Stavanger Bay Waking the lions in me

 @Raptor @Erzulie @Engel @Julep @Godot @Slick @Zigzag mandatory meeting! Pm me if you want me to pp you like I'll end up doing with the Ppcs <3

She'd spoken with Raptor, and spoken with Erzulie.  Now she needed to speak with the rest.  Slowly, she made her way to the beach, near the same spot where Smokestep had called them all together and given them the laws.  The thought brought another small surge of bitter feeling, but she pushed it down with a small breath.  It was done, and the outcome wasn't what she'd expected, but it wasn't one she minded either.  She enjoyed leading.  She hadn't thought she would be a better one than Smoke, and still didn't know... so she hadn't sought it.  But she didn't dislike it.

Steadying herself with another breath, she loosed a bowl, summoning them together.  Now she would find out how they felt, and if any had any qualms about her stepping up.  She also had a few changes to announce, differences that would hold likely until Smokestep returned to reclaim his seat.  If he returned... and if she gave it.

She would likely be divided on that little detail until the day came.

Hearing the summoning, Zig walked from the ocean, shaking his fur out once he reached the shore. The call sounded important, so he wasted no time heading to its source.

When he arrived, it was to find only Rosalyn. None of his other packmates had made an appearance yet, it seemed. He trotted forward and sat in front of the female, offering her a greeting nod and his usual lopsided grin, and waited for the others to turn up.

Oblivious to the fact that Smokestep had given up his captaincy for some reason, Julep had kept to her own business as per usual. Her cousins were perhaps the only reason Julep had even come back to Blackrock at all, and with Piper gone she would need to hear out Smokestep's reasoning to make a choice about the Ironsea crew. She wasn't exactly what you'd call a social butterfly, so bonding was a particularly lengthy process for her. She hadn't yet found a proper reason to say she belonged where she was, but for all this thinking process to even begin Julep would have to hear what Rosalyn had to say.

She came from the northern stone cliffs where she had set up her tent a couple days before, and not being friendly yet with who she would soon find out to be the new captain, Julep chose to settle close to Zig (sharing the arena had to count for something). Unlike the casual nod that Rosalyn earned, Zig didn't actually receive a proper greeting. Julep just walk up to him with a cold stare and sat by him in silence. That was until the general silence turned awkward and she had to say: did someone die or something? in a voice level meant only for Zig.

---

Godot was up to her usual -- nothing hideously productive, but it kept her entertained and out of most trouble.  So a howl interrupting her day wasn't really too much of a bother.  It was time to go see what was up.  Yet again she was one of the first few that had assembled, but this time she didn't have a shell to carry along -- just herself.  A quick scan of the ones present didn't really strike any chords other than Rosalyn (unsurprisingly), so Godot settled herself off to one side and waited.


Maybe she should have brought something along with her to keep herself occupied while the others showed up.

Coming to the summons brought a lance to Raptor's heart. To be reminded that his close comrade had gone, had left him, and why — because his other close friend had been taken by the sea. He swallowed that though and let his eyes rest on the new Captain as he arrived and strolled to her side. This time, he had no issue taking his place and seated himself comfortably with a companionable and respectable nod to her. Uncertainty and guilt lingered, but it was not enough to push him to the sidelines. His head was up; he had hope.

Now to see if the crew would accept the change as he had.

erzulie saw both unfamilarity and those she knew within the grouping that thronged before rosalyn. the honeycream creature paced sedately until she was within eyeshot of both the new captain and raptor; a nod for the latter, a lingering expression for the former. she remained as part of the assemblage, ready to assume her new role as quartermaster if called upon for recognition, and otherwise content. their numbers had dwindled, but perhaps with changes, ironsea would strengthen again.

I'm gonna assume that erryoen is here, still feel free to hop in @Slick @Engel!  Unless there's an explicit reason they wouldn't be here, in which case, let me know <3

She waited for all to arrive, Zigzag first with a cheerful grin by way of greeting.  Rosalyn nodded back, her own spirits lifting as more and more came, each with at least casual recognition.  Despite the former Captain's departure, they were still a number, and had a chance to continue thriving on the strand.  If she could only hold them together.. no small order.

