Vigils Keep You were one of those classic ones

For @Aytigin set for the day after the rank challenge

Ellery had stayed with her father after the rank challenge, looking to comfort him after his loss. It had surprised her to see him lose, but at the same time Elias had never striked her as a battle forged man. To find he had much battle experience would have been more of a shock, she supposed. Which wasn’t to say that she thought lowly of her father. She was incredibly proud of him for standing up for himself in general.

But, she still had a personal score to settle with the dark man who now was their 1st ranking male. She moved with a mission, sharp persian blue gaze carefully scanning her surroundings as she tracked the scent. Once she saw Aytigin’s rump in her sight she let out a chuff, stalling her pace. “I want to talk to you,” she said.

Aytigin was tired and, to be honest, a bit sore. Not to say he wasn’t proud or excited - because he was - but he also truly hated having to dominate other wolves. Especially in front of their kid. Maybe, in all honesty, it would have been better if she hadn’t been around to see at all.

Ears perked a bit when he heard a soft chuff behind him, and he turned his head. He really should have expected this. Ellery was probably none too happy about the change in rank, considering now neither of her parents held the leading position.

”Talk away,” he invited, a welcoming smile growing on his maw in spite of the tongue lashing he was likely about to incur.

she smiles like a georgia summer

He turned around and offered her a smile, which surprised her in a sense. She’d expected something of a more sheepish response from someone who’d just taken her father’s position. But, she reminded herself that it was just pack business. He’d said he hadn’t meant anything personal by it, and she believed him in a way. But, he’d still referenced changes. Changes apparently only he could make. Changes he couldn’t just go to Elias or her mother with. The thought made her tail twitch.

“You talked about wanting to make changes yesterday when you challenged Papa. I want to know what those changes are,” she said, her tone brisk and formal. She had a right to know, and she wouldn’t accept any beat-around-the-bush answers.

she laughs like the sound of thunder

Oh. She wanted to talk business. He was okay with that - it wasn’t as though he had had many wolves to actually discuss his plans with, and he figured it might help him a little to be able to say them out loud.

”First, I want two leaders in the pack,” he began slowly. ”I wanted to lead alongside your mother. She saved my life a long time ago - I respect her a lot. But not enough to give her all the power, because that could create an imbalance. Two leaders balance each other out better and can discuss changes being made in the pack.” He paused, knowing that the kid was smart enough to keep up with what he was saying. ”But I know Nin would never go for that unless I proved myself to be a worthy co-lead. Which is what I’m doing now.”

He cleared his throat. ”Secondly, I want to move the pack east, about a day. Enough to put some more distance between us and Driftwood, because they and their allies outnumber us enough to take us out completely, and I want to keep us safe.” The large man smiled softly. ”Of course, that’ll be a topic to discuss in a meeting, and I’ll want the opinions of the other wolves before.” His ears angled forward a bit and he offered her a lopsided smile.

”That answer your question?”

she smiles like a georgia summer

Thankfully, he seemed to understand that she meant business. It was true that for a little girl she was quite serious, and quite intelligent. After all, she was being groomed for a future leading position. At least, that’s how things seemed to be. Which was why she felt the sharp pins of anger when he referenced wanting to challenge for co-lead. Any reason might have made her angry, but specifically because he didn’t trust her made the blonde Hervok’s eyes narrow sharply. How dare he, she fumed internally. Her mother had given him a home. Had protected him, and defended him against their rival pack. She had stood toe to toe with the Surge’s leader, even when being spit in the face about the things that Aytigin had done, and still stood by his side. Yet, he didn’t trust her?

The moving of the pack made her rigid, her nostrils flaring. So he wanted to just run because he was scared? She knew he had been in the Surge before. Was he running to protect the pack like he said, or running to protect himself? “Let me ask you this, then. What has my mother done to make you not trust her? Was it the giving you a home despite knowing you’d betrayed the laws of your previous pack? Was it by defending you to the very pack you’d betrayed? Was it by giving you her trust in the first place? Tell me,” she challenged. ”I’m not angry that you challenged Papa. It’s how packs work. If it had been because you thought you could protect my mother better, or you thought you could give her guided advice from a higher position, I might have thought better. After all, she has a left-hand and a right-hand for that purpose, she ground out.

