Silvertip Mountain [Meeting] Raise our pitchforks together

No deadline on this but it needs to move fast, tagging those FitzDutiful is going to explicitly call for but everyone is welcome. If we get a lot of people we'll round base this instead of post-order.

He needed to discuss this sooner than later. It had been three days since his encounter and only Zaria knew of his displeasure at what had occurred. FitzDutiful felt the need to know how his pack felt; those that were around to come to it anyway. He couldn't wait to be sure that everyone came but there were a few key players he hoped would make it. As he made his way to the actual meeting place he wondered if @Zaria was okay or if her pregnancy was hitting her too hard to make this climb. He kept an eye on her as they made their way to the area and he called for @Mason and @Steady to come urgently. He thought about it for a moment before also explicitly summoning @Krypton and @Chaska for their nature of talking before fighting, for @Alastor with his scouting knowledge and @Gracious who wanted to be a counsellor. Everyone else was welcome too, the howl invited all, but there were certain requests.

He didn't expect them all to make it, wouldn't wait for them either; this meeting would start as soon as Mason and Steady arrived though he really hoped Krypton or Chaska would make it too. Of the four of them only Mason had any intention to talk before fighting, the only one working on scouting and maybe ambassadorship rather than a mercenary's guardian or warrior trades.

He hadn't even recalled it was his birthday.

Krypton was quietly walking around the territory, her large paws crunching the ground underneath her weight. She didn't expect to do much today, she was going to dig up those thorn bushes though and place them along the border.

However, a call ran out and made her dash towards the source of it. The alpha FitzDutiful had specially called for Krypton and sure as hell she would be there!

She arrived quicker than expected by herself, she quietly arrived and sat down across from the alpha, bowing her head towards him and tilting her large head. "What makes you call for us Alpha?" She asked quietly.

Zaria walked next to Fitz up the mountain, staying close to him. The female was really expanding more each day. She was five weeks in and the pups in her belly were really starting to grow. Zaria did like to stay mobile and before becoming pregnant she was in excel shape. There was no problem with patrolling or climbing the mountain, but now with the extra weight she tired out quickly. Her tail was hanging in a natural stance just because she didn't have the effort of holding that up too. Luckily the sickness had been gone. She rather had the cramps and kicking than the nausea and feeling dizzy. She only felt dizzy if she hadn't eaten enough.

She sat down with a soft sigh when they reached the meeting spot. She leaned against Fitz because she didn't want to lay down but also wanted to rest a bit. She was happy to see Krypton shown up quickly. She was pleased to see the female. Zaria was getting better with getting along with her at least maybe it was also because she was in her pregnancy team. Though, Zaria wouldn't be Zaria if she wasn't mentally cursing at the energy leeches in her stomach. She was not pleased with being pregnant, in fact, she was already done with this and she didn't even have the worst of it.

The pack settling next door had not gone unnoticed by the Greek fellow. The forest was a place he enjoyed spending time in, but with the collection of scents growing he had become weary of it, lest he risk an encounter with wolves of unknown intentions. Being a pacifist, for the most part, he doubted he'd stand a chance, and that alone kept him from entering one of his favourite places. Even the border that met the woods had been lacking in his presence, for he'd stationed himself quite the distance from it and simply observed whatever movements he could spot from his position. Such was what he'd been doing when a howl went up, calling specifically for him and some others. Curious, and knowing he could not ignore the summoning, the male had abandoned his perch and left towards the area the howl had originated from.

Upon his arrival, Alastor noted that Krypton was already there. Zaria's presence at the leader's side did not shock him too much, more so because he wasn't exactly up-to-date with the knowledge pertaining to her pregnancy. In fact, he knew nothing of it, having neither interacted with her nor anyone who knew. He did notice a change in her physique, however, but thought little of it. His attention was instead focused on Fitz, waiting to hear the reason for being called forth. Having managed to catch the end of Krypton's words, he remained quiet instead of parroting her query.

By the sound of the call, this was big. The alpha had called for everyone, yet personally requested certain pack members, Chaska included. Usually, he requested for everyone. He hurried off the path he took to strolling on the day, his feet carrying him fast. When he came to them, he came to a panting halt, just managing to lift his head to greet the alpha.

"Fitz" he said, speaking his nickname most seemed to use, "This sounds important." Already, Krypton, Alastor and Zaria had arrived. So they would have to wait for the others before knowing anything.

Mason jogged in amidst other faces. He wasn't much interested in them right now; Dad's call sounded urgent and that meant he needed his son with him. Zaria was pregnant, and the Betas were extremely important right now. Mason arrived to see his Dad's face hard-set and possibly a bit worried?

