We could throw our loyalties to the sea.
#1
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The call was clear and crisp on the fall air, if Haku was anywhere near the pack lands than there was no doubt he would hear it. If he wasn’t near the pack lands than perhaps he did not deserve his rank after all. Cercelee was waiting at the harbor, her navy eyes the same shade of the water in the dying light. Had she ever picked a “home” to call her own she might have called him to there, but Cercelee still took to sleeping under the stars (and in random dens and empty buildings when the weather proved too harsh). Ideally she would have had a building to conduct such business if, if only to prevent eavesdropping – accidental or otherwise– but Cer doubted she would have much use of a building so rarely did she have business she did not wish the pack to over hear, and she did not quite think they would be so disrespectful to eavesdrop anyway.



The time was too long since their last meeting, and although she had no plans to remove him of his rank she did think a overhaul of their current “system” was needed. A strong leadership did not consist of two individuals constantly testing the other, that is when they saw each other at all. And Haku had questions he had to answer, about the war, about his current whereabouts, about future actions. Cercelee had been putting the meeting off far too long, and although she was eager to get it over with, her eyes did not stray from the water. She did not have to see to know when he approached, her finely tuned ears were awaiting his foot steps.




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#2
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Haku could easily have arranged a meeting himself, but everything had turned into a mental mess this last month. He knew Cercelee had come back to Dahlia a while ago, but he had failed to take any action because he had been drowning inside his own head. No excuses could justify his lack of actions though, sadly. He was rather close to the harbor when the howl sounded, and he had no choice but to move towards the new destination aka the harbor. Some signs from the Inferni war was hidden behind fur, some was not. A few scars had been added to his face, along with a larger still visible clawmark on his back. He did not mind, because he could have returned far less attractive, or not at all. The ghostly yearling waited patiently as the older male made his way to her. He dipped his head gently to pay his respects before he sat down, not too close to the Rosea.

Good to have you back, Cercelee. The words sounded quite empty when they were spoken, but truth was that he meant what he said. It was not a positive comment thrown into the air to soften the questions that had to come. He knew what would happen next, but he was very curious about what the final outcome would look like.

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#3
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Cercelee did not turn her head as the male approached, her eyes glued to the waters crashing against the shore. It was only after the male had seated himself and spoke that Cer turned her icy blue eyes to the Lilium. “My homecoming was a while ago Haku, I’m afraid you missed it, but thank you all the same.” Her voice was calm, friendly even despite the sting the words held. Silence shrouded them as Cercelee looked over Haku’s body, discerning just how much damage he had suffered during the war. None of her pack mates had returned maimed, for that she was grateful although she was not sure if Desaevio’s disappearance had been due to the war or not. Cercelee let the silence continue a moment more although she did not need to collect her thoughts, she simply relished in the fact that she did indeed control this conversation. That would be established now, though she would not deny Haku his right to speak.


Finally she opened her mouth to speak, and she was sure the words were exactly what Haku expected. “And what about you’re whereabouts? I suppose you were attending to some important business, at least I hope you were.” Cercelee eyed him curiously, she knew that there had been no business, and if there had been it had not pertained to Dahlia and therefore was not important. “You know, I expect a report of the war when I returned, from my leading general, but he was away. I had to speak with Gaberiel myself.” Her meeting was nothing to keep secret, although she wasn’t quite sure if Haku would be privy to all the information that had been discussed at the meeting.




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#4
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Her stingy reply did not surprise him, and made him wonder again why she had allowed him to rise up to act as her assistant. She had not wanted the war to happen, and problems could have been solved differently from the start, and the whole issue could have been avoided. She was young though, and he had made a mess that she did not deserve so soon after his mother had left her all alone in the dark with the responsibility for a pack. His ears flickered slightly backwards in quiet discomfort. After a moment of silence she continued, and he let his head tilt slightly and his gaze went beyond her and out towards the tranquil ocean. They both knew he had not been working from nine to five every day after the fight. Not that there had been any important issues to deal with, because he might have attended to it then, but there were always smaller issues that could be worked out, things that could be done.

