The trip up north had been a long, but thankfully highly uneventful one. Traversing the Bifröst and the entire length of Boreas from south to north had taken the pair of wolves and their avian son the better part of two days, following the same path Artorias and Briar had taken when she'd brought him up to the Dreamer's Col to see the Firestorm Grotto some seasons ago. Along with them was one of the Hallows' alpacas tugging a cart laden with a few housewarming gifts for their gracious hosts. With him, Artorias carried Embershard, but felt no need for his armor on a social trip, opting to leave it behind in favor of traveling light. During their travels, Artorias had noticed the missing pack scent of Aerie and briefly wondered what had happened to the small, reserved pack. He didn't know any Aerie wolves well, but his interactions with Eligos had been polite and cordial. Wherever they all were, he hoped they were all right.

As the family approached the edge of the Dreamer's Col territory, the familiar scent of the Armada became noticeable, the scent markers that carried Sirius and Azure's scent like a beacon to the traveling Carpathians. A beaming smile spread across Artorias' lips as he turned his attention to his mate and his ward. "We're here!" Art led the group up to the borders of the new Armadan territory, taking in the sights of the awe-inspiring peaks rising around them from the arid territory of the northern tundras. Even in the midst of spring, the north had a coolness in the air. It was a refreshing change to the usual heat of Auster, though something told him Zephyr wouldn't be too fond of it. Stopping at the border, Artorias tipped his head back and called for Sirius and for Zee, then moved to stand beside Briar, leaning gently into her side while his tail entwined with hers. The young wolf was eager to see his in-laws again, and to see the new home they'd built for themselves.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

She of course knew that they didn't need a formal invitation to come visit her family, but it felt extra special to not only be invited and expected following the nice invitation they received from Keahi but also to be taking a trip as a little family for the first time with her, Artorias, and Zeph. It was certainly a long journey to make their way all the way up to the other end of Boreas and it made her long for the days when the Armada was just around the corner once she made it across the bifrost. The grassy plains of her old home would always have a bit of a soft spot in her heart, but she was excited to see what it was that had attracted her father and brother to this northern region. Besides, it meant they were going to get to show Zeph a whole different part of the world and considering how much their avian son enjoyed exploring and seeing new places that was reward enough for making the journey!

The mountains began to rise up in the distance and soon enough after that they began to pick up on the familiar scents of her family's pack. She smiled with a gentle wag of her tail as Artorias pointed out as much with his declaration that they had made it. Stopping the alpaca that was pulling their cart and making sure Zeph climbed out of the cart alright, she went to stand next to Artorias while he called for everyone, giving him a grin as he leaned into her side and his tail entwined with hers. Tipping her head up, she pressed an affectionate lick to his cheek before looking out into the mountainous, forested land ahead of them and waiting eagerly for the familiar faces of their loved ones to appear.

"Briar Carpathius"

Zephyr was overjoyed at the opportunity to join his adoptive parents in their trip across Auster and Boreas, to the northern most peak of their world where apparently, his mother's family now lived. He had seen the Fatalis family in passing during their attendance at the Hallows' wedding, but small and overwhelmed by the massive number of guests present, Zephyr had avoided any sort of meaningful introduction. He outgrew the shyness quickly and now, nothing seemed more thrilling then getting to know his extended family.

The walk offered a multitude of new sights as well as opportunity to practice flight over a longer distance, but Zephyr abandoned the idea of independence as soon as the air began to cool. Why was the north so damn cold? It was supposed to be nearing summer and yet it was colder here then it was in Auster, where their rainy season was quickly coming upon them. The first few times he'd climbed into the cart, the raptor had been as stealthy as he could with it. By the end of the trip he was unapologetically huddled in the thick blankets, even if it meant smushing or displacing the wine bottle gifts that they'd carted along. Oddly enough Artorias had also packed a few wooden swords, but after the first time being poked in the tail feathers Zephyr simply pushed them into the plush deeper and reminded himself to address their existence once they'd arrived.

The cart stopped, his canine family stepping forward to announce their presence and wait for their hosts to arrive. Zephyr scrambled out from the blankets hurriedly. "We're here!?" Gods, he hoped that this pack had a warm castle like the Hallows' to bed down in and stave off the cold. Sprinting up to where his parents waited, Zephyr moved to push himself between their furred bodies and nuzzle up to the both of them for as much temporary warmth as he could absorb.

