Sanguine Cove Harden you heart

A swell of emotions rolled within the boy young man. His siblings have returned after have been missing for so long, Leo, Magg and Galen. He had missed them so their return sparked joy within him. Though upon closer inspection while their return was positive the state they all returned in was not. His brothers by bond had both returned in a diminished state but his litter mate was in a far more dire state. Guilt and concern quickly replaced any sort of happiness. Why hadn't he gone out to look for them? Maybe he could have helped them from becoming this injured or from being injured at all...maybe, just maybe.

Matos' inability to process his emotions led him to withdraw from his family. His presence being scarce within the heart of the territory. Other than to sleep within the communal den the inky Eastfall didn't linger about or really interact with his pack mates. He knew of the new arrivals by scent but hardly by face or name. His day usually consisted of rising early, making a quick stop by the infirmary to make sure nothing was amiss before making his way to the furthest edges of the borders. Border runs of these parts was to assist his father who had a limp in his stride and now Leo who also had one. Then hunting for small creatures he could bring to his mother, sisters Magg and Eclypse, and his grandmother and recently the other pup Ally.

The tone of his father's voice that rang through the rocks only made the ebony yearling pause his hunt momentarily. He felt the urgency and anger within it but was determined to bring something back with him. The hare he was stalking also heard his father's call and sat up in alert. Holding his breath Matos froze within the shadow of the tree. Determining there was no threat the rabbit went back to grazing. Leaping from his concealment the yearling quickly and easily caught his prize. With it firmly between his jaws the boy turned to make his way to the infirmary.

It was unsurprising that he was the last to arrive, well other than his grandmother. He had been at the far end of the territory and caught a hare after the call. Dual colored gaze looked over those who had gathered. Many new faces and those he was glad to see again. He moved quietly along the edge of the gathering to place his prey at the mouth of the den before making his way to his baby sister. Silently he gave her an affectionate nudge to her cheek. He hadn't been there for Magg, and cant be there for Mona so he tried his best to be there for Eclypse. Otherwise what good was he as a big brother? Settling to his haunches next to the pup he hesitantly gaze at his father. Surely he would get a talkin to for being late. Though the boy hoped he hadn't held up the meeting too much.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

The sun warmed her dark pelt as it pulled her into a light sleep. They were upon the cusp of spring which brought more and more moments to sun bathe. The elderly woman would soak up was many as she could. She knew she wouldnt have very many more moments to do so. Her son's voice rang out easily reaching her as she wasnt too far away. His anger and pain was easily detectable and caused a pang in her chest. She knew her grandbabies had finally returned home to them, but they were not in a good state. The state Magg returned home in instantly brought about the memory of @Chan returning with a broken leg after having fallen from a cliff. Though he luckily was able to heal with the limb intact. It broke her heart that her family was going through this horror. She wanted nothing more than to take away their pain. Though life had other plans and time had taken her ability to properly contribute. So she did what she could, slowly bring bark with little pools of water, or something from the near by cache, or grooming those who would let her. She hated her frail state but her determination wouldn't allow her to stand idly by.

Shakily getting up from her sunbathing the elderly Eastfall  made her way to the infirmary. Her pace had her arriving last. Hazy silver orbs looked over the gathering, taking in the fuzzy shapes and colors of those who were further away. Her coal nose told her more accurately who was present than her eyes did. Keeping to the edge of the group on the side she arrived on Moon was able to manage a sitting position as she waited for her son to start.

Word Count: 297

the night comes down like heaven

Their arrival had not brought excitement with it - nor had Ally really expected it to. Magg was hurt badly, and Nash's reaction upon seeing her made her ache with longing of her own father. Chan had said he was a good man and she could see it. Ally had yet to tell him she'd met his brother, though; she'd had yet to talk to him or grandma in more than a passing greeting. They were busy with other things, and it was evident her dad wasn't here.

She'd convinced herself he would be, and the crushing disappointment upon discovering he wasn't just wiped all the will to socialize out of her. She knew she had family here, that most of them were family in one way or another, but she didn't know any of them really.

When Nash's stern demand rang out Ally crawled from where she'd been hiding to cry and crept towards the meeting. Her ears swept back as she realized just how many had already gathered. Was she late? She glanced around and her gaze settled on an elderly woman who appeared to have just arrived. She seemed safe enough, so Ally slowly crawled up to rest next to her, crouched down to try to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Everything was happening all wrong. Leo came home and Galen came home and Magg came home, but all of them were hurt. Galen the least, but he'd been ready to drop of exhaustion. Diantha had wanted to celebrate when her siblings finally returned to her and her brothers had, and her best friend, but there was no joy in it. Just grief and confusion - and now rage.

She could hear Nash's voice brimming with it when he called, and for a moment she considered not going, but his tone made it clear there would be a punishment to face and she didn't want to find out what it was. It must be a serious matter for Nash to threaten so; he'd never been like that before.

Swallowing her anxiety Di made her way to the meeting and slipped in next to Leo, turning her attention on her leader and hoping she wasn't too tardy.

Thank you everyone for being so quick! Next round on 3/15; there's potential for everybody to get 3 posts in for LP.

Nash called, and they assembled, one or two at a time, arriving quickly. He frowned as his mother arrived and they were still missing two of their younger- ah, there they were. He could hear his wife murmuring inside the den, but he didn't expect her or Magg outside. Neither were likely to violate the rules he was about to decree.

He settled and looked out over his pack. So many new faces... he needed to spend time with each of them, and with each of the old. But for now, he had an important topic, and the rage still bubbled within him.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," he said. "You are all aware that two days ago my daughter was returned to us with grave injuries. I know that I have hardly left her side since, and while I will continue to remain close to the den, I will also be enforcing our borders - and pack law." he watched his pack, every one of whom he regarded as his family, as he spoke. He paused for a moment before continuing. "I have two matters to discuss. The first is that my daughter was attacked. Whoever it was tried to kill her. Between this unknown threat and the dangers of the mountain, nobody is to go further beyond our borders than the far side of the like. Solo or with a partner - we are on lock down until we know who is trying to hurt our family and why."

