ooc: Set after Ivalice's festival by a few days. Everyone is required to attend. If anyone isn't posted and isn't currently on absence they will be removed from the roster. Deadline is June 20th! If everyone gets posted before then I'll just reply with Leo again after that. Anyone that's interested in joining Fiori is also welcome to hop in. Leo padded out past the edge of the mangroves, crossing into the forest that surrounded the large waterfall at the center of this area. As his rich blue gaze looked around at the trees around him he decided that he had made a good decision. Over the past few days since they had returned from the festival that Avalon had held he had been eyeing this territory that was next to the Mangroves. They had passed through it on their way to the north and it had gotten him thinking. When he had originally gone looking for an area to replace the hot springs in his claimed lands he had originally had his sights set on the coast line, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if they needed somewhere that couldn't be flooded so easily. The mangroves were already half-flooded all the time as it was. This forested area would give them more huntable land as well. That's why he had spent a good portion of the morning working on placing new scent markers to prepare for this meeting. He made his way toward the center of the area around the falls, turning to face the way he came so that the mangroves were ahead of him and the falls were at his back. There was a slight incline here as well, giving him a nice place to sit and address the crowd once they had gathered. He lifted his head toward the sky and let out a howl, calling everyone in Fiori to him. The change in their territory was enough of a reason to call a meeting, but he had some other matters to address as well. He settled onto his haunches, his tail brushing away some of the thin layer of snow under him as it curled around him. He looked out through the snow-dusted trees to watch for his pack members. He felt a bit more solemn than usual, but he wasn't upset and that was about all he could ask for. He took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. He knew he'd perk up immediately once other wolves arrived. It was just in these moments of silence and loneliness that his thoughts really bothered him. At the very first signs of anyone approaching his head would turn to look at them, a smile touching his lips. "Talk" "You" Think

She had actually been hunting for herbs in this very area when she heard Leo's howl. Her head snapped up, her paws covered in mud and a bunch of marshmallow in her jaws. She had run out of it when Jayne and Diana had been teething, and had not taken the time to stock up on it again. But why was he calling it here? Had he decided to switch around their home? She hoped it wasn't the mangroves, her den and all her things were there! Silly alpha man, changing things up on them. With a wag of her tiny rabbit like tail, she bounded off towards him, making sure to gather the periwinkle as well. It didn't hurt to grab all she could, just in case a real winter set in. Besides, the cold could be making wolves muscles ache. With that long trek to the north, she had felt it a bit. Oh no, she was getting old! Ama paused, letting out a gasp as she dropped her herbs. No, she couldn't be getting old. That didn't happen. She was going to stay forever young and beautiful. Nodding her head like she had made up her mind, she gathered her things back up and set off for Leo.

Realizing that she was downwind of her sibling, a small grin spread on the tiny female's lips. She was feeling playful, after all she was forever young. Might as well act like it! She dropped into a crouch when she got closer, inching her way towards her orange coloured prey. Wigging her butt in the air, she sprung on his tail and aimed to firmly plant her front paws on the apendage. Dropping her herbs, she bent down and nipped at the base of it, letting out a series of little growls and yips. Much like a pup she refused to let go, letting go with her jaws and sitting on the very tip of his tail. She had picked up her plants on the way back up, and sat on his tail with her head held high.

"Speech"

Athena's head lifted curiously when she heard Leo's howl. Usually when he called a meeting he sounded much closer since their den was fairly close to their usual meeting place. It didn't seem like that's where he was this time though. She looked to make sure their daughters heard the call as well before she got up to head toward the meeting, growing even more curious as she padded out of the mangroves into one of the neighboring areas. She spotted Leo up ahead and her gaze met his breifly as he looked toward her, but a moment later she spotted her wife sneaking up behind her brother. Before she knew it Ama leaped forward to pounce on Leo's tail and Athena's eyes widened, snorting with laughter at the ridiculous scene in front of her. She settled on her haunches a few feet from them, grinning and shaking her head at Amalia when Ama sat down on Leo's tail. She didn't know what had gotten into her silly red-headed wife, but it just made her day to see her being so incredibly silly. "AMALIA SPEAKS" -- "ATHENA SPEAKS"

