ooc: EVERYONE needs to post here by DECEMBER 30th! I'm giving you a few extra days to post since it's the holidays. I'll reply again when everyone in the pack has posted or Dec. 30th, whichever comes first. If you do not post without already being on absence I will consider you character MIA and will remove them from the pack. Leo made his way toward the center of the Mangroves where the pack usually held their meetings as he finished his afternoon patrol. His head was swarming with ideas and plans for the future, going over them all silently to himself to make sure he knew them all himself before he called everyone so he wouldn't forget to tell them anything. He had been planning on saving these announcements and changes for Spring, but with Svetlana pregnant he felt the need to expedite his plans a bit. Spring wasn't too far off, but waiting the few more weeks felt like he was cutting it too close. He wanted all of his firmly in place before his children arrived. He settled onto his haunches in the clearing and raised his muzzle toward the sky to let out a howl, calling for everyone in the pack to join him. He had bounced many of his ideas off Svetlana of course so she would know much of what was to come, but he wasn't positive that he had told her that he wanted to put them into place sooner than later. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak to his mother about his ideas yet so he could only hope that she would agree. He still couldn't help the smile that came to his muzzle when she came to his mind. He glanced around the Mangroves, letting out a long breath to steady himself while he waited for everyone to arrive. "Talk" "You" Think

Bright had been close by when she heard the call for a pack meeting. Leo's howl did not seem desperate, but his voice was strong and there was a firm urgency to it. He required the presence of all pack members as quickly as possible. The meek woman had merely been snuffling around for something to eat, so she abandoned her unimportant task and followed the sound of their leader's howl, heading toward the center of the Mangroves. Small, feminine paws carried her agilely over the uneven roots of the strangely shaped trees.

It was not long before she saw Leo's easily recognizable figure at the center of the territory, waiting for everyone to arrive. He must have something important to announce, or perhaps he had something to arrange with the pack. Since her arrival here, things had been fairly quiet, but then she supposed she'd been too shy to seek out activity. Maybe things were bubbling with more activity than she realized. But of course, she would find out soon enough when the meeting began. Realizing that she had paused in her stride and was standing awkwardly at a distance from Leo, she bounced forward and approached Fiori's leader.

As she neared, Bright dipped her dark muzzle, black ears tilting back in a respectful gesture, her posture low and submissive. It wasn't necessary, but it was part of who she was, and she would never hesitate to openly show deference to her leader. "Greetings Leo," she said softly, silver eyes glancing up at him, "Good to see you. I look forward to hearing the news you have to share with us." With that, she took several steps back and seated herself, waiting to see who else would appear soon, keeping her eye out for Arivae, hoping to see the friendly young woman again.

"Listen to me talk," 'but read my thoughts.'

Svetlana would hear Leo’s call with a smile upon her face. Leo knew now, as well as Korrin and his mother, and soon, soon the entire pack would know that they were expecting children. The femme would nudge her polar fox companion, a gentle, loving nudge. “Korrin, come on.” Svetlana would urge. There was a meeting to attend to, and as Queen of Fiori, as Leo’s mate, she couldn’t bare to be late. She would chuckle softly to herself, setting off.

She was barely beginning to show, her belly bulging ever so slightly. Only a trained eye would be able to tell the difference of a little weight gain versus the pregnancy she now had. Svetlana would hum softly to herself as she walked, Korrin bounding happily at her side. The fox was excited for her companion, and she would look up at Svetlana with eager eyes. “Svet is very happy... That makes Korrin happy too!”

Arriving at the meeting, where only one other member of the pack was presence, Svetlana would seat herself beside Leo. She would press into him lightly, tail wagging happily as she looked upon him. “Leooo~” She would hum softly, licking his maw. Public displays of affection were no trouble for the femme. She wanted everyone to know just how much she loved the dear orange and white male at her side.

Table by:: Shelby

Amalia nosed the girls awake at the sound of her brothers call, eager for the rest of the pack to meet her little girls. She bounded outside the den and then back in, yipping to rose her family. It was time to go! A bundle of energy she shot off before the girls were out of the den, slowing down only when she neared the meeting place. She trotted up to Leo and nuzzled him, before eying the two other woman who had gathered. "Hey Bright Moon, Svet!" Amalia barked softly, settling her tiny frame close to Leo, saving room for Athena and the kids, Tib and Arivae too. Her rump wiggled where she say, she had no idea where all of this energy came from, but she was excited.