The pale lad moved in to bump his chin against his Dad's, then turned to plonk himself at his Dad's right side as usual. He angled himself so he could still see FitzDutiful's eyes and face when he spoke. He didn't query the alpha as others thought to do, he merely sat ramrod straight and waited. He had utmost faith in his father and knew that such questions would inevitably be answered during the meeting.

The girl moved quickly to FitzDutiful, some wolves had already shown up before her. She dipped her head in greeting to all before looking to the white male, not knowing exactly what was going on.

Quick post

Steady heard the call, and immediately dropped what he was doing, and went to Fitz, though he arrived later than others since he had been further away. The howl had obviously been urgent, and Steady did not waste time on pleasantries or greetings, instead looking to his brother to see what was going on.

Thanks all for joining! For ease, and to allow you to post as your characters would react, there's no posting order. So just hop in when your characters would. I'll post again after everyone else has :D Also, trying to be vague as Eshe hasn't replied to that thread yet.

Those he had called came and he looked at them all grimly, before glancing to Zaria on his left side and Mason on his right. He wondered how many others in the pack had noticed what he had. Mind you, no one else may have been vigilant about packs as they maybe hadn't had an encounter with Asterr, the one who had made him realise another pack may want to settle in Neverwinter Forest.

"There's a group of lone wolves, wanting to make Neverwinter Forest their own. As we share a partial border I went to visit them. Although no major harm came of it, and we came to an agreement to both move our borders back, the alpha female was less than pleasant." He assumed she was the alpha female. She had tried to act like it and the definite alpha male had called her his mate. "They apparently have been here before, though we have been here for 12 moon cycles and I know nothing of this male so I am unsure of how much to trust him. They say they're here peacefully to settle a family yet they didn't come to us to inform of their apparent peaceful intentions. If I had not been keeping an eye on the forest after an encounter with a lone female wishing to start a pack, I'm not sure we would have known they intend to settle."

He took a breath, but didn't allow anyone to speak before carrying on.

"My gut instinct wants them gone. I'm not happy at having to move our borders - even if I was the one to suggest it - but the female I trust as far as I can spit. The alpha male will do anything for her it seems, even if it goes against his own beliefs. Their territory is not finalised yet even those the two males with her made no attempt at violence she acted as though I should forfeit my life to her." Maybe he was exaggerating but it was as he recalled it. Funny how the memory manipulated events.

"So I called you all here for a reason. My instinct is to fight them, to ware them away for with pups to be born we are evermore at risk. Steady, Zaria as mercenary's in trade I want your opinions too. Mason, Alastor - a scout's perspective is very welcome; firstly in case things come to a head and we need a way to leave fast, but also in case either of you are interested in an ambassador's role. I'm not sure I want to deal with any of those wolves again unless it is to fight them. Krypton, Chaska, Gracious - as wolves who are either seeking a counsellor role or at the very least try to put peace before violence I value your opinions on whether we can risk putting our lives on the line."

That was it, the floor was their's for whomever wished to speak first. Belatedly he wondered if he should have explicitly called Atari Silver. She was aiming to be a hunter and those they had prey that lived peacefully on the land their inhabited the forest did supplement their diet. It might have been interesting to know whether they would be fine on that aspect too.

Zaria bared her teeth when hearing the story again. She disliked this pack especially when her mate had been mistreated by this female. But as much as she to have a war and rip them to shreds, she did have some knowledge. Zaria pushed herself to her feet. Normally so merciless but something was different now. She hated the little poisons in her tummy but... not enough she wanted them dead. "Fitz, anyone else. I am probably the last wolf to say this ever. But would fighting be our best option? The reason I grew up without a mother, the reason I have no brothers and sisters is because of a war. I survived because I happen to lay half under my mother's tail and blend in with her fur." She turned to her mate. "Do you want your young to suffer like that?," she questioned him sharply.

She looked over the rest of the pack. "I am in no shape to fight that only leaves Steady as a warrior and Fitz as a guardian. We don't know how many warriors this other pack houses. We have no knowledge about them. Never underestimate your enemy, or future enemy at that. As much as I love to fight chase them out of here, I am not sure if we have the numbers for a war. We lack the number in warriors and guardians. If we decide on having a war then we all need to realize that these pups will not grow up in peace but under the fear of being taken, or worse, killed," she stated, her tone steady and her chin raised. Zaria's green eyes traveled back to her mate, her being pregnant couldn't be at a more unfortunate moment. If she wasn't she would have launched an attack party in this moment.

The delta woman was surprised at the words spoken by the superiors. A new pack had moved in and disrespected the alpha and weren't too pleased with having to move the border. She snarled at the mention of their name, especially the woman who dared disrespect Silvertip. However, Zaria's mention of the position Silvertip was in with little warriors and she would be out because she was pregnant. A bit of her backstory was thrown in, but that had no attention to the earthy one. She took in a breath and released it before raising her head and parting her jaws to speak. "I agree with Zaria on this. It would not be fair to your soon-to-be-born children to grow up in an environment filled with war. Besides, if there was a war, someone else would have to be here and protect the pups along with Zaria." She spoke with a seriousness tone, this pack was her family and she would protect it with all of her power.

