Not a lot had happened since the last meeting, which was the main reason why he stood on the top of his den on a really chilly afternoon. The prey was still thin and he hadn't seen much of the usual herd that crossed through here. Not a single training had been called, and he was the only one who had been patrolling the borders. With three territories it usually took him most of the day to make sure they were well marked, it was hard not to feel like bubbling disappointment that seemed to take up a majority of his mind. It wouldn't ruin his life any longer, or drag down his pack. If he needed to start getting tougher on wolves, then he would. Demotions were going to be a thing now, they had to nip this in the butt somehow. Letting out a huff, he tipped up his head and called for the wolves of Abaven. There were a few that he noticed were missing, Pipit among them. Apparently his kids were destined to all vanish at one point or another, all except for Lark. He was the only one who hadn't wandered off or gotten taken. As his song came to an end, he lowered his head and curled his tail around his flank. He would see who showed up today, and they would all be getting an earful that was for sure. His tail thumped on the ground as he waited, sucking in a deep breath to quell the irritation the simmered so close to the surface. ooc;// First round due on October 25th. I am bringing monthly activity checks back, check that out here. "Speech"

Oblivious as always to the inner strife of his family and fellow pack members, Merlin had spent the majority of his time since the last meeting just goofing off while it seemed like his siblings and family spent theirs struggling with questions of philosophy or depression - though of course he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The oppressive heat of the summer had only slowed him a little, just enough for him to spend more time wallowing in the slower parts of their river when the sun was high. Now that autumn was here and with it cooler temperatures Merlin was looking forward to resuming a more normal daytime routine. Gathering together the falling leaves over in Redbud Nook would make a heck of a fun pile to jump into...

But before the young wolf could go galloping off across the border, his father's howl put a halt to it. He whipped his dark head around to listen. Oh, a meeting? His tongue lolled out in a grin before he changed course to gallumph back to the plains. "Hi Dad!" he caroled, skidding to a halt in front of the alpha's usual perch. He was completely unaware of any irritation that might have been leaking through in Bass' expression, in part because he was completely astonished to find that he was actually the first pack member to appear. "Wow! Where is everyone? Am I early?"

She had been lingering in the borders the past week or so, feeling bad that she had been out exploring more than she had been home. But a lot of her siblings were missing, it seemed like Lark was the only litter mate around as well as the two younger ones. The pale girl felt bad about not spending a lot of time with her family, but it almost felt awkward now. She missed Starling, and she hadn't seen Sparrow around in awhile. Pipit's scent was almost completely gone from his den, but Merlin had been bounding around like usual. She was actually following his trail when she heard their fathers howl, her head slowly raising to look back towards the heart of the plains. Finch could just see him there now, sitting with his scrunchy disappointed face. It wasn't like she was without blame, she had Piper as her apprentice and she hadn't even called a training. Guilt tied her belly into a tight knot as she slunk towards the once-family den with her tail bouncing between her hocks.

It didn't take long to arrive, and she saw that Merlin had beat her here. She grinned at her little brother, walking over to try to nuzzle her nose against his cheek. He was always a bundle of energy, something that she was jealous of. "Hey Merlin," she said softly, before peeking up at Bass. Offering him a sheepish grin, she flopped down to her rump and tore her blue gaze away from him. She had seen enough in his features to know that he wasn't happy, so she instead focused on her brother. "Catch anything lately? All I have been able to get is a few snakes," Finch said, her nose wrinkling up at the thought. Snakes weren't too bad, they had all learned which ones to catch and which to leave alone, but they weren't the best staple in a wolf's diet.

"SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by KatG6

She knew at this point the litter would be small. Which meant less pups to worry about that was for sure. Renhett didn't even look pregnant, aside from she perhaps had more pounds than other wolves since the scarcity of food as of late. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, later she would have to find something to eat. For now it was attend to her first meeting since arriving. As she did a smile on her face to Bass. Spotting two others she wasn't sure she knew. One of them she slightly recognized and it may have been one of Bass' children. "Morning Bass." she greeted towards Bass and then turned to the other two. "It's nice to see the two of you as well and nice to meet you. My name's Renhett." she smiled. Although she wouldn't be able to introduce herself to the other members as they arrived. She was a new healer to the pack so eventually she'd have to meet with at least everyone she could. Knowing how they worked would be the best. "Talk"

Piper was quick to turn toward her father's howl and trot in the direction of the meeting. She wasn't particularly close to where it was being held so she wasn't the first to arrive, but she certainly didn't think she was the last! She spotted her littermate and gave him a grin as she went to sit herself next to him. They hadn't really gotten to hang out lately, but he was still her littermate none of the less. She leaned her head down to look around him at Finch since she was sitting on the other side of Merlin from her and she gave her older sister a smile too before she looked up at their father that was in his usual spot that he sat at during meetings. She felt better now that summer was over, but she couldn't say she was a fan of this cold weather thing that was happening now. She'd much rather it be warm than cold! Unfortunately, she couldn't control the seasons. "Wouldn't it be cool if you could control the weather?" she whispered to Merlin, looking at him from the corner of her eye and giving him another grin. "Then it could be warm all the time or you could have a snow storm in summer!" "Talk" "You" Think

Liviana couldn't say that she was the quickest to respond to the call for the pack meeting, but she didn't waste time getting there either. She padded into the area that people seemed to be gathering and she settled on her haunches near outskirts of the rest of the group. She still didn't know any of them besides just hearing their names in passing or possibly recognizing a couple from the last training session she had attended. She curled her tail around her haunches and gave Bass a small smile and a nod before she continued to let her eyes roam around the rest of the wolves that were in attendance so far. Three of the four of them seemed to clearly be Bass' children. She had noticed before how many of his children seemed to live here. Although it seemed the number of them were dwindling. Of course she didn't voice any of her observations, she just sat quietly and observed for now while she waited for the meeting to start. "SPEAK"

Art by Evelyn

It'd been.. awhile since he'd done much. For quite some time, he'd started feeling pretty decent about things - Starling had spoken to him about returning, his friendship with Lillianna had grown considerably, and then.. they'd both abandoned him, again. His conversation with his father had worn down on him some. What did the future of Abaven hold? Nothing had really come of their talk, though Karabela had left of her own accord to start a pack of her own, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he ought to have not said anything at all. Maybe Abaven would be thriving with her in charge. It didn't matter much now, though. His brows furrowed as he heard his father's call. He dreaded meetings now, and had for awhile. He missed the days when pack gatherings meant anything good. The chance to catch up with his siblings, or to celebrate some sort of positive news. Now it mostly just felt disappointing. He'd trudge to the gathering, his eyes lifting to search those that had arrived already. He was happy to see Merlin and Finch, as well as Sandpiper, and a couple of other wolves. He wasn't surprised that none of his other siblings had showed up, though he sincerely hoped they would. With that, he'd pad toward the three of his siblings, settling down by Finch with a grunt and a slight smile in their direction.

She had been keeping herself vary busy since she had joined Abaven. She had yet to stumble into the young Lass Bass had spoken of, she also had never come across his children that may have a herb storage somewhere. So the older healer started her own and had been busy stocking it so that she could call that training together. Jack seemed to be glued closer to their side since they had settled in and she fears he wasn't liking this change to much. She was sure after a little while he would get use to the pack life and for now she wasn't worrying over it. The silver women was currently hunting for herbs and had just returned to the field after her and Jack took some back to the den. Her hunting paused and her head raised, ears swiveling as she took in the call of Bass. He was calling the pack together. She huffed lightly as Jack called out leading the way. Picking up her pace she fallowed the sound of of his wings beating as he lead the way for her, flying low to the ground and leading her around and over obstacles in her way. They didn't run, never did they run, but their pace was steady and it didn't take them long to arrive at the meeting. Jack quietly perched in a tree and remained above the meeting. Storm on the other hand casually approached, nose and ears twitching. She was overwhelmed by the scents of who was currently here. Six new and strong scents filled her nose making her stop and hesitate. Mouth dropped open as she lightly huffed, trying to clear the scents from her nose. Milky white orbs remained motionless as the women tried to decide where to go. It had been so long since she had been around others especially in a big gathering like this and right now she was a little nervous and overwhelmed. Though she needed to pull it together, Bass wanted her to hold a healing lesson and if she couldn't keep her composure now how would she when she was running a meeting. She moved forward again and as she did a familiar scent drifted into her nose. It made her feel better to know one was here that she knew and oddly enough it calmed her. She took a seat close to the group, the blind women's ears and nose constantly twitching as she took everything in and waited for the meeting to start. "Talk" "You" Think

