After some convincing, Archon had gotten Sparrow to agree to hold a pack meeting. She was steely and cold at best, but Archon could see she was shaken. He didn't expect much different from the other pack members, to be honest. He had braced himself for the worst and promised himself to be calm. This was all new to everyone. Archon wasn't sure if anything like this type of occupation had ever happened in these lands.

Despite that, it had come to be and Archon's task was getting the pack to accept it. He was sure there would be friction, anger, even anxiety, but he had calculated to what ends it might escalate. As he familiarized himself with the pack lands, he played out the scenarios in his head over and over. He had decided he was ready to formally meet the pack and thus he had asked Sparrow to call a meeting.

Until then, he waited before her.


Posts due June 9th!

Sparrow hadn't found the time to do much recently. It wasn't that she was overwhelmingly busy, only that she didn't feel the motivation to do anything. With Brandr and Corentine leaving the pack, Sparrow began to question her own purpose. She didn't feel like doing anything.

There wasn't anything for her to do anyway.

Herb supplies were fine and the winter chill brought the death of most herbs anyway. She could sort them all she wanted, but in the end, they were just sitting there.

Archon was entirely too much of a bother to deal with. He asked questions endlessly, but offered little to no responses himself. He seemed to only talk if it was to satisfy his own curiosities.

Sparrow guessed she preferred this to someone more violent, but couldn't he bother someone else? Now he wanted to call a meeting. It was about that time, Sparrow assumed. Sparrow gathered herself and found a decent spot to meet. As she gathered her thoughts, Archon watched- no- studied her.

Eventually, Sparrow let out a call to the pack, wholeheartedly wishing she could throw herself in the rapids instead.

The child was getting older, and thus was more able to feel the pressure to arrive in a timely fashion when the summoning howl from her aunt rang through the territory. Dropping the rabbit she'd been munching on, Rhea glanced around for her siblings. Hmm... They weren't anywhere nearby at the moment. Well, that just meant maybe she could get there first and get to call them slow-pokes for a while. That sounded kinda fun, and she needed to answer that call quick anyway. It didn't sound optional.

When she broke through the foliage after picking a pack that was definitely not one that could be traveled easily - not to self, that one's overgrown as heck - she arrived in the clearing and spotted Sparrow and a stranger. Green eyes curious, but also hard with suspicion, the little girl padded closer and sat a reasonable distance away, head tilting to the right as she stared questioningly at the two older wolves. Somehow she knew immediately that the guy was not good news. Maybe it was the look on her aunts face, or the way she seemed to be tense like she had when things in the pack started to feel weird. Was this guy part of why things were changing? Was he part of what the adults had talked about in the meeting?

"Aunt Sparrow, who is he?" the child asked innocently.

She was feeling old as seemed to be becoming usual, and was admittedly becoming a bit of a recluse alongside her crotchety old mate. That was fine though. As long as things remained reasonably stable, she didn't intend to bother with another move. Well as she aged, Caelum didn't have the desire to go to the trouble of leaving so long as it seemed possible to stay here. I there was a way to fight the occupation from inside, well, she'd help. But if nothing else she intended to at least live unbothered despite their intrusion. Maybe she'd let the obvious arthritis in her left hip sap her of her spirit, but at the very least as long as she and Zephyr remained, so would Caelestis, allowing their spitfire daughter to cause whoever came to take 'leadership' of the pack quite a bit of grief.

After hearing the call, Caelum pulled herself to a standing position, stretching her limbs and allowing her arthritic leg some time to prepare for the walk before she moved to answer it. It didn't take someone extremely smart to figure out what this was probably going to be. Well, let's just see what it panned out like. If she had to hazard a guess, her prediction was that someone would be surprised. Seemed like a fair guess. Could be the pack members, Sparrow, their new 'leader'/occupier, who knew. But, it was amusing to try and see if her spontaneous guess would in some way come true.

Once she arrived, she'd sit off to the side and fix the two adults with her pale gaze, only offering Sparrow a friendly nod before letting her expression turn largely neutral.

