Wapun Meadow If I was out of my body you would see the truth

Minor power play of all the Saints arriving! Hmu if you’re not okay with it ♡

Setting: Morning —11:36.
Weather: 70F, clear skies, slight breeze.
Location: Western side of Wapun Meadow, near Arrow lake.
Tags: Tagging all the Saints + Merrick.
@Derg @Praimfaya @Hela @Renard @Riley @Dove @Colin @Baptiste @Auriel @Midar @Nyra @Awenfen @Merrick

Donovan ushers everyone out early in the morning, urging them out of the canyon and through the winding trails of the Sunspire mountains. The trails are rough and surely their paw pads will be raw by the end of the journey. That path crawls down the side of the mountain and deposits them beside the waterfall of Arrow Lake. Donovan knows their meeting spot isn’t too far off from here.

They continue onward until the arid grassland surrounding Arrow lake peppered with miles of beautiful wild flowers. They look quite out of place romping about int he abundance of flowers, their sweet smell sticking to the Saint wolves but doing very little to hide their scent.

Upon seeing a small cluster of trees, Donovan heads towards it, leading the band of criminals to their only source of shade. Donovan eyes the horizon, looking for any signs of the other pack just in case they might have gotten there first. Alas seeing no signs of other wolves he takes in a deep breath, tipping a massive head but as a deep, thunderous howl from the pit of his chest. Calling for the dark pelage wolf, Merrick — leader of Ursus.

aw for whatever ursus wolf wants to join. @Ikkalrok & @Astyanax are exempt! @Glaucos tagged for timeline purposes <3

@Astara @Rosina @Evien @Skoll Almir @Toad @Averna @Avicus @Aventus

the rain had caused the river to swell; he curled his lip in disgust. the valley would not be abandoned, even if they must seek higher climes for the time being. he rather enjoyed the consistent renewal of the earth, the dangerous mudslides, the carving of water against rock it had not been made to touch.
ragged ears cupped curiously, and then heartbeat quickened as merrick realized the strong summons for himself was familiar. donovan. a howl of his own to the bearwolves, and then the bruin-witch set out at a lope, tail held proudly behind him as ursus came to meet their allies in the saints led by the tiger.
"good group," he commented, grinning toward the unfamiliar faces. "i am merrick."

two howls to the wildwood. one the sonorous voice of her rook; the other sultry and strange. 

astara nudged her children, rising curiously to the summons. some bitterness remained in her stare as she arrived, combing over each participant with hard-lidded contempt. 

which of these strangers captured the heart of her merrick? she had seen little of him as of late, and that absence grew to a keen and ravenous paranoia. it had not escaped her notice merrick made causal strolls beyond the blackstones; no doubt to some hidden lair to lay alongside and inside one of these women. one of these ugly, lesser dogs, had 
surely felt 
HER 
king, her rook her knight her lover her bane — 

the only problem was — which one?

ursus.

the name rings a bell of familiarity if only because reuvi mentioned in during their brief meeting in her fruitless search for thade. she, along with the others, is herded away for borders — causing her to question the wiseness of such an action. they had enemies, did they not? by herding them out in neutral territory felt like flushing them out of their foxhole; exposing them. praimfaya's frostbound gaze is freezing and observant, scanning the wolves of ursus that gather — recognizing the dark woman with a small spark of i've seen her before but unable to pin anything more specific to it.

whilst scanning their surroundings.

they have no young to protect but leaving their territory in one large group is scribbled in praimfaya's little black military book as 'a big fat fucking no-no'.

the wanheda turned blade of the saints is a commander thru and thru; and takes to lingering in the back of the saints' side, close enough to hear exchanged words but offering no introduction of herself as she looms as a war general of old would; upon her steed, fingers wrapped 'round sword hilt and expectant of any devious intentions ...if only because it is what she would do.

He led the pack, trailing up the rear to ensure none were left behind.
Donovan led at the front, leading the way through twisting paths to the place where he was told they'd meet with Ursus.

The scent he'd caught off of Donovan was strange but strong. Like belladonna, he supposed.
His paws were better and was glad to be out of the canyon after the ordeal. He was sure Nyra and Baptise were too.
His and Nyra's fur still tainted orange.

 ​He had pounding headaches that came and went with the same ferocity of the water which swept him away.
But he needed to be strong to lead. He would lead, and will not show weakness in the face of their allies.

He trotted up to Donovan as his howl ended and a counter arose in the distance.
"So here they come," he mused.
And so a dark man appeared, and behind trailed his own pack. Ursus.
Derg softly chuffed his greeting, letting the Grandmaster greet first.

Bold

Or stupid.