The festival had been one hell of a socializing event for the boy. He had been resting for the next few days while trying to study the stars. Relaxing his body so he didn't over exert himself. Though when Leo's call rang out, he rose to his paws. Taking his time in going to his uncle's call. He soon saw that it was a new land, probably replacing the hot springs. Well the falls were nice, the terrain itself was new to him since he didn't leave much. He saw his aunt and her wife, making him crawl closer toward them. Razor seemed to gravitate more towards wolves he was familiar with. While he didn't know Athena really well. His affection for his aunt was well enough granted - he trusted her with his life. He stopped beside Athena as he watched Amalia. Blinked for a moment confused at her, though a smile couldn't help but to break the boy's lips. It was nice to see her happy, something that he couldn't replace for the world. It made him a bit jealous though, he could never do that with one of his siblings. Well, because his sister who he had been close to was missing, and his fragile body made it hard to get active to a point. His lungs could give out on him if he wasn't careful. He turned his head to Athena though. She was, in a word, beautiful. This was the first time he'd seen her up close and the blue eyed boy was a bit tongue tied. He had wanted to say hello but instead he sat and stared at his paws. "Talk"

He made this difficult for himself. Quelt hated it so much, he was having a hard time being social already. He knew it would happen and he hadn't spoken to Bright moon or Epiphron since their first meetings. However Leo's call rang out forcing him to come out. Though upon arriving he would stick to the background. Like a ghost trying to hang about in the shadows. The large man with stripes on his back would dip his head to Leo and stay silent. His good eye trying to avoid eye contact with any of the other wolves. He sighed for a moment, tail curling around his haunches. Guess it would still take some time wouldn't it. "Talk"

Tiburtius sighed as he looked out over the landscape from the top of the falls. He had been lingering here a lot lately ever since he met Finch here. Part of him hoped that maybe she might come back here and visit with him again, but so far she hadn't. He wasn't super surprised. They did just have that festival a few days ago and that was an awful lot of traveling in a short amount of time. Not to mention she had her own pack to tend to. He split his time between sitting here, visiting Arivae's den, and spending time with his mothers and siblings. He stopped by Arivae's den at least once a day, still not letting himself believe that she had left again. He had noticed Leo lingering around the falls quite a bit this morning, but he watched his uncle with surprise as the russet male made his way toward the base of the falls and then turned back toward the mangroves before howling to call for the pack. His brows lifted with surprised curiosity while he watched for a moment. What could his uncle want them for out here? He stood up to go down to join the meeting, but before he could he spotted Amalia sneaking up behind Leo, pouncing on his tail like a pup. He grinned and chuckled at his mother's ridiculousness, glancing up to see Athena arrive with a similar reaction to her silly wife. He loved seeing them happy. He knew there had been quite a long time there where seeing them that happy was a rare sight. He finally turned and walked down from the top of the falls down to where everyone was gathering, chuckling as he passed by Leo with Ama still firmly planted on Leo's tail. "Come on, Momma Ama, leave poor Leo alone." He padded over and sat near Athena and Razor, settling on his haunches on the thin layer of snow. He was still curious to see what Leo had planned so he waited patiently for everyone else to arrive so he could get started. Speak Thought Others

Her first meeting without having to be led their by her father! She hopped up excitedly, suddenly feeling much more grown up. She was still a pup, sure, but she was getting closer and closer to being a year old. She hurried to make her way toward the meeting, but when she got to the original scent markers at the edges of the mangroves she hesitated. Was she even going the right way? Why would her dad have them go out this way? After a quick investigation of the scents around her she found her father's fresh scent trail along with the scents of several other wolves she recognized. With her direction reassured she trotted forward again, spotting her father, aunts, brother, cousin, and one other wolf she didn't recognize all there already. Her eyes were of course drawn to the new wolf, always curious about things she didn't know about and wolves she hadn't met yet. She trotted over to the striped wolf, giving him a friendly grin. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" She wouldn't wait for an answer of course, settling on her haunches next to him. She left a comfortable space between them, but she hated that he was so outside the circle! No one wanted to sit all by themselves, right? "I'm Roza by the way! I like your stripes." "SPEAK"

Jayne met her mother's quick glance when she looked up at Leo's howl. "Oh a meeting!" she said excitedly as Athena began to head toward the call. "Come on, Di, let's go see what Uncle Leo wants." She followed along after their mother with her sister at her side as always. She didn't really pay much attention to the fact that they were leaving the mangroves, she just focused on following their mother's scent. There were a bunch of wolves there already when they arrived and she went over to plop down between Athena and Tiburtius, leaning into her silver mother's side. She looked around for Amalia, and spotted her annoying Uncle Leo and she giggled, glancing at Athena saying, "What's Momma Ama doing? Can we play with Uncle Leo too?" This was turning out to be a really funny meeting already! "Talk" "You" Think

