Why is everything so heavy

Thanks for almost everyone being on time! If you need to hop in late that's okay. I'd like everyone to post for the second round as well, due by June 26th so you have plenty of time. Sorry this is so long xD Actual meeting starts at paragraph 7

Leo was pleasantly surprised to see Archelus was the first to arrive. It was enough to break him from his thoughts and pull a smile onto his lips. "Some updates, some announcements, maybe even some rank moves," he replied when the gray man asked about a plan of action. Most meetings had a pretty similar agenda and this one was no different. Same lay out, different information. Of course they had to pay special attention to the information about the unwelcome visitor, but mostly he just liked meetings as an easy way to get everyone into one place. He liked seeing everyone he might not usually see on a regular basis to make sure they were doing alright. Soon enough Alfred joined them with Koron at his side and he gave his son a proud smile in return. He knew Alfie hadn't been doing well since Razor passed, but he was proud of his son for making an effort all the same. His eyes shifted to Heather as she came up alongside Alfred for a moment and he was happy to see the slight gesture of affection she gave her brother before she came up to join him at the front. He turned his head as she leaned into his side to give her ear a quick lick and smiled as he looked back out onto the growing crowd. His brows lifted with surprise when he saw Athena walking up to him and he gave her a small nod of greeting, replying, "Hello, Athena." He listened to her request, again surprised by it, but understanding. Was he not wanting to retire soon himself? He was certain it was for much the same reasons as him or at least in similar nature. "Of course, thank you for letting me know," he replied before she went to sit down, glancing at Heather to see her reaction. He supposed she should really be the one choosing the next Knight since she would be leading them soon enough, but it would probably come down to who was willing and able. His gaze shifted to the crowd again and he started to wonder who could fill the role. Tiburtius or Archelus perhaps? Or maybe Alfred would be interested in it? His gaze found Ara's for a moment when she settled in for the meeting and he offered her a small nod and a smile. His eyes shifted to Carletta and his expression immediately brightened when he saw her, though his smile dimmed a bit when he saw the worry in her expression. What could it be? He wanted to go over and ask, but he saw her hesitate and keep her words to herself so he let it wait. He gave her an encouraging smile, hoping that whatever was bothering her wasn't so serious. His head turned when he saw a movement from the corner of his eye and his eyes landed on his mother. That brought his warm smile back to his face and his tail wagged gently for a moment. There for a while his mother hadn't been attending meetings so he was very happy to see her here towards the front with him. His attention turned toward Jackson then and he realized as he saw his nephew sitting alone that he hadn't checked on him since he learned of Razor's passing. His ears flicked back for a moment and his expression was apologetic as his eyes found Jackson's. Finally he noticed Bluemoon join them on the outskirts and after waiting for another minute more and letting his eyes search the trees around them he decided that he might as well get started. Of course he noticed Lionel and Amalia's absences and he frowned and he checked for them one more time. He couldn't wait on them forever, but he didn't like that they weren't here. He cleared his throat and put a small smile on his face as he focused on all of the wolves that were here in front of him. "Hello again, everyone. I know it has been a while since our last meeting. I feel like my attention has been elsewhere as of late and I am going to refocus my attention on all of you and this pack. I think I'm trying to prematurely retire and I promise to remember that I am still your leader for the time being. On that note though Heather and I have been working on her training so I hope that she will be in my place before too long." He glanced at her with a slight smile before looking back out at the crowd again. "I hate to start out a meeting on a sad note, but I want to get this information out first. I'm sure several of you already know this, but Razor, my nephew, has passed away. He has always had issues with his health, but this is still a hard loss on several of us." He paused for a moment with a glance down to his paws, letting the silence hang on the air in remembrance of him. He looked up again with a soft sigh. "Now then... one of the major reasons I wanted to call this meeting is because we had an unwelcome visitor. It was a male from another pack. This isn't something I take lightly. Not only is it unforgivable and disrespectful to have a trespasser from another pack, but he shouldn't have been able to get that far into the territory to begin with. I can't patrol the borders enough on my own to catch everyone. Heather and Lionel have been helping, but from now on I need all of the fighters to patrol for me as well. I do a patrol in the morning, in the afternoon, and the evening so I need you guys to fill in the gaps." His eyes went to Archelus, Tiburtius, Athena, and Alfred as he spoke. Anyone was welcome to patrol if they wanted, but he didn't want anyone that couldn't protect themselves on their own out there. "If you would be more comfortable patrolling in pairs please do so. If you see someone patrolling please join them. We have to protect each other and show that we are united and strong." He pulled another smile onto his lips, glancing toward Athena. "On a similar note... Athena has decided that it is time for her to step down from her role as Knight. She has been our Knight for almost as long as I have been an alpha here and I thank you, Athena, for all of your time and energy. I hope that you'll still share your knowledge with us for as long as possible." He turned his focus again towards the fighters of the pack, adding, "That does mean that we will have to fill her position. If this is something one of you might be interested in, please say so. Then Heather and I can discuss who would be the best fit later." He paused and let anyone would wanted to volunteer do so. While he was waiting on those responses he looked around again, noticing Lionel and Amalia's absence for a second time. He wanted to be lenient with them since they both had been having a hard time as of late, but he wondered if it might not be best to consider letting Amalia step down as well. That wasn't something he wanted to do without talking to her first so he let the thought be put to the side for the time being. He refocused on the crowd and smiled softly. "One last thing. Bluemoon," he leaned over a bit so he could see around one of the other wolves so that he was looking at the young man. "Now that you are a student I expect you to be training with the other wolves and figuring out what it is you would like to pursue for your rank. I'm going to challenge you seek out Tiburtius for a spar, Jackson for hunting, and Ara for a lesson on healing. Once you've done one of each you can let me know which one you would like to focus on." He smiled a bit more and added, "Let me or Carletta know if you need help with anything at all." With that he let his gaze sweep the crowd one last time and said, "That's all. If anyone needs or wants to speak with me please come do so. If not you're free to go." "Talk" "You" Think