Paws drummed upon the earth as he ran in pursuit of a gangly looking hare. While it didn't hold much on its frame, it was still something worth eating considering the prey had become scarce with the continued lack of food for them. This year seemed to have been a really dry one, and it was neither good for predator nor prey. Crimson gaze watched as the hare darted to his left, the fox closing in. He could almost taste the hare jerky that would soon be his, that is...until a howl cut into the air momentarily distracting him. Ears flicked at the call, the hare feigning right and then darting around to race past him. Dart stumbled, skidding to a heap of a stop as his paws flailed beneath him in an attempt to follow. But alas, in the cloud of dust and crackling grass, he had been too slow to react. Instead, he found himself groaning as he picked himself up, coat covered in dust as he cursed his misfortune. "Damn...maybe I'll just stick to fishing..." Huffing, he decided to head on over to the meeting. He had a vague idea of what to expect, which was probably something similar to the last meeting they had. Nothing much had changed, save for the disappearance of a few more that he had noticed. The pack still remained quiet, and he knew that he hadn't done much except go on his own little fishing and hunting trips. Frowning, the bushy tailed creature sat near the front of the group as usual, though he wasn't as happy as he probably should have been. But that was because he was kind of broody over his lost prey.

Sparrow never felt like she knew what she wanted anymore. Well, that was a lie, or at least part of a lie. She knew what she wanted, but she feared her family would reject her for it. She wanted to leave. She wanted to roam. She didn't want to stick in a dying pack where every meeting just meant more heartache and disappointment. She wanted to be her own wolf. She wanted to greet others and them have no idea who she was or what to expect. She wanted to go and build herself up as an adult.

But if she said that, her family would think she was abandoning them.

Just like her mother.

Just like everyone else.

Sparrow stared out of the pack boarders more than ever now. She edged away almost on a daily basis, but usually came back before the day was up. When the meeting was called, Sparrow felt a knot form in her stomach. What would be said? The usual, "We need to be better and I can't do this by myself," or would there be something else?

Sparrow had wanted to leave before, but Lark's words held her fast. He didn't want to be alpha, he didn't want Raba to be alpha because that might change Abaven, but he wasn't doing anything to contribute either. Her siblings didn't feel close for all that talk about family and home. Sparrow was tired of it. Had her father even talked to Lillianna or looked into the issue at all? Probably not, because no one wanted to ruffle feathers. It was about time someone started doing something, though.

In her frustration, Sparrow made it to the meeting, nearly tripping over Dart in the process. She turned and almost sent a nasty look his direction before realizing that it was her fault.

"Sorry, living in my head, I guess," she mumbled.

By habit, she found her siblings and sat near them before she even realized it. Too late now. Sparrow swallowed and hoped no one noticed her fidgeting.

It hadn't been long since she was accepted into the pack. For the most part she'd stuck to trying to find a suitable den. She'd managed to find a nice one left behind by a fox and she'd worked on digging it out to make it larger so she could fit in it better. That task had taken up a good part of her day and by the end of it she'd been dirt covered and quite ridiculous looking with clods of it still caught in her fur. It gave her something to do for the time being until she could get out and go explore some more while simultaneously meeting her new pack mates.

Bass' howl rang out just as she'd finished digging out the last of her den. Black coated ears flicked towards the sound and her head tilted. A meeting so soon? Well at least it gave her the opportunity to meet the others that lived here. She could easily smell quite a few scents (some new and some old) but she hadn't seen anyone yet.

