Stonewatch Timbers kiss it all better

@Raela @Alphinaud @Kova @Calanthe @Moraxia @Marianna @Kino
Alright guys, hoping for this to be the last round, so unless there's something pressing you want your characters to do further in interaction with another, please make your next post some sort of fade/exit for your wolf. Unless someone interacts with Gent, or Ari and Kino refuse to come with him, consider this his exit. It should be assumed that hours after this thread takes place, once everyone is calmer, Gent will have returned and a burial will be done.
Unless I get any objections, I will be archiving this thread on 10/2. Thanks so much for being so quick with your replies and keeping this moving!

Something seemed to sate the yearling, for now, and as Kova's attention wandered Gent's own pale eyes trailed, aimlessly at first before Draven's voice once more was able to pierce the fog within his mind. He stared at the child, his blackened heart unable to contain any more grief and left numb by the continued chaos around him. It did not occur to him to quiet his son, though pieces of the king urged him to step forward and soothe the boy. Yet what could he do? There were no words that would take this pain away from the children's hearts, nothing he could do to physically pull their mother back from beyond the veil. Faced with no options, the leviathan shuddered, rendered miserable by his own incompetence.

It seemed suddenly that Raela was beside him, pressing against him, wetting his chest with her tears. At first the contact was abrasive to him, for it had been not even an hour ago that Minka had been so close, the pressure of her weight against his skin, her warmth cradled within his arms. And then he heard her, felt the sobs shake her, and the king melted into her. Alphinaud too drew up to his side, and Gent acknowledged him with a bump of his muzzle against Phin's. With their comfort, he began to unfurl, but then Draven's voice grew in volume and he cringed inwardly before forcing himself back onto his limbs. No more, he couldn't just sit by while his child was in such distress.

Yet he had only managed a single step forward when Kova once more turned his hardened gaze upon the trio of huddled adults, pinning Alphinaud with an unnecessary display of aggression. The king couldn't know of Kova's inner thoughts, and confusion flashed through his eyes before his own hackles rose. All at once, a series of events were triggered, and each domino that fell built a new breed of anger within the monstrous shade. Kino's demands hammered the air, the words understandable until the last hit was doled out, the child insulting his brother for grieving. Kova tried to quell the situation, but Ari sent it reeling out of control, and at last the fire within the king burned too brightly to be ignored. Minka's body was not even yet cold, and already they were turning on one another.

The beast moved toward the children, but his shadow surpassed him, peripherals catching the blur of Raela before she was suddenly ahead of him. The anger could be seen radiating from her body, Gent able to witness a glimpse of the snarl twisting her features, and instinct drove him to act fast. Leaping forward, he quickly placed himself atop Marianna and Kino, his friends' outraged cry ringing through his ears. Standing protectively over his children, despite the wrong they had done to their sibling, his snout wrinkled in silent warning. His mind knew that Raela would never physically punish the children, but his gut drove him to make it clear through his body language that he would not tolerate her coming any closer to them.

He let her speak her peace, unable to help but agree with the sentiments so vehemently torn from her lips, before his own voice rumbled forth. Minka's death would not become a circus, and it certainly would not be the demise of what she had worked so hard to build. The alpha within him was back, and it would not allow dissent.

"That's enough," he commanded, for all to obide. "Kino, Marianna, you will allow your brothers to grieve," the instruction was spoken firmly, before his voice softened considerably as he nudged Marianna's side tenderly, "I will take you both home." So that they could grieve as they wanted, regardless of how. Gent would do all he could to facilitate their desires, so long as both Draven and Kova were able to stay with their mother's body as long as they wished.

Raising his gaze to the rest of those gathered, his voice regained its edged as he continued, "Everyone is to stay or go as they please, without interfering with anyone else's grieving. If you want to be angry, I'll be at the den," his tail flicked dangerously behind him, "and would be happy to facilitate an outlet for you. But you will not turn on one another."

Hopefully, he would be guiding the only firestarters away from the group, but if any further disruption was heard Gent would be certain to intervene. If allowed, he would guide Kino and Marianna away, taking them back home and allowing them to do as they please, so long as they stayed within his sights.

ooc: This serves as exit for both Calanthe and Draven. Neither will post to this thread again.

