Larkcall Lowlands the judge

@Wraith @Piety @Lilya @Lorcan
1 / 3 scout - delivering message to other pack

Lachesis should have done this sooner.

The Whitestone wolves were lucky that they were getting a visit from the pale leader, for his co-lead wanted to abolish the alliance and seek out the other western pack. Truthfully he had toyed around with the idea, as well. He was not in the mood for conversation. A monadnock wolf had attacked the mother of his children without reason—it was a good reason to sever an alliance. Lachesis, however, wanted to seek out Craw and Morganna. To discuss things before completely dismissing their neighbours. The ghost had trusted the wolves west of Kingsfall since their arrival and he hoped the attack was merely the result of a rogue in their midst and wasn’t planned.

The only way he was going to find out was with a social call.

Although Lachesis was not feeling social he had to remain diplomatic. No matter how badly he wanted to tear the white wolf’s face clean off.

The river wolves were not prepared for a war. Not with puppies on the way.

Despite the fresh snow XIX cut through the tundra with ease, his long legs and streamline figure propelling him quickly through the powder. Aleksei’s return had delayed the pale medic, for a frost-bitten moose had accompanied the young Baranski. He had hoped, then, that the agouti’s return—along with the frozen meal—had been a good omen. Perhaps that meant things could be fixed between Whitestone and Hearthwood. The ghost was not opposed to forging an alliance with the other western pack, for Kisla seemed keen on it, but he wanted to see if this one was worth salvaging first.

As he neared the base of the monadnock Lachesis threw his head back, calling for the silver spider and his raven co-lead. Lilya was not far behind him and while he had protested initially, XIX knew that there was nothing he could do to keep the sparrow in Kingsfall. He did not mind if they were joined by more Whitestone wolves—as far as he was concerned, the more the better. If this white bastard was a rogue within Whitestone Lachesis wanted to see the asshole ousted.

Or the alliance would be no more.

Once his trust was broken it could not be mended so easily. They had attacked the mother of his future children, and while it had been unknown at the time, Lilya was still a respected member of Hearthwood nonetheless. He wanted to see justice done or he wanted nothing to do with the monadnock wolves.

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2017, 12:28 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you

Scout 1/3

Lilya was not often a wolf to seek revenge; in fact, she preferred diplomacy which was likely a reason she’d insisted on following Lachesis to the Monadnock. Safety. The idea of him going there alone, or even just him and Kisla going, put her on edge. Traipsing upon their borders meant they’d vastly outnumber them. Plus she wanted to look them in the eyes, she wanted them to see what had happened alongside hearing about it, but she’d let Lachesis do the talking. She stayed back, a pace or so behind the ghost whose children she was now carrying – something she’d really just started to come to terms with, saying nothing but presenting a steely gaze as she halted at their borders, lingering close to his side. They would get the their retribution, one way or another.

Just because she was looking to avoid war, didn’t mean the veteran wasn’t pissed about what had happened to her. The fact that their allies either ordered this attack or accepted a man without the character to respect ties between packs angered her and holes burned in her judgement for it. Hopefully this would be a more peaceful encounter than the last. A few of her wounds, like the scar that presented itself near her ear on the left side of her face, had not yet recovered.

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2017, 02:18 AM by Lilya.)

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

The dove was relaxing after a brief jog. She was determined to remain active for as long as Wraith would let her. Piety knew that the gentle giant was looking out for her wellbeing. While she appreciated it immensely she did desire to still make her own choices and be relatively free.

As a call went up she slowly raised to her paws with a gentle grunt. She left her resting spot and quickly move towards the border. The male was almost missed as he was a white spot on an ivory canvas, unlike his company. While she held herself proud she was not obnoxious about it. If Piety remembered right she had run into this male before. He was a friend as far as she was concerned. A soft bark was given as she closed the distance. "Pleasure to see you again." The pale second greeted him with ease. While she was positive someone else wouldn't be far behind, she saw no reason to keep the male waiting any longer than necessary. Her head also nodded towards the female by his side. "And it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Piety. I'm afraid to say that you've just missed Craw and Morganna. Morganna had business to attend to far from here and Craw went after her." She waited a moment to let that settle in. "Wraith and I are the new leaders of Whitestone Monadnock. I'm sure he will be joining us soon." The dove offered a kind smile to the duo. "In the meantime, what can I help you with?"

He had been a helpful paw when they first bumped into each other so she truly hoped nothing bad had happened. She wished the best for their neighbors like any good ally should.

# C W T

Of course the call would come when Wraith was halfway across the territory on his patrol. Upon hearing it, Whitestone's newest Alpha immediately spun on his heel and raced hard towards Hearthwood's call. He should have gone to visit them that first day, he berated himself. They were allies and deserved to know of the recent change in leadership. But so much had fallen to his shoulders so suddenly that the intention had been lost in the shuffle.

