It was time to call the pack together to address the upcoming raids. Valkyrie had given him her choice of targets, and while the pack was aware of the situation, the pack as a whole (him included) were simply waiting on Valkyrie to give word on who she wanted them to raid. Winter had come and gone, and Spring was drawing out and yet, despite Valkyrie's lateness in letting him know what she wanted, he would see to it that he held up his end of the bargain. Unless of course, Kai ultimately decided he'd rather go back to them. The terms of the raid were simple, and Acere decided it would be a good opportunity to see how well the pack could work together. He had enough of half the population not doing a thing and quite frankly if they thought they could fly under the radar without doing anything they were very, very wrong. He had made it clear and simple before that if they didn't want to be here, all they had to do was tell him and they could leave. Instead, he didn't know whether they were skulking about and using up valuable resources or if they decided flat out abandonment of the pack was okay. If the latter were the case, he debated on what to do. Abandoning the pack without a word wasn't something he felt he could let slide so lightly. He walked with a steady and heavy gait to the meeting place at the pines, throwing his head up to howl for the pack to gather immediately. He was not going to play games or dawdle on the issues, he would get right down to the heart of the matter. This would be both a pack meeting and a meeting to discuss the raids. While yes, he could be a fair king, he wasn't going to be seen as a weak leader or a push-over. After everything he put into the pack and all he tried to do for them, he was disappointed and furious that it seemed like others took advantage of his kindness. Of course, he knew some of them were pulling their weight...but those who weren't? Well, he'd get to that later. When he reached the clearing he climbed on top of the large boulder in the center of the clearing that had the fallen logs crossed behind him. Today and here on out, he meant business. This is an official pack meeting AND raid meeting! First round replies due by 12/20! I realize that for the raid part it's late since winterfell was to raid during winter & mid-spring but the raids are going to be extended into summer since holiday months are busy for a lot of us! Pack members who don't post to this meeting will face consequences unless you have a current/valid absence up or have informed me beforehand. "Speech"

Somehow. She had become pregnant. She knew how it happened. The somehow of it was more the fact that she thought she was too old to get pregnant anymore. But it seemed that by some miracle of fate she would be granted one last litter at least. She was already showing, and despite her advanced age she felt...renewed. Youthful. Though her body betrayed her age, her spirit and mind felt young again when she found out that she was pregnant. Her swelling belly slowed her movement more now, but she remained in the pack lands with her mate. She only hoped that they'd both live long enough to know them and be there when they grew up. She was curled up with soaking up the sun when she heard Acere call for the pack, the tone commanding and riddled with a firm tone among other things. He was not happy about something, and she had a feeling she already knew what it was. Not only that, but she assumed the Hjarrandi band leader finally gave him her choice of targets, and she was curious as to what happened when she came by. Of course, she wondered what else was on the agenda for todays meeting. Rising to her paws, she called into the den for Feli and waited for him before heading off to the meeting point. There, Acere sat waiting for the pack to gather. She offered a quick smile and a nod of greeting to him before settling down on the ground, stretching her legs out until she was comfortable enough and waited for the others to arrive.

He hadn't interacted with anyone in the pack since his arrival, but that was nothing particularly new with the broody anti-social man. He had gotten separated from Acapella over the course of the last couple of seasons, and he returned to the place of his birth to find that Avalon now followed the alabaster titan king. She was the only family he truly had left, so he had joined of course. He kept a den close to hers, watching over the elder wolf in silence more often than not but he did enjoy her company when she graced him with it. Though he hardly ever admitted a thing, Avalon was perhaps one of the only wolves he completely trusted with anything and everything. Acapella too, of course, but Avalon had always been a constant presence in his life and practically raised him after his parents abandonment.

When Acere's call sounded, Greed was quick to answer. He wasn't far off when he heard it, so it didn't take long for him to get there. When the dual toned man spotted Avalon, he moved to sit near her and offered a quick (and extremely rare) show of affection as he nuzzled her shoulder before turning his attention to the king.