"It would be best to have them leave, however-" She said, looking towards FitzDutiful. "If we don't have the numbers, it would be a waste of our energy, an adage of stress, and bloodshed. I wish just as anybody else here to have these wolves gone and away, however with the low numbers we have, it would be a mistake."

She cast her eyes around to the entire group and drew in another breath. "I think our best chance is to speak one more time with them. If it does not work, then we may start to construct a battle plan. If they agree, all will be fine but we would need to stay on our toes and be prepared. Our best chance to defeat this new pack in war is to call upon our brethren of another pack with a group of mercenary wolves. If they are willing to help and form an alliance, we would have a better chance in success through this war." She toke in another breath. "Unless we have numbers, we might as well surrender to these hellhounds."

Krypton spoke, her tongue filled with disgust about these wolves. How dare they not regard to peaceful terms?! Even if she held no mercenary trade, she would fight and by all means she would kill. She would do what was needed to protect Silvertip and the new born pups.

As the words spun a story of battleglory and bloodshed in his mind, Mason felt his fur bristling on end. They were a pack, yes, but only four at the meeting had blood ties to the small squirming things that lay in Zaria’s belly. Mason hadn’t the faintest idea of how she was to get them out, but that didn’t matter right now. His little brothers and sisters were in danger of starvation and war.
 
His Dad mentioned a Scout’s perspective. He flashed a somewhat mutinous glance his Dad’s way – is that all I am? No, he was Beta, and whilst he may not be a warrior, he was not going to let anyone endanger his family. Mason already knew he would not make a good counsellor, and therefore Alastor was going to be the only ambassador here.
 
Mason was trying to wait patiently for everyone to stop their mass of blabbering before he got his turn to cut in – but he had been brought up politely so he waited for quiet before he spoke, turning to address everyone not just Fitz.
 
 “I don’t want to move. They can’t chase us out, we’re a strong and large pack.” He glanced at Zaria because she was suggesting they were not, and that was a stupid thing to admit even to themselves. “But Dad asked for a possible escape route and I will look into it. Maybe we should ask Moonspear whether they would allow safe passage in an emergency. There are unclaimed moutanins and a forest behind them. We can’t travel too close to the Blackfeather Woods as the pack there is hostile, a wolf called Sebastian told me and I believe him.”
His voice was short and clipped at the threat to his family, but he sounded (for once) wise beyond his ten months.
 
He just hoped his meeting with Charon and Osprey hadn’t ruined things for the safe passage. Also, little did he know that the very wolf which had given him the information on Blackfeather was planning on settling in the exact area which Mason was suggesting as a possible escape retreat – Broken Antler Fen.

Chaska had completely had his world turned around. He believed this was going to be another friendly chat about things, or some pressing issue inside the pack. No, he couldn't believe it. It was all happening again. He listened to everything, but the only words that replayed in his ears were 'fight', 'suffer', and 'war'. His stomach started to do little flips. His ears flicked, his tail steadying in place. And his eyes, frozen. What made worse was that there were pups on the way. Who would protect them?

It took much mental power to recollect himself. Everyone said things about not having the numbers. The last time something like this happened, only he survived. Both body and spirit battered and broken. This time, he would not let that happen. Even if that meant doing what he thought he could never do. "I will train to fight. If anyone is willing to train me...I know how these fights end. With bloodshed. And as much as I would rather this go peacefully, there is always the chance of it going sideways." He looked Fitz in the eye with a manner of seriousness. To think that such a peace-talking wolf would want to fight. "I would rather die than have that happen again to the pack that saved me. And I don't want anything to change."

Chaska thought to his original idea of what he would do in the situation of a fight. "If they do come, though, let me try to talk with them. With training of fighting, I can defend myself if they strike out." Even if it meant he was to be the first casualty.

The girl listened closely, but didn't say anything quite yet. She wanted to hear all the opinions that came out. "I agree with both Mason and Chaska. I think it would be best if we ask Moonspear for a safe route, and I think we all should get some extra knowledge on fighting, and wolves who know how to fight well, then they need to be teachers. I do in fact think we can drive them out if we work well together." she said. If they worked well, then this pack would drive them out easily. Gracious wanted to be a counselor, but some extra fighting skills wouldn't kill her. She would fight for the pack also. 

As an in progress counselor, she had to listen to everyone's opinions, and play them out in her head. But, she did like the combo she made of Chaska and Mason's plans.  Either way, they had to learn to fight. This won't be as easy as just asking them not to move.