---

Calanthe heard Kino and Ari speak out against their brother, heard Kova try to intervene, but she didn't turn away from Draven. She couldn't. Not now; not while she was as broken as the rest of them. Anger would only shatter their pack even faster, and it was clear enough to the pale woman that she was not a member of this family, not in this moment. Her opinion, whatever side she might take, would only add fuel to the fire. Instead she curled closer around Draven, thinking to shield his tiny body with her own from the barbs his own siblings sent at him. Her mind raced with rage at the pair - who was being selfish? Who was making this about them? Kino was ordering his brother to be silent so that he wouldn't bother the rest of the already grieving pack; Ari's reaction was so hypocritical it would have been funny in any other situation - or was the little princess exempt from her own standards, that she was allowed to order others around at her pleasure when no one else was allowed to grieve as they needed to? Raela's snarl made the woman jump, and now she finally looked up in time to see Raela and Gent almost seem to square off against each other. Tawny ears flattened back against her skull as Gent's orders rang through the air, but she couldn't deny the relief she felt hearing him finally speak as their King again. Gent was back. The King was back. Everything would be okay now. Calanthe watched only until Gent turned to leave before turning back to Draven and settling more comfortably around the boy. She wouldn't pull him away from his mother, not now - not until he wore himself out a while later, his sobs gradually quieting down into whimpers, then sniffles, then silent little shudders. When Draven finally fell still, swamped by the bone-deep exhaustion brought on by his grief, Calanthe shifted carefully, pulling the dark bundle of fur aside. Minka's body was stiff now, cold through and through, and Draven wouldn't be able to cope with waking up to that for a pillow. But she didn't make the boy leave - didn't carry him home. She couldn't carry him safely, and didn't dare wake him prematurely. Instead she only moved him a small distance from his mother's body, then laid down around him to keep him warm as the night cooled off a little more still. Here she would sleep with him until he woke, until the time came to lay the Queen to rest. In her mind, Draven - who had been the least ashamed of his grief, and the only one to focus solely upon the loss they had all suffered - spearheaded Minka's honor guard until then. Calanthe was content to help him bear that burden. {EXIT}

(This post was last modified: Sep 30, 2015, 06:19 AM by Calanthe.)

So much was happening before her eyes, the wolf unable to move from her spot due to the cinderblocks of grief being stacked upon her. She felt as though she would topple over at the slightest gust of wind as the pups and adults conversed. Moraxia stayed quiet- she would pay her respects silently and not intervene in matters she had no business being in. Unmoving, she sorrowfully glanced back up at the wolves around her just in time to catch Raela and Alphinaud as they swept in to help the broken alpha. Watching Raela bury her head into Gent created a tinge of jealousy—how she wished she was closer to these new family members that surrounded her. She wanted to know every single one of them like the back of her paw and seeing everyone leaning on one another in grief instilled loneliness in her. It was as if she had barely been noticed in such a moment.

Shaking the selfish thoughts from her head and clearing her throat, she returned her thoughts to reality and on the situation evolving in front of her. The pups were all clearly in distress, and they all seemed to be taking it quite differently despite being siblings. She couldn't believe the aggression and inappropriate behavior shown as they bickered and called out to one another. Suddenly, Raela shot from where she had been sitting next to Gent, her fierce eyes gluing themselves on the pups now in front of her. Moraxia’s body stiffened as she raised her tail, watching the female intently. Surely Raela would never hurt them but such an act of aggression warranted caution. Gent was over them now too, watching Raela. His eyes spoke anger that reflected in Raela’s words toward the pups. Nodding silently in agreement with her words and realizing the danger had passed, the amber wolf relaxed her muscles and returned to her sulking position.

Now the male was answering, his words sharp and commanding but his gestures returned to soft and calculated movements. After the show had finished, Cal moved to comfort Draven who was still crying into his limp mother. Sensing that she, too, should depart and let the child grieve in peace Moraxia slowly stretched out her legs and lumbered toward where Minka was laying. Quietly, she came to a stop before the alpha and leaned down, pressing her muzzle against hers. The cold touch of the woman was anything but comforting but she felt she owed a kind thought to Gent and the others. Sparing the pup and Cal a soft and gentle glance, hoping not to disturb them, she backed away. Eyes searching Raela, the wolf not far from her, she gave a soft nod in her direction hoping she would catch the gesture of good will.  She turned and began to re-walk the path back up to her solitary hill, unable to bear the thought of sleeping near the others tonight. Instead, she wanted to spend it reminiscing about her unexpected life in the pack so far ; the moon and the thought left behind by Minka was enough comfort for the night.

