Bronze knew little of Incendium's leadership other than - well, that Ignis was ultimately in charge. He listened to his family above all others though and he only felt blind loyalty toward them not this red-coated man that stood before them and began to speak. His words didn't settle well with Bronze either; he knew nothing of fear or contempt that Ignis spoke of, but he had to wonder if the fact that he kept to himself was the reason for that. The strangest thing that he noticed was that he felt nothing when Ignis spoke. He didn't know him and felt nothing toward him other than what had been taught - not even the flare of annoyance that he could feel brewing inside Onyx nearby, obvious to him even before she began to speak. "I'd like to train as a fighter like Onyx. And... I'd like to say I agree with her," he added confidently, after a moment of thought. His gaze drifted to both his parents as if searching for approval before finding Ignis again. "No one in my family has spoken badly of you, and I've yet to hear a single wolf in the pack do the same. I'd like to say you're wrong - respectfully," Bronze added carefully. He didn't mean to disrespect him, and his voice showed no signs of frustration, but he didn't feel his analysis of the pack was fair, especially when he hadn't been around for quite some time. Speaking out only seemed right to him, especially in Onyx's defense.

Song settled in beside Kirsi and their gorgeous children as the pack settled and waited for the last few wolves to arrive. Honestly the man was kind of surprised there were so many still remaining after their own leader had abandoned them without a word. However, Song had said so before and he would do so again. He was loyal to the land far more than the figure head at the helm. Ignis began to speak as it seemed they were at capacity, and the first note of business was why he didn’t even have to apologize for his sudden absence because it wouldn’t even make a difference anyway. Those words rubbed Song the wrong way, but he kept his expression neutral as he leaned heavier into Kirsi’s side.

Ignis did nothing but belittle his own people in his first few mouthfuls of words, defending himself against what? In Song’s eyes the majority of the pack was content with their lot in life, the only one that made a fuss was his own cousin, and Song assumed she had long been dealt with. The accusations that were thrown at every meeting were getting tiring, especially when the pale man saw nothing of what Ignis was talking about beyond perceived slights.

He had personally heard the call from the ‘deserters’ Ignis spoke about. He hadn’t even been here to hear their request. Song couldn’t imagine such calm and quiet wolves doing any of what Ignis accused them of. Then again he already showed his terrible habit of putting words in wolves mouths. Song had respected Ignis and his ambitions before, but his patience with the young man was growing thin. The rest of the meeting was uneventful, he mentioned the pack lacking in asking to be ranked. But had the man forgotten he had just left the pack to their own devices for nearly half a year? Song nodded as attention was brought to him and the rank he was given as the rest were given out.

After everything, and before he could even say anything, Onyx stepped forward. His sweet, smart, incredibly talented daughter stood up before the whole pack and voiced her opinion. Just as he taught her to never be afraid to speak her mind. Song grinned at her, saying much of what her father felt. More pride blossomed in his chest for his son as he spoke up as well, agreeing with his sister and defending their family against baseless accusations. Out of the mouths of babes as they say.

Song nodded slightly as he affirmed his opinion through his children, they both had said plenty.

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

Like his siblings Haüyne had been born into the pack, he had no opinions beyond the simple reality of its existence. Though now that his mind had been prompted he had to wonder if the red man was so determined that the pack had lost some bad actors who were spreading lies about the nature of the pack or that he felt those were were still in the pack held him ill will... Why he'd felt so comfortable disappearing only to reappear and not even offer them a single apology for leaving a power vacuum. It struck the young boy as profoundly foolish and he had to wonder if these wolves who despised the fire alpha so much might have a point. Still, he would not speak such thoughts aloud, instead letting his sister and brother speak and simply nodding along with their words. If he wished to pursue this line of thinking any further he would wait until he could bring it up with his parents privately, more than aware that such potentially mutinous thoughts were not welcome as such a forum as this. The question of what to do was raised and Onyx seemed to reject the idea of training outside of their family and while some part of the blue boy could sympathize he also couldn't help but feel she was shutting out potential new information by rejecting outside perspectives... That said the boy knew exactly where he wanted to go and that would seemingly put him in his father's care. When there was a lull in responses Haüyne spoke up, his voice not reaching the same volume as his brother or sister before him and he remained seated but he spoke with a surety that was not common for one his age. "I wish only to learn, I have no real desire to put my knowledge into practice for fighting, hunting or healing... If I had to pick a practical use I guess I'd prefer building things, crafting, like my dad." He looked up towards the pale man as he mentioned Song, a warm smile pulling at his lips. Like the rest of them Haüyne was close and loyal only to his family, the bond clearly strong and genuine. "Speech"

