She would panic. Covari was disbanded. Gone. Vi was gone. Desiree was gone. What had happened? She had been so out of loop since her sons were born. Maverick hadn't showed up once, now her home, her family was gone. "Koray, Amarant!" Her voice was unusual harsh, as she demanded both of her boys stand beside her. They stood near the den, but now they stood on rogue lands. She knew the life of a rogue was hard, but now she was a single mother with two mouths to feed. Her crown would tip back, a calling letting loose for her brother. Was he still here? She hoped so. She hadn't seen him since the meeting and she had no intention of loosing him again. Her call would end, and would look down at her two boys, giving them a quick smile. "I need for you both to stay very close, okay?" She would try not to sound panicky, she didn't want to frighten either of them or anything. Haunches reclined as she pulled them in close, waiting to see if her brother and his family would arrive or not. They would need to find a new home, a safe place for them to reside as her boys grew up and learned to care for themselves. Talk like this

Walk | Talk | Think Rune was lost. He had moved to Covari to be with his family, at his aunt's request as well as his sister's, thinking that at last he might have found a stable, comfortable place in which to raise his three children. As much as he had enjoyed being back upon the mountain of his birth, it was simply too dangerous a place to protect and patrol on his own, and the thought of having stable boundaries definitely appealed to him. Not only that, Alamea had even agreed, putting up little to no fight against their moving and guarding her reservations to herself. But the moment he had set foot there he had felt out of place. He was placed amongst the masses, forgotten, left to find his own way within a world where he had thought he had been wanted, maybe even needed. Without a purpose, without direction, he had wandered a territory foreign and uncomfortable to him, shared space with wolves he did not trust enough to relax around, and found himself beginning to regret his decision. It should have come as no surprise that the pack would simply up and leave around him, though it did. Even the strongest of packs had already been proven to him as shakeable as the next, forcing the first move his family had made out into the wilds to fend for themselves. But his aunt, despite giving little attention to him, had seemed to devote all of her time and energy into Covari, into her empire, and he never would have expected her to simply discard it so easily. The lands might have been empty if not emptying and he might have been as alone as he ever had been but still the dark fur along the back of his neck bristled. This was not how he had pictured things going at all. Since it still beat as the heart of the pack, even if the pack no longer officially resided here, Rune kept within the boundaries of the Range, choosing a location well away from the buildings and machinery and within the thick forests that bordered it as his temporary base. He stood amid the trees, black paws strangely fidgety as he wished for more to do, wished to be away from the place already. But not before he found his family. His frosty blue eyes were narrowed beneath deeply furrowed brows, his ears alert though otherwise they may as well had lied flat with irritation. Opening his muzzle, he called for them - Alamea, Keiki, Eirik, and Warja - wanting to keep his family close. As always, they were his world. So long as he had them things would find a way to be alright. He was not the only one seeking to gather the family close. Though he had been listening for a call from his own children or mate, it was his sister, Maia, who he heard instead, calling not for their once-leading aunt or the male who had left her with two more mouths to feed but for him. Immediately his itchy paws moved into action, drawing him hurriedly through the wood in her direction - his family was smart enough to catch his scent and follow. It took him a little while but eventually he found them, his small sister seated with her two boys close beside her. He did not need anything more than a look to let him know that he was not the only one with frazzled nerves. She might have been putting on a good composed look for the kids, but Rune was no child to fall for it. His scowl had not lessened along the way, though his eyes did seem to soften as they settled on the dark colored woman, drifting over the children as he slowed and then stopped before them. "You guys are alright?" he asked, his low, gruff voice concerned as he took a second to glance around assessingly. Blue eyes returning to Maia's green gaze, he added in a quieter tone, "Do you know what's happening?"

The young pup would come to his mother, ears pinned, almost frightened by her tone. He thought that he and Koray were in some sort of trouble, but he couldn't remember doing anything wrong. His tail tucked but as soon as his eyes met Maia's, he came close beside her. Her eyes flicked, giving a smile to calm them for what was to happen, though Amarant was completely oblivious to the fact that they were no longer claimed; they were homeless. He would copy Maia, joining her in her call for rune but his tiny voice was no match to hers and probably couldn't be heard from the distance the brute had from them. He turned to Koray to give him a grin as if to say it was alright, because he was sure that mother would keep them safe. Though he still had no clue of what danger really lied ahead. As soon as Maia slumped to her haunches, Amarant took place between her stomach and front legs, wrapping himself through them looking ahead where he would soon find Rune approaching. He could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong, and instantly his gaze rose back to his mother's. "Mom what's going on?" But whether she responded to him or not, he would turn back to Rune who had come very close to them now. He would jump out only a little, titling his chin to the silver man and repeating his question, "Uncle Rune! What's going on?" His eyes would only wander a second, looking for his aunt and cousins wondering if they would be here too. But they instantly came back to his Uncle, this time patiently waiting his reply. Walk "Talk" Think

