[html] This meeting is MANDATORY. Failing to reply may result in demotion. Replying will make Tammi and Sonia happy! Let's keep our posts short so we can get a few rounds of posting done. There is no posting order. You may claim your 10 game points after you've replied! Everyone has until March 13 to make their first replies. Others, however, may reply a second or third time during this period.
Those on absence are excused: Ari Sohs, Legacy Kali, Fatin Kali.
Those to reply: Lucifer Sawtooth, Kieran Heartsong, Endymion Russo, Deuce Rhiannon, Valentine Valiant, Sedition Wick, Silver Arcona, Merit Acidic
In many ways, this winter had been a contradiction. Many wolves had come and gone, some seeking shelter from the wind, and others departing without a word. In this regard, she had seen many of the wolves of the pack, but had not truly spoken with many. Conversations had been long ago, and with so much to do in the winter months, there she had met many wolves of her pack. Discussing problems and organizing a hunt or two: it always seemed like she was in a hurry. Now, she needed to sit down, to bring everyone together so they could finally be together.
She exited the pack den, pausing to examine the weather outside their homely caves. It was snowing lightly, a comfortable temperature. She smiled and lifted her muzzle, inhaling deeply and howling. It was long, drawn out, a quiet lilting sound that slowly grew louder and authoritative. "Jaded Shadows members: meet in the Commons in the pack den. A pack meeting will commence shortly." With that, she snapped her mouth shut and headed in to the pack den toward the Commons.
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There was the howl of the white leader, he had meet her once before.It was sad he had been here an easy four months and still had not met every one. The black male gave a quick bark for Deuce, where ever she might be. He wasn't in the mood to be tardy to the pack meeting because she wasn't int he mood to go. She had already gotten him into enough trouble over the last month or so.
The male quickly headed into the area of the pack den where the lady of white had told every one to meet, grabbing a seat where he could lean back and wait the male sat down, and waited for every one to come and join.
She flinched as Lucifer gave a soft bark, not expecting it. She'd heard Tayui's howl and was struggling to her feet. Her fractured leg still hurt. It would for a while, she guessed, having never broken anything before. She checked to see the ornate blade was in it's scabbard at her side before moving forward and joining her mate. Some mate. He'd cheated on her, she was aware of that now. And still, she hadn't left.
Maybe she enjoyed being a martyr. Or maybe she just couldn't bring herself to leave him. Not now. Not yet. Maybe someday, after all was said and done. She didn't know. She didn't care. She was tired and sore, and more lonely than she'd ever been before. Bi-colored eyes assessed her mate, then turned away, dull and disinterested, a hand on her extended belly.
Last time they'd actually spoken more than a few words, she'd brought up the possibility of pups. He'd told her no. Her bulging belly siad it was too late to say no. She'd suspected then, but hadn't been sure until they'd started moving a few days later. And now her belly was definately bulging. She wondered how he hadn't noticed. then again, they hadn't been speaking much either, and very much avoiding the sight of one another. Maybe that was how he didn't know. Well, he knew now. Everyone knew now.
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Endymion had not relented in his fervent patrol since discovering the Lykoi child was at large. He spent most of his time watching the borders, his fears growing into obsession. But he didn't care. His family needed to be safe. Tayui's faint call drew him from the outskirts of the territory, and he reluctantly headed toward the den. The entire pack hadn't met formally since Phasma's passing. It would be odd now, assembling in the Commons. It would be the first time since her death that Endymion entered the cavern.
He was the third to arrive. Spotting Lucifer, he nodded a greeting, a smile flickering on his face. There was another, a white female, whom he hadn't met before, but he offered her a polite nod anyway. Then his pale green eyes rested on the blond woman, and his smile grew marginally. "Tayui," he greeted, before sitting down with a sigh a few paces from the rest of them.
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[html] Quite frankly, the howl startled him. He couldn't help but whip around, expecting some miscellaneous snarling wolf to be bearing down on him. But it soon registered to him that it was a distant call and, furthermore, a summons to the common area of the pack lands. Ari faltered, not knowing if children had to attend or not. He didn't even really know where this commons place was. After a few seconds of debate within himself, he determined that he'd try to find the place as best as he could, and if he couldn't, well, he'd simply not go.
