Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn walked silently behind Álarr, every so often shaking her ears to try and stop the ringing. She wasn't sure where they were going but she had a distinct feeling they were headed back to Fireside and while she could chosen to go somewhere else she decided to follow after the horned man and get herself some assistance for her wounds. She trotted up alongside Alarr. "Hey… you're not mad at me are you? I mean it could've been worse. We'll just figure out where the hell all these packs are and then we can find a farther way around them." She couldn't be expected to know where every pack was until she actually found out where they were and she wasn't going to give up on her exploration because one big bully had salt in his craw.

Álarr wandered back toward Fireside with Jynn in tow to get their injuries treated. He was glad to get out of there before he did something stupid. He never cared much for the macho alpha act and it had taking everything in him not to walk away with Sirius' balls between his teeth. Jynn caught up to him and he shook his head. "No, no, there was no way we could've guessed we'd be attacked for going around a packs border instead of through it." He shook his head and sighed. "I don't know where I miscalculated."

Álarr yelped at the sharp sensation in his back. He turned and glared at Afi as the cat stared at him with a smug grin. "Your problem is you assume everyone follows the same code you do. What makes you think that alpha gave a crap in the first place? You could've just as easily been snatched up at Fireside's border. No one owes it to you to be fair and I don't remember the Armada being known for being nice and reasonable." Álarr opened his mouth to shoot a retort at the cat, but his words faltered. "Fine, fair enough. Still, better explain this to my brother. I don't want any of the yearlings getting abducted on a whim." He arrived at the border and tipped back his head to howl for his brother Tyrian.

Tyrian was at the border in a flash. It wasn’t every day his brother called for him from outside packlands. That in and of itself was a bit of a concern and on his way over Tyrian’s mind had raced with what if’s. Nothing stood out to him as a likely cause and the only thing he was certain of as the wounded pair came into sight was that nothing good was going to come out of this meeting.

The blood on Alarr’s coat stood out like a beacon. Concerned, Tyrian was at his brother’s side in an instant, his paw hovering over the wound as he tried to take stock of it while containing the need and concern that compelled him to touch. For now the small canine that accompanied Alarr went unnoticed. “What happened?”

ooc: skipping Jynn for now, she won't know what to say

Álarr didn't have to wait long. It seemed he'd barely finished his call and his brother Tyrian was there at his side. He could see his brother's gaze drawn to the wound bleeding and oozing on the back of his neck. "Saber fangs. I recommend not getting bit by them." His attempt at levity slipped quickly as he turned his mind fully to the task at hand. "Tyrian, this is Jynn." He gestured to the maned wolf. "We ran into each other in the east and decided to do a bit of traveling. We were headed west when we came across the Armada's pack border. We sought to go around but were attacked by Sirius and a wolf I believe to be a relative." They'd looked similar enough he was certain they were related. "He sought to claim us, but then decided to let us go. Brother, I promise you we did not cross that pack's border." He sought to meet Tyrian's eyes, hoping his brother could see the truth in what he was saying.

Tyrian gave a nod in greeting to Jynn when his brother introduced his traveling companion, but his attention boomeranged back to Alarr as he continued speaking. The concern on his face was quickly replaced with indignation and then mild confusion as he tried to make sense of Alarr's tale of events. "I see," he said slowly, still processing. "How close to the border were you? Was there any warning?" As an alpha himself Tyrian knew the importance of border security. He wouldn't tolerate anyone hanging any toes over the line, but out of all of his relatives Alarr was probably the most straight-laced. Tyrian couldn't picture him provoking another pack without being under orders to do so. ""

"How close to the border were you? Was there any warning?"

"Plenty far! Ten feet if not more." He was not the sort to just toe along a few inches from someone's border. "Apparently, we were closer than anyone's dared to get that wasn't causing trouble. If that is the case, I don't know how anyone is able to call to join the pack or for diplomacy, especially if he insists on attacking on sight even when a wolf is so far outside the border." Álarr shook his head exasperated. It made no sense. It seemed almost like Sirius was purposely trying to antagonize Fireside. "Not to mention we were headed away when we were attacked." He still couldn't quite get over what had happened or just how paranoid the Armada alpha was. Well, at least they knew the extent of the Armada's border as well as Ashen's and could better plan routes to the east that would avoid the packs.

Álarr sighed heavily. "No. There was no warning, no attempt to communicate. Only attack. Seems he thinks we were spying but it's not like there's much to glean from going around a pack." Álarr shrugged, showing he really didn't have anything useful to report. If he did he'd be happy to divulge to his brother out of spite. But what could he say? There's a training ground, because what pack does't have one, and lots of grass. Wow… so helpful. Anyway, it wasn't his fault Sirius had a hair-trigger temper and constant need to overcompensate for his insecurities. "From what I could tell it seems Sirius has an axe to grind with Fireside. We should be prepared."