Art by mariiaartwolf

Cináed saw his father waving him closer, but he was only sitting a couple of feet from Vulcan and that was plenty close enough for him. Celosia came to sit with them, sitting close to their father and Ciná scoffed quietly as Ignis bent and whispered to her as she made such an obvious show of flaunting herself. Was he the only one that felt that their father's absence outweighed the need for his favor? Of course Vulcan and Infrit wouldn't have that issue, would they. He scoffed softly and and he kept his golden gaze pointedly focused away from his father, instead watching as the other wolves filed in. His uncle Casso and his mate, their children, Song, Kirsi, their kids, and a couple of other wolves he wasn't as familiar with and that was it. A hand full of adults scattered among all the younger wolves like himself. His gaze lingered on Onyx and Bronze for a moment, glad they were here since they were the ones he had spent the most time with. It bothered him that the two wolves he was closest with weren't even from his own family, but considering three members of his family had up and left without a word it was hard to have the truth be anything else.

He gave his father a glance as he began to speak, but his gaze quickly shifted away to stare out off the edge of the ship, looking out toward the icy ocean in the distance. He kept a flat, neutral expression throughout the delusional, self righteous speech about how he didn't care that he had been away, blaming wolves that had left in his absence for speaking ill of him without stating any proof, saying how he had "opened his eyes to the truth of the word." Well, one thing was for certain, Cináed certainly felt that his eyes had been opened to the truth of his father as well. The truth that this nameless voyage had more importance than his own children and was comfortable leaving his pups alone to fend for themselves in a decaying pack. His jaw was tense while Ignis continued, naming off some promotions and ranks for everyone in the pack and naming all the pups to be apprentices that needed to chose what rank they wanted to strive for.

He didn't speak right away, seeing what others might pick. His uncle said something about being willing to take lots of apprentices as needed, but that didn't interest him as much as Onyx's bold statements discrediting what his father had said. His gaze turned to focus on her as she spoke, a smirk pulling at his lips. He appreciated how she pointed him out in particular as one that had trained with her. She had been his most frequent sparring partner and he quite liked her company. Bronze's statements weren't far off from his sister's and one of their other siblings that he hadn't met yet spoke up to spoke up to say how he just wanted to build things like his father. He supposed that was as good a thing to choose as any. But then it came down to what he might want to chose for himself.

The easy answer would be to say fighting like the others since that was something he had focused a lot of his time on. He'd keep training with Onyx and her siblings either way, but he felt the need to be more bold than that - something that might actually force his father to take note of him for once. He turned his gaze back toward his father with a firm look. "I am interested in challenging for the position of Princeps." He wondered if any of his siblings would bother to fight him for it. He almost hoped that they would so he could show the progress he had made without his father's help. "I've been working diligently on my fighting skills and I'm certain I have a better view of what has been going on in the pack than most." Most certainly better than his father, Vulcan, or Infrit - that much was for certain.

Cináed Praetor

Pyr could sense the shift of mood as the alpha began speaking. Had mom and dad even said his name before? The girl couldn’t remember, and he didn’t introduce himself either. Shoot. The tiny girl listened, her expression neutral but she glanced from the red leader’s face to that of her family as they listened along. Her father seemed stiff, but she couldn’t read his expression as the meeting went on. Pyr hadn’t met this man before, and honestly she didn’t really care about what he had to say about anything but ranks. None of it pertained to her, but it was very interesting to hear her siblings speak up and out.

The small girl listened and digested the words spoken, much more reclusive and quiet like their mother. She preferred to sit and think about the events going on around her. The red man seemed paranoid at best. Like when she got into the special meats or something and couldn’t help but glance around to make sure mom and dad hadn’t come back yet. There were all manner of young voices raised, and when her father’s expression changed it was to one of pride. Pyrite smirked lightly as the commotion settled down and answered the question asked. She agreed with her siblings, but decided to keep her thoughts private for now.

”I would like to fight.” She answered easily enough, but she would be content to apprentice with whoever, the girl looked up to her mother’s vibrant features and smiled. She was the closest to Kirsi’s size and body type, she was by far her best trainer.

Kirsi was patient as Ignis began to speak, though his words perplexed her as well. Had people been talking badly of him? If such things were true, she hadn't experienced them herself. Then again she didn't interact with others as often as some might, hyperfocused on her children and their educations and well-beings. It seemed his speech didn't settle well with her children either. Onyx spoke out and she felt the same swell of pride building in her chest as Song felt. She'd had no issue with how he'd taken the pack, but the allegations seemed paranoid at best. Even Bronze spoke out to agree with her, both remarkably well-spoken.

It was yet another reminder to her of how quickly her children were growing. They'd be yearlings before long and she could only hope she'd taught them all well enough to fare in whatever endeavors they chose. It seemed already they'd found their voices and were learning to speak their minds, even when the outcomes might not be favorable, and she applauded them quietly for that. Even Hauyne and Pyrite, who didn't seem to find it necessary to include their opinions on the matter, spoke confidently on what they wanted to train in, and Kirsi felt her pride only grow. She wasn't sure how Ignis might respond to Onyx's defensive speech but she was curious, and she bit her tongue as she leaned back and waited. Much could be learned about a leader by how he treated his people, especially those that had been loyal even in his absence, and she hoped he'd say the right things.