She heard the call alright, though she wasn't too excited about going to meet the caller in whatever place she was standing. Their last meeting had ended in a big decision, one that Caelestis was sure no one living here was too thrilled about. Her ears fell to the sides and her rump hit the ground as she briefly considered remaining there in protest. The deciding factor in getting her stubborn butt to the meeting was that it was Sparrow who'd called... She didn't want to seem like she was ignoring someone she actually liked. Plus it would be a lot easier to be her typical self and make a fuss if she felt like it if she attended. Alright, time to get it over with then. Even moving at a slow job, she was the third to arrive which she was determined to decide meant she was simply faster than the others, rather than the more likely possibility that she'd just been closer. Barking a hello to Sparrow, she'd enter the space, smiling to Rhea before going to sit next to her mom. Leaning into the older woman's shoulder, Caelestis would then eye the pair sitting before the small gathering. After a moments thought, she decided to withhold her snarky comments, lest she keep up the trend of loudly interjecting at every meeting. Instead she simply tried her best to will her eyes to burn holes through Archon's forehead. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Aiden didn't like the idea of being occupied. Why? What was the point? Why was this pack gonna fight his pack if they didn't listen? What was it to them? It made a lot of the pack upset, and that was the most upsetting to the young wolf. But he knew there was no choice about it - that meeting was about the choice. Was about what the pack would do. Mom, Dad, and several others had all decided to stay and let the... Abra-whatevers come into the pack. Mom had said that she chose that to protect them, him and his siblings. And now it was time for that Abra-whatever to be the pack alpha, or so he thought.

Bleh.

Sighing softly, the boy trotted next to his mother to the meeting, ears perking as he spotted his sister. Glancing back at his mother only momentarily - receiving a smile and a nod - he raced over to his sister ahead of Lillie, skidding to a stop next to her before nuzzling her affectionately, and attempting to deliver a long, sloppy kiss along her cheek. "Rhea!" he greeted softly, tail beating on the ground. Yes, he very much adored his smaller sister. They may not be as close as him and Corvus, but that didn't make it any less special, their bond as siblings.

The time had come, and Lillianna was not prepared. Not prepared mentally, physically, or emotionally. Occupation. Her jaw tightened as the thought whispered through her mind. She had to be strong; she had to be steady; she had to be certain. For herself, for her children, and for her mate. She had to, or else how were they going to get through this? She didn't know what the Abraxas were like personally, but the little she did know... she shuddered, barely noticeable. Certainly not enough that Aiden noticed.

Thankfully, Aiden, while pouty like a child, was a lot more okay with this than any of them. Of course, children had a... peculiar resilience that adults did not have. An openness. But an occupation, so young; what kind of things will these Abraxas fill her childrens' minds with?

When her and Aiden arrived, it seemed that Rhea was already there, and Lillie smiled. She was becoming more and more proud of them every day; look at Rhea arriving so quickly to a meeting. And of course, little Aiden - okay, he was bigger than her at this point, but still - silently asking to see if he could race ahead. Of course; she would not deny him that. She could not deny herself that, either, for her smile grew quite a bit as he practically launched himself towards his sister and rewarded her presence with quite the sloppy affection.

The smile faded as she took in the stranger, her expression soon becoming terse and tense. Her eyes darted around - who was there? Lark wasn't, yet, and a part of her tensed in worry. Where was he? Was he alright? Where was Corvus? With his father? But then, a lot of the pack wasn't there yet. Hopefully, he and Corvus would appear soon. Hopefully.

Sighing heavily, Lillianna settled quietly next to her children.

Though things between he and Sparrow had been rather - uh, strained as of late (and that was putting it lightly - he never expected her call, summoning the pack to meet, would sound quite so.. forlorn? It instantly made him frown, looking forward to this meeting even less than usual. He had no real interest in who was taking over Abaven, but he had a duty to his pack - and his family - and though he wasn't the boldest wolf, he was honorable in his own right. Protecting them meant everything, and if all the Abraxas wanted was to rule, if it meant he and his children had a home, well.. he'd let them play their games. While others wanting an uprising, he merely wanted peace and quiet, the ability to live a simple life - and he hoped this Archon would allow it. He was slower to respond to the meeting than he should've, and by the time he arrived with Corvus quietly padding behind him, he noticed that his mate and Rhea and Aiden were already there. The boy bounded over to his brother and sister, visibly uncomfortable but not without a childish grin. Though their children were growing older, nearly filling out their bodies by now, they still had that innocence that only a child could - the kind of innocent Lark couldn't even begin to pretend he possessed. He sighed as he settled down at Lillianna's side, leaning into her for comfort and emotional stability.

As expected, Corvus didn't totally get what was going on. The discomfort of the pack overall was palpable, and the weirdness of his own parents hadn't gone unnoticed. But he was too young, too naive, to really understand the full consequences of what was happening. Someone was taking over Abaven, which really didn't seem all that crazy to him. His aunt, who had never been overly friendly to him (though she hadn't exactly been unfriendly, either) had been in charge, but now someone else was. And the wolves around him didn't seem totally happy about it. It didn't seem like a big deal to him, since it sounded like they'd get to keep living here and doing what they had been - which, for him and his siblings, was mostly just goofing off and enjoying themselves. It seemed to bother his siblings though, which bothered him in turn, and he felt a weird protectiveness welling up inside him that he was entirely unused to.

