Northstar Vale I think I got 'em talkin'

@Ruenna <3

Sunlight penetrated the canopy which had thickened with greenery as the season progressed. The tundrian was little more than a spectre weaving through the forest, pale coat green-hued in the aura of the trees. 

She had recovered from her bout with whitecough, finally able to admit such a fact with confidence as the weakness fled her limbs in place of ease. Each pull of her muscles as they played over her bones brought a surge of relief - of strength. 

The timing could not have been better. As Liri pulled herself over a few boulders and some loose shale, her path leading her up into the terraces of the Vale's walls, her thoughts returned to Diaspora. 

Though their claim of the range had gone unchallenged - a fact that had vastly astounded the healer - she did not believe them capable of such a feat. It had nothing to do with their pack personally; she just didn't consider it possible for any pack. 

Perhaps with more numbers but the ranks of Arrow Lake did not exceed her own by very much - or so she guessed. There was a reason the various assemblies of the Wilds claimed a single homebase - it was all that even a large pack could really protect. The Diasporans, whether they believed it or not, were bound to Arrow Lake and no other land. Their borders did not extend to her Vale and thus, she did not consider her claim a challenge nor a trespass; Liri was but a rogue staking neutral territory as her own. 

Still, she knew to refute their boast of occupying the Sunspire would not go well in the event Stigmata deigned to visit and survey her group of interlopers. 

As Leea reached the highest point - a view of the Taiga peeking through the mountains - she settled upon her haunches and found her dark eyes wandering in the direction of her turmoil of their own accord. 

Would she be able to make them see? 

An alliance was best not only for the Vale but their Diasporan brethren as well. Liri had no desire to see their two packs fall to violence, to chaos, though she knew that she had no intentions of giving up the land. Truly, the ties ran deep - Corvus, Rue, Takiyok - all wolves she admired and in some cases loved as much as any blood relation. It would be a tragedy if such bonds were broken for the sake of greed. 

Even if she and her wolves were displaced, what would become of Diaspora when another group attempted to land upon their shores? The Vale pack could be their brother in arms, a sanctuary for their ill, a haven for those who saught knowledge. Trade routes could be established, she might even see her children join the survivalists someday - all the possibilities swarmed her mind like a horde of gnats that refused to be ignored. 

Liri sighed, gaze returning to the valley. 

Only time would tell whether the conquerors could be persuaded to compromise. 

Else another would come for what Liri had scraped from life's selfish paws; another would bring grief and loss to her doorstep and Liri would answer their knock in the night - this time with a shotgun loaded at the ready. 

Ruenna was not surprised when the altitude's sporadic winds brought her evidence of her alpha nearby. Both Ruenna and Liri had been hard at work scouting the valley's surroundings, and Rue often came upon signs that the others pledged to the Vale were dutifully preparing their new home for permanent residence. 

Rue had not yet apprised Liri of the deal she proposed to Diaspora. He offer to her former pack had been more or less improvised, and she wanted to take some time to think on it and make sure it was what she really wanted for herself. When she approached Liri with the potential deal, she had to be sure she was ready to follow through on her end of the bargain.

Rue knew that she had done all the thinking on the topic that she was able to do on her own; it was time to hear the opinion of her leader, and more importantly her dearest friend. She barked a low, friendly woof to alert Liri to her location, and then began to pick her way across the mountainside toward the origin of the northroner's scent.

A soft bark drew her attention from inner turmoil, pale crown turning to seek the souce of the call. A smile of warm familiarity lifted her lips as her dark gaze landed on Ruenna, speckled plume beating a tempo of welcome upon the stony earth. 

"Rue," she murmured in greeting, rising to three paws to greet the woman with a rub of her cheek against the silver's - a familial greeting between blood relatives, a tradition of the northron's homeland.

"How are you?" She asked as she pulled away, settling upon her haunches once more, genuinely concerned about the silver's welfare. Liri hoped her sister was finding the Vale acceptable, that she had settled in well with the others pledged to Nauthiz.