The earth toned Lilium remained silent for a few moments as she let it be known that she had attended a meeting with Mr. Inferni himself. I was only a call away, but yes, I should have come to you and given you an update of the outcome. He shrugged slightly, wondering how poisonous her words would become today. If you don't mind before I give you our report, Cercelee, what did Gabriel have to say? His voice was oiled with honest curiosity, and he met her cool gaze. He silently wondered if there would be a mention of the little Miss de le Poer and what had happened on that front.

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#5
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Although Haku’s explanation was preluded by a soft chastising of her own failure to call him,s he let it go. There would be no point in trying to get him to be completely submissive or apologetic, it wasn’t in his nature and she did not have the energy to try to mold him at this moment. Cercelee shrugged at Haku’s question. The meeting with Gabriel hadn’t been extremely productive or successful, but it had given Cercelee a piece of mind. “Not too much. I asked him to formally speak with me before anymore wars are declared, he didn’t seem to keen on the idea, but he didn’t outright refuse, so we shall see. Hopefully the situation won’t arise though.” The icy navy eyes looked at Haku, she did not feel ashamed for what she had said about him to Gabriel and though she had intended to keep her words from him, she decided that it would be best for him to know. It was time she stop dancing around him. “I also let him know that if you decide to start anymore crusades of your own, I won’t allow Dahlia to back you up. However that too we are going to avoid, yes?” Cercelee did not speak hostility or harshly, but just a matter of fact manner. Cercelee could forget any misgivings she had about Haku, depending on how reasonable he proved to be during this meeting and for the rest of his leadership following it. Perhaps even, one day, they would truly work as a team, instead of two separate individuals with their own goals and agendas. “And what else? Is there anything I should know about the war before we put it behind us?” Cercelee had already considered the war to be behind her, but if Haku had anything to tell her, the time was now.




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#6
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300+

There was no point in trying to get Haku more submissive, because there was no need to. They both knew where their positions were, and he would not bother get into a mental fight about nothing at all. He had no objections with having someone above himself in the hierarchy, actually he preferred that for now, having someone steering the wheels. Cer’s ice was present yet again and tried to get under his skin. He had always found himself disliking the tone her voice always seemed to have when she was talking with him under four eyes. However, he did not visibly react to it, because her words never seemed to be able to get to him anyway. His warm blue stayed at the ice, yet there was no provocative in his stare, nor anything in his pose. He silently pondered if she saw him as anything else than an unstable beast. Well, that was a wrong approach. Cercelee was young, but she knew what she did. However, now the blood had been cleaned up, and he wondered what she would do with him. The Lilium doubted she trusted him, and if that was a fact, then he did not blame her.

Yees, his voice slowly managed to push out the only positive answer there was. It was true though, this whole war was over and done with, and he was empty. Not much. Unfortunately a few of us fell on Inferni soil, but so did a few coyotes. It lead to nothing, only a raped girl and a damaged child. Firefly raped, and only gods knew what had happened to Talitha. Yes, he actually knew the child’s name. Hardly a child, but not an adult yet. If it had been someone in Dahlia, he would make sure they would regret what they had done, no matter what reason they had picked. His thoughts circled Firefly, then pushed it away, because it was close to unbearable to actually think about. He hated the fact that he had started to care. I am glad it is over, the male started, but his voice died before he managed to pick it up again. I am sorry for what I did, and I cannot blame my actions on what happened to Mew. I honestly don’t know what made me go this far. Actually, he did have an idea, but he was not sure how real the chill that sometimes went through his body actually was.

