When Raba had asked at the meeting who wanted to step up for a rank, Chaos' first inclination was to jump on the opportunity, particularly since no one else seemed interested in being useful. But he'd restrained himself (see? maybe he was growing up after all) and had given it some time and some thought. He'd decided that he should prove himself to Raba and to the pack before he tried to jump headfirst into something like a leadership position. After all, he'd only been a kid in Imperium so he had very little idea of what a leader was supposed to do, only what he remembered of his dad's leadership. He was completely confident that he would be able to prove himself, though, and completely confident that he deserved a high rank. After all, he was Valentine Imperialis' son. He was unstoppable.

After enduring Sgili's motherly preening of his ears for a few moments, Chaos set out from his den in the ruins. Most of the pack seemed to reside in the mountains since there were ready-made dens in the form of caves and it was more defensible, but Sgili and Heecha weren't really meant for living in the mountains so out of respect for the birds who'd chosen to live with him he'd been denning in the ruins on the steppe. It made a good spot for his first stab at a meeting, too, he decided, running his mismatched eyes calculatingly over the flat grassland before him. Later he'd want to amp things up and start in on everyone learning to fight on the more dangerous narrow pathways of the Maw in case they ever had to defend the pack there, but it would be safer to start nearer to basics, particularly since he didn't know anyone's skill levels.

Here. This was good.

He stopped in an area that had been cropped fairly short by something, probably a herd of those steppe horses. It was relatively clear of obstacles, too, so it should do pretty nicely for what he had planned. Sgili and Heecha silently landed in small, gnarled old tree nearby to observe with solemn interest. Chaos lifted his head and, in a howl that as always sounded just slightly... off... a normal wolf because of the fangs that framed his mouth, invited every member of the pack to join him here for training. Way he figured it, every wolf in the pack should be able to at least try to defend themselves, and if they couldn't defend themselves, he should at least make sure they knew the best way to get themselves out of the way.

""

ooc: There aren't going to be judged spars, just training, so I expect at least four posts out of everyone who shows up so that training can be completed for everyone. Deadline 1/29

I SEE ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB BUT I GOT STAMINA

Fangs hit bone in careful, purposeful movements and Karabela worked away on the thigh bone of a white tailed deer. She was working on etching patterns into it, partly to ease a sudden swell of anxiety that had been dogging her most of the morning and partly because she though it might increase the value of the bone if it was artfully crafted. She couldn't be the only wolf that liked decorating her den. Stepping back Karabela admired her work, tongue running deftly over her fangs. Ears flicked forward at the sound of a call. Chaos? A meeting? Well, well, well! She grinned. Finally someone was stepping up and calling the wolves of Ivory Ridge together apart from her. She was curious to see what Chaos had in mind.

Tucking the bone away she set off down the eastern side of the maw and onto the smooth terra of the step. It was a fair journey but a path she practically knew by heart now. She grinned when she spied Chaos on a flatter part of the steppe, his unusual companions perched in a gnarled nearby tree. "Haha, look at you stepping up to lead! How have you been Chaos? Going to put us through our paces?"


"Speech"

She had just returned from another successful herb hunting trip, pleased at what she had found. The young girl had even made a separate den just for the storage of the herbs she collected. She was stocking up, remembering that Kara had asked to build a surplus of goods to begin trading this year. Delaney was more then happy to obey and try her best to complete the task. Once more the female had her legs covered in mud after carefully digging up the herbs she had brought back, but this time she was able to made a slight detour to clean herself up before returning home. Crawling from her storage den her ears perked as she heard an invite call. The howl itself sounded a little odd, but it had to be a pack member. She didn't hesitate before picking up her feet and trotting off to the Steppe. She came across Kara's scent trail in the process, which was a big help for the young women. Kara had to be going to the meeting and without her scent trail Delaney may have taken much longer to find the two. When she had arrived it was Kara and the dark furred male with large fangs. As she approached she searched her brain for what Kara called him at the meeting. She had remembered it by the time she came up beside Kara and the young women smiled kindly to the male before her. "Hello," she said greeting both of them with a wag of her tail. "Talk" "You" Think

