Arrow Lake erinnerung

@Takiyok @Ingram @Ketzia @Blodreina @Kazimir @Nyx @Sadiq @River @Praimfaya @Stag @Monarch @Mesa @Argent @Trench

mandatory pack meeting time! rounds will last five days unless everyone posts before that

it was not to the grave that mahler called them, rather a small clearing near the lake, bursting with all manner of small blossoms. here and there a butterfly hovered; the gargoyle felt it a naturally pleasant place, and hoped it might dispel the greyness that had descended over diaspora as of late.
he stood elevated over them, atop a ridge of stone beside which he had invited takiyok to his side. a breeze played along the man's charcoal ruff; a brief lift of his muzzle into the air suggested to the man, logical though his mind might be, that stigmata prowled among them this day. 
"i am now your general, diaspora," he murmured in a tone designed to carry through the small crowd, "and takiyok, our new kapitän. i have faith that ve vill continue to flourish."
"stigmata leaves behind a legacy, in his place, and in his children. ve vould do vell to remember him." how ambitious the silverstar had been! mahler felt a bit of levity in his heart at last, a touch of bemusement that, while his kill-brother lived no longer, he had left descendants enough to populate the sunspire many times over.
"he vas my brother, and i loved him dearly. i will cherish of him the memories that i have. if anyvone vould like to share, now is the time. but before that," and here mahler paused to level his eyes upon the cubs of diaspora, how in their varied ages they regarded him now. "kinder. stigmata vas your father. no vone could ever replace him. but you must know that i am open alvays, for any reason. come to me vhen i am needed."
thus having spoken, mahler fell silent among the warm flowers of the summer-lit clearing, inviting any of diaspora to speak as they would.

praimfaya was tending to a food cache, burying her contribution ( a plump rabbit ) to fulfill her promise to her worrying mother's command after her confrontation with sedulous to avoid the borders unless someone was with her ( to praimfaya's ill hidden annoyance ) — when mahler's call splices through the chilling air. summer wanes and autumn seeps in to fill the void left in it's wake. praimfaya senses the changing of the seasons by the heaviness her coat is taking, growing thicker and coarser to weather the harsh and cold winter months. more importantly, she notes it in the changing patterns of the prey — despite that she has no real interest in pursuing a hunter's trade.

her scouting/ambassador missions, however, clue her in to the migrating patterns of herds habitually. she ensures that her contribution is buried and would not draw unwanted attention of any thieving scavenger before she heads in the direction of the gargoyle's call. to her surprise, she is the first to arrive though when ingram and blodreina approach she would make her way to their sides.

praimfaya is silent as their new general speaks, frostbound silver gaze flickering to takiyok as she stands at mahler's side and is named their new kapitän. praimfaya does not know her well at all despite claiming her children as playmates but she assumes it is a good choice. she trusts mahler's judgement. his next bit, however, does not concern her — the late basilisk was not her father and she looks to ingram then, feeling the weight of how lucky she was that she had him and blodreina.

it has come to her attention from her talks with isilmë and moonshine that her family unit is rare in these wilds and it makes her cherish them all the more despite that linkoln's warning in the back of her mind that reminds her 'to be commander is to be alone'. the young wanheda-to-be remains silent when they are encouraged to share.

Mesa never expected any of this to transpire, and it showed in the blank, gap-mouthed expression upon his face as he approached the gathering place. At first he'd been hesitant to seek out his uncle Mahler when he'd heard the summons, entirely focused on ruminating on his feelings and sequestering himself somewhere with the territory where he could keep tabs on his siblings; but then the call had arisen, and before he could put a plan of action together, he was roaming closer. The scent of rabbit briefly waylayed the boy (as he was quite eager to remain petulant and in denial about the loss of his father) - only to end up trailing the young Praimfaiya.

