Everything seemed to be going just so in this meeting; surely not all discussions of creating treaties or alliances went so easily? Then again I supposed this was sort of a special case - Vortigern had been born here, and from the looks of things had known the Lady Zelda for a long time. If it were my sister Sansa coming home and proffering a hand of friendship from her new home, the matter would likely be handled in much the same way. A felt a pang of loss as thoughts of my sister came to mind, but the thought was repressed as the Guardian spoke of how Aranck was now a known enemy of Taviora. Unbidden my hackles prickled slightly at the very thought of the Iromarian wolves. That blue-gray male that had tried to steal me away from the borders of Spirane had positively stank of the moorlands. And when Zelda shared with us what their leader had done to her sister, my maw parted in disbelief and my lips twitched in their desire to curl, but I remembered that this was meant to be a peaceful meeting and I breathed deeply through my nostrils. An ear flicked towards Vortigern at his response. "They are an enemy to our pack as well - I do not know who of his pack it was, but a blue-gray male tried to steal me away from Spirane a few seasons ago," I said, glancing towards Vortigern momentarily. Looking back to Zelda, I continued, "If there is anything we can do to help, we will." I nodded definitively, for I knew that my mother had already met with a wolf from Aithne's fallen pack and offered her aid to her as well.

Rolling my shoulders, I took another long breath through my nostrils and resumed a more relaxed posture. I was glad to know that Zelda would come to Spirane when she was able, and I understood better than most that sometimes plans such as these took time to carry out. For a pack leader, one thing after another would come up unexpectedly, and less pressing matters would have to be postponed or set aside in favor of things that required immediate attention. It was a matter that I'd not only learned in lessons with my mother, but simply from observing the way Daenerys ran the pack from afar.

I casually mentioned Vortigern's promises to show me around the forest, and things seemed to begin to draw to a natural close in our meeting with the Guardian of the Forest. She seemed like a kind wolf, and I couldn't help but admire her a little bit. She was clearly young - no more than a year older than me - and even with growing up always watching Daenerys I couldn't imagine taking on such a load yet. My time would come sooner than later, I knew that, but could I see myself filling my mother's pawsteps one short year from now? I guess I needed to prepare myself for that possibility. Being heir didn't mean I could just laze around until I decided I wanted to take on the responsibility - it meant that I needed to be ready if something were to happen to the Protector of the Realm tomorrow. A newfound resolve settled over me as I dipped my head in gratitude to Zelda. "Yes, thank you, Zelda," I echoed Vortigern's sentiment, "And I look forward to your getting to see the mountain up close soon."

With a smile, I turned my attention to Vortigern. As he lifted his tail and began to lead the way into the forest, I extended my stride to match his and bumped my shoulder into his. "Alright now I'd like to see you prove your claims that you can climb a tree."