Walk | Talk | Think Something within Secretua needed to change. Rune had been conscious of it for the past couple weeks, realizing what he had failed to realize sooner. His manner of ruling the pack, by taking on the brunt of the authority and responsibility himself, had worked at first, but they were expanding too quickly, their numbers growing to the point that he could no longer rule effectively anymore. He was spread too thin, the pack given too much freedom, and he could feel the structural integrity of the place beginning to fracture and break. He needed to do something now, to mend the cracks and bring the pack back together, before worse happened to them all, but it was not something he could do alone. He needed help. The grey Guardian's large black paws carried him slowly through the Prairie, away from the closed, secretive, and secluded Gulley where the pack denned. Much of the pack's activity had so far been centralized there, but for this meeting he wanted a different atmosphere, something open and free and encouraging of bold, new things. With his frosty gaze scanning left and right as he stopped, Rune hoped that same atmosphere might infect his pack members and give them courage to speak up. He was going to need it for anything to happen this day. Stopping within the Algoma Prairie, close enough to be seen from the edge of the Fern Gulley but still far enough away to not be affected by its presence, Rune turned his attention to the crowded, overrun dip in the ground. Somewhere within, the pack went about their business, working toward agendas that were solely personal and not aimed at assisting the whole. He needed to change that, to bring them back around to working toward the collective. Tilting his head back, feeling the strain of his healing neck wounds, he howled, a loud, confident summons of the Secretuan wolves. Losses, challenges, and difficulties had distracted him for too long from taking action and fixing the problems he could see arising. Today, however, he intended to change that. OOC: Secretua's first pack meeting! All pack members are required to post within five days, at which point Rune will reveal the intent behind the meeting. Late comers are allowed, though keep in mind punctuality is going to earn you more respect (which you may want to have during the second round of posts).

As always, Warja was punctual. Her father called and she was there, ghosting up on his left in a matter of minutes. Luckily for her, the young medic had been nearby. She hated the idea of being late, hated it with a passion. As long as she was able, she would arrive wherever she needed to be in a timely fashion. The same couldn't be said for some of her siblings, but it was possible that she'd sucked all the punctuality out of him in the womb. Aiming to brush against his left shoulder, Warja said, "Hey, dad." She turned merry green eyes in his direction before drifting away to settle down nearby and await the arrival of the others. Her eyes roved the terra, eagerly searching for the giant form of her friend. The question was: was Kismet a Warja, always on time, or an Eirik, always late? "Speech"

To be completely honest, Kismet wasn't entirely sure whether he typically was punctual or late. He had purposefully avoided all meetings at Glaciem, he and Soren had been ignored making that a rather easy task. The few meetings he had attended for Valhalla as well had been when he was a pup, his mother bringing he and his brother along and at the time it'd simply been exciting to see the whole pack together like that, enough so that he hadn't paid any attention to if they were late or not. Today however he would make sure to be on time. He still wasn't entirely certain how Rune felt of him and though the idea of being the first left awkwardly waiting in the man's presence it surely beat the idea of turning up late in hopes he'd blend into the crowd. At least his arrival here would be expected and less blatant than his attendance at the meeting during the storms. Fortunately too for as he arrived only one other figure would be seated and waiting for the meeting to start and Kismet was rather glad to see that it was Warja. The problem was however he wasn't entirely certain of the tradition now, was he meant to silently sit somewhere? Was there anywhere specific he was supposed to sit as a Guard? He was a little out of touch with pack life. Choosing not to worry however he'd give a little dip of his head in greeting to Rune as he reached the pair. "Hello." He offered a verbal greeting as well before looking back to his friend and moving to join her, mismatched eyes taking a glance back to Rune in case the man attempted to stop him. "Hey." A quiet and definitely calm greeting by their usual standards though there was still a smile upon his face as he spoke softly to Warja, certainly far more relaxed with his friend rather than his leader.