He had been testing himself with identifying some common herbs he had found around the pines, pleased with how much he was learning on his own and what he had learned from his sister. He wanted to be more than just a fighter. He wanted to not only protect his pack and help where his strength was needed, but also help them when they were hurting. The crimson boy was bent over a line of herbs when he heard his uncle's call and Ignis would be prompt to answer. He emerged from his den to find his companions already starting to head that way so he followed after them. He stood tall now that he realized he was at his full height and actually matched his uncle in size and stature now. He was proud of who he'd become and where he was going in life and couldn't wait to keep improving. As he approached the meeting place, he found a few wolves there and nodded to each before offering a nod to his uncle before settling in to wait for the others to arrive.

He was practice sparring with his mother when the alpha's call sounded. But he wasn't in any particular rush...at least, not until his mother sensed the urgency better than he did and she ended their training. With a frown, he turned and followed her to the meeting, thinking about the training he'd done so far. He was learning how to make better use of his antlers in combat. He felt he was excelling in his training, though he wished his father was here to teach them, his mother was doing the best job she could. She seemed...fiercer...then she did before. Since it was clear his father had left, his mother seemed more determined coupled with anger and likely other feelings, but she wouldn't say exactly. Meanwhile, he had been sort of stewing in it. Wondering if he had done something wrong that made his father leave. He felt a sort of bitterness mixed with sadness at the thought. Did his father hate them?

He didn't know. Nobody did.

He arrived to find his sister wasn't there yet, so he settled in with his mother to wait for her.

She was teaching her son how to better utilize his antlers in combat. She had a few cuts, bruises, and other injuries but nothing she felt she couldn't handle. She was in the process of sparring with him before she heard Acere call for the pack, and she immediately called an end to the practice. Despite her sons protests, she was not in the mood to deal with any whining and instead, quieted him with a sharp growl before leading the way to the meeting area. Ever since Tyranis had left, she had felt anger...resentment...disappointment...she thought he was her forever. But then again, she thought family was forever, too. In the end, they had both abandoned her. She refused to do that to her children and decided she would continue to remain here for them no matter what. She'd be there for as long as they needed her. That was what fueled the fire in her heart and soul.

As they arrived to the meeting, she noted those who were there and she nodded to each of them. She had kept to herself and mainly interacted with her children, but she knew she needed to change that sooner rather than later. So much was changing, she had no doubt that Acere would address some of that today.

He was home. And he spent most of that time resting in the den and regaining his strength. His time spent outside the border had put a toll on him, but he was slowly getting stronger with each day that passed. So when he heard his dads howl across the land, he rose to his paws and sought to be the first of his siblings there. But considering he was resting under the warmth of the ship, he figured he'd be the last of the litter to arrive. He hurried across the territories until he spotted the group of wolves already gathered. He slowed as he approached, peering past the larger bodies but noticed none of his siblings had arrived yet. His tail wagged at the thought, and he continued his approach until he spotted the boy with antlers sprouting from his head. He stared wide eyed for a moment before his father beckoned him forward, and of course, the boy was more than happy to oblige. "Hi dad!" He moved to sit next to his father, pressing close to his left foreleg and waited for his first official meeting to start.

He'd been rather...absent, as of late. With his father disappearing and no clue where his mother was, he felt more alone than ever. Granted, his sister was around...sort of...he hadn't really bothered to seek her out for comfort let alone to chat. He supposed he just preferred to be alone instead of in the company of others, but he knew that if he wanted to continue being a part of the pack then he would have to change his attitude at some point. Or at least enough to do his part and actually act like he was part of a pack. He sighed as he stared out across the border, wondering if Tyranis would ever return or...better yet...if his mother would suddenly come out of the woodwork and show her face. He felt he had lost all respect for either of them at this point, the boy taking the abandonment harder than he thought he would. What did it matter thought? Who the hell needed parents anyway? Even his uncle's own mate left her children for better pastures. He scoffed as he arrived to the meeting, taking a seat near the back and waited silently in his classic broody fashion.

She'd been playing with some sticks and bones she found when she heard her dad call. Her head instantly shot up when she heard him, eyes wide as she wondered what it meant exactly. Whatever it was, it sure sounded important! And she didn't want to keep daddy waiting! She bounded along and moved as quick as she could to try and be the first one there, but on the way she noticed her brothers scent and then found his tracks. She was both dismayed that she wouldn't be the first of her siblings to be there, but happy that he was out and about. At least he had come back...