At least she wasn't alone in this.  She winked back at Raptor as he sat beside her, glad to see he was retaining some of the fire he'd shown when they'd spoken before.  She needed him at least in some manner of participation, and he seemed to be willing now that his responsibilities had shifted.  If not in scale, then at least in breadth.  And Erzulie earned a lingering glance in return.  She didn't motion for her to come forward; though she would have liked to have felt her nearness, perhaps it was best not to be distracted by that right now.  

She took a deep breath, then addressed them all, hoping none would take issue with the words.  She'd put her soul into this crew, more than any since that first, and she would not watch it crumble because of this.  "I'm sure many of you have heard, but Smokestep has left to search for Sandpiper, who is missing.  He's left the running of things to me, with Raptor as my new First Mate and Erzulie as Quartermaster.  If you have any questions, we are here to answer them."

She glanced at them, then smiled.  "That comes with a couple changes.  I know he was big on chasin deserters, but that isn't a priority for me.  If a wolf wants to leave, then that's their mistake, and it means their loyalty wasn't here.  If they come back, I'm not lookin to stop you from takin a piece, but I don't like wastin my time on those not worth it.  A crew should be a family, not a life sentence."  She lifted her head to see how they reacted to that, then gained a bit of a devilish gleam to her gaze.  Now the fun part.

"And I've been thinkin... it might be time to have a bit of fun.  We're pirates, after all.  Lots of packs around here, with some sport to be had if we want to do a raid or two."  Here she paused.  She wanted to get a reaction to this news before she spoke on the rules to follow.  Sittin here doin nothing wasn't the worst of lives, and if the crew didn't want to raid, she wouldn't force them.  Yet if they did it in the spirit of the rogues she knew some were, there could be a hell of a time to be had.

The next wolf to join after him had been the feisty little female he had met a few days prior. Judging by the look she gave him, he wondered if she was put out that he had won their little duel, but she soon offered him a teasing comment, and he chuckled quietly while shaking his head.

The rest of the pack gathered eventually, and they were able to get to the reason for the pack meeting. The information that Smokestep was gone honestly hadn't been a surprise; Zig had noticed his absence, and had begun to wonder what was going on with his friend. The confirmation that he was gone was still a bit of a downer. He had come here specifically for the former captain, but he couldn't fault him wanting to look for his sister. Zig wouldn't assume to know anything about leading, but Rosalyn seemed capable of taking over the role as captain, so his only response to the announcement was a polite nod of acceptance. 

Zig didn't care one way or the other about the deserter rule. He had no intention of leaving, but he wasn't new to the pirate life and things like that were part of the package. When their new captain stated that a crew should be more like a family, Zig smiled, liking the sound of that. He would enjoy having a new family. 

Perhaps the most exciting thing about all of this was Rosalyn's plan to start raiding the surrounding territories. Zig gave a devilish smile at that news. Raids sounded like the kind of fun Zig could get behind, and he waited with anticipation to hear more about it.

Raptor bobbed his head as the Captain informed the crew. His agreement with her was readily apparent from that gesture and in his easy place beside her, and so he did not speak. He was her quiet support as her First Mate, looking across the crew with a relaxed expression, studying their faces for any indication as to what they were thinking and feeling. Only when Roz had finished speaking did he thump his tail on the ground and grin, and offer his support vocally.

"Aye! It's about time we stretch our legs! Can't let ourselves go soft!"

---

Julep remained silent while the crew gathered, licking her paws to rid them of any trace of sand. But once Rosalyn spoke up Julep lifted her gaze to find herself joined by only a few other wolves and she glared them over. Smokestep wasn't there yet and Julep didn't really know any of the others by name, which made her feel much like an outsider.

Her eyes jump back to Rosalyn with surprise when the red woman says that Smokestep is gone. Gone? It had to be a joke. Julep kept expecting the woman to say that he would be back soon, but such words never came. She could understand that her cousin would want to go looking for their dear Piper, but ditching his own crew? It was definitive, being a douchebag runs in the Cairn family.

It was only ironic that Rosalyn mentioned how she believed that the crew was supposed to be a family, but without Smokestep and Piper she supposed that Ironsea was the only thing she had left. Most of the talk about raiding was lost as Rosalyn's voice was drowned by Julep's sad thoughts, but she came back to reality when Raptor took his chance to speak. Her duel with Zig was proof that she was, indeed, going soft, but the wolves around her all looked like they could help her deal with that issue. 'Maybe Ironsea won't be that bad without Smokestep' Julep thinks to herself as she contracts some of Raptor's jubilance. She looks at Zig to meet his devilish grin and a sly smile quirks her lip.

