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Ferrous was the first of the pack to appear, and her jaunty greeting drew a sincere smile to his muzzle. The spunky young woman seemed to have that surprising effect on the gentleman who normally cloaked himself in his melancholy like a shield. "Good morning, Kes," he returned, tilting his head to her as she and her fanged snow leopard chose seats. Asriel watched as Zahir seemed to regard him warily and then ignored him. His whiskers twitched towards her and the tip of his tail lashed gently, his interest clearly piqued by this unusual and intriguing member of his species, but he left her alone. He had seen so few of his kind that he didn't want to scare her off by pushing too enthusiastically for her attention and he was, after all, a gentleman.

The small pack gathered on the deck of the ship. Enrico watched them distantly, his mind on what he planned to do, planned to say, but he paid enough attention to see the wary reactions of some of the wolves to Asriel and to Ferrous' companion. Valdis was the last to make her way there, looking rather tired but by no means late.

"Spring is here," he observed first, his velvet-soft voice seeking their attention. "Soon the packs to our south will be stirring again. We have settled in well here, I believe, but it is time for us to begin to make a place among them. I want to urge caution in dealing with wolves from other packs, however. Although it is time they began to learn of our existence and our name, I would prefer that the nature and makeup of Niente remain secretive for as long as possible. The more the other packs know about us, the less advantage we have, so please, take great care when you speak to others of Niente. I trust you as wolves of Niente," he said, meeting each set of eyes in turn to emphasize his point, "to keep this in mind."

He waited a beat longer to drive the seriousness of his request in, then moved to the next subject, though one that had not seemed necessary to him until the meeting had begun. "Some of you may have noticed the scents of snow leopards around the territory and, I'm sure, none of you have failed to notice the two among us right now," he said with a faint wry humor. "Zahir and Asriel," he nodded to each in turn, "though they are not wolves have chosen to join Niente much as Ferrous and myself have, and are to be regarded as much a part of the pack as any of us. I know that they may be startling," and he leveled a neutral look at Asriel, who had smugly lifted one oversize paw with claws extended to groom between the toes, clearly for the express purpose of showing off the formidable weaponry, "but please extend them the same courtesies and welcome as a wolf pack member. Thank you."

Another pause, this time to redirect his thoughts back into the path he'd called the meeting for, and to make it clear that the meeting was moving on from the announcements. "With the easier travel that spring will allow us, I intend to begin seeking out trades with the other packs as well as with loners who have assets that will be of use to us. If any one has trade goods to contribute or the ability to make goods, let me know. Otherwise we will trade our services for goods, or for training. Many among you have not yet made a decision about what guild you wish to find training in, so please let me know so I can provide or trade for training for your apprenticeship period. Please keep in mind that everyone needs to contribute to a guild in some way, to work together as packmates." He let his quiet gaze travel around them, making it clear that he would be disappointed if anyone chose to languish in guildless limbo.

"If any of you have anything more to add, please feel free to do so," he concluded, opening the floor to anyone else who wanted to address Niente, as he waited for those who sought rank to speak up.