Wild Rye Fields Give us Bread, Give us Salt, Give us Wine

The potential storm overhead did not bode well for anyone outdoors and frankly, Reyes had far more reservations about a meeting with that lurking around than his mate seemed to.  Whereas Askan might run to the ends of the earth as far as Drestig was concerned, the older wolf had far less desire to do as much – especially if it was about to rain.  Sure, it was better than a snow storm, but the wolf had been around long enough to see what a particularly fierce thunderstorm could do if nature put a mind to it.

With a heavy sigh, he allowed his mate to tow him along towards the gathering group, with only the leaders and Neko having beaten them to the call.  He offered the budding healer a small grin – pleased to see she’d taken him up and actually seemed to be settling okay – before flopping down a bit behind Askan.  Being third in rank didn’t really come with much authority, not like being beta, and frankly, he didn’t want to draw any undo attention…even as the puppies arrived.  Especially as the puppies arrived.  So loud.

His ears planed out to the side, Reyes spared his attention only for Cottongrass, who was given a small smile and nod – even if he was going to sit next to a pretty girl.  Sly dog.  They’d discuss that later, surely.

REYES | Dead man walking.

“Come on, squirt, let’s go.”

They were already late. Aleksei had intended to get to the pack meeting earlier than this, but he’d noticed young @griffin still curled up in the den. Snoring. Surprisingly loudly for such a small guy, too. Sticking his head into the den, he crawled forward. “Your dad’ll get huffy with the both of us if we show up any later.” Probably not, really, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad motivator for the pup to want to actually get out of bed. Jabbing his cold wet nose into the poor kid’s ribs, Aleksei wriggled backwards out of the den. Making sure Griffin followed (which he was, with a little complaining), the agouti male led the boy towards the source of Drestig’s call.

Arriving after everyone else, he drew closer, nudging Griffin towards his parents with a grin and a hushed whisper. “If they get mad that you’re up late, you can say I fell over like an idiot, okay?” Wait, were the kids allowed to say idiot? Aw hell, it wasn't like he was teaching the kid to say ‘fuck’. Idiot was fine.

Settling onto his haunches, Aleksei glanced around. Jeez, there were so many wolves here already, waiting patiently for their leaders to speak. He was curious as to how this would go down—no doubt things were different here than they were in Hearthwood River, which meant meetings would be different, too. Guessing the subjects to discuss wouldn’t do much good, though, and so he simply sat and waited.

Let the roots & soil drink of me
Whispering leaves & pointing branches will tell them where I'm lying

Why did adults always insist on deciding when you could sleep? It never failed that just when a game was getting really exciting, it was time to sleep, and then, once you were actually sleeping, right when a dream was getting really good, the nudge of a cold snout would wake you up. Gale grunted and rolled over, in no mood to follow Adelayde anywhere, no matter who was calling. Luckily, she had more than enough trouble with getting his siblings out of the den, and he manage to go unnoticed, slipping back into the warmth at the back of the den. But the boy’s freedom was short lived. Another nose disturbed him, just when he had fallen back asleep, and this time there was no escape. The comment about his father did nothing to spur on the pup though, his dad was about as likely to get huffy as he was to suddenly grow wings. But Aleksei was persistent, and it occurred to the pup, as he grouchily followed the adult, that even if his father wasn’t gonna be mad, his mom might, and that was really its own incentive. They did seem to be the last to arrive, and Gale shot the grey lad a small smile at his parting words, before hurrying to join the rest of his family. It was only now that he even noticed the sky, seeing its reflection in the pond and glancing up, jaw dropping in awe. He’d never seen anything like it, light flashing between the rolling, dark clouds. Unconsciously, his tail slipped between his legs. He’d stopped right in the center of the group, without realizing, eyes fixed on the ominous picture above. Only a calling bark from his father drew his attention away, and he quickly rushed to join his brother by the dark paws, snapping playfully at the smaller boy as he sat down next to him. Word Count: 319 "Speech"

dawnthieves.de

Thanks everyone for being so quick! <3 I'm sorry my little lapse slowed things, but we should be back on track now! @Sphinx @Chimera @Jessie @Askan @Reyes @Aleksei @Cottongrass @Adelayde @Rosalind @Neko

