Some time had passed since Valentine’s talk with Rhyme. During that time the new season had come and brought with it a slightly less crabby mood for Valentine. That blasted skunk was still around and driving him crazy, but it was hard to be sour when the land was warm and the ache in his bones was minimal.

The old king had plenty of time to think after the exchange with Rhyme. His opinion hadn’t changed in the slightest. For the sake of the rest of the family and their strong name it was best for everyone involved that Rhyme not carry the Imperialis name. The spectacle at the battlefield had only served to underscore that fact.

It was time to tell the others about what had happened. Valentine hoped it would serve as a cautionary tale for those who had similar tendencies and he hoped it would weed out those who couldn’t stomach the threat of disownment. If there were some who were offended by the idea of cutting off someone who did more harm to their family than good then they too could live under another name. He wouldn’t begrudge them their decision, rather, he would welcome it. Let those not eager or fit to carry his name and all that it entailed go. He was an old man; he would be dead soon and he wanted to be able to rest easy knowing his name was in good hands.

Valentine decided to hold an informal family meeting in the Orchard so that all of his children and grandchildren could attend. He settled down between two rows of fruit trees in an isle he had picked because it was the most clear. Valentine knew many of them wandered far and wide, but he hoped they would be near enough today to hear him.

Though time continued to wear him down there was one thing it couldn’t take from him so when Valentine raised his voice to call to him the Imperialis clan his voice was strong and steady. Like his resolve it did not waver.

Chaos heard the call as he patrolled, and tilted his head slightly in curiosity. Valentine was calling the family together? Considering that they'd already gone and returned from their big family reunion slaver slaughter, he couldn't fathom what he'd be calling for. But this was definitely Valentine-as-head-of-the-family, not Valen-member-of-Legion, and he sounded very serious. Technically speaking, Chaos was not an Imperialis by name, and while he'd never resented his mother for choosing that for him he still very much thought of himself that way despite being the heir to her family name rather than his father's, so while he might not have strictly needed to obey the Imperialis summons Chaos wasn't going to be left out. Besides, it sounded important, and Chaos' Chaos-senses were tingling, so he set out to follow the call at a lope, an alert and curious expression clear in his face and the set of his body as he reached the Orchard and slowed. Ah, this was another land he thought of with great nostalgic affection, though he'd not had enough wolves to justify a third land and could not have held it so he'd reluctantly chosen Imperium's other two lands alone.

He stopped beside Valen, and bumped his shoulder with an affectionate roughness, but though he'd never ever ever admit it to his father Chaos was careful to hold back from the sort of enthusiastic shove he might have given one of his brothers out of concern for his hero's advancing age. He'd held his own against the slavers, but habitual slavers had a tendency to be weak, cowardly sorts in his experience so he didn't want to trust to that as far as his father's health. "Hey old man," he greeted in a low growl, but his habitual grin was there only for a moment before fading again. Yeah, definitely some Serious Business, whatever it was. He eyed his father closely, then swept past him and spun to flop down on his belly a reasonable distance in front of him. "Not even going to ask you what's up, I know you'll want to explain all at once," he added with a faint chuckle in his voice despite the possibly dire reasons they'd all been called. He knew how it was, holding meetings and everyone showed up asking him questions that would be answered if they just waited for everyone else.

Aerndis was sleeping off a good meal in her den, her lithe body wrapped around itself in a snug ball. She'd been doing some exploring now that winter was finally starting to recede. It took a lot of energy and she made note to see if she could get some of her pack mates to go hunting with her. Spring was an excellent time to hunt and a feast after the meager offerings of winter might be a great way to welcome the new season.

She yawned as she heard her grandfather's call. Her ears twitched. She wondered what this call could be about but there was only one way to know. Aerndis stretched, yawned again and then crawled out of her den. She moved quickly from the range to the orchard and when she arrived she saw Valentine and Chaos. She smiled. "Good morning!"

Ashmedai still hung in the Orchard even though his alcoholic tenancies had waned. He hadn't quite had the chance to get bored yet and so he hadn't turned to running around and causing trouble yet. Soon, though. Very soon. He was feeling the smallest itch beginning to ebb at the back of his mind.

Fortunately for him, his father was calling, pulling his mind away from the tiny litty itty bitty troublesome itch starting. With an almost annoying amount of bounce in his step, Ashmedai followed the calling to the area. There was a Chaos and a ooh-so-sparkly wolf.

