Set Apart this Dream
There was much that she had to set straight. The wolves of Valhalla had had long enough to rest, to think, to and she felt that it was time to call them together again. This would be the first meeting that the young female would call as the pack's leader, and a part of her was nervous. Yet it was also exciting - the beginning of a new era, one that shes would lead, along with the wolves here that she trusted. First things first, she needed to sort out their ranks. She had an idea of what some wanted to be, where some of the lupine here fit, but others would have to tell her what rank they would be pursuing. A general task where they wanted to try and excel.
With that in mind, she called for all adult Valhallans to come forward, so that she could properly speak with them. If there were any questions or concerns that they had, then she would answer them as they came - but first, she hoped that they would give her the chance to speak. She had good news for many of them! And what she wanted more than anything, was for the meetings that they had to end with more hope and positivity than the chaos experienced in the last few. No matter how sorry she was about that, there was nothing that she could do but move forward, and she felt that Valhalla would move past it with her - they were a strong group, and no matter who was leading, Chrysanthe believed that would never change.
ooc: A very quick pack meeting, where ranks will be given out, and the wedding will be announced <3 Just takes an intro post, and then an exit post after everything is said.
Walk | Talk | Think
It felt so good to be mobile again. The weeks that it had taken her leg to heal up as far as it had could only be described at torturous by the ever-active she-wolf, the time she had confined herself to her new den to heal slowly causing her to go mad. Responsibility and restlessness had eaten away at her during that time, adding an impatience to her wait, but somehow she had managed to leave her leg well enough alone and long enough so that, on this day, she could test its strength. For some time now she had been content placing a little weight on it as she walked, reassured when the wounds no longer ached so strongly from the strain on skin and muscle. Now the wounds were practically gone, scarred over but covered over once again. They no longer made her feel queasy to look at, and more than anything the sight of them looking so well healed gave her confidence that she was nearing the end stretch of her recovery time.
In celebration, she ran. There was nowhere in particular she went, just an unmarked course freely created across the snowy grassland so that she could merely stretch her legs and get some good use out of them. Only slightly did her hind leg ache, which she had expected and half thought might have only been stiffness, but overall it felt good to move like this. It had really been too long. Her jaws were opened in a wide grin, tongue lolling unabashedly. For the first time in what felt like a long while - perhaps since the incident that had caused her injury - Ashtoreth felt happy.
Her good humor remained when she heard the call of a pack mate resounding across the open field and drawing the whole of Valhalla to her in conference. Without hesitation, the newly healed wolf changed course within the snow, cutting a new path that would bring her closer to those who gathered in answer to Chrysanthe's call. Jaws closing, Ash still smiled, unable to hide her new found delight in her returned mobility. Only when she could see the other wolf - her clay colored face standing out like a sore thumb amid the snow - did the small, slim grey wolf slow her pace, easing into a walk to cover the last remaining distance. Very slightly did her leg hurt, but her limp was practically unnoticeable now. Soon, very soon if she had anything to say about it, she was going to throw another celebration in the form of a much needed, long overdue hunt.
Coming up to join the newly instated Valhallan Alpha, the spindly hunter smiled along with a short wag of her tail. "Hey Chrysanthe," she greeted companionably, taking advantage of the quiet as others still arrived to get in a proper hello. It was not always that she was early to a meeting, but with the healing of her leg it seemed as if things on all fronts were finally starting to look up.
Erani |
Erani watched her children play, or nearly all of them. Gabriel never joind in. In fact? And this worried her? He seemed to hate them. Neo came to mind, and she shut that away before the pain could set in. She couldn?t let Gabriel take the path of Neo. A sweet song rolled through the small forested area she had made her den in and she swiveled her head to listen. She smiled. Chrysnathe was calling a meeting. Her tones suggested only adults, which made Erani curious. So she rose, nuzzling Nova?s shoulder. ?A meeting, Love. Oh I know, you don?t like them. But this is Chrysanthe at our head now, and I don?t think she?s going to bring us to ruin.? Giving him a playful nibble along one ear, she started toward the ravine, pausing to discourage the pups from following. ?This is for adults, loves. Stay here, and be good.?