(This post was last modified: Oct 05, 2015, 03:28 AM by Moraxia.)

Kino could feel his sibling tense beneath him, a faint quivering in her frame joining with his until together they were buzzing. Then, she exploded taking his side and reigning down her own agony upon their youngest sibling. He clutched onto her, attempting to hold them both together as their world fell to pieces. A snarl ripped through the air, paws thundering toward them and without thinking the boy's own lips pulled back to reveal his own sharp canines. He stood in between the seething Raela, who's eyes were like blazing lightning, and his sister. Her words sparked an even greater inferno in him, a feeling of hatred toward this stupid woman.

"How dare we? She was our mother, not yours! We have no one now. What right do you have to tell us that we're being selfish, just because you're an adult. You don't. He is defiling our mother's memory with all his wailing and moaning, if he's really concerned about us he would be over here with us. We're all sad, but mom wouldn't want this. And that's that," he ground out, his own gaze flashing like striking flint. He wouldn't take that, wouldn't take this bitch's patronizing. Kino Lagina didn't back down, he would protect his sister for as long as he lived and that was a promise. 

Gent was above them, a growl reverberating as he attempted to shield them from the utterly pissed female. He ordered them to let them grieve, and to this the boy snorted. Turning he nudged Ari with his nose, "C'mon Ari, I'll take you home," he said gently, herding her from the scene and back toward the den. He couldn't stand this place anymore, felt as if he were surrounded by strangers. Minka had been what had tethered him to it, but now that the string had been cut there was no telling what might happen.

Right beside her, @Kino boiled over into a rage, and his sister responded much the same.  Ears laid flat against her skull, crown lifted defiantly as she bared her small row of ivory knives to her mother’s subordinate.  If Minka was here, @Raela would never behave so badly.  Lightning streaked across the princess’ gray eyes and a snarl ripped forth, answering the adult’s threat with one of her own.  Had she known any curse words, she might have let them fly, telling off the female with fierce abandon.  Who did she think she was, telling the pair what to do and and how to act?

“Leave off,” she hissed, drawing herself up as much as she could.  Even at four months of age, Marianna was of respectable size – for the first time, her future as a bruiser was made obvious as she took once step forward.   “No one asked you.  @Draven doesn’t care how anyone else feels!  All he cares about is him.”  This she thought was made obvious despite the melee – the wailing for forgiveness, the begging to come back, it was clear he wanted Minka only for himself.  It was like a raw, open wound, and all the last Lagina princess could sense was her brother’s disinterest towards his siblings. So upset was she, so hurt that her brother would willing forget her, that Gent's words were lost on her as he rumbled. He was louder, naturally, and perhaps some of her words were drown out by the alpha's instructions. His presence alone was not enough to start her, and only with the roar of betrayal had quieted some did she realize her da had addressed her at all.

As @Gent actually registered in her mind, the child poked her head upwards, studying the older wolf.  It was difficult to read his expression, so Ari did not make an attempt. Instead she stood quiet, perplexed by the alpha, and clearly irritated with Raela’s insubordination, the princess bobbed her head as she leaned into Kino.  Her request was being met, and everything else beforehand was readily discarded. “Kay,” she agreed easily, eager to be away from the scene and the swirling emotions she did not understand.  It was obvious she was ready to disengage and leave, should Gent keep his offer. “Let’s go, Da.”

(This post was last modified: Oct 04, 2015, 02:07 AM by Marianna.)

 

A wild dissertation appears!