Her body still hurt. Good gods of course it hurt. Her good eye kept sliding to her son in disbelief, how in the hell anything that size had made it out of her was beyond her. Her only child... and proud as she was Akemi was also so bewildered that his birth hadn't just... killed her. Her other son, the one she might have had, was a distant memory... something kept secret. He had been taken by a fox just moments after coming into the world. There was no possible way he could have survived. So the female looked to the living, in a child who was easily going to tower over her and the majority of the pack no doubt once he was full grown. Riding on her head, content in the fact Akemi was well enough to get around, was her adopted son. His ears twitched happily, clinging to her fur with his little paws. "Momma~ We're going to see mister Rune and the pack, right right?" He would squeak. The female answered with a slow nod of her head. Even though she was exhausted, still recovering from the hell on her body, she refused to be absent from this meeting. She owed Secretua a lot... and she would make good on her promise to the alpha. Come hell or high water... regardless what others thought of her. She managed to hold her head high. Thus far only two others had arrived. Akemi would say nothing to either yet, slowly lowering her body to the ground after a respectful nod to Rune. A small smile was on her face as well as Einarr settled next to her, uncomfortably looking towards the other wolves present. Just in seeing his "father" {Freyr} and mother, seeing the differences in them and how beat up she was, it made the boy wary of other wolves from the get go. He wore a deep frown on his face, sticking to his mother's side like glue, which suited Akemi just fine. "Hear Me Talk," 'Read My Thoughts,' "Listen To Tiny."

Table by:: Keno

Elliot was snuggled happily in between Alamea?s shoulder blades, snoring softly as was his habit this time of day. The white woman was happy to oblige as it while there was little sense in talking to the flying fox while he slept, unless she was looking for some admittedly entertaining sleep talking, it still gave her a sense of companionship. The caretaker was standing idly beyond her den, no real destination or goal in mind when her mate?s call rang out. She felt Elliot jolt awake and a soft chuckle escaped her lips. ?Whazza?? He mumbled, sleep still clinging to his mind. ?Elliot?? Alamea asked, turning her head to the left slightly. ?Hmmm?? The bat yawned, shaking himself out. ?Would you mind grabbing Keiki and leading her to the meeting?? She was eager to get to the gathering quickly, wanting to be there to greet as many wolves as possible. Elliot did not speak again but suddenly took to the air, with a leathery creak of wings. ?Oh and if you see Eirik tell him to hurry up!? She called after her companion. Then with a smile upon her face the woman trotted off. She was not first to arrive though was glad to see she was among the first. The snowy woman first moved to Rune?s side, nuzzling his cheek and greeting him with a smile before turning to face her daughter. She noted Kismet standing close to her and gave the girl a wink. Then she turned her gaze upon a woman she did not recognize a pup clinging to her side. Alamea tipped her head forwards in greeting, her expression soft. Alamea speech Elliot speech BG ? EssenceOfPerception on DA Flying Fox stock ? MadSDesignz on DA

Colman's ears twitched a little, he had discovered his half sister was here. Not sure how to feel about it, it wasn't as if he and Emma had ever met. But then, there was another one that caught his eye, the child Akemi had. While he did not know her personally, the child looked oddly familiar. As he walked up spotting Rune he dipped his head, this place was his family, so there wasn't much he could do about that. A soft sigh escaped his lips before he inched towards Akemi, he didn't want to spark bad memories. He knew far too well of the curses that plagued his blood line. And he was a sanction of incest across the line somewhere.
"Miss Akemi-sama, may I ask who the father of that child is?" he asked his head lowered as well as voice. He had only heard rumors, that the child was a product of something ghastly. It did not surprise the man, the pain sat in his stomach. Just making him think what if Eulari had gotten pregnant before she vanished. What if he had been a father and didn't even know it?



""

She was now fully healed, leaving a small scar across her shoulder but it was nothing it would soon vanish with fur. As the woman made haste to the meeting, her cyan eyes looked at Rune, wondering if the man was still as pissed off as he had seemed at the borders. She wasn't a burden any longer, but her attitude beheld her, she made a small groan. Emma only thought of the tortures here now that she had practically sold off her soul to him. Yet, it might be a good rest from the bullshit she had been put through. Royals and all sorts of problems with her blood-line had only brought her down in the end. Her eyes drifted to her brother for a moment giving a small snort to him. Figured one of the more, loved, children would be here. Yet she did not know his story, therefore she could not judge too harshly. She dipped her head to Rune, or more of a bow as she was used to before settling herself. It made her realize how uncomfortable she felt when in a group, but that was normal. Speech,

For a few brief moments she had peace. There came a white female with pink eyes, giving a nod in her direction. She could feel Einarr shift beside her, settling down in a more comfortable position. Akemi felt calm, watching as another trickled in. But... then he spoke. The small woman was on her feet in an instant, nearly rolling her companion off her face and disturbing her poor child beside her. Her good remaining orb narrowed, a low, rumbling growl leaving her as she glared at the man. He might not have meant it as an offense... yet asking the question in front of the child as well, when clearly he has already seen how damaged his mother is and no man stood near her, was not at all acceptable. Hell, she was sure her siblings would probably think of Einarr as not acceptable... but dammit he was her son and would not be tainted by even being thought of as that bastard's child. "Don't you dare ask that in front of my son again." Her voice was a low, and broken and small as she was, she still held an unwavering look of ferocity in her single red orb. She was by no means going to attack the man, however she would not stand for him, or anyone, pestering about his lineage in front of him. The child was already uncertain of others enough. Tiny would whine, scrambling back to a safe place upon her head as Akemi shuddered some, doing her best to hold her ground and resist sinking back to the ground. "Hear Me Talk," 'Read My Thoughts,' "Listen To Tiny."