The ivory girl was awoken by her mother's bark, one that held urgency. She didn't like being rushed, especially since she had awoken each day peacefully without the pressure of being somewhere. Her russet head slightly lifted as she stirred from her slumber, leaning closer to her sister's grey form. She wouldn't rise until her sister did, and she would stick close to the girl as they followed their mothers to the strange event. At the sight of other wolves - bigger canines - her emerald eyes widened as her ears pulled back in fear, steps slowing with reluctance. Who were they? What if they hurt her? Where had they come from? Up until now she had thought it was just her, Jayne, Amalia and Athena, and she liked it that way. But now she was just frightened at the sudden, unexpected change. Speak Thought Others

Athena smiled a little as she watched her wife's eager and energetic response to Leo's call for a pack meeting. There had been a time not too long ago that Amalia had been sick so often and the weight of everything had been so great that she hadn't had that energy for some time. It was great to see her like this again. Athena wasn't as fast to her paws, but she was never as fast as Amalia was. She gently nosed her daughters out of the den, Diana in particular. She knew her shy girl would need a little more encouragement. She hung back from Amalia a bit, letting her rush forward to the meeting and instead keeping pace with their young daughters. When the trio arrived she would settle on her haunches beside Amalia. She noticed Diana's sudden fear and she would give her red-headed daughter a smile and pull her close, letting her sit between her front paws. She leaned her head down close to Diana's ear and whispered, "It's alright, sweetie. These are just pack mates. See, that's your Uncle Leo and his wife Svet and that lady there is Bright Moon. And your big brother will be here soon I'm sure! No need to be scared." She'd lift her head then, giving a small smile to those around them and making sure to keep an eye on her more energetic and outgoing child. "Talk" "You" Think

Momma Ama's excitement immidiately made her excited as well and she was quick to hop up in response, her head darting around to look at both of her mothers to see what was going on. She felt Diana press to her side and she calmed back down a bit for her sister's sake and as they made their way to the meeting she made herself walk slower instead of running forward to catch up with Ama. Once they got there though it was hard for her to contain herself. She saw new wolves and she sat herself between Ama and Athena so she could peer at all of them from the safety of her mother's sides. Her ears perked and she listened to their mother's whispered explanations of who everyone was, her eyes following along to put a face with each name. Oh so that was Uncle Leo! Of course their mothers had talked about the rest of their family, but they hadn't met them yet, or at least not that she could remember. Her little tail wagged against the ground behind her and she was tempted to hop up and go introduce herself to them as well, but when she glanced up she saw Athena watching her and knew she should probably stay put. Speak Thought Others

Tiburtius was feeling a weird mix of happy and sad at the moment. He was happy because he had two new sisters that were growing way too fast for his liking, but he was sad because Arivae had been scarce as of late and he wasn't sure why. He had looked for her when he went to make his way to the meeting, but he hadn't had any luck. With a frown he made his way toward the howl alone and when he arrived he noticed he was one of the last to arrive- and that Arivae wasn't there. He sighed, but he made himself put a smile on his lips as he came over to give Ama an affectionate nuzzle and dipped down his head to give his sisters a happy smile. "Hey there, little fur balls," he whispered teasingly before coming over to sit on the other side of Athena. He gave her a similar nuzzle before lifting his eyes to Leo to see what this was all going to be about. Speak Thought Others