Cadence (4 October 2015, 5:29pm): Cadence rolls a d10 and gets 4
Cadence (4 October 2015, 5:29pm): Cadence rolls a d6 and gets 4
Kino's defence: -3, Gent's attack + roll: 19, attack is a hit. Gent's damage + roll: 13.
Kino's HP: 15. Gent's HP: 45.
^ to avoid powerplaying.
Okay guys, hopefully /this/ can be the final round for real hahaha. I will be archiving on 10/8 regardless of who has posted, so please be timely if you want to get something in first. If Kino wants to fight Gent and everyone else wants to post their exits, I'll be happy to keep posting just between us. c: Just know that Gent will continue until Kino relents/his hp hits 0. If no one else interferes with Gent/Kino listens and/or heads home then consider this his exit having followed the children back.
To preserve the natural flow of posts, Kristen has given me permission to interpret Kino's speech as having happened after Gent's command to stop.
@Raela @Alphinaud @Kova @Kino @Marianna

He had thought that his booming words would have been the end of it all, that those below him, his own children would have heeded the warning so clear within his voice. Marianna's utterings had been a blur beneath his own, the child clearly caught up within her own words. The king had not been able to discern what was said, but as his decrees tapered off, Kino's voice lifted up in cold, defiant tones that were heard crystal clear. A shot of rage bolted through the mammoth, but he forced himself to keep still, hearing the child out despite the disrespect being dished out left and right.

It took only seconds for his speech to take its toll; they had no one? Disbelief filled Gent's pale eyes, and for the first time in their short lives, red hot shame filled his chest. This was not the child Minka and he had raised, together, lovingly, logically and disciplined. Right now, Kino was reflecting none of these things. It was as if something had crawled inside of the pup's body and taken control, locking the Kino that Gent thought he knew deep away.A growl began to build within Gent's throat as the rest of the tyke's venom was released. They could have fought about it all night, the king was certain of that now, and Kino would never relent, refusing to let go of this selfish crusade he so swiftly adopted. As if Minka hadn't mattered to anyone else. As if Gent hadn't been nothing less than his father regardless of the differences in blood. As if they did not have Kova who had done all he could to be a faithful, attentive big brother. As if Raela hadn't taken time out of her schedule to entertain and teach the pups daily. As if the pack had not fought for their survival, brought them food, as if none of them had ever lifted a paw. No, apparently Kino had no one now. So be it. If the child wanted to play the part of orphan, Gent would ensure he knew what that truly meant. His black little heart had no room to coddle something so defiantly selfish.

Mom wouldn't want this. Clearly, the child had no idea what his mother wanted. As if she would have condoned such a vicious reaction to Draven? His heart went out to the green eyed boy, condemned for grieving the loss of his mother. It didn't matter that he wasn't keeping it all bottled up like Marianna and Kino seemed to want to, it certainly didn't reflect poorly on the boy in the king's eyes. Yet Kino's claims of another being selfish for not giving his attention to the ghost was blatant hypocrisy, and as his self righteous 'that's that' left his small jaws, Gent struck out.

The child had time enough to turn his back and speak to his sister before Gent's rigid skull met with the boy's ribs with calculated force. Enough strength was put in so as not to directly harm Kino, but still would easily topple the half-grown whelp off his feet. A snarl finally burst from betwixt his jaws, a clear warning that this was indeed the final straw. He had vaguely registered Marianna's beckons, but his eyes remained transfixed upon the boy, daring him to keep it up. In the king's head, this was over. He would not allow Minka's death to be disgraced by the unearned insubordination of the children she had worked so hard to raise right.

(This post was last modified: Oct 05, 2015, 04:46 AM by Gent.)

As the boy had stared Raela down, the fire in his gaze an equal match in stubbornness and offense, a sudden movement had caught the corner of his eye. He had just enough time to turn his head partially and less than that to register that the black man was rushing at him before a strong force knocked into him, knocking him off his paws and taking the breath from his lungs as he crashed to the ground roughly. His head hit the ground and for a moment he saw stares, fought for his breath before he lifted his head, brows creased in confusion. Then, utter rage filled him. He rolled to his paws, hackles rising and snout crumpling into an ugly mess as he bared his own teeth. What showed was not a sweet boy, by a demon. There was no where for him to turn he realized as his narrowed gaze trailed around him before turning back to Gent. For a moment he locked his own eyes in with his, lightning practically striking the air between them as a low growl emitted from the middle litter child. The stance that the man had dared him to continue, dared him to fight him and that was, perhaps, the biggest disgrace that Kino had seen all day. He turning his head pointedly looking at his mothers body before back at Gent, without words throwing an insult at him. 

Kino would not engage in a physical fight in front of his mother's corpse. 


Giving his pelt a shake he turned and simply walked away, not waiting to see if his sister followed. He would be fine with her company, but if she insisted on taking the thing with her then there was no place for her to walk with him. It had been the final straw for Kino Lagina, and he knew that he couldn't stay in Round Stone Crest much longer.

