Overture Downs Cheap hotels have their own charm

@Treason!!! Forward dated to around the 23rd so he had time to settle in n such.

After informing Stigmata that there was someone he wanted to pay a visit to, Corvus set off to make that want a reality. It'd been several moons now, and he still wasn't close, but his pack's current claim was as "in the neighborhood" as he was going to get. The raven traveled by day, and while he would always prefer the night, he wasn't about to ruin his new circadian rhythm molded by Diaspora. Being able to travel in a close-knit unit again warmed his heart and made the change worth it. Corvus made sure to give the nearby pack a generous berth that would've pleased that virago. He chuckled at the irony of it, but he wasn't foolish enough to take his chances there.

The crisp wind blew his way, and it gifted him the scent of just who he was looking for: Treason. Altering his course, Corvus traveled at a steady trot, and he was soon rewarded with a dark-hooded white speck in the distance. With a sharp bark, he moved in closer, excitement thudding in his breast. He did owe her a spar, after all.

She'd finally convinced herself that she should go out and try to recruit again. Rueger's departure had kind of forced her as well -- she had no back up plan now, so she'd need to find a few to fill voids that had been left in their roster.  Hopefully fate would smile on her, but honestly she wasn't expecting much.  Things never 100% went her way.  And this was another day when nothing was happening, at least thus far.  She was expecting she'd return home without any real progress, and then she'd just repeat the process when she next felt like it.  Such went routine -- or it did until a bark drew her attention to an approaching black splot.

She hadn't recognized him at a distance, but as he started to close the distance, it proved to be a familiar specter.  Her ears tipped forward as he approached and she took a few steps to meet him, but all things considered, her reception of him seemed rather cool in comparison to her previous level of interest.  But given that she had looked for him, that she had found nothing, and now it seemed he'd gone and ignored her earlier invitation from the scent of it, could you blame her?  She didn't even know about the Plateau disbanding, but that wouldn't lessen the disappointment of it -- it might make it worse.  He'd moved from the complete fools to the ego.  She wasn't impressed.  However, she was surprised he actually did still exist.  Little late, bud. Corvus.  A fair amount of time had passed since their last meet -- she was a slightly different wolf than before.  Treason was a leader now -- to a certain point alpha in all but name as long as Terance continued to trust her -- and had finished filling out to her adult size through the fall.  She was reasonably content with how things were.  Things weren't perfect, but they were reasonable.

Once within speaking range, she greeted him with his name, so he returned with hers. Treason. It's been a minute, He said with a toothy smile, very aware of his lateness. He would've apologized for it, but Corvus was not one to simply hand out apologies. It wasn't like he had control over what transpired in his life over the past several months. That wasn't to say he didn't regret his bad timing, but...

I got a little caught up. He tilted his head to bring attention to the newest and most gnarly scars in his collection. Their appearance didn't bother him, but they reminded him of the fiend that stole his mother's life. Coincidentally, he almost suffered the same fate. That is what truly enraged him. But Corvus swept that thought aside to keep his attention on Treason. You seem to be doing well, He noted, sounding almost as if they were comrades. They definitely weren't, but Treason was interesting, and that was enough for him. He valued having connections, as well. Maybe an alliance between their packs could be forged, he mused.

She tilted her head as she eyed the scars.  But she wasn't entirely sold on that entirely excusing him.  Treason was a little hard to please.  It has, indeed.  How'd you leave the other guy?  The same bear had done a number on her pack as well, but the one bonus of being farther from the scene of the crime than others was that she'd remained unscathed.

And his other comment rung true, at least for her.  Certainly others in the pack hadn't been as fortunate as her, but fate was a fickle thing and it would certainly swing again the other way at some point.  Well enough, or that's the net result.  I'm in leadership now.  It was sort of an off-hand comment, a mix of saying yeah, he missed a lot, and that her pack had given her a good chunk of what she wanted.  Treason wasn't sure if it had been obvious she'd been seeking more out of her life when they'd crossed paths, but she was pretty sure that was around that time.  Things had changed, and those minor details of timelines weren't all that important any more.  Her plans were slowly coming to fruition, so why bother about that part of the past?

You.. moved?  And why was it not to her pack?  Since she didn't know that the Plateau had disbanded, she assumed something else must have happened, especially since she didn't detect any other tag-along scents that she didn't already associate with Diaspora.  No BDP people that she knew, at least.

To her question, he shrugged. I lost consciousness after he dealt the blow. He almost did me in, Was all he could say about that. Treason mentioned how she was in a leading position now, which wasn't too surprising considering her high position before. Something happened to the alphas? Corvus asked in turn, wanting to know what caused her to acquire the position.

She then commented with uncertainty that he'd moved, and he nodded. I did. The plateau pack disbanded. I'm now in Diaspora, residing in the Sunspires. He was prideful to be part of this pack. It felt more like home than the plateau pack, despite how attached to the latter he'd become. Not only that, but it felt more held together, more solid. Liri and Kavik made several decisions he found questionable at the time, and now he recognized them as foolish. Not that he looked down on the pair, but Stigmata was a logical beast that didn't let emotion interfere with his decisions, and Corvus found that to make him a superior leader.