Jessie was the first to arrive, having been prepared for the coming call, and Drestig offered her a loving smile as she settled by his side. After that they followed in quick succession: their newest member first, which pleased the king; Then Aksan and Reyes, together as usual; And then Adelayde arrived with Sphinx and Chimera in tow. The greying man smiled and nodded at her in thanks, turning his eyes to his children as they came up to him, Kasai seeking refuge from the churning skies under his father’s belly. He smiled softly, offering his son a comforting nudge before his eyes again returned to the gathering crowd. There was no sign of Griffin - Figures..! - but otherwise their circle soon grew to its full size, one any alpha would be proud of. He was also pleased to note that Cottongrass had seated himself next to Rosalind, who had seemed to most uncomfortable in the gathering, hopefully he would be a calming influence. Then, finally, Aleksei came with the last pup shuffling after, and again Drestig smiled and nodded at the adult, before his attention turned to Gale, and a light frown marked his features. The boy took no notice though, eyes turned to the sky, and his father had to bark loudly to draw him back to the present. He had to issue yet another warning when the boy attempted to start a brawl with his brother, teeth baring and a muzzle shoved between the boys to push them apart. Only once he was sure they would behave, could the king turn his attention to his pack. “Thank you all for coming so quickly, we will try to keep this short, so hopefully we won’t get wet!” He was all smiles now, wide and honest, shooting a quick look up towards the sky to underline his point. Then he cleared his throat, sharing a brief glance with his mate before moving to business; As promised. There were a lot of points to get through, but he decided to start with the easiest: “First, you’ve already met them, but it’s high time the puppies had a proper introduction!” He nudged both his sons forwards and nodded at his daughter, turning towards each as he said their names: “Sphinx, Chimera and Griffin Avalon, or Silva, Kasai and Gale for short. You’ll all get to know each other thoroughly from now on.” Drestig smiled out at his pack mates, obviously proud of his growing brood. Then, as his eyes landed on Cotton and Rosalind at the back, he continued: “And those are not our only new faces. It’s been some months for many of you, and I hope you’ve settled well and gotten to know everybody. Still, I’d like to extend a proper welcome to Cottongrass, Rosalind, Aleksei and Neko!” He nodded towards each, waiting for them to stand before he moved on to the next name, to make sure everyone knew who he meant. With the introductions over with, it was then time to move on to more complicated matters. Looking out over the crowd for a brief silence, the alpha waved his tail happily, excited at the mere prospect of his next topic. “Next, it is high time that we have another full pack hunt! The pups will be old enough to start learning soon, and we want them to watch a proper hunt. Most likely, we will team up with wolves from Hearthwood River, as we discussed earlier in the year,” he would bring up the subject when he visited their neighbors, to see if they were still interested; “Regardless, we will have a big hunt out in the lowlands, come fall. Would any of you be interested in taking on the planning, and lead the chase?” Ember eyes gleamed as the king looked out over his subordinates, wondering who would volunteer for the task; Hopefully someone will… It would be a good exercise for all involved, and nice practice for an aspiring, specialist hunter, if they had one of those in their midst. He would wait and see, leaving everyone room to speak up. Word count: 692 Thoughts ”Speech”

kuschelirmel-stock @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Luckily it would be the woman she had heard be called Ade-something by her parents that would be her knight in shining fur for the day, the sound of her voice ushering the slumbering brothers to awaken causing the fear-riddled child to pause in her quivering and glance back. Kasai was the first of the boys to startle awake as a loud growl from the sky roared overhead, but unlike Sphinx he was determined to face the beast outside and his speckled sister could only stare wide-eyed with each step he took, that roll of his eyes not going amiss. Until he took one glance at the sky and any bravery he harbored vanished in an instant, back peddling into the safety of the den. Pft, and he gave her a hard time?