It was no longer his home, though he resided within its border.

Exit Kino

The rage that had already filled her flew in the face of whatever the black king had thought to do. He offered her no resistance and acted only as a silent wall; and he was thoroughly ignored in her fury; though she did not step closer. There was a tinge of irritation at the gesture; and yet she could not blame him. She had no intention of attacking the whelps at that moment; but that too would swiftly change. Gent's voice boomed just as the princess's began, and though her posture lessened some with his words her golden eyes never moved from the child, and never relented in their severity. Her open defiance was maddening, and a low growl itched in her lungs; just begging to be unleashed. Everything in her instincts told her to pin the child to the ground and make her apologize to not just her and Draven but to the mother she was openly disrespecting; but she hesitated.  The girl's words were intensely hypocritical and wrong, but nothing prepared her for the blasphemy and unbelievable vitriol that left Kino's mouth. Her head snapped to focus on him like a whip; her snarl returning as this runt also seemed to think he could challenge her with his stance. Her fur leapt to a near-painful extent; spine tingling as her body towered over their half-grown frames. The  growl sounded now; first low, daring him to push her in this state. But oh, he did. Her mouth was open wide again; teeth in full view as the boy's very, last, warning. His words were twisted, false, and worse, massively hypocritical. Your mother would be ashamed of you, her thoughts screamed. She would be horrified that THIS creature came from HER. The growl was near roaring as he finished, and she was leaning forward, wanting badly to disobey her alpha and take the boy on here and now. His rebuttal was a slap in the face to their relationship; to everything the family had stood for and to everything she had ever done for him. But above all of the pain was white hot rage.  “And that's that.” Her teeth slammed together in a menacing set of clicks, all reasoning and inhibitions gone from the woman's brain. He would pay for this. Every atom in her body screamed for her to attack; to slam him to the earth and cram his ignorant, hateful speech right back down his filthy throat. A pup would not be allowed to raise himself against an adult. A pup she had loved and cared for would not raise himself against her just because he was unbelievably selfish and couldn't think of another grieving soul. This was beyond selfish though – this was a crime and it was inexcusable. It was lucky for the boy to be met with Gent's massive form and to be sent tumbling to the ground with force and perhaps a nasty bruise or two. She was already prepared to do much worse in her fiery anger and intensely protective state.  She only watched, her growl silencing and her teeth closing in a more controlled display as thankfully the whelp's father had done something. Kino and Ari had both openly asked for a fight the moment they showed their teeth to a larger, more powerful being and had the gall to fight back when they were utterly and completely wrong. She stared; her eyes blazing and her tail twitching behind her in attack arousal. It was quiet in that moment until Minka's spawn had the audacity to rise and bare his fangs again. With startlingly wide, beastly eyes, and pupils small, constricted and deprived from any feeling at all she growled; a low, primal, dangerous growl. If he didn't put those damn things away she would do it for him. And if he dared lay his teeth on Gent there would be blood.   Thankfully for all involved he relented; though the blatant hypocrisy did not. The glance he cast at his mother sealed the boy's already doomed fate. As if his and his sister's candor had been something Minka would have condoned. It was hilarious and absolutely delusional. They had been the fire starters here. She had no respect; no love for Kino Lagina any more, and Ari would be in much the same hot water from here on out. The siblings had lost her last ounce of concern the moment he threw not only the hierarchy but their entire relationship back in her face. They didn't even care enough about Minka to cry. Not a thought was given to the others that had gathered. She just watched; rigid and furious as they left. She wanted so badly to knock them down and sink her teeth into their hides but she would not do it here; not when they were finally leaving. Heavens help the wolf that so much as glanced at her pent up anger now. Her blazing yellow eyes didn't move until the wretches were well out of her sight.   Eventually her muscles came to relax; now sore from the tension. Swiftly she took up her place beside the tormented Draven, caressing him with kisses even as he lay crying beside Calanthe. Inside her mind raged on. This would not happen again. Over my dead body.  -Exit- Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

(This post was last modified: Oct 08, 2015, 06:27 AM by Raela.)

