Hushed Willows i guess it must be up to me

MANDATORY. Post once per round, no order. Next round starts on Saturday, June 15 (unless everyone posts before then). Backdated to the 5th. @Sunny @Olive @Silas @Aeliana @Tzila @Minnow @Valiant @Aeryn @Sundance @Reif @Atwood

things were changing, and rapidly. with the deaths of two and one missing, the pack reeled. cortez reeled, too, but his conversation with olive made it abundantly clear that someone had to step up. someone had to lead. dark times didn't last forever. . .unless you wallowed in them.

conversation with @Seabreeze and @Khali had enlightened him further on sunny's place here. the young man had led once before—why not do so again? the hole left by lily, after all, must be filled, and soon. and he knew he couldn't do this alone. he wasn't even sure if he could do it at all.

swallowing down his nerves, the shakti—now in name and title—lifted his muzzle to call for the remaining adult members of the pack. he kept his eyes peeled for his sister, especially. and the children would likely be shepherded along by their parents, for who else would watch them?

cortez realized, with a punch to the gut, that all three litters had lost a parent. cruel, twisted fate.

with a shuddering sigh, he squared himself, waiting in the large, sun-dappled clearing where the main party at the fertility festival had gathered. he was a poet, not a leader. he wasn't cut out for this. he wasn't equipped to handle any of this.

but he could ease their pain, somewhat, if only through eulogy. eulogy and words to bring them together again, even when things looked like they'd fall apart with the slightest breath of wind.

He couldn't sleep, to the point where if  he wasn't covered in fur his eyes would have bags developing quickly beneath them. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Aliac injured and running off or Lily laying bloody and still upon the ground. Every time he dreamed he heard Aliac accusing him in her soft, sweet voice that he could have done something if he'd gotten there sooner. He hadn't known what was happening, he hadn't realised or he would have left to help much faster. Why was it that he lost everyone he loved? All his family gone. His new family was now slowly deteriorating and he would be damned if he sat around and watched it happen. 

When the call from Cortez reached the den he didn't respond immediately. He assumed it was about Aliac and Lily and all the other losses. He didn't want to listen yet....he didn't want to be alone. He wasnt the only one suffering and perhaps...just perhaps they could all help one another recover. So he instructed the kids to keep close and made his way over to answer the call, looking thoroughly exhausted. Once there he was silent, not feeling like the usual 'hello, what's happening?' fit in here.

She was nudged in by her father as a wolves howl traveled to her ears. As they neared the sound she watched the other carefully and wondered who he was.

Valiant didn't understand what was happening, or why his mother refused to see him. There was no making sense of her absence when he had been knit together in her womb; had known her even before he knew the world. And it was different than when Minnow had gone away. The adults had assured him then that they would find her and bring her back, but no one said these things about his mother.

Valiant was angry and insolent as he stomped after his father, only following along because he hoped that his mother would be among the others. If the pack was gathering, then surely they would all be there, right?

The pack had been wounded when recent events had not been kind to Elysium's family, and the hunter could not ignore all the sorrows. While he had dodged a direct hit, leaving him thankful every day that he and Qilaq were both fine, it left them in an uncertain place and him mourning the wolves he had known. He did not like the willows shrouded in such a darkness.

But, through a lifetime of badluck, he knew that they were not permanent. Silas nosed his mate's shoulder, then trotted towards the gathering with his ears down and posture low. He only glanced at Cortez for now and much preferred to see who all was here already, but he certainly waited to hear more--meanwhile feeling hesitantly hopeful that he didn't have more bad news to share with them.

Aeliana perked up from her lounging spot when she heard the howl - a Pack Meeting and she knew what it would be about... She still didn't want to think about it. She looked away from a moment, the passing thought of just laying here came and went. She was raised better than to disobey a leader. She soon heaved her body from the ground and sauntering out of the cave.