He slipped off in search of where the sound had come from, finding that it was weaved over with a grand tapestry of different smells. He could count dozens of wolves who had passed by this point within the last few days. Feeling that he was hot on the trail now, he followed the interwoven scent trails until they came to the mouth of a cavern. He paused, fearing the darkness within, and eventually plunged inwards, following his nose. He was lucky, as he probably would have gotten lost in the twisting caves without his sense of smell. Soon enough he came to a circular cavern with a huge crystal to the side of it, and continued through another tunnel. Then he found himself in what he imagined to be the commons, as other wolves were already present. Two alabaster females — both with mismatched eye colors, also — along with a kid around his age and another male were already present. Somewhat fearful, Ari simply hung back. He didn't make moves to speak or even make eye contact with anyone. He was just present to be a part of the pack, which was interesting enough. He wouldn't have thought about it without seeing how his brother had been kicked out of Veneficus in his dreams. A fragment of his imagination or not, he thought it was right that he take another pack as his own. Jaded Shadows was his choice. [/html]
[html] The illness had taken him quickly and without warning. He had sent for Vorraussetzung by way of Daniel, her crow but word had arrived that the Berowick leader was away. She would have known what herbs to take and what to do. Instead he was all alone inside a pack of wolves that weren't family. Blame his melancholy on the vomiting in the early morning and his confinement to his quarters. He didn't want whatever it was to pass to other members and had confined himself away, sculpting and carving until he was sure his fingers would begin to bleed. For a day he even worried that his vision was failing but it had returned, although blurry, later on. Whatever was getting him was assuring he would be miserable.
Tayui's call, the white alpha brought him out of his dozing and he straightened. He had returned to his normal wolf form a few days ago when he couldn't carve anymore and his body had begun to dull its ache. Stretching out his back he began to pad towards the Commons, wodnering if anyone would even recognize him let alone welcome him. Shrugging and sidling near the wall he made his presence known with a nod and then laid down to listen and watch. Fatigue and illness; and an overall lack of his usual enthusiasm seemed to envelope him in a fog. He could only stay away to avoid spreading the sickness and listen.
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[html] Those who have not yet replied should consider doing so. Anyone may post after this post; there is no order or maximum you must adhere to.
It only took a few minutes after she had settled herself in the Commons before wolves began to arrive. Lucifer arrived first with Deuce following him quickly. She nodded quietly to the two of them, watching as they found places to sit in the cave. One of the tables had been set to the side, something a previous member had most likely foraged in a visit to the human city. Although it would normally make more sense to use the Central cavern as a meeting ground, the commons were only slightly smaller and was cozier, something he hoped would detract to the usual strict formalities of pack meetings.
She smiled in return to Endyminion as he entered, replying with a quick, Endyminion, in return. She nodded to Ari, giving him a small encouraging smile as he entered. She nearly missed Sedition's entrance, but replied with a nod of her own as he sat down to lean against the wall. He looked exhausted in one way or another, but it seemed that everyone was a little tired these days. Perhaps she would be able to ask Fatin about that sometime later, for she certainly knew more about healing than Tayui did. "Hello everyone," she greeted them, feeling downhearted that so few had come at the beckoning of her call. However, the 'Shadows lands were large, and could take twenty minutes to make it from the outskirts to the centre at a trot. "Usually we have our meetings at the Stargazing stone, however I thought this would be a nice reprieve from the winter wind. As I'm sure all of you are aware, as a pack, we have our own borders to protect. However, as pack members, we must also respect those of others. As it stands, Fatin had negotiated a means of peace with the coyote clan. I spoke to Kaena months ago and she assured me the coyotes had no intention to wage a war with us. However, this does not mean we should not respect their borders." She took a deep breath, glancing at Deuce as she spoke. "It's hard for me to say this, but one of our members lost a child to the coyotes. It was most likely a border breach. Please keep in mind that many wolves and coyotes find trespassing a suitable reason to kill. Although I know few of us here would enjoy taking one's life, we cannot say we are above defending our borders. While this is not a problem yet, I wanted to remind everyone here we have borders for a reason. Humans had walls and we have our borders, as well as our competent guards." She paused, trying to organize her thoughts. "I do not intend to alarm you, but you remind you. If anyone has anything to add, please speak."
