First round is due by July 18th. Everyone who isn't on absence is required to attend. Excusable by IC injury or illness: Valor and Kavdaya (Though if Valor can make it, that's great <3)

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

Spring heralded new lives. The world was waking up, however much the snow stubbornly clung to the ground in the shadows of the trees and rocks. He’d been spending much of his time the last few days with Solveiga, cherishing the blossoming of their bonds as a couple. But he hadn’t allowed himself to shirk his duties to the pack, and the borders were seeing signs of his additions to the borderstones, building a base for the wall he hoped would stand there. On this particular morning, it was time that he called a meeting. It was one that would carry hard news to announce, dire warnings, and a warning that if the pack didn’t pick up their activity in the pack, they would have to find new homes. He blew out a sigh, then smiled. Despite these grim prospects, there were also happy things to announce. His choice of a consort, for one. He leapt onto the boulder and sat in his customary place, throwing his head back and calling for the pack. It was a call that stated clearly that it was mandatory, and a prompt attendance was preferred. As he lowered his head and gazed out across the plains, he really hoped that this was the last time he would have to press his pack for more effort and activity. He couldn’t afford to continue being lenient. Not even with his own siblings. At least Acapella had held a hunt in his absence, and Solveiga had held a healing lesson in the last few days. A soft smile pulled at his features as he waited.

Paladin 'Knight' Ancora

Would the snow ever leave? Normally, he wasn’t very impatient with the seasons, but he was impatient now. With his father dead, and Fable missing, he deeply needed his mother to get better. But she was so weak right now that the cold of the snow might only make her sick. And getting sick would kill her at this point. He was curled against her. Justice hadn’t yet returned from her trip south to tell their relatives in Talis about the death of Creed. He’d been doing all he could, between his mother and Valor. Regulus’s howl made him lift his head from the top of his mother’s shoulders. It was a call to a meeting. This would be his first meeting in Celestial since he was just a puppy. He had no intention of slacking and being tardy. He pressed a kiss between his mother’s ears and pulled himself away, switching with his Aunt. Kavamaya had stayed behind when the rest of the Nomads had gone back to the Basin at the start of Spring. He thought, perhaps, she might stay for good, and he hoped so. He padded down the passages to the main chamber, stopping at the alcove he and his family had once filled as a happy family before everything had changed. He gazed in, before turning and heading out. His brother was healed enough that if he felt able to attend the meeting, he would be able to make it on his own, and if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be reprimanded for it. He arrived, first to the meeting, and gave his cousin a quiet smile, though it took some effort to put it on his features. He settled on his haunches with a sigh, looking around, also waiting.

Deep within the moore the hunter lurked, getting a meal to bring back to the pack. She had been trying, interacting with other pack members and doing her best to attend everything that was called. She had also done more then her fair share of placing stones at the borders. She was working, wanting to get herself out of the punished rank and work her way back into a higher rank then hopefully one of the high ranks. When the call rang out her head perked and she hustled. Within her mouth was a fat rabbit and the hunter ran from the Moore to the plains then slowed as she approached the meeting. Smiling behind her kill she approached the rather small gathering so far, her tail wagged as she moved in and took a seat, placing her kill on the ground before her. "Hello Regulus & Paladin," she greeted with a smile. She wondered what this meeting would bring and what news Regulus would have for the pack. It was early spring and a lot of things happened in spring. It was early, but already she had turned another year older and soon her season would be upon her, but right now she was thankful that it wasn't much of a bother. "Talk" & 'Think"

