Hallelujah (I'm Not Dead)

Casso waited patiently as the rest of the pack members that appeared gathered around for the meeting and eventually his brother began to speak, as brazen and headstrong as ever. His ear flicked at the assumption that those that had chosen to leave were deserters and were speaking ill of him. While perhaps that might be true of some, he didn't think it was true for all. He couldn't necessarily blame those that had left in his absence. A pack without its leader didn't feel like much of a pack at all, especially considering Ignis had chosen to not have any wolves in his upper ranks and left himself the sole power of the pack. Surely those "deserters" had a reason even if they didn't know what that reason was. He didn't enjoy being lumped into his brother's paranoia as he was mentioned by name, bringing up the harshness of the world. He understood what Ignis was trying to say - given the fact that they had witness the terror their father had caused - but as with most things the way his brother said it was abrasive.

He kept his thoughts to himself, but it did seem as if his brother at least had finally made note of the imbalanced structure of the pack as he brought up the topic of promotions. His ears perked with surprise when he was the first in this line of promotions, being named Ignis' primary beta. He gave a soft smile and dipped his head in response, remembering their conversation and his pleas for Ignis to allow him to help. Perhaps this would finally be a step in that direction. He smiled a little wider at his brother's praise for his mate and her promotion and he turned his two-toned gaze down to her as he kissed the top of her head in a silent congratulations. She truly was a skilled healer and he was glad that she was being noticed for that. The other adults in the pack were placed in ranks as well, finally moving them all away from the commoner rank Ignis had dumped them into after his take over. Finally they were taking steps in the right direction at least. He cast a curious gaze at the pups that were gathered around them. There were quite a few between Kirsi and Song's litter, Ignis' children, and his own so there would be lots of wolves to train. "I have no problem taking on as many apprentices as needed that would like to learn about fighting or hunting," he offered before the young wolves spoke, settling back to listen.

One of Kirsi and Song's daughters was very vocal with her displeasure at the assumptions and demands that Ignis had made and he couldn't help the slight quirk of a grin that pulled at his lips. He appreciated her fire though he did worry that her rash personality would shape into something like Ignis' if left unguided. Her brother spoke next, agreeing to be a fighter and echoing his sister's thoughts in a more toned down and thoughtful way - not unlike how he tried to filter what Ignis said. Perhaps the two of them together made a good pair. He glanced at the other children curiously. So far they had two fighters, would there be more to join them or would there perhaps be some healers and hunters or himself and Yurei to train?

"Casso" | "Boris" | thoughts