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Seeing the pack gather and member pile into the male was ready to get this started. The black male looked to his white mate, the male wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know what was going on. Granted he had allowed Deuce to sojourn with in his den. The black male watch members come in after that, eyes would scan back over to the white mate of his. She was getting rounder by looks, Lucifer need to tell her to lay off the drinking and eating she was getting to fat. He's ears shifted around on the back of his head, as he looked back to the white leader, greeting each member in her own way.
Once the meting got on it's way her words stung him, Shadow was the one that was killed by the coyotes, his son, his and Deuce. Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest, as he tapped a claw over his arm, no he was guilty of being in there lands with out an invite, but he had to saved Deuce from her own death by being there. The male opened his mouth to make a sharp comment about Deuce wondering onto there lands, but then he shut his mouth. She knew he wasn't happy about every thing that had fallen into place.
Deuce could only look down at the leader's words. Her son was the one the alpha was speaking of. Shadow. Deuce touched her growing stomache again, missing the boy. Her boy. She wondered if the leader was aware of her more recent sojourn to the lands. The knife, in it's sheath, laid heavy against her leg, reminding her of everything that laid in those lands.
She felt bitter. Peace. With the murdering coyotes. They'd driven her pack out of those lands. They'd driven her family apart. She hadn't know true peace since the attack on Aremys, over a year ago. It had been so long ago, and it still hurt. She hated the coyotes, even more since one had murdered Shadow.
She looked to tayui, then looked away. She had nothing to say. Had she been aware of lucifer's unkind thoughts of her, she might of.
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It was pitiful that so few had arrived for the meeting. Only two arrived after himself; a young boy whom Endymion hadn't met before, and Sedition. He looked awful, like he had been stuffed in a cramped, wet sack for months. The two-year-old didn't know what to feel for his cousin. Pity? For some reason he was coming up short, hardly able to feel anything for Sedition. Which was odd, considering he had rather liked the man, considering his bloodline. Perhaps it was because he hardly knew him. Who knew? Guiltily, he looked away from the older man and back to Tayui.
He passively listened on as she spoke, watching her with tired eyes. But, at the mention of a lost child, Endymion's fur stood on end. A growl threatened to escape his throat, but he held it down. This behavior was so unlike him, at least sixth months ago. He hadn't heard of the child's murder. Hand curled into a fist, he fought to keep his anger suppressed, taking deep breaths through his nose. The child could easily have been Merit, Miriad, Amaury, or Legacy, and he would have probably lost it, flying to take out rage and grief induced revenge.
Endymion stood at the end of her speech, finally somewhat calm, and cleared his throat. "I have something to say," said the wolf softly, arms at his sides.
"Several months ago, a coyote pup tried to harm my sister, Legacy. Luckily I was there to break it up and bring her back here. I'm not sure what the child would have done if I wasn't there; he obviously had more experience with fighting than she did at that age, and he was so..." Endymion paused, searching for the right word. "Angry, cruel. He used the word 'wolf' as if it was a foul thing. But, after a time I forgot about him, until recently." He paused again, a scowl crossing his features gradually. The mere thought of the boy put him on edge. "Legacy had another run-in with him, but fortunately she was unhurt. He was as foul as before, but seemed to enjoy frightening her. Merit met him as well, within our borders, and they fought."
Endymion had sustained his composure for the duration of his dialogue, surprisingly. He was quiet for a few moments, gritting his teeth angrily. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Gabriel told me he's no longer a part of Inferni; he's a loner. While he is still young, he is still a threat to our youth, and those on their way—" he gestured to Deuce, "and I want to advise everyone to watch out for him. He's gray, and has terrible, yellow eyes." He didn't know what else to say, so he gave a small nod and sat back down. He hadn't said that much at one time since... well, ever.
