Shallows Edge a man is just a man.

count the snowflakes

as they bury you alive

Cancer had just finished a hunt, and his black paws were working the frozen ground to unearth one of the communal caches. He never liked leaving the meat he worked for to the others, but that was one of the many sacrifices in being a part of a pack; he had to keep himself somewhat useful to the rest. Really, though, that was about the biggest concession he'd run into so far. That's why, when Reyes' call descended from the sky into his ears, he wasn't as annoyed as he usual would be at the thought of being summoned. These leaders, this pack, they left him alone, gave him freedom and didn't crawl up his ass every day to assert themselves or butt into his business. Cancer appreciated that more than he wanted to admit, and so abandoning what he was doing to heed his alpha was a small trade-off.

Grasping the dead pheasant between his jaws, because like hell he was just going to leave it out, he made his way calmly through the forest and around the Shallows' shore. There was no haste in his steps, but he didn't dally either. Still, there were a lot of wolves gathered already by the time he made it. Certainly more than he knew. He'd known they were growing by the new scents that laced the ground and air, but hadn't gone out of his way to meet any of them or even collect a census for his own reference. It didn't really matter, did it?

He sat at an inclusive proximity, but not really near anyone in particular, and then dropped down completely to his stomach. Pheasant atop his outstretched forelimbs, his small teeth began to pick through the feathers as his eyes and ears faced ahead to Reyes and Askan, awaiting whatever words they had for them all.

Well, well, well. The gang's all here. Guess he wasn't going to have to yell at anyone today.

They all filtered in, one by one - he was a bit surprised to see Percy come first, though surely not disappointed, and didn't recognize the newer members save for that Askan had recruited them - and once they were all gathered, Reyes finally decided to speak. He wasn't going to say it over and over again.

"Spring is almost here - and so is heat season," he said plainly, not at all interested in mincing words. "We have got…more yearlings than any other pack I've ever seen, really, and just one adult, so here it is, kids. You decide to breed during heat season, and you'll get girls pregnant."

And then you'll die.

Ugh, no. He can't go there.

"You aren't leader - no breeding rights - and now, no excuses. Don't make stupid choices. You got questions, you can see me later, I guess." He wasn't that cruel, to make them ask in front of everyone else. "So don't do anything stupid these next few weeks. Long as that goes well, we can see about getting you all with some damn roles. Practically adults, anyways." And then went for the real adults, too. They deserved to be more than subordinates.

"Questions?"

@Cancer @Askan @Lenka @Hawthorne @Sachiel @Pietro @Remington @Idris @Seven -- Next round end on March 24th or when everyone posts.

Thanks for hopping in <3
Leader dem 2/3

One by one the youngsters made an appearance, all looking equal parts confused and curious Remington though-Askan tried (and failed- not to grimace at her stink- seemed to understand what was afoot. Thankfully, she sat a little further away from the rest, taking care to keep her distance. He didn't blame Rem, Askan had more or less forgiven her for her past misdeeds but her actions didn't make this situation any more tolerable. This month as a whole was the bane of his existence and the sooner it was all over and done with the better.

Reyes soon cut to the chase and sure enough, Askan had seen this talk coming. Whilst the Edge Lord didn't have anything against kids, per se, he didn't want litters running around, biting at his ankles just because some idiots couldn't keep their privy parts to themselves. They were all good kids, but did that mean he thought they'd make good parents? Fuck no!

The corners of Askan's lips ticked up a little. He found all of this sort of stuff rather cringey, like someone had dropped a bunch of worms on his back, but at the very least Reyes didn't mess about, or try to soften the blow. The sooner they were done here the sooner Askan could be done with being somewhat social for the day.

"Don't go thinking you could get away with it either."Askan rumbled, adding an afterthought. "We'll know." As to how he'd leave them guessing, didn't really matter anyway.

Clearly, Askan had no questions in mind, so whilst he waited for any responses he began to chew at his paw, nibbling at his nails- a habit his Mother no doubt wouldn't approve of. But so what? He was the boss around here and anything was better than giving the world a stink eye, which is no doubt what he would have done otherwise.

(This post was last modified: Mar 30, 2018, 05:44 PM by Askan.)

In large gatherings, do you ever just start staring off in a random direction with a million thoughts rushing by? Like how far the moon really was or why you couldn't stare at the sun (aside from it being super bright), or why trees changed colors in the fall? Well, that was similar to what Idris had somehow managed to do but instead, he had begun to stare off at the first yearling that had come along. Idris hadn't really realized that he had been staring off in @Seven's direction, or just in that particular direction, and wasn't aware until something was mentioned about breeding and girls and pregnant.

In an instant his head snapped forward and his thoughts immediately cleared as he looked around, pretending that he hadn't been looking at the guy. Confusion easily ripped through him, right side of his face scrunched up as he felt a little uncomfortable talking about this particular topic. Obviously it was important to his leaders but Idris couldn't help but feel a little skeeved; he was naive to the art of breeding but he understood the dynamics.

More than that, though, he understood that he was not a leader and even if it happened, it couldn't happen. Not only that, but Askan made it quite clear that if they did happen to do something and tried to cover it up - they'd know. Spooky.

(This post was last modified: Mar 15, 2018, 10:50 PM by Idris.)

i'd love more threads, so message me if you'd like one!

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

The yearling listened patiently; obediently. This was his first official pack meeting, as the reserve only had meetings reserved for adults. Even then, they seldom had them, as there was barely anything to discuss. Life had been simple behind the silver fences; easy. There were no disputes, no arguing. Most wolves did as they were told simply because it was the right thing to do, not because they wanted to be defiant or stir up trouble. Aside from his mother, of course. She had gotten a taste for the outside world, and while it had not been the life she wanted, Thalia knew that it was the life her children deserved.

