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"I've never seen an ability for healing quite like hers." Azrael said. He smiled. "Don't worry about it. This is how we show our hospitality, so thing nothing of it." Azrael often found humans a bit perplexing, but he didn't let that show. At least with elves there was some common history in the ancient past, and elves, while their culture was very different from werewolves, still held a few points of honor that a werewolf could appreciate. He reached for a water skin and held it out to Kayla. "Let's start with some water." He said.

As he held out the waterskin, a young werewolf burst into the house, still in his wolf form. "Alpha! Can Shinn come out and play?" Asked the pup. The young pup caught sight of the strangers and then backed up slowly, nervously. "S-sorry Alpha... I didn't know you had guests..." Said the pup.

Azrael sighed resignedly. There would be no hiding what they were now. "Yes, he may Izual. Go on Shinn." He said.

Shinn nodded and ran out of the house with Izual, as soon as he was out of the house and out sight, he changed back into his wolf form, glad to be out of his human-like one.

"There were a few tribes that ran with Demons, I can't deny that there was a grain of truth to it. But there was nothing more than that." Azrael said, a bit bitterly. "But only those few actively fought. My species was chased away from their ancestral homelands around the time that the War of the Graces began. We sought asylum with the Elves, which in ancient times the race of Garulf had been friends with. The werewolves were chased away from there too, and split into many tribes. We were forced into wildernesses like these, and were all but forced to join the Grace of Destruction. There was no other way. The only thing that any other Grace offered was persecution. Most tribes rejected the war, however, and we tried to keep away from other races. Unfortunately, the Demons and Evil Dragons that led the Grace of Destruction were not satisfied with that, and would seek out the isolated tribes and seek out the strongest of each tribe, and force them into their armies. Something else also happened. We don't know the source of it was, but a strange madness fell, some of our people became crazed, some out of no apparent reason. A few however, had been staunch members of our tribes, and when madness fell on them... they became driven by revenge and rage. They wished to make other races suffer for forcing us into hiding and destroying our homeland." This was hard for Azrael to discuss, for his own brother had fallen to that same madness. "But we continue to live our live in our tribes and the edges of the world. Fueled by stories designed to demonize us, no other species will allow us to live anywhere near them. They especially enjoy murdering our children." The anger at the situation was apparent in Azrael's voice, but it soon subsided. "Recently however, my Tribe's luck has turned around a bit. My mate, Miluiel, is the daughter of the Forest Elf King Talithan, and since then we have found a friendly voice from their kingdom. But that doesn't necessarily come off for the rest of my race. I want the werewolves to be united once more, but I have no idea where they might be, nor the real ability to unite them." He said his gaze falling to the fire.

Alunn decided to speak. "I know of a few tribes that are close to your mindset, and friends with one of them. Also, there are a few, er, groups of demons that have changed to a neutral base. If you were to want to reach out to the more extreme of your race, they would help. As to not having the talent, you are the Alpha here, all it would be is being Alpha of Alpha's. If you unite the tribes, but allow them to keep what they have, it might be possible."

"While I will certainly wish to try to unite as many tribes as I can, and I will need your help to find and contact some of them, Alunn, I am afraid that true unification is something that is simply something that is not in my power." Azrael explained sadly. "I might be able to bring a few tribes, or even most of the tribes together. But that would only guarantee that we help each other in times of need. Our people will still be divided, it will not lead to our rebuilding. The only figure that can do that is the one who can hear the Will of the Moon, in ancient times this would be the Priestess of the Moon, the position of the ruler among the Garulfs. Until someone that can hear the will of the moon comes forward, my race will never truly unite, and those tribes that are too steeped in this foretelling will never listen to the call of one simply seeking to bring the tribes together." Azrael stood and looked up into the hole in the ceiling that let the smoke from the fire escape the house. "But, that does not mean I am not unwilling to try and do what I can bring as many werewolf tribes together as I can. I wish to return to our Ancestral homeland within my lifetime. If I can bring us together, the perhaps the one who can truly lead us can come forward without too much challenge." He said looking back down and smiling at the others.

Logain entered the house at that point and sat down. "Forgive me for dropping ease, but I believe I might be able to help as well. I happen to know that general location of a few tribes myself. I wish to see your people restored to their place as well." He said. As the de jure ruler of a nation himself, something that he was not keen to reveal just yet, he had been in court at the time when these tribes sought sanctuary and granted it to them, despite the protest of the courtesans and nobility. Though part of him suspected that the nobles were untoward to these tribes when Logain or his appointed steward were not keeping proper watch over them.

"The first step to being a great leader is gathering talent that you yourself don't possess. At least, that is what our leader always said. I will help you, if only to restore a race that has fallen to shambles. True unification will take time, but if you only stare at your goal, you'll never see the rocks that will trip you up, or a ravine that might end your race. Start with a few tribes, and you might find that the rest has been done for you" Alunn said. He spoke as one who had aimed to unify the Graces during the War. He gave a side-long glance at Logain. He would want to talk to him when they had a private moment, there were some things that he wanted to know about his essentially first friend.