As he settled along the ridge behind her, he was half tempted to turn tail and seek out the cache she'd somehow dug and filled - partly to lay claim to it, and to the girl's abilities considering her age, to make his father proud -- but the thought vanished from his mind when he heard Mahler explain himself. To take up the mantle as their father, as their general. The boy didn't know how to feel about any of it; he looked furtively for the silhouettes of his blood relatives in the vain hope that his mother might clarify things, or maybe he could react in conjunction to his brothers and sisters - but he was the first to arrive, and was left empty. Stoic.

In that moment, he was stone and ice and very much his father's son.

She arrived and sat down to the side, listening silently and issuing words of respect to the both of them when it called for it. As Mahler offered support to the children of Stigmata her gaze turned and caught on the sight of the child who had once done her confidence and ego so much damage. Her gaze went hard and she looked to Blodreina and Mahler as she spoke up her voice clear and strong "I was not here when I should have been. I was poisoned. I am home now and in Stigmata's name I will not leave and I will not fail in my duty to our home again. I ask for help....I need someone to help retrain me in fighting and I will not eat what I do not provide" she spoke the last bit as she gave a glance toward Mesa, her eyes sharpening and then going gentle as she fell silent lowering her head to Stigmata's kin, giving the respect he was due.

Mahler called them, and the pale sylph fretted over her brood, leading them quietly to the spot Diaspora gathered. Her words of authoritative caution had been given prior to their arrival—they were to remain at her side and on their best behavior.

Others had gathered before them, and she settled her trio, nose nudging each upon the crown of their skull in quiet reassurance—it was their first time with the entirety of the pack. It was their first time with the majority of members within the pack, and her cool gaze fell levelly upon her comrades, her stance protective—steeled.

Grateful that Mahler was quick to move their gathering along, the iced woman internalized the grief that swept through her with the mention of her fallen mate’s name—the very fact that the warhound was not the one gathering them now at this moment. That he never would again.

Sharply, her exotic muzzle lifted, her gaze falling on Mahler as the notion of what felt particularly close to betrayal fell upon her as he named Takiyok his Second—the new Kapitan. He knew the ivory woman’s resentment toward her and her brood—their very existence having only incurred her glares and cold indifference. The Centurion had admitted her worry multiple times to the healer, who said he would look out for her—for them.

And now he had placed the very woman who clouded Diaspora with discomfort into the position of power.

She could fathom no words as the General continued on, inviting others to speak of the man she had loved. Who had loved her. Instead, her form inched even closer to her brood, eager to bring them away from what spurred only more distrust within her breast.

She was not as kind as Mahler and most certainly not anywhere near the compassionate leader he was. While he stood there, trying his best to reassure everyone, all she could think was that she didn't want to be here at all. She wanted to excuse herself and find somewhere where she could be alone—where she didn't have to pretend that she wasn't a complete mess of grief and guilt and uncertainty. 

But she didn't leave, she stood still at the general's side, expression stoic and unreadable as he spoke. She wasn't surprised that her children were nowhere to be seen. She tried her best to help them, but she constantly worried that she wasn't helping them at all. Her gaze shifted then, locking on to her son as he arrived. Her eyes lingered on his face briefly before flicking to the other child, Primafaya; Taki hadn't spent much one on one time with the girl, but she knew she often played with her children.

Kazimir spoke first, apologized for being gone. As a rule, Taki never found much value in spoken apologies. Words were easy to give. Actions went a lot further with the new Kapitän. But she had no problem offering her a chance to prove that she would actually keep her promise to stay, especially since it seemed her absence wasn't entirely her fault, or so she claimed. 

And then Ketzia arrived with her children. She didn't appear thrilled to hear that Taki was the new General's second. She supposed that was partly her own fault, she could admit that, but Taki held the least amount of blame for how things had been. That's how she saw it anyway. But that didn't really matter anymore, she only wanted peace, and no matter what suspicions lurked in the other woman's mind, Taki wasn't a child killer; she possessed many unsavory personality traits, but that wasn't one of them. She would just have to prove it, which was no different than what she expected of everyone else. 