Baptiste had only come along because Donovan ordered it. He was obedient though reluctantly so. His replacement as the honored healer of The Saints had continued to sour him to being loyal and it was only Donovan's charming face that kept him hanging around. Melita and Aletheia had not shown up again....the worry was tearing him apart more than the envy of rank but he was admittedly curious as to who their allies were when they'd already made plenty of enemies. The meadow reeked of sweetness and made him want to retch up his breakfast to ruin it a bit but he had a bundle of the best, freshest herbs he could find to bring as a gift to the alliance he wouldn't be part of for much longer. Call it a favor for Donovan. 

The bold or stupid was referring to what he did when Ursus arrived. Spotting the raven furred she wolf with the rather stunning eyes that came with the man clearly in charge he chose to approach her. Seeing the sour expression on her face he curled his tail to the side with a friendly twitch his head lowering to drop the bundle of herbs and toss it to her feet with a flick of his nose before speaking "My name is Baptiste. I don't know how badly the rain is affecting you all but these herbs will help prevent respiratory problems due to the wetness. Also things for wounds. Infections. Boosting strength and energy" he stopped talking and gauged her reaction.

Nyra had already been awake when everyone was ushered to go meet with their allies. Her titaness bulk still faintly tinted russet from the raging flood, she mused that she'd have to take a bath at some point soon to go back to being pure white.
The trek was long, but not torturous for the White Witch, and as the pack stopped, Donovan called, another answered, and so the Saints were joined soon after, by another pack. She knew none of their faces, but the raven-haired female beside the one-eyed...Merrick, he said? 
She looked angry, in a paranoid way. 
With a small purr-type noise, the Titaness pulled herself forward and dipped her massive head in greeting, following lightly the pah Baptiste seemed to be taking as she spoke up "I am Nyra. Though I bring no gifts today, as a member of the Saints, as an ally, I offer my strength if you should need it." She glanced from Merrick to Astara with a small smile, waving her tail to further show her friendliness. 
The titaness also, however, was keeping heself close to Baptiste, just back from his flank. It was a soundlessly protective move, in case the healer ended up catching Astara's fangs, due to how raging-with-fury the midnight woman looked. 
Perhaps...? No. Nyra thought, Merrick's mate likely wouldn't take well to me asking what's wrong. She keeps looking at us females like we're suspected of some crime... 
She swiveled her ears and took a slow step back from where she was, but still keeping herself at the ready. 
Nothing was set in stone, which meant anything was possible.

He followed the pack through the mountains, hanging back a ways so that he wouldn't be forced to talk to anyone, but also because that's where Derg was and he was oddly drawn to the scarred man—except it wasn't so odd; he knew why but it didn't change his obsession or his behavior that stemmed from it. And there was no trying to strike up a conversation, either, just an occasional glance back to the other man for no reason other than he wanted to look at him. 

Midar was, of course, thankful for the shade. He was irritated with the break in clouds and rain because it meant the sun shined down from the clear skies to make his raven coat too warm. Donovan released a call that was answered promptly. First by a dark man who introduced himself as Merrick and next by a woman who looked like she could be a Melonii—she didn't seem as pleased to see them.

Some of the others spoke, but Midar remained on the outskirts of the group, his gaze calculating but otherwise neutral as he silently took in the meeting.

Watch out. Rosina's grandma is showing.

Not far at all behind the dangerous and dark duo did she stride, her bright blue eyes wondering to the little ones fleeting at their mother's heels. She licks her maw, though knows these two are no longer meant to be for her own doing. No, Rosina would protect them, love them and care for them each as though they were her own! 

They neednt not her, however, for the Dark Enchantress was a very protective, watchful and paranoid mother after the endeaver she had gone through upon birthing them. A beautiful, powerful woman, that Rosina thought best to steer clear of as many of Ursus did. 

Brightly blues take to the group around her, a large one, with a colleaction of all different sizes, colors and flavors. You all are far too kind! The little white witch spoke, tail waving as she looked over the other snowy woman before her. I'm Rosina, sweet ones. Allies, powerful allies. Oh yes, if they were offering she could sure make good use of them. ;)

Nyra was almost immediately put off by Rosina. Something about her air just felt...bad. 
Though Nyra was coming into a lethal version of herself on her own, this smaller woman...it felt like looking at a viper ready to strike. 
However she felt, the Titaness held a face that hid it too well. Scarily so. 

Nyra offered an equally deceptive smile to the other woman and spoke again, with a cheerful charm to her voice "Lovely to meet you!" 