Aeliana soon came to the meeting spot and plopped her butt down onto the ground, head hanging low as she looked up at Cortez, silent. Her eyes said it all; grief, anger, vengeance... They should have killed that Monster, but instead it managed to run off like a coward and that pissed her off...

eek i'm so sorry! next round begins when I can get to it—promise to not hold it up for too long. few of you still haven't posted; you only have to pop in once and then you're good. re-tagging @Tzila, @Aeryn, @Sundance, @Reif, @Atwood (ignoring Olive since obvs she is on PPC now)

they came, broken. everyone, in one way or another, had been affected by this tragedy. sunny looked shattered, silas and aeliana defeated, the children bewildered. . . cortez sucked in a deep, steadying breath as he gazed around at them all, totally unprepared for this. he never would be prepared for this.

thanks for coming, he said, voice hoarse and coming out more a croak than anything else. he cleared his throat, eyes closing for a brief moment, before they opened again and settled on the crowd. words can't. . .they can't do any of this justice. what we went through, it's too horrible to even process. all that we've lost—mothers, sisters, packmates, friends. . .

he trailed off for a moment, his gaze meeting olive's. the verdant green of her eyes was steadying; he found the strength to continue within them. today, we remember. we honor ariel, lily, and aliac. their deaths weren't in vain; they protected the willows, and elysium's most vulnerable members. how much worse it could have been, had the bear gotten farther. he shuddered to think of it.

we move on, but we'll never forget them, cortez said gently. he then turned slightly to face sunny. it's our job to make sure their legacy lives on, even if their bodies do not.

he gave a nod, gesturing for the young man to come up—and his eyes flashed to the kids, signifying that they, too, could join their father at his side. after talking to olive, seabreeze, and khali, we've decided that i'll be filling in for a while for olive as shakti, and that sunny will step up to satori in lily's absence—if he's okay with it? the question was written on his face, even if he hadn't spoken it.

srrry!!!

he's ushered toward the call by his mothers, and goes easily, seizing on any opportunity to get away from the den. he understands, now, that ariel is dead, and what death means, though the more abstract qualities escape him. his remaining mothers reassure him that even though ariel is gone, his spirit remains with them, though he isn't sure if he believes that.
with his usual quiet he settles in between olive's legs and watches his uncle speak, oblivious to the mundane realities of pack politics, though he perks up with ariel's name is mentioned. there's little else for him to do, and so he remains quiet, not paying attention to his brothers or anyone else around him.

He always found it soothing when someone was better with words than he was. Cortez definitely  was, the small genuine speech he made in  the recently lost's honor soothed him at least enough for him to calmly handle the unexpected  offer. Satori....Lily's  job...the job that had saved him and Aliac and given him a family.  Why had they chosen him? Logically  he figured because of his previous leadership but he wasn't sure. Even so he couldn't say no, if everyone else could step up through their grief then so would he. He approached Cortez's side and faced the small gathering of wolves, wolves who he felt ashamed to realise he had never gotten close to. "Um..normally I'd make some..giant babbling speech but...I can't find the right words. We've lost wives..friend's..sisters. We all lost family in this incident...but perhaps we can gain something more. I know I  can't be as good as Lily was but I'll do the best at what I can bring as Satori in her honor" his voice was thick with emotion where Cortez's was steady and he blinked away tears. He looked to Olive and felt empathy, he knew the earth shattering loss of losing the ones you love and he felt sorrow for the mother. "Not just today. We will honor them by living every day, by raising their children, their neices and nephews to be good wolves. We will honor them by living a life they'd have wanted for us  if they were here" he tentatively started out and then his voice grew steadier with conviction. It hurt and would hurt for a long time but he knew they'd come back from it together.

Just as she was on her way back, crossing over the borders of Elysium territory, did she hear the call. Tzila heaved a low sigh. She knew what this meeting would be about. The pack was reeling from their losses. Part of her didn't even want to attend this meeting, to face the guilt and sorrow written over the faces of the others. But she sucked it up and went, although she took her sweet time.

She knew that her role in confronting the grizzly bear was a large piece of the puzzle. Or so she liked to think. She had spotted the danger first. Had protected young Minnow from coming to harm and rallied the others. Blindly, she had put herself in danger after seeing Lily slain. The very least she could do was show up. 

Late but nonetheless present, she arrived at the gathering just in time to hear the tail end of Cortez' words. With the impact of the loss, he had decided that it was in the best interest if he stepped up, along with Sunny taking Lily's place. Tzila had no objections. She only sat silently, with the glint for revenge in her eyes. Then after a moment, she tore her gaze away harshly, pinning it to the ground. Fighting conflicting emotions, she spoke quietly. "We should find a special place to lay them to rest. Dedicated to their lives..." Tzila wasn't much for big speeches or sappy emotions, but there was some foreign connection - however distant, she felt to these wolves. She had to contribute, or at least act like she cared.

Once it seemed they were all assembled, Cortez began their proceedings tastefully, and spoke well about what the pack had weathered lately. The nature of the announcements were heavy with sorrow, though, and Silas was just as quiet in his contemplation as usual. Without a word, he glanced among them all again, and the hurt was palpable. He wished that there was more he could do for them..