What he was doing, in her mind, was the same as betrayal. Did she expect him to have rolled over onto his back for everything her mother said? Of course not. It was impossible to agree with someone on everything. But, how they went about it stood to judge their character.

she laughs like the sound of thunder

(This post was last modified: Oct 13, 2018, 05:32 PM by Ellery.)

Ayti remained calm under the scrutiny, though his eyes narrowed just a bit at the aggression. Was it because he was taking her future spot as leader away from her? Possibly slightly altering what was to come? Or was it because she seriously thought he meant disrespect to her mother?

Swiftly, he stepped forward and clamped his jaws around her maw to shut it in a silent reprimand, a low growl rumbling in his throat. It wasn’t to hurt her - just to remind her that she shouldn’t get onto him quite like that.

Letting go, he leaned back, his gaze more guarded and reserved than it had been before. ”You think everything is so cut-and-dry. So easy. It’s not a matter of whether I trust your mother or not,” he said simply. ”I trust her with a lot. Just not in a position where her word means law, above everyone else’s. Your mother doesn’t need me to protect her - you do. You’re a pup, and I get that you don’t understand everything yet, as smart as you are. Just don’t go accusing people like that.”

she smiles like a georgia summer

Without warning, Aytigin’s maw was clamped down on hers sealing her mouth shut. Her eyes went wide, and instinctively her tail tucked. She’d never been muzzle grabbed before. It just...hadn’t happened. Yet, here was this man doing just that. Sealing her mouth shut, stomping out her words because he had to know they were true. When he released her she straightened, her hackles bristling with indignation.

He spouted words to her. Words that meant nonsense, though there was some truth to the first part. Everything was black and white to the girl. There was good, and there was bad. Right, and wrong. They were the two things that kept everything in balance, the good outweighing the bad. There were rules to follow, a certain decorum to be upheld. And this? This wasn’t cutting it. And if he thought he could silence her with a muzzle grab, he had another thing coming.

“You’re right, I am young. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know right from wrong. I would tell my mother if I had a problem with what she was doing. I would tell my father if I had a problem. And I have. I don’t care who anyone is,” she shot out. Ellery was the law, and the law would be upheld.

”Have you even talked to my mother about any of this? You knew what this was from the minute we settled here. If you had a problem with it, why didn’t you say anything then? Obviously you didn’t, but now you do. And what do you mean you’re so worried about her having too much power? Don’t you realize how many wolves are in this pack? If you all didn’t like how my mother was running things, you could easily just run her out. If anything, having a single leader takes away that wolf’s power, because they don’t have someone to lean on. Everyone agreed to let her lead alone because they looked up to her, respected her. Where is the respect by going behind her back. Especially when she’s sick,” she said, her chin lifting. She would not be cowed.

she laughs like the sound of thunder

(This post was last modified: Oct 14, 2018, 12:19 AM by Ellery.)

"You're a smart kid. What you're arguing does make sense, if you haven't seen what wolves can actually be like," Aytigin pointed out calmly, refusing to allow himself to be furious at a child throwing a temper tantrum. "It makes sense that you would think the way you do about the world, but things are not strictly good or bad. You've never seen a good wolf change into... something else. You haven't experienced abuse of power, where there are no second chances. No forgiveness. But I have, and it is not a pleasant experience. I'm just creating a failsafe so no one here has to go through that."

He sighed deeply and looked down at the kid. "I never intended to go behind your mother's back. I haven't hidden what I was planning. Her being sick wasn't my fault, either, and I'm not doing anything I wouldn't have done already if she had been well. Being sick doesn't cause the world to stop spinning. Doesn't pause time. If she had ever asked me, I would have told her. But I wasn't asked."