When the call came, he'd been spending time with his dad, crouching beneath some underbrush and trying to track some birds - which was proving more trying than he expected it would. He was growing a bit frustrated, though trying to keep his patience and prove himself to his father. The call was a weirdly welcome distraction, even if the meeting seemed to annoy his dad, and he'd pad after him quietly. He didn't feel like pressing him on the matter; it wasn't like Lark was easily agitated by his children, or really anything at all that he could notice, but he really didn't want to bother him. Luckily it wasn't a long walk and by the time he got there, he noticed the rest of his family had already arrived. "Aiden! Rhea!" His expressed morphed quickly into a smile as he abandoned his dad and bounded between his two siblings, placing a sloppy lick right on Rhea's nose.

That goddamn pain in the ass Abraxas family. Zephyr was honestly annoyed with them - no, annoyed might not be a strong enough word. He'd managed to escape from their clutches, but here they were again, a different one but with the same damn goals. They wanted to conquer, and so conquering they were, and none of Abaven was all that happy with it. Some wanted to flee, and he had a feeling some had, while others were okay with the takeover; much like Caelum, he personally was torn. He supposed if they had a viable way to overrun leadership from within, somehow, that he'd participate. They sure wouldn't run, though, they'd tried that more than once to no avil. He groaned and rolled his eyes at the sound of the call. His pace was purposefully slow, nearly dragging himself there nearly against his own will. His limbs seemed to move more slowly with each season that passed now, but he couldn't blame his speed on his age alone. He had a sour look on his face, and cast Archon a look not all that dissimilar from Caelestis's own as he moved to sit beside his mate and daughter. Zephyr couldn't help but feel a weird satisfaction knowing that she would annoy the living hell out of this man, just enough to not get her kicked out or punished - well, just not punished too badly. Maybe just a little. A sigh left his lips as he leaned against Caelum, gaze drifting away from the others for a long moment, a rare moment of wistfulness taking hold of him. "Talk" "You" Think

Sparrow waited as the pack gathered. She wasn't sure what approach to take. What did the pack expect of her? What did Archon expect of her? A headache was already blooming in her head. There were murmurs and wanderings as each wolf came in. Some verbalized their concerns while others didn't.

Eventually the flow of wolves slowed and Sparrow made sure to look at each of them directly. There were so few. A creaky kind of weariness grew in Sparrow and she feared it was branching into her packmates as well.

Pushing those feelings aside, Sparrow decided she needed this to be a sturdy meeting. She shouldn't meekly  step aside. She needed to have a part in this. She needed to show Archon that she was still leading. Sparrow cleared her throat.

"Alright. Everyone, this is Archon Abraxas. As per our agreement with his brother Malleus, he will be staying with us for now. I expect everyone to follow our arrangement and be... cordial towards him during his stay."

Sparrow looked around again. She tried to make things sound as temporary as possible as those were her hopes.

"That is all for this meeting. If anyone has any business with me, please come to me after Archon has spoken."

With that, Sparrow gestured over to the large man. It was his turn now.

Archon watched silently as the wolves filed in for the meeting. The relaxed state in which they each trailed in and regarded their alpha was astounding. These wolves seemed to have no sense of stricter hierarchy. They seemed to only interact on a surface level during these meetings. The pups played freely with one another as the adults waited. Many spared him a sour glance, but he wouldn't be bothered. It was to be expected, predictable almost.

Eventually Sparrow spoke. She kept it short. Of course, Archon already had gotten the memo of her reserved feelings towards the agreement, but she had made the choice to keep what was left of her pack safe.

Speaking of what was left, there wasn't much. When Sparrow finished, Archon dipped his head and stood. He positioned himself near Sparrow.

"As Sparrow said, I am Archon Abraxas. I've been sent by The Fallen God to look over this pack. It is part of my purpose, although I have every intention of allowing you all to live your lives as you have been in the past. For this purpose, Sparrow will remain your Alpha and I will take the roll of Overseer."

Archon allowed his words to settle. He wasn't a threat, he tried to convey. He could be if he wanted to be, but he wasn't.

"I look forward to learning your ways and even assisting you, if need be," he said. "I hope this arrangement will be mutually beneficial as we move forward together."

OOC: No post order. Due the 20th!