Steady sat back on his haunches, listening intently to this new, and possibly dangerous, change. Wolf packs were not generally apt to allow another pack to share borders, and Steady was surprised any Alpha would think it would be all hunky-dory if they moved in next door without so much as a "how do you do".

His protective instincts wanted to march right over and run them off, but he understood that diplomacy was needed. He supposed he shouldn't have been, but he was surprised at Zaria's change in behavior. He would have thought she would have been one of the firsts to run off the neighboring pack. But, he understood that care needed to be taken because she was pregnant.

He continued to listen as other pack mates spoke up, speaking their opinions on the situation. Steady took his time to form his own, making sure he was thinking clearly and not just acting on his first impulse. He looked from each wolf to the next. Many weren't in any position to really attack- which wasn't a negative thing. They were caregivers, healers, chroniclers... Not fighters. This was a peaceful pack, and they were not ready for a war.

Still, even peaceful packs needed to be ready to defend themselves. I do agree that starting a fight right off the bat may not be the best option... However, being a Mercenary, I do think we should all be prepared in case peace doesn't work. I will teach whoever wants to learn, he offered. They obviously wanted peace to work, but Steady wanted to be ready in case it didn't.

For a long while, Alastor had remained silent. He'd kept to himself, listening to everything the others had to say and rolling the information over in his head. In truth, he saw no issues with a pack settling beside them. Sure, it would keep them from being able to hunt within the woods, and would make him no longer able to traverse through it, but that seemed like little to hand over when peace was at stake. They had plenty of prey atop the mountain, and another forest on their opposite side that could be used in case of a shortage. As he became trapped within his own mind, the male's brow had furrowed. There were far more downsides, in his opinion, to starting a war than there were to maintaining peace. He knew that, if war was to be their answer, he could do nothing. Though large he often appeared to be, the man was not a fighter. He could defend himself with the basic skills, but aside from that, he was worthless on the battlefield.

"To maintain absolute peace is the only solution..." he'd murmured, perhaps to himself or perhaps to anyone near enough to hear him over the others; not even Alastor could tell which was the case. By then, he'd more or less removed himself the conversation entirely, having been satisfied enough by the reveal of the meaning behind their summoning. Thus, it was with ease he'd managed to slip away—hopefully unnoticed—heading off to find a quiet place to sort through his thoughts on the matter. Little did he know that something would pull him away before his opinions could be shared.

Sorrrrryyyy!!!

It appeared peace was the desired outcome and FitzDutiful nodded when he came to the realisation that this was where they were going and what they were going to do. It had been apparent, really, the moment his warrior princess had decided on peace, but he had listened to everyone else in turn. In fact the only one that seemed as upset as he was about the entire thing was Mason. Like father, like son, he supposed.

Still, there was a common consensus that they should all refresh their skills of sparring. At least that was going to be something good to come of it. He didn't want everyone to take up a mercenary trade - it wasn't necessary - but he wanted everyone's skills to be up to date and not too rusty. Steady had offered to teach those who wanted it.

Alastor wandered off and FitzDutiful realised this meeting had come to a natural end. With a smile he looked around at everyone; "It appears as though this is it. Peace we'll try for, but keep an eye on them. Ensure they don't trespass but please try your best not too trespass on their land too. They may not have fully claimed it yet but if they're serious they will attack anyone on sight."

With that said, he turned away. Not what he had hoped for, but logically it was the better idea. With a shake of his head he realised that by dropping his counsellor trade he had maybe lost more of himself than he had realised.

ASDFSGDHJK I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS MY TURN SORRY

The meeting seemed to draw to a end, for one wolf had already wandered off. Krypton was attentive to Fitz's words, she made sure to engrave it in her head. She wondered if maybe Mason wanted to go scout with her soon, maybe just to protect and scent the borders.

Seeing how the alpha closed it off, she soon dipped her head towards everyone before trotting off, wanting to go check the borders.

Last post from me!

It seemed Fitz would concede to the pack's wishes and try for peace. Steady, of course, didn't want them to go to war with a neighboring pack, but he would still make sure that they weren't caught off guard. As a warrior, but a family wolf, he didn't want to fight, but he damn sure would if any of his family and pack members were threatened.

The meeting was adjourned, and Steady turned to make his way back to the borders, intent on making sure no outsiders trespassed on their territory. If they did, he would make sure they would never forget their mistake.

Chaska dipped his head in farewell, seeing as the meeting was adjourned. Though before leaving, he cast a look over the others, trying to figure out who would possibly help him with training. First, he would work by himself, but still he needed a backup if that did not work. After casting his glance, the storyteller began to wander off from the finished meeting with a smile on his muzzle. He was just happy that the alpha chose peace.