Lionel had been out along the edges of the mangroves when the call of their father went out. Ivory ears perked up in confusion as he realized that the call wasn't coming from their usual spot today, but from the falls that bordered the mangrove. Confusion set in full as he headed towards the borderline and he hesitantly crossed it, only reassured by the other scents that wafted towards him of others already heading that direction. He was sure Leo had a good reason for calling it from there so he picked up the pace not wanting to be late. He arrived shortly after Jayne and was surprised to see Aunt Amalia sitting on their father's tail. Grinning softly at the sight he chuckled and then followed after his sister next to a wolf he'd never seen before. Placing himself on the other side of the newcomer. He grinned at his sister and then smiled softly at the striped man with the interesting looking mask-markings on his face. "I'm Lionel, it's nice to meet you." He greeted with a wag of his tail. Walk, "Talk" Think

Oh, another gathering. First a festival, now a meeting. She had enough of people for one day, but no, she had to pull her tail somewhere else today. More like her sister had to drag her along. But she was so tired! She could barely lift her ebony paws as she trudged behind the ashen female. Unlike her sister, she realised that they were leaving the mangroves. Confusion spreading across her features, she stepped closer to her sister as their paws led them to a strange woodland, water trickling in the distance. She couldn't remember ever seeing this place, yet Fiori's scent covered the whole territory. Had it always been here? What happened to the springs? Still perplexed, she took a seat beside her sister, taking no notice of her mother's silly antics. "Talk" "You" Think

Still shaken from the big festival, Bright wasn't sure if she had the energy to make it to this meeting. But she knew she must, and she would drag herself out from her den where she'd tucked herself away to recover. As she headed in the direction of Leo's howl, she realized the sound had come from territory she hadn't expected. She had been to the falls before, but she hadn't expected a meeting to ever be called there. As she trotted onward, it became apparent that the Sunset Falls had been marked recently. Leo must have claimed a new territory. It was an interesting change, and she wondered what else he would have to announce at this meeting.

As she approached the group, she saw all of the familiar faces, but she wasn't sure who she would go to. A light smile touched her lips as she saw Amalia pestering Leo. Her eyes shifted and she noticed the pups. Or could she even call them such anymore? They were all growing so well, in fact Diana and Jayne were yearlings. It felt like time was flying, as though only yesterday they were tiny babies. Leo's brood was catching up quickly.

Spotting Quelt, she was surprised but delighted to see him here with Fiori. She had kept to herself a lot lately, and hadn't realized he had joined the pack. She would have gone to him, but she saw that Roza and Lionel had already greeted him - it seemed that he had attracted the pups like moths to a flame, and she didn't wish to intrude upon it. Instead, she would seat herself alone and watch with amusement as the young wolves surrounded Quelt and greeting him. She felt a smile pulling at the edges of her lips, while the tip of her tail swished against the cold ground, and she couldn't help but to feel secretly curious about how he would respond to their advances.

I have my mother's dreams, I have father's eyes, The call of his father reached Alfred in the middle of a cat nap. The youth was dreaming of traveling to distant lands covered by snow and ice, companions at his side as he traveled and learned of the world. While Alfred loved his family to death sometimes he wondered what all he could figure out about the world. His small adventure in trying to find his mother had opened up his eyes to the different lands of Boreas. But that said Alfred would always return back to Fiori. Perhaps someday he’d travel, but not yet. He wasn’t ready. Blue eyes flickered open, a yawn escaping the youth as he tried to force himself up. He shook out his coat, still feeling a bit groggy. But there was no way he’d ignore a call from his dad! With one more good shake the boy set off. There were already quite a few gathered in the area. His gaze swept over those he knew, including his siblings surrounding a stripy wolf. He grinned. Were they playing some sort of game? He wanted to meet and mingle with others too! Seeing a female sitting on her own of monochrome colors the male bounded towards her. Little did he know the female was Bright Moon... But it was never too late to learn, right? Though he did feel a bit of worry, anxiety creeping up on him as he settled beside her. She was still a stranger after all! “H-Hello...” He tried to offer her a small smile, his blue eyes shining with curiosity. “I’m Alfie! Eerr... Alfred.” He felt a bit embarrassed that he used the nickname his family called him. Goodness he was no good at this at all! "Talk," 'Think.' You can't take that from me; Just Go ahead And try!