Settled beside her parents, Cael watched with mild interest that was more or less a disguise for the pervading sense of disgust she felt at this whole 'arrangement'. So what, basically these guys wanted a place to hang out or something in Boreas? Why'd it have to be Abaven, anyway? Even after meeting this Archon guy Caelestis didn't really get him or his insistence that some power told him to come screw with other wolves' homes. That didn't sound like something a god worth admiring would want to her. She listened absently, mismatched eyes fixed on Archon's forehead rather than trying to meet his gaze while he spoke to the pack. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're here with good intentions. Yeah right. When there seemed to be a pause where neither leader was talking she couldn't resist the temptation to call out, "Kay, I have a question." The day they had a meeting where the outgoing youngster didn't pipe up would probably signal the end of the world as they knew it. Straightening up a bit from the slouching posture she'd assumed a moment ago, Cael elaborated in a drawling voice meant to keep the instinctual tension she felt in her chest from being conveyed when she spoke. "I know how this is meant to benefit you. What I still don't get is how you plan to do the same for us. What're we gettin' from all this, exactly?" For once she didn't even feel like her mom was glaring daggers at her. Caelum simply eyed the 'Overseer' with interest while her daughter sat there trying not to look as snarky as she'd like to. As free spirited as Caelestis could be, she still didn't have any desire to get herself in trouble like she probably could if she didn't keep herself in check. Not yet, anyway. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

It took a bit for everyone to arrive and settle into the meeting space. Lark and Lilliana along with their kids would arrive, the little ones dashing to greet each other. Cae smiled at the little cuties before turning to see Zeph as he came to sit beside her, leaning against her and looking rather done with the whole situation here. He wasn't alone. Nosing his cheek gently, she sighed heavily before turning her attention to Sparrow and the mystery Abraxas.

Her daughter hadn't mentioned her meeting with the man, so when Archon was introduced it was the first time she'd heard his name. It was a quick meeting, clearly focused on simply introducing this man. Caelum had nothing to add, but she did quirk a brow as her daughter asked what exactly the pack was supposed to get out of Archon's presence. It wasn't a bad question in her mind, so she awaited the answer.

Sparrow seemed pretty busy thinkin' before the meeting, so Rhea turned her little head with it's still slightly over-sized ears to watch as the others arrived. First a pale older woman arrived, then the older yearling, Caelestis, showed up and glowered at the man next to her aunt. After that it was mostly her family who trickled in one by one, Aiden bouncing over and sweeping a sloppy kiss over her cheek - ick! Then Corvus showed up and did the same to her nose - GROSS!

"Ick!" she cried, giggling softly and reaching up to tug at Corvus' ear while trying to bump Aiden's shoulder with her hip. Boys were sooo gross, they were just lucky they happened to be her brothers. For them she'd put up with slobbery kisses if she haaad to. Only cause she loved them.

She quit goofing off when the meeting began, dutifully straightening to stand at attention when her Aunt and the man she introduced as Archon spoke to them. Rhea didn't exactly have a lot of thoughts on the whole thing. All she knew was it seemed to make the adults tense, and she was pretty sure that meant that whatever was going on was not good. Maybe this man was not good? He seemed benign enough. She'd reserve her final decision for when she knew more though. It was still hard for her to grasp whether the unhappiness of her family and the other pack members was 'cause of this guy or not... She had a feeling it was, but his demeanor threw her off. Bad guys were mean, right?

OOC: Posting out of order to answer questions!

The crowd seemed tense. Archon held his ground. There was no doubt that the pack held their reservations about him to their selves. So far, only one spoke out. It was the girl from before, Caelestis. Archon assumed the woman by her side was her mother. Archon listened as she asked what Abaven got in return for his presence.

"To put it simply, you get to keep living your lives here in Abaven as a benefit. Originally, we had our eyes set to dominate this pack. My brother, Malleus, however was led here when your alpha helped him after he was wounded. Because of her compassion, my brother decided that we could perhaps extend an equal act of benevolence."

Archon thought it made more than enough sense. They could have just spared Sparrow and let the rest of the pack fall into whatever circumstances arose. Archon was sure they would have never stood a chance against his family in their current state, but he had more tact than to say that out loud.

"My brother appointed me to be here. If we need the land or resources, we have them, but we don't have to disturb the natives of the land. For me, personally, I hope we are able to exchange information with many of you. I have not yet experienced a normal pack life, so this is all new to me. This will allow you all to better understand my family as well. Though it may not be as much of a gain for Abaven just yet, you also aren't forced to lose anything, which was the original plan."