"Zephyr"

The call of Artorias wasn’t unexpected. His diplomat had made the journey down, and returned with news that his daughter and son-in-law had accepted the invitation. He hadn’t known the exact day it would fall upon, and he looked up from work with a sudden grin on his face. Delighted and elated at the thought of seeing them again. Dropping his work, he got to his paws and began to head to the entrance of the Col. slipping through the market and out the other side. Finding the travelling part in the opening space outside the caves.

His eyes fell on Briar first, and moved towards his Queen daughter. Reaching down he kissed her on her brow and pulled her into a hug. “Briar! You're positively glowing. Queenhood suits you” he teased, pressing his nose against her cheek before reluctantly releasing her.

He gave Artorias a slap on his shoulder, but if the Hallows Alpha thought that was all he was getting, he had another thing coming. He grabbed Artorias and pulled him into a bear hug next. “Art, thank you for coming” He said before releasing his son in law.

His eyes turned then to the smaller of the three travellers. Or rather. The one he had expected to be the smaller. He paused, doing a double take as he looked at the bright plumage of the enormous bird. He had been a scrappy, mottled fledgling when the Warlord had seen him last. Now he almost towered over the warlord. Unperturbed, Sirius moved to him next. Pulling him into a bear hug, and pushing his weight into his back legs as he attempted (with a grunt of effort) to lift Zeph off the ground with the force of his hug. He made it not even an inch off the ground with the giant bird. “Zeph! I almost didn’t recognise you. What have they been feeding you??” He said as he greeted the bird just as warmly.


"Speech"

Zee had settled into the Col much easier then she had anticipated, even managing to put on enough weight to stave off her husband's insistent nagging and constant healer referrals. Their trip out east had been good for not only her physical and emotional health, but for their relationship as well. Always a few strides behind the long legged Warlord, Zee arrived just as he had given his greetings and struggle-hugged the oversized bird. Zee eyed the raptor with cautious interest, but his placement between her daughter and son-in-law was enough for her to accept that this was indeed the same bird she had met during the wedding. Stepping up she mirrored Sirius' greeting, moving in first to offer her daughter an extended nuzzle and then stepping back to look the now-grown woman up and down. "Sirius is right, you definitely have flourished in Auster. Though I'll attribute that to the marriage, not the crown." Tilting her head to the side she gave Sirius a playfully stern glance, a grin on her maw. Artorias she greeted next, offering the man his own nuzzle of greeting. "Thank you for taking such good care of her." Zee let her appreciative gaze linger on his, and then turned to address the elephant in the col. "Zephyrus! Look how big you've grown. Be careful flying around the mountain, your shadow might be enough to scare your grandfather grey." Stepping back and angling herself to open up to them the Col, Zee invited them across the border. "Please, come in, make yourselves at home." "Speech"

Artorias cast a warm smile to his mate when Briar leaned gently back into his side, then glanced back when the scrabble of talons on wood announced Zephyr's eager disembarking from the cart to rush up to join his family. "Yes, Zeph, we're here!" he repeated with a chuckle, followed by a gentle oof when the giant raptor shoved his way between himself and Briar, huddling between them to keep warm. Even with it being late-spring, the northern territories of Boreas were still quite cool, and the breeze carried a nippy chill with it. Fortunately, the Carpathius family was not left waiting long, and soon the familiar forms of Sirius and Zee Fatalis emerged from the caves to greet them with elated smiles and warm embraces. The first thing he noticed right away was how much healthier and happier Zee appeared to be, no longer just skin and bones, but a true representation of who she had been. Artorias watched with a content smile as Seer and Briar exchanged greetings, the Warlord complimenting her on her radiance as queen while her mother attributed it to the relationship factor.

Sirius approached him first, and Art greeted his father-in-law with a familiar smile. A large paw clapped down on his shoulder, but before Art could do anything in return, the Aegis found himself scooped up into a massive bear hug by the affectionate Warlord. He gave a surprised laugh and embraced Seer back, finding that usual comfort he had found in the father figure in his life. "Always a pleasure, Seer! We wouldn't miss the chance to come see you all!" The two alphas parted, and Artorias greeted Zee with a grateful smile and tip of his head. "It's my pleasure and honor, Zee," he replied to her thanks, returning the warm nuzzle back to the matriarch of the Fatalis family. "Briar deserves all the best in the world." Art's amber eyes exchanged the appreciative glance with Zee's cooler blues, then he turned a brief knowing glance over to his wife, overjoyed to see her and her mother getting along in the wake of how turbulent their relationship had once been. They were all older now, wiser, and youthful animosity had mellowed into empathy and understanding. He knew Briar and Zee's relationship hadn't always been an easy one, but seeing the two women get along and bond like mother and daughter had brought him a degree of peace.

