As they made their way out of Auster and back toward the island that would become their permanent home, Manea was determined to make the trip back a productive one. There were plenty of packs in the path between Auster and north eastern Boreas so she might as well take the time to stop and speak to them on the way. Ashen would be an easy stop and she was eager to speak to Venom again, but that stop felt a bit more predictable—more just a sharing of news than anything. The others she was less familiar with so there was sure to be interesting wolves to meet.

She approached the border of the pack that neighbored Ashen and paused, taking in the scents for a moment before she called for anyone. There was a blend of scents, but the most noticeable ones—who she assumed were the pack's alphas—had at least one that seemed vaguely familiar. Curious, she lifted her head and let out a howl for the pack's leader before settling back onto her haunches, her tail curling neatly around her haunches. The concept of negotiating pack relationships was still fairly new to her, but now that she had a proper pack and title to use it felt much easier than when she had only been peddling an idea and a dream.

"Manea Mendacium"

The Warlord placed the last stack of smoked meat on the shelf and paused. Tilting his head as he listened to the howl. It floated through the open door, muffled by the walls of the cellar. He backed out, wiping his paws on the grass and closing the hatch behind him.

He didn’t get many callers at the borders these days, but with thoughts of Fireside and the Pirates on his mind, he made quick work to the border. Finding a familiar purple wolf waiting for him there. His neutral expression smoothed into a smile. She might not have won, but she had stood up to Sparrow, and hadn’t been afraid to throw her weight around. By the scent of her now, she approached him as a pack leader. She must have found the way to make her dream work, good on her.

He nodded his head to the Alpha. “Hello Manea, I don’t believe we were properly introduced the last time. I’m Sirius Fatalis, the Warlord of Armada. I see you’ve achieved what you’ve set out. Manea, of the…?” He quirked an eyebrow, letting the new leader introduce herself. New title and all.

"Speech"

Manea waited patiently by the border, her aqua gaze drifting across the plain of swaying grasses. Luckily she wasn't kept waiting long and soon she saw the dark form of Sirius walking toward her. A little grin pulled at her lips when she saw him, relaxing a bit while she remained at the border for him to reach her. She had only seen the man once, but he had certainly made a good impression on her husband at least and she trusted his judgement on others highly. She didn't get a chance to talk to the sabered man herself that day—there had been far too much going on and in her defeat she hadn't exactly been in the most talkative of moods—but she remembered him none of the less.

She gave a nod of her head to him in return, a easy smile lingering on her lips while he spoke and properly introduced himself. "Genetrix of Elysium," she told him, her smile widening into more of a proud grin as she told him the title she had come up with for herself. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Sirius. My apologies for not having Alastor with me this time. We're traveling with the rest of our pack from Auster to Alias Island to set up our permanent home so he's currently with the others making sure our children don't cause too much trouble." Despite the fact that Avacyn and Saracyn were just a few months shy of a year old now, their visit in Fenmyre had proven that Saracyn at the very least could certainly find himself some trouble wherever he went so she didn't want the boy on his own until they were properly on the island again.

"I figured I might as well take advantage of the chance to reintroduce myself and our pack while we were in your neck of the woods," she added. "It's been a... long road to get here to say the least, but something that's even more sweet to finally have after the tribulation it took."

"Manea Mendacium"

The Warlord vaguely recalled the children he had seen running amok by her supporters. Her own? He understood what a handful a couple younglings could be. “I’m sure they are causing him no end of grief” he said lightly. Taking note of where she said her new pack would reside. Alias Island. He had never been there, but he knew it was up just past Abaven. He made a mental note to head that way at some point with a welcoming gift.

“I’m sure you have much to do in that respect. I remember well how long it took to get the foundations set up for the Armada” and it had changed much in the many years since then. “In that regard, would you tell me a little more of your pack? What do you and yours believe yourselves to be?” it was important to have an idea how his neighbouring leaders considered themselves. There was the possibility of friendship between them. If he was just Sirius, he would already consider Manea and Alastor friends. But he was the Warlord, and he had to ensure their beliefs could coexist with the Armada.


"Speech"

Manea chuckled softly when he mentioned how there was sure to be plenty of work ahead of her in setting up the pack. "No doubt about that." She did at least have the benefit of having the band to build off of so it didn't feel quite like she was starting from scratch. The only trouble really came from putting her family into a more formal structure and having to not only be their cousin and matriarch, but now also their alpha. It was a shift in dynamic for them all, but she was lucky in the fact that she had wolves like Poe and Ara behind her that seemed more than willing to support her when needed and were mostly along for the ride.