Warja was, to put it nicely, a bit miffed. Coming to Covari hadn't been her idea and while she'd gone through with it because its what her family had wanted, she hadn't liked it very much. When it came to making big decisions the yearling was rather slow and deliberate; she didn't jump into something without looking at it from all angles first. Simply picking up and joining one day had been too fast for her. There hadn't been enough thinking. Really and truly she was disappointed. Covari was just beginning to feel okay. Not quite home, but not quite so uncomfortable and foreign anymore. She'd found a mentor, dug a den and had begun making efforts to integrate into the pack. Now all that effort was wasted. A call went up, the voice that rang out easily identified as her father's. Of course she already knew what he was going to say. It was time to move. That seemed to be what they did when things fell apart. She'd been little when Valhalla was disbanded, but Warja vividly remembered the move. And now it was happening again. While Mount Volkan had grown stale, she was beginning to think they would have been better off staying there. Much less effort would have gone into staying. Retrieving a tattered white feather from her tractor-den, Warja bid the odd abode adieu and went off in search of Rune. She tracked him to Maia; trotting on the scene and stopping to stand a short distance away. The decision to keep her distance wasn't an intentional one, rather, it was a unconscious hint at her standoffish mood. Wasting no time, she stated, "We're moving." It wasn't a question. No, there was no point in asking, in beating around the bush. The only question worth asking was 'where?' so they could get this show on the road. Speaking - -Thinking

Told you they would leave! Her boy would come without question, looking rather fearful at first and only mildly soothed by her smile. Amarant would ask what was going on but before she could answer, Rune would appear. His look was one of displeasure. He clearly didn't know what was happening anymore than she did. Once again their little family had been uprooted and torn apart. A sigh rolled off her tongue before she spoke. "We're fine, are you and your family well?" No one wants you! Voice shrieked in her skull, uncomfortably loud today. Amarant would speak again and she would hush. However, her niece seemed willing to answer he question. The girl stood several feet away, looking rather unhappy. For a moment she would frown, this wasn't exactly the way she planned for her boys to find out that their home was gone, and they were sure to panic now. "Your cousin is right, we are going to find a new place to live, but don't worry." She would smile down at both her boys, placing a kiss on both their heads before lifting her gaze back to Rune. "I have no idea what's going on. Everyone is gone. Vi is gone too." He words held a silent question that she didn't want to voice. She left because of you. Pain constricted her chest. It was happening all over again. She struggled to hold herself together for her children's sake, yet she had no doubt that Rune would see the panic flaring in her verdant gaze. There was no way she would be able to care for her children like they needed on her own. What were they going to do? Glancing down at her two boys, she would sigh. Now what? It was the only question that filled her thoughts. The voices threatened to strangle her, threatened to tear apart the last of her sanity, to steal her control and turn her into a monster. Talk like this

Walk | Talk | Think They were fine, Maia said, and Rune supposed that was true. They looked okay, aside from the shock and confusion and fear. It was not the type of environment he would have wished on her new family - or his for that matter - and he sighed quietly as she asked about them. "We will be as soon as we get out of here," he answered gruffly, once again feeling that itch in his legs urging him to lead them away. It was too soon yet though. He still needed his family here, his children and his mate, and then he could put more thought into where they would go, into what exactly they would do to ensure this never happened again. From between Maia's feet, her dark spotted boy Amarant spoke, asking after what had happened here within their home. Rune glanced upward at Maia, seeking her gaze as he was unsure just how much she wished to share with her impressionable child, but it was Warja's voice that answered from behind him, simply and bluntly announcing that they were moving. Rune turned to look toward her, sensing the edginess and irritation that rolled off of her, and though he too wished the children might have been informed in a less jarring way he could not be upset with her. "Yes," he responded with a nod of his head, guilt causing his blue eyes to shift away from his daughter and stare into the woods as if looking for the rest of their family. Really, he simply did not know how to take the look about her, the uncharacteristic distance that she set herself away with. He only hoped it would eventually fade and this whole mess could be put behind them. After consoling her child, the grey male's sister informed him of everything that she knew. It was not much more than he himself had determined already, but having it all confirmed, knowing that someone else had interpreted the current situation in the same manner that he had, was reassuring. He nodded again, murmuring lowly, "That's what I thought." They were on their own. "We can't stay here," he added needlessly, knowing they had already accepted that a move was their only option, "we need to find a new place to go." Heading back to the mountain was tempting - it was familiar to them both and near enough by that they could be there relatively quickly. But maybe that was reason to go further, to ensure that they would not accidentally meet any of the shady characters who they had once called pack mates. "Will you travel with us?" he asked softly, his eyes searching. He wanted to help her, wanted to make sure that she and her children survived their abandonment, and he had no intention of abandoning them as well. But neither did he know yet where they would end up, or what they would face along the way. He did not want to pressure her or make her feel like he was taking over things for her and her family. He wanted the best for them, just as he did for his family, and he trusted Maia enough to make the proper decision for her family, whatever it turned out to be.