His nose twitched as Reyes mentioned spring and heat season. Huh? He’d caught the dark, orange-eyed yearling staring at him absently but Seven made sure not to glance over in his direction. He could feel his cheeks flushing crimson beneath his dark, peppered fur. The thought of breeding—gross!—hadn’t even crossed his mind until now. Even if Reyes decided to give his subordinates his blessing, or whatever, it still wouldn’t have crossed his mind. Wasn’t Seven too young for that, anyway? He frowned, but his chin tilted to the side as the scarred male changed the subject to roles. That was far more interesting, even though the yearling hadn’t really thought about it much. He didn’t even know if he was good at anything yet. He’d have to seek out Askan, or Reyes, in private and discuss it with them. He wasn’t fond of an audience.

Questions? No—the yearling had none.

None that he wanted to voice aloud, anyway.

Don’t look so glum. He rolled his eyes in silent response to his friend, the soft frown still present across his pale maw. He wasn’t glum, just curious. The agouti boy did not know what had caused the meeting, as he thought things were going rather well for the Edge wolves. The pack was built up of mostly yearlings, which could be seen as either an asset or a liability. Had something happened, maybe? Or was it because they had acquired a few more members? His mismatched eyes swept the small crowd, landing briefly on the two new faces. A tawny female and charcoal male. The latter, however, was familiar to the Leigh. He had visited the Shallows before, to deliver some news to an indifferent Askan. News of his fallen friend, Castel, and the move of Quaking Vale. Sachiel had accepted the death of his friend, as he knew the female had been sick during his time in the Vale.

The blue-eyed yearling as the last to arrive, with a plump bird dangling from his jowls. Sachiel’s attention immediately returned to his dark leaders, his brows narrowed softly as he waited for them to announce why they had gathered the Edge wolves.

Reyes got straight to the point.

Something about heat season? The heck was that? He blinked, positively dumbfounded. He dared not look over at his greyscale friend, for he didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of her. You decide to breed during heat season, and you’ll get girls pregnant. Wait—what? That—that wasn’t something he could do to Hawthorne, was it? His frown grew deeper. He felt like Reyes was speaking another language to him. It looked like Sachiel was going to have to take Reyes up on his offer for questions, because he didn’t understand anything about this ‘heat season’ or ‘breeding’.

The last bit of his announcements was far more interesting—and something Sachiel understood. Roles. He did not know if he was ready to pursue one (or old enough), but he liked the idea of keeping his options open. Becoming a scout had always interested him, as he liked wandering and acquiring information (mostly for himself, but also for his leaders). But, the role of guardian had always intrigued him as well. It’d be something he’d think about more later—when he finally entered the adult ranks. But, for now, he didn’t have any questions. Not on roles. The previous subject? Plenty. But he knew not to voice them at a meeting among older wolves. He didn’t want to get picked on by his older packmates.

ridge is a mature character

aka he curses a lot due to his frustation with his memory loss

x

ridge associates colours with moods/feelings & uses them to describe others

Breeding season? Oh hell no. The older females in the pack had already begun exuding that repugnant scent, and Pietro was having to fight back a disgusted expression at just being nearby. Nevermind that it was the grossest scent in the world - it would have been such a bad idea to breed anyway. Pete had no desire to get any girls pregnant - ever - and would abstain from such. He was more of an intellectual creature anyway, rather than one driven by pure instinct. So the primal desire to breed had seemingly skipped over him in the gene pool.

He simply gave a nod at Reyes’ statements, noting that the others were various shades of uncomfortable. Since this wasn’t even something that applied to him anyway, Pete deemed it unnecessary to be embarrassed over. Heat season was natural, so it was something that needed talked about. It just wasn’t something that would ever effect Pietro Archer.

Now, the roles thing, on the other hand...

He was pretty sure everyone knew what role he wanted. He was already digging a medicinal den for himself so that he could stock it up with all that they would need to care for the pack. Askan would know this already - he just had to wait a bit for it to become official. He had to prove his mettle.

count the snowflakes

as they bury you alive

Heat season. So that's what this was about. Cancer had wondered a time or two what the pack was supposed to do about that. Usually, having a yearly litter (if not more) was a do-or-die thing for a pack. Yet these two weren't just both males, they were apparently lovers, and that didn't seem to leave much room for a girl to get in even as just a surrogate. Well, Reyes didn't leave him hanging for long--there would be no breeding, and therefore no puppies. Unless the duo already had plans they weren't letting the rest of them in on. Ah well, that was better for him, not having a herd of anklebiters to help take care of. Cancer loathed pupsitting.

Reyes' bluntness and the shell-shocked looks of his fellow yearlings caused Cancer to snerk over his meal, though he did at least attempt to stifle his snickering. Out of politeness, or something like that. Other than his amusement, silence dominated in the wake of the announcement, and as it dragged on the boy finally stopped snacking to lift his head and look around. Nothing? Awkward.

"I'll be a hunter," he spoke up at last, to at least give them some kind of feedback. He supposed he might be staying a while longer, so why not take a title, if it made them feel better.

i crashed my car into the bridge, i watched, i let it burn

Phoenix Avalon

Percy silently snickered at the stunned and grossed out looks filled the gathering. It wasn't that she wasn't grossed out too, (the strange smells and bad moods had been what had driven her from the fields in the first place) but she sure as hell wasn't gonna be so damn obvious about it. It hadn't yet dawned on her that this meant she'd be going through the same, it hadn't even crossed her mind that she was old enough for that sort of thing to be a consideration... As for roles, well she wasn't the best at navigation so scouting probably wasn't ideal. She could fish, sure, but that was only helpful for half of the year. It would be something she would have to ponder further, later, once she'd figured out what exactly it was she was good at (other than getting into trouble that was).