches lower, tail flicking with practiced ease to send the long hair pooling on the stony ground as she sat, head still canted to the side as she studied the pair. She was used to the reactions she gained from wolves who had no met her. What reactions would her son glean in his own time? “You’ve met Cairo. I am Aurielle, Spirit of Valhalla, or its alpha. And as much a wolf of the flesh as you are. Just born a little differently.” Her lips twitched in a wry smile. “But, I do my best to help others where I can.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The woman very well could have continued the illusion, allowing Rhaegara to treat her like a god but instead she respectfully and gracefully let her down, informing her that she was not that old. Quickly, Rhae sat back up, feeling embarrassed as she felt the heat rise under her fur. Of course she wasn’t a god; the gods did not walk amongst wolves unless something truly important was happening. Still, her head cocked to the side confused as to how the woman had known her name, and not just hers, but that of her animal companion as well.

It was Carlys who broke the question prior to the Adravendi’s explanation on her knowledge. “How do you know who we are?” The explanation came with time, watching as the woman lowered into a sitting position, Rhae easing into her own across from her.

It was her explanation that made more sense, the mention of her fast friend Cairo reaching her ears as a look of revelation spread across her features, calling herself Spirit which she assumed must have meant alpha. “I apologize, your grace. These lands are very strange to me, and I have not seen another like you.” She quickly apologized, wondering just how much Cairo had told his leader about her.

“Yes, I am Rhaegara, and this is my friend and companion Carlys. I have heard much about you, and your feats of leadership and strength.” She realized she had never confirmed the woman’s beliefs; she’d never let herself be caught doing something so rude.

She offered to help and Rhae felt slightly self-conscious, her paws scraping anxiously against the dirt. “I’ve simply been conflicted… for a long time now. I’ve been trying to work it out on my own, but it’s a slow process.” She had hoped the Ancient One would have been able to bless her with divine understanding, but she was afraid that with a mere wolf she would not be as fortunate. "I'm certain you have larger concerns than a loner's internal strife."

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

Tag, finally! Been dealing with headaches out the wazoo.

Aurielle Adravendi

She watched the young wolf in her formality, bordering on reverence… alright, a full step over the border into reverence, as the girl sat up, visibly embarrassed at her misidentification. The girl was adrift in a strange land, and Aurielle smiled slightly to herself at the mention of never having seen a wolf like herself. She had only met one other who literally glowed, before Ardyn’s birth, and that had been Ignatius. Where was the fire touched man? Was the former alpha alive and safe out there? Her muzzle dipped as Rhaegara confirmed her identity and Carlys’, a soft huff of amusement escaping as Rhaegara added that she’d heard a great deal about her already. Far from vanity, she still often wondered sometimes if the pack would have been better off if she had stepped down or disbanded it. Not everyone was as glowingly happy as Cairo was. She listened attentively to Rhaegara’s following explanation, ears perked forward and eyes studying. “On the contrary. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective. What are your problems, and what are your options and solutions? What do you want at the end of it all, beyond simple survival?” Sapphire to sky blue eyes ran over the pair, head cocking as she posed the queries. She hoped that in getting Rhaegara’s thoughts out in the air and heard aloud would help the girl put them into perspective in a new way, and that she herself, with said outside perspective, might indeed be of some guidance. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The woman seemed as wise as Cai had suggested, a soft smile finding her features when the woman asked her what she wanted, a question she had not had asked to her in quite some time… or ever, now that she thought about it. “I… I don’t know…” She trailed off, letting a pensive look cross her features as she truly considered what her answer would be. She’d been raised to rule, never follow. “My problem is… complicated.” She didn’t know how to properly form the words, explain her story in a way that didn’t make her seem entirely pathetic or weak. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn’t an heir apparent anymore; she wasn’t ruling over her tribe as she was supposed to, and for all intents and purposes her family was gone as well.

“I want my birthright… but it was taken from me, and there’s no way for me to get it back.” She explained, her paws glancing at the ground as Carlys offered a soft peck into her shoulder, an attempt at a comfort before she glided over onto the ground. “I was… my parents ran my tribe… but there was a coup, and now they’re dead… I think my siblings might be too.” They had all run in different directions, and she wasn’t sure if the others had been hunted down like she felt she was. “I think they’re still chasing me, and it’s exhausting. I don’t want to keep running.” Her voice cracked as she fought for control over her own mind.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"

Aurielle Adravendi

Aurielle listened patiently, eyes interested, ears perked. It was as though, in that moment, the most important creature on the earth right then was Rhaegara, and the girl had the Spirit’s undivided attention. She felt for the girl, and couldn’t help but be subtly reminded of Skyfire, who faced a similar plight. The terminology was different, and Rhaegara’s attitude was far better than the entitled snobbery and self-importance Cairo had reported, but the end result was the same. Rhae was cast out alone, on the run. When Rhaegara fell silent, Aurielle let the silence carry, allowing Rhaegara a chance to compose herself before she asked gently, “What were your parents like as leaders? Were they the only word of law, or were they open to listening to their people, serving them just as much as their tribe served them in return? Your birthright is not unobtainable. But why do you want it? Do you want it for the glory? Or do you want it so that you can foster a kingdom – or tribe – where your people can trust you to put them before your wants and desires? Where they can flourish and grow strong.” Those eyes watched the pair as she posed those questioned, much like she had to another lost princess on the other end of the continent… Funnily enough there’d been waterfalls there, too. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The woman heard her out, the silence lingering between the two of them as Rhae kept her attention focused on the spirit in front of her. The questions that followed were ones that brought an ache to the girl’s heart. “My very first lesson as a child was that a leader’s job was to serve their charges.” It had been a delicate lesson, to lead and be stern, but to care and serve the very people that were being led. She had always looked up to her parents, seeing them as good wolves with hearts of gold. She had hoped to live up to their legacy when she had been coronated.

“Their word was the law, but they listened, always taking the time out to hear concerns.” She knew it had often been dissenting from the beta family, thinking that they were too soft and kind, that they hadn’t ruled hard enough… perhaps that was why they had killed them, to enforce their regime. The woman reminded her that her birthright was still possible, if only in a different light, but asked her a question she had never been asked before. Why did she want it? Carlys glanced at her, and she could practically feel the bird’s eyes piercing her soul.

Did she know why she wanted it so much?

“I want to be that beacon of hope that my parents had been.” She answered, a contemplative look on her features as she tried to place the words properly, articulating her thoughts as neatly as possible. “I… I want to be someone they would be proud of.” They had raised her from day one to follow in their pawsteps, and she just wanted to make them proud.

"Rhae"  "Carlys"