Now it was her turn to make a roll of her eyes before their babysitter effortlessly slides out from the confines of the den and into the scary world Sphinx was trying to avoid. Well, so much for staying home! Diligently, although reluctantly, Sphinx would follow close behind and often times during the trek toward the meeting fight with Chimera for the right to enjoy the safety beneath Adelayde's towering frame until the figures of their pack mates came into view. Phew, they had made it safely!

Puppy blue eyes looked around at all the different faces, some familiar some not so much before finally settling on that of her parents and bolting instantly for the warmth and security her mother's open side would offer. Tiny face nuzzling against her in greeting before her attention was robbed by the sudden bark her father released to obtain her brother's attention who surprise surprise wasn't paying attention at all and wanted to start another fight with Chimera.

Batty ears pricked forward curiously as Drestig began to speak, her developing mind not exactly able to comprehend all that was being said since some words were way too big to even try and repeat herself, but she could pick up on some and she definitely knew her name and that of her littermates when it tumbled free from his lips. Then he went on to mention something about a hunt; whatever that was, and some hearthwood river; whoever they were, and her curiosity only bloomed further. A million and one questions beginning to form in her tiny mind, but she kept silent. Occasionally peeking up at the face of her mother with a tilted head to express her puzzlement and curiosity all the same.

One by one the Rye wolves trickled in, heeding their King's call.

The meeting had a casual, conversational air to it, which Askan supposed was a good thing. He'd much rather this sort of affair than being dragged over the coals again. Askan thought he'd been well behaved as of late, but then again of course he was bound to think that, wasn't he? Nonetheless, the introduction of the pups was a good thing, a joyous moment, but with the impending rain Askan couldn't say that he was paying all that much attention.

He'd already seen the pups before, once when they were very little, nothing more than furry, wriggling beans. And several times after that, but he supposed this was good for the pack. That despite the relaxed order of things, the Rye Monarchy still had the mind to ensure that everyone was on the same page. Newcomers and old-timers both.

Askan was content to be a good subordinate, to sit and listen and let the meeting pass without any Selwyn induced drama. Or at least that was the case until the Rye King brought up the prospect of a pack hunt. As a sizeable pack they hunted fairly often these days, be it with smaller hunting parties or larger groups. This though, sounded official. Important. A great learning opportunity for the pups, a chance for them to start pulling their weight.

Drestig didn't just leave it at that, he was offering up the chance of a life time. One Askan had a hard time turning down. He was always so eager to prove himself to the Rye Monarchs and this had him shifting on the spot, unable to contain himself, as his tail swished back and forth. He'd never led a pack hunt before, he'd always taken orders from his elders. But this, surely he could do this!

"I'd like to volunteer, if you don't mind?"He glanced between Jessie and Drestig, hoping that they wouldn't take too much offence to his quick response. At least to his credit, he had managed to keep his voice level and at a conversational volume.

The tawny second was happy to escort the cubs to the meeting and though she assumed they would the last to show with her slower pace so the cubs could keep up. However, she was happy to see there were a few that were still arriving after her and the cubs' arrival. As the cubs scurried away towards their parents, the Snow woman settled down on the other side of Jessie and waited patiently for the rest of the Rye wolves to make their appearance. 

It wasn't long before Drestig spoke up, beginning their meeting, the first meeting for the cubs. As her dark King introduced the trio of Avalon cubs, nudging the boys forwards and nodding towards Sphinx. He then continued on to introduce some of the newest members of the Rye, he mismatched eyes glancing over to each other them as an ebony smiled formed on her lips. She was happy the Rye was thriving, but as also that tinge of worry settled in the back of her mind as she wondered how long each of them were going to stay. She hoped they'd make prominent members and make their time here long and faithful. 

The Rye King kept the meeting going as he mentioned the need for a hunt, the pups' first hunt to be exact. It had been a while since a full pack hunt and the beta was excited to participate. He also mentioned the Rye would be teaming up with the River wolves which was a happy surprise to think this could be another chance to see @Laike without having to make the trip by herself. Drestig offered a position to lead the hunt and before Adelayde could really think much of taking it herself, Askan volunteered to take the offer. The beta was happy he took the offer as now she'd have more time to spend with Laike.

 

ooc player preferences