Dawnlark Plains here we come a-wassailing

This is the Move thread. Please respond at least once with your howl. No posting order at all. @Dawn @Aditya @Spiritwalker @Lavender @Dauntless @Sunny @Aliac @Aviana @Sylvas Streiter @Kieran Adrien @Sorrel Marie @Sybella Streiter @Raid @Forrest @Pema @Shale

Shortly after Dawn, Aditya, and Easy had returned from their scouting mission. Morningside as a whole set off once more. It was time to leave the sickness and strife of the plateau behind them, and continue their story in the fresher air of Dawnlark Plains. Grayday couldn't see their new home, but he liked the scent of it, and the way the mid-morning sun was warming his back.

"This is it," he called, turning to face the rest of the pack. "Get some rest everyone - we'll hunt tomorrow. The herds smell hale and thick in these parts."

He turned his attention to his family, checking over the kids and nuzzling Catori inquisitively. She was carrying their children, and although he trusted the journey hadn't been too much for her, he was still concerned about her comfort.

Catori worried as they traveled over Coelacanth. It would be a longer trip to make it home to tell her when it was time for the babies. With a horror, she realized she hadn't even told Seelie she was pregnant! Maybe Easy had seen her face because the girl was right there to lean into. Catori hsd whispered that she was okay and she was back among the travelers. 

Her position in the group would ebb and flow depending on when she had to stop to empty her bladder yet again. Hopefully they weren't covering their tracks because she left a plain trail right to their new home. Once they arrived Catori lifted her head to join Grayday's claiming howl with the resr of the pack. When he approached her she licked his chin demurely.

"We have to make sure Seelie and Oxtli know." Catori murmured. Her priority was her family and then pack, but rarely did she feel like those were separate. She would need to either go herself, with an escort, or send a messenger. She preferred the idea of leaving after they had settled - maybe taking some of the children with her on the trip. Maybe Sunny would want to go since he had been too sick for the hunters moon. 

with no hunter's moon, and what had transpired a week or so earlier, the second journey north was much more disagreeable to aditya than the first had been. he trudged on quietly, buried deep in his own thoughts and trying to ignore the icy wind pummeling him as they traveled on. spring was around the corner--or it should be, at least--but it was still too bloody cold.

they stopped in dawnlark plains at last. and with a langurous stretch, aditya padded off with the pretense of scouting. he was headed for the maplewood, for some shelter and respite, and would join the others on a hunt with the next morning's light.

exit adi

His position within the group tendes to switch between walking around the outsides and the back, to sticking in the middle surrounded by his packmates. He wanted to keep watch over everyone and now that he knew Catori was pregnant he wanted to be especially vigilant. 

As they arrived at Dawnlark plains he sat down and joined his howl proudly with the others and looked around,spotting Lavender and moving over to her and giving her a gentle nuzzle and a lick to the top of her head. Out of all of his siblings he felt the most protective of her and found her utterly adorable. Easy reminded him somewhat of Dawn and Dauntless had proved himself capable of protecting himself and the pack already many times. After giving her a silent smile he stood up and walked over to Catori and his father and gave a slow wag, touching his nose to his father's shoulder and offering Cat a warm smile. "You hungry now Cat? I can go see if I can find something smaller to catch?" he offered hesitantly.

during their journey dauntless alternates between nestling himself by lavender, catori or dropping to the back of the group, switching off with sunny as they alternate positions. the howl for the claiming rises up into the air and dauntless joins them, assures his family that he won't go too far in a quieted voice, and ventures off with the intention of investigating their new home.

She knew the day was coming, so when it arrived Lavender was ready and raring to go. The night before, eager and anticipating so many changes, she had dressed herself in the coyote skin (which had been a struggle) and slept in fits and starts. When they were summoned together, Lavender bolted from the den without a word to anyone; she was doing zoomies across the plateau as she waited for everyone to wake up.

Then, once they were awake and on the move, Lavender's energy did not wane. She pressed against Catori for a while, then Dauntless when he was available, then Pema - herding them along without intending to. Lavender didn't know where they were going but she was excited to finally participate in an adventure.

There was a certain detachment with Raid's movements, like she was there but at the sametime, she wasn't - her mind was elsewhere, her soul absent. In all honesty, Raid didn't feel anything about this moving. She wasn't happy, wasn't sad. She was completely apathetic, completely indifferent - however bad this was going to sound, she simply didn't care. Raid had a feeling she would get called out for it sooner or later, but she would simply have to deal with that when it came. For now, well, frankly, she wasn't quite sure what she was doing. 

Also, it was cold. So goddamn cold. And she was alone. Lonely. There was an ache in her heart, a hollow feeling - a stone weighing as heavy as Atlas's burden hanging from the depths of her chest. She hated to admit this to herself - Raid loathed anything to do with feeling of any sort, bitterly refusing to say the truth to anyone. Anyway, it hardly did matter. Raid plodded alongside the group, eyes glittering, wary and alert but not a sound escaped her lips.