He had not been in Fiori that long. In fact it almost felt a tad strange to be back, but Vitus was confident that he would find his place here in the pack. He wore a gentle, small smile as he arrived where his uncle had called the meeting. Leo was a man whom Vitus respected. Not just as family, but as a leader who had protected his position and pack. There had been mixed feelings at the challenge when Bacchus called for Leo... And sadness had filled him when he was unable to find either Archie or Bach after all was said and done. Alas, what could be done? Leo had only done what was right for his family. Vitus could not fault him for that. Paws lead him to the falls, a place he remembered, but had not visited recently. Carlisle was naturally close by, flying overhead at a slow but steady pace to match his companion. Gaze swept over those present, identifying a few he knew. His brother, his sister, a girl sitting next to Jayne whom he assumed was another sibling, Leo, and his mothers of course. Seeing Amalia brought a sense of joy back to Vitus and his smile brightened, two toned eyes shining happily. Seeing her in good spirits brought his own up. Vitus decided to seat himself next to Tib, tipping his muzzle to his brother in greeting. “Miss anything important?” He asked in a soft, scratchy voice. Though it pained him to speak he still attempted to do so a little bit. He wanted his family to know he’d try for them, regardless of such handicaps. "Speech"

She would be the last to show up no doubt. It took her a moment to realize this meeting wasn't in the usual spots. What happened to the hot springs? Heather thought as she passed over and followed the scent of the mass of wolves that had gathered. Two of her siblings had already come to greet a stranger. He was a big man with stripes on his back, all scarred up as well. Heather blinked, debating for a moment to go see what was going on. She noticed a black wolf watching him though and a grin plastered itself on her face. The pup wandered over to Bright Moon. "Are you and that striped wolf friends?" she asked for a moment as she took a seat next to her. "Why are you all alone?" here came the whole lot of questions. "What's your name and what do you do?" her head tilted itself off to the side. "My name is Heather! Leo is my daddy. Svetlana was my mom, but I don't know what happened to her." "Talk" "You" Think

It was a bit surprising that Leo was calling them to gather somewhere new. Perhaps he wanted to expand their territory in a different direction? She couldn't imagine any other reason why he might call them toward the falls. Feeling rather curious, she would head in the direction of his call, though it was at a rather relaxed pace. Though she knew she was wanted at the meeting, and her attendance would be required, she was not an integral part of the meeting and she had little need to rush there. Most of Fiori had already arrived, sitting near one another, most relaxed, some looking a bit more curious than others. She noted that there was a remarkable number of children here, a thought that brought a smile to her lips as she gazed about. Slowly she made her way near Amalia and Athena, settling down near them and offering her daughter a gentle nudge in the form of a greeting before turning to eye Leo inquisitively.

Things were so much different now, for Ara. Novel had left quite some time ago, on a journey to visit her family back where many of the Destructions had originally come from before finding these lands. She'd thought she would've returned by now, but there was no sign of her, and Ara wasn't ashamed to admit that she'd wandered quite a bit further than usual, hoping to catch a whiff of her scent on the breeze. Their sons had been gone for awhile now, too. Ara had remained in Fiori. She had gotten used to living here, and the thought of finding another home was uncomfortable to her. She feared living life as a rogue, though oftentimes she was equally as uncomfortable living among others. She had been more dissatisfied lately than she had been for awhile; she missed her wife desperately, and the loneliness - something she hadn't ever felt so fiercely - weighed down heavy on her heart. A quiet sigh fell from her lips as she reacted to Leo's call obediently, turning on her heels and heading toward him. She'd been quite a far distance away, and she was rather late, comparatively. Her blue gaze briefly danced over the ground - she wasn't close to any of the wolves there, though she'd shared some time with Amalia in the past - and she would settle quietly away from the others, eyes fixing on Leo silently.

