Blackwater Islands underwater

context.  backdated to march 21st.  i would prefer this to be short with quick rounds, as it's hard for me to backdate with her timeline uh.. the way it is

as she was instructed by @The Listener, cerulean met with all the wolves of blackwater to tell them of her role as speaker.  it felt formal and personal; exhausted, she was ready to let her mask drop.

in the end she retrieved @Tulok and navigated back to the copse, tilting her head back for their listener.

A second speaker. Tulok had known there would be more than one, but it still felt strange to share the role. He knew nothing of this woman, but if the listener had chosen her then he would not question it. 

She called for the listener to meet them at the copse. The demon waited in silence, interested to know what the three of them would discuss.

cerulean's summons rose from the whispering copse, reaching with faint tendrils toward the spiritglade where the listener resided. she  beckoned to @Ingram and set off at once, trusting her children would be safe where they slept within her den. the keeper's presence was necessary for this meeting.

the prophet greeted tulok and cerulean in turn. we will speak. but not here, her gaze swept across the keeper and the two speakers as she turned to lead them to their meeting place. a parting in the thick cover of trees and foliage, a path not unlike the occultists' path in the druids' grove. this path was darker and longer, full of twists and dead ends. it ended in a misty clearing with no visible exit save the path they'd taken. the forest around them was thick with stones and vegetation, the way barred by vines and fallen trees on all sides.

the listener stood in the center of the clearing, sweeping around to gaze upon her most trusted.

this is where we will decide the fate of the druids. we will meet here to discuss the path forward, and the decisions we will make, whenever the need arises.

what we speak of here must not leave this clearing, even in conversation among ourselves. the topics of our discussions, you may speak of freely; facts, predictions, the decisions we have come to. but you will speak nothing of opinions or strife, arguments or agreements. we will enter with opinions of our own, minds of our own, and we will speak them freely. rank does not exist in this clearing; we are equals here. but when we leave...

the prophet paused to give each a meaningful look.

we must be of one mind. one voice. when we have made our decisions, we will all stand behind them. if you cannot abide this, leave now, or the druids will pay the price for your weakness.

he is summoned and makes his way to where the listener and the speakers were gathered; following along as the listener leads the way to the meeting place.

he draws close, gaze focusing upon the listener as she speaks to them, outlining the purpose of this place and that while here: there were no ranks dividing them and what was spoken and discussed and suggested in this clearing stayed in the creeping shadows. it did not leave, not even on a whisper.

this decree was easy for ingram to adhere to: he did not speak to many except for the listener herself, finding himself less than sociable.

but he agrees with what is said and silently vows to abide it; shown by his remaining presence among the listener and the speakers.

perhaps if it had been a different time, cerulean might have an issue with their mandated silence.  many things that would come to shape her had not happened, so instead she agreed with only a nod of her head, waiting to hear what else was to come.

Tulok had no issue with what was demanded by the listener. He knew these things were necessary, and he had been keeping secrets for her for a while now. 

He looked around the clearing that would be their meeting place and then turned his focus back to the listener. The demon nodded once to show her his agreement. 

Then he waited to see what else she needed to say.

silence met her pronouncement. the prophet had expected no less of her loyal followers, yet the ceremony of it had been necessary. at every turn, she would offer a chance to step into a different path; she wanted no unwilling underlings among her most trusted.

the druids have been silent for too long, she intoned gravely. such was the demand of our god, once, but now we are threatened by complacency. we must have purpose. each druid must know their place, their role, the expectations upon them.

our goal remains the same, but it is a lofty goal indeed. we seek influence over the wilds, but this will take time. years, perhaps. to wait so long to see fruition... i fear even the most loyal of us would be sorely tested. we must count each step toward our destination as a victory.

we must start with what we have now. what we know. i have learned of many packs in the wilds, aided by the efforts of this council. sapphique, our coastal neighbors on the cliffs; moonglow which lays just inland; brecheliant and akashingo, packs far inland. brecheliant and akashingo have agreed to an alliance, while our relations with sapphique and moonglow remain tenuous. sapphique holds us in suspicion for our defense of fury; her reputation in the wilds precedes her. we must soothe their fears. cerulean believes she holds the key to moonglow's trust; a former member of their ranks, a woman seeking to form her own pack near to moonglow.

i have learned, too, some of the secrets of sapphique. only a few. the leaders of sapphique, they are women. i have met four children of their union from the season past. i saw a man and a woman, with pelts the color of sand and stone, and heard them speaking of sapphique. the man's tail was red, red to match the children of sapphique. the woman i met again later; meerkat, of sapphique.

to akashingo i intend to send a gift. moonglow, i will leave under cerulean's watch. we must discuss how we will proceed in the cases of brecheliant and sapphique, and assign our acolytes to their tasks.

her gaze found each of them in turn. when we have finished this discussion, i have a task for each of you. and when we next meet, we will speak of war.

war against ursus.

ingram draws in a breath as the listener speaks; taking in each word, each sentance as it leaves her lips. many things were being discussed: allies and relations with packs that appear to balance on a tight rope. suspicions regarding fury and the key to new alliances. these tasks would not be easy to accomplish and ingram suspects they would be better left to wolves who were more diplomatic than he.

still, he is quiet; even when the listener speaks of war against ursus.

either way, he is her loyal keeper always and he had no qualms about going to war with the pack that had briefly quartered him.