Ulric had been putting a lot of thought into the structure of the pack while Artorias was away learning from Sirius. His goal for this season was to prep the pack as much as he could to start handing over the reigns to the Carpathius boy. He was certain Artorias would want to make his own changes - he was a strong willed young man - but if he could get the pack into a position that he was proud of then he would feel better knowing that Artorias at least had a good ground work to start with. The lack of wolves in their upper ranks had been sorely felt, especially since Tamsyn stepped down, Indigo left with his band, and while Artorias has been gone. He had been watching the members of the pack closely for a while, taking note of how some of them did in the tournament Ashen held and taking note of any efforts they had been making around the pack.

Once he finally came to a decision that he was happy with, he went to the feast hall, settling on the far side of the room in front of the raised platform where he might stand if this were a more formal meeting. He lifted his head and called for Ezra, Avantika, Syanna, and Gwynevere. He knew there were many talented wolves in this pack, but he felt confident bringing in these young wolves that would better relate with Artorias and grow with him as the pack continued to grow. It was also a chance for them to flourish and expand upon the skills they had already shown. Gwynevere had been there Seneschal for a while and she was proof that you didn't necessarily need age to be a master at your craft. He smiled softly as he waited for them, eager to see their reactions.

Ulric Adravendi

Avantika was just finishing up a patrol when she heard the call. It was from Ulric, calling for her, Ezra, Syanna, and Gwynevere. She knew Ezra pretty well, and Guinevere was one of her adoptive siblings, but she didn't know Syanna. Still, if the alpha of the Hallows was calling for her for a meeting that sounded important, she had to be a decent sort of character. She didn't know what this meeting was about, but she arrived as quickly as she could. Once she got there, she found that she was the first one and settled in to wait for the others. "Hello," she greeted Ulric with a respectful nod. She resisted the urge to ask why they'd been called. He was sure to explain soon enough. "Speech"

Syanna grinned down at the smiling, flustered face of Ezra as she straddled him in the bed they now shared together. Her paws roamed across his broad chest, taking in every tactile sensation from her new lover that she could get a hold of. The feel fo his fur, the warmth of his skin, his scent filling her nose, the sounds he made when she nibbled along his jaw and neck. Syanna had discovered a wonderful new world of physical pleasures she could indulge in with the young Adravendi wolf, and she had clearly become addicted to him. Bringing her smaller paws up to cup his cheeks, Syanna leaned down to press her lips slow and firm to Ezra's, feeling that heat flare inside her core while her heart raced against her chest. Her heat was still in full swing, and her desire for Ezra only seemed to grow more insatiable with each passing day. Gods, was she ready for her fix of him right now!

Not long after her tongue had found his between their mouths, the reverberating sound of Ulric's authoritative howl calling for both of them echoed around the castle, causing her to break their kiss with a disappointed groan. Of course, of fucking course something would come up right before she was about to pounce her boy! Syanna's brow furrowed as she growled and very briefly considered disregarding the alpha's call in favor of fucking Ezra—but the fact that it was his father calling them made it a little more difficult to evade. "Your dad has impeccable timing," she griped and gave a frustrated chuckle, but forcibly willed herself to roll off of Ezra and slide to the floor. "C'mon, get up and cool yourself off. We've got a meeting."

Syanna smoothed out her fur and made herself presentable before waiting for Ezra to do the same and walking alongside him down to the feast hall. They weren't the last to arrive, but Avantika had beaten them to the punch, already waiting with Ulric when they made their appearance. Syanna cast a friendly smile to both wolves while they came to join the group, hoping it wouldn't be too noticeable what she and Ezra had been up to just minutes before. The last thing she needed was Ulric to know just how close she'd been to banging his son.