It didn't take long for Ignis to start the meeting, and when he did, it seemed he wasn't the only one that was irritated with the way the alpha started off. He disappeared for months and came back and decided they weren't going to get an apology? The pack while not defenseless had essentially been left leaderless. And for what? Pride? The idea that he had some sort of pilgrimage to go on to find himself? He understood that at some point, wanderlust claimed someone and they went and did their thing for a while and returned. But he hadn't told anyone, nor had he left anyone in his stead to ensure the pack was led in his absence. He sat back with a frown, observing and listening as Ignis gave them all the well-deserved promotions they had earned. When Ig finally finished that and talked about apprentices and asked the kids what they wanted to do, Greed was eager to hear what they had to say. And he wasn't disappointed. The children of Kirsi and Song would speak first, their words challenging to the alpha in a sense but in a somewhat respectful manner. Greed couldn't disagree with them. They were right. Nobody had been bad-mouthing him and he was sure that it was the crimson male's paranoia about the past that kept it going even now. When they finished saying their piece, along with whoever else had something to say, he looked to Ignis then. "First, thank you for our well-deserved promotions. Secondly, I must agree with them. I don't care how you took the pack or how others see you. But it's unfair of you to continue to subject us to your paranoia and criticism. While I don't speak for all of us, if any of us had any misgivings at first, clearly we're over it. I am, at least. We've been nothing but faithful and loyal in following you. You disappear without a word, and come back and decide we don't even deserve an apology?" He started to growl, hackles beginning to raise before Claire's touch against his side settled him down. Had it not been for her, he had half a mind to challenge the paranoid bastard right here and now. Not for whatever sins he committed, but that he thought they were backstabbing and talking shit when all they'd been was loyal. Sticking around even when the leader abandoned them. "You've a lot to learn kid. You're lucky we're even still here, and if you feel like you want to try and beat my ass for telling you the truth - for all of us telling you to your face - then do it. I've nothing to lose. Or, you accept our honesty. It came straight from the mouth of babes for the most part. So that should tell you something." He had said his piece. He let the silence hang in the air for a moment before adding, "On that note, if don't think I'm out of line, then I'll help train too. You know I'm as good a warrior as any. Claire too." He shrugged. Ig had acknowledged that when he promoted Claire, after all. "Talk"

She listened as Ignis started the meeting, and was immediately disappointed to know what he thought. She hadn't had a bad thing to say from the beginning. She wasn't exactly the confrontational type, but that likely had a lot to do with the abandonment from the rest of her family. She hadn't cared one way or another that Ignis had left them for a time. It was what she was used to. Greed had remained by her side, and for that she was grateful. With his guidance and care, she had been growing into a stronger, more confident woman like her mother. What he said didn't sit well with her, but who was she to argue? Besides...it didn't seem like she needed to. Half the kids and even Greed had something to say about it, and as she felt Greed starting to get riled up beside her, she pressed into his side in a quiet effort to calm him. It seemed to work, and she shot him a quiet glance as he calmed down a bit. The last thing she wanted was for Greed to earn the ire of their alpha, even though Ignis deserved the words said, she didn't know if he was still willing to listen or if he'd have an outburst like the day he took over. She still wasn't sure what to feel about it, so for now, she nodded when he promoted her and remained silent. If he wanted her to help train, she would. "Speak

The fact that Ignis had decided to not apologize was expected. Perhaps his cousin was just as cynical as he was. Used to all the shit that life handed them, but truth be told, he didn't think Ignis had it as bad as Tyto and his siblings. Or maybe neither of them had it bad. He didn't know, he didn't care. He listened as Ignis droned on. Then listened as they were all finally promoted to ranks they fucking deserved instead of sitting around in the common ranks since the start. He hardly acknowledged his promotion, barely offering the smallest of movements as Ignis continued. Tyto remained silent throughout the whole thing, even when some of the pups and other members spoke. While Tyto had a lot he wanted to say...he wasn't sure how to say it. So he kept silent. He was angry the more he was allowed to think though. Angry about the situation with his sister. Angry at the position Ignis had put both of them in. He felt it was Ignis' fault that she ran away without saying so much as a goodbye to him. Angry about a lot of shit but he wasn't about to make a scene in front of everyone, no...he'd wait. He had nothing but time, after all. So he sat back and said nothing. "Speak"

Alot was going on that he didn't quite understand, but he listened quietly as the alpha he never met spoke. What was he talking about? Why did he think everyone was talking bad? He didn't understand any of it. He didn't much care until it came to the part where the red man asked what they wanted to train in, and with that Finan couldn't help the smile that grew. Only, before he could say anything, a few others spoke. Mostly the kids. His dad. And an older man. He tried to listen, but...he still didn't get it really. When everyone was done, he piped up before anyone else could cut him off. "I wanna train in fighting!" He burst, perhaps a little louder than he expected. With a sheepish grin, he sat back on his haunches and cleared his throat.