Aviana was anxious about the move. Not because of a new territory, but because it was even further from Redhawk Caldera, and her brother. How would he know they moved? She supposed she could take another trip to see him, but she was sure Grayday would require another escort since there was no news about the war being over. She didn't want to take any of the wolves away from the pack, especially when they would be busy announcing their presence and claim on this new area. 

So, she stayed quite during the trip, staying in the back of the pack for the most part. She had to admit, Grayday had picked a nice area to move to. She rather liked the plains, as you could always see who was coming since there were no trees to hide behind. That also meant no fallen logs to sleep under, so she would have to dig a den. She was no longer afraid to sleep with the rest of the pack, and would happily make her den amongst them. None of the males struck fear within her, and she was well relaxed with them. 

She looked to Grayday as they came to a stop, watching as he nuzzled Catori. Aviana was excited that there would be pups in the coming months, and hoped Catori and Grayday would allow her help out with them as they needed. With a large and supporting pack, she didn't think the parents would be lacking help with the pups, that was for sure.

She looked around, wondering where she could bunk down. She waited to see where the others might go before she made up her own mind.

Pema was ready for this move. Even though she greatly adored the plateau. It was where she had first meet the pack and where she had meet her new family. Grayday and all the facets of his family. But she wouldn't have to worry about losing them with this move. They were all comming with her, including Shale and the others. She had made many memories here, with most of them being good. But recently the bad outweighed the good by alot and moving was the best choice for the pack. Dealing with intruders and a surrounding war was one thing, but fighting off sickness and all the other things was getting ever harder. They had made the right decision to move, and Pema believed the others of the pack felt the same. Especially Lavender who ran out of her den that day teeming with energy and excitement.

During thier travel Pema had stayed near the front of the group, looking back often to see how everyone was doing. Grayday's sight was getting increasingly worse but with the help of Cat, and with Easy helping her, they made it through the jouney in one peice. As they moved further and further north the seasonal change to spring seemed unevident. She felt alittle bad for Lavender. At one time she had told the young girl that she wouldn't always be cold, and now they were moving where it might infact always be cold. But with her coyote vest and overflowing energy she didn't seem to mind to much, at least for now.

When the group stopped she surveyed the land seeing very little trees and looking to the vast, open, hilly plain. Unsure of what to think of it at first glace. It didn't look like there was much here, for food or shelter. But it was only her first impressions and she trusted Adi, Dawn, and Easy to pick a perfect home for the pack. At least here Day wouldn't have to worry about running into so much.

She raised her head and howled with the pack. Claiming this land for themselves. She let her howl resinate over the land, maybe longer then the others. This move would be more then a move, she would make it a resolution. She would make a point to better herself. Day was loosing his sight, Cat a well respected member of the pack would be heavily pregnant and bed riden soon (though I'm not sure Pema knows that). It would be up to Dawn and Pema (though mostly Pema once the split takes place) to manage the pack more. She would make an effort to be more daring and have people know she lead something when they saw here. 

She nodded to Grayday's words, but decided on something other then rest. "I'm going to start marking and declaring our border. Make our presence known."

Easy howled along with the rest of her family, feeling good about being in the new territory with all of them present. It was a nice place, with many more cool areas to explore than the relatively secluded plateau. If Easy never had to climb another mountain, it would be too soon.

When Pema voiced her plans to mark out the borders, Easy gladly went along. Her stamina had increased tenfold since the start of the scouting expedition, and she was still full of energy unspent by the slow pace her father had set.  "I'll go with you, Ma," she offered, trotting after the older shewolf. She shot a parting look toward the rest of her family and then tacked on a hurried 'see ya!' for her father's sake.

Kieran was relatively quiet during the trip, absorbed by his own thoughts and wishes. He felt some kind of longing deep within his bones, though for what he had no clue - perhaps time would reveal what he yearned so desperately for. He stuck generally near the middle of the group, gaze searching the areas they past for any good hunting spots. It would be good to stock up on food, though the coming of Spring promised plentiful amounts of prey for the wolves to hunt.

There were few trees on this vast, open plain, but he made no question against it. Surely they would not make the decision to move here if they did not believe it to be suitable for their new home?

Kieran weaved slowly between wolves, gaze searching Sorrel for he was certain she would be nearby.

she'd brought up the rear of their group for the most part of their journey, keeping careful watch on first the rock that surrounded them, then later the stretching plain. the travel had left her a little more worn than she ought to be, chiefly due to the gashing wounds across her chest and shoulder. she'd said little of them, and done little to seek out the healer she hadn't been feeling particularly warm towards for the last while. 

her howl joins the rest of them, melodious and low - even in the tumultuous events of the last few days, there is gladness in this new place. she noticed Adi's departure, but made no move to follow him - instead, she moved among her family a moment longer before adding something about marking the borders opposite of Pema and Easy. She moved off from the group a beat later, adopting a trot as she sought out the distant edges of their new claim.