She had been quiet until this point, not sure what to say. She didn't feel she had anything useful to add. But her gaze landed on Mesa again, and his expression reminded her so much of his father that she temporarily lost the ability to breath. She swallowed and pulled her eyes from him, sliding them across the faces of all who had gathered. We can never replace Stigmata, and we would never want to, but I'm hoping we can help everyone heal. What a joke; she couldn't even help her own children heal. Diaspora was founded on a certain set of values, and I will continue to uphold them just as Stigmata would have wanted. Not eloquent like the General, but quick and to the point per her usual. She fell silent again with a nod to the pack, giving someone else the chance to say something.

She had planned on ignoring the call. She didn't want to be around the stupid pack or her annoying mom, but she had noticed Mesa's scent and followed it, only to find that it lead her straight to the last place she wanted to be. She, too, was going to leave, but something pulled her towards her twin.

She settled at his side, dropping to the ground and resting her head on her paws. Adults were talking, but she really didn't care what they were saying. Nothing anyone said or did made the pain go away. Nothing. So she didn't think it would be any different today.

The call was not unexpected given the circumstances he had stumbled upon. But non-the-less Sadiq did feel sorry for his sister. Despite her very best acting, Sadiq could see the grief that harboured in her gaze, the way only a littermate could. He settled beside his niece and nephew, surprised to find Monarch here at all, but glad as well.

At the mention of their father, Sadiq watched them both closely. A sympathetic glint in his eye. He wasn’t usually one for emotions or comfort, but they deserved it. He silently hoped they knew he too was around if they needed him, a point he would be sure to convey once the meeting was over. For now he simply listened silently, again not a man for many words.

few spoke, and mahler did not miss the expression upon ketzia's face as he elevated takiyok. making a mental note to speak with the little goddess at a later date, mahler cleared his throat and went on. "vinter vill soon be upon us, and ve have lived at the lake for many seasons. it is time to move, before the cold veather arrives. i vill be assigning locations to scout. it is my intention that ve be ready to move to a new location by the end of this month."
leveling his lavender stare upon the ducklings, a smile ghosted o'er the general's features. "a reminder: the youngest among our ranks also have an opportunity to prove themselves vith tasks, from the age of three months up. everyone in diaspora must contribute to its well-being. that is how ve succeed." 
he was quiet then, sweeping his gaze to takiyok briefly to see if his second had anything else to add before he looked back to their assemblage.

Everything was overwhelming; faced with the company of the entirety of Diaspora, and navigating her grief, River worked through her emotions silently. She had never seen so many wolves in one setting. 

The discussion amongst the gathered wolves went ignored, and River curiously regarded those who were seated near her. There was some solace found in the distraction of her packmates, and she allowed herself to temporarily forego her sadness in favor of her interest towards the others.

Wasn't sure if we were keeping to turns so I was waiting for @Praimfaya - but I'll continue I guess!

Stunned as he was to this change in the hierarchy, Mesa had no comments to voice nor will to fight it. He did trust Mahler to some extent - the man was his uncle, his father's best friend as far as he had known. The boy didn't think much about it beyond that; the longer the meeting went on, the less inclined he was to focus, until his twin came and sat beside him. Mesa peered upon Monarch's sorrowful features and, as she reduced herself to a lazy sprawl, he fell upon her and burrowed his nose against her plush side. His ears twitched at every sound made by the adults, but otherwise he was lost to the warmth of the puppy puddle.

last round before archival <3

diaspora was a stoic lot, something mahler appreciated. but he could not help his feeling that their silence was due to the fact that half their numbers were young children who might not fully comprehend the gravity of their situation. as it was, he left it alone, glancing briefly to takiyok before descending his perch.
"be vell, diaspora," mahler rumbled by way of dismissal, opting to watch them depart before he too sought out a quiet place.