Spring was here and the young male was ready to get back into training. He had started his morning early, for a run along the borders and checking to be sure everything was in line. The run was long, but his body and stiff muscles needed it. He was planning to head back to the battlefield, to try and do some sparring, but he was also curious to see if any of Creed's kids would be up for some spars. He was also still determined to travel and find his uncles lost child in hopes to find him. Though he still had no idea where to start, but he was out there somewhere, waiting to be found. He sighed as he turned back towards the den sight. His ears pricked as his older brothers call rang out, calling the pack together. Changing his direction the male took off towards the call. it didn't take him to long to get there and when he arrived, he hadn't been to late see only a few gathering. Dipping his head he quietly took his seat and looked to his older brother, curious as to what this meeting would be about. What news would his brother have? He. "Talk" "You" Think

The female heard Regulus’ call… and she knew she could not delay in getting her children to the meeting. Marina let out a soft sigh, shakily rising to her paws. She hadn’t really tested her legs much since she’d been on the mend during winter… but now she figured it was about time to start working them again to get her strength back. She couldn’t be den ridden forever, after all. Marina knew her children wouldn’t know that call though… and with a sigh she began to nudge each one of them up. “Come on little ones. That’s our alpha, Regulus, calling to us. We must go to him.” Marina hadn’t seen Regulus since he’d left her with his brother in the south… but she was eternally grateful to the alpha. She paused over Argus, gently pushing her blind pup to her paws.

“Stay close, Argus. Nova, you walk on one side of her, alright?” Marina knew how close the two were already… it warmed her heart to know that. She glanced to Chasm and Bones next. “Boys, can you get your brothers going? I’ll help the girls. Come along, Adore.” The femme waited until all her girls were ready before she started along at a slow pace, fussing especially over Nova and Argus to make sure that they were getting along okay.

It felt strange to be out in the sun again, Marina thought. A heavy sigh passed her lips as she made her way to where Reg was, along with two others. Once she had settled down she called to her children again. “Gather around me, little ones, and make sure you stay quiet and listen. That man there is Regulus, okay?” She said, nodding her head to the red wolf.

Nova perked her ears as their mother called to them all. A meeting? What was that? What was an alpha? He sounded important… The rainbow child blinked her bright red eyes, moving to one side of her smallest sister with a smile. “Yes mama.” The rather large pup kept her pace slow to match her mama and Argus as they walked, keeping an eye on Adore too. Once they arrived though Nova gently nudged Nova towards Marina and turned back to make sure the rest of her siblings were coming along. “Come on, slowpokes~” Her voice was light, teasing, before she turned back toward Argy and her mother. Her gaze was fixed on Regulus, his bright coat standing out to her. Her eyes shown with wonder at how big he was too. “He’s even bigger then mama!” She said excitedly to her sisters.

Castiel was in more of a panic than before. Now not one, but two of his children were missing. Ron had disappeared early that morning from what Cas could tell and he'd spent the rest of the morning looking for him. He had a sinking feeling in his gut as to why Ronen had run off... likely to find his brother who had been missing for more than a season now. Castiel felt sick, his golden eyes filled with worry. He had trailed the scent beyond Celestial's borders, over the wall... Gods why couldn't he just keep his family together? He just prayed that Etain was still with her mother. If something happened to her he was sure both he and Kalli would break.

Castiel arrived, shifting uneasily on his paws. He hardly wanted to deliver even more bad news to Regulus. A sigh left him too, especially when he saw the rainbow woman, Marina, and her children starting to gather around her as well. When had things started to get so complicated, so turned upside down?

Bones and Chasm had already gotten themselves and Marina a morning meal and had taken the time after to relax in the spacious den of Marina's. Chasm was awake staring at his little siblings, still in some confusion about all that had happened. One thing he understood was that he now had more siblings, ones he had a chance to bond with like he had done with his own brother, though mentally the male feared things would turn out the same way, that they would all leave him and never return, leave him in the dust and never think of him.

Regulus' call lifted him from his thoughts and made him raise his head. He could somewhat figure out the reasoning behind the call and knew he would have to get up. So getting up the boy nudged his companion to his feet. He listened as his mother got the girls up and going and nodded as she instructed him to get his brothers. Moving over Chasm gently nudged the boys to get them up and moving knowing that it was important to get moving.