He spotted Athena first, offering the larger silver woman a smile. He was just about to greet his sister-in-law when suddenly he felt something land on his tail and it nearly scared him out of his skin. He yelped, mostly from surprise rather than pain, and tried to jump up to get away, only to be jerked back down to the ground and held there by his own tail. As soon as he felt Amalia nip at the base of his tail and heard her growls and yips he realized just who it was. He looked over his shoulder at his sister sitting on his tail with a mouthful of herbs. He shot her a challenging glare with a smirk. "Oh, one spar and suddenly you think you can just sit on me whenever you want, huh?" he asked with a chuckle. If there wasn't other pack members walking up he would have tried to turn and nip at her ear, but there were wolves to greet and a meeting to hold. He chuckled at his ridiculous sister, giving Tib a grateful glance as he walked past and tried to shoo his sister off of him. He was honestly grateful for Amalia jolting him out of his funk for a moment, though he'd probably never tell her that out of fear that she'd make this sneaking up thing a habit. He stuck out his tongue at Amalia before giving her a playful grin and turning his gaze to see who all had arrived in the meantime. He spotted Quelt off toward the edge of the group and had to chuckle when he saw two of his children pestering him. At least they were making him part of the group he supposed, whether he wanted to be or not. He began to look for his other two pups, spotting them sitting next to Bright Moon. He loved how friendly they all were and how willing they were to socialize with their pack mates. He waited for a few moments more and he smiled when his mother came to settle next to Amalia and Athena. It made him happy to see that she was being more present like she had insisted she would be. Ara came in last and he looked to her curiously. Novel's absence certainly hadn't gone unnoticed and he wondered how she had been. Maybe he should talk with her later and check. He certainly had plenty of experience with missing mates. He recognized that there were still a few wolves missing, but all in all most of the pack was here. All of the wolves that he was used to seeing around with some frequency anyway. He waited for a few moments longer, but he didn't want to make everyone that had arrived on time wait for too much longer. He cleared his throat before he began speaking, speaking up so everyone could hear him. "Hello, everyone!" he called, offering everyone a smile. "Thank you so much for coming so quickly. I know this isn't our usual meeting place, but the reason for that is that I have decided to move our borders a bit. The hot springs will no longer be a part of our territory. I felt that this area would suit our needs better as a source of fresh water and hunting ground in these woods. Of course you're free to visit the hotsprings whenever you'd like, but keep in mind that it is no longer within our borders so you may see wolves outside of the pack there as well. I hope that you'll enjoy this new space and explore and make use of this new hunting grounds." He glanced toward Bright Moon at that, giving her a small smile as he wondered if their lead hunter might get together a pack hunt soon. "That being said, please be careful around the falls. I'd hate for anyone to go tumbling in." That was really directed to the many children they had in the pack right now, but it was a good note for anyone else as well. "The second piece of news is that we have several young wolves that have moved up to the rank of students this season that are in need of mentors. Amalia, we have several aspiring healers in the bunch so I'd appreciate if you would hold a training for the students soon. I believe it will be good for all of our young wolves to attend whether they are wanting to be healers or not. My children will be old enough for mentors as well this spring so I will be pairing everyone up with mentors soon enough. I also encourage all of our students to seek out Amalia, Athena, or Bright Moon for healing, fighting, or hunting knowledge as well even outside of formal training sessions.  I ask that everyone participate in sharing their knowledge as much as they can with each other. On that same note, when we have training sessions for the pack, no matter the subject, I ask that you give it a good try and go into them with a willing mind. We do not do these trainings as a punishment or a torture. We do them to prepare you for the worst and make sure that if anything were to happen you would be able to protect or care for yourself." He of course was referring to the begrudging attitude most of the pack had come to their last fighting lesson with. He understood that most of their pack happened to be healers, but that was not an excuse. "That is my two biggest orders of business this time around. Fiori still has plenty of room to grow so if you meet anyone that you think would be a good addition to our pack feel free to invite them to come to the border. I love all of our healers, but we certainly need more hunters and fighters as well. I would really enjoy getting to talk with each of you more so don't be surprised if I start randomly walking up to you just to say hello. I've always wanted Fiori to be a safe place and a family for all of you. If anyone has anything to ask or talk to me about feel free. If not then you're free to go on with your day. Take care of yourselves and eachother." "Talk" "You" Think

Razor stopped as he watched his uncle. The meeting seemed to be going smoothly, his blue eyes moving over the crowd. There was a lot of wolves he didn't know here - and even though he probably should. He spent most of his time studying. When the spring came he would be two years old. His lungs had never gotten better, so he doubted there was hope to be a hunter or fighter. However he could offer the knowledge he had, his faith that he had to anyone who willed to take it. As the boy let his ears flick, he let his uncle finish before he stood up to speak. "Leo when spring comes I'll be an adult." he started, trying to speak as loud as he could. Though it was still a gentle kind of speech. "My body hasn't gotten any better, but I've been studying the stars and terrain for some time. As well my religious ways - I'd like to become a Scholar." The boy was nervous saying this out in front of all these wolves. His eyes darted from Leo to the ground to his aunt amalia. That way maybe his mind would be distracted from his anxieties. "Talk"

Leo's gaze turned toward his nephew as Razor spoke, a smile touching is lips. He regretted that he had not been able to spend much time with his nephew, but he was glad to see he was at least making his own way here. He nodded with understanding at Razor's request. He honestly wasn't surprised and knew that was really the best role for Razor to play in Fiori. "Of course, that's perfectly fine. You'll be a Scholar once Spring comes then." He was constantly amazed at the passage of time and how quickly all of his youngest family members were aging. Well, they weren't the only ones aging. He was too. Sometimes it felt like he had blinked and his life up to this point had flown by him. He brushed the thought away and looked around at the rest of the pack to see if anyone else had something to say or ask. He didn't figure they would, but he wanted to be sure. He knew meetings like this were often just for his own benefit, but he hoped everyone liked seeing eachother for a moment all the same.