Ashes of an Empire

Modesty laughed when Art retorted about 'as long as her kids weren't eating faces'. She deliberately made no promises on their behalf. When Tori sat beside her she leaned close enough to bump a shoulder in greeting, grateful he hadn't left her to sit this one out alone, as clueless as he would undoubtedly be to her circumstances. She had always liked the man. Still, she was second guessing her seat at the table as tumultuous emotions battled in her heart. Outwardly, she kept a serene face, Sakana had made sure to dose Modesty to within an inch of her tolerance, being mindful of the tiny lives she carried in her belly. It was a stab to her heart to think of them growing up fatherless as she reached beneath her extra-long fur, untying one of the spiced rum bottles concealed there as Artorias began to speak, she slid a second onto the table in front of her as she uncorked the first with her teeth. A gift for the host. She had decided there was little point to hanging around once she had said her piece.

She sat through the opening proceedings, the edges of her eyes pinching at points but this was diplomacy, and she could wait her turn. She lifted the bottle and downed the contents, raising her paw as Basilisk shared his interactions with members of these supposed monsters to indicate she had the floor next. When her bottle was drained completely, it hit the table with an audible thunk and she swallowed what remained in her mouth. She hadn't spilled a drop.

The smile that she shared with the gathered wolves didn't reach her eyes.  "For a moment I had feared I was invited in error," she confessed, meeting the eyes of all at the table except the Ethne delegates, "And it all strikes me as a little hypocritical. The murderers of my mate sit among us after all, and I'm almost certain the same accusations must have been thrown about against my own pack, no? You speak of cheeky threats of raids, and I ask, when have we ever taken what couldn't be spared? Bamboo, volcano rocks, wild ducks," She paused for just a moment, "And yet at every turn we are met with violence disproportionate to the spirit of raiding. Now it seems you face the threat you feared from us all along." She looked every inch the mother in this moment, not angry, just disappointed. There might have even been a hint of karma in her posture.

"The solution is a simple one, siege, but if I have been invited here to ask my pack to put their necks on the line for those that so obviously scorn our very existence, I do apologise, but you are all sorely mistaken." She rose, dipping her head to the gathered leaders. "I wish you all the day you deserve." She offered with a smile that held a little more spark than her speech had, "Oh and Haydee? There's someone waiting for you once this is done." There was no hint of a threat in her voice, no bristled quills or threats of violence. Modesty made her way to leave the room, composed on the outside, but inside, she was screaming.

"speech"