"Come on Ochitsu, Azazel we must fallow mum," he said getting them to their feet to fallow.

Once the two boys were up and fallowing Chasm and bones brought up the rear making their way towards the meeting quickly. He was glad to finally see his mother out of the den for once and could only hope her mood would continue to bloom. He wanted to see her happy again, something he had only gotten brief views of since they had been reunited. Letting the pups gather round his mother he settled beside the group with his nocturnal companion curling up between his front paws.

Rassie rose quietly that morning, slipping from her den to go on a patrol. She had even dropped a few extra stones off at the wall. She’d seen Ronen on her adventures but didn’t think much of it… something she’d regret later. But how was she to know the pup would suddenly turn rebellious and go looking for his missing sibling?

The female wore a smile on her face as she made her way to the meeting, a smile that faded as soon as she saw how frazzled her uncle was. What was up now? She thought of crossing over to the pale man and asking what was up but headed over to Lais instead, sitting next to her littermate with a worried glance cast in Castiel’s direction.

Why wasn’t Ronen with him? Or his mate or daughter?

The call that she heard had her head popping up and her ears turning trying to pinpoint it. She had been soundly napping, after having found a more comfortable way to lay with Nova. Of course that meant she literally layed on top of her. She rolled until she tumbled off her sister, hearing her mother moving. That meant she'd be moving too she guessed anyway. As marina nudged her to her paws she turned her head in the direction of her mother's cold wet nose and blinked. "I gots it momma." and with that she was hopping out of the den, a path that she had now taken countless times. Though once she reached the exit she paused until nova was by her side. As independent as she was, nova was still the security blanket she couldn't be rid of. Her eyes closed as she walked, her nose scrunching in concentration as she did her best to memorize the path.

As they arrived and nova nudged her she opened her eyes and turned her head to the way nova nudged her. Her paws stopped though. There were so many new scents here and she was busy taking them all in. Her head turned in the direction of all the paws as they came in and she quickly hopped towards marina. It wasn't long before nova joined her again and she grinned at her. Of course such a grin was the only warning before she hopped forward to find out who owned each scent. She wanted to hear the voices of the owners too. That would be how she figured her world out. She wasn't sure which way was regulas, as her mot her called him but she figured she would start there. Only as she moved forward she entered a play bow and looked like she was pawing at nothing, it was her most cautious way of moving forward. Only she came to find nothing each time she moved forward, so after moving a total of five feet from marina, though she thought she was farther than that, she sat. Defeated was the best way to describe her face.

She had found nothing. She let out a whimper before turning herself towards her family by scooting on her rump. "Nothin' here momma, Nova what you see?" she perked her ears at Nova, hoping to get details of everything. Of course she didn't know she was likely the weirdest site to those gathered here, being both male and female. Her voice was deeper than a girls but higher than a males. It was flamboyant to say the least. She was impatient and when nova didn't answer her immediately she twitched her nose, taking in the scent of chasm and turning to him. "What you see 'asm?" she was of course ready to turn to marina next if she didnt get answers.