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#7
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“Firefly and who else?” Cercelee had spoke with Firefly, she knew that the poor girl was damaged, but who was the child? Certainly a member of Inferni, as Dahlia de Mai lack any child, they always had. “What’d ‘we’ do to her?” Whatever had happened to the girl, it would be blamed on Dahlia most likely, though Gabriel had not mentioned anything, so perhaps that too had been put behind them, though it was still best to know. In case it was ever dug up from it’s grave again. Cercelee titled her head at Haku, eyes questioningly. She expected honestly, she wanted to be able to trust him, however whether she could or not, that was still yet to be decided.



Cercelee was surprised at the apology issued forth from Haku’s lips, although nothing registered on her face. Perhaps it was the attack on Firefly that made him regret the war, perhaps it was something more. Cercelee could only hope Haku had meant what he said about responsibility and protecting the pack. “I forgive you Haku, I have to, otherwise this leadership will never work. However, I continue to be weary of your actions, for the time being.” Cer’s words became a big more gentle, although not quite friendly. This was still business, and even if it weren’t Cer wasn’t sure Haku and her would ever make the best of friends. “I don’t want to have to worry if you’re going to go so far again... but I do. Your actions, good or bad, reflect on Dahlia de Mai. I don’t want to get the pack tangled up in any more messes, and I want to know that you don’t want that either. And that as our second in command, you’re going to remember that even the actions you take in private could effect us.” It could be hard, being some what of a public image, but now was the time to back down if Haku thought the responsibility was too high. “We need to work together, communicate more. I trust you to act in my place, but if there is anything that threatens the pack I need to know about it before any real action is taken, and I need to know I can trust you to come to me.” Cercelee raised her brows at Haku. It was clear she intended to keep him in his rank, so long as he continued to serve her purposes, which now with the war over were vastly different than the reasons she had put him in his place originally.

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#8
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You stink. 300+

An ear flickered violently as the alphess made it clear that she had no idea that they had held a child hostage here under the war. Of course, she knew very little since she had not been here, but he had trusted one of the other members had cared to tell her. Well, apparently not. Haku's eyes darkened somewhat, as he never actually had found out exactly what had happened under Talitha's stay in Dahlia. Nothing but a fading scent he could not seem to figure out. Gabriel's daughter was held here for a while to prevent Inferni to go on a further killing spree. I kept her in a house in the city, away from sight in case one or more of our members decided they wanted revenge for whatever happened meanwhile. That is how we got Firefly back, through a.. hostage exchange. The word did not seem to fit. However, when I fetched Talitha for the meeting, someone had gotten to her and apparently hurt her. It would have been quite natural for Haku to do such a thing if he was in the right mood, but his eyes hardened as he looked at Cercelee, daring her to even think a thought about the possibility that it had been him. I do not know what happened, or even how. I went back and caught a scent, but I could not figure out who it could be or where from. Only that it possibly was a male coyote. That was a thing that had struck him as extremely odd. No rescue mission, only to hurt and rape a child. Why?

He listened to what she had to say, and it was fair enough. I wont, and you know I do not lie. Strange thing about the monster; he did not lie. There were excellent methods of avoiding facts and manipulate the truth somewhat, but Cercelee should understand the sincere answer and know that he was in fact actually going to shape up. He had already proved it by voicing an apology out loud, which was not the normal Haku anyone knew. I am glad to hear this Cer, and I will do my best to actually do what my rank demands of me, in the service of you and the pack. What else would there be for him to do, really? He had realized that he did not wish to leave these lands behind. There were some individuals he.. was growing fond of, and he wanted to be close to them. The chocolate brute did not want to wander out into the cold again, at least not yet. There were some good things left in him, he had discovered, and he was more than eager to explore them fully.