Table by:: Keno

Colman was taken back, of course he was an idiot. He shouldn't have asked it out in the open specially in front of the child. Suddenly his face showed disgust for himself. His cyan eyes looked over at Akemi with an apology, deeply so as the depressed man gave a small sigh. That poor child, he fought the energy to try and make friends with him. But he did however want to know, yet if Akemi didn't want to share it she didn't need to. As his tail flicked his ears came to settle to the back of his head before he gave a rather glorious bow to her his rump a little ways into the air.
"I apologize, it slipped my mind. But please, if you feel so I'd like to talk later." he stood up and looked at the child smiling suddenly and looking at her. "A beautiful child for a beautiful woman." he turned away from her and walked to distance himself. He didn't want to bother her even more than she already was bothered. It was in his nature to be kind.

""

He didn't like these other wolves. Didn't trust them. Why was his mom was different? She had parts missing... had been hurt. He saw that hurt in her every day as she recovered. When she encouraged him to play. Einarr would return to her before too long, not really acting in the proper way a pup should. When his mother wanted to leave the den it was more often that he was glued to her side. The boy was silent, not speaking to any of the others there. Had one of these wolves been the ones to hurt his mom? To hurt his 'dad'? Einarr didn't completely understand why, but he felt like something was wrong with calling Freyr dad... especially with how he acted with his mom. It just... didn't seem like a parent thing for some reason.

He had settled next to his mother, just starting to shift into a more comfortable position, perhaps to catch a few moments of dosing with his eyes closed, when his mother jumped to her paws. He would fall over, looking up a bit startled. Gaze would go from his mother to the man she snapped at, getting back to his paws. Little body would go rigged at first, ears flicking back and eyes narrowing slightly, a subconscious effort at defenses. Tail would raise slightly, positioned in front of his mother like a protective guard, despite being but a child. When the other backed down Einarr would watch him for a long moment, waiting for his mother to sink back to the earth before sitting down himself. He kept looking towards the man, his ears flicked back with uncertainty and a bit of anger.

She would not be among the first to arrive that would arrive, that much would be assured if only by the aching in her bones as she rose to answer the dark male's call. It had been obvious at their meeting upon the borders he was hesitant about allowing her in, that she didn't exactly present much promise to the fledgling pack was no doubt upon his mind. Still she would not allow herself to wither away simply because she had found a pack. The elder would arrive, clearly having just missed some sort of altercation, with a glance at the wolves around her she then turned emerald gaze upon Rune, giving him a deep respectful dip of her head, a remnant from her years under her brother's rule. Then with a heaving sigh she lowered herself upon her haunches, paws screaming in joy as she finally took her weight off them. "Speech"

The girl stared at the form descending from the sky, her mother?s friend Elliot was drifting down towards her in what was becoming a repeating pattern. She was being summoned by her mother, who was no doubt busy doing something else. The flying fox perched briefly between her shoulder blades as he often did upon her mother but quickly took to the air when it became obvious she was heading the wrong way. In time she would learn where to head when she saw the bat dropping towards her but for now the lands were still new enough that no definitive meeting place was imbedded in her mind. The journey there was uneventful, no words shared between them which was only in part because Keiki would miss them even if Elliot spoke. The girl arrived soon after and seated herself before her parents, the bat taking to the air again and briefly nestling between her mother?s shoulder blades, his little mouth whispering a few words Keiki could not make out but that made her mother shake her head and made the white woman?s shoulder rise and fall in a sigh, before he took to the air and perched beneath a branch further away. "Speech"