Well, spring was definitely here now. Her body had finally noticed the change in seasons and had decided to make things extra difficult for her this time. Admittedly, it didn't help that she had spent the last few days close to the man she was in love with. It was like her hormones were kicking into overdrive. And today was worse than any day had been so far. The smell of her heat had been rolling off of her in waves this morning, so she'd quickly escaped to the nearest stream and had taken a good bath. Then, as her fur was drying, she found a few herbs and flowers that smelled nice and rolled in them. And that was why she wasn't quite as punctual as she could have been when she heard her mate calling for a meeting. He had mentioned wanting to call another meeting together, she should have stayed close... but then she would have distracted everyone with her smell. Regulus wouldn't mind, after all she was by no means late. She just wasn't the first one to show up. Actually, several members had already arrived, and this came as a happy surprise to her. It would make Regulus happy to see members being so prompt. And if he was happy, she was happy. Maybe it sounded sickeningly sweet, but she didn't care. She was in love, and happier than she'd ever been in her entire life. She wasn't about to be sorry for feeling this way. The cream colored woman trotted up to the meeting area, smiling at all those who had already arrived. And oh, there were pups here! Oh, they were so small, and so adorable... Solveiga let herself get distracted for a moment as she smiled down at the little ones. And a moment later, she felt a wave of warmth washing over her, as if her body was saying yes, aren't pups cute? you should have some of your own! She had to suppress such thoughts, taking a deep breath and turning away to greet a couple of the members she was more familiar with. "Acapella, how are you?" she asked, trying to refrain from waving her tail because doing so would only spread her smell around. "Laisrén," she greeted, smiling as she dipped her head to the boy. "It's good to see you." And then came the moment she was both eagerly anticipating and dreading at the same time. She lifted her baby blue eyes to the alpha, unable to fight the bright smile on her face or the twinge of desire deep in her belly. Both came simultaneously. "Good morning Regulus," she said softly, and this time her tail wagged of its own accord. Oh, of course it did. Stupid hormones. The little healer tried not to look too flustered as she found a place to sit not far from Regulus and the boulder on which he was sitting. This was not going to be a fun day for her. Hopefully no one else could tell what a mess she was. She tried to appear as calm and collected as possible while on the inside she was kind of losing it.

ooc: Bri, I hope you don't mind the slight power play of Kav! If so I'll change it, I just assume Valor would have been in the same den as Kav to make it easier on Paladin since he's been taking care of Valor.

Valor had done nothing but lay up in the den with his mother and Paladin since he'd returned home. Numbness had been about all he could feel since that day in the north and his young brain was still having issues coping with everything that had happened. The large gash on his neck was a painful enough reminder of it, but he couldn't bring himself to be sorry for himself. His thoughts were only on Creed. The unfairness and guilt was all he could focus. If only he hadn't gone north ... then Creed would be here. Paladin had done all he could between Kavdaya and himself, but he hadn't talked much since he came home. Currently he was resting with his eyes closed as he enjoyed the presence of his mother as he draped his head over her back. She'd been rather unresponsive but he hadn't really minded. All previous anger for her leaving when they were pups had faded completely. Now all he wanted to do was be with the only parent he had left in the world. Regulus' howl only warranted a flick of his ear. He could hear Paladin leaving promptly after padding over to Kavdaya. He fought with indecision for a moment as he debated if it was worth going. He was healed enough to walk around fine on his own. He was still scabbed over, but even that would be gone before he knew it. The scarring would be intense, but at least it wouldn't hurt then. Finally the boy opened his eyes with a quiet huff. He was able to make it and he didn't want to miss what Regulus had to say. Pressing his nose to his mother's fur her nuzzled her gently before slowly rising and taking his time to get to the meeting place. His gaze listlessly moved over the new pups in the pack, but he couldn't bring himself to be excited about them. Finally his eyes rested on Paladin and he half slunk, half limped, over to his pale sibling before taking a seat quietly next to him while trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Walk, "Talk" Think

Ochitsu was the quiet one of the group. Ever since he'd been born he hadn't said a word. As his little paws made him follow his older siblings. He looked around, were they going somewhere? Soon it became apparent that they were going somewhere with lots of wolves. The shy boy became nervous as he then tried to hide behind Chasm a bit. His pink eyes looking forward as he spotted a bright red male at the front. Must have been the one who called them. He didn't exactly know what being part of a pack meant just yet, but that meant the big red one was their leader right. He paused and took a seat, patiently waiting to see and hear what was going on.