Archon thought he explained it well, but he couldn't help but feel like his answer was going to stir more animosity. He still tried his best to not mention gods or mortals since many mortals didn't take kindly to those types of words. He was here to foster a pack relationship. Though the time would come to speak of God, now was a time for calming the waters before diving in.

Lark swore he watched his sister wilt under the heavy stares of the few that remained in Abaven. A large majority of the wolves were either his own family, or Zephyr and Caelum's, and it was strange to think of how large - and powerful, in comparison - Abaven had once been. He sighed silently at Sparrow's words, though he was not disappointed with her.. but merely at the way all of their lives had gone. So Archon would be staying with them, and would be ruling. Sort of, though Sparrow would still be considered their Alpha, as the Abraxas man explained. Things could be worse. They could certainly be far worse. He had to keep telling himself that. Hopefully the rest of the pack would do the same. He was only partially surprised when Caelestis spoke up to question him; though he didn't know the girl well, he'd caught on that she tended to be a bit more outspoken than most wolves, obviously completely unafraid of her mouth getting her in trouble. He eyed his own children, hoping they didn't get any ideas about speaking up too. Archon at least answered her question simply and honestly. The explanation was suitable, and caused no reaction from him - but the way he sat with his lips pursed, leaning against his mate, made it obvious that he was far from totally pleased.

Corvus instantly giggled at Rhea's reaction, which was pretty much exactly what he'd anticipated it would be. He shot Aiden an amused look, a playful grin engulfing his features as she squealed and tried to nip at his ear. She only got the tip of it, as he pulled away and shook his head to try to relinquish her hold on him. The brief moment of fun was cut short by their father's low growl, a sound only low enough for the three of them and Lillie to hear. He was saying, as plain as day, that it wasn't any time for nonsense. He resisted the strong urge to stick his tongue out at his dad, knowing fully well that their dad wouldn't be happy at all with his defiance today.

Since the context of the meeting was pretty boring for kids his age, Corvus had a hard time focusing once the talking started. His aunt Sparrow said some stuff, about Archon being something called an overseer and he said something about her still being an Alpha. Okay, cool, whatever. Didn't sound terribly interesting to him, so it didn't seem like something that ought to bother him much, but the way his father's face scrunched up told him things weren't completely good. Maybe not bad - he didn't look super sad or angry or anything like that - but he definitely wasn't smiling, and he could almost see the gears turning behind his furrowed eyebrows. Hm. Who knew.

All that Zephyr could think about was that he was far too old to be dealing with this kind of bullshit. After all he and Caelum had endured, all they had achieved and lost in the course of their lives... were they truly remaining in a pack that had been bullied into a takeover? He'd already gotten a good idea what the Abraxas were like, though, despite running from them successfully once - was he willing to spend the rest of his days running? Staying put and letting Archon be slowly tortured by Caelestis was sounding like a far more appealing plan. Perhaps they could keep themselves busy by daydreaming of a way to infiltrate the family from the inside, but Zephyr knew quite well they were growing old and their days here were far shorter than he liked to think. He nearly snorted in amusement at his daughter's question, face contorting slightly. You get him, Cael. He'd have to praise her for that one later. Archon's response, though not the worst possible answer, didn't sit well with him. He (and his family) were rewarding Abaven for their random act of kindness by... literally just letting them live as they had, with the threat of being under the Abraxas family's control hanging over their heads. What a great fucking deal we got with this one. He fought the urge to roll his eyes, as it was taking everything in his power to not speak up. Self control had never been his strong suit, though, and he grumbled and cleared his throat. "What a kind offer you've given us," he spoke, his words so serious that it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or honest. He knew his wife would know and probably wring his neck for it later. "My deepest gratitude, Overseer Archon." A slow dip of his head followed his grating words before he forced himself into silence once again. "Talk" "You" Think

"Ha!" Aiden chirrupted at Rhea's reaction to their licks. He grinned as she bumped his shoulder, and he bumped her back affectionately, though he focused when he heard his father's "cut it out" gro. He glanced over at Corvus with a sly grin and wrinkled his nose in reaction to the growl. He might not stick his tongue out at Dad right now, but he didn't mind making funny faces when said dad couldn't see them.

Aiden straightened up when Archon started speaking, though his tongue still lolled out the side of his mouth like a total doofus. Okay, so this was the person who was taking over Abaven. Sorta, apparently. He didn't seem too terrible, in Aiden's eyes. He seemed friendly enough. But then again, what made one evil? Aiden certainly didn't know.

He also didn't quite understand much of what was being said, except... Life would continue on as normal. That was okay with him! Besides, his dad was giving him a look like he shouldn't say something, so....