Koray was quiet. He had heard mama's tone and it was unlike him not to come rushing to her side right away. However, it was unlike her to be so harsh without cause. Koray had suspected danger, and rather than come to his mother right away, he had stayed put, looking for what might be the cause of her distress.

Ammy had looked worried, and that had only strengthened his resolve. No one ever came to see them, Mama, Ammy, and Koray were all they really had. He hadn't quite understood what the pack was, other than a large group of strangers that made his mother worry. The young Koray's world was a very small one. There was room for his mother, his brother, and himself. The people he was told were family beyond that vaguely fit into place, cautiously and tentatively; but the young wolf was born with a spirit of mistrust. He could be told wolves were family; but unless he saw them helping his mother, making her happy, it didn't mean anything.

When his mother and Ammy called for the other wolves, Koray did not join them. He walked in a wide circle around what he knew to be his home, smelling for danger, trying to find what the problem was, why his mother had sounded upset. Frustrated and unable to find anything he finished his circle, to see some of these wolves he was told were family, were speaking with his mother and talking about leaving.

Leaving where? why? Leaving him? Koray drooped his ears sad, knowing he had not obeyed his mother promptly, and had not defeated the cause of her worries to make up for it. He padded slowly towards his mother, his sad ears shifting to ones flattened against his skull as he looked at the other wolves. His mother looked upset to him, in the way she held herself, and the tone of voices from the other wolves.

"Mama? Ammy? Is everything alright?" he questioned warily as he continued to watch the other wolves and draw near his mother's side.

Oh how the world liked to spit upon the poor white woman. Time and again the foundation she had thought steady as the earth itself had cracked and quaked and proved itself just as treacherous as the world. Home, a concept she had clung too since her own escape from her family, she had thought she would never feel at home ever again. Then Valhalla had offered her something she had long gone without, security, and a sense of home had come from that. But Valhalla had twice been torn from her grasp and the second time she had stopped fighting and let it drift. The news of what had happened to her once home had reached her and despite at that point being part of Covari she had felt a rush of sadness and even anger, mostly aimed at the red woman who ruled her current pack. This she had not discussed, she had always figured Rune would have backed his aunt and so had not felt right with pursuing a possible conflict. Then a sickness she did not know had gripped her and while she had done her best to sequester herself away for the protection of her family soon Keiki had to come to reside in the small den she had taken temporary residence in, the grey and white child evidently catching whatever it was Alamea had caught. Rune had been good, updating her when need be and checking up on the two sick females when he could. Then the last shred of any stability had collapsed beneath them as it seemed it always would when it came to the tiny ivory woman. What else was there for them now? Only each other, was the resounding answer and even in sickness Alamea had clung to the knowledge that at least her family was still here like it was a life line, and she drowning. Only now was the sickness subsiding, her body feeling marginally stronger. Twice a call went up for her and the children, twice the woman began to rise to her paws only finding her footing the second time. With some difficulty she woke Keiki, who was still in a worse state than her mother, the sickness not quite working its way through the girl?s body yet. Making it clear the grey and white child was to stick close Alamea went off to answer her sister in law?s summons. The going was slow, the larger frame of Keiki leaning heavily on Alamea. Familiar figures rose up from the range and Alamea stopped, allowing Keiki to curl up a bit away from the others before picking up her pace slightly. The Ivory woman said nothing as she pressed up beside her mate, seeking the strength and comfort of his form. The short trek had taken quite a bit out of her, her breathing a bit labored. "Speech," Goodness Gracious great balls of fire, thank you Fox!

