Eligos stood on the edge of the ravine. His eyes were tightly shut with frustration, but he could still see the area in his mind's eye. He had put a lot of himself into this place. He'd tried to make it a home for his family. But everything lately had conspired to tear them apart, and now this home was tainted with painful memories. There, where they'd burned his brother's body. There, where he had brought his niece's body home and (falsely, as it turned out) confessed the murder to her father. There, where Proserpina had confronted him on his return home. There, where they had fought with desperation against a larger raiding force - and failed. More and more he had begun to think that this place was not a home for the Abraxas, but a cage. Their numbers had dwindled to the point that he doubted their ability to hold these lands at all soon. He'd concluded that it would be better to not hold lands at all. What they needed, was a change.

Eyes snapping open and determination firming his jaw and his step, he turned to make his bounding way down into the ravine and to the stone where he'd held all his meetings since they'd claimed this land. Lifting his muzzle, he called imperiously to the pack. Regardless of their feelings towards him and their ambivalence towards Aerie, he demanded their presence. He had news for them.


OOC: I'm only going to wait until probably tomorrow to post again since this is time sensitive. Anyone later than that can either assume they were already there or if you don't want them to have been there IC, let me know in discord so that their absence can be noted.

These past days had been eventful for March, at least more than usual. Her paws had started getting sore with all the walking, but she wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Not when there was so much to do. So imagine her surprise when the call for her, for the entire pack, rings out, echoing down the ravine. She must've been closer to the meeting spot than the others, because as she raced towards the noise she found herself alone, at least for the moment. Maybe she was quicker than she'd given herself credit for.

She slowed to a stop when she caught sight of the alpha, her alpha. It seemed strange to serve under a man she only really knew by name. If he'd ever come to visit her when she was ill, she didn't remember. She nodded when their eyes met, silently praying that the others would arrive as swiftly as she had. It would be a tad awkward if the pack meeting only consisted of two wolves.

Perhaps luckily Onoskelis had yet to meet her alpha, her uncle or some such relation. Though she certainly wouldn't know that. But that luck had seemingly run out. Ono wasn't really sure what to expect, she'd simply been lounging in the late winter sun when the call had gone up and the young girl rose to her paws, glad to catch the scent of her sister on the trail she took towards the call, though she didn't yet catch any hint of her mother or brother. A sort of awkward anxiety settled on her, something she'd never felt before. Who exactly was Eligos? Why had he been gone for so long?

The young Abraxas picked up her pace when she spotted her sister, rushing towards her to settle beside her and bump the larger girl, flashing her sister a playful grin but in truth looking for the comfort of the contact between herself and her bigger sister. Then she turned her gaze towards the man who'd called them, a single pink eye finding him, the mushroom that blocked her other eye unmoving.

"Speech!"

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Eli was calling the pack for a meeting. What was it for, she wondered? Whatever it was, it sounded urgent. If Ono showed up, it would be his first time seeing her, she was sure. How would he react? would he stop the meeting to address her deformed child? Would he make a huge fuss over it? She was prepared to protect her children from him if need be...though perhaps she could convince him that her cursed child was worth her weight. Morax was with her, her son walking quietly alongside her as they headed to the meeting. She took a deep breath as she neared the meeting...her steps were slow, but once she caught the scent of two of her children, she picked up the pace. Ono was likely already there, and she prayed she'd make it in time before something happened. Once she arrived, she rushed straight to Ono and March, the woman sitting right behind the pair and offering both of them a quick and gentle nuzzle as kept herself readied and prepared for whatever may come. Morax flanked Ono, sitting on her open side, opposite of March. Despite his more stoic attitude, Ina knew he could trust him to help protect his family should he be required to. She herself would lay down her life for her kids...though she hoped it wouldn't come to that. She didn't want to fight Eligos over this, but she would if she had to.

He walked alongside his mother, feeling the tension radiating from her body. He knew she was worried about Ono and Eli's reaction to her...and although he had only met Eli once, would he really turn on his sister? Morax wasn't sure what he'd do if it came down to that but...he had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty and he'd be forced to intervene. Sure he wasn't the most social of wolves, but Ono was his sister and despite all that had happened to their family since they were born, he loved his sisters and would do what he could to help protect them. He took in a deep breath to calm his own nerves as they stepped into the meeting. So far, it was literally just him, his sisters, his mom, and Eli. Where was everyone else? Had the pack truly been as dead as he thought it'd been this whole time? There were a bunch of other scents lingering around, so where the hell were they? He desperately hoped it wasn't just his immediate family that showed up, because that would be bad, right? There would be nothing to take Eli's attention away from them if that were the case...

Quietly, he moved to sit on Ono's open side opposite of March. He gently nudged his sister's shoulder before turning his attention to the alpha, waiting for the meeting to start...and he hoped to the Fallen God above that others would show up...