Kassander lifted his head nervously from his task as an unfamiliar howl urged the pack together. He'd been working on fleshing the pelt of a rabbit Rommel had taken earlier that day - it wasn't a prime pelt, since it was spring, but they needed to use the rabbit anyway so it would do to keep a pack member's den cozy anyway. He couldn't stop now or risk the flesh drying out so he'd have to go through the process of rewetting it, but he couldn't miss a meeting either. As he sat there indecisively and managing to do neither chore, he felt Rommel touch his elbow gently. "Go," the fox told him succinctly, and immediately took over the job. Kass sent his companion a grateful smile and left the cave to take the narrow path down through the mountainous region to their steppe territory.

There were a few wolves already gathered - Chaos, Karabela, and Delaney. He was a little surprised not to see any of the pack's fighters there yet - he thought they, more so than the healers, would have been the first to jump when a fight training was called. Kassander paced forward a little apprehensively to join the group. He hadn't been to a fight training in... well, ages. And his last fight had been... well, he'd gone along with Yfir when they raided, but he'd been there more as a medic than anything. His mismatched eyes caught Delaney, and he nodded hesitantly at the other healer. He was glad she'd been made a full healer. She'd probably do better at it than he had been. Maybe he just wasn't going to be as helpful to the pack as a healer, after all, and maybe that was ok, because there were other healers to take his place.

His gaze switched to Karabela and Chaos, and he nodded again in greeting to them as he seated himself to wait for the conspicuously absent fighters to show up.

Birna made her way down to the Steppe with slow, methodical steps. The snow melt had caused a few minor rockslides to the south of the maw and she had no wish to get caught in such a thing. She made a note to inform Karabela and have a few of the defenders walk the mountain paths, inspecting them and marking which ones would be the safest for their members to use. Perhaps they could use something to signify paths that were risky and should not be taken. She was mulling this over in her mind before she entered the meeting, giving a crisp nod of respect to Chaos though a light smile tugged at her lips. It had seemed so long ago he was just a spritely little pup, now look at him, full grown and handsome and about to lead a meeting. "SPEAK"

Dagmær still felt groggy but she was doing better than she had been. She'd been trying to search her mind, trying to remember what had happened to her. She could hear a woman's voice, see a magpie fluttering above her, the shine of glittering red in the dark…. but that was it. Not enough to go off of, not enough to lay her fears to rest that she had some how managed to make an enemy and she could only hope that whatever had happened wouldn't come back to affect her pack mates. She offered Chaos a slow smile as she entered the gathering. "Hey Chaos! How's it going?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Nah wasn’t in the best of moods, particularly after interacting with Birna. But the woman had a point, she supposed. Rather than just being pissed off and and moping about perhaps she could at least try getting active in the pack. Maybe then this empty feeling within could be fixed. Maybe if she reached out to Qualm instead of waiting for him to come to her then maybe… maybe she’d start to feel better. Nah wasn’t feeling particularly optimistic, but she wasn’t about to miss out on fight training. At least that was something she was interested in. Once she arrived she sat at a distance away from the others, particularly Birna, though she did cast a meaningful look and nod to the older woman. Hell, if she hadn’t come to her Nah might have just said screw everything already.

Chione would come to the call, an unfamiliar sound but it was obvious that it was for her pack. Being one of the last wolves to arrive, she would come and sit near the back somewhat away from everyone else. She, herself, had given up her fighting skills way back mostly after her maim. She had brought hell onto herself and her family and leaned away from defense since then. But she was willing to protect her home and the ones she loved if need be. If anything, she could be at this meeting for demonstration. Anyone could take a look at her and see that she was no stranger to a fight. Tail curled as she looked up at the man who called, Raba and Dagmear the only ones  she truly knew of. She wondered if Tonrar would come too, but he seemed a little distracted as of late. He probably wouldn't show. Walk "Talk" Think "Charon" "Voices"