Though he came upon the group hard, he slowed his pace well before the movement could be incorrectly translated as an aggressive charge. Although his tail was lifted, it wagged in welcome as he spied the familiar faces. Part of his heart did an uncomfortable flip when he spotted his mate facing the pair alone. @Piety was more than capable of handling herself, but he worried. Love did that.

"@Lachesis! @Lilya! It's good to see you both. I apologize for the wait," he called as he slowed to brush shoulders with his mate and nibble warmly at her cheek. A quick glance to his mate confirmed she'd already informed the Hearthwood wolves of the change in leadership and he nodded in approval.

"I'm sorry for not coming to you sooner. We've been playing catch up." The black man dipped his head in apology before meeting the ghost's gaze. "Is everything alright? Your pack fares well?" he asked with concern. That the pair had sought them out on their borders without word left a nagging feeling at the back of Wraith's neck. Something was off. But if their allies had need of them, Wraith would of course answer to the call to arms.

@Piety @Lilya @Wraith sorry for the wait! <3
2 / 3 scout - delivering message to other pack

Despite not wanting the blue-eyed sparrow to join him at the monadnock’s borders Lachesis was comforted by her presence. She deserved to hear an explanation straight from Craw’s mouth, just as he did. He had asked Kisla for this opportunity and he was not leaving until he had an answer from them. XIX, too, had wanted to dissolve the alliance once he discovered that a Whitestone wolf had been the one to attack his mate second. Hearthwood had shown their northern neighbours nothing but kindness since they arrived in the lowlands. The ghost had even promised the silver spider that they would support them if something was to happen between his wolves and Wild Rye.

Now he wouldn’t lift a paw for them, even if the situation was dire. Unless they had a Kjors in their pack; a rogue who thought of themselves rather than the pack as a whole.

The first to arrive was a pale she-wolf that Lachesis had encountered before. She greeted the pair graciously, not a drop of hostility in her voice. His brows narrowed at this. If the Whitestone wolves wanted to dissolve their alliance by attacking one of the river wolves surely they would not have been greeted like this? Unless the yellow-eyed wolf was unaware of the attack.

A frown tugged at his lips as she continued speaking, introducing herself to the sparrow at his side. His brows shot up in surprise as she mentioned that Craw and Morganna had left the monadnock. How convenient, he thought grimly to himself, his tail lashing through the air behind him in annoyance. Had the silver spider ordered the attack and fled, leaving his pack blissfully unaware of what he had done? Or was this Morganna’s doing? It seemed rather suspicious that the leaders of Whitestone were now absent after his second was attacked by one of their own—which only irritated the ghost further.

The obsidian figure of Wraith did not take long to arrive after Piety finished her spiel. A response hesitated on the tip of his tongue as the dark wolf addressed them, his brows narrowing softly. He, too, spoke without malice; words spilling off his tongue with ease as his tail waved in greeting behind him. Friendliness radiated off the pair, which only fed Lachesis’ confusion even more. A corner of his mouth dipped into a lop-sided grown, his ears pinned forward. “Unfortunately everything is not alright,” he started, voice gruff as his peridot’s focused on the new leaders of Whitestone. “I want to know why one of your wolves attacked my second,” he explained as his features grew dark, his gaze steady as his shoulder pressed against Lilya’s. He fell silent once more as he waited for a response, jaw clenched.

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2017, 12:28 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you

Scout 2/3

Lilya stood there in silence, keeping herself held high with a demand for answers hinting at the tension in her features and the glare in her eye. They both seemed friendly enough, but what had happened still ran frsh in her mind. She was pissed about it, and rightfully so seeing as she was the one to be attacked by an ally. She’d let Lachesis handle it for the most part, her gaze peering between the two alphas as a frown found her maw, the news that Craw and Morganna were gone only forcing her suspicions to grow. How convenient.

It was after Lachesis explained their situation, and demanded answers that she decided to add her own bit – a description of the wolf. “One of yer boys – yeller eyes and white fur… insulted our pack while he was at it.” She snapped, her tail lashing a little. Perhaps she should not have come along, though her aggression was solely limited to words at this point. She could directly credit Lachesis’s should pressing against hers for the fact that she hadn’t lunged yet. She wasn’t normally the type to do that – attack without answers – but this drew one too many parallels for her and she would not return to being chased out of her home by another pack for a second time.

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2017, 02:18 AM by Lilya.)

