Avacyn leaned into Sara's touch as he reassured her, giving him a thankful smile before she turned her gaze toward the wolves that were beginning to approach. Surprisingly, it almost became less nerve wracking as more and more wolves began to turn up to attend her meeting, watching as familiar faces began to appear in front of her. Perhaps the worst of her nerves came from the worry that no one would listen to her call, but with that fear erased she was able to shake off most of the nerves she had originally felt. She wore a gentle smile as she waited, nodding as a quiet greeting to everyone to filed in. Of course her family got a larger smile, her white-tipped tail brushing against the slate lightly behind her. The wolves she was more familiar with, like Ricin, Chade, and Irilyth, also got more enthusiastic greetings, but she made sure to acknowledge everyone that appeared. Of course she noticed the coldness that Scylla looked to her with and the absence of Albion, but... she could hardly blame them.

With the vast majority of Elysium gathered in their meeting spot, she sat up a little bit and began to speak, deciding that taking up everyone's time in the hope that the last one or two might show wasn't worth it. "Thank you for coming, everyone," she began, offering everyone a welcoming smile. "I'm sure this announcement does not come as much of a surprise given the length of time that I have been Elysium's heir, but my mother and I have decided that it is time that I step into the role of Matriarch. I'm happy that I'm able to give my mother and father time to enjoy their retirement as my own way of thanking them for everything that they have done to not only build this pack from the ground up, but to look after it so well for the past few years. Luckily, they have both agreed to continue serving Elysium as my Counselors so you all will still feel their presence here as well." She gave both of her parents a grateful grin before she continued on.

"While my mother has certainly prepared me well for my new role, I know that I can not do it alone. Taking up the role of Commander and the important job of leading our fighting forces will be Saracyn," she announced, glancing toward her brother with a grin before her dark gaze shifted back to the crowd. "For now much of our upper ranks will remain the same. Ikigai as our Emissary, Irilyth our Master Physician, Chade our Master Predator, Ricin our Master Wayfinder, and Fia as our Master Tactician." Her gaze shifted from wolf to wolf as she listed their names. "You have all been doing wonderfully in your roles and I will be meeting with your individually in the days to come to make sure we're all aligned on our goals as Elysium's leading ranks." She gave the rest of the crowd a bit of a grin as she added, "There is a spot to be filled, however. Our Master Warrior possession is currently vacant and I am looking for someone to take the role. If you are interested and feel that you are qualified for such responsibility please let me know after the meeting. If there are more than one wolf interested we'll have a challenge and see who comes out victorious."

"There is one last thing to celebrate before I let you all go," she began, finding Malico and Mariah in the crowd and giving each of them a proud grin. Even though she hadn't had as much time to spend with her youngest siblings as she had with Fia due to the ramp up in her preparations to be Matriarch, she was always proud of her family and their accomplishments. "Our youngest members are nearing their first birthday and with that will be moving into their proper ranks. Malico and Mariah, please come see me after the meeting and we'll discuss what rank to give each of you. I know that you both have been studying and training diligently and I can't wait to see you continue to hone your skills." With her gaze sweeping across the rest of the pack again, she added, "That will be all for today, everyone. Please, feel free to come up and speak with me if you have any further questions or would like to put in your name to be considered for our Master Fighter position. Thank you."

"Avacyn Medacium"

Just before the meeting started, she had allowed her attention to drift to the ground in front of her. Not really focusing on anything specifically- just listening. Mariah didn’t notice her father approaching until he had nearly closed the distance entirely. Glancing up at the sound of his footfalls, she did her best to straighten up, offering a half-grin as she tried to force energy she wasn’t entirely sure she had. As he came to settle behind her, she’d cast a glance of her shoulder, though still not leaving the support of her tree. “Well enough to grace everyone with my presence, I suppose.” She answered, trying to project as much fire in her voice as she could. Though, it was quickly ousted as she felt the gentle touch of affection against her forehead.

As Avacyn began to speak, she was acutely aware that her father had gestured to his shoulders, if she wanted to use him for support instead. For a moment, she halfway considered it. Though, in the end, her stubborn nature won out. Allowing her grin to tighten a bit as she gave the former Commander a stiff nod in acknowledgment of his offer, allowing her sterling gaze to linger for a few moments longer before turning to face Avacyn once more in time to hear the announcement. Her sister was officially stepping into the role of Matriarch of Elysium- Saracyn into the role of Commander. Her sister went on to describe that most other ranks were staying the same … not that any of that interested her.

Just as things seemed to be winding down, Avacyn mentioned there was one final thing to celebrate before dismissal. It was then she met her sister's gaze with intrigue- tilting her head to the side in response to the grin she was offered. Then it all made sense, Ava having asked that she and Mal come to see their new Matriarch for ranks at the end of the meeting. A surprised gasp of air caught in her throat as she stared back at the centerfold of the clearing. As the gathering concluded, Mariah remained fixed to her tree for a moment … quickly trying to process what was happening in a flood of emotion. She suddenly shot another glance at her father over the shoulder, searching his face with a gaze of suspicion “Did you know about this?” She asked, in a halfway accusing tone. In the end, she decided it didn’t particularly matter. And with as much effort as she could muster, Mariah hauled herself to her paws to cross the clearing to where the rest of her family stood. She half expected her father to come along, but she didn’t wait to see if her assumption was correct, nor to get her answer if he was aware of Avacyn’s intentions of the day.

The bony scarlet fae worked her way through the crowd as it dispersed, not meeting anyone’s eyes as she made her way to the raised platform. She had hoped that she could sort out what she was feeling by the time she reached her destination. Surprise? Excitement? Annoyance? It all kind of blended together. It made her feel like she wasn’t in control, and that was the part she wasn’t fond of. Still, she tried to conceal as much of her personal frustration as she could as she slowly entered a conversational distance. With the strength she could find, she cleared her voice. “Congratulations Avacyn. It’s almost as if you were born for it.” Her tone lathered in a pointed dry humor.  Well, to be fair, trying didn’t always mean success.


"Mariah Mendacium"

Code By Whiskey. Art By Cull