Dead Empress Backwater not a good shade match

Vanadis watched her husband carefully, noting the tight smile he gave, and the sound of his voice as he spoke. Clover's question came next, a question she would have asked if the other woman had not. Modesto was family.. or she had been, so she knew that the decision had not been made lightly.

Her peachy eyes flickered over the children, unsure of how they might handle this news. Archer looked shocked, and Eros seemed a little confused, while Margo leaned into him. Her face softened at his question, but Vana kept her mouth shut, allowing Vi the chance to explain without interruption.

No post order! This may be the last round or they may be one more depending on reactions.

Clover spoke first, a question that Viorel knew was going to be coming but certainly not one he had been looking forward to answering. Following that up was Eros who did not even know what banished meant. He looked briefly towards his wife, and then each kid, hoping for - something, he didn’t even know what he was looking for. Instead all he saw was questions and some kind of volume or shock.

There was no avoiding this, and he had called them all here to be honest with them. It was time to pay the piper for his temper, ”Banished means she isn’t allowed in the pack anymore, she can’t live here with us and she can’t come into the territory.” Eros’ questions seemed the simplest to answer, but he quickly followed it up with, ”Vayko and Sharlee will probably still speak with her, and you’re welcome to as well if you see her. But, she isn’t welcome in our home.” Viorel was not even happy with the idea of his children speaking with her, but he could not deny them the relationship if they wanted it.

Looking to Clover now to address what she had said, he swallowed hard. He was not proud of everything that had happened, ”We got in an argument after she heard me say to Vayko that my mother, brother, and sister were examples that the Valles are not as loyal as we like to believe we are.” They all had after all taken off without a word, and never sent any kind of message back to them.

Viorel shifted on his paws, ”Vayko and I had been speaking privately since he was stepping back up to leadership, and she was eavesdropping and didn’t like what she heard. We got into an argument in which she claimed that I had brought shame onto the family for last spring and having so many children. In addition she also called my mother a whore, and the Backwater a swamp that I have no business leading, so I told her to leave.” There it was, all in the open.

She was quiet as Viorel began to explain, her ears drooping low as she began to understand what had happened. While she had never had a direct conversation with Modesto, at no point did Clover ever imagine something like this would happen, and she could only worry about how this would affect the children. She could tell Viorel was unhappy about the situation, but as to the specifics of it she was unsure.

A soft gasp of surprise left her maw as he continued to speak. While she did not fully agree with his sentiment of the Valle's that were no longer here being disloyal to the pack, hearing that Modesto had made such a claim against Viorel for what had transpired filled her with a sort of anger. While what happened may have been unconventional, Clover wouldn't change a thing, as she felt it had only brought them all closer together.

"I'm sorry you had to hear her say that," Clover said somberly to him, yet with a firmness to her tone. "But I don't believe in what she said. Our family is unusual, but it is strong, and you are more than fit for the role to lead us." If Modesto couldn't see that then she was blinded by her own feelings. She then glanced around at the rest of the children and Vanadis, silently wondering what their thoughts were on what Viorel had just told them.

Archer Valle

Archer glanced briefly at his brother and half-sister as Eros asked a question. Sometimes Archer forgot that his sweet, naive littermate didn't pay as much attention to what the adults talked about sometimes. All the more reason for Archer to protect the older boy. His eyes turned back to Da as he explained, ears falling back in shock. He hadn't spent a lot of time with Mod, but to hear her say something so horrible about Da, about his Ma - even the insinuation about Clo - made his hackles prickle. He growled as he slowly rose to his feet. The youngest Valle boy was not known for his outbursts, but right now he was feeling particularly Eros-y.

"She's a liar!" he shouted. "She's a liar and she's wrong! If she's gonna hate us 'cos she's mad at you then good riddance!" His lips lifted. Sure, he looked down on Clo and his half-siblings a little bit sometimes, but they were still his family and he wouldn't change it for the world. "Doesn't seem to me like she cares about family all that much if she's gonna say things like that," he sniffed disdainfully.

He looked back at Clo and firmly nodded once. She was right. Da did good.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Eros felt his sister lean into him, and he reciprocated, thankful for her presence. He'd learned that wolves could pass away, that they could get lost, and now his father explained that they could be sent away, too. The tawny boy clearly did not understand, perplexment heavy on his pinched features. He felt a measure of relief when Viorel made it clear that the others weren't expected to not keep contact with Aunt Mo, but it was a futile flicker in a cavern of shadowy, worrying questions. Where would she go, how would she stay safe, how would he be able to keep contact with her when going into the wilderness had permanently taken several family members already?

Most of all, why did this happen? Upset welled within him as he continued to reference an argument until at last there were some details that could actually explain it all. That was, if they'd made any sense themselves. The things his father said sounded so outlandish. What had dad done that was 'shameful'? How could he have had too many kids? What was a whore, a swamp? Why did any of it mean he couldn't lead them like he always had?

His other mother's response was soft, and then came Archer's, loud. Eros' eyes widened with shock as they landed on his brother and the rage overtaking his dark features. The words themselves were like grenades, and by the end of it all he was trying to regulate his breathing and stay calm. To not burst into tears and hide away from all of this.

Aunt Modesto hated them? That wasn't true. It wasn't. Every fond memory cycled through his head in flashes, all the times she had been there for him, the things she'd taught him, the pride she'd helped to instill. Those weren't things someone could just fake.

"... she didn't mean it," he finally spoke up, voice stifled by watery emotion as he was audibly close to crying.

"Something... must have been wrong, if we... talked to her..."

Final round, no post order

There was such a wide range of reactions that Viorel did not know which one to react to first. Clover had been reassuring, Archer angry, Eros upset to the point of tears, and Margo and his mate stunned into silence, though Vanadis’ face shone with concern. He pressed his shoulder into her white pelt for comfort, he knew this was not going to be an easy conversation but he had hoped it would have gone smoother than this.

He was silent for almost a full minute after both of his son’s outbursts, just thinking of how to best address everything. Finally he broke the quiet, ”I appreciate your support, I know that our family is not a traditional one, but I feel no shame in us. If she doesn’t agree and thinks we are something to be embarrassed about then she doesn’t deserve to be here.” It was a strong statement and as soon as he said it Viorel knew this would probably not help Eros.

Salt and pepper expression softened as he turned to the son in question, ”I’m afraid she did mean it Eros. This was not the first time she had said something of this nature, although normally she said it with more tact than she did today. If she is not supportive of the pack, of what we’re trying to do, then there is nothing we can do to change that.” By the end his tone had grown hard again, not towards his son, but at the thought of his aunt’s betrayal. It really drove home to him that the Valle’s were not cut of the purist cloth like they liked to think they were.

Looking back up at everyone he had only one more thing to offer, ”I am here if anyone has questions, but I understand you will all probably need some time to think about this.” He got to his paws, waiting for the gathered to either ask questions or filter away to process the news.

(This post was last modified: Apr 26, 2022, 02:00 AM by Viorel.)

Archer Valle

The rest of his family was clearly as shocked as Archer himself was, though to his surprise Eros reacted quietly. The younger Valle boy knew his littermate had been closer to their great aunt, but he wasn't sure exactly how close. Even so, if she was going to be like that towards their family then Da was right - they didn't deserve to be here.

Archer looked up at his Da, pressing a shoulder into his Ma's side, and the child felt his anger melt away. It probably hurt Da to have to tell them this, and to banish his own aunt from their pack. Archer poked his nose into his Da's side and then sat beside him, leaned against his warm fur to offer what comfort he could.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.