Sirius moved on to some more important matters when it came to pack relations, asking her about Elysium and what they stood for. "I fully intended to start the pack purely for my family so that we can have a place to live our lives how we want to live them without the scrutiny of others that might not agree with our beliefs," she told him honestly, her expression growing thoughtful. "But after I began traveling with them as a band and I began collecting others into our group... wolves that had no where else to go, pups without parents, some that just needed a bit of support and a family..." She shrugged a little with a little smile. "Now it's mostly just become a safe haven for anyone that we consider family—blood or otherwise."

When she began this journey she had certainly never considered herself someone that could find a soft spot in her heart for anyone outside of her blood relatives and even then there was just a select group of them that she held close. Finding love, becoming a mother, seeing wolves in the world that were put in positions beyond their control, it had all shaped and softened her in a way that didn't feel weakening. If anything it just made her more conscious of the world around her and made her consider things differently.

"Manea Mendacium"

He could well understand that concept. He had built this pack for Zee, and it had unfolded into a family. A place to stash those wolves he loved so dearly. He nodded his head, liking her a little more for her words. In that regard, it sounded like Elysium and the Armada had much in common. Before he could go any further however, there was another matter to address. Her words of belief prickled the fur on the back of his head. He had been here when the Risen Empire had been a thorn in other packs' sides. Their sense of belief and godliness had made them a menace in Bores. What was she afraid others would not agree with?

“The Armada grew in much the same way. It seemed only natural to adopt the strays” he offered her a crooked smile. “The Armada holds no belief in gods or anything greater. What is this belief that your family believes in?” he asked, his words still polite and open.

"Speech"

A grin pulled across her lips and she nodded when he mentioned how it was natural to adopt the 'strays'. She hadn't really thought of it that way, but in a way it kind of was. Chade, Ricin, Relm, Seraphina, Irilyth—none of them really had family to fall back on or had a place to be before she and Alastor brought them into Elysium. Really, now that she was thinking about it, it was usually Alastor that found these wolves. He strangely had the softer heart when it came to lost souls in need of help despite the fact that he was the wilder and more insane of the two of them, but with his history it wasn't really all that surprising. Maybe he had rubbed off on her more than she thought.

Her brows lifted in surprise when Sirius asked her about her family's beliefs. No one had asked her about them before other than Alastor so she was a bit impressed and pleased that he had picked up on that from her description of her pack and decided it was important enough to ask about. She smiled softly as she replied, "I wouldn't say that we necessarily believe in a god or gods either. My family attributes our gifts and strengths to the Ancients. They are our ancestors, the sprits of the Mendacium wolves that have been and will eventually be. We don't worship them because they are us. Things like my claws, my horns, my daughter's scales and my son's razor sharp teeth, our fur that shows all these different colors and patterns—we believe they're all gifts from the Ancient spirits to show how strong the soul we were given is. We also believe that Ancient souls can be placed in wolves outside of our blood and that is where we look for our husbands and wives—to bring those souls back into our family and return them to the ancients when they pass to continue on again and again."

She looked at Sirius curiously as she explained the broad overview of their beliefs. There were many more rules and laws, some more unsavory than others, but at the end of the day that was the core of the Mendacium family and what drove them and the standard they liked to keep. "Interesting of you to ask about our beliefs," she said with another smile, her head tilting slightly with curiosity. "If I may ask, is there any particular reason you're curious? Other than just getting to know us?" She knew some belief systems and religions could be far more intense than theirs even though there's was fairly in-depth so she was interested to know if perhaps he had a bad taste in his mouth over that area of life from someone else.

"Manea Mendacium"

“I see” the Warlord said naturally. On the surface, her beliefs didn’t sound dangerous, but they did seem to stray rather close to the ‘Fallen God’ where the wolves believed they were descended from this god and believed themselves to be stronger and better for it. He decided to keep it in mind for now, but not let it overshadow his opinion of her. So far, she had shown herself to have integrity and respect for those around her. That in itself was a far cry from the wolves of the Fallen Empire. “Thank you for the explanation.”

She seemed surprised in his interest, and perhaps it had been a strange question to ask - but it seemed important to know the wolves you shared the world with. “When I first started to make the Armada, there was a pack of wolves that called themselves the Fallen Empire. They believed that they were descended from the Fallen God, and were therefore more worthy of ruling than any other wolf. If they had had their way, instead of their two key leaders falling into a volcano…” -he cleared his throat, torn between mirth at their ending, and sorrow for the pain that had put Deathbelle through - “Then perhaps we would all now be slaves to them. You never know what peoples beliefs are, and what they might do in the name of them.”

"Speech"

Manea listened with interest as Sirius explained the pack of the past that had caused their own demise in the end and their belief of coming from a fallen god that seemingly gave them the "right" to rule over all other wolves. She scoffed softly at the idea that they all might have been slaves to these wolves eventually if they hadn't found themselves tumbling into a volcano—something that she was sure had an interesting story behind it as well, but she refrained from asking for more details. "They sound like they were foolish and elitist—to put it kindly," she replied with a slight smirk. "I will not lie and say that I've never felt that the gifts we've been given maybe give us an advantage or a strength that others might not have, but that does not make me feel like we are necessarily better than those that don't have these gifts. I use these these tools to protect and feed my family and my loved ones so that they can continue on and do the same. What they were doing on behalf of their 'god' was..."