If Lost Creek Hollow is interested in allies, I could relay that to my leaders, He tacked on, figuring it couldn't hurt to offer. He may as well while he was there and speaking to a now-leader of the pack.

I'm gonna assume she finds out Stigmata is a leader in another thread!

Far more simple -- one of the betas didn't come with us in the move.  Don't know where she is now, but those remaining recognized my skills.  Sure, something happened to Rannoch too, but since he was vague about his incident, she'd be vague about her pack's.  Treason was telling the truth as far as her own history went.

Though his news of the pack amused her to start, as she continued to speak, her words started to cool again, Ha.  Not unexpected.  But why not accept my invitation, then?  The pack folding entirely made it more of an offense to her personally.  Corvus hadn't been surprised to see her, so it wasn't like they'd disappeared into the ether or something.  So why not join a pack that had a higher history of being reliable and had at least one friendly (under some definitions) face?

But how he continued seemed somewhat absurd, but that was mostly because she had details that he obviously did not.  Treason snorted and gave a slight shake of her head, I don't think Stigmata thinks much of us.  When the remnants of his pack joined ours, he made a big show in front of everyone about how he was doing everyone a favor by not joining and then was shocked when his ex-leader was pissed at him.  When I spoke to him after, he claimed he'd surely take over the pack and we were all underestimating him.  Maybe he's just afraid he'd drown in the creek under the mass of his ego, but I don't think he's a wolf I'd want to count on.  Whatever reasoning he had in his head, it was definitely not in tune with hers, or what she was pretty sure was actual reality.  And for Treason, a wolf who was undeniably quite self-sure, to be irritated by someone else's ego?  That was saying something.  Also there was the issue that Stigmata was willing to harbor Redshank, but they'd get to that if needed.

Corvus gave a simple hum in acknowledgement at her explanation of what happened to the previous beta. It was enough for him. Treason was predictably amused at his telling of the plateau pack's fall, even to the degree of giving a pointed laugh. He mused it was because of the exceedingly negative view of the alphas she based off of one interaction. Treason easily won the award for "most captious wolf he'd ever met", which Corvus saw to be a huge flaw, but he kept this to himself.

I was considering it, but your pack is the neighbor of one I doubt would take well to me, He started. Knowing that she would ask for an elaboration, he decided to go ahead and give it. One of their wolves challenged me for being closer to their borders than she liked while I was passing by, and I never deny a challenge. It was a fair fight — a mutual agreement — but another wolf leapt into the fray, and I had to flee. In hindsight, I should've taken the fight elsewhere. I'm not sure what they think of me, but I don't think they're my biggest fans. He also felt there were some miscommunications, but as always, hindsight was 20/20. And irregardless of that, this pack reminds me of one I once called home. It feels right for me in every way. He was sure Treason thought little of his reasoning on anything, but Corvus didn't care. She asked, so he answered.

Her explanation of a past run-in with Stigmata was unexpected, and it did sound somewhat concerning, but he didn't have the full story nor all its details. Added to what he knew about how this wolf saw others, Corvus would take it with a grain of salt. I agree that it sounds like he thinks quite highly of himself. It's best he chose to lead a pack of his own, then. Maybe Stigmata did have an over-inflated ego (not unlike the leader he was speaking to now), but everyone had their flaws. That was not enough to sway him from being part of Diaspora. Still, it's a shame an alliance would be unlikely, He finished.

Treason was a creature that judged, for she was Arbiter so that was kind of her thing.  For the most part her judgments were pretty minor in the grand scheme of things and just served to temper expectations, and it was only when someone did something completely outrageous that she voiced loud negative opinions -- the cultist, the daft, the unobservant, the egoist.  They'd all yet to prove her wrong, even when given the chance to do so.  As long as they stayed away from her, she didn't much care.  She expected them to fail at life and when she heard they did, she'd give them a little chuckle and move on.  There was really only one wolf at the moment that made her question her judgement, and that was Corvus.  Maybe it had just been too long -- somehow she'd thought running into him again would be a much better experience than it seemed to be.  Perhaps she'd been naive, but either way it was kind of disappointing.

She seemed a little perplexed, Easthollow? I think you're probably overestimating their ire.  They're more likely to be obnoxiously friendly than to reject an even cursory apology for the confusion, if it mattered.  Of course she was mostly referencing Aerasha, who Treason was very much hoping not to see again any time soon.  But they certainly seemed the fluffy type.  She wasn't going to try too hard to lure him to her pack any more, thought at one point she might have been.  She was pretty sure even without what happened between her and Terance factored in, she'd grown and decided against fighting battles that she probably wouldn't win.  If something happened, he knew where to find her.  Still, hopefully that pack will work out better for you, if it's that much of a match.