She trotted towards the meeting as quickly as she could, not caring that she was dirty, and she wasn't surprised that quite a few had beaten her there. A large crowd of wolves all sitting together easily caught her attention and she eyed them curiously. They looked, strangely enough, like Bass, but not so much that she caught on that they were related. The rest were scattered about. Curious of all there was a fox among them. Most intrigued by him, she trotted over to the creature and plopped herself next to him with a grin, not quite noticing the grumpy look on his face.

"Hope I don't mind if I sit with you. I'm Asha."

"SPEAK"

Ears perked as he heard the howl of Abaven's alpha ring across the lands. He was curious as to what it would be about, but no doubt that it was something like the last meeting. Nothing had changed much, and he hasn't done much to change anything either. Except continue spending time with Quake and trying to help her with her medicine training since her mentor had walked out on her. And now that she was two years old, she had begun to give up. He wasn't sure what else he could do for her, so the old male would try to push it from his mind for now as he arrived. The dark male would sit within the group, tail curling around his paws as he dipped his head in greeting to Bass and waited.

She wasn't all too eager to go to the meeting. She wasn't very eager to do much of anything anymore. She'd given up on a lot, especially after Qualm had come and gone, her mentor had walked out on her, and the depression she felt weighing her down. She was two now, and felt like nothing had been accomplished at all. While she was training on her own and with her uncle, his knowledge with medicine was extremely limited...so alot of what she knew now was a bunch of trial and error, none of it really explained nor taught to her. Crimson gaze flashed with an unreadable expression towards Bass as she approached the gathering, a small nod cast towards him before she took a seat near the edge of the group. Sighing, she waited for the meeting to begin. Hoping it wouldn't take long so she could go back to her den.

Autumn had arrived, and with the cold air came his stiffening bones. While he was still very mobile and the like, once in a while he could feel the effects of old age. He was the oldest one in abaven now, and while he had accepted he was an old scrooge, he still felt like he was missing alot in his life. He had lost so much, and perhaps it was that that made him feel like he had a huge hole in his life. Leaving him feeling empty.

With a stiff gait, he made his way towards the meeting as quickly as he could. The male nearly breathless by the time he arrived. His joints seemed to not want to cooperate today, and it was irritating him to no end. Maybe after the meeting, he could find a warm spot somewhere to hang out and maybe even invite bass so they could catch up. The grey toned male finally found a spot to sit, sides heaving though he would ignore his current feeling of exhaustion as best he could. Eventually after a few moments, he would slide to his stomach to rest. An annoyed groan slipping past as he looked at bass. He swore that guy would probably start teasing him about it later, but Hansel wouldn't mind...he needed more laughter in his life to hide the pain he felt.

It seemed like a drag now, he had to admit. Metaphorically and literally speaking. He had to haul himself to his paws and trudge along to the plains when he heard the call. A part of him didn't want to mingle amongst the wolves and show his face to the rest of Abaven. But he had to show up, even if his last days in the pack were numbered. He had to speak with the alpha, and there was no better opportunity than after the meeting. Uncertainty still befell the man. He had been quiet for the past season or two and now he wanted to the leave the pack? It only seemed like he had lost his loyalty and faith in Abaven. Upon his arrival, he was careful to approach the crowd from the side. He slowly made his way towards the Primo. He occasionally made eye contact, but it wasn't for long. He felt fidgety, nervous, on-end, though he tried not to let that show. He didn't want to give Bass the impression of guilt or regret. "Hello Bass," he greeted in a low voice, dipping his head. "I was just wondering if you would be free after the meeting to speak with me?" "SPEAK"

Abaven had been quiet lately, particularly for Harmony. No one had sought her out for healing so the only one who had needed her skills was herself, and the young wolf she'd been assigned as her apprentice had left the pack for another before she'd even given him a single lesson. She hadn't seen Starling for nearly a year, either, and though she had seen Sparrow from a distance she hadn't spoken to her niece since she had confided her worries about Lilliana to Harmony.

Therefore, she wasn't surprised to hear the tension in Bass' howl as he called the pack together again. She opened one eye to gauge the position of the sun to see that she'd overslept again. She'd been sleeping a lot lately - she'd thought it was just from the heat of the summer, but she was still shakey and tired all the time now that it was colder, and she'd come to admit that it was just another symptom of her illness that had plagued her for years now, and that she would just need to put in extra effort to overcome that lassitude.