Exodus was merely making his way along the border of the plains when he heard the call of Regulus, beckoning the pack to him for a meeting. The howl had a commanding tone to it - be there, and do so with haste. Not wanting to waste any time, the boy turned and headed deeper into the territory, trying to pick up his pace so he wouldn't be late. When he arrived, many of the Celestians had already arrived and were seated waiting for the meeting to begin. He smiled when he saw Chasm and his new little siblings, along with their rainbow-coated mother. It was good to see new pups in the pack. They were a fascinating bunch, and Exodus quite enjoyed their vibrantly coloured coats.

As he made his way through the crowd, he spotted his brother Paladin next to another familiar form... their brother Valor! Since his return to Celestial, Exodus had not seen either Valor or Fable. He was surprised and excited to see the boy, unaware of everything that had played out. He had no idea about the news he was going to receive, having been busy spending his days working. He approached the white and black-marked male, who's bright green cheek stripes matched his own. "Valor!" he called out with a bit a whine to his voice, "It's great to see you!" Upon further inspection,
Exodus began to notice that Valor didn't seem to be in good shape, and his eyes looked clouded by despair. Startled, he glanced to Paladin, who also seemed to have a sad glint in his eyes. Anxiety raked at his insides suddenly - had something happened that he wasn't aware of?

Seating himself quietly beside his brothers, his ears folded back as his mind began to race - he wasn't normally a worrier, but something didn't seem right. He glanced around the wolves gathered...
their mother still wasn't here. Was she ever going to get better? As he glanced sidelong at his brothers, he wondered if it was something to do with mother's illness. Had it gotten worse? But staring out across the rest of the wolves, he also noticed his father wasn't here. He hadn't scented Creed at all since he'd come back home. What was going on? Now he waited anxiously for the meeting to start, wondering if he would find out anything new.

Adore listened to the unusual howl, unusual only in the sense that she hadn't really heard one before, but she didn't make any moves toward it until her mother instructed her so. Why was someone calling for them? But as her momma told her to come along Adore didn't want to waste any time. She stuck close to Marina's side all the way to the meeting, occasionally glancing over at her sisters and over her shoulder at her brothers. It wasn't until they arrived that she realized that the howl hadn't just been for them. There were lots of other wolves here, or at least it seemed like it to her, and she didn't know who any of them were. Her ears flicked uncertainly and she pressed into Marina's side. But she wanted them all to like her... so she didn't press into her mother too terribly much. She still wanted to sit nicely and look pretty after all! She had to make a good impression!

She watched Argus inch out in front of them while her ears flicked again and she frowned. Adore tried to ignore how silly her sibling look and just looked away toward the ground grumpily. It felt like all eyes were on them even though it was very possible no one was even paying attention. Since her whole plan of making the perfect first impression was ruined she gave up sitting up straight and pretty she got up and walked over to where Chasm was sitting and sat on the opposite side of him so there was as much space between her and Argus as possible.

Baine only barely heard the call from her brother from where she was just beyond the pack's borders. She sighed at herself and hurried to make it to the meeting on time. This was becoming a consistent thing of not being where she needed to be. She didn't notice how often she was away from the pack until moments like this. She didn't quite sprint to get to the usual meeting place, but there was definitely a jog to her step. Baine spent so much time trying to find some kind of motivation or to even figure out what she was supposed to be doing, but she kept coming up with nothing. She remembered Regulus telling her that they were going to go on trips to the other packs and she had been really excited about that idea, but so far nothing had come of it. What good was her rank if she wasn't doing anything with it? As these thoughts went through her head she grew more and more reluctant to go to the meeting, but her paws carried her there dutifully all the same. There were lots of pups there to her surprise and that was at least a little bit of a pleasant surprise. Baine found a place to sit toward the back of the group, but closer to Solveiga than the others. She looked up to Regulus for a moment, but eventually she let her gaze wander again while she waited for the meeting to begin. It was beyond obvious that something was going on between him and Solveiga from how they were looking at eachother and Baine surprised even herself with the bit of jealousy she felt. Of course Regulus was older so it would make sense that he would find a mate before she did, but... It still felt like she hadn't had anyone even bat an eye in her direction. She sighed and let her eyes sink to her paws and left them there until Regulus began to speak. "Talk" "You" Think