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[html] Ari looked out of the corner of his eye to see another wolf arrive, but then they stopped coming after that. Is this really all of the pack? he thought, but rejected the thought. Surely Legacy was still around, and that must mean more couldn't show up. He turned his blue gaze once more to the tan-striped leader that had beckoned them in time to see her smile and nod, which made him feel awkward and make him recede even more into the shadows that clung to the wall. He stood there, nearly immobile, until the leader began to speak. He drank her words like one, stumbling from the desert, drank clear, cool water. Information was something that he rarely got, and this was like stumbling across gold. His heart plummeted, however, when he heard of the coyote tribe and their aggression. He had never seen a coyote, but he had heard of them, and had the idea that they were vicious. His heart clenched at the news of losing a child to them, and he involuntarily clenched his fist as well. Not that he would ever raise it against these coyotes — for their neutrality and his own physical and mental weakness.
His blue eyes wandered toward the two white wolves who had arrived before him, and noticed their tenseness when they talked of the murdered child. He wondered if it was theirs that had been killed, and he felt his heart leap for them. That was a fate that no one should wish upon another. Blinking bitterly, he glanced at the boy that had arrived as he mentioned he had something to say and went right to it. His breath caught in his throat when he heard that it had been Legacy — the girl of whom had been so kind to him — that had nearly been injured, and he had to cross his arms to prevent himself from punching the wall with aggravation. He was liking coyotes less and less with the more he heard of them. His nailed fingers dug into his arms, but he didn't really mind it. All he could hear was the news, and all he could see was the apparition of a grayish coyote with yellow eyes that glowed like dual sinister full moons...
He shuddered, looked away, and shook his head. Anyone who noticed it would know he had nothing to say, but he had plenty to feel. He felt angry and sad that his pack — his new decided home — was at such ends with vicious coyotes. He wished he could do something about it. [/html]
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She felt her chest constrict as Lucifer and Deuce exchanged glances. Although she wished she did not have to say this to the members of the pack, it had to be done. Nonetheless, it did not make her feel any better about it. But should could not shrink from her duties: that much she knew. She remained silent, watching the other wolves as they mulled over her words. A silent melancholy seemed to encase the pack members, but it soon seemed to change to anger and resentment as Endyminion began to speak.
She frowned as he mentioned the trouble a coyote in particular was causing, finding such behaviour fairly uncharacteristic. They rarely strayed too far from Inferni, and if they did, it was to cause trouble in unclaimed lands. Attacking a wolf in their own home seemed to be unusually aggressive. Not to say that they weren't vicious or aggressive, but such disregard for pack borders was worrying. She nodded to Endyminion, wondering if considering annihilating such a threat might be too bold a move. If he were still young, perhaps there was one older and more experienced that would remove him for a price. Certainly it was a stretch, but if he were to cross their borders again, Tayui was certain he would have to deal with the wrath of the whole pack. "Thank you, Endyminion. Is there anything else you know of him to help us identify him? Or perhaps you could ask Merit or Legacy to describe him, so we can keep a sharp eye out for him." She frowned once more, inhaling sharply. "What were Gabriel's thoughts on this coyote being... free of a clan's rule?" It was unfortunate that the pack meeting had come to this, but as it stood, this was information everyone would need to know.
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Lucifer knew that the white leader knew his thoughts on the coyotes, and this pack meeting didn't push his thought or wants of killing them, hearing about Fatin pups being nearly attacked by one in these lands, made him shiver, he had failed at his job, and had failed with his promise to Fatin. He snarled, he tried to keep his voice down, he didn't want Tayui to stop the meeting to figure out what had pissed him off this time. The ebony male looked to his mate, they had lost there child to a coyote, he wasn't sure what all had happened that had made the coyote kill him but it happened.
He knew that after this meeting that if he ever seen just one in the pack lands, he would kill them, there was no question if there could have been a matter of peace, they where always looking for reasons to attack the wolves, Lucifer hadn't found one yet that brought peace, though no matter how much he hated them, he would never kill a child, he wasn't that cold, he would pick it up and give it a good shake, enough to scare it, but that would be about it. He was cold to them, but not heartless. He shook his head. This was sad, sick and sad. "Tayui, I think some one should have a meeting with the leader about his coyote's. We all understand that we go to there lands, we're fair game, but them coming here, or neutral lands and them still trying to start stuff. I don't believe we should take it. I understand live in harmony bit, but they are showing they can't respect common kindness, then there needs to be a meeting."
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