Deciding not to think more on the disappearances lately, she continued on her merry way until she spotted the gathered wolves. Trotting happily through the group with a wagging tail, she bounded right over to her dad and brother to sit with them at the head of the pack, too. No doubt Lumi and Orca would be along soon enough to take up the other places with them!

Song hadn’t been in Winterfell for very long, but he felt a bit of excitement at Acere’s call to summon the pack. He was working on his den and smithing area as usual. The space was slowly coming around to his likeness. Song knew he couldn't work on it continually and leaving his work was easy enough. Acere didn’t sound like he was messing around with this meeting and Song wondered for only a split second if the alpha felt annoyance in his new members.

The Destruction shook off the feeling, he had no reason to be upset with Song or Kirsi. He made a quick look around for his dearest friend so he and the she wolf might appear together. If she was nearby he’d nudge her affectionately before following her to Acere. Song gave a quick nod to his alpha before finding a place to get comfortable.

Fracture had regrettably spent the last of the season in a spiral of emotions. His shame was still highly prevalent after his attempted rescues of slaves at the marketplace, and it was becoming harder to look Acere in the eye knowing that his king had to come to his defense when Sirius drove him to the ground. He'd never liked feeling weaker then the others and his weakness had spread to Winterfell's name, his King and Hand had lost their melee against the direwolf and Fracture took the hit to his pride knowing that Sirius walked away victorious against two of Winterfell's most ferocious fighters. It'd never had happened if he could have only held his own in combat. The pack had been uncharacteristically quiet since then. The volcano erupted, Heloise vanished. He'd heard in gossip that she'd been upset at a bargain the King had made for a slave. Some alliance with a rogue band where he'd offered far more then the wolf was worth in an attempt to rescue him. Fracture shrugged off whatever tangible items Acere had promised the vikings - to save a slave was worth more then food or pelts or knick-knacks - though this last agreement, the promise to raid on the viking's behalf... Fracture was torn. He'd felt indebted to Winterfell and Acere, though his moral code could not stomach the thought of bringing more pain and suffering upon the packs in this land after the volcano's wrath, and was it really worth it to free one slave and potentially hand the band more captives from any raid they'd might win? He'd felt there was more to the story then what he was getting. When Acere called the pack together for the first time in a season, Fracture did his best to be on time as he always had. Without Heloise he'd not known where exactly to stand nor who to talk to until the meeting began. A part of him wondered if maybe she left because of her disagreement with the King's choice. He stepped into the crowd and moved to sit on his own, awaiting quietly for his King's words and feeling his chest clench in uncomfortable anticipation.

She’d been at the edge of the territory again, tempted to go back over, last time it had went well. She’d found someone after all! However, this time she wouldn’t have a chance as a howl interrupted the quiet air calling her back. Huffing softly she turned, at first walking and soon running until she could see her father standing tall. Slowing again, she noted that she was not the first wolf to arrive nor was she the first of her siblings to arrive. Frowning slightly, she moved through the gathering of wolves until she was at the front, sitting forward to the right of Acere. Forcing herself not to grin at him, she gave him her best serious look she could. This was a pack meeting, her first pack meeting. She needed to be serious about it.

"Speech"

Tsunami had been getting herself back into gear, ever since her father had disappeared and, even before then, her mentor being gone she'd been somewhat distant. But as of late she'd been committing herself to her training, and she had the sore muscles to prove it. The girl winced slightly as she rose from her brief rest in her den. She hadn't seen any healers about her injuries yet. She felt somewhat stubborn about it but knew she'd probably need to go see them sooner or later. Luckily she'd mostly managed to avoid being too scratched up. Thus far.

