Hallelujah (I'm Not Dead)

"Talk" Walk

He was surprised, to say the least when the first among the wolves to speak was a child. He rose to his feet, though kept the Demon's temper at bay as he could feel its tendrils attempting to wrap around his mind. His crimson gaze drifted to the blue features of one of the daughters of Kirsi and Song. His own face was impassive as she spoke, listening to her words but saying nothing. He would not allow the beast to explode on the child.

He would rather die than allow himself to harm a child like that.

He had to admit, she had some balls on her. He was surprised by what she said, and when her brother spoke after, even more so. Perhaps he had been paranoid this whole time, thinking - or assuming, rather - that those that remained, hated him enough to disrespect him and talk shit. But it seemed he was wrong and was giving the pack too little credit. He thought that perhaps they would have all mostly left by now in his absence. But yet, with the exception of a few, here they were. One by one, he listened to those who had something to say. His son, Cinaed, even telling him he wanted to challenge for the heir position. He nodded, of course. He wouldn't deny his children the opportunity to rise to greater heights, even if it meant making them fight for the title they so desired. Whether it be against each other, an outsider, or himself.

Others made their wishes known in terms of their interests, and then...Greed. The old man had plenty to say, backing up what the pups had said prior, and Ignis couldn't help the shame he felt inside. They were right. He gave them too little credit, and he was aware of that now. It wasn't fair of him to continue to push his paranoia onto them. To assume they were all would-be traitors when there was no evidence of it. His nephew piped up with what he wanted, followed by Ifrit. He nodded to him, acknowledging the statement. So now there were three of his children that wanted to challenge for the position...things were going to be interesting... When it was clear nobody else was going to speak, he took a few moments as he carefully watched the gathered.

Honestly, he was a little...unsure, of what to say. He had judged them so harshly without evidence of what he was judging them for. But he had to say something...What would Acere have done in this situation...? Fuck... He knew the answer to that already...

**Apologizes for being an idiot**
"I...I want to apologize...to all of you...for making such baseless accusations. I should have had more faith in you. All of you. Instead, I let my paranoia get the best of me." As well as the damn Demon in my head making me believe that... He thought to himself. Casso would understand...wouldn't he? He took a deep breath before continuing. "It is as Greed said...straight from the mouth of babes. I would be a fool to ignore that. Kirsi, Song...I commend you for raising bright young wolves. Clearly, they're not afraid to speak their mind, and I appreciate the spoken truth and honesty, however hard it might be to hear it. They'll have bright futures yet." He nodded to the family, and to Greed as well. He would be an idiot to go on believing what he had been without proof of it actually happening. And he was glad he had managed to keep his Demon at bay during this to acknowledge that. I "I am sorry for taking off without a word. And especially sorry to my children that I left here. I didn't mean to, and it won't happen again. At least not without warning beforehand. I hope you can all forgive me for my actions." He didn't expect forgiveness right away, of course. He knew he had to earn their forgiveness and their respect.

**Addressing heir challenge interest**
He let that hang in the air for a bit before moving on to other things he wanted to address. "Cinaed. Ifrit. Vulcan. I acknowledge your wishes to challenge for the rank of heir. I will not deny you that, so preparations will be made. I will let you know as soon as I decide when the challenges are to take place." On that, he would promise. He'd let them determine who was most ambitious to take the title for themself in due time. "I know a couple of you addressed your thoughts on training, but despite your concerns," He looked pointedly at the daughter of Kirsi and Song who had first spoken (Onyx), "You are still going to be assigned, mentors."

**Mentor & Apprentice pairings**
He didn't yet know the names of their children, nor those of his brother and Yurei much to his embarrassment, but today he'd learn them and stick them to memory. "For the young ones that I've yet to introduce myself to, my name is Ignis Praetor. I look forward to getting to know you all, so let's start with you, hm?" He kept his gaze on the girl (Onyx) as he assessed her. Already he could tell what her personality might be like judging by how she had spoken to him. She was a spitfire. Headstrong. Stubborn...he saw a bit of his younger self in her. Or at least, what shreds of his former self were left. "You'll be my apprentice. As will Celosia. Casso will be a mentor to Ifrit, and you," He nodded towards Bronze. "Kirsi, you will be mentor to your daughter (Pyrite), Greed will mentor Vulcan. Song, you'll mentor your son (Hauyne) since he has expressed interest in the crafting arts, but I expect him to learn fighting as well. Yurei, if you don't mind training your son (Finan), and lastly Tyto and Claire, you'll mentor Cinaed and my brother's other child (Aine). These are your primary pairings, though you are allowed to cross-train with one another, be sure that your primary focus is who you've been assigned to." Now that that was out of the way, he went on to other matters of importance.

