Although the Takekuro woman was already at the Hotel just one level above, it took her some time to find an acceptable pausing point in the treatise she was examining and extinguish the candles in her room before she made her way downstairs. She had heard the call, and knew this meeting was mandatory (how exciting!), but was also just as aware that it would take a short while for everyone to congregate. She bounded down the stairs with her usual grace after the noise of gatherers’ small talk grew louder.
A bright, happy smile spread across her muzzle as she entered the room, excited to see so many pack members in one place! She was proud when she realized she actually had gotten out of her room enough to meet a good number of them, and was infinitely curious about the faces that were new to her. As she scanned the faces, she realized that there was one countenance she would love to see! But no matter how hard she searched the crowd, she could not find the russet collie’s visage. Where was her hero? Perhaps off in another room, waiting for a grand entrance. That’s what heroes do, right?
Deciding to be patient, she moved slowly across the room, careful not to bump into anyone or step on any toes – a feat that was easy for her both because the room was not too full just yet, and because she was nimble and petite. She had spotted the Russos. . . or at least, had noticed Rurik and Liliya, she did not recognize the third. . . and feeling a deep bond with the family ever since their lazy day on the beach, made her way over to them. She greeted the pair with a pleasant smile and took stance next to them, but was distracted as she peered around for her brother, and did not engage in small-talk. More and more fellow pack members were arriving now, and she had faith that Niro would enter and take her side soon. Her worries of her brother’s whereabouts dwindled as she began to look around for the Catori family, feeling a kinship with them as well, though she was happy with the spot in which she stood, next to the Russos.
The girl turned her undivided attention to Vigilante as the Constable took his place at the head of the meeting and began to explain why they had assembled today. At first she cocked her head to the side, happily listening to what the Constable had to say, but slowly the brilliant smile she wore began to dim until it was gone from her face completely. Her entire demeanor mutated in the matter of a few words. “ I am sure some of you have realized the absence of our King.”
Was it a peculiar absence? She thought back to the one and only time she had met Jacquez, it was that wonderful day when she and her brother first stepped onto Cour des Miracles soil. The day that she realized a dream could come true if you worked hard enough. . . a dream inspired and fueled by the tales of the great, heroic Captain Jacquez Trouillefou. That fateful and thrilling afternoon had been her only meeting with Jac, and Orin lived out her following days in Cour des Miracles assuming that the heroic King was simply tending to many duties. She had wanted a chance to spend more time with him, to perhaps be graced with another adventure, for he seemed to have lived through so many! But never had the naive girl realized that Jac actually wasn’t around after that day on the beach. Her hands began to tremble slightly with worry, and her usually bright, perky demeanor was full of anxiety. She glanced at her brother, only stealing a quick look, before turning her attention back to Vigilante as he expounded the decision he and the fellow leaders had come to.
Aghast, her face turned to the floor and she shut her eyes tightly as a stinging pain stabbed through her. Jac was gone, really gone? What had happened to him? The thought brought tears to her eyes. She had known Jac for so long before they had even met, and now the hero disappeared before she could get the opportunity to know him? It was unfair, it wasn’t right! And moreover, why was this the first decision they’ve come to? Vigilante said that they worry Jac will be gone forever. . . but why weren’t they going after him, to look for him, to make sure he was alright?
She listened and waited patiently to the rest of Vigilante’s speech, not exactly opposed to their decisions but having a few questions of her own. When it became clear that they could speak freely, she paused a moment before chiming in, “So. . . Are you assuming he just took off on us? Why would he do that? If he’s missing right now, maybe he’s hurt somewhere, or trapped, maybe he needs us! A hero like Jac would never just walk out on his pack. . .” Suddenly the strength behind her words began to fail, her voice cracked, and the tears that welled up at the corners of her eyes were now weighing down the usually fluffy fur of her cheeks. She glanced around and saw the acceptance in their faces, and her eyes went wide with horror as she realized that maybe. . . Jac wasn’t the hero she had thought he was. “He wouldn’t just abandon us.” She spun on her heels and bumped into Niro, looking up at her brother desperately, with tear-filled eyes. “Would he?”
That was when the sound of Ruri’s apology reached her, and she turned, still leaning her weight on her brother, to peer at the grief-stricken woman. That face, that passion. . . it was real. Everyone in this pack truly believed that Jac would, and did, just up and leave.
A mixture of emotion overwhelmed her at once and her face contorted in a blend of rage and pain. She grimaced, trying to hold back the sobs that wanted to come loose for so many reasons. It felt like she had been betrayed. . . not by Jac, but by herself. She suddenly knew how stupid she had looked all this time, going on and on about how great he was, and how everyone must have been laughing at her - nothing but a stupid, silly little girl. And now, everything that Jac stood for in her life, the embodiment of the picturesque hero, the reason she had forced her brother to sail north with her, the very cause for them finding this better life. . . shattered in an instant. She trembled and fought the emotion, trying to hold it back, not wishing to bring attention to herself, not wanting to hear anyone point out that she was a fool.
She turned to Vigilante and gazed at the man through watery eyes. She had hunted with the wolf once, shortly after her arrival in the pack. He directed that hunt well and she had no reason to doubt his ability to guide the pack. Inhaling deeply to steel herself against the circus of emotion that welled within her, she steadily made her way towards the Constable. . . no, towards the King. She took a deep breath to steady her voice, though it was still shaky as she spoke. “Vigilante, it is an honor to have you accept the role of King in our time of need. Like Rurik,” she glanced over her shoulder at her friend, then back to Vigil. “I have faith that both you and Ruri will do well by us.” She nodded once, turned, and quickly retreated back to the group she had been standing beside earlier. It had only felt appropriate to say something to him after her small outburst. As she passed, she glanced at Ruri, wishing she had some word of comfort for the woman, but, in an uncharacteristic move for Orin, she walked on past, for once too wrought up to think of something to say.
As she settled back into her spot with the Russos and her brother, she hung her head and tried to hide the tears as they streamed down her cheeks.