She hadn't intended to answer her cousin's question, merely state a fact so they could cut to the chase, but whatever. It mattered not. Next step was to pick a destination. Perhaps her behavor would earn her an unpleasant label, but she felt they needed to be swift in their decision. Who knew who would rise up to claim Covari now that it was leaderless. It was in their best interest to be long gone before a new ruler settled. Or worse; with the tasteless Valhalla spectacle hanging over them, Covari doubtlessly had enemies. Who was to say that those enemies wouldn't choose now to exact their revenge? They needed to put this land far behind them. Gears spinning, Warja mentally flipped through possible new homes. She did not want to go back to Mount Volkan. The place was nearly barren, making for a lackluster home. If Maia and her brood chose to come along then the place's meager game population would be stretched to the max. No, they needed someplace that was a little...more. More prey, more greenery, just all around more. She didn't wish to dictate where her family went, but she did want a say in it. After all, it would be her home too and while it would eat at her dignity, she was willing to throw herself onto the ground and kick and scream in the hopes of ruling out Mount Volkan as their destination. She was not above shaming herself. "I might know a place," she ventured, "There's a place called Fern Gulley near where we used to live." Warja refused to say the name out loud for fear that one or both of her parents would latch onto its familiarity and run with it. "I think it would be good place for us, even if only temporary." Her eyes went to Maia, ready to appeal to her maternal instincts. "It's a safe place, well sheltered, plenty of game. It would be a good place for pups." Speaking - -Thinking

Walk | Talk | Think His poor sister. He could see clearly enough that this whole messy situation was going to be trying on her, as well as that it already was. Amarant seemed to be attentive to the goings on between them, listening and likely understanding for it what had become of their home, what was to become of them now that they were no longer part of a pack. But Koray appeared lost and frightened, a mixture that he was sure was going to be a challenge to fix. Aside from the blunt way in which Warja had made the announcement a moment ago, how did one go about explaining to pups that the life they had known, however short they might have known it, was gone? Or that whatever was to follow would be trying and challenging and would test them in ways they should not be tested at such a young age? The dour thoughts only caused his frown to deepen disappointingly. With his gaze once again searching for those of his family, a cautious glance sent Warja's way as if to ensure that her new distant mood would not send her scouting ahead without them, the grey wolf's frosty blue eyes soon spotted and fixed upon a small, familiar white figure, rosy eyes staring out of a pretty face with a large grey and white youth leaning precariously at her side. Inwardly Rune sighed. Such bad timing. Could everything have happened after his ill mate and child had healed and recovered rather than before? It distressed him to see the both of them up and moving about, and already he could tell from the way Keiki was placed at a distance from the rest of them that the sickness had yet to run its course. How cruel the world was to inconvenience the sick in this manner, especially when they had done nothing to deserve both illness and abandonment. Though words of concern were on the tip of his tongue, Rune bit them back as Alamea came up to stand at his side and he moved into place to allow her to lean against him while he curled his neck protectively over her own. He wanted very much to scold her for being up and about, for not resting as she should have been doing alongside their daughter, but how safe, really, could they be here now that the pack was gone? "I'm sorry," he said instead, his deep tones heavily apologetic. If only he could have seen this whole thing happening beforehand, if only he had had some sort of premonition, a hint at what was to come. They could have avoided it all. With the little white wolf at his side, the grey male with the black markings listened as his daughter voiced her opinions on the matter of where they would be headed. It surprised him a little - apparently he had a little more learning to do about his children than he was previously aware of - but as she explained he could understand the soundness in what she said. Fern Gulley. Though he could not recall having traveled to the lands himself, he recognized the name and was encouraged by what Warja had to say about it. A safe place, with a good food source and perfect for pup rearing. Rune's blue eyes traveled toward his sister, assuming the last of his daughter's descriptions would appeal to her the most. "I say it's better than staying here," he answered, deciding then to speak for them all rather than simply his own. Perhaps a little guidance in these troubling times was just what his sister would need in order to feel even slightly normal again. His gaze traveled around them all once more, noting not for the first time the absence of his son - where had the damned lazy kid gone off to? - but there was no more time to waste. He had to hope they would find him somewhere along the way on their way out of what had once been Covari. "Let's go, before staying here becomes dangerous," he instructed, turning to touch his muzzle reassuringly against his mate's cheek. "He'll catch up, don't worry." And with most of his family in tow Rune cast a quick glance among them before moving with Alamea at his side to assist Keiki in getting to her feet, ready to take those first steps along their journey to reach the Gulley Warja had so successfully sold him on. -Exit Rune- OOC: Figured I'd just go ahead and move this along, I'll start a new thread in the Gulley for them to regroup - Eirik included. x3

Amarant settled down in order to keep himself and Koray calm. Though Koray was probably perfectly fine, he still needed to chill. He would remain silent for the rest of the time, maybe a little bit of fear in his heart but he wouldn't let it out. He still didn't understand what was happening, but would only do what the rest of his family wanted. Amarant would stay between Maia's legs as Rune took his leave and made a decision. Uncle Rune would become a king of his own home, and Maia would take the interest. He would only wait until she made a move to follow her to their new kingdom. -Exit Amarant- Walk "Talk" Think