She gave them a stern look until each one went back, and then she took off at a gentle lope, keeping her pace to match with Nova?s long legged strides. She came into the area, tail waving a gentle greeting to Chrysanthe and Ashtoreth as she came to a halt, looking around for her brother. He would be there soon, she knew. And Obsidian right behind or right ahead. That horse did her best, despite the lack of friendship the other members of Valhalla offered. Settling onto her haunches, she gazed around, waiting and watching, a small smile on her muzzle. It had been a while since she had come to a meeting and not felt uneasy about what might happen. Only one niggling of worry was there in her mind, and it was for Cairo. The last meeting had been detrimental to his health, and he had collapsed at the sight of Syrinx and Chrysanthe battling for dominance. He had recovered enough to wake at his den, and she had been keeping a close eye on him, setting aside the fact that she had been stripped of her rank. Rank meant nothing when a friend was in danger. |
Cormalin |
Cormalin crouched low, black pelt sticking out like a sore toe in the snow, but determined never the less as mismatched golden and blue eyes stared at the foolish hare that had ventured out to forage in the snow. It must be a young one, to be so blithe about coming out into the open, for it never once paused to listen or look for danger. Carefully, Cormalin bunched powerful muscles and readied himself to hunt. He launched himself at the hare, which fairly did a backflip of surprise and dashed off as soon as its paws touched the ground again. Zig-zagging, it streaked off across the snow, with the large black male pelting after it, hot breath sending puffs of mist into the air. Cormalin lengthened his strides, pulse roaring in his ears, and just as he bore down on the hare, it made a fancy leap and darted down a bolt hole. Cormalin skidded to a halt and sank to his haunches, chest heaving. At seven, nearly eight years, he was slowing down just a little and, face it, he had never been the best rabbit hunter. Slower, larger animals were his forte. He?d have to ask one of the wolves out for a hunt today. A familiar howl sang over the land, and he grinned through a panting muzzle and lolling pink tongue. Chrysanthe was calling her first meeting. Standing, he turned, kicked a little snow at the bolt hole with a chuckle, and padded off to see what her first actions would be. He?d been thinking about what he wanted to do in the pack. He felt he would serve his pack and family best as a lead Warrior, or maybe even as the male Beta. Aislyn needed someone to back her up, though he?d never in a million eons suggest it to her face. He chuckled a little. The Australian beta had a proud ego, and a short temper and would happily tear him up if he said she needed help doing her job. Still, he thought, She was very busy with training her daughter to take her place, and what if she got hurt defending Valhalla? Or killed in a hunt? He thought about asking Chrysanthe about how he should go about earning a rank higher than what he imagined he must have at the moment. Panting softly, Cormalin came into the meeting, giving the silver Ashtoreth a friendly smile of greeting, and brushing his shoulder against Erani?s as he settled onto his haunches, and gave Nova a playful woof. ?Hello, Erani, Nova. How are my favorite Nieces and Nephews doing? Uncle Cormalin wants to take them hare hunting.? Cormalin laughed softly in his next words. ?Maybe they?ll teach me some new tricks.? Eyes twinkled as he winked at Erani, then turned to sweep the meeting. So far, it was just him, Erani, Nova, Chrysanthe, and Ashtoreth. But more would come. Obsidian for sure. |
Quickly, Obsidian took off toward it. She knew the voice. Chrysanthe. This must mean that she had won, and was now head m- er? Wolf. This was good. The young female was kind, even to her, a horse in a Wolf world. She slowed to a walk as she arrived at the meeting, looking around to see who had arrived. Cormalin, Erani, Nova, a silver female that she hadn?t caught the name of yet, and Chrysanthe were there. She gave them a whicker of greeting and came to stand at rest behind Cormalin. Lowering her head, she lipped at the fur at the back of his neck. She never spoke much around wolves outside of Corrie, Erani, Nova, their pups, and Chrysanthe and Epiphron. She highly suspected the other wolves thought her dumb, like any deer or elk. They?d be sorely misjudging her. She was just as smart as a wolf.