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#9
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Haku acknowledge and accepted his responsibilities seamlessly. Cercelee knew that the male meant what he said, at least now, and that he would try to uphold his word. So that was settled, but Cercelee was unhappy with the report on the coyote child, Gabriel hadn’t mention a word about his own daughter. Of course, the criminal had not been of Dahlia de Mai, though they were at fault for not protecting the girl better. Without breaking stride Cercelee moved into pack business, setting the standard for which all new policies and procedures would be created, conferencing with Haku. “We need to strengthen pack defenses somehow. I don’t like that the child was hurt on our lands, someone should have been watching her. However, we need to think of our own members as well. Are our members not scouting the borders like they should?” Cercelee tossed the question at Haku, he was after all the head scout, and in a sense in charge of defense. However, he did not have scouts under him. There were gaps in the framework of their pack Cer wish to remedy.


“Perhaps soon it the time for a pack meeting. Remind our members of their duties? Encourage those who don’t have coranks to earn one.” Tell them that strangers were to be questioned and escorted through the pack, unless one was of Dahlia de Mai Cercelee did not want them to have free reign of the lands. It seemed to be happening too commonly. “A male... DaVinci... has been hanging around our pack a lot lately.” He had seemed to know all their landmarks when Cercelee had appeared home, and though she did not think DaVinci dangerous she also did not think he had always been accompanied by a member during his exploration of their lands. “I know he is friends with Alexey, but I do not like it that so many feel free to frolic in our fields. We need to let our members know this as well...”


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#10
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300+

As Cercelee threw out a few last words concerning the girl from Inferni, Haku broke eye contact and looked down. Someone should have watched her, he should have watched her. Yet, Haku was only a single individual, and he had not been able to be everywhere at once. The Lilium had been naive, silly to believe that she was safe. It was odd though, and he really wished he could explain how a trespasser at that time, a coyote even, had managed to travel that deep into the territory and get to the de le Poer child. They would probably never get to know, as he knew Gabriel never would be able to face him without snapping after his throat. However, Cercelee did not stay on the subject of the girl, but moved on rather to what had been the obvious flaw that had made it all happen. Scouting, patrolling. Of course, a duty Haku obviously had failed to do properly as well. Le Sigh.

Their territory was too big for Haku's taste at the moment. They did not have the right amount of pack members to maintain the borders and have control over random trespassers. I am the only member on that duty, and I cannot do it alone. Haku stated, dry facts. Ember had been fair enough, but she had stuck her tail between her legs and run off to another pack, and no other scouts had been recruited after that, simply because there had not seemed to be an interest for it, and the Lilium had assumed they would be a bit more alert under the war with Inferni. Obviously not. Haku nodded to the pack meeting suggestion. There had not been one for a little while, not since he got the sub leader promotion in the start of the wolf versus coyote war. It would be interesting to see who was left.

DaVinci.. Haku perked his ears. That was the annoying male that had been about. He had not caught the name, but it could only be the gray hybrid. DaVinci put lives on risk when he unannounced attended to the hostage exchange without anyone knowing. It surprised me that the coyotes did not instantly see it as a foul play and went for our throats. The chocolate male furrowed his eyebrows slightly. I do agree, and he is far from the only one that is roaming freely around in Dahlia. A pack meeting sounds like something we could need. We would get an overview of who actually is left, and I'll assign at least one more to scout duty. If not permanent, then at least temporary

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#11
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Haku only reminded Cercelee of what she was already aware of. Haku had no scouts under him, he did not have to defend that. “I know Haku, I do not blame you. I only mean that we have to fix this, before anything happens to one of our members.” There was more, but most of it could wait until the pack meeting, Haku voice that he too thought it would be a good idea. Well then, soon, they would call a pack meeting. At the town square. “I think too, we should celebrate, the end of the war... or the coming of winter... or anything. We need something to bring our pack members closer. It seems to me, Mew, Slay and Hanna know each other and the newer members know no one. Have meat ready for them, perhaps build a fire, maybe have Mew play music? I don’t know.” It was just an idea, floating in space before Cer. More than anything she hated feeling disconnected from her pack when so she moved among them everyday. They would remedy that. They would remedy other things. “At the meeting too... we need to speak of properly using our resources... don’t let me forget.” They had much to share with the pack.


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