ooc: As peer our new OOC laws and the warning I posted at the beginning of the meeting, Nimue and Nalamimi have been removed from Fiori. Arivae has been demoted to Commoner and Epiphron has been demoted to Scholar. Everyone please take a look at all the laws and ooc laws and make sure that you understand them. The first post requirement check will take place on January 31st. Slowly, too slowly he thought, wolves started to file in. He was a little surprised to see that Bright Moon was the first to arrive, but he was happy to see her all the same. She had been a surprisingly active member of the pack as of late and he gave her a friendly smile when she greeted him. "Hello, Bright Moon! It's good to see you too." Soon after he would feel his wife's familiar form press to his side as she sat beside him and he'd grin at her sing-song greeting and affections. He'd nuzzle into her neck and lick her cheek in response, equally as comfortable with displays of affections as she seemed to be. "Hey there, beautiful," he'd reply with a soft chuckle. The slight swell of her sides hadn't gone unnoticed by him in the slightest. He had been paying careful attention to all of her since she told him the news. Soon enough Amalia came bounding up to the meeting, followed by Athena and their two daughters. He smiled when he saw all of them together, a happy little family. Tiburtius showed up soon after as well, looking slightly troubled as he approached, but soon putting on a happy face for his mothers and sisters. He glanced at the younger man curiously, but he wouldn't say anything. There was a heavy feeling in his chest though when he noticed some notable absences. With a pack this small it was easy to see who was there and who wasn't. The two newest members hadn't even gotten past their first rankings so he wasn't terribly surprised to see that they were absent. Disappointed, but not surprised. He was very surprised to see Arivae missing and realized that must be what was troubling Tib. One absence stood out to him above all the others though and it was the one that hurt and worried him the most. He waited for several more minutes, waiting to see if his mother would show, but he knew he couldn't keep the rest of his pack members waiting like this. It wasn't fair to them. He frowned and sighed quietly before finally beginning to speak. "Well, I guess I should get started, hm? Thank you to those of you that came. I appreciate your quick response. I called all of you here because I realized that the pack was still being run in the same structure that my mother had given it to me in. While there is nothing wrong with that structure, I don't think it is working for myself as a leader. Because of this, I would like to make some changes to how Fiori is run, beginning with our ranks and laws." (Pretend that Leo explains all the ranks and laws and such here. You can go to the pack page to look at them all.) "So as you can see, there aren't huge, drastic changes to be worried about. Svetlana and myself will be the go to members of the pack should you need anything or have any problems until the positions in my Council are filled. Athena will remain as our lead fighter, now known as the Knight, and Amalia will still be our lead healer and will be known as a Countess." He'd pause, deciding what he wanted to say next before he continued. "I am going to be expecting a lot more out of the pack from now on. I know none of you here are the problem for this lack of activity the pack has been having recently. The fact that you arrived to the meeting so promptly shows me this. However, I do need all of your help in rebuilding Fiori and bringing it back to life." He'd sigh and bring a smile back to his muzzle. "Now that all of the heavy matters are taken care of, I have some news to share. Well, Svetlana and I do." He'd glance at his wife with a chuckle before looking to those gathered around them. "The reason I'm so concerned with getting the pack back in order is... well, we are expecting children." He'd smile a little wider then, his tail brushing against the ground behind him. "I hope that you all will bare with us while we adjust to this next stage in our lives and will help make Fiori a safe place for all of us and all of our children as well." He'd glance to Amalia and Athena, making sure that they knew he included Jayne and Diana in that statement. He'd look to Bright Moon then, adding, "Bright, the position of lead hunter is available. Would you be interested in taking it?" "Talk" "You" Think

Bright smiled softly as Leo greeted her, then watched as the man's wife came to greet him affectionately. It was a happy picture to see such a loving couple. Silver eyes lingered over Svetlana's frame for a moment - something had changed since the couple's wedding, something she was quite familiar with herself. Could it be that they were expecting? Bright hoped so, pups were a blessing and an absolute joy. She was soon pulled from her musings as Amalia appeared, greeting Leo and then herself and Svet energetically, pup-like excitement wriggling in her petite form. Bright smiled to the woman who'd helped her with her injury. "Amalia!" she said warmly with a dip of her head, "How have you been?" She assumed well, for the woman appeared friendly and chipper as ever.

Once again she was distracted, silver eyes wandering to another silver-coated woman, two sweet pups following along closely. This must have been the mother and pups she'd scented on her routine walks about the territory. She hoped to get to know them soon. Then a somewhat familiar face appeared - Tiburtius - and Bright cast her gaze around the man, assuming she would see Arivae not far behind. The two had seemed close at Fiori's last gathering. But the young woman was nowhere to be seen. She was concerned by the woman's absence, and would look for her after their leader finished the meeting. Bright turned to Leo as he began to speak. She nodded slightly at each pause, the end of each idea, absorbing his words and new desires for the pack's future.

When all of the pack business was covered, he would move to lighter news, and Bright felt the tip of her tail twitching, ready to wag. She was sure she knew what he was going to say. Then it came out, that he and his wife were expecting a litter. Her black-tipped tail brushed through the snow - what joy! More pups for this pack that was quickly stealing her heart. Surprised when she suddenly heard her name, she stared at Leo, ebony ears pressed forward. She was being offered a new position? "O-oh!" she stammered bashfully, glancing around at the other wolves gathered, then looking back to Leo, nodding vigorously, "I-I'd be honored! Thank you Leo, I will do my best to provide for Fiori!" Tail continued to wag, proud for being recognized, and determined to do well - she would not let these wolves down after being trusted with this position.