Gathering of Shadows {Pack Meeting}

[Squeeji]

The sound of the young wolf in such sorrow touched Pollux, she couldn't help but pity him...she had heard that sort of raw anguish before, but years ago, in what felt like another time and another place.Her face contorted in empathy, his brows knitting as she bit her lower lip. She stood up shakily on her tired legs, still spent from running across Arnlan, with a polite nod towards the Alphas and the new Beta the Scout spoke.

"I believe it would be wise if I go check up upon that young fellow." she didn't really ask if she should, it wasn't a question...it was more a proclamation on what she was going to do. Damn the ranks after some silly hunt. It was more important that her pack mates were attended to when issues like this arouse. The last thing anyone needed was more Nightblood paramour drama...in fact, other than the briefest notion that her brother Apus would finally have something to do, she didn't even bother herself with Nightblood's betrothal. With a long stretch, the leggy female darted off, a fluid reflection of metal under the full moon sky.

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, the scout ran, hoping to cut him off before he did something terrible, and potentially stupid. Which she would not be surprised if Armageddon was going to do something...reprehensible and probably fatal. Oh there was no fools more foolish than the young in love. With a grunt Pollux forced herself to go faster, her mind racing with things that this dumb pup would do in this situation.

*****

Levy just cocked a brow at the scene before him, a bit of a taken back look on his face, seriously, what the hell? He sighed and shook his head, wondering what he missed, or for that matter, cared that he missed it. Sounded like a lot of Baby Daddy drama to him, which was funny...at least to him. He stretched out, and readied himself for a hunt. He'd surprise them with this one...he grinned, he spent the majority of his time in Arnlan hunting to fill the food storage, and he was...well...actually pretty competent at it. But he'd never go so far to say he was good at it, his own low self esteem assured of that, but he did take heart at the fact he was probably better than most of the wolves here, and much better than any dog of his size.

"Prepare to be awed." The little wolf smirked, and stood up to his fullest height, craning his neck up proudly.This was positively the first, and perhaps the only time he'd be able to prove himself to his pack. So he was going for broke...after all...he had nothing to lose, worst case scenario would be...he'd be right back where he started, being all but forgotten in the deeper parts of the woods.

[Electus]

"NOOOOO!"

Mortilitas flinched at the outburst, and the momentary lapse of control shook the wolf out of his sync. He shook his head, his eye turning bloodshot. Umbra snarled slightly and got up, walking around in a small circle before sitting again. It was a surprise, declaring whoever the hell Anek was to be Nightblood's mate. But the killer shrugged. It was not his place to decided, and quite frankly he didn't care. There were other matters to deal with at the moment.

"Prepare to be awed."

Umbra couldn't help but laugh at the statement. Awed? He doubted it. He would only be amused by the shallow hubris of the small wolf. To be sure, Umbra's own hubris was great, but he had the skill, the ferocity, to back it up. He stood, fangs glinting and eye alight with fire.

"Wonderful. What shall feel the abyss that is death tonight? It will be a pleasure to..."[/color]

The wolf grinned like a demon.

"...kill again."[/color]

[sarhea]

Orion's mind wandered aimlessly as Nightblood rattled on about ranks and legalities. He was quickly growing bored. None of this really mattered to him, as Sofika herself had already given him a rank; scout apprentice. He was happy with that. He didn't need to hunt to prove he could be a scout, but if a hunt was what Sofika wanted of him and the others, then a hunt it would be. If anything else, he'd get to know his packmates better.

But Sofika's bombshell of an announcment and Armageddon's outburst of outrage and sorrow quickly brought his mind to attention. Wow-this was turning out really strange. There had not been pups born in Arnlan for quite some time. And even moreso than Sofika's announcement for Nightblood, her subtle hint that more of the pack could be in for the same fate down the road caught his attention and made him cringe. Surely having rank didn't mean he would be expected to have a family. He was not opposed to it, just it was not on his current agenda. He pushed the thoughts from his mind and tried to concentrate on the coming hunt.

*******

Lyra noticed both Karolek's and Sofika's gaze fall to Cepheus. Even though she could not see the alphas' eyes, she knew they could sense his reaction. She sighed and decided to just back away from him this time. They were home now and it was no longer her job to keep him alive and out of trouble. If he couldn't keep his emotions in check, then he could answer to Karolek and Sofika.

Though the whole situation that arose with Nightblood struck her as odd. In all her time, she'd never seen Sofika choose out a mate for one of the ranked wolves. Especially difficult was the reaction from the dark male who obviously cared for Nightblood, but was not Anek. She hoped that Pollux would be able to find the young male, to calm him down before he did something stupid. She actually felt kinda bad for the wolf, for Nightblood. She always felt that family was very important. To have to start a family with someone you didn't love....a very difficult task. But Sofika must have known what she was doing....she turned her attention to the current task at hand-a hunt. This did excite her-hunting was something she enjoyed, at least the strategy part. She couldn't help but chuckle at the rather small male that stepped forth, boasting that they would be awed. He was a brave one, for sure, and in him she saw potential for a cunning mind. The ash gray male-she'd heard Nightblood call him Mortil...and Umbra...she didn't quite understand, but she had an idea-but he had all the appearances of a warrior; a killer.

"I'm ready when you are, Beta Nightblood. I offer all my knowledge of strategy should you desire it," she stepped few paces forward, a respectful dip of her head. She for one would give the new Beta a chance. With all this newest development, it would be the perfect test of the younger female's character. By the time this was over, Lyra would have a pretty good opinion of Nightblood-

*******

Cepheus just sat there and stewed the whole time Nightblood rattled on. He was no fool. He knew better than to start trouble. Just about all the wolves present seemed to know and respect this Nightblood. But that did not mean that he had to like the idea that she had the rank that he'd been born to and had worked his whole life for. And as he sat thinking, a thought struck him. How was it that all these wolves seemed to know Nightblood and not the alphas of the pack?

At that moment, Cepheus could sense he was being watched. He avoided looking directly at them, but the alphas were watching him...his ears swiveled back as he threw his gaze to the ground before him. At least for the moment, his almost out of control anger had been derailed. He half expected one of the alphas to call him out, publicly question his emotions. But the unexpected announcement that followed completely threw him for a loop.

So, Nightblood gained a rank and a mate...very curious. Even moreso was the lean, dark male's reaction to the news. The reaction was enough to bring an almost smug look of contentment to the golden male's face. Ah, so maybe this could work out to his benefit. Nightblood seemed to already have a chosen mate that was not the Alpha's choice. Such stress...would she be able to handle it. Gone was the look of deep anger, and luckily for him, the almost toothy grin that spread across his face didn't appear until the hunt was proclaimed to be ready to begin.

He stood and stretched his tense muscles, his claws digging into the soft earth. Three wolves piped up so far on the coming challenge. He almost sneered at the midget wolf claiming all would be awed, and he almost added in his own smart remark, but luckily kept it at bay. He was already being watched....

"Oh yes, Lyra and her strategies. I'm with that fellow there," he started, half mocking Lyra's statment, glancing towards Umbra,"Lets just get out there and hunt. With the size of this group, there's not much that will be able to outrun us. It has been some time since I've tasted the sweet blood of Arnlan game."

{bleh-long crap of a post-not what I had wanted to say, but it will have to do}

[Donn]

Phineas looked critically down his muzzle at the smaller wolf nearby, but didn't say anything. A cavalier attitude was one thing, a superior attitude another, and Phineas found the latter only worked well when one had already proved one's worth. Phineas would be prepared to be awed, provided the one that had spoken in that manner had some way of backing it up during the actual hunting sortie. To Mortil, Phineas muttered under his breath a grammatical correction, "What will feel the abyss... neuter third person singular". But nobody really heard him save any that stood directly beside him, which hardly anyone qualified for.

"I'm ready when you are, Beta Nightblood. I offer all my knowledge of strategy should you desire it,"

Phineas' stomach suddenly felt as if a single butterfly had fluttered, in then out. To recognise an appreciation for strategy in these matters amongst wolves was a rare moment, as he dipped his own head slightly to the one addressed as Lyra by an unknown. "As do I... Lyra. Interest in such forethought to a hunt is something I have found diminishing in recent times" the black wolf said evenly. The unknown kept speaking, a sneer upon his face;

"Oh yes, Lyra and her strategies. I'm with that fellow there, Lets just get out there and hunt. With the size of this group, there's not much that will be able to outrun us. It has been some time since I've tasted the sweet blood of Arnlan game."

Phineas turned his gaze to Cepheus, and simply added, "And I shall be with this personage here," he nodded at Lyra, "Lest your fine opinion yields us no result." Phineas rather hoped that some description of the hunting area would be provided, for saying one would hunt without knowing where did seem a rather fruitless occupation. And even more importantly, the quarry. "One more I shall add; What shall be our quarry?"

[Bandersnatch]

Sofika spoke briefly of mates, and the sentry soaked it silently in.
Until the one word that made Crow’s ears immediately perk. Young? Puppies! The mute’s tail beat hard at the prospect. It had been an age since anything below shoulder height had roamed Arnlan – after all, producing Arnlan’s next generation had for so long been the job of the betas, and with that role empty for such a time… well.
The thought of what this forced pairing would mean to Nightblood hadn’t even crossed her over-stimulated, puppy-filled mind.
Not until the rather dramatic departure of the young black male, the likes of which she couldn’t remember seeing before. Crow’s ears fell back and she frowned fretfully at his pained noises, only eased by Pollux’s speeding after him. The scout would deal well and respectfully with it, the younger she-wolf assured herself.

With a respectful nod to her Alphas, Crow rose and trotted to the new beta’s side.
For the most part she ignored the politics, what was said backhandedly or whatever emotion was off. She liked a little gossip, to know what was happening with her packmates ( though perhaps not as much as Pollux), but when it came to witnessing anxieties between pack members first hand, she preferred to remain oblivious to the tension. Naive, perhaps, but sometimes that was necessary to see the best in everybody.

Instead, her attention swiveled to Nightblood, and by the rather restrained expression on her face it was clear she was chomping at the bit, itching to move out.
Her nose was already twitching excitedly, weight bounced from foot to foot. In the tackling down of prey she would be little use, oh no, but when it came to tracking – that was her strong suit, her role.
Night was in charge, she just needed to say the word and Crow would be off and racing.

[Akree]

On and on the wolf spoke of the different ranks, Uin payed her total attention at first, but as she droned about it she got a little bored and would look down at her paws, flick her tail or do something to keep herself from doing something stupid, but still paying attention to the Beta. Then a suddenly as she had flattened her ears against her skull simply to do something she heard the Alpha speaking of mate, breeding and puppies. She was glad of the thought of those little furry puppies sprinting about, she simply loved playing with puppies, they were like little buckets of joy. Then came the mate, NightBlood and... Anek? Who was that? She turned her head to look about all the faces, but quickly turned back to look at the alphas.

The spoke of a hunt at this the timber raised herself on her four and began shifting her weight around her paws in excitement, she loved a hunt, the thrill. Suddenly the howl of a male, she quickly turned to look, she didn't know the male, but it was clear he was in pain. Just like that,he sprinted away, running from everything. She felt a sudden pang of pain for the wolf, pity, the poor creature probably was something to NightBlood, for that to pain him so. But as more and more wolves began to add their comments and speaking to the Alphas, she forgot about it only faintly. Still a question hung on the air, swimming about her head, how did the Beta feel about this?

One wolf which name she didn't know spoke about going after the pained male, she didn't leave chance for anyone to speak, she left. Levy began to puff his chest and talk about how he would awe everyone, she simply chuckled silently to herself and turned her attention to the hunt to come, she wanted o jump around in excitement, but kept still. She wagged her tail faintly and shifted her weight around her paws, but still didn't do anything to stupid.

[anek]

Anek was glad that nobody seemed to have noticed his arrival.
He listened to the words of the new beta, called Nightblood. The sentry whom he saw from a distance a couple of times while he was wandering in the pack territory.
She spoke of things mostly known to Anek. So he just waited for something of importance to be said.

While he listened, he looked around and measured the others sitting with him. There were a few who caught his attention. There was that grey, scarred one with that strange, dark look of his. He seemed so casual, like he barely took notice of the happenings.
Than there was the weird female, who didn’t seem to be able to stay in one place. She kept looking around, and at the beta.

While he was checking his packmates out Sofika took the word from Nightblood, and now was talking about the new beta’s duties, which included having the litter of her own. Anek smiled at the thought. After so much war and the following silence, it will be good to hear the sound of a new generation of Arnlanian wolves. Although he never was much about pups. He was thinking about how he was taught about them, when the sound of a name tore him out of his thoughts. His name.

“Mate?” the silent question slipped out on his mouth. He looked at Sofika thinking he heard wrong. There seemed to be no mistake.

The sudden yelling that filled the air over the meeting caught Anek off-guard. He jumped up and looked in the way of the sound, but only saw a grey blur disappear in the woods. His eyes then quickly moved on Nightblood. She was looking after the leaving one worried.
Anek knew that was no good omen.

However the alphas has chosen and they must follow their orders. He looked over his new mate. She was strong and full of life. Until now her eyes were shining, and her built made her very capeable of bearing pups. She seemed a good choice. Anek hoped he was looking forward of some peaceful time, but deep in his mind one word repeated it’s self; Promoted!
As Sofika started to speak about the hunting everyone started to get up and ready for the beginning. After Anek stood up he first walked to Nightblood to speak. But he only said “I am honored.” with a slight bow of his head.

[nightblood]

“We are not nearly enough,” Sofika whispered, “Though soon we shall be massive and one once more.”

NightBlood took this opportunity to familiarize herself with the faces of Arnlan. It was obvious that the Alpha was going into a speech of some sort. As with her father, the Beta still only half listened to these things. Only now, since she held such a high rank, she tried to keep herself interested in the words.

“As the Beta Nightblood also has specific duties.”

Suddenly she wasn't so bored. NightBlood perked right up and stared at Sofika.

“And while we all, someday, will take on the responsibility of filling our various empty suits with more life she shall be the first in a long time to do so.”

A crimson eye twitched, as if knowing something the brain didn't comprehend just yet. A touch of dread came to her as Sofika turned and grinned widely at her.

“Nightblood, for me… for Karolek, for this pack, you are to soon… bare young.”

The world stopped again. She hadn't planned on having a family at all... or at least so soon. Slowly, her head turned to Armageddon. She forced a smile and almost wagged her tail before the next words were leaked from her Alpha's muzzle.

“Do be a dear and get started soon, your mate is to be…”

A CHOSEN mate? NO! Not like Draviria! Not here! She almost wanted to protest, but her tongue was trained to hold still while an Alpha spoke.

“Anek.”

Time froze. Faces were blurred and unimportant. She only saw Armageddon's horrified form shriek and run. She wanted to follow, but her feet were planted firmly to the ground, held there by the chains that were her alpha's orders. She couldn't leave unless dismissed. She saw another form jump for joy- red and black. Silly RavenShard. Any other time, her antics were more than appreciated, but now they went unnoticed. Phinias's mouth moved, but Blood heard nothing.

Ziro looked up at NightBlood, sure she was struck dumb by this announcement. He had never heard of planned matings in his pack. Worried she might be embarrassed by looking so shocked, the orange pup nudged her paw until she finally blinked.

Worried for Armageddon, NightBlood's paws almost defied her training and took her toward him. They were stopped by a far away voice. Pollux had moved and given chase. This slight comfort seemed to be able to bring the Beta back to earth.

"Prepare to be awed."

Levy's voice. Surely he was entertained by all this. But what did his statement mean? Another voice chilled her. Both were no longer in control. Umbra was out.

"Wonderful. What shall feel the abyss that is death tonight? It will be a pleasure to... kill again."

Oh, yes! The pack hunt!

"I'm ready when you are, Beta Nightblood. I offer all my knowledge of strategy should you desire it."

Blood straightened up as a female Arnlan Native bowed her head. She felt very humble now... Hell, she couldn't sink any lower than what she was. But a sense of honor and pride came with this new rank. She inhaled deeply, trying to remember the female's scent as her name was mentioned by another.

"Oh yes, Lyra and her strategies. I'm with that fellow there," he started, half mocking Lyra's statment, glancing towards Umbra,"Lets just get out there and hunt. With the size of this group, there's not much that will be able to outrun us. It has been some time since I've tasted the sweet blood of Arnlan game."

The male's scent was similar to Lyra's. Siblings, perhaps? Even so, she felt two very different vibes coming from them. She was wary of the male.

"One more I shall add; What shall be our quarry?"

NightBlood's eyes were moving everywhere, trying to pinpoint who was talking at what time. Finally, her mind broke free from the shock of the announcement regarding her. She turned to the Alphas and nodded her understanding of the order, though there was a touch of malice in her eye for not being told or having any say in the matter. But that was the past now. She had to focus on the present.

In one quick movement, NightBlood was up and on her feet. She parted her muzzle and spoke with a booming voice out over the crowd.

"ALRIGHT. Head out for the meadow. Deer were spotted in the area recently. Take down anything you see. All kills will be brought to the stores. We gather at the old oak at the north end before starting. DON'T SPOOK ANYTHING."

Ziro's ears fell back onto his skull. Surely he and his big paws could be no help to this hunt. But he'd be damned if that would stop him from trying. He scurried after the familiar form of Crow and walked in her shadow, leaving NightBlood alone to think.

Blood watched as they all moved out and sighed as she sat back down, wishing for a moment to think. None came. She soon found herself face to face with the male she was to mate with. It was the one who had walked in late. She had scented him throughout her patrols of the border occasionally, but hadn't ever had a good look at him.

She had to admit he was a good choice. With their combined genes, the pups would be the finest warriors Arnlan had ever seen. She was only sorry that Armageddon wouldn't have the pleasure of siring the first native-born Arnlanians in a long time.

“I am honored.” with a slight bow of his head.

Blood did the same. She bowed her head as if she were his mirror and spoke as if through a different person. "Likewise..."

With that, her robotic feet jumped up and ran to follow the pack, with her defiant mind racing after Armageddon.

[Donn]

((I'll cut to the meadow, feel free to do the Time Warp if necessary))

To the meadow... this seemed a rather simplistic explanation for the direction to take, but as members were already headed, Phineas gathered which way to go, and followed. The Old Oak of which NightBlood spoke was a conspicuous piece of timber at the edge of the meadow, as she had said, North. Things had been fairly quiet with the order not to 'spook anything', which in Phineas' terms meant do your best impersonation of a shadow in order that one might not be noticed by any animal indiscriminately. He thought of many things as he travelled, of Levy and the distraught male that had screamed so, of Anek and that shrieking wolf that would no doubt cause some uproar that would foul the operation.

Faced with these thoughts Phineas considered also his own position within the pack. The way to rank would be somehow determined by the performance shown in this hunt. Phineas wondered shrewdly about what the criteria would be. They would look for runners, the strong ones, the wolves that could outmaneouvre their quarry, outrun it and outclass it in strength, those that could sense best which animal had some injury or illness that would make the job of hunting it down and performing the bloody business upon it most efficient.

Then where did that position Phineas? Obviously he was no bear of wolf, no mass strength to blow one's trumpet over. He was fast, granted, but Phineas decided his main forte would be in the detection of optimum targets, planning, execution and the most efficient delivery. No doubt managing resources was a factor. Who would do what, and when. It was a complicated process to Phineas. Then he thought to the male that had spoken about Lyra, who had scorned such forethoughts. Perhaps NightBlood would order no organisation at all. If that was the case, things did not look positive for a hunt, with wolves like Cepheus running around like lunatics in some chaotic free for all.

Upon reaching the oak, Phineas muttered to himself as he looked up at it's aged bark, "When shall we meet here again, in thunder, lightning or rain?" It seemed they had one shot to prove themselves to the powers of Arnlan, until after timeless periods of monotony in subordination they could become worthy in their eyes for a more generous position.

[nightblood]

{{Wonderful post, Donn. But I'm going to make another thread for the pack hunt. At the moment, I think this thread might be over after the Alphas post unless anyone else has anything to contribute. I'm sorry I haven't got the hunt thread up yet. I'll work on it ASAP.}}

[Karolek]

((This pretty much signifies the end of the thread. You can still post here if you want to, but it doesn't really matter. >.> Also, dun worry NB, you're doing great with the hunt. xD ))

At least one person was happy about the new pups -- RavenShard, the same one who'd squealed earlier, was clapping and...generally appeared to be the only one who was happy. Karolek had expected happiness, but the evening, it seemed, was full of surprises. Even more shocking than Cepheus' mutinous attitude was Armageddon's complete and utter devastation at the prospect of Nightblood having pups. Perhaps it wasn't the pups that bothered him so much as the choice of father -- Karolek had not intended to break up any families, and he felt a bit guilty, even if he hadn't been aware that Army and Night were an "item." The lack of teasing on his part was the main indication that he hadn't known; mateship was a good thing, but it was also something to make fun of. Or maybe only Karolek saw it that way, with his pre-schooler's outlook on life.

"Wonderful. What shall feel the abyss that is death tonight? It will be a pleasure to...kill again."

Well that was a little creepy, but Karolek did like optimism! It was a bit of a stretch for such a cryptic statement to be called optimism, but the Alpha was getting a bit desperate. Had his ideas truly been that horrid? The pack was displeased with him (or so he gathered from their less-than-amused reactions toward the announcements made previously) and even though he'd never taken his rank seriously before, the thought of letting his subjects down was a terrible one. Regardless, that grin never left his face -- it was best not to let anyone see he was worried, especially if he expected them to be confident.

"ALRIGHT. Head out for the meadow. Deer were spotted in the area recently. Take down anything you see. All kills will be brought to the stores. We gather at the old oak at the north end before starting. DON'T SPOOK ANYTHING."

At least Nightblood was taking to her new job nicely; one good thing had come of the meeting. The dark wolf rose to his paws, quickly sweeping his gaze over the gathered wolves, and took a few steps backward, pausing for a moment with one forepaw raised delicately. Apparently satisfied, Karolek turned around on his hindquarters and trotted into the trees, melting into the darkness as if he had no more substance than the shadow itself. He'd evaluate the hunt from the background.