Valian
As he approached the borders of Aspen Grove, Valian paused. He wanted to remain out of his sister's packland to arrange the plan, so the operation would run smoothly. Following him were Sienna, Morrigan, Nox and Assari. He had hoped his call had reached Namir, so they settled to wait for the cougar, before Valian was brief them on his plan.
Namir
The call had piqued the cougar's intrigue and led him to find his way to the Aspen Grove's boundaries. What Valian wanted him for, he didn't precisely know, but the manner of the howl was enough to let him know that this was some important, covert mission, and that he should remain hidden until his friend's son arrived.
The cougar lay hidden in a tangle of jewelweeds and briars until he heard the sound of approaching pawsteps, and soon after, saw Valian's familiar face, along with some packmates. Rising up from his hiding spot with a lazy stretch of his forelimbs, Namir spoke in a quiet tone, "What's this about?" His feline eyes were quick to study the few that Valian brought with him, "I take it Cortinarri has been talking with you?"
Valian & Others
The lazy movement that caught his eye as he approached the border, coupled with the feline scent meant Namir had complied with his request and had come to visit him. Valian greeted the cougar with a warm-ish, if a little unnerving, smile, and he stepped towards the cat to create a few yards of distance between them and the few followers he had brought with him with pleasantries were exchanged.
"Ah, Namir," he drawled in greeting, "glad you could join us. Mother has been to see me, and made two requests of me. The first, that she may live with me in my pack, an offer which I extend to you, as a friend of the family, if you would like? She also mentioned a little task she would like me to perform. Has she discussed anything like this with you, about removing something that is driving her crazy?" he asked with a curious smirk, hoping his inference may prompt the cougars memory. If not, then he would be happy to elaborate, but he wanted to know just how much Cortinarri had divulged to her feline friend before he continued.
Namir
The quasi-smile from Valian was returned with a barely noticeable dip of the head from Namir, who otherwise kept a straight face. Something a little sinister melded into his eyes as the other wolf spoke however, informing him of Cortinarri's visit, "She mentioned wanting to move out of here. I'm glad she's found a new save haven to call home. And I accept your invitation." Namir wasn't the kind to openly mingle with a large pack of wolves anymore, but his presence could always be counted on if Saydin and his followers called upon it. "Mmmh, she has spoken of it. That obsessive wolfess, Nachi... I would be glad to help rid the Valley of the pest." He already knew what Valian was talking about, and since Nachi had a peculiar obsession with felines, he'd gotten more attention from her than he cared for.
VALIAN
With Namir confirming his help, Valian smiled in sick satisfaction. Having a feline on their side would greatly aid the takedown of the whelp that had infected their bloodline. He also had planned for there to be enough of his little army to hold off any of the pack that decided to try and help Nachi, but killing any of the 'innocents' of his sisters pack would not be allowed. However, there were three others that were lined up for a similar fate to Nachi, but Namir would not need to participate in that, so Valian kept that to himself.
"I suggest we enter the borders, and find Nachi. If she is with the main pack, you must lure her to a secluded area, and once she is on her own, we will have little time for pleasantries. On my signal, you and myself will strike, and the rest of my pack will stand sentry to ensure we are not interfered with. Once Nachi is dead...you may do as you wish, but I have something more to do before I can return home. Any questions?"
With plans made, Valian then stood. Gathering the troops, he moved across the borders into Sylar's territory. Once deep into the land, he began to seek out Nachi, and detected whether she was alone, or with the main pack.
Namir & Others
Personally, Namir was relieved that Cortinarri had finally gotten the nerve to order the fae's death. His she-wolf friend had always been tenacious in her prime and downright savage when need be, but those qualities had simmered back and grew quiet as age overtook her. That fact that she was back to her old stuff, even if she herself couldn't be physically involved with it, made the cougar grin. "It won't be hard distracting her." That was all that the feline said before he ghosted after the canine group, falling in line several paces behind them all.
It took the search party a good while to locate their target, but locate her they did, thanks to a pair of snarling voices. Starscream's sharp vocals, which had earned him his name as a pup, rose up in a frustrated growl as he argued with Nachi, who was just as passionately snapping back. "I don't see why you're making such a big deal of it! We've got two more, and-" Scream cut his mate off with an incredulous huff, "Are you serious?! This is our daughter you're talking about! She's not some scrap of food to barter over!" The adolescent in question was Darling, the much picked-on and only female from their first litter. She was crouched next to her father, well use to the sort of mental abuse from her mother, who always had an odd spite against other she-wolves... including her own daughter. Nachi showed little to nothing in the way of pity to the neglected youngster, "Fine, you want to do this the hard way?-"
Namir had stopped at the side of a fallen birch tree, where he cleared his throat loudly and thus drew the small family's attention to him. Starscream narrowed his eyes reproachfully at having their argument invaded, and that scowling look doubled when he saw his brother and a few of his followers, "What do you want?"
