Seaside Moors you be the hero, i'll be the sidekick

@Aningan @Rosalyn @Erzulie - he's calling for leadership but anyone is welcome to intercept!

he'd made his way to the plateau with the intention of having a civilized conversation, but when he arrived, he found the territory abandoned with only fading scents to greet him. for a moment he wondered if the pack had disbanded and was no more, but after chatting up a few strangers, he learned they had simply moved to somewhere along the coast.

the passersby never mentioned a specific territory, and so astaroth had spent a good chunk of two days searching for where rusalka may now lay their claim. he eventually found them, or what he assumed was them given the similarities of their scents to those he'd found along the plateau, and raised his head to request the attention of any leadership. he kept a respectful distance from the borders, and though tired and wishing the rest, remained standing as he awaited to see if anyone would answer his summons.

having already been roaming the moor's marked edge when the call whistled along the sprightly breeze to tickle at her ears, the warrior found it only made sense that she'd continue at a quicker pace until intercepting the summoner. it didn't take long, paws skimming the uneven grass with ease as she enjoyed the stronger press of the air ruffling through thick furs and snickering by her side. her steps would only slow when the shadowed figure lingering at the border came into view, a quick look around confirming that neither aningan or the two women had arrived yet and so with a flick of her tail she stepped casually forth to regard the newcomer coolly. a brow would raise at the familiarity of the scent to embrace her, recognising it from what had also clung to aiolos' pelt. the other sea worshipping group, what might they want with rusalka? 

tilting her head to the side slightly as tenebrous eyes narrowed, she'd lilt "i am not the leaders you seek" vigilant press to frosty eyes maintained their hold as she leaned easily back onto creamy haunches and continued "but you might as well tell me your name and what brings you to the borders of rusalka to speak with my leaders" and although she is the picture of ease as she waits passively, to the keen eye it is clear that muscles remain tensed and ready under their thick cover whilst shady eyes hold a perceptive gleam to their depths.

others are welcome to hop in at anytime

he tossed a pebble between inky paws as he awaited the sight of any who might come to greet him. eventually someone did appear, though based on her words, was not who he was calling for. no matter, at least now he could pass the time with some company rather than entertaining himself with a rock. and so as she came to sit before him, he swatted the pebble off to the side and turned to greet her with a toothy smile.

"i'm astaroth", he introduced, tail giving a few easygoing taps against the earth as he paused a moment to give her time to introduce herself as well should she wish. "and i'm here because i heard there's some bad blood between our packs. blood i'd like to wash away." a fresh start is all he really wanted, and anything more than that would simply be a bonus.

bein vague abt what she might know abt the pack's relationship from aiolos

the motion was returned as charcoal lips tilt to flash pearly fangs in her own serpentine grin, rolling slender shoulders back as she idly trailed the progression of his tossed pebble. inky depths would return to fix upon the guttering gleam of shivering candlelight as he offered up his name, dipping her head appreciatively and intoning "nice to meet you, astaroth" taking a moment to experimentally roll his name off of the flick of her salmon tongue before offering lightly "i am tundra" 

the next words to be offered up were intriguing indeed and she'd straighten somewhat more, curious gaze scanning him carefully. the frisky breeze ruffled and tugged at the sable hairs of his pelt, giving the illusion of smoke and shadows writhing and clinging to his nimble figure as the wraith would push to a stand and roam a little closer. "and is this but a wish of yours, astaroth, or are those words spoken by your leader? i would be quick to agree with you and yet if the leaders of this pack decided otherwise than it would be quite a waste of time. not that i don't appreciate the effort either way..." she'd gaze just past him, focusing on the smirk of the flamboyant glint of the distant rolling waves. she hadn't the energy for another situation similar to that of the blackfeather woods and melonii wolves, she sought only after the calm embrace of peace. of course not perhaps to the extent of aningan, she would not cast out her own members to hold on to such a delicacy but at least his attitude might work to their advantage here. 

blinking back to the night cloaked man, she'd inquire intently "what exactly would you say is the issue lingering between both our packs?" wishing to hear his opinion on such a thing. the stirring breeze listened on hungrily, seeking new taunts and snippets to whisper on the wind.

she was proper and pristine, her words elegant and levelheaded despite him having just revealed the tension lingering between their two packs. he hoped the leaders here would be as sensible as she, or at the very least, willing to listen to what he had to say. "the wish for peace is mine, though it was my leader who allowed me to travel all this way in the first place." he assumed if hua did not want things to settle between the two packs, she would have outright refused to let him go. but she hadn't, and so he couldn't help but believe that she wished for the issue between them to be settled as well.

tundra was right though. if the leaders here were not willing to listen, let alone give him the time of day, then no progress would be made. unfortunately for them he was a stubborn thing, and would keep coming back until he was granted an audience and able to convince them to let the past go once and for all. as for what had caused the rift between the two packs in the first place..."i'm not sure what the issue is if i'm being honest, but since it was never mentioned before just a couple days ago when i questioned my leader on our relationship with other packs, i can't help but assume it's nothing more than a childish grudge." he could be wrong about that, but if it was anything more serious than what he assumed, he would have expected to have been informed on the matter earlier.

