Ashes of an Empire

It had been a curious thing, seeing the Hallows raven arrive with a message about the meeting. Modesty certainly didn't expect to be included in such a call, but she wouldn't pass up the opportunity either. Of course she was going to make an appearance, and when she let Deluge know that she was off again, her daughter's whole face lit up. She could have at least waited until Modesty's back was turned surely? But she merely answered the expression with a knowing smirk. Modesty would never expect her pack members to be anyone but who they were.

Given the summons, she didn't pull herself up at the Plains this time, swiftly crossing into the castle and making her way to the appointed meeting place. She was certain it didn't matter how many times she managed to visit, the castle would always be impressive. She hoped she would have time to take in the scenery after the meeting, but if she had received an invitation, she was sure there would be no shortage of wolves less than impressed to see here. This should be fun...

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she entered the council chambers, a passing glance over the already gathered wolves bringing her no shortage of amusement. Her attention was rapidly diverted to the huge carved table, and her eyes lit up. Modesty observed the sigils with some interest, assuming from its placement that the wolf skull and crossed bones must belong to her lot. Her face stretched into a brilliant smile. “You know, my healer has a map like this on a cow skin, but it marks out where to find different herbs, and he keeps dried samples for the scouts...” This, of course was far more practical for a pack like hers, but she did appreciate the craftsmanship of the table.

Modesty slid the marker from the isle to the ravine, where Ashen once stood. “We've barely moved and I planned to pass it on once the dust settled, but what better time than the present? We're starting to expand into livestock, and there's better grazing for the goats and cows on the Moor, waterfowl in the estuary too. We're practically neighbours now!” Her tone was artificially excited, like a customer service representative trying to brighten someone's day (counting down the minutes til knock off). Her tail waved in a friendly manner though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes as they fell on Haydee, including her in the declaration.

The map on the table made it pretty clear that the swim from Cryer's Ravine to the Shimmering Shore wasn't that much further than the swim from Daager to Dove Island, and her pack were quite accomplished swimmers by this point. She allowed a concerned expression to cross her face as she looked at the table again, “I do hope the noise doesn't carry across the water, I'll apologise in advance for the hooligans.” Her tone was warm, apologetic, but also inviting, and she made a point to settle herself next to the Ethne leader, her smile never faltering. “Anyone from the Hallows is always welcome of course, if there's one thing we do know how to do, its throw a party!" Small talk, to fill the silence while they waited for the others to gather, many had a lot further to come than she did after all, and she was interested to see who else would arrive. Until then, Modesty focused on untangling a snaggle from her tail fur as they waited, though her expression remained relaxed, pleasant, welcoming. It was an unfortunate side effect of the way her fur had grown back after the long night, and she did so hate to appear disheveled.

“Speech.”