Piety didn't miss the frown that had tugged at the pale man's face or the way his companion looked uncomfortable. She stayed silent while Wraith appeared and did his usual thing of being good with words. Then came forth a bombshell. The pale female's brows furrowed. "Excuse me?" She asked out of pure confusion. Her muddy brown eyes flicked over to the blue-eyed River wolf as she gave a description. Had she not said boys Piety might have thought to dot this on the ghost of Saradathia. Yellow eyes, ghastly pale fur, insults. She knew the culprit and part of her was not surprise. Ever since their little run in she held suspicions but she thought he would be smarter than to attack neighbors. A low growl rumbled in her throat as her tail raised.

"Mittani." Her tone was harsh and rough, something she had learned from Morganna. The pale leader quickly shot a glance towards her mate. He had been the one to drag that beast here, he had been the one gone to the north on some important trip that Craw wouldn't quite explain to her, so surely he would know just how to solve all of this. "I know apologies aren't enough but I do apologize and this attack wasn't ordered as far as I'm aware." Another look was given to Wraith, she prayed to God that if he knew anything he better spit it out now.

# C W T

Wraith's tail slowed to a stop as soon as @Lachesis opened his mouth. It was readily apparent how aggravated the usually calm alpha was and the brute felt his hackles prickle with foreboding. Despite being a leader himself, he couldn't help but feel like a pup about to have his muzzle nipped for misbehaving by the male's tone. The white wolf's gritted response, however, left the black man's jaw slack in surprise. Attacked? One of their own? It had to be a mistake...

But as @Lilya offered more information on the matter, Wraith's own gaze grew darker than the Stark's. Piety found her voice first and did what she could to assure the pair that any attack was not ordained while the Kael man fought to rein in his sudden fury. His mate need not have uttered the name at all for him to know exactly who to turn to first. Mittani spent most of his time away from the pack, only coming back at night to bed down or eat from the caches. He'd not offered much in the way of conversation as he had back when Craw was still lead and Wraith had assumed he was simply reeling from the change.

Apparently, his assumptions were way off base.

Stepping forward, Wraith bowed his head, allowing the back of his neck to be reached easily by either Lilya or Lachesis if they so chose. It was an Alpha's duty to shoulder the weight of his pack's decisions, and he would not shirk that duty. To their paws, Wraith spoke clearly. "Lachesis. Lilya. I swear to you, this attack was not sanctioned by any from Whitestone save by the individual who committed the crime. Please accept not only our apologies, but my promise that we will take care of this. The last thing either of us want is for there to be animosity between our packs. This mutt will be dealt with immediately upon our return."

Mittani Morelli had overstayed his welcome.

Lifting his gaze now, Wraith peered to the wolves seriously. "Piety and I hold you and Hearthwood River in the highest regard. We would like to do what we can to preserve our friendship." He could only hope that fucking idiot had not destroyed the bonds created.

@Lilya @Wraith @Piety
3 / 3 scout - delivering message to other pack

He did not know whether to believe the shock that radiated off the contrasting pair. His chartreuse gaze remained hard as he analyzed the confused expressions that were painted across their faces, trying to decipher it was genuine or not. The name that dragged off Piety’s tongue was spoken with disdain and a lack of surprise. It appeared that this Mittani already had a reputation in the Whitestone. He exhaled sharply out of the sides of his nose as the one-eared wolf apologized and assured the river duo that the attack was not ordered. His gaze immediately flickered to her dark counterpart, who appeared infuriated by the news. For a moment he doubted their integrity—Kisla’s words still echoed in the back of his mind, making him cautious.

It was not until the dark wolf bowed, exposing his neck, that the Stark begun to believe that the reactions were authentic. He glanced over at the blue-eyed sparrow, trying to gauge her reaction as the ebony leader began to speak, offering his own apology. His tail slashed through the air behind him approvingly as Wraith mentioned that they would deal with the rogue—or mutt, as the dark man so eloquently described—once they returned to the top of the monadnock.

He did not see a reason for the pair to lie, especially with Wraith being so keen on preserving their alliance. But the Stark was still wary. The absence of Craw and Morganna was not sitting well with him and made him question the friendship that had brewed between him and the silver spider.

“I, too, would like to preserve our friendship and continue our alliance, which is why we have come looking for answers,” he responded after a lengthy pause, a frown still tugging at his lips. He decided to skip the bit about Kisla wanting to sever ties and how she planned on seeking out Drestig and Jessie to secure a relationship with the Rye wolves. “We have never had issues with Whitestone before and I would like it to stay that away.” Another pause, his teeth gnashing together before more words rolled off his tongue: “However, if this mutt remains, there will be no relationship between Whitestone and Hearthwood.” 

(This post was last modified: May 03, 2017, 12:28 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you