Moving had been no small job. Packing up all of their belongings onto carts - some already made, and others fashioned for just this reason. Everything they didn’t take with them had been dismantled, taken apart, and spread to the wind. Once the wolves of the Armada were done, there was no sign left of the pack that had spent years on the territory.

The train of wolves had made their way North as a large group, and arrived in Dreamers Col in the early evening. The Armada would spend the first night or two camped in the communal area of the new territory. At least until they had mapped out some of the warrens, and ensured their security and integrity of the caves. Until then, it was a campout. They would spend the night in each other's space. Pack meant safety, and warmth, and they would need plenty of both in their first night here.

He instructed wolves to pull their belongings into a defensible section, and set watches. Other wolves he ordered to start fires to warm them, and cook a hearty feast for the hungry travellers. He made efforts to turn it into a party. Moving about his wolves, and checking up on them. To see how they had fared from the journey.


"Sirius Fatalis"

Mortis knew some of the younger wolves were getting tired and cranky. Basilisk, the ever growing and hungry boy had been getting more and more sullen as the journey unfolded. But then at last, they had reached the Col that his father was claiming as their new home. He knew he wouldn’t get much of a chance to explore it tonight. It was late, and people were tired. As the Warlord started to hand out orders, setting up patrols and fire and food, Mortis grabbed Basilisk and wrangled the younger wolf over to help him cheer up the pack. He set the young large-pawed wolf to beating a hallowed piece of wood he found near one of the fires. Creating a drum like effect, and as the start of this music touched the air, the wolf who had always been a cheery pup did something he had not done for a very, very long time. With an almost cheeky grin on his maw, and a paw tugging at Hika to encourage his mate to join in with him, he began to sing. “Lets gather around the campfire And sing our campfire song Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song And if you don't think that we can sing it faster then you're wrong But it'll help if you just sing along” "Mortis"

Kotori had enjoyed spending a good deal of his time as a yearling traveling about the lands in exploration and self-discovery.  The state of his family drama back then had enticed him to be a loner for days or even weeks at a time with only a short stop back into the pack lands to check in on things.  He had eventually settled down onto pack turf to train, help deal with the chaos of that seemingly eternal night, and then aim for promotion.  

When he’d imagined moving he had imagined a similar pace as he’d taken back in those days.  Now Kotori had better stamina and speed which made the pace seem all the slower.  Having wolves pulling a cart and younger kids to deal with made everything slower than Kotori cared for.

Kotori had taken it on himself to keep slightly farther out, scouting for any danger hidden along the paths.  At points, he still took breaks to travel with the others and take a breather.  At one point Bas had gotten an irritated gaze as the boy seemed overly sullen. “You’re a Fatalis aren’t you?” The boy obviously knew the answer but sometimes questions made a fact all the more obvious, “Fatalis do not sulk.  Show well kid.” The kid was growing like a damn giant but still immature.

Once they arrived Kotori thought about lying down to rest, acknowledging the scouting had definitely made the trek a bit tiring.  Kotori Fatalis wasn’t about to look like he needed to rest while others in his family were working.  Scraping clear all grass from a patch of land, Kotori then went and found some rocks to act as a barrier around his dirt circle.  From there he gathered branches and eventually he’d have a fire going.  The boy raised his brows at Mort, smirking a bit but didn’t choose to add into the song.    

Kotori Fatalis

 

Gossamer shifted the pack on her back, slowing to a stop when they finally arrived. The journey had been a good work out for her between the pack and the small travois she was hauling that contained various tinctures, tins and bowls. Each of her companions carried their own load and she instructed them to take the communal items to the designated storage area for healing items. She had her personal stores that she would set up in her den once she chose a location for herself but for now she needed a break to rest her paws. Gossamer slipped out of the travois and set her bag down on the ground before flopping on her side. She could rest and work at the same time. After all the items in the travois would all need to be sorted. Some contained dried meats, some contained mead and of course she had several rolled hides as well. She worked at the straps, tilting her head to the side at Mortis singing. What on earth… had he just cracked?

Aris, burdened despite her small frame with pack and travois for her own stuff to leave room in the wagons for pack assets, found it harder and harder to keep her mood optimistic the longer the journey stretched. Grumpy kids, creaky wagons, the heavy weight, the way her litter brother just left the column to go fuck off wherever because he was too good to help even though he was large enough to actually pull a wagon, the way Tansy lagged further behind each mile they took because cats weren't made for long journeys like wolves... If Aris wasn't barely that much larger than the cat herself she'd have carried her, but her stupid body had decided to betray her at birth and never grow up. It made it hard to keep a lid on her own grumpiness to avoid making it worse.

But finally, finally the journey was at an end. Aris flopped facedown next to Gossamer for a moment as her larger sister struggled out of her own travois harness. She was pretty sure she could sleep for a week starting right that second... but there was definitely a lot of work to do yet before anyone could relax. Without moving from her prone position, Aris used her forepaws to lift the travois off her back where it crossed in front of her packs, and shoved it aside. Then with a groan she push herself back to her paws to begin unhooking the packs from her harness, glancing around as she did to see how her companions had made the trip.

Tansy finally straggled in and draped her exhausted form over the bundles on Ari's travois. Dirk she had seen perched on the side of one of the wagons preening. She didn't think he'd flown at all the whole trip and he was looking bright eyed. In fact, the stain down the outside of the wagon gave testimony to the fact that he'd amused himself by doing bird shits down the side whenever the urge struck him.

Aris wasn't much for cooking, and while she could definitely keep watch and would do it later when they changed out, she figured she was too tired now to risk it or she might fall asleep. So fires it was. Dragging paws but trying to keep moving so that her muscles didn't cramp up, she set to work on a second fire a far enough distance away from Kotori's that several wolves could fit in between to get warmth from both sides and still have room to pass between them. She figured that a bunch of smaller fires around the outside with most people in the middle would keep them warmer than a big fire in the middle.

She winced at Mortis' goofy song and might have boo'd him just because, but honestly the kids probably needed cheering up after a long journey and facing a night in a weird place that was supposed to be their home. Heck, they were almost yearlings but that didn't mean they wouldn't be anxious and grouchy from it all.