He thought about making a joke, but this sounded like Serious Business (copyright and trademark, please and thank you) and Ash was in no way ready to get his face chewed this early in his day. Instead, he settled for sitting, tongue lolling out the side of his maw as he took in the crisp air.

Jupiter had been making his way across Legion with a freshly caught rabbit hanging from his jaws when his grandfather’s call rang out. Dutifully he switched directions and made his way out of the pack’s territory. It struck him as odd that his grandfather would choose to gather them outside the pack since all of his extended family save one or two called it home, but he was sure Valentine had his reasons.

He arrived at the impromptu meeting place with the rabbit still swinging from his mouth. No way he was setting it down and walking away. Too many coyotes around.

After sweeping a questioning look over those present, Jupiter seated himself and dropped the rabbit unceremoniously. It was already dead; there was no point in being gentle.

Rhys had been sticking close to home since the challenge. She’d been dumbstruck by what she’d at the battlefield that day. The years had changed them all since their childhood, but never would she have expected her childhood rival, her buddy, her only littermate to change so much. She’d thought about Rhyme a great deal since then. Ultimately she’d decided she would always love him and though she thought he might be a bit weirder now (it was hard to say, considering how little they’d interacted since the raid on the slavers) she still wanted to reconnect with him. She would need to make a point to visit Abaven at some point.

After giving her father a mischievous and deliberately annoying kiss on the cheek, Rhys bounded over to Chaos and deliberately drug a heel across his back as she leaped over him before sitting at his side. Here was yet another brother she needed to reconnect with. It seemed she had a whole lot of visiting to do.

Lyra wasn't an Imperialis, not by name, anyway. She was a Saxe, the name passed on by her father, who had received it from his mother, her grandmother, whom she'd never met. Valentine was the other half of that pairing though, so despite the fact that she did not hold claim to the name, she did have the blood running through her veins, and that was enough reason for her to want to come to this meeting regardless. A part of her did wish she had the name too; it was a strong family, and she had a strong connection to it, much more so than the Saxe side, but it was explained to her that the Saxe's were wavering and they needed strong wolves too... so... but damn, why not both?

She arrived to the meeting pretty fast, trotting over to her father and bumping him affectionately on the shoulder, absolutely unaware that it was a similar greeting he'd just given his own father. Of course, she then added something that Chaos didn't do, and that was a big ol' slobbery lick right on the side of her dad's face, grinning all the while. "Dad," she greeted cheerily, before switching her attention to Valentine. "Granddad," she chirruped just as enthusiastically, plopping her butt down next to Chaos and waiting patiently for what was to happen.

"Speech" "You"

art by rainbowglaze123

Ares had been racing across the next territory over after hearing his grandfather's call, and he was dead sure he wouldn't be the first one there. Likely the last...maybe...he wasn't sure who all would be there when he showed up. But he ate the terrain in leaps and bounds, tongue hanging from parted jaws. He had gone out to track down some decent lunch, but when Valentine called he knew it wasn't something he could ignore. Or should, for that matter.

When he finally saw the gathered group, he slowed and trotted the rest of the way until he dropped his butt on the other side of his sister, opposite the woman he had learned was his aunt or something. His gaze briefly swept over those present, glad he wasn't the only sparkle dog in the group. Though he wouldn't admit it, he sometimes felt like the odd one out whenever he was around more normal looking wolves. Then again, were any of them really normal? His grandfather was perhaps the only one closest to normal. Stretching out, he kept a somewhat lopsided and lazy grin on his face as he waited to see what was up.

"Speech"

Chaos was the first to arrive. He bumped Valentine’s shoulder as he passed by and Valentine reciprocated by bumping his shoulder playfully against Chaos’s hip hard enough to hopefully cause him to sidestep a little bit. He would be damned to ever let any of his children think age had weakened him - and if he’d known Chaos was thinking something along those lines he would have had something to say about it. “Good,” he groused. “I don’t want to repeat myself all damn day.”

Next was Aerndis who received a gruff, “Morning.” from him. He had a reputation as a sourpuss to maintain. Valentine’s eyes trailed those who arrived silently but he didn’t offer more than a nod as a greeting. Lyra, his granddaughter, who it seemed was about as cheerful as Rhys had been at that age, offered him a chirpy greeting. As it had been with Aerndis, his response to her was gruff. “Hey kid.” Again, his reputation.

Finally he could stall no longer. It was time to get down to business. “I know this is short notice so I’m glad you all could make it. As a family we’re not a pack so normally I wouldn’t ask everyone together like this, but I made a decision recently that affects you all and I think it only fair that you be made aware of it, and that you have a chance to decide if you can live with it.”