Walk | Talk | Think Unsurprising was Warja appearing first. The girl had consistently proven herself a punctual wolf and continued to do so here where Rune thought it mattered most. Something almost akin to a smile quirked at the edges of her lips until Kismet appeared, the boy bringing with him a strange distance that the Guardian was still wondering how to deal with. It was undeniable that the boy was partial to his daughter, but how he felt about it was something he had yet to decide upon. More came, the broken and beaten Akemi who was followed now by her son and the squeaky little creature who palled around with her, Alamea - a meaningful gaze, soft and adoring, was saved just for her - who appeared at his side with a nuzzle, Colman and Emma and Priti. He waited just long enough for Keiki to arrive before deciding enough time had passed. His son was not there - Rune made himself draw in a slow, patient breath while promising to remind the boy why being punctual was such a good habit of getting into - but that was neither here nor there anymore. He had called his meeting to order. He needed to get to it, regardless of who all had failed to show up on time. "I want you all to know your punctuality has been taken note of," he remarked to those who were presently here to listen, certain that, for the time being, the significance of the gesture was weighted more by him than them. As if called by his remark, his tardy son appeared, quietly sneaking in among the group, and Rune pointedly fixed him with a momentary stare as he went on. "It'll do you good to continue to be punctual from here on out. I called you all together to tell you that...it's high time some of the other ranks were filled." Carefully he chose his words; admitting to the pack that he needed help was not something his pride would allow. "I want to appoint Advisors - Sentinel, Hunstman, Healer - to take over the responsibility of those in the Task tier. And since I haven't seen enough out of you, I'm giving you time to prove yourselves." A slight pause preceded his explanation, giving them all a moment to let his news sink in before he continued. "If you are interested in any of the three Advisory positions, then speak up now. You'll be required to do something with your chosen task - set up a patrol, lead a hunt, conduct a lesson - something useful that you can be judged on. We've let things slip for too long now. It's time we started working together." His frosty blue gaze swept over the pack, his pack, and silently he hoped they would not disappoint him. Surely there had to be some who were ambitious enough to jump at the chance to prove themselves, and surely they were all looking for the opportunity to finally act like a pack and work together. "Well? Who's interested?" OOC: Alright, on to second round posts! They will be due by Saturday, Nov 22nd (or sooner depending on interest I hear about ooc). I'll be dropping Eirik in (only because he's never on time to things), but only feel obligated to post if your character is interested in one of the three Advisory tier positions. Otherwise, hang tight, we'll get this moving along shortly!

It's better to be hated, rather to be loved, for something you're not not not After that little event, he had managed to collect himself. Eyes turning his attention towards Rune. It seemed a rather depressing pack, it made him feel a bit constricted. He expected so much, but wasn't he to protect them? Though then again they were supposed to be a family. He had already been bitched at by two females one his own sibling. Though now was a chance for him to do something to distract himself from the mourning of his mate. He had to move on sometime, didn't he? Colman stood up proudly, or at least attempted to. "I'd like to try for the head huntsman position if you'd let me." holding a group hunt wouldn't be too hard, at least he hoped not. He had held plenty in his life time, when he was a yearling it had been his job in the pack for the ex prince. While his mother was a slave it was a difficult time, but he had been a bit darker back then as well. Speech,

The situation was diffused for the time, her child remaining by her side. Zisa, she figured, had to be with Freyr. Boy was she going to snap at him for missing this meeting. The femme would relax back upon the ground. She was going to overcome this, recover, and come out stronger. Then... she had some business to attend to. Some personal business. To face her fears, her demons... and make sure that they knew their damned place. The fiery female had faltered, shown weakness... but no, that wasn't the Akemi her siblings knew her as, and she sure wasn't going to let anyone else remember her as something so weak... so pathetic. She'd seek her children's bastard father herself. Listening to Rune, she'd remain silent. She wanted to prove to this man, to this pack, she would be capable. Be a wolfess who would not be a burden, despite her size. Then a most interesting opportunity met her ears, or rather what was left of them. The femme would lift her head, speaking in a clear voice after Colman showed his interest in the huntsman position. There was an unwavering flame of determination in her eyes, ready to leap forth and do what was needed. "I would like to try out for the sentinel position. Given a couple more days of rest and I will be prepared for a trial task, if you have no concerns about giving me the opportunity." She was going to make one hell of a comeback, no matter what it took. "Hear Me Talk," 'Read My Thoughts,' "Listen To Tiny."