Nash's gaze flicked over the yearlings. "This leads me to my next topic. Spring is nearly upon us; most of you know what that means. Some of you will be experiencing your first heat this year. No female is to mark the borders until the season is ended. Any breeding will be met with consequences."

Here his gaze finally softened. "You all know that I try to be as flexible with your freedoms as possible, and I recognize that navigating your first heat can be a challenge-" his eyes flicked to Ally, but only for a moment - "so if you have any questions please come to myself or Aquene. We will reassess lockdown once the season has ended and Magg is in better shape to tell us more details about what happened to her." Nash sat, expectantly waiting for questions and outbursts alike.

A small sense of relief washed over the petite woman as the filtering in of a few more members after her clued her in that she actually hadn't been the last to arrive. Phew. The pack's elder and a couple more of the youngest members managed to join in and thus concluded, she assumed, that every member had arrived. At least, she believed so since it wasn't long after they had settled in that Nash began his decree. Their swarthy leader firstly thanked them for arriving, wasting no time afterward jumping right into the nitty gritty of why they had all been summoned.

Lock down.

The moment such a phrase was uttered off inky lips Kokonoe could feel the weight of her invisible chains secure themselves to her paws and shoulders. Such a restraint on their freedom didn't entirely sit well with Koko, but the reasoning behind it made sense despite not being a mother herself to feel whatever emotions raged when one had a brood to protect yet ultimately failed. A quick glance toward said boarders changing their wall like imagery in her mind to something more likened to a barbed wire fence one would find at a prison until his next decree had her attention swiftly returning. This part Koko half expected as he informed the younger group gathered that no breeding was allowed, aside from the leading pair, nor was any female allowed to mark their boarders until the season had come and gone. Consequences would be had for those that disobeyed and the already petite woman shrunk herself smaller under the weight of his gaze while it shifted over the yearlings on either side of her.

Despite her personal indifference the chocolate woman remained silent, offering a solemn nod to make it known the message had been received before she took a moment to glance around her peers. Curious to see how the others were taking this news.

Nash didn't leave them waiting for long, launching into it all as soon as what Armand assumed was everyone had gathered. There was a fierceness to him that Mand had not seen before, but found eye-catching. It was easy to pay attention, at least for the most part.

It started with the expected clarity of what all had happened to put the Eastfalls on such edge. What he hadn't been expecting was the suggestion of a threat to his own existence, the entire pack asked to seclude themselves to their markered territory. His treasure-gold eyes widened, and a pinch of rebelliousness was also roused inside his chest. It was the same issue he'd had at Aunt Aubine's. Even though he didn't wander much into other parts of the valley, still still balked at being told the option was now completely off the table.

Authority irked him when he wasn't excused from it. Equal to that, it seemed that choosing to come to the Cove had marked him in a very negative way. That did not sit well with him.

Next, more rules, but ones which were far more routine. While of course inexperienced, Armand was not in the dark. It felt utterly irrelevant to him, as he did not foresee being invited for any nature of tryst by any of his present company. And clearly, he wasn't allowed to meet anyone new, regardless of whether or not he might be able to impregnate them.

Jaheira had not taken well to this news.

She did not hide the way her features pinched and contorted. The breeding laws were to be expected and could be easily abided by. The problem was the fact that they were locked down now too.

Why had she come to offer skills of diplomacy to a place that would rather lock itself down at the first sight of conflict? Her nostrils flared.

The man tried to proclaim that he could be flexible with freedoms while he had just declared them to be locked down! Oh, yes, let them all become sitting ducks for whoever wanted to get his children. Surely that would be the safest thing, no? Any upstanding citizen would respect borders but she doubted someone out for blood would.

No one else had spoken up.

"I do not think sitting idle while a possible murderer stalks us is the ideal choice."

She did not shy away from sharing this, sitting straight up with her ears tall. Eyes fixed on the leader's face. She expected him to disagree with her own thinking, for these were rules he had made after all, but she would not be silent.

Eclypse was not pleased with the news of having to stay within the lake's edges.

It had started to feel like she would never see more than the lake. She loved it, dearly, but her growth required new things. Even if she felt terrible for what had happened to her sister. Enough that she could not handle seeing her. Not yet, at least.

Yet it was a pale older woman who spoke up. The young Eastfall-Slayer turned her attention that way. Pale eyes fixed with a soft squint. She had not interacted for very long with the other woman. Eclypse wondered just what her idea was if she did not think her father had made a good decision.

While Eclypse may not have agreed fully either, she had not dared to think to question her father. He was leader.

I AM NOBLE TOO, OH LORD OF WOLVES

sᴛᴀʀʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴍʏ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ

Aquene was vaguely aware of it. Of the happenings outside. She still listened to the words her husband had to say… they were words she fully agreed with at that. What if something happened to the others? What if Matos or Leo were hurt next? Eclypse? The idea of any of them being harmed caused her chest to seize. So instead, she focused on their daughter, offering her gentle nuzzles of comfort, pain in her eyes. She never should have had to endure this. What had she done to deserve such pain?

She watched as her daughter ignored the seeds for now, her heart aching though silently she understood why. There was a path to recovery, and part of that was trying to find something normal in life. She would not push the matter, at least not now… she’d wait for Nash to finish talking, for the meeting outside to disperse before she insisted that her daughter take it for the pain and get more rest. Rest would be the only thing to return her to some kind of normal now.

Aquene Slayer