But, they remained and all they could do now was look towards the future where those who were lost could no longer. He had no issues with Cortez rising to lead, or Sunny taking up the mantle Lily had worn, or even honoring their lives with a special place to dedicate to them like Tzila suggested. To him, both Cortez and Sunny were respectable wolves, and ones he trusted enough to be good pack mates to, Silas offered no objections--only his silent support as all of their respective statements concluded.

Now if only the circumstances of their ascensions could be less hollow and painful, but this was how it was sometimes--life was cruel. The Ostrega knew to take it all with a thick skin, and to keep living for the next day.

Aeliana sat and listened to Sunny's speech quietly and respectfully until Tzila spoke up about burying them is a safe place. She nodded with a smile, sitting up slightly as she looked to Cortez and Sunny, "I'm with Tzila. We should bury them in a special place ...for their bravery."

luckily, sunny seemed up for the challenge, and cortez's ears cupped gently forward as he listened to the new satori's speech. the man knew the deceased better than he did, so his tribute, at least in the shakti's eyes, held much more weight. when sunny had concluded, cortez gave him a gentle smile and a nod, eyes soft, before his attention was drawn by another speaking up.

ah. . .tzila, he thought? the woman had fought bravely against the bear; they likely owed lives to her courage. another—aeliana—concurred, as did cortez. you're right, he said to the two of them, tail moving serenely behind him. that would be a good way to honor their legacies.

except—oh, poor sunny. hopefully aliac would return. the odds didn't look good, but at least they wouldn't be burying her body. it wasn't over until it was over, or so the old saying went.

if anyone knows of a good place, let us know, he continued, gesturing between himself and sunny. we'll take care of it. in the meantime, take some time for yourselves. rest, recover, grieve. spend time with loved ones. if anyone needs to talk, i can lend an ear. thanks for coming, all.

that seemed to be it for now, unless anyone had anything pressing. cortez glanced at the new satori, inviting him to walk along with him if he wished—and if all was said and done, the shakti would leave the gathering, feeling the weight of the world and even more settle firmly upon his scrawny shoulders.

He is too little to understand the emotion in his mothers' eyes, in the thickness of their voices. While it was clear that something had changed, Sundance couldn't figure out why his third parent would never be coming home to them. He simply had not witnessed what the other children had seen, thus remained blissfully unaware of the horror that tore their family apart.

The silver boy was quiet as he padded alongside his silent siblings through the willows beneath Olive and Seabreeze's solemn watch. There was something uncomfortable about the sorrow they each carried; death, he'd learned, was part of living. So what was there to be so sad about, if all wolves would some day die?

He would miss Ariel, of course. He already did. Sundance hoped that wherever his guardian had gone, he would miss him as well.

When they arrived and settled at the gathering, Sundance sheltered himself alongside Seabreeze to observe those he did not know from between her slender forelimbs. Some talked and sounded sad, but he didn't listen. He merely twitched his curious little nose and looked around, a good boy as his dam had asked of him.

So much had happened and she kinda thought that it was her fault mommy was gone but she stayed near her her dad, very close as the adults continued talking.

Aeliana nodded and with that got up and parted from the meeting place. She still needed some time to herself to think and to grieve, the memory of her friend's death was still fresh in her mind. Aeliana let out a sigh as she returns to the den for the day to rest a bit more.

He dipped his muzzle, and stayed utterly quiet as his attention flicked from spoken word to the next until the leader gave his thanks. This meeting gave him plenty to think on.. as it should, but he needed his time to do so. Once a few others began their processes to disperse, he rose to take his own leave and he nudged Qilaq as if to say let's go. With her, he intended to return to their quiet spot in the willows to process this.

It was with some degree of surprise, that Tzila found her suggestion accepted openly. She hid her reaction, instead drawing back to think of her younger days. With her family, usually such a suggestion would be dismissed, waved off or laughed at. Most notably by her pompous, arrogant brother. Over time of course, she had gotten used to it...learned to expect such rejection.

Here in Elysium, the wolves were different. Locking eyes with Cortez as he spoke, bringing the meeting to a close, she nodded once. Conveying that she would set off in search of a suitable resting place for their fallen friends and loved ones. But later. Everyone was still reeling, their emotions were still too raw. Her own as well, though vastly different than the majority experienced by those here. Hers were of rage, the lust for revenge and confusion. She'd sort through them in her own way. Turning away from the congregation, she made for her den where she could think in peace.