'Maybe it won't be bad at all'

---

Godot was hard to read.  To a certain point, she was off in her own little world and simply didn't give a damn as long a her ability to stash away tons of cool things wasn't impacted.  Chase people down?  Sure, why not.  Change of plans and now we're going after packs?  Sounds dangerous but eh, whatever.  If people asked her to do stuff, she'd do it.  Heck, if Rosalyn showed up and finally wanted to go figure out what was up with that island, Godot was still up for it.

Right now though?  It wasn't like she was gonna go out of her way to be the first one in.  She hadn't been born a pirate, she just hung out and did what was needed to stay alive and feel secure.  Whatever was necessary, that's what'd get done -- or at least she'd try with her various mediocre skills.

All seemed to be readily on board, with Raptor even goin so far as to speak some approval.  A good many of the smiles looked to agree with the sentiment, and she shot him a grateful look before continuing.

"A few rules though.  These raids'll all be in good fun, an because of that, I'm not lookin for blood feuds.  So no killin.  An if at any point you feel it's gettin to hot, any of you can sound the retreat.  We may only laugh a little," she said with a small smirk, though she knew she wouldn't berudge it one bit.  Likely it would be on her to judge, she knew, but she wanted them to know it was theirs to do as well.

"Ive a prospect or two I wanna look into, so scout out as well! See what you can find out there worth snaggin."    Her own first stop would be the witch's cove.  And after? Perhaps south.

Zig listened as Rosalyn laid out the rules and nodded in understanding when she was done. He had no problem with not killing; that wasn't really something he liked to do unless he had no other choice. 

Their new alpha then asked them to help her in finding places worth raiding, and Zig stood excitedly. He would get right on that. He had been meaning to explore more of the coast anyway, and now he had a reason to do so. He wagged his tail a little, a full grin on his face as he waited to see what the others had to say.

the mention of her name brought the harlot's head high; she dipped her muzzle to the assemblage, seeking a pair of eyes here and there, that they might know her presence. but still she saw no reason to speak. it was the sport mentioned by rosalyn that piqued her interest; erzulie blinked as the new captain began to explain.
raiding. she was not quite elated by the prospect of actual tearing-into another's land, but with such things came the opportunity to take from herb caches, steal stored meat, perhaps sway clientele. delight flowed into her expression; a visible thing to accompany the sway of her plume in assent.

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she'd even be useful for that adventure.  Godot was not a good fighter, so if they ran into trouble, that wasn't going to go well...  The plants that she knew weren't exactly uncommon so there wouldn't be a point of taking them...  There was always meat caches to raid, but wouldn't those be the best defended?   Did other wolves keep little piles of trinkets around?  That would be what would interest her, but honestly since the sea seemed such a wide variety of things along the shore, she wasn't sure if some other pack would even have anything worth her time.

She frowned.  What if they follow after?  Revenge, obviously.  Get a bunch of pissed off people pounding on the door.  Didn't sound particularly like fun, especially since if anyone bothered, they'd probably be out for blood.  And it also wasn't like wolves would excel at burgling their own kind -- noses were a thing that often told the important information.

wrapping this up! Sorry it took a bit :D if you want to reply again I'll leave it open a few days before archiving just in case

Of all those gathered, it was her Quartermaster's reaction Rosalyn sought out most.  The rest were pirates at heart, it seemed, eager to test themselves against opposition in the name of a thrill and good fun.  She wasn't sure her lover felt the same.  It seemed, however, she needn't have worried, and this made her all the more eager.  

"We'll have to be sure that doesn't happen, and that's part of the no killin.  If we snag what we can and get out with few hurts, most would let us leave without chasin.  There's less to be gained and more to be lost."  Offense was rarely enough reason for a pack to desert their land and seek retribution, but they'd also need to take care to cover their tracks.  The question was a good one, and she cast Godot an appreciative glance for askin it.

"If anyone has issues, come let me know and we can sort them out.  If not, we'll need to do some scouting.  See if there's any fun to be had nearby."  She directed her gaze to Zig and Julep at that - one seemed to have been interested in the job, and the other happened to be nearby, but too seemed to light up at the prospect of the challenge.  She intended to scout one place herself, but she couldn't stray too far.