“I think most of you were at the battlefield for the fight between...” for the life of him he couldn’t remember their names. A crazy wannabe god and a demon’s dirty bitch. Head cases, both of them. That part he remembered clearly. “Those two strange fuckers so you remember what happened with Rhyme. His embarrassing behavior that day cemented something for me that I couldn’t shake. Some of you may not know so I’ll repeat it: he fathered children with Shaye Destruction, a cousin he grew up with, and some weak slave mongrel.”

Valentine briefly paused to gather his thoughts. “His behavior has concerned me for sometime. After escaping the slavers I thought he needed time to adjust, but I don’t believe that’s the case anymore.” His thoughts drifted to when Rhyme had agreed to co alpha Abaven with Shaye. Initially Valentine had brushed it off, but now he realized it was the first symptom of many. “It’s for those reasons that I’ve taken the name Imperialis from him. He’s made it clear he struggles with making decisions and upholding this family’s values, and I believe he is a danger to the Imperialis name. I refuse to let this name be worn by inferior specimens; history has shown that tolerance for weakness leads to the extinction of a family.” How many in Boreas had heard the name Armada and thought anything of it. Valentine was willing to beat few had. Why? Because it meant nothing - because that old white bastard had knocked up every man, woman and goat he could get his paws on regardless of whether or not that individual was a strong one, and he’d allowed his children to do the same. He’d both made and destroyed his name in a single generation. Valentine wasn’t about to let that happen to the Imperialis. He wasn’t going to let his family crumble while he still walked the earth. If that meant making sacrifices, he had to be willing to do that.

"Let me be clear: I don't regret my decision. I didn't call you all here to admit my failings and beg for forgiveness for what I've done in our name. I stand by my decision and I'll maintain it was the right one even if each and every one of you leave here today having forsaken the Imperialis name." He may have been old, but Valentine wasn't afraid to go out, make more heirs and try again. "I called you here because all of you either share my name or my blood and you deserve to know why Rhyme and possibly Abaven might hate you." They deserved forewarning should Rhyme seek to retaliate and get back at his old man by targeting those Valentine thought worthy of the name Imperialis.

"Most of you are aware of my opinions and what I expect of those who fly the Imperialis banner. I thought it only fair to tell you how far I'm willing to go to protect it from those who would harm its legacy - and it's for that reason that I also called you here to give you a choice. If you can't live with what I've done, what I'm willing to do and what I expect of the Imperialis clan, now is your chance to give it up and take up a name and make a legacy you can live with." If there were any who took up his offer Valentine wouldn't call for their shunning. He would much rather they live their lives under a name that suited them than struggle to fit his expectations - and fail.

Valentine sighed and briefly looked over the heads of those gathered and into the distance. There was one last thing he needed to say. Quieter this time, he said, "I don't expect you to cut Rhyme from your lives. I understand my decision may have harmed your relationship with him irreparably, but know that if you choose to pursue a relationship with him it won't put you at odds with me. While he may not share your name anymore, he is still your family and many of you did grow up with him."

He'd run out of things to say so after a beat, Valentine cleared his throat, shrugged, braced for impact and said, "That's all I got. Hit me." He'd take whatever they threw his way.

Aerndis watched as other members of her family filed in and she shot a grin at her brother Jupiter. When Valentine spoke she fixed her attention on him. She dimly remembered the pack challenge that had drawn such a huge crowd. She remembered Rhyme and she knew he was some sort of distant family member but she'd never been close with him and she'd found it strange that he lived so far away when all the Imperialis were here.

It’s for those reasons that I’ve taken the name Imperialis from him.

Her jaw fell open. Aerndis stared in shock not because the name had been taken from Rhyme but because she didn't know that the name could be taken at all. That the name could be taken from her. Her mouth closed and she swallowed sharply. Since finding her family she never dreamed that what she'd searched for for so long could be taken from her.

"I called you here because all of you either share my name or my blood and you deserve to know why Rhyme and possibly Abaven might hate you."

Her ears flicked back. Good to know though ultimately Valentine's decision barely affected her. She didn't really know anyone from Abaven and having hardly known Rhyme it was simple to cut him from her life. He'd never been a part of it. Now that she knew she could potentially lose all she had gained she intended to fight for it. "I intend to stay and do what I can to be worthy of the Imperialis name. I don't know Rhyme and I have no ties to Abaven so their loss means little to me other than a lesson."