            

It was too much.  It was all too much.  Gent’s voice, Kino’s shouts – the girl wanted to lay on the ground and press her paws over her ears while humming.  Perhaps if she wished hard enough, it wouldn’t have happened, or she’d at least be left alone long enough to try to make sense of what was going on.  Her stomach did flip flops as her heart hammered in her ribcage, the girl slowly sinking as uncertainty gripped her throat, squeezing tighter as it cut off words and any voice she might have head.  Sinking lower, she might have tried to defend Kino – or perhaps she would have sided with her Da – but the world would never know, and neither would Ari.

Gent’s punishment was met with a surprised yelp, despite the fact that she was not on the receiving end of his wrath.  Never before had she witnessed the alpha use such brutal force, even when she’d wandered too far.  (And while she was never one for railing against rules on principal, the girl was an explorer, and often found herself traveling further than she should have.)  Grey eyes were ringed with white as her ears swung back, tail sweeping beneath her belly in an instinctive motion as she watched the situation unfold.  Kino was unharmed, but he walked off – and for the first time in her life, the last Lagina princess felt utterly and completely alone.

Glancing at her brother’s retreating form, she stared at Gent for only a moment before whirling on her haunches and sprinting off, away from her mother’s corpse – anything to get away from here and the grief swirling around the sight.  She wanted no part of this.  No part of anyone.

Exit.

(This post was last modified: Oct 11, 2015, 10:53 PM by Marianna.)

 

A wild dissertation appears!

 Kova shared the grief his siblings were feeling, hearing each cry out in anger at their sibling Draven over something they couldn't fully understand. Kova sighed because he knew that their anger would bring serious backlash from all around, but he understood that it was the only way for them to get their anger out on the matter. Unfortunately that would mean hurt feelings all around though. He wondered if there was a way to separate all of the pups so that they could grieve without being angry with each other and everyone else. However Before Kova could act on his idea a whole lot of overwhelming events occurred almost simultaneously.

Kino and Marianna barked at Draven for crying. Their anger over Draven's outbursts made a sour feeling rise up in Kova. As much as he knew that this was their way to cope he didn't want Draven to be put down for grieving in his own way. Marianna quieted for a moment as Raela's booming voice shook Kova's silver ears. His eyes widened in shock as he looked to the she wolf he had always seen as kind and understanding. She was none of that right now, and her snarls actually brought out anger from the silver youth. His hackles raised but Kova kept his spot and looked away out of respect. His idea to separate the three pups before something like this happened went totally out the preverbal window as Marianna then back talked to Raela.

While Kova expected Ari to back talk to Raela for the older woman's outburst he felt entirely conflicted because normally the pups didn't act this way. Normally they were all great, they followed the rules, and had pride in their pack and pack mates. He knew that they should be punished, but not right now. Not while they were acting completely different in what was a totally unreal situation to them. It was unfair to the children to punish them right this moment of time because none of them were right in their heads. Even he was feeling unnaturally angry at everyone in this situation. It would have been better to separate them all after seeing Minka like this and taking them to different parts of the territory to grieve with a single pack mate. Then once they calmed down bring them back or... something. Just not this... Everyone is doing everything wrong. Kova felt like everything was spiraling because nobody seemed to know what to do in this situation.

Kova looked to Minka's lifeless body once more and felt a lump settle in his throat. No more crying... No mo- His thoughts were cut off by Kino's growls and a snarl from Gent. The black wolf moved quickly before Kova knew what was going on. He got himself to his paws just in time to see Kino shoved to the ground by the black alpha. His own teeth flashed as Kova warned Gent physically not to do that again. Kino then began to walk off and Kova felt so badly for him. For all of his siblings... Then when Gent turned to look his way Kova felt his anger simmer. He looked around at the chaos and made a quick decision. He wouldn't cause more of a ruckus. Not now. Instead he would walk off like his siblings and wait till everyone was calm to tell them all what was on his mind.

That was his original plan anyway. However as Kova relented and looked away from the black wolf his eyes fell on Minka still laying on the cold ground. His anger and will to fight slid away and forced the boys body into a submissive stance. He walked back to her then nosed at the ground. Minka had shown him once where his father lay buried, and now he supposed that she would have to join him in the earth. So the silver wolf, with or without the help of the others, began to dig at the soil attempting to make a grave for his mother.

He would then pass out hours later at the foot of her grave and cry in his sleep for the rest of the night.