**Important pack related things - raising livestock**
"I want to touch on some ideas I've had for the pack. Not only to establish our own thing as other packs have but to also give us the opportunity to further establish what makes us, us. And to start that, I want the pack to start raising livestock for food, material, trade... And not just any livestock, but species that are more native to the North. Reindeer, musk ox, yaks, penguins, seals, mountain goats, alpacas...I don't care what it is. If it's native to the Northern lands, find a breeding pair or two, and we'll make efforts to start our own lines. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm confident we'll be able to pull it off. There's enough room on the ship to make areas for some animals to be contained there, and enclosures can be made on our lands. Preferably away from the eyes of prying outsiders." If they could get this idea going, then there was the possibility he could add more ranks to suit herders and those interested in livestock. "Also...there's one other thing I want to add in concerning this." He wasn't sure how well they'd take to the idea, but if they didn't like it, he supposed he'd do it himself, anyway. "I don't want to just raise prey animals. I think keeping the local predator population could suit us well too, no? It would be more difficult to keep them, but I don't particularly care if they're bred or not. I figured they could be used more as...fighting partners. Use them to further your training. For festivals, events, our own traditions. Hell, we could trade some to other packs for whatever occasion they have. And when they are no longer useful, their furs or what have you can be used for crafting or trading." Did that seem harsh? Probably. But what did it matter? Other predators were often killed anyway by wolves for one reason or another, so instead of waiting for them to come around, they would already have them at their disposal.

**Important pack related things cont'd - festivals & events & raids**
"I'd also like to play with the idea of festivals. The first being one to celebrate yearlings. Races, a pack hunt, spars...something to celebrate them coming of age. Adding to that, bi-annual tournaments exclusively for the members of the pack to test our skills. This will also offer a chance for further promotions if you do well. I may play with the idea of hosting an event to invite other packs to participate, give us a chance to mingle, and better get to know those beyond our lands. I have several ideas for festivals and events, and if any of you have ideas you'd like to share now or later, I'm all ears." (OOC// keeping this part brief and will just add to the pack page, ideas or things you'd like to see are welcome. Pretend he talked about this more, idk)

There was a lot he had missed during his time away, and a lot of information he had wanted to say upon his return. "Last thing I suppose I'll touch on before we conclude the meeting. Raiding. It will still very much be a part of our lifestyle as it was in Winterfell, however, my uncle I feel was too laid back in that. As such, Incendium may raid more frequently, mother nature permitting. I want everyone to train and hone their skills. To always be prepared to raid, or to defend against a raid. We must always be prepared. I cannot emphasize this enough. Those who aren't focused on bettering themselves or seeking help to better themselves will end up dragging the rest of us down, and I will not allow that to happen. For those of you who aren't fighters, you must still learn the basics to defend yourself, or those who are unable to defend themselves. Should the rest of us fall, you're the last line of defense. I expect everyone to learn the basics of fighting, hunting, healing, and so on. There's no excuse not to learn at least the bare minimum. The raids we do will not only be an attempt to acquire the things we need, but will also serve as a test of your skills, how well we can work together, and will also serve as a chance to build your reputation, as well as help you rise in the ranks. Do better for yourselves, your kin, your packmates."

He supposed that was about all he could think to address...anything else that came to mind would likely be brought up later as it came, and he could give word in passing or whatever. As for those who had deserted the pack without permission, well...he'd handle them in due time. "If anyone wishes to speak, now is your chance to do so. Or you can find me later. Otherwise, you're all dismissed." He hoped they'd take what all he had said today into consideration. They needed to strengthen themselves. To work harder. Help each other, else they'd only be dragging each other down.