As Tsunami arrived at the gathering she scanned for familiar faces, her younger brother and his mother were there and Tsunami quickly glanced away. Her resentment towards them had waned somewhat but she still didn't exactly like to think about them. It hurt her to think that while her father should have been pre-occupied with trying to get them back from their crazy ass mother that he'd been off making new children but she'd also come to accept they didn't ask for that... though she had less tolerance for Paradise. Cranberry gaze landed on Tyto and the girl trotted over to her littermate, a sardonic grin on her face as she saw his expression. "Someone who didn't know better would think you'd taken a bet with the volcano on who could look the angriest." She said dryly, just the barest hint of a tease to her tone as she settled beside him and nudged him with her shoulder. "If you ever wanna find a constructive release for all that edge let me know, I've found a marvelous way to release stress." She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck to punctuate her point. In truth she'd love to spar her siblings, she craved getting to assert at least a little dominance, even though she didn't really hold any resentment for her littermates.

Art by LoupDeMort

The healer apprentice was on her den organizing the herbs she collected that morning, placing them carefully. Wanting to practice in what stocking should be like. But out lately she has been fighting against a variety of issues, most related to how she felt in an emotional way. She started to limit her food as the desire to eat started to be blocked by those urges of crying for no reason, of feeling bad with herself. And now only that, but her stress to hide this from the rest of the pack kept her in constant alert. She didn't want to be seen as weak by no one. She didn't want to be kicked, and thus she tried her best to do her duties, hiding the position that slowly consumed her soul. As she headed to the call. eyes of green narrowed as alabaster tail and ears remained low. In that submissive nature, she always had. And as she entered the place, her eyes landed upon those who had come before her. Of them, she recognized Acere, Fracture who she hasn't seen in a lot of time and Ignis, her fellow apprentice. Slowly and trying to rise her head a bit she sat down beside Ignis, as silent as she could be. Eye bags rested under her eyes, and her consistency wasnt as thick as before. Product of the depression she was going through. "Hello" | 'Thoughts'

Drífa carefully arranged the herbs she just gathered, sorting them into bundles for various purposes. Some she'd move to the cellar to keep fresh, others would be dried and still others made into tinctures. She was so focused on what she was doing she almost missed the kings summoning call. Her little round ears flicked up to attention. Drífa worked quickly to finish up before she gathered her pack and called to Halla. The macaque was quiet but she was an exceptional helper. Together, the duo headed toward the meeting. By the time she arrived there was already a good gathering of wolves. Several familiar faces caught her attention before she settled down, choosing to sit near Yurei. Drífa had been so busy during the winter she hadn't gotten to know her pack mates as well as she should've. This needed to be rectififed. Come summer she would make it a goal to say hello to as many of her pack mates as she could. "I talk" | 'I think'

Avalon was pregnant. Felicien still couldn’t fathom what miracle had occurred that night for her to become pregnant but, regardless of what had shifted he was undeniably excited to become a father. Their first, last, and only litter together… their lives were becoming more and more like a fairytale. Felicien knew that while such stories seemed beautiful they all came to an end. Nothing would be forever… but he was going to cherish every last minute he had with Avalon and their little ones. Children that he’d sire and actually know. The chance to really be a father… he just hoped in his time with the children he could teach them something… and his heart ached at the thought he likely wouldn’t live to see them reach adulthood. But this… this would be enough. They would have Winterfell to help them grow… there had been even more purpose to his coming here than he thought.

With Avalon’s pregnancy coming along Felicien had fought hard with the desire to try and provide for her, for them, and just remained curled up near her at almost all times. There was no better place to be.

His ears twitched as he heard Acere’s call and Felicien frowned as he felt Avalon shifting. He didn’t exactly want to leave the den but he got to his paws. He knew she would head there and he’d much rather be by her side than figure out what was going on after. If there was a threat to his family, blind or not, Felicien wanted to be aware of it.

The going was slower, not that Feli minded. He kept pace with Avalon, close enough to feel their fur brush together at times by mindful of her growing belly. Once they arrived he found his place beside her and took note of the different scents all around him. More than he’d been around at one time for years and, admittedly, the old man felt a bit overwhelmed by it all. Not that he was worried about what they could do -- they were packmates and he doubted they would turn on each other -- but being in a “social” setting like this was a bit much. He gave a soft snort to signal his displeasure and gently pressed back against Avalon.

He noticed another settle on her other side, ears flicking back slightly with curiosity. “Famille?” He asked Avalon softly, slipping into French. Partly to see what she remembered, and partly to give himself comfort as well. He noticed now as he got older, if he faced uncertainty, he slipped more into his mother’s tongue than the common one.