Sarak |
A pile of snow was steaming from a small hole. Inside was curled the brown and black furred form of a wolf, one paw draped lightly over his dark muzzle as he snoozed. Lithe, slender, with lean muscles, he was built for running. Built for stealth. A howl pierced the layer of snow and he gave a grunt. Sarak lifted his head, blinking sleepy deep moss green eyes as the hat of snow he wore on his head disintegrated into pieces and tumbled off. Sitting up, he yawned, and looked around. The howl was made by a familiar voice. Chrys? Chris? Chrysanthe? That was it. She?d won her fight with her brother for the throne of the Pack, and it sounded like she was calling a meeting. He wondered when he was going to be thrown out of the pack. He wanted to ask Cairo, but the old wolf had fallen ill and collapsed at the last meeting, and he was afraid to ask. Maybe his daughter would give him an answer. But would she let him stay, if she knew he had been yet another assassin trying to kill the wolf that had mothered her? His ears drooped, and he rose on long, lanky legs. He was two years old as of this winter, but he would always be just barely above small in size. However, he hadn?t matured ugly at all. Of course, that was a matter of opinion. He personally thought he wasn?t worthy of a lady?s advances, or to make advances himself.
He took off at a trot, still feeling anxious for his future. It didn?t take him and his long legs to reach the meeting, where he sank to his haunches, green eyes looking around. Erani was there, and her brother, and her great black mate. Her pups were absent. This must be a meeting for adults. The silver female he?d heard called Ashtoreth was there as well, looking much better than she had last meeting. Her leg was better. Chrysanthe, dark faced and beautiful, sat waiting for her pack at the head, and he wondered what she would do with him.
The horse was there, too. She was a puzzle to him. A prey animal that was right at home with wolves all around her, and was even lipping at the fur of Erani?s brothers neck. He looked around, wondering if Azalea was coming too. She had been the first wolf to approach him here, other than Erani. |
This time when the call for a pack meeting sounded pain no longer wracked his body and his head would turn towards the sound curiously. He didn't hesitate now, this was his new home and he would stick with it until he was given a good reason to flee. So the lithe male lifted himself up, frame still diminished from weeks of malnutrition but he was now able to hunt for himself again and found that his strength was returning slowly but surly. Thick winter coat was shaken out, riding himself of the dampness that clung to his shoulder and hip on the side he had been resting against the ground. Wasting no time he padded his way towards the sound, not bothering to break into a lope as it seemed as though the sound was fairly close by. He wondered if Aislyn would be there already, if she would have Liberty with her. He really needed to take some time and spend it with his daughter, teach her some of the things he knew. Maybe she would want to be a healer and he could help her with that. Who knew... All of it would be sorted in due time, for now there was a pack meeting for him to hang out in the back for. Maybe one day he would bother to get to know some of the other wolves, go out of his way to meet some of this family Aislyn cared so deeply for.
His arrival was quiet, a dip of his head would be given to the brown faced female who had called them together if she looked his way. But otherwise he would move to the outskirts of the gathered wolves and seat himself carefully. The male sat straight as his mother had taught him, shoulders rolled back, ears pricked and attentive towards whatever was to come. From what he had heard this pack had changed hands once more. From Cairo to Collision to an unknown male and then to this female. Chrysanthe... At least that was the name he had heard her called in the past. Maybe he should see if he could chat with her after the meeting, offer up his services as a healer. His mother had tried to groom Lux as their next healer rather then him but she had never taken to it the way he had. So he had gotten double duty... But that was besides the point, it just seemed that they needed a few more healers since Erani had been stripped of her rank and all. |
Aislyn |
A smile tugged at the corners of her inky lips. Chrysanthe, the woman she had hoped would become alpha, had called together a pack meeting. Her brother had submitted, and she took the title, sending her sister off the marry the prince in Seracia. She wondered if there was a specific reason for that, but honestly she didn't care. As long as they were happy, and everything in Valhalla was stable again, why should things have to change? She picked up Liberty by her scruff, carrying her safely between her jaws. She really needed to speak to Chrysanthe about her plans with Liberty, but now was not the time. She wasn't the first to arrive at this meeting, hell, even Friction beat her here. She offered him a warm smile, making a V line toward him so he could watch Liberty. She didn't want to drag her up front again. She brushed her cheek against his as she came up to him, setting Liberty down at his feet. With that she turned, making her way up to the new queen. "My lady." She said to Chrysanthe, dipping her head respectfully. She took her place beside her and looked out over the crowd. The scene with Cairo flashed in her mind. Ears folded. What exactly would the new queen say? |