VALIAN
Starscream's pitched shouting was the giveaway to Nachi's position, and Valian and his band wasted no time in following the snarling voices of the happy couple. Hearing the last of the argument, Valian's eyes narrowed as he tried to piece together the crux of the fight. Something to do with getting rid of their own daughter, if Nachi was to get her way? On approach into the clearing, Valian moved past Namir, his eyes on the form of little Darling who crouched beside Scream. His head tilted ever-so-slightly to the side as he studied her, but his attention was diverted almost immediately by his brother.
"Is that the welcome I get after so long apart, dear brother?" Valian sneered, moving towards the little family, "I've come to see my family, after all I haven't had the pleasure in meeting Nachi or my newest nieces and nephews." His haunting yellow eyes moved first to the youngster by Scream's paws, then to the infamous she-wolf across from them. "Nachi, I am Valian," he purred, an eerie smile accompanying his greeting, "and may I say my brother has excellent taste in choosing a mate."
Namir & Others
"Your mother wanted me to speak with Nachi." In a tone that was more deadpan than the others, Namir vied for the group's attention by addressing Starscream first, then looking towards his mate, and then to Valian. "I'll leave you brothers to get caught up." He didn't have to try hard to get the she-wolf's attention, he knew perfectly well that she'd jump at the opportunity to spend time with a big cat, so great was her peculiar obsession.
VALIAN
Despite Scream's obvious irritation, Valian's little group made it clear they were not leaving anytime soon. Valian's son, Morrigan, remained standing, but behind his father to show the hierarchy of Sedge Creek still remained, even if they were not in their own territory. Valian had no qualms about striking his own offspring; his status as alpha was never in doubt. Assari had settled onto her belly, taking advantage of the moment Valian's attention was focused on his brother to allow herself a little time to relax, not that she ever fully could around her new alpha pair. Saydin and Valian were hardly accommodating to those they did not prize. Nox also remained standing, but further behind the whole group, closer to Sienna. The pretty Sienna was almost a mirror image of her mother Karitania, and just like her mother held that same aura of calm. While unnerving coldness practically hugged Valian, Sienna seemed far too gentle to belong to such a notorious group. Her green eyes, the only trait of her father, caught sight of Darling, and a small smile was directed at the youngster.
Nachi's coy reply brought an equally sly response from Valian, "Any wolf with any kind of sense would agree with that. A she-wolf like you, Nachi, is so very difficult to find." The glowering Scream just urged him on, oh how he loved to cause dissention in his own brothers family. As Namir excused himself and Nachi, rather smoothly and unsuspitiously too Valian noted - impressive, the two brothers had only each other to focus on.
"It does not matter whether I let you know I was coming or not, I'm here now and that's all that matters, Starry," Valian chimed sarcastically, throwing in the childhood name he would call Scream just to irritate and undermine him that little bit more. "Oh, I am not just here for myself, as much as I am enjoying this, I am also here on behalf of another. Mother sends her regards to you." Whether or not Scream knew of Cortinarri's move, it would be extra salt to rub into an already irritated wound.
Starscream & Others
The whites of the adolescent's eyes were showing when they rolled this direction and that. They lingered on Valian for the shortest amount of time, detecting the authority and dominance in him not only by his posturing and behavior, but by how the others reacted around him. She could even feel the tension rising in her father as he dealt with Valian in growing irritation. Finally, her gaze landed on kindlier look of Sienna, and her heart was uplifted a little by the smile she caught. Her ashen-tan tail thumped a few timid beats against the ground.
"At least someone around here knows what he's talking about." Nachi turned a leering smile from Valian to her own mate, mainly to egg him on a little before she continued onward with Namir and vanished into the spotty underbrush of the birch forest they were in. Starscream narrowed his eyes in a look that could kill and exhaled a sharp, huffing breath. Clearly, this pair didn't have the best relationship, which could probably attributed more to Nachi's oddities than anything.
The wolf mumbled a few things under his breath, so quietly that only his daughter crouched at his feet heard any of it. Once his mate was out of sight, it was again his brother who he focused on, "Mother? What's she got with you being here? Organizing a pack hunt or something along those lines?" His sneering reply to Valian had more to do with his current level of frustration with Nachi, but it didn't help that Valian resorted to using his much hated nickname and that he showed no signs of leaving until he felt like it. "Go speak with our sister, she's around here somewhere."
VALIAN Having to be told by his brother that Cortinarri had left, rather than by the mother wolf herself, was another thorn in Scream's paw. He was well aware that she and Nachi didn't exactly get along, but... could that have been the reason she left? His eyes narrowed a little more, yet as much as he wanted to really bristle up and send Valian away, he didn't dare get in a tussle with him with such backup; and in any case, he wasn't sure if he could outmatch the other wolf anyway. "'Sick' would be an understatement, Val." A subtle patting against his leg drew the father's attention downward, where he was surprised to see Darling's tail wagging. Following her gaze, he saw that one of Valian's faes was interacting with her, and he abruptly shifted one front paw to scoot his daughter back. "Well, you've met Darling." There was more in this statement than the words Scream used, the tones were saying 'And you can leave now.' Of course, as much as he was trying to shove Valian on his way, the brother knew he was outmatched in dominance right now, and he wasn't going to get Val to leave until Val was ready to leave.
Starscream & Darling