The priest was unsure what summoned them that day. She lingered near the frays of this gathering; some might say there was caution in her step and some might even think that she was wary and distrustful. However, upon closer inspection it was more as if she was not all there. Ethereal, as she moved along the side of this gathering, assessing each wolf from a distance while she contemplated why Bear had asked them to come here. Wolves were meeting up, and she could not help but wonder -- was this an alliance? -- but then, that custom was very unusual for her, for the wolves of Blackfeather had, as far as she knew, stuck to themselves and had never had allies as such. So she watched with some intrigue, merely observing unless anyone engaged her.

renard didn’t mind leaving redsand unprotected. it was donovan’s decision, after all. not that there was much to take, now; if anything, it was an amusing picture, the collected might of everyone donovan had pissed off coming down on the canyon to find only a maze of flooded passages.

still a stupid move, considering how many people wanted their blood. but who were they to say anything? there was no better way to learn than by experience.

so donovan herded the saints up and marched them along like an actual force, like they were coming finally to war instead of a…meeting? renard had no idea what the purpose of this much wasted time was.

allies were nothing but enemies you hadn’t turned on yet. of course, they could appreciate their situation and donovan using such a thing for its intended purpose – cannon fodder, a buffer – so maybe it was meant to be a show of strength?

there were better places to apply that effort. in his previous leader, renard would have discarded the idea the moment it came to mind.

donovan? well. they wouldn’t have tipped that much of a hand to finley otherwise.

the meadow was familiar; the throng emerging from the treeline wasn’t. lingering in the back of the saints’ scattered formation, they scanned the strangers one-by-one as they appeared, and aimed a pointed look towards praimfaya, who appeared to be doing the exact same thing.

finally. someone with some sense.

This... didn't sound great. Evien was always on edge when he heard a call at the border, and today was no different. He got there as quickly as possible, brows raising momentarily at the entire pack on their border. Fortunately, it didn't seem like this was an attack - were they introducing themselves? And if so, why show their entire force like this? Was it a power play?

The healer padded up to join Merrick and Leila, surveying the herbs that one of the newcomers had dropped at the raven's feet. 

"Those will be useful," he acquiesced, nudging the leaves to make sure that everything was in order. No poisons, no tricks. Just herbs, for the very reason the man had said they were. Green eyes flickered up to the other healer, then to Merrick, and back again. "This is an allegiance?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side. That would be... immensely useful.

her excitement is impossible to stifle. they are leaving the valley! she is fond of the place, so she hopes this isn't permanent (like the move from the den) but the change in scenery is exhilarating. they step as a pack into the field of flowers, and she is lost in the myriad sights and smells.

and then she sees them. the others.

dutifully, she remains at Astara's flank, trying to keep up as best as she can. when the wolves of ursus draw to a halt, she does so as well, surveying the strangers. one by one, she stares—and one is red like her; how fascinating!—and her eyes halt upon one man.

the dark man, with deep blue eyes. Avicus looks at him, then glances up at Astara. the man, Astara. the man, Astara. it is a near-mirror image, and she feels curious and confused and a little combative as she wonders why.

the words of diplomacy go unnoticed, barely heard. she is fixated on her mother's shadow.

his raven fairly vibrated with an energy for which merrick had no word but wrath. unsettled, he glanced to her for a few moments before his attention was captured by the large group of wolves donovan had brought. a hardbit girl, young but already scarred, with a searching, firm gaze garnered his own, a hovering stare that soon pulled toward the man in confidence with the leader of the saints, an older sort with healed rents along the side of his face. 
another warrior, merrick appreciated, nodding at the battleworn beast. a dark stranger now, beautiful, wearing starlight around his pupils. proud to have his queen so addressed, so respected, merrick did not interrupt, only grinned and took in the sight of the next saint to approach. a lovely woman built of snow, a lusty edge to her voice which he liked immediately; he was drunken upon their greetings, and watched this nyra give herself in service to the needs of ursus. "it is good to meet the both of you. and thank you," he murmured to the healer. 
evien now; merrick was eager to bring some peace to their physician's heart. "donovan," there, he gestured, "is our new ally. these are his fighters." he held evien's gaze a moment, a sly grin passing along the edge of his mouth.
the man to next catch merrick's eyes held the eyes his blackbird had always worn, and he started a moment, glancing to his lover to see that she still existed outside the odd twin who hung back, along with another whom merrick watched a moment. "i am honored to have you all here. it is a credit to donovan," he purred, at last letting his single eye rove in the direction of the tiger. "ursus adds its might to yours."

Donovan is silent as his eyes pass by each and every one of them. Watches the interaction between the other pack and is. Gifts are given and words are exchanged in what hopes to bloom a sturdy alliance and with it comes the strength of friendship and loyalty. Donovan is willing to fight for Ursus, he wants the same from the others. A bond is required between them all to die for one another.