She rose to her feet and made her way quietly to the meeting, arriving at the last. She was able to observe as Hansel, the elderly and somewhat cantankerous fighter friend of Bass', settled himself down with obvious pain. Harmony winced in sympathy, and made her way over to the sturdy male. "If you see me after the meeting, I can give you something for your joints," she murmured to Hansel with a soft compassionate smile.

He grinned when Merlin showed up first, nodding his head when he asked if he was early. The boy was usually always busy with something else that he showed up just in time. "You're the first!" he said with a chuckle, some of his melancholy mood sloughing off with the carefree boy. Soon enough wolf after wolf showed up, each given a nod of his head as they took their seats. He didn't miss the look of two of his older kids, both Sparrow and Lark looked like they had seen better days. Frowning, he watched them with worry in his golden gaze before others started to wander in. When Tinaro showed up, he fixed the man with a steely gaze. When he asked to talk to him after the meeting, his nostrils flared in obvious agitation. Damn right they were going to talk after, he better have a solid explanation for why he had been so distant. As the second highest ranking wolf in the pack, he should have been putting in way more effort than he was getting. Dipping his head, his attention turned when movement caught his eye. Harmony was the last wolf to come in, and he gazed at his sister with more fond expression. He had been meaning to talk to her, but there was something good in store for her today. "Since the last meeting, not too much has happened in Abaven. Many mentors have been neglecting their apprentices, so I will be shifting things around today. Merlin will now be trained by me, and I'd like to ask Storm if she would be willing to take on Quake. She is a newer member of the pack, but I have no doubt of her skill in healing," hopefully she would be able to pull the girl out of her mood as well. Finch had said that she was going to step it up with her sister, and he sure hoped so. There weren't any other wolves in that position that he could pass Piper to. Looking out at the wolves before him, he sighed at how few they were. There were a few new faces, and he was happy that there was still interest in Abaven. "I'd like to welcome Asha and Storm to the pack as well, and hope that their fresh eyes will help us grow and expand once more. It's been a few hard seasons with prey running the way it has, so I would like to ask my children if they would be willing to go on a hunt after this meeting outside of pack lands. The herd that frequents our lands is too small and scrawny to pick members from, there's hardly any meat on them. The doe also seemed to have lost her fawn this year, but the lake is still full of fish. Dart, maybe you'd like to hold a lesson in fishing?" he asked, turning towards the fox. He wasn't sure if everyone had a lot of practice in the hunting of fish, but they might as well take advantage of both the lake in the plains and the river. "I've also been thinking of holding a tournament and invite other packs, setting everyone up in pairs to have some friendly spars. The winners would then advance until we end up with a winner," Bass said slowly, searching around the crowd for looks of approval. "I would also like to offer the position of Prima Guarire to Harmony, if she's willing," Turning to his sister, he waited for her words before moving on. "I want to keep Abaven alive and well, as a home for all of you and your families. I know that we've been going through a bit of a dry spell, and I'd like to open up the meeting for anyone to suggest anything at all. I will keep this pack going for as long as I am able. Perhaps I was too harsh on everyone during the last meeting, but I cannot lead if no one is willing to follow. So I ask for everyone's best, even if you can't do much now. We have to prepare for winter, with the dry summer and autumn we need to gather up as much food as we can and dry it for the toughest season of all. For that, I need everyone's participation," Falling silent, he sat there and waited for anyone to speak their mind. "Speech"

"Yesssss," Merlin crowed, doing a little 'I'm the first one here nyaa nyaa' dance in place with his front paws, but he was immediately distracted with the arrival of the others in the pack. He returned Finch's caress happily, pressing his cheek back against her with an exuberance that could very well have knocked her over if he hadn't gotten distracted partway through by a stranger (Renhett) stopping to say hello. "Hi!" he chirped cheerfully in return, and - in true Merlin fashion - bounced over to try to pull the stranger into a hug. "Welcome to Abaven! I'm Merlin!"