The sound of struggling caught his attention, and Artorias turned with a snicker to see Sirius trying to scoop Zeph up into a bear hug of his own, with a modicum of success. "Everything. He's been eating everything," Artorias teased his adopted son with a crooked grin, though the Aegis had a hunch Sirius would understand, given they had their own bottomless pit in the form of Basilisk to keep fed. He was ecstatic to see Sirius and Zee taking to treating Zephyrus as one of their own grandchildren so easily. Not that he'd expected anything less from the kindhearted wolves, but he knew they were asking a lot from their families. It hadn't been something Artorias had even considered when he'd rescued the young argentavis, just a consequence of doing the right thing. Zee invited them all inside, and Artorias nodded and gestured for them to take the lead.

The group followed their hosts, Artorias eager to see what the Armada had done with the Col and surrounding lands. "We brought you some housewarming gifts, I hope you don't mind," he said to his parents-in-law as they made their way into the cave system, glancing back at the cart to ensure the stubborn alpaca was still keeping pace. "Some wines produced using fruits from the Wildberry Grove, all created by Briar's imagination—" He cast a sideways smile to his beloved wife. He was still so proud of her for the passion she'd discovered in the culinary arts and winemaking. "—as well as alpaca-fleece blankets, enough for all of the Armada." Artorias hadn't spent a significant amount of time in the north, but the time he had, he recalled how bitter cold the winters could be, and the nights even more so throughout the years. Having a nice, thick blanket to cuddle up under would be a boon for all.

"Artorias" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

Briar giggled softly as their avian son squished himself between the two of them, clearly seeking out the available warmth, and she reached up to kiss Zeph's cheek affectionately. "I don't like the cold either," she confided quietly with a little grin. "We'll find somewhere warm to be as soon as grandpa and grandma get here." And soon they did, her father and mother appearing from the inner part of the Col quickly to greet them. Her father arrived first and she grinned happily as he approached her, her braided tail brushing against the ground as she returned his embrace. She chuckled at his compliments and replied with a slight, shy awkwardness, "Thank you." She still wasn't the best at taking compliments, but she appreciated his confidence in the fact that she fit this role she had found herself in well.

Right behind him was her mother and as he moved off to greet Artorias her gaze turned to her mother and she was immediately taken by how much more life she seemed to have in her now. The hustle and bustle of the wedding had prevented her from really spending much individual time with her so perhaps she had already begun to improve by then, but she wasn't sure. Still, regardless, it tugged at Briar's heart to see her doing well. When Zee came to nuzzle her, Briar returned the affection and slipped a foreleg around her to give her a gentle embrace, doing her best not to get too emotional about the whole thing when they had only just arrived. She laughed lightly as Zee corrected her father, saying how it was the relationship she had with Artorias that was causing her to flourish, not the Queen title she now carried. Her tail continued to wag as she watched her parents poke fun at each other back and forth and it felt like a glimpse of what had once been and it made it hard for her to speak at all. She caught Artorias' glance and she gave him a knowing grin, giving him a little wink as she shook off the emotions that tried to creep up on her.

Then for a little bit all the attention was on their adoptive son with her father greeting him with a signature bear hug and her mother making a comment about his shadow scaring her father gray. A little snort of laughter escaped her at that and she grinned, knowing there just had to be a fantastic story to go along with that warning. She couldn't help but laugh lightly as well as Artorias confirmed that Zephyrus had indeed been eating anything and everything. He had grown so rapidly in recent months that it was getting hard to find enough food to keep the growing raptor satisfied, but luckily he was getting big enough now to do his own hunting so perhaps that would make things a bit easier. She didn't mind though, she would do anything and everything for their unexpected and unusual family member to keep him happy and healthy. Her attention then turned to the Col in question as her mother invited them inside and she got to her paws to follow her parents in, keeping to Zephyrus' side as they went.

Art mentioned the gifts that they had brought as they walked into the caves, the alpaca following behind them with the cart in question. At the mention of her wines she grinned proudly and nodded with enthusiasm. "I've been working on a few new blends from the big berry harvest we did recently! Artorias is too kind in his opinions of them—or perhaps too much of a light weight to remember if they're actually good or not when he's done with them," she mentioned, casting a teasing grin toward her husband before turning her gaze back to her parents again. "So hopefully you'll be able to give me your opinions on them before we leave!"

"Briar Carpathius"