"Syanna"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
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Ezra was grinning like a fool as he looked up at Syanna with his large paws wrapped around her waist, holding her tight to him while her paws roamed over his chest and make little tingles of electricity spark all over his skin. His paws returned the favor, tracing up and down along her back and over her thighs, touching every inch of her he could reach while she leaned down to kiss him, returning the affection eagerly. Ever since the night she snuck in to give him a "check up" they had been all over each other every moment they could get. He didn't know how much of it was her heat and how much of it was just an actual, insatiable attraction between them, but either way he was having the time of his life! But just as he was starting to get lost in the heat of the moment, gripping tighter to her smaller body and pressing himself up into her, he heard his father's howl calling them and his head flopped back onto the bed with a similar exasperated groan. He just had to need them right this second, didn't he?! Ezra was very, very tempted to ignore him - it wasn't like his other siblings hadn't ignored him before, why couldn't he? But considering he was calling them specifically made him feel like their presence would be more sorely missed.

He sighed heavily, giving her another squeeze before he reluctantly let her slip out of his grasp. "Impeccable timing indeed," he grumbled, rolling to his paws and hopping down off the bed so he could shake out his fur. On the way down to the meeting hall he couldn't help but sneak a little kisses or two, already hoping that whatever this meeting was would go by fast so they could get back to the room to finish off what they started. He walked into the feast hall with Syanna, looking up at where his father was seated along with Avantika who had gotten there just before them. "Hey, dad," he said with a grin, hoping he came off as casually as he was trying to be as he sat down across from him. He offered Avantika a grin as well, giving her a little nod of his head.

Ezra Adravendi

Gwynevere lifted her head from where it was buried in among the herbs in the pharmacy when Ulric's howl called for her among a few others, surprising her slightly. She had gotten used to Ulric calling her for one thing or another, but she couldn't remember her ever being called in a group like this besides maybe pack meetings. She finished putting away the dandelion root she had collected that morning before turning to leave the small room, Eilwen leaving her perch on one of the upper shelves to land on her shoulder and ride on her back until she passed through the grand foyer and into the feast hall on the other side. She saw her adopted sister Tika there along with Ezra and Syanna gathered around Ulric on one side of the large room. Eilwen took off from her shoulder and went to roost above them in the rafters, watching the meeting curiously. Gwynevere came to sit beside Avantika, offering her sister a small smile before focusing her attention on Ulric to see what they had been called for.

Gwynevere | Eilwen

He didn't have to wait long at all for the first of his wolves to arrive, Avantika appearing promptly with a respectful nod. He smiled and returned her nod, replying, "Hello, Avantika. Thank you for coming." He held off on explaining himself until everyone else arrived and maybe a minute later Ezra and Syanna walked into the feast hall together. He gave the pair a curious glance, but kept his comments to himself. The two had been practically inseparable since Syanna helped get Ezra back to the pack when he was injured and the stretches of time that they happened to be gone together hadn't gone unnoticed. He had done his due diligence and warned his son to be smart about what he was doing so he wouldn't let himself be worried, but of course he always was has his father. Still, couldn't remember ever seeing Ezra this happy so he was willing to let the young man have his fun in exchange. He returned Syanna's smile and smirked at his son's greeting that seemed to be trying just a bit too hard to be casual. "Hello, son."

After another beat of silence Gwynevere appeared and rounded out their group, quietly joining them dutifully as she tended to do. He gave her a small nod before focusing on the group of young wolves in front of him. There was a moment of disbelief when he looked at them, remembering three of the four as tiny pups. Syanna was still new to their ranks, but she wasn't much older than the rest of them and he had watched Ezra, Gwynevere, and Avantika grow up here. He pushed past the thought, reminding himself that they weren't pups any more and had more than proven themselves for the roles he wished for them to have. He gave them all a smile as he began to speak, finally explaining why he had called them here.

"Thank you for coming. As several of you have probably noticed, and Gwynevere has probably felt, our upper ranks have been empty for a while. With Indigo leaving to form his band and Tamsyn wishing to step down and take some time for herself we've been thin in our leadership roles in the pack. Gwyn has been our sole Seneschal for a while and even though you have been doing a wonderful job I think it's high time you have some help." He gave Gwyn a thankful smile before focusing his attention on the other three. "Syanna, you've proven yourself to be a very adept healer with your quick thinking to save Ezra and get him back here with such limited supplies and have been a great help in the infirmary so I would like for you to take our second Seneschal position and work alongside Gwynevere. Ezra and Avantika, you have both more than proven yourselves to be very capable fighters and you both did very well in the tournament Ashen held a little while back so I would like for both of you to work together as our Templars."