Well, he hadn't expected to say it that loud but alas. He didn't care who he trained with, as long as he could make his parents proud.

Ifrit remained silent as most everyone showed up and things got underway. He observed silently. Watching his other two siblings, the other pack pups, the adults...he had learned and grown while they were away, though whether or not he saw things the same as his father was still up in the air. Ifrit hardly made his thoughts known. As far as his father and others were concerned, he had no ambition to lead. He showed a lazy facade, an uninterested look in his eyes. Lack of ambition was more often than not, what he let others believe. He preferred to sit back and watch things unfold. But if Ifrit was anything, he was a closet opportunist. He was the type to wait patiently and bide his time...sometimes.

So when his father was done speaking and he heard the first words from the mouths of the other kids, Ifrit's lip raised in a silent snarl. So, they thought they could try to upstage him, was that it? They thought they were better because they sat here and trained? They probably assumed he and Vulcan hadn't been training at all while they were out there...Hmph...small-minded...they don't know anything. He thought to himself. He continued to listen quietly as Cinaed made his statement that he wanted to challenge for the heir position. Glancing at Vulcan, a small smirk played on his lips. Well now, this was going to be interesting...that made three of them so far. His sisters hadn't made their ambition known...but considering Celosia was the only one of the two girls here, perhaps the other one just wasn't interested.

When those who had something to say were finished, Ifrit stood to say his piece. "Vulcan and I discussed this some time ago. We both want to challenge for the position of heir as well." He stated before sitting back down. His gaze quietly found Cinaed for Celosia for a moment, wondering what they thought about it. He didn't hate them or dislike them or anything, but he enjoyed the rivalry. No matter what, they were still his family. He would be loyal to them until he had no reason to be.

"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.

He wasn't sure what reaction he had been expecting from his father with the declaration that he wanted to challenge for the position of heir, but what felt like a slightly dismissive nod was far from what he had anticipated. His ear flicked, the only shift in his otherwise neutral expression, and his golden gaze shifted away again to sit and bear the rest of the pack's responses. Ciná listened to the few others that spoke after him - most notably the older man that he thought was named Greed that spoke what they were all thinking and Infrit that spoke up saying that he and Vulcan had discussed wanting to challenge for the position of heir as well. He didn't look toward his brothers, only letting an ear swivel toward them to acknowledge he heard. He couldn't care less what Infrit and Vulcan and schemed among themselves while off with their father, abandoning this pack and their family that they seemed so interested to lead. Ciná didn't necessarily even have a craving for power or an interest in the title, he just didn't want to see the others get it unjustly and he wanted to take a stand that would force his father to see him.

Eventually his father finally got on with the rest of the meeting, surprising him slightly - and probably everyone else - with an apology for his accusations and for leaving without telling anyone. He gave his father a slight glance from the corner of his eye when he mentioned that the second apology was specifically for his children, but didn't let his gaze linger there long and a short huff of a sigh passed though his nose with a dismissive flick of his ear. Well at the very least he didn't expect them to forgive him. He didn't know how Celosia felt about the subject, but it was more likely for ice to stay frozen in a fire than it was for him to forgive his father without some real change and proof that he was going to treat them better. He still didn't and couldn't understand how he "didn't mean to" leave without telling them, but he wasn't going to get any answers now.

Then a list of mentors and mentees was listed off, ignoring most of it until it got to him being paired up with Tyto. He hadn't interacted with the tan and black man at all, but he supposed any mentor his father wanted to stick him with would do fine. Like Onyx had pointed out, they had been training just fine on their own. After that Cináed let his gaze drift off over the arctic tundra that surrounded the ship again while his father rambled on about other pack related things. Keeping livestock, penning up some wild predators, some nonsense about festivals that would probably never happen and that none of the other packs would want to attend. Going to the tournament that Ashen held showed him that their pack was either unheard of or disliked. It had been easier to just not mention what pack he hailed from. Yes, he was bitter and angry, but he didn't think it was without good reason.

He was certainly interested in the talk of raids once that came around, but it was yet another thing in the list of things that he would believe when he saw it. Talk was cheap and he was tired of hearing the noise. He sat dutifully like the proper son he was until his father was done speaking and finally ended the meeting with an invitation to speak and letting them know they were dismissed. He was more than happy to finally be done with this so once they were dismissed he rose to his paws and walked through the crowd to start making his way down through the ship until he made it down to the ground below and started walking out toward the pines.

Cináed Praetor