Another pack meeting. There seemed to be a lot of those lately. But now that Chrysanthe was Alpha, hopefully things would settled down and return to normal. Rising from her den she broke into a trot, heading towards the call of hew new Alpha. Upon her arrival, several other wolves had already gathered, including Erani. Nodding her hellos, murmuring a soft "Hello" to Erani, she gave a respective nod to Chrysanthe and a hello before taking her seat. The young Alpha looked nervous, excited and happy all at the sametime. As far as the ivory she-wolf was concerned she had her full attention at the meeting. Perhaps she would be the one to bring Valhalla out of the ashes and restore balance. Looking around at faces, she knew a few, had seen a few a previous meetings and even new ones. As always the horse, who's name escaped her was present, she was curious as to where the massive animal came from, but she had found a home none the less. It was still early in the meeting, there would be more to arrive, settling down on her haunches, she waited, watching each new face as they came in. "speech" thought |
Walk | Talk | Think
Others arrived after she did, each acknowledged with a polite smile by the slim grey hunter. It felt good to arrive on time for once, to not be one of the last stragglers to enter onto the scene and barely find a seat amongst those gathered before the one who had called the meeting could get things underway. Still impressed with her own recovery and her legs progress, Ashtoreth shifted where she sat, moving her leg in minute ways that she hoped was not completely noticeable. It was just a small test, to reassure herself that her leg had indeed mostly healed and that she now had more mobility than she had prior. It was near impossible to keep the smile off of her face as she waited on the last of those to show up before Chrysanthe would speak, and it still remained even as the newly instated Alpha began to conduct the meeting in full.
It didn't surprise her when the clay-faced Alpha addressed the circumstances that had shaped the last meeting they had had. Of them all, she had thought Chrysanthe to have been one who had been most shaken up by the events though she had done a marvelous job in keeping her cool even when things were crumbling around them. Ash admired her ability to recover from it and bring them all together again now, refusing to let those past events influence where she saw their future headed. It was encouraging, as was the news that Cairo was being carefully watched. She had been worried about his health after his collapse, had not quite gotten to remain long enough to see him come back around, but any news was good news at this point so long as it leaned toward the fact the elder wolf still lived. That was really all that was important at this time.
As mentioned during their last meeting, Epiphron was be betrothed to the Seracian Prince in Chrysanthe's place, a fact both girls seemed quite happy about though Ashtoreth could only equate the fact to Epiphron looking out for the happiness of her sibling and understanding when her skills were outdone by someone else. Whatever the case, she was happy for them and was grateful for the alliance as well. Getting in good with their neighbors was never a bad thing, and with a mix of children from both packs - down the road, she assumed, when Epiphron and her future husband decided that it was time for them to begin their family - would only further those ties and ensure that, at least on that front, relationships between the packs would stay friendly. One less thing to worry about was a good thing.
The topic changed to that of ranks, and quietly Ashtoreth listened. Content with her lot, she glanced about at those who Chrysanthe addressed first; Aislyn, Thane, Erani. Erani! The news that the once Lead Healer was going to receive her position again was great news as far as the odd-eyed wolf was concerned. The healer had proven her worth so many times over, hadn't even shirked her pack when she had been demoted from her well earned position, and even now had been one of the first to arrive to show that her dedication remained strong to these wolves who were her family.
Unexpectedly, however, her own name was mentioned, and as her attention returned fully to her Alpha she realized that she had also been granted a promotion as well. I'm...I'm Lead Hunter? It had never been a position that she would have actively sought; she had always been content to follow those guidelines set by others and let them worry about figuring out all the details. And now it would be her turn. Easily she had mixed feelings on the subject, nervous about holding such a title and not proving herself inadequate for it. But under it all she was flattered. "Thank you," she spoke to Chrysanthe with a respectful nod, though by her tone and expression it was easy to tell she was still surprised by the news.
Healers, warriors, and a young heir were next assigned, and the suddenly surprised wolf was only half attentive to everything that followed. Lead Hunter! She never would have thought! It should have dawned on her that something was coming when Thane had been given his promotion, but somehow it had slipped her mind. But the news that she would now be leading her own section of the pack in Thane's place brought to light a new worry: she needed wolves to lead. So far their hunters were numbered to herself alone, no new ones assigned. As the ground was left open for those who lacked a specific rank to come forward and choose theirs, Ashtoreth glanced around expectantly, hopeful that another wolf or two might choose to follow her path and assist as a hunter.