"All I wanted from my life was achieved some time ago when the War of the Graces ended" Alunn said "So all that's left for me is to do as much as I can with my life, however long it may be." Alunn started to leave the building, as he did so, he crossed his shadow with Logain's, the shade-elf latching on enough to mentally convey to Logain that Alunn wanted to talk, and where he would been. He then headed back into the woods.

"The madness was an aspect of the War of the Graces. The specific kind of Chaos generated by that war disrupted much of the natural order of things, one of those things was our connection to the Great Mother. The madness can no longer spread." Azrael explained to Kayla. "But I am not a fool. I do not expect all the tribes to come together just on my say-so. Some will only accept a show of strength, not necessarily a battle, but a show of strength nonetheless. A few who have fallen under the madness may also still be around, that is true. But they are not united, and even the most aggressive Tribes will not deal with them. We can smell their madness, that wrongness the exudes from them, and we have ways to deal with them. Not pleasant, and not easy, but without a unifying force to keep them together, such as my brother and his vendetta against the elves, they're challenges will not be accepted, however vocal they may be."

Azrael sighed and sat down again. "I never claimed that the goal of unification would be easy. Certainly some tribes will want to see the strength of the would-be unifier. Some would certainly choose battle as a means to gauge that strength. One or two might even try to challenge the unifier even after they joined that Tribal coalition. But we would never go to open war. If forced into a large-scale war, we would fight, as many of us, including myself, were forced to during the War of the Graces. But against ourselves, we have oaths that hold us from turning on each other, and others to call us together in times of need. Some tribes in close proximity may squabble for territory, but only those that fight will be fought. We don't raid each others villages to steal what little paltry materials that might be possessed, Something which I see humans and other species do to themselves and others far too often." Azrael said, though he didn't mean to patronize Kayla or the enigmatic Logain, it was merely an observation.

"Will there be fighting? Most likely. Will some of those fights be brutal? Certainly. But will we stoop to warfare against ourselves? We will not. Perhaps you might think this is idealistic of me to think this way, but few people understand our ways. I don't expect that to change through one conversation or assurance. The journey to bring my people together will not be easy, nor will it ever be. But the reward for bringing us together is to great simply cast them away. I may not be the one chosen to hear the Will of the Moon, and I do not claim to be. The problem with prophecy is waiting for them to be fulfilled. Waiting any longer will not solve our problems, and will not return us to our homelands. The least I can do is make a path for the one who hears the Will can come forward" Azrael said.

Logain bowed to Azrael against and said. "If you'll excuse me." He said before exiting the house and going to the location that Alunn specified. "Is something the matter?" He asked, curious as to what it was Alunn wanted to speak of, though part of him suspected what it was that was wished to be discussed.

Shinn and Izual stopped at a large rock at the edge of the village and waited for Shera to catch up. They were also waiting for a few others to arrive. "So what do you want to do today?" Asked Shinn.

Izual bobbed his head in the wolf equivalent of a shrug. "Nothin' sp'cific." He said. "Figured we might go over to the lake. I found a cave their earlier today, when mum was watching me hunt. She sniffed it out and said it wasn't a bear cave. So I thought we'd explore it a little."

"Sounds cool." Shinn said. He was often cautious about Izual's discoveries, but felt that this one wouldn't be so bad.

Miluiel couldn't quite push out the feeling of dread as it piled thickly into her heart. She wanted to believe Azrael, but was it really that simple? Was it really simple enough for the two of them, herself and her daughter especially, to be accepted by the other tribes? She wanted to ask Azrael if it would be better for both her and her daughter to stay here when her husband went to go meet with the other tribes. Now was not the time for questions such as that. She knew it too. She nodded respectfully, putting to memory the thought of talking later. For now she sat back and listened as the men took the floor and began discussion on their future actions.

Miluiel was genuinely surprised when the silent Kayla finally spoke up. Her calm gaze turned onto the girl and she listened with interest to her words. She was a very intelligent girl, that much was clear. She had much more of a story behind her than she let on.

Azrael countered with a very great and very gracious answer. He seemed to think, however, that this would end in war. This thought pained Miluiel, and with a heart laden with sadness she bowed her head and pressed her fingers tightly to her lips. She didn't want to hear anymore of the war talk. War was generally not the way of the elves. Elves, by nature were lovers of life. Death and everything about it pained her deeply. She couldn't listen anymore. She sat by the fire silently, wrapped in her own thoughts.

She was suddenly pulled to attention when Kayla seemed to stumble. She jumped forward, eager to help the girl and catch her when she fell. "Dear, you are not ready to get up." Miluiel said quietly as she placed a comforting hand on Kayla's shoulder. "Your legs are weary, and also, it seems, numb for some reason or another." She reached forward to help straighten her leg so it could wake up that much faster.

Shera bounded up to her brother and his friend. She was happy that her brother was so kind of her to make his friend wait for her to catch up. "Thanks Shinn." She said as she caught up. She was a quick and energetic little pup, but her shorter legs were nothing compared to her older brother's. "So where are we going?" She asked when she caught up.