She stopped herself from what she might have said with a soft chuckle, deciding she ought to stop before she accidentally dug herself into a hole of some kind. "I'm sure you understand," with a motion of her tiger-like paw to his saber fangs and his paws that were hiding his feline claws. She had gotten good at spotting gifts in others, even ones that were less noticeable from a glance like his claws, and she gave him an appreciative look. "These things along with your height and your build make you a formidable opponent in battle even without extensive training—which I'm sure you've had as well as someone who titled himself a Warlord. They're things I'm sure you've passed on to your children that they now make use of in the same way if I had to guess." She smiled knowingly and added, "I appreciate and praise gifts and strengths in others... not fear or combat them."

"Manea Mendacium"

The Warlord snorted at that “They deserved no kindness” he remarked dryly, though perhaps he would have granted Archon a measure of it if it had been within his power. Not for the Abraxas’s wolf’s sake, but for Deathbelles.

He flexed his deline-like claws as she motioned towards it, inclining his head. “Good eye” he remarked. Listening as she went on to explain her view. “Aye.” he agreed lightly, thinking of the ever increasing amount of Fatalis wolves now roaming this continent. “There are advantages to these strange things we were born with, but we are still just wolves. The things we do, we do because of our own moralities, and not those of some supposed god.” He shook his head, lest he let himself fall down a tangent. “Regardless. Your pack sounds intriguing, Genetrix Manea, and I wish you and yours luck.” he said, getting to his paws. “Your pack is still young, and I am sure you haven’t yet had much time to accumulate everything you need. Tell me, would you like some of our surpass metals to forge your own weapons, or some skins and cloaks for bedding or armour? A gift, from leader to leader”

"Speech"

It had been quite a while since she had been in such an interesting conversation and she appreciated Sirius' willingness to hear out her point of view even if some past experience made him wary. She nodded in agreement when he reaffirmed that they were still just wolves and the things that they did were because of their moralities and nothing more. She couldn't disagree with him there. There had been some of her ancestors that had thought otherwise and put themselves above others because of their gifts and the beliefs that the Ancients made them stronger than others, but she didn't subscribe to that belief and considering this new land that they were trying to incorporate themselves into it was probably for the best. There were quite a number of wolves around Boreas and Auster that had similar gifts so she had no reason to believe that hers were any better than his. The only difference between them was her belief that these tools and gifts were granted to them by these spirits to help her and her family survive and to denote the strongest among their family. Either way, she was enjoying their discussion and debate.

As he wished her and her pack well and got to his paws she at first assumed that their meeting was over and she began to get to her paws to head on her way, but then he surprised her with the offer of a gift of pelts and furs or pieces of metals. Her brows lifted in surprise and she gave the other alpha a thankful smile. "That's very generous of you, Sirius. Thank you for the offer." She was about to insist that they had plenty of supplies at the moment, but she reconsidered when she thought about the metals he offered. "Alastor and I are seasoned and frequent hunters so we have more than enough skins and pelts that we've been accumulating for a while. I will take you up on the metals though. My daughter Avacyn has fancied herself a crafter and can't get her paws on enough materials... Though I hope once we get settled on the island she'll have better luck finding her own there. It's quite mountainous."

"Manea Mendacium"

He inclined his head in acknowledgment, knowing the importance of starting off on good footing with this new neighbour. She had been happy to answer his questions, and well their short conversation wasn’t enough to give him a full understanding of her and her pack, he found her to be courteous and good natured. It was a start.

“A good choice” he said, inclining his head, he whistled Marshall down and the large bird rested on his shoulders for a moment, as he murmured a quiet order to the creature. He took to the air again a moment later, searching for Mortis so the winged wolf could complete his fathers orders. As they waited, he turned his attention back to the purple wolf. “Avacyn, is that the one who gave your husband grief trying to join you in the challenge?” he asked, a grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes.


"Speech"

Manea watched curiously while a large vulture, clearly a companion of his the way her ravens were to her, and glanced after the large bird as he took off again after getting some instructions from Sirius. Her aqua gaze returned to the Warlord as he asked about Avacyn and whether she was the one that had caused a ruckus at her pack challenge and she laughed with an amused, happy grin. "Ah, I think it's Saracyn you're thinking of. My son is the wild firecracker of the two." The affection in her expression showed clearly as she spoke about her children. They were her pride and joy and her entire motivation behind everything she strove for. She gave Sirius a curious look as she asked, "How many children do you have?"

"Manea Mendacium"