Table by:: Keno

A smile on her lips, Warja turned to beam up at Kismet as he moved to join her. ”Hey!” She scooted over next to him, attempting to bump him with her shoulder as she did so. The arrival of others drew her attention away from her friend and very soon the meeting was underway. The young medic listened intently as her father spoke, nodding slightly in agreement with him whenever he said something she strongly agreed with. As soon as Rune was finished speaking, Warja was on her paws and padding towards him. She wanted to help in anyway she could, and becoming Secretua's healer would be the best use of her abilities. She was sure of it. ”I am,” she stated firmly and without hesitation. Her posture certain, she lifted her chin and said, ”I'd like to be considered for the position of Healer.” Her father had already seen her at work when she'd looked over Emma. He knew what she was capable of and she was unafraid of proving her worth again. Whatever task he saw fit to give her, she'd do it immediately. "Speech"

 

Walk | Talk | Think
 

Oh boy, was he late! He could already hear his father's stern, irritated voice scolding him on the importance of arriving on time, of doing what he was told when he was told to do it and not on his own time, of all these different ways in which he could make himself better. It was not like he did not know it all already - he had been told so many times he knew at least four different ways to say each piece - but his motivation simply was missing. But avoiding his father's ire was a good incentive to get him going, even if later than he should have set off. 

He was not a small boy and so stood no chance of simply blending in and sliding into the group unnoticed, but it did not stop him from approaching with a cautious step. He could clearly see his father at the head of the group, looking stern and serious as usual, with the pack situated around him. Most everyone was there already and as Rune began addressing them all Eirik knew he was in trouble. Showing up right when the meeting was getting underway - a tardy in his father's eyes. 

With head low and posture as inconspicuous as possible, a feat for the bulky yearling, Eirik padded quietly around the outer edge of their group, feeling the prickling sensation along the back of his neck that signified his father's eyes on him. He dared not lift his own rosy pink stare to meet the critical gaze of the Guardian but kept his dark tipped ears tuned toward him as he quietly took a seat, only glancing at his father and then the pack around him as things progressed. Advisers. That was sure to be something that might get his father's approval. But honestly he did not think himself capable of it and as Akemi volunteered he was more certain of it than before. 
 

Walk | Talk | Think   He did not have to wait long, a fact that Rune regarded with pleasure. He needed individuals with an assertive, ambitious nature to take on the tasks that he wanted the Advisory ranks to oversee, and hesitation was not something any of them could truthfully afford. There was far too much at stake, and if he was eventually to start leaving the pack for diplomatic ventures among their neighbors he had to be sure those he put in charge alongside Alamea knew what they were doing and could help handle the pack properly in his absence.  With approval in his stern gaze, the pale grey Guardian regarded Colman as he stepped up first to volunteer for the Hunstman position. He recalled from their initial meeting that the man had even then professed to being skilled in hunting, more so than anything else, and wished that he had been more observant of late to know for himself. Following him, surprisingly, came the petite mother Akemi - her large son at her side and her teeny companion even closer - tossing in her name for the position of Sentinel. It would not have been his first choice but he knew better than to think he knew her better than she did. If she was willing to volunteer for this spot then she must have some unknown skills up her sleeve that he was unaware of. Last came Warja, voicing an interest in the Healer position. Rune regarded her quietly for a moment after she had spoken, surprised and yet delighted by her ambition. He knew she trained herself to the best of her abilities, knew first hand what she could do would a few unsuspecting plants, and did not doubt for a second that she was close, if not perfectly ready, for the position that she requested.  A quick glance around assured him that no further candidates were going to step forward, and quietly clearing his throat the Guardian called order again. "Very well. Three volunteers for three Advisory positions. Here's what you'll be doing. Colman: I want you to hold a pack hunt. Get at least three others together and see if you can't find something that can feed most if not all of us. Akemi: once you're rested enough, I want you to head an instructional meeting. Teach the pack anything and everything you can in the time you've got them about fighting and defense and anything else you think they'd benefit from knowing. Warja," Rune paused for a second, still surprised that he should be addressing her with these others, "see if you can't get a couple others to go with you to collect some plants outside of the pack lands. Teach them a little along the way if you can." It felt like a lot that he had assigned to the three of them, but it was all everyday things that he expected to happen more consistently than they had been happening. If they were unable to keep up with the pace of their assignments, he wanted to find out now rather than later. Casting his gaze among the group at large, he sighed, feeling for once like the weight of the pack did not rest solely upon his shoulders. "If there's no further questions, I suggest you all get together with these volunteers and see about learning something new from them. They're going to need your cooperation in order to help you out as potential advisers." With nothing more to inform them, Rune fell quiet and merely watched them mingle and disperse, hoping those who had stepped up could handle the responsibility he had temporarily given them.  OOC: Alright, meeting adjourned! I would like to see these new threads go up within the next week and encourage everyone who didn't volunteer for something to toss your characters into one of them. Keep active, show some involvement within the pack, and you'll keep your place. Thanks for attending!