Phoenix Maplewood Be the leader you would follow

Set for Nov, 5th. For Sunny. Other tags for visibility.

Aviana sat a few feet in front of the den, watching as the sun rose on the cold morning. She knew the day was coming that @Sunny would take over the Alpha position, and she would need to seriously take the time to figure out what she was doing. It wasn't fair to @Faye to not have a plan in place, but she was being pulled in two different directions. In one, where her home had been for nearly a year now, was Morningside. She felt like she owed them everything. They had become her family when @Sebastian was taking care of his own duties. 

Her brother had made her a promise then, that when his time in the war was over, that he would come live with her, and stay here in Morningside. Technically, he had fulfilled that promise. Now, life had taken him on a different path. Aviana didn't fault him for taking it. It just made it difficult for her to decide where to go from here. 

In the past few days, there was a third option that had been plaguing her. She glanced to the den that @Faye and she slept in, thinking of @Howl. She could go to him, tell him he had a daughter, and see what happened. Of course, she couldn't tell Faye yet, in fear that Howl would reject her. Surely, he must have realized there was a chance their encounter had produced pups but that was so long ago, she figured he probably assumed that it hadn't. That was on her. 

Looking back to the sunrise, she sighed as all her options made their rounds in her head.

Sunny had slowly found that his emotions settled down, no longer was he so angry and his hurt toward Aditya had lessened enough for him to ignore it. Now his sole focus was on figuring out how to get Morningside through the winter with so little pack members. They still had children to care for and so few adults that the fact that they would be late stocking caches was alarming. He had several ideas he wanted to try out as soon as possible, so he decided that it was time to stop holding back and to step into the spot of leadership. Satisfied he had taken enough time he began to seek out Aviana.

He was glad when he didn't have to look far an found her by the dens, greeting her with a smile and wags of his tail. "Morning Aviana." he started out politely as he lowered his rump to the ground. He peered inside to see if Faye was awake but glanced away not wanting to pry. "I'm ready to take my spot. I have something I need to discuss with you first though" he smiled at her to show it wasn't a bad thing. He had neglected to offer it days ago due to wanting to be sure, but by now he was absolutely certain that he wanted Aviana to be his Beta.

Her worrying thoughts were interrupted as Sunny's voice broke through them. Her eyes turned to him, and her tail wagged as she returned his smile. She thought he might come to her soon. She had every confidence Sunny would make a fine leader, he just needed to realize it for himself. Good morning, Sunny, she greeted. 

Her smile brightened when he confirmed what she already knew. I'm so happy to hear, she said genuinely. It seemed, though, there was something he wanted to discuss with her. What is it? she asked, curious. He didn't look upset, so she wasn't worried it was something bad.

As expected she happily took the news and moved on to the next question. He faced her and nervously began "I know Sebastian is gone and you wanted to be with him. I can't and won't stop you from going but you've done so amazingly here. You're a devoted, loyal,useful member with leadership skills and a good head on your shoulder. I'm so inexperienced with all this stuff and I need someone to be my beta. My first and only thought so far has been you." he paused to study her reaction, looking down at his paws before continuing.

"Don't feel like you have to stay. I want you to want to be here. If you do accept you'll be able to visit Sebastian whenever you want and vice versa, I'd never deny that." he wanted her to know that if she chose to stay here she wouldn't be losing her brother completely, he even had the idea to venture into a possible alliance though he would need to see if Easthollow and Undersea had any problems with Moonspear first.

He had her full attention as he began, stating that while Sebastian was gone, and that he wouldn't stop her if she wanted to follow him now. She figured it would be one of those "I want you to know you're needed here" speeches, but was a little surprised to hear him offer her the position of Beta. Aviana assumed that if she chose to stay, she would go back down into the follower ranks of the pack. And it seemed there was no one else in the running as of yet if she declined.

She had no doubts that Sunny would allow her to visit Seb as she wished. It was a few moments before she spoke. I really appreciate the offer, she replied. And I'm not saying no, she added quickly. She took a deep breath before she continued. But there is something I need to do before I decide, she explained. I have to go visit someone. I won't be gone more than a few days, she promised. When I get back, I'll give you my decision. She hoped it be alright with him that she left a few days, but this was something that she had put off long enough. Also, I was hoping you'd keep an eye on @Faye while I'm gone, she asked. Going to tell Howl that he was a Dad probably wasn't the best time to also introduce him to her. For all Aviana knew, he'd want nothing to do with her.

When the silence stretched on he half expected her to decline the offer, his eyes filling with worry and ears perked tensely. Then when she spoke he had a glimmer of hope, relieved she wasn't saying no right away. She requested to be allowed to leave for a few days, to go see someone and he assumed Sebastian was who she needed to talk to but whoever it was he was fine with it anyway. She had earned a little break to do whatever she needed done. When asked to watch Faye he gave a look of surprise but nodded "Of course you can go Aviana. You've really done us a favor here and im going to be grateful for as long as I live. I'll watch Faye for you, make sure she's safe. Just let me know before you leave." he said earnestly offering her a warm smile. He felt at peace even with the risk of Aviana leaving to go to Sebastian. Everything would be okay, he was ready to make it so.

She smiled, the weight of her need lifting off of her shoulders as Sunny supported her need to go. She would keep her promise to Sunny and give him her answer as soon as she returned. I'm going to leave first thing in the morning, she told him. The sooner she left, the sooner she could get back. She worried that she didn't know what she was going to do, but it calmed her a bit to have some sort of action in place. Once their conversation was finished, Aviana would go in search of Faye.

Sunny nodded not minding that she was taking off so soon. He was ready to handle things alone for a while though he did really hope she accepted his offer, he could use the guidance and help especially since they weren't prepared for the winter at all. "Have a safe trip Aviana." he said kindly and turned to head away, he would go rest up for a bit before resuming the patrolling and marking his scent more strongly along the borders unless she stopped him to say anymore.

Last post from me unlesss she has anything else to say!