Tyrian snorted incredulously and shook his head in mild disbelief. "Sounds like they're trying to compensate for something," he joked lightly. It made no sense. Unless there was more he was unaware of, Fireside only had one small instance with a pair of its members and Armada (at his direction), and two full years had passed since then. Armada's reaction to a non-trespasser was intriguing and a bit comical, and Tyrian would have been content to laugh about it had his brother not been unduly attacked and injured. That would need to be answered for. His ears flicked as he considered what Alarr was telling him. "So Sirius talked to you after?" The question was more than that; Tyrian was thinking out loud now. Fireside was going to have to respond and there was a world of possibilities he had to consider. If Sirius thought an unprovoked attack on a Fireside wolf was a good way to warn them off, he was wrong. Armada now had Fireside's attention. "What all did he say?" ""

Sounds like they're trying to compensate for something.

His brother's comment pulled a chuckle from Álarr and the horned male nodded. That certainly seemed to be the case. Either over compensation or they really were fearful of Fireside and acting aggressively based on that fear.

So Sirius talked to you after?

Álarr nodded. "While I was pretending to be unconscious I caught him saying this 'This wolf is from Fireside, you know about their attack on Ashen? How much intel do you think they got on our borders?'" He remembered the raid well and was still proud of the maim he'd performed on the black and white male that had attacked him so viciously.

"Clearly the Armada and Ashen are allies of some sort." He of course had no way of knowing that when going around the Armada's border but it was good to know now. "Once we awoke he said 'The first and last time a Fireside Wolf got this close to my borders - I was washing the scent of pee from coat for days. As you can see, we can subdue you easily, so whatever mischief you were planning, you can give it up. I won't keep you, this was just a warning - I won't have any more incidents like the last, Wolf of Fireside.'"

Álarr snorted. If they were so easy to subdue then why had the warlord acted so fearfully? And winning one fight didn't mean he was guaranteed an easy win against a Fireside wolf in the future. "He then followed up with ''In the three years of my rule, not once has a wolf - loner pack, or otherwise - gotten as close to my borders as you did, and not meant official business with my pack. You might want to get your sniffer checked by your pack healers…"

Álarr rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure if he expects wolves to just turn around and head back at the lightest scent of Armada scent or what but I had to be close enough to smell the border in order to figure out its boundaries so I could help my companion safely around it. Again, I'm not sure this encounter was driven by logic. I think Sirius saw a chance at revenge after the incident with Jupiter and jumped at it. I don't know if defeating me has sated that desire or not."

Tyrian sank back into a seated position as Alarr spoke. His brother was giving him a lot to digest. Every once in a while he chuckled softly at what the alpha of Armada had said. The last time a Fireside wolf got close to the border? No sir it would not be. That statement, combined with the comment about The Big Pisser Incident, delighted Tyrian. He could work with that. That Ashen and Armada were allies made the incident make a little more sense. That didn't clear Armada of any wrongdoing or mean they didn't deserve a reprisal. They still had attacked two travelers unprovoked. That Jynn and Alarr had been targeted simply because of where Alarr lived made payback all the more necessary as Tyrian couldn't allow a targeted attack on a packmate to go unanswered. If that meant declaring themselves out-and-out enemies in the process, so be it. "It sounds like it," he mused, considering revenge as a motivator in the attack. "But if that were the case why not take it immediately after the incident? Why wait two years and then seize a moment of opportunity? I refuse to belief he is that cowardly, even if his actions today were fearful." Tyrian huffed thoughtfully to himself, his gaze settling on the distance as he considered what to do. "I agree; it doesn't sound like he's a man who plans." For a moment Tyrian was quiet as he tried to piece together motives, countermeasures, and revenge. He drummed his claws in the dirt while he thought. After a minute he nodded to himself and then glanced between Jynn and Alarr. "Sounds like Fireside needs to let Armada know their message was received." To Jynn, he said, "I accept some responsibility for what happened to you so feel free to rest here a few days and recover." He turned to Alarr and bumped him on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, but don't go far. It's time for a meeting." He took a deep breath, then added, "Later I'm going to need you to show me where you were attacked." -exit?- ""

Álarr considered his brother's question as to why they opted to take revenge two years later and he shrugged lightly. He couldn't say, perhaps it was not motivated out of revenge but if that wasn't the case then what was the reason. "He could just be particularly grudge bearing, but it's hard to say. I agree. He more or less wished to send a message and I would be remiss if we did not reply. But how?" Álarr wasn't sure as to the answer. A raid was the first thing that popped into his mind but it was wholly unnecessary. Fireside was in good shape, they didn't need anything from the Armada and a raid was a lot of work and risk just to reply to an, arguably, silly message. He watched the gears in his brother turning and was confident the alpha would think of something. Álarr nodded as Tyrian request that later he show his brother where he was attacked.

-exit-

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn settled back and just listened, well half-listened. She really wasn't interested in pack politics nor histories and alliances and she didn't really have anything to add to the conversation so she just kept silent. Soon though the brothers seemed to work something out. She looked to the alpha as he addressed her and offered to let her stay. Jynn nodded and smiled gently. "Thanks, I appreciate the offer. If one of your healers could look at my injuries that would be great. After that though I'd prefer to be on my way." She'd honestly had enough of packs and was eager to get back out into unclaimed territories where she could rest a bit easier.

-exit-