So finally Merrick speaks once more. Donovan eyes colored the brightest gold flick to the male, smile coming to his own maw at his words. Yet the snake like beast that hovers beside the dark pelaged male does not go unseen. His starlike orbs move to her, analyzing her body language — she’s on edge. Perhaps she cannot be won over an easily as Merrick and even then, he knows the other male isn’t particularly easy to win over. He knows that if the Saints were to betray Merrick, he’d come at them with vicious teeth and have them marked for death. This raven that huddles next to him already seems like she’s looking for blood, a shark in the water waiting for her cue to strike. 

Donovan doesn’t allow her to captivate his attention for too long. He looks to the members of Ursus with a smile on his maw. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this meeting. I hope to make a fair ally to you all.” Then he turns his body so that he can eye down his own team. “We will treat them as one of our own. Defend them, fight for them, and hopefully get the same in return.” His words are prideful, proud of his pack and the alliance. They’re going to truly be unstoppable. Though he does have a slight warning twinkling in his eyes. A silent warning to not try any snake shit with Ursus, to not risk loosing such a powerful ally. So as a footnote, he dips his head with a smirk. “Understood?” He hums back, sweeping eyes over each of them.

Not really looking for any real affirmation back from them, he turns to Merrick. “We give our services and support to you. In hopes to be able to have an ally to stand beside us.” Donovan searches Merrick’s gaze with his own, smile twill twitching at the corners of his lips, but otherwise nonexistent. A gleam of sultry mischief could be caught if one looks hard enough.

assuming rounds rather than order since the gathering is so big, but if that is not the case just smack me and i'll delete this post <3

the first to boldly approach the rook was set with a wicked stare. astara watched baptiste with flat disinterest, having little patience or understanding for the weeds he deposited at her feet. such address was better served to evien, who astara briefly glanced upon before the pale wolf to baptiste's side spoke.

astara's full attention fixated on nyra, a hungering malovlence thrumming around her as she saw the she-wolf smile -- SMILE -- at her crow. a violent possessiveness seized her heart and she glanced subtly to merrick, the ragged flames of her insecurity being kindled to new life as she saw an unknowable emotion flicker in merrick's single eye. nyra became the sole recipient of astara's fierce stare, which among several hateful emotions, communicated in fine dark letters DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK TO MY MAN.

keeping careful lid on her seething temper, astara's ears flicked back as she felt avicus' vexed presence besides her. the girl was looking from her mother to -- astara scanned the group of wolves and found the source of the girl's consternation: a dark, imposing man of svelte blacks and glacially cold indigo eyes...

did averna see that? astara's eyes and thoughts reached out to her spectral sister, needling with worry.

she did not like it; she did not like this group. she did not like being away from her home. she did not like the warrior female that hung in the distance like this was an ambush. she especially did not fucking like the white jezebel that smiled at her fucking man -- and she definitely did not fucking like that he had smiled back. a concoction of violent emotions gurgled in her belly uncomfortably; she would stand here as long as merrick decreed it was necessary -- but he would never make her like any one of these ragtag vagrants he brought home.

and should they -- touch him
should he touch them;
or should they touch her children --

the dark songbird would be a far thing from kind when she came to collect.

As Nyra approached he didn't remove his gaze from the raven furred she wolf who was silent as Nyra approached and overly sweet coated the greeting in a way Baptiste thought entirely too suspicious for a gang that wasn't supposed to be nice. Donovan didn't do nice. The penetrating stare was enough to declare her internal rage and Baptiste backed up until he stood at Nyra's haunch his eyes sweeping to see the man return the smile. 
Well then. 

The violence in the woman's expression increased and he bumped Nyra with his shoulder "she doesn't look entirely happy" was all he whispered before he returned his gaze to the woman and gave a small decline of his chin showing deference before he turned and moved closer to the background of things. He wouldn't be earning any of this woman's ire if he could manage it. 

Re-wrote it to be closer to the original post. Major apologies to everyone!

Nyra noticed the dark songbird's malevolence, and nodded subtly to acknowledge Baptiste's words before he moved away. 
This dark female radiated insecurity, jealousy, rage. She didn't seem to like that Merrick smiled back at her when she offered her own, and that was when it truly clicked. 
Well, Nyra wasn't going to be the one to ruin this alliance, if it was ruined at all. As far as the titaness knew, the Saints had too many enemies to risk these bearwolves being added to the list. 

The titaness looked directly at Astara and kept her gaze on the blackbird, dipping her head. Nyra pulled herself into a tall stance - one almost exactly akin to that of a male lion in his prime. She was not scared. But, she would play nice. 

For now. 

"I apologize for any intrusions I may have made, Miss." Nyra began softly, still looking full-on at the midnight songbird, "I assure you, my intentions were not to insult you in any way." 

The ball was in Astara's court now. If the Bearwolf Queen became aggressive further than the glare she gave...at this point, Nyra was most likely not at fault.

Aventus, it seemed, succeeