Northstar Vale You’re no good to me as a rumour, blank & timeless.

moving thread 3/3, we made it kids! set roughly for march 8th. this thread is mandatory, please everyone reply once with your claiming howl so we can get this archived & tindome officially moved over! :^D @Queenie @Jomyo @Malice @Euron @Ramsay @Mona @Nathaniel @Gracious @Anatha i think thats everyone?? 

feeling a little tired, but not too worse for wear, delight stumbles through the entrance of the vale and catches a breath in his throat: oh, hell, it is beautiful. better than he'd pictured, though maybe that's the joy at being done with traveling too. he catches @Mato's eye and grins, feeling a rush of triumphant adrenaline at the conclusion of their journey. 

they'll have to settle in and explore (immediately  he feels at ease with how the vale is tucked in to the mountains, offering it's own form of seclusion, his biggest worry from leaving the forest), check out the neighbors, et cetera. but for now all delight wants to do is make sure everyone's accounted for, find a den, and go to sleep. lifting his head, he lets out a howl: tindómë is home.

The chocolate woman made her way quietly behind the group. Speaking when spoken to. Smiling when something funny happened. Mourning forevermore. At night she watched the stars blink at her and chose one for Burke. She hated that he couldn't have picked one himself. She placed him close to the brightest, her mother, and hoped she would not have to chose for her sons too. Little did she knew her eldest boy, Vassago (now going by the name of Tryp), had spend some nice days in the vale they arrived in.

When it was time to howl, she did so, joining the others in their triumphant song that shook the mountains. Though it was not home without Burke, she felt achieved.

 

a little worse for wear, mona nevertheless joined her packmates in the ageless song of their kith, laying joyous claim to the land where delight had led them. the tuktu was far behind, and the creek — mona was pleased with that alone, and her call twined full-throated and proud with the silver tones of her packmates.

The ambar feels like the trek has been made in good time. Considering the group size, the time of year, and the route itself, they had maintained a decent clip. Between Mato and herself, they were able to guide their heading true, and when they reached the sanctity of the Vale, she feels an immediate relief settle over her. The destination itself is secure—they're here, it's real, and now it's on to the next step. Delight takes the lead on a howl to announce their presence, new and fledgling in these parts, but here nonetheless. That very notion marks a new beginning she had not fully realized they needed until just days ago.

Although she is feeling fatigued, there is an undeniable energy about the song thrown to the winds alongside the pack. She enjoys it for all its worth, and sings proudly a melody of their new home.

Once they'd (finally) made it, Delight was quick to begin their claim. Queenie had been one of the last wolves to arrive, as she'd spent her time travelling near the group's rear, but her voice was unmistakable as it rose alongside the others. Wanderlust would soon get the better of her, but for now, she had duties to worry about at home.

He trekked along with the pack, more because he had to than because he wanted to. He was among strangers and it was never more keenly felt than when traveling with them, being unsure of where to go, or who to approach. Consequently, the boy remained near to Euron at all times and made no effort to reach out to the strangers; any efforts they made toward him were rebuked. All he truly wanted to do was go home to Blackfeather Woods, but without Cicero there, it didn't feel like much of a home anymore.

So he remained with the Tindome wolves out of need, but when they howled their triumphant arrival, he simply slunk off to be alone in the vale.

The vale, the land they had been on the path for so long -- they finally made it. It was a sight to see, beautiful with a mystical air surrounding it. Gracious would have to go and explore when she had the time and freedom to do so. But until then, she joined the melody of the claiming howl, her own silvery voice intertwining with the others. Home, at last, they finally found a home.

The ex-soldier's gaze flitted over Tindómë's new claim, somewhat critical but overall pleased. The journey seemed to wear on some of the pack; it would be good to have a home again. Nathaniel swept close to his firebird as the howling began. He didn't hesitate to raise his head and join with his own call, a deep, rich wave under his packmates' voices. It wasn't an unfamiliar ritual to him, but he tried not to think about that now. That could only bring his new beginning to ruin.

gonna go ahead and put a bow on this, thank you for being so prompt everyone! ❤ @Euron feel free to still hop in here, i'll leave it open for a few more days if needed!

 the ringing sound of tindómë's howls fills him with pride, a warm, glowy sensation he's still not totally used to. his journey through tindómë's ranks -- hell, his journey before then -- all of it has led to this moment. it's corny but something about claiming the vale makes delight feel more like the pack is his than it has during his tenure as morwinyon thus far. he still... he wants mato to come back to him, he wants to share leadership with the prince, and should that time come he would step aside happily, not ambitious. until that time -- if it ever comes -- tindómë is his.
 
a quick head count confirms almost everyone has made it safely: anatha's absence sticks out. delight recounts, but no, the girl is still missing. alarmed (remembering the circumstances around her first absence) he keeps it together long enough to dismiss everyone for some much-deserved rest before asking queenie aside, "have you seen anatha?" 

regardless of the answer, delight isn't going to let her passively disappear again -- he'll just have to go looking for her.

Euron did not contribute a howl to the claim. He remained on the fringe, in the shadows, a soundless observer nearest to his brother. He was like Ramsay, here because he had need of a pack's protection, although he cannot place where the need was coming from. In his mind he was not convinced there was one, but he felt tethered to these strange wolves, and can think of no reason to go anywhere else. He missed the dark woods, but all that was left there for him to return to were the trees. His family — Ramsay — was here.

Delight dismissed them, and Euron sought a quiet place to sleep. He was beyond weary from the loss of Maegi and Cicero, and from the constant disruption in his life brought on by all the travel. He wanted — needed — to stop for a long while.