He gave similar treatment to both Piper and Lark as they came up to join him, swiping a slobbery tongue over Piper's face in addition, and grinned at her. "That would be fun! We could make snow wolves all the time! Oh hey who's that?" And with that he was bouncing away to investigate the next stranger who appeared (Liviana) and not at all off put by her quiet state as he skidded to a halt in front of her. "Hi! We haven't met! What's your - " but he'd been distracted again as Sparrow, who was more often than not absent, chose to appear. Ignoring the other newcomers, Merlin happily sought to pounce on his older, smaller sister. "Sparrow! You're back!" He was blithely ignorant of her discomfort or angst, instead attempting to chew playfully on her dark brown ears with wet, drooling jaws. "Where've you been? Did you do anything interesting? Was it fun? Can I come with you next time?"

But Bass was starting the meeting so as much as Merlin found it difficult to sit still and be Super Serious Pack Meeting Wolf, he quieted down. He did prick up his ears when Bass started by talking about mentors not training their apprentices - hey yeah, he'd been the one to bring that up! Cool, his talk with Dad had made it to the meeting! He grinned a wide grin, his tongue hanging goofily out the side of his mouth, until Bass informed the pack that he, Bass, alpha-dad, would be Merlin's mentor, at which point the exuberant young male leaped to his feet with a whoop of delight before recalling that he was interrupting an important meeting. "Whoops, sorry Dad." He flopped back down again, this time attempting to flop himself on Lark as he listened. Merlin's head popped up again as Bass introduced some new members and he swiveled to pick them out of the group, but he couldn't say hi without interrupting again so he forcibly restrained himself from opening his muzzle for a greeting. But as his dad spoke of going hunting off pack lands, he couldn't stop himself. "Oh! Me! I'll help!" His tongue lolled happily. The news of a possible tournament made his mouth into an 'o' of surprise. Oooooo that sounded like a LOT of excitement.

Finch bit her lip as she watched Merlin go prancing about like a child, it really was a very nice break from all the sadness that seemed to linger around the gathering. Her siblings seemed to sit off to one side, but both Lark and Sparrow looked like they had seen better days. She frowned slightly, her mismatched ears folding back slightly. What had happened to their family? When was the last time they had ever gone out to do something together? She sighed, leaning against Lark slightly. Was it because Lillie had gone missing? Peeking up at his forever stoic face, she tried to reached up and lick under his chin. She hoped that this cloud would blow over their heads soon.

When the meeting got underway she turned back to their father, flinching a touch when he mentioned mentors. She had promised to train Piper more, and turning to her sister she offered her a timid smile. She really needed to stick around here and train up her sister, or she was sure that she would be in deep trouble. A part of her was surprised at how Bass had led the meeting though, there wasn't as much anger and disappointment in him than she had expected. He even mentioned a family hunt, and her jaws parted to agree before Merlin jumped up and did it for her. Giggling, she nodded her head and gently bumped against Lark's shoulder. Would that be something to ungrumpify him?

"SPEAK" "SPEAK ITALIAN" "CIVETTA SPEAKS"

Art by KatG6

Slowly, a few others arrived. Most were familiar to him, though not wolves he was close to... though seeing Sparrow came as a bit of a surprise. She'd left them too, hadn't she? Had she realized that that Abaven really was where she belonged? He couldn't help but feel a bit bitter over how easily she came and went. Tinaro came soon too, but he didn't seem in a terribly good mood. Lark's expression tightened slightly. He watched Harmony arrive, and finally Bass began to speak to the crowd. It wasn't far off from what he expected, and what most meetings had been about lately. Abaven was at a standstill, and had been. Nobody was training. Nobody was doing anything beyond surviving and staying within their comfort zones.. at least he sure wasn't. They were to hunt after the meeting, at least, which would break up the monotony of it all. He wondered who would follow through. Quiet, his eyes danced over the ground, wondering. Only Merlin's typical chipper attitude brought him any joy, and he cracked a grin as Finch playfully bumped against him. At least some things were pleasant all the time, even if most things weren't.