A northerly wind had brought their scent into the pack lands. My nose twitched and I turned away from the eastern border I had been strengthening my mark upon. I was aware than Lavender had chosen Taviora as the pack she would show her diplomatic skills with, but I had not known they would be coming here rather than she traveling there. This presented all the more opportunity for me to observe her behaviors and for me to determine if she was the right wolf to fill the role of my hand. I set off in a quick lope, covering the distance quickly. As I approached, the northerly zephyrs played into my hand as I settled in a small copse of trees slightly uphill from the small gathering. I arrived just before Lavender, catching the words of the elder female of the group. My brow arched curiously; wondering what this wolf knew of Glorall. Tesseract was born to lead, just as I was. Only he had taken his throne in a land separate from his birth, whereas I had returned to my native land. As Lavender arrived, I pushed the though aside and I listened to her words as she greeted the party of three Tavioran wolves. My ears flicked forward; she certainly had a lot to say. Brows furrowed slightly as she spoke of me, perhaps a little too highly. Did I believe myself worthy? Yes, but I preferred a bit more of a humble approach to it. The last thing I desired was for the elder alphas of Spirane to see me as an entitled princess. I was a Queen who had won my throne just and fairly.
Movement behind and to the left of me distracted me for a moment, and my eyes flicked towards the wolfess Natu and her small companion. I was unsure who this young wolf was, for I quite certain Natu had no children of her own. But I had smelled traces of him around the pack lands. I was curious about the situation, and perhaps now would be a perfect time to sort the matter, but I was drawn back to the situation at hand. Solaris spoke and my attention was refocused upon the meeting. Something about the situation made me uneasy, though I could attribute it to nothing more than a gut feeling. And so I rose and moved forward, revealing myself to the party and approaching at a jog. I only just caught his introductions of his traveling companions, but I nodded my head in greeting to each wolf in turn. “Solaris, it has been a long time; and it would seem times have changed? Taviora suits you well.” I said as I came to a halt a fair distance from the border, but not so far that I needed to raise my voice. Solaris had grown well into himself, his posture indicative of his high stance among the pack. Clearly he was a leader of some sort among the woodland wolves. “In a show of renewing friendship, everyone please feel free to cross into these lands. Toeing borders never makes for good conversation.” I smiled, receding a step further into my territory and motioning for them to join me. Of course once they had crossed within the pack lands Everchime would be free to seek out whatever wolf of my ranks she found friendship with.
It is to the younger wolfess I look now, Shiloh she had been introduced as. “Perhaps, Shiloh, you would like to explore them with one of our own diplomats. She could teach you our history, and show you a few secret trails that only a few of us know about.” My eyebrows rose with interest, wondering what the younger girl would think of such a proposition. Perhaps not today, but another day, Orca could show the girl around. If she was sister to Solaris, she was a child of Diveen removed to Taviora. All the same, I hoped for our packs to forge a true and strong friendship. Once more I returned my attention to Solaris, who clearly headed up the group.
“I should think that the most important part of an alliance between our packs is protection. We share a common border, with no common land as a buffer. I would see that no wolf use our lands as a way to infiltrate your own, so long as Taviora pledged to do the same.” It was an offer similar to that which had been made from Alcide to Cozscotl long ago. Of course there was more to it than that, but I did not want Solaris and the rest of Taviora to think that I wanted this arrangement to be upon my terms alone. “What would Taviora seek of Spirane? I believe we have many things to offer one another,” I said, opening the floor for them to bring whatever they wished to the table.
ooc: kcat did not reply to the activity check, so dany is stepping up to finish this meeting in lavender's place.