Rolling waves beyond his reach, distant enough to not disturb him but near enough to be observed. Aningan watched them closely, curiously, lost in thought; there were many things to consider, ideas he thought to make realities. But these things turned trivial, easily brushed away to the back of his mind, when he heard the summoning of an unknown. Pricked ears swiveled in the direction of origin, head turning shortly thereafter to drag his gaze away from the sea. Standing and stretching, he focused his attention back on the present and sought out the stranger.

When he arrived, the other was not alone—he spied the familiar form of Tundra standing opposite to the stranger, seemingly conversing. Slowing to a trot and then a mere walk, he continued forward until he was next to his packmate, whose shoulder he bumped gently with his own. There he stopped and looked the other male over, curious but skeptical; one whiff and the myriad of scents that he wore with his own became obvious—he wasn’t looking to stay. There was something familiar about the scents, however, but the northerner couldn’t figure out what exactly it was. For now, he ignored it and said, “Salutitsinik. What is your business here?” A pack wolf visiting the lands of another pack—what reasons did he have?

curious. not the direct wish of his leader and yet she allows him to deliver such a message to the pack she had issues with. interesting indeed. dark eyes were impassive despite the slight arch to a slender brow, wondering idly what status he had amongst the pack he hailed from and whether it would be enough to shift this leader's hand should the need arise. "well i can only hope you're right" she decides to merely hum, stretching slender limbs forth as she casts a cursory glance across the moors for any sign of authority figures. so far their only company was the hum of the breeze and a few curious sea birds, her pelt ruffled a little as she glared at them. not a fan of their screeching chatter and glinting beaks after growing so accustomed to the hushed murmur and lilting caws of shadowed ravens and she wondered idly how bertók was as she blinked back to her company, unable to help but notice his recent absence. perhaps visiting the shadowed woods and as her own soul yearned to walk within the embrace of tightly packed trees once more, she could not blame him. 

ears flick to attention when he speaks up once more, smile gracing pale features as a laugh slips forth to twirl with the salty air. "indeed it seems that is quite usually the case" she muses lightly, thinking back over the hatred that had burned and writhed between blackfeather and the melonii clan. of course, being as biased as she was, the childish antics had been that solely of the melonii's. it was after all them who'd tried to steal their woods, they themselves had been merely minding their own business. she is drawn from wistful memories of leading within the beloved shadows alongside maegi and curious jakoul when the familiar scent of aningan makes it mark moments before the polar man joined the conversation. an affable dip to her head is offered in greeting as she leans back easily to let him take the lead. at the question she merely chirps "it's an interesting one" before settling back onto haunches once more, leaving the rest of it to the stygian astaroth, small smile continuing to trail charcoal lips.

the conversation was flowing well and he thought it a shame she wasn't a leader. if she was, he would have been confident by now that the conflict would be resolved and his trip down here wouldn't have been for nothing. to bad it was not her that got to make that decision, but supposedly the alabaster man who had come to greet them. she had addressed him with respect, and so astaroth assumed whoever this was held the power to determine the outcome of this meeting.

"hello", he let out as he stood to greet the man with the same warmth he had tundra. "my name is astaroth and i come from the pack yuèlóng." he flashed the pair of them a smile before taking a moment to go over the words floating around in his head. "i was told the relationship between our packs is a bit rough. i'm hoping to change that."

hi i’m blind and didn’t realise it was my turn. i don’t think ani actually knows the name of hua and co.’s pack so, uh, here we go lmao

A curious glance was cast Tundra’s way in response to her comment. An interesting reason? Turning his attention back to the other male, he awaited an answer—although, when one was given, he found himself with more questions than he did answers. He spoke of a pack that the bear knew nothing of, along with an allegedly rough relationship. With furrowed brows, he asked, “What is… yew-long? Who leads it?” That vaguely familiar scents clung to his pelt made him further wonder, did he know this pack? Had he met those within it before? If he had, he simply couldn’t remember the name ever being spoken—nor could he place a face to the scent, the traces of it sparing enough to remain evasive.