She also was not a creature that lied.  It was too much effort.  She might stretch the truth a little for the sake of a story, but that was not the case here.  She debated warning him to get out before the crash if it happened, but that should be obvious.  Treason shrugged, He's the one who made his den, he gets to sleep in it.  And I don't think Rannoch would be keen to be allies with a pack that included the wolf who tried to kill him, if Redshank still lurks.  It was probably best if for the most part the two packs ignored each other.  And if in the end that meant Diaspora's only true allies they had were the packmates they kept, they'd best hope where they were staying wasn't prone to avalanches.  Besides that, she still didn't know how that punk was alive, let alone able to get into a pack -- and she'd keep reminding whatever Diaspora wolves she found that he was not a trustworthy sort.  From her perspective, Corvus just kept picking packs with problems that just weren't fixable -- maybe it wasn't his fault, but it just wasn't a good streak to be on.

Ah, so its name was Easthollow. Corvus was not expecting such a... soft description of the pack, which showed in his expression, but perhaps his experience had been atypical. Her verbiage made him chuckle, and he jested, I might just have to do that on my way back, then. Treason then said she hoped the pack worked out, and Corvus confidently replied with, I'm sure it will.

She mentioned Redshank and a heinous past deed of his, which caused him to blink in disbelief, unsure if he'd heard that right. Was she lying about this? Probably not, as he couldn't think of a reason for her to. If this is true, I'm don't think Stigmata would want a cretin like that in his ranks, either. I certainly don't, He asserted before asking, Why did he attempt to murder your alpha, and when was this? Corvus needed details, and he'd report them to Stigmata as soon as he returned.

Treason of course had already mentioned it to Thorn, but who knew what happened with it.  She hadn't been particularly descriptive about it, so maybe it hadn't been passed on because of that.  I told a different packmate of yours the short version.  I don't know if he cared, or passed it on.  Treason shrugged.  She wasn't particularly apt to tell that guy more than she had to -- she didn't know him, really.  At least she'd had past dealings with Corvus.

It was this last spring.  He ran over the borders with all the stealth and hope of a wounded elk. -- But I guess when they lived in the Vale, Rannoch got attacked while traveling, Moonspear took him in to heal.  Redshank wasn't there when they told the pack what happened, so he assumed Rannoch abandoned them and never looked for the truth.  And that meant he should totally kill him.  Or something.  She frowned.  It didn't make sense to her, but then again she was pretty sure Redshank wasn't exactly the most stable wolf in the world.  The only reason he's alive is Liffey pitied him, for whatever bizarre reason.  Treason wasn't privy to their personal lives, but she couldn't see that going over well -- "Oh hey, honey, this wolf wants to kill you but we should totally let him go."

Treason's witty inner dialogue will always be a treat, lmfao.

He hadn't been made aware of this by any of his packmates, not even Stigmata, nor did he know who she told, which prompted the question to pass his lips. Who did you tell? He asked just in case it may be useful — in case someone was trying to cover for Redshank.

Treason explained what happened, and Corvus' brows furrowed as he tried and failed to understand his reasoning for any of it. He also disagreed with Redshank being spared after such an idiotic display of violence. That was just asking for him to bite them in the ass at worst. At best, he became someone else's problem, and "someone else" was Diaspora — himself included. But Corvus would keep his opinion of Liffey's decision to himself. He's an unstable fool, and I'll make sure Stigmata is aware of it, He promised. The thought of preparing to turn back crossed him, but that sparked another that he'd almost forgotten in the mass exchange of information that'd taken place between them.

I should head back soon, but before I go... I owe you a spar. Is that still on? Maybe she wasn't interested in a spar anymore, but that was something Corvus looked forward to, if she was. Treason was a sizable wolf, and he wondered how well she put it to use at her young age.

I'm gonna wrap and archive this since you've been gone a while, but later on if you wanna continue it for the trade's sake, LMK! :)

Thorn.  She did wonder, albeit mildly, if she'd run into that guy again.  Their meeting had been neutral enough.  Not that she had realized at this point, but if they did, it would be far too late for this year's interests.

If only things could have been done differently back in the past, then now it wouldn't be an issue...  Good.  I'd hope Redshank isn't typical of the other wolves he's recruited, for your sake.  Even with just Redhsank and Stigmata, it wasn't a place that Treason would want to find herself.  It was more of a risk than she was willing to take.  Either of them very well could ruin things, could step wrongly and tread on someone they shouldn't, and since neither had a particularly good track record with actually listening, from her perspective, she wouldn't expect any different.  Treason didn't want to deal with that nonsense.

The spar, though.  To a certain point for whatever reason she was tempted to just put it off and go home -- it wasn't entirely clear to her why that was even an option her mind would suggest, so she brushed it away.  She replied with a flick of her tail, Surely there'd be time for a quick spar though, hm?  Though we can plan for a more proper one later.  Treason dipped into a slight play bow for a short moment.  She'd been the one forced to make the first move in her last spar, it was someone else's turn this time.




Treason would end up winning.  It wasn't a trounce, but hey, she won, and as a competitive sort, that was all that mattered to her.  She did, however, offer him another chance to try to best her a few weeks later (couldn't go monopolizing too much of his time, after all).  So Treason bid Corvus farewell and headed back to Terance, eager to speak with him despite the hour of her arrival.