She was finishing up her grooming when she heard Eli call for the pack. It sounded urgent, so she wasted no time calling her children to her so that they could go to the meeting together. They had been growing big and soon would be nearing a year old. Where had the time gone? She sighed as she thought about it, but all she could do now was to continue to try to be there for them...which she felt she had been failing at but, she was trying. It had just been a little harder in her older age. Upon reaching the meeting, Ravage and Raze had caught up to her and the trio moved in to sit among the group that was already there. She looked curiously at the pastel-colored child, noticing the strange mushroom that seemed to cling to her face. She was sure she'd seen her around before, or perhaps she had just caught glimpses since Para had mostly kept to herself and her own family when she wasn't patrolling or doing whatever duties she felt she had. She sat down and waited to see what all this was about. "Talk" "You" Think

He was busy harassing a raccoon whose burrow he had found in the base of a tree when he heard the alpha's call. He ignored it for a few moments, at least until he heard his mother calling for him and his siblings. Huffing, he glared at the raccoon as it glared back. It was too far into the hole for him to reach, so he simply made a promise that he'd be back for it before turning away and headed towards the meeting. He was kinda grumpy about having to leave the raccoon there...would it even still be there when the meeting was done? He didn't know. If it wasn't, then someone owed him one! It didn't take him long to reach it, having caught up with his mother and Raze, the boy moved to sit on his mother's left side, sharp gaze looking to see who else had arrived. The strange mushroom-eyed girl and her family was there, along with the alpha, but that was about it so far asides from him and his own family.

Huh...weren't there more wolves in the pack?

She was busy sunbathing in the little bit of sun she could get when she heard the alpha calling the pack together. It sounded urgent, but she was enjoying herself so much, she hardly wanted to get up. She did, however, spring up when her mother called for them, too. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to ignore the call, so she jumped to her feet and hurried to meet up with them. With her shorter and smaller stature, she certainly didn't have the stride to catch up fast enough. Her mother and brother were already there and sitting down by the time she caught up, and she huffed and puffed as she moved to sit with them. She shot them a look as if to say "why the hell didn't you wait for me!?" but said nothing and instead, turned her attention to those gathered already. The other woman was here with her pups, but she had yet to actually talk to them...maybe she would after this. After all, she wanted to know if the mushroom girl would let her poke at that mushroom sticking out of her face!

He was returning from a hunting trip when Eligos called the pack for a meeting. Hmm...strange. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Eli for a while until recently, so he assumed that whatever Eli was calling them for, it was important. He went to drop the doe he was dragging onto a community kill pile he had started before making his way to the meeting. Considering he had been pretty close already, he arrived in a matter of minutes and found that Eli was there with his cousin Ina, and her kids, and the fiery woman with half of her brood. He hardly talked to any of them, but that was just who he was. He hardly talked to others to begin with. He preferred to be alone, but even then, he did do his duties without question and worked in the shadows to make sure the pack was well fed and protected. He moved to sit near the edge of the group, gaze turning to Eli as he waited to hear what he had to say. Now that his brother had up and left, it was just him and the rest of the Abraxas family...and the unrelated mortals, he supposed. "Speech"

Change was a natural part of life, though one that Thalia wasn't exactly fond of - though she knew she'd always learn to adapt to whatever changes happened. Especially in regards to her family and her Abraxas, she'd find a way. Hearing her cousin's call instantly made her wonder if change was exactly what was about to come - his voice had a tone she couldn't quite place and the not knowing made her nervous. But she headed to the group that had gathered regardless, casting a glance around the wolves that had shown up and still remained here. Their numbers had dwindled, she knew that for a fact, but she appreciated that some had still remained through it all. Her features were stoic as she moved toward the group and sat down, quiet for now until Eligos said what he'd brought them here to say.

Focused on the purpose of his meeting, when the first two pups appeared Eligos merely glanced at them absently, but a rather obvious oddity had him double take and very nearly derailed the meeting before it had begun. The child had... fungus growing out of an otherwise empty eye socket. It was horrific, and shocking that such a disease had been allowed to progress so far.

Paradise rushed to the children to hover protectively over them, and he turned that incredulous stare on her. Paradise had been the one so neglectful as to - no, no he couldn't focus on this right now. He had called this meeting for a reason, and while he would have very much wanted to confront her over this clear mistreatment, he couldn't do so now.

While he had been preoccupied, the rest of the pack had trickled in. Or what was left of it, anyway. He didn't have the heart to count who was there... And who wasn't. Instead, he got straight into the point. "The Long Night has left us weak," he told them bluntly. "Frankly, we do not have the wolves to continue protecting our borders. Nor do I think it is healthy, or strategic, for us to do so. We have not been a pack for a long time now. I believe it is time for a change, a chance to experience trial and triumph together again. Settling in one place has softened us and allowed us to drift apart."

He breathed deeply; let I out slowly in a sigh. "I will be taking Aerie into a nomadic existence. No longer a pack, but a band. Nothing else will have changed. We will still be what we are now, we will still be who we are now. We will simply be moving from place to place as needed, as we do so. I understand that some of you may not approve of this decision, but I hope you would see fit to join me and give it a chance. If you absolutely cannot, please see me privately to be released from the band."

His intentions known, Eligos turned to walk away. He had packing to do.

More often than not Thalia longed for the days of her youth, when her siblings and their parents had still been here. The wolves that were left here in Aerie had dwindled significantly and taking a quick count of who had remained made her spirits sink. Thankfully she didn't have long to dwell on their numbers though when Eligos began to speak, explaining in his usual pragmatic way that they no longer had the number of wolves left here to defend their borders as they had. The news that they were to become nomadic was news to Thalia though she couldn't say she was completely surprised. It made sense to her and she gave a quiet nod of agreement. So things would change again, though at least she felt better prepared for these changes than she expected she might.