I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis rode the high for as long as she could, but eventually she came crashing down. She always did. 12 years old and she was still here. Her brother had passed as well as many of her siblings, even some of her nieces and nephews. As far as she knew her children still survived. A blessing she savored though it did not dull the ache in her gut. She had not expected, did not want, to have survied this long but it wasn't in her nature to simply throw herself off a cliff. Pyr's irritation at Abraxas grew. She had expected to perish in battle long ago so why was he keeping her around? It felt spiteful. Like this was a punishment of some kind. Her family was supposed to be grieving her, not the other way around.

Before she realized it Pyralis had arrived at Aerie's border. She eyed it for a moment, knowing she should call for Eligos. Instead she trespassed to the lake where she lapped at the water as though she had not had a drink in weeks.

The sight of a trespasser was not what Thalia planned to see today. Before she could even begin to analyze the scene, she felt the white-hot rush of adrenaline wash over her and cloud her judgment almost completely. Someone barging pass their borders unwelcomed was never a good thing, and Thalia quickly crossed the distance between herself and the trespasser, ready to give it her all and run them off - and call if she needed backup. But by the time she got within earshot she realized it wasn't a stranger after all, but a family member, though one she hadn't seen for quite some time... not that she'd ever really been familiar with Pyralis but she certainly knew of the old female, but what Abraxas didn't?

"Didn't know you'd joined Aerie," Thalia commented dryly as she approached, though her tone was hardly ordinary for the always-serious Abraxas. Even as a child she'd been rare to crack a smile and this was no exception. Her stance still spoke of wariness but she didn't look like she was about to strike either. Technically she was still trespassing, and she wasn't sure Eligos would appreciate it, but she was willing to give Pyralis the benefit of the doubt and hear her out before calling for him. Wasn't like she could do much harm here, and she was Abraxas, after all. That was more than she could say about most wolves. "Or that you were even still around." Around these parts or alive in general - it was hard to say which she meant, though she quirked an eyebrow as she took a few strides closer and wondered how Pyralis would respond to her.

I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis settled down on her side next to the lake, watching the ripples dance across the water from the movement of bugs and debris on its surface. She felt like she was waiting for something but she had no idea what that was supposed to be. It was like the universe was waiting for her to make her move. Pyralis rested a paw in the water.

A moment later there was the rush of movement as one of her kin rushed onto the scene. She continued to lay there calmly, lifting her paw from the lake and giving it a good shake to remove the excess water. She studied the woman's face for a moment but struggled to place a name. Oh now wouldn't that be a horror… to lose her mind and herself bit by bit. That would be a truly cruel punishment.

"Didn't know you'd joined Aerie,"

Pyralis grinned. "Oh, I haven't."

"Or that you were even still around."

Her smile faltered and fell before her gaze shifted back to the lake. "I had hoped to be with my brother by now, but it seems Abraxas has other plans for me. Or perhaps I've just pissed him off enough he's washed his paws of me. I'm sorry dear, what was your name again? My old mind has a few leaks I'm afraid." She tapped at her skull with the damp paw.

The hesitation in her stance didn't fade, and truthfully hardly wavered even as Pyralis noticed her presence and responded to it. She reacted slowly, annoyingly so for someone who was technically trespassing, though maybe at the ripe age of twelve - not that Thalia knew how old she was, she just knew she was older than anyone she'd ever met - she didn't care much about the consequences of her actions. And Thalia couldn't really blame her for that. Instead of reacting as she normally might to an honest to God trespasser, she held back and waited for Pyralis to speak before committing to any action.

"Does Eligos know you're here?" She asked her question after a moment of thought, straightforward rather than accusatory. If not he'd need to be informed, and sooner rather than later. A brow still quirked, she cleared her throat before speaking again. "I'm Thalia. Daughter of Typhon." Her father had been one of Pyralis' siblings, if he wasn't mistaken... though from what she'd heard he hadn't grown up alongside his family. In adulthood he'd returned and served them faithfully though, she knew that much was true.

Eligos had barely begun his patrol when he came across the scene of one of Sparrow's damnable pirates. The specific, familiar scent of the wolf who had trespassed into Aerie lands made him bite back a sigh. The old bitch was still around, then? The pirating and debauchery must have been keeping her young somehow. Turning to follow the scent, he came across his cousin speaking with the aforementioned old bitch, and he came up beside Thalia, giving the trespasser an oblique glance as he did.

"No, he did not," he answered Thalia's question himself, a touch grimly. "Hello, Aunt Pyralis. Is Sparrow sending you to spy on your own family now or are you just trespassing for your own amusement?" His childhood mories of his aunt did not for a moment lead him to the conclusion that she could possibly have intruded unannounced for any partiularly benign reason.

I'm Trying to Find A Signal Fire

Pyralis' tongue touched her teeth as she grinned, a breath away from answering Thalia's question when Eligos arrived. Ahhh it had been so long. Pyralis got to her feet, back arching like a cat as she stretched. "Good to see you to, Eligos. You've certainly grown and in some… unexpected ways." Her gaze lingered on the horns protruding from his head before she glanced over to Thalia. "Thalia as well. Good to see we haven't been completely wiped out." Though at the mention of Typhon she couldn't help but wonder if he had passed on as well?

"Now, as to my spying, do you really think I'd be so poorly at it even in my dottering old age?" Pyralis grinned. Then again she'd always been a bit more brazen in her approach compared to the calculating tactics of Amon. Her expression hardened. "No, I am not here to spy, nor to amuse- well, maybe a little bit for my amusement. I just want to keep you on your toes and give you a heads up that the pirates will likely raid Aerie at some point. It's already come up as a target. I deflected once out of respect for our family, but I do not intend to do so indefinitely. Sparrow had made it clear her goal is to eventually raid every pack in Auster and Boreas." Pyralis rolled her shoulders, the joints cracking as she moved.

"I merely wanted to give one last favor for in the battle itself I don't intend to pussy foot around. Assuming of course I live that long." Pyralis barked out a haughty laugh. "Pray you do not live to see such an age."