Kirsi was late for the meeting, though not for lack of caring. Acere's call rang out clearly, past the borders of Winterfell, even to the south where she'd been scouting along the Wall. The sound of his voice was proof he meant business - whatever he was calling him for wasn't something to be taken lightly. Hurriedly she started the journey back north to the vast pine forest, certain due to her distance that she'd be among the last to arrive. Whatever he was calling them together for, certainly it couldn't directly involve her.. right? Or perhaps he'd been more serious than she thought when he mentioned raiding. Were they ready? Interested, she tried to pick up her pace, though by the time she covered the distance and made her way into the meeting she was panting heavily. Instantly she found Song's form in the crowd, grateful he'd been more prompt than her, and she made her way to his side, pressing her nose lightly into his shoulder in lieu of greeting.

Kai didn't give a damn about this meeting or what it entailed. Acere sounded angry - and Kai could relate, though for entirely different reasons. As soon as he heard his call he paused, deciding whether or not to answer it. Ignoring it sounded particularly tempting, but likewise... he was curious as to what he had to say. When he finally decided to head toward the group, his movement could be described as begrudging at best. He ambled lazily through the pines, pausing here and there to sniff at the wind and drag his paws through the snow that dotted the ground in clusters beneath the pines. After a ridiculously long time, he ambled up to the ground, taking his own seat far from the rest. He felt like Acere should be thankful he was even here at all, never mind his tardiness - he let out a quiet snort as he fell back to his haunches with a grunt, letting his pale gaze slowly drift over the group. He'd only met a few of them, and wondered if any of the others might be of interest to him... might as well entertain himself while he was here, after all.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea…” Whiskers’ words were quiet as she walked alongside Bellamy.

“Why? You said alpha’s call their people together to discuss things, right? I’m supposed to stay here so I should be there too. I’d rather not be kept in the dark about what is really going on.” The wolf’s voice was lower and Whiskers was sure she could hear an edge of anxiety in it.

Everything about this land was different… in Lyenne you were expected to know the area the Empire claimed. Due to the large amount of land to sustain it the Empress cared little for actually marking the border. Hell, Bells was convinced she didn’t do it on purpose. If others waltzed in and were caught by a patrol they were just made slaves or… in the case of her parents… forced to swear “loyalty” only to be slain when they were of no more use to their leader’s desires.

Whiskers sighed. Acere hadn’t sounded pleased and she worried about her idiot reacting the wrong way to his news… in front of all those gathered no less. There was no way to know for sure what the alpha would talk about but the badger was nervous. Bells hadn’t exactly been winning any points blending in to the pack yet.

Ear was silent as he padded on the she-wolf’s other side. He didn’t say it but he shared some of the fears the badger felt.

Against the judgement of her companions Bellamy made it there. There were… more wolves there than Bells expected. She pinned her ears back, anxiety welling up further in her belly as she bristled. She eyed them warily, edging to a less populated side and sitting farther back from the rest. There was another sitting far back too and Bellamy glanced at him. The first thing she noticed was the splash of red on his coat from his markings… and then she saw the tusks. It seemed “other” mutations were more common in this land after all. First the antler kid, that Bells was purposely not looking at, and this guy… plus the runty ex-royal from her homeland with wings.

Rude as it was… Bell stared at him as her companions remained on either side to hopefully help make sure Bells didn’t get in more trouble.

Lumi arrived late - later than late! She'd gotten distracted chasing down a white hare through the tall trees. With the smattering of snow that still clung to the base of the enormous trunks, she'd quickly lost track of the quick little thing. Drat. She was really hoping to catch one before the snows came again and made them almost invisible. The pup liked the bright white fur and thought it might make for a rather striking accessory. Of course, she'd give the hare an honorable death, but she really wanted his little pelt. Grumbling to herself, Lumi trudged into the meeting and picked a spot a little way away from her father. She was still hurting over her missing mother but tried to occupy her time by studying as much of the local wildlife as she could. Meetings were boring. Everyone gathered around just made her think harder about the wolves who weren't present.