Kalliope hadn't dared let Etain get more than a few inches from her all morning. She had kept both of the children on a pretty short leash ever since Viho disappeared, but when she woke up to Ronen missing as well she clung to Etain like it was all she had left in her life... which wasn't far from the truth. When she heard Regulus' howl Kalli sighed and pulled herself to her paws. "Come on, sweetie, we can't be late for the meeting." She was used to walking a bit slower now to let Etain keep up, but Etain was getting older and bigger now. In a way she was glad, but on the other hand she was sad as well. It was possible these would be her only children and to see them grow up so fast... it broke her heart. She found her way to the meeting easily enough. The path from their den to here was a well known one to her now. She searched for Castiel's scent to join him, but as she was making her way between the wolves in the crowd her sensitive ears caught a small voice begging those around her for information about what they were seeing. It stopped her in her tracks and she heard her own voice as a child echoed back in the voice of this pup. Of course it could just be that whoever this was couldn't see past someone else in the crowd, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case. "Go sit with dad, I'll be right there," she instructed her daughter as she turned back toward the voice, quickly noticing the scents of the family that it belonged to. She tried to pick out the oldest of the group, the mother she assumed, and gave her a small nod of greeting in her general direction. "Hello there. I just overheard... I just wanted to say I could help. If you want. I'm Kalliope. I know a lot of tricks and tips I could share." She smiled softly and dipped her head again before she turned and went to join Castiel and Etain. "Talk" "You" Think

Seabound and Aimless at Best

Dómari was sleeping in late when he heard Regulus' call. At first he didn't move, he thought it was part of a dream he was having and thus he snoozed a little longer. He'd stayed up late into the night finishing the storage den for his herbs and dragging in sticks to painstakingly create a drying rack for them. It had been brutal but fruitful work. Now he just needed to get a good herb supply going.

Dómari's eyes snapped open. The meeting! He bounded up so quickly he knocked his head on the ceiling of his den and yelped in surprise. Crap! He hoped he wasn't going to be late. Sprinting from the den he headed toward the meeting area where Regulus waited as well as a large group of wolves who were still mostly strangers to Dómari. Regulus wasn't speaking and the young man breathed a sigh of relief. Good he wasn't late. He smiled warmly at Regulus and dipped his head in greeting to the older man.

Etain was quiet while they made their way toward the meeting. She had been quiet a lot lately since Viho disappeared and now with Ronen gone too... She tried not to think about it too much, but she missed both of her brothers dearly. She stuck close to her mother's side as they began to make their way through the crowd of people, silently helping guide her mother toward her father even though she knew she didn't need to. She was walking around a lot better than she used to when she was a pup so she felt like she could help out her mom more too. However when her mother told her to go sit with her father and went off on her own it took away her purpose for a moment. She paused and watched her mother go curiously before dutifully following her instructions and heading over to her dad. She sat back on her haunches beside him and leaned into his side with a sigh. "Talk" "You" Think

Enrico raised his head at the summons, but took the time to gather the fruits of today's early spring hunts to carry with him before he moved to answer the call. A few yearling buck hares that wouldn't be missed, sporting coats that were a sorry mishmash of white and brown, a couple of male partridge, and a young female stoat that had tried to take a chunk out of his face. He tried to take males at this time of year rather than breeding females, but that stoat had needed removing. At least she wasn't expecting, even if it meant she wouldn't be around to contribute her genes next year. Not the best eating, with that weasel musk, but an acceptable meal nonetheless. He would share his bounty after the meeting. With his jaws barely clamped around the legs of the prey animals, he set off towards the meeting and carefully insinuated himself into the group, setting the animals in a neat pile at his paws and nodding gravely to Regulus.