The idea had come to Skye yesterday - she had been entertaining the idea of a ship for quite a while, but never did the time seem more perfect than the present. To sail along the waves, to be able to caress the waters on a large ship, pack mates on it, trading, prospering, growing... it seemed like the perfect opportunity, the perfect way to get the pack members' spirits up, to encourage growth in Cercatori d'Arte, to do everything in one fell swoop. Besides, it would most certainly entertain the more distressed members of the pack - Shawchert, Sky, Orin, Taliesin, all could work together to help create the masterpiece that would launch them into their beautiful new future.

She stood on the edge of the coast, her toes digging into the sand - immediately behind her was forest, but in front was a wide expanse of sand and grass, and then the ocean. She squinted, looking over the horizon and into the ocean - she couldn't see anything beyond it but clear, blue waters that were calm and rippled in the wind. She knew that there were lands there, lands of New Brunswick, from things she had heard from Luperci. She knew that it was fertile there, that there were towns, human towns, yet to be discovered, items yet to be taken home and bartered with. To the north lay Salsola, a pack far too far to be traveled to by land - but by sea, by the sparkling ocean with its inviting coasts, the pack would take less than two hours to travel to. It was the perfect plan, the most beautiful plan, and a way to remember the beginning of the new year not as the year that Liam had betrayed them all, but the year that Cercatori d'Arte began a new future.

Without wasting any more time, she howled out a call - it was not a commanding call, but an inviting call that held many secrets in its song; secrets of creating and building and art and all the things that made Cercatori d'Arte the pack it was, the pack it was meant to be, the pack it used to be. It was a call to action, a call to create - a call to share the beautiful idea that she had had. And as she waited, she thought - thought of different things in the pack and her new idea, which bounced and floated in her head and was beautiful in its own way. She stood on the coast in her Optime form - the form the Luperci gained as an advantage from the humans, and the form that would be required in this project. The project of creating a ship would need nimble hands.

She came prepared - she had collected books, books on boats and ships and wood that floats or sinks. She had collected them from the libraries in Thornbury and, when that resource was exhausted, from Halifax; she searched and found many, as the peninsula Nova Scotia had many boats and harbors. She waited with the books in her hands, some resting on the floor, and with her own dagger strapped to her hip as she stood patiently for the people of her pack to come and aid her in the creating of what would be something wonderful.

The female smelled the blind woman - Shawchert and Erzulie had told her about her and she had seen her around the pack. She was the only one who didn't have strong bonds with others, and she seemed to always stay on the outside of things in the pack - Skye didn't want that, however. She wanted all her members to feel included, to feel happy and safe within the confines of her pack - she wanted them all to feel as though the other was family. Although the woman was blind, Skye wouldn't underestimate her whatsoever, at all - she had heard of her skills in carving and was in fact glad to be able to meet Hotaru in person for that special day. Although she was the leader, she did not have the capability to see everyone, especially since she had been busy; hopefully this would end and the project would be able to bring everyone closer together.

She saw the blind woman walking towards her, her tail low in respect, but her ears perked and ready - she knew that Hotaru was likely curious about what was going on here and why she called. Her suspicions were proven to be correct when the female asked if she called. "Hello, Hotaru; how are you today?" she asked amiably, a warm and welcoming look in her eyes and smile on her face. As for the question... "I did call - I called for all the builders and creators of this pack. I have an idea - we're going to build a ship to sail the sea. The pack hasn't built something together in a long time, and this will bring everyone closer together - it will also bring our trading places closer to us" she said, suddenly having a brief flashback of the Border Tree and when they all painted it, all left their mark, when she carved the ornamental words on the tree, marking their territory once and for all and forever. It had been a joyous day, a happy day where all of the members of Cercatori d'Arte had worked together.

In fact, it was working together that brought any pack closer rather than apart - packs were meant to have cooperation and closeness between the members. To build something would further this goal - the pack of Cercatori was a trading pack, and an art pack, yes. Being away from the pack for long periods of time was one of the aspects of the place; but another aspect was having a family, a home, to come back to after the long nights of trading and bargaining, the days traveling in a caravan, or by horseback. A place to return to, rather than traveling; people who cared about you and loved you, rather than just a hovel where you had no one. That was what Cercatori d'Arte was - that was what Skye Collins wished to reinforce that day.

She gave a kind smile to Hotaru. She knew that she was slightly detached from the rest of the pack - perhaps, however, the woodworker would accept to work on the ship, and gain friendships within the pack of her own. She turned as she saw Sky coming as well and smiled; she dipped her head to the new Council member. She trusted Sky, although she could be a bit headstrong and have a fiery temper. She thought that she could channel those qualities to good use, to something that would morph the headstrong into determination, and the temper into an authoritative aura that would not be refused. She hoped that she chose right; she gave Sky a sly look, smiling slightly; she did not know what the female was up to, but she did know that she had a plan. She simply hoped that the plan was not too... well, she would see, in any case. A noise interrupted her thoughts. She smiled down at the cat that asked her the question and looked to both them and Sky.

"These are books on boats and ships," she said. "And we, Cercatori d'Arte, are going to build one." Now that was a plan that would rival even Sky's craziest ones - she did not think it would be too out of reach, however. They had trees, dry wood to build with, a multitude of resources. It could - and would - be done.

She smiled politely at Hotaru, glad that the woman appreciated her concern; she then saw as they introduced themselves to each other. She supposed that they hadn't had much time in the pack since they had been doing different things, all of them. She then looked at Sky strangely when she kicked the bobcat, who sulked in the corner, and then asked the same question, albeit phrased slightly differently.

Sky had always proven to be assertive and dominant, and sometimes sarcastic when the case didn't call for it. Although Skye knew that it was her who had promoted Sky herself, she hoped that the long-time Cercatori d'Arte member would use the position to learn rather than take advantage of, to become a figure to look up to, to learn from, a role model. She knew that the female had a long way to go - she did not let the question and slight assumptive manner get to her, however, and simply shook her head. "Yes, I do mind," she said curtly. "I'd rather explain how this will be organized when there are more pack members here." Her ears were perked forward and her tail was raised high, as was her posture. Although many doubted her position, she knew that she would simply have to wait; working with her packmates and treating them all with respect rather than submission would hopefully bring them together. She never thought that there was anything wrong with having no co-leader as well; those things came in time, if they even came at all.

Her gaze softened as she looked at Sky once more, and then to Hotaru when she asked her own question. She picked up one of the books and studied it; then she returned her gaze to Sky and Hotaru both. "I've been reading on boats and ships extensively lately," she said. "I know that many Luperci came here by boat, and that it's entirely possible - some humans created boats by hand. Sails can be made from animal skins and furs - the sticky and hard clay that can be found in our territory can stick the wood together as well as vines, twine, and nails from the stables. I have diagrams, instructions, details, history, how it works, why it works. I will explain more in full when there are more d'Artisans here," she finished, ending it with the same note that she had told Sky. She was glad that the two pack members were here, but she wished to explain the project just once.