The large wolf huffed an amused laugh. "Yes, you're smart. But you have a lot to learn and experience before you're ready to understand what's all happening here," he informed her. "I haven't gone behind anybody's back. What I'm doing is not evil or bad or wrong. I'm working toward a goal and not hurting anyone, so I don't see how you can be upset about it for any other reason other than the fact you're offended." He was smiling again, his gaze soft as he looked down at her.

Maybe she would understand someday.

she smiles like a georgia summer

Everything he was saying sounded like panic to her. Like someone who had had a bad experience, then projected that situation onto everything else. But, she knew that not everyone or everything was the same. Her mother was not those wolves that had abused their power. She was fair, she was just, and she deserved more than what he was saying. “I think I’m seeing it right now,” she replied with a steely tone, in reference to his comment about seeing a good wolf go bad. Fear did a lot of things to a wolf. He might have the best intentions in his mind, but any decisions made in fear would come back to bite someone in the butt.

He insisted that her mother knew about what he was doing, but then went to contradict himself saying that she’d never asked him about his exact plans. How did that correlate? She could agree that being sick didn’t make the world stop turning, but for something as important as this shouldn’t he be trying to challenge the actual leader instead of their stand in? “Yeah, she might know that you want to be higher up in the ranks, but does she knew that you want to co-lead with her? Why do you have to wait until she asks to confront her about it? That is cowardly and seems a lot like trying to hide it to me. And no, just because she’s sick I don’t expect you to stop. But I have to ask you again, why just now? Why could you have not done it before? Or, better yet, waited until after. Neha is a stand in. My mother is the rightful leader. Challenging Neha would give you no rightful power. In fact, I’m pretty sure the pack will only think worse of you. That is, assuming that you’re aiming to settle this here very soon since you simply can’t wait,” she retorted with an acidic tongue.

His smirk after his final remark nearly made her walk forward and give him a sharp nip on the nose to wipe it away. He thought he was so much better, that he knew everything. “You’re right. I am offended, but I’m not offended for my mother. I’m offended that you think this is the right way to do this. I’m offended that someone so terrified of their past could think that they have a right to lead this pack,” she snipped. Her chin lifted once again, hackles standing on end. “Even if you do become leader, it won’t last forever. Once I become old enough, I’ll come for you. My mother will come for you as well, even before I will. Hervoks do not back down so easily. Cherish every moment you have there, because it will only be a brief taste. I can promise you that,” she replied. She wasn’t making a threat on his life, for there was no reason to. No, she was making a promise that she would not indulge his ridiculous beliefs. She was being upfront with her intentions in the way that he had not been with her mother.

she laughs like the sound of thunder

It was true that he wasn't as good a wolf as he used to be, so Ellery's assumption that he was turning into a different wolf wasn't far off the mark. She was also correct in the idea that it would be very difficult to lead this pack if he didn't challenge Nineva directly. "I felt as though it wouldn't be worth it to tell her until I was high enough in the ranks to challenge her," he said simply. "And I wanted to wait until it seemed like Driftwood wasn't going to traipse all over our territory anymore. Didn't want to create any more issues while that was the main problem. But I realized it is never going to be a good time, and we need stable leadership. We don't have that."

"There is no such thing as a rightful leader," he stated firmly, ears angling forward. "If your mother wants her rank back, she can challenge back up for it. Just like every wolf has to - to keep things fair."

This talk was getting them nowhere. They were both very different wolves - both very stubborn, but for very different reasons. And it hit him then - when Ellery made the comment about coming after him when she was older - that he was arguing with a very literal child. Laughter barked from his chest and he leaned forward, having to take a moment to regain his composure. "I'm looking forward to you challenging me," he told her, still holding back laughter. This situation was ridiculous. "If you're done attacking me over an explanation I didn't have to give you in the first place, I'll be on my way. I'm sure you and I both have more important things to do." He turned then to continue off in the way he had been heading, still chuckling under his breath.

{ Ayti's exit unless stopped }