Whether it was because of his upbringing, a simply a cause of their different natures, it was clear that Drestig's mindset was very different from the young alphas who took up territories around them. To the elder, easy going wolf, the fact of the matter was that their borders did not cross, or even meet, in fact there was quite a stretch of unclaimed land between them – despite what Gent might be thinking, he had investigated the surrounding lands, once he was sure his acutely pregnant mate was safely settled – but apparently these younger men had a very different idea of the meaning of borders. The Avalon could only mentally shake his head, holding back any grumbles until he was alone; Diplomacy..! How he abhorred it, and yet it was a necessary part of leadership. So he smiled, bowing his head graciously as the larger wolf, finally, gave the location of his pack. Again, that seemed like more than a fair distance to the Rye king; Since when have wolves started to lay claim to land BEYOND their borders? But he held his tongue, for the sake of keeping peace.

Still, he couldn't help himself when it came to answering the final question; "That would be outside any borders I plan to enforce, so nothing I could contest with." His mouth curled in a slim, crooked smile; You've 'got no problem', how mighty big of you! Then his eyes shifted to the woman, and the expression softened, a true warmth smoothing the sarcasm. For her benefit, he added: "We don't want to deny you anything. The Lowlands are large and so are their herds, plenty of prey for all of us. I can't imagine there would be any… Problems." Ember gaze drifted back to the brute by her side, brows lifting pointedly; Unless there's anything else? Frankly he couldn't wait for this meeting to be over with, and Gent had said hunting was his main concern. So the matter should be settled; Right?

Word count: 333

Thoughts ”Speech”