He let that news sink in for a moment before he added, "I expect a lot from each of you, but I know you'll do well. I'm doing my best to prep the pack to get it into a place that I would be happy to hand over to Artorias when the time is right and I have a feeling that all of you will work very well with him. Once he is back from training with the Armada we will have a meeting together as a fully formed council, but in the meantime... Lets have a bit of fun." He smiled a bit wider and added, "It's a bit late in the season to start planning a big feast or festival for the fall, but this winter will be the one year anniversary of moving into the castle and Artorias will be back with us so I think it's only right that we keep the tradition of our winter Feast of Unity going. I'd like each of your help in planning it. Ezra and Avantika, you will be the leads of our hunts to prepare for the feast. Syanna and Gwynevere, I'd like you both to collect some greenery and things to decorate the feast hall and gather some things to go with our meal like berries and wine. Of course if any of you want to help with one another's tasks you're more than welcome and be sure to pull in more wolves from the pack as well. I know Rudyard and Eska in particular would enjoy getting in on the hunts."

He chuckled and asked, "What you all of you think? Any ideas or thoughts for our planning?"

Ulric Adravendi

Ulric greeted her in turn as she arrived. Luckily she didn't have to wait long for the others to get there since it was only a minute or two before Syanna and Ezra came together. So they were friends. Nice. Another point in Syanna's favor. Avantika returned Ezra's smile. A bit later, Gwynevere entered quietly and sat next to her with a small smile. Ulric finally began speaking, first talking about how the upper ranks were a bit empty and continuing with how Gwynevere was their only Seneschal and needed some help. A vague hope gnawed up her chest. The aegis gave Syanna the rank of Seneschal alongside Gwyn. Then he spoke to her, Avantika, and the hope exploded into butterflies of nervous joy as he promoted her and Ezra to the rank of Templar. She glanced at her new coworker with a wide grin. Eventually, he spoke about a feast the pack would hold and named her and Ezra leaders of the hunts. She could do that. Probably. She'd bring Rudy along with her for at least a couple of hunts since she knew she'd be more confident with her best friend by her side. She didn't have much input to think of, so she kept quiet and waited for the others to hopefully have some thoughts that she could branch off of to prove her own use in the council. "Speech"

They didn't have to wait long before Gwynevere joined them, and then all four summoned wolves had been assembled. Syanna took a brief moment to look between themselves, wondering what this was about. Ulric didn't keep them in suspense for long, and soon their alpha began to reveal the purposes of their meeting. The upper echelon of the Hallows had been empty for too long. They would be the wolves to fill the ranks. Syanna listened in amazement when Ulric complimented her quick thinking and skills to save Ezra's life, giving the spotted boy beside her a bashful smile while his father sang her praises for keeping him alive. She was secretly thankful she'd been able to save his life too, though for reasons she did not intend to vocalize out loud to this group. The look she gave Ezra spoke volumes on that hidden intent. Ulric then promoted Avantika and Ezra to the role of Templar for their exemplary fighting skills, and Syanna gave them both a proud grin. She didn't know Avantika very well, but she was overjoyed that Ezra's hard work had paid off!

Ulric then began to speak of an upcoming feast for the winter, once the wolf named Artorias had returned home. She had heard talk of this wolf, and Ezra had spoken of him as his best friend, so she had no doubt she'd get along with him as well. He wanted their help to make preparations for the feast, asking her and Gwyn to provide decorations and accoutrements to go with the meats Ezra and Avantika were tasked with bringing in. And apparently there was something said about wine, too? That caught Syanna's ear with intrigue. "There's a lot of lovely evergreen plants we can use to decorate the hall with," she suggested, looking more to Gwyn, as she knew the other girl would have the same working knowledge of botany as her. "Holly, mistletoe, some winter-growing flowers... We can come up with something." Although she really just wanted to end the meeting so she could whisk Ezra back off to his room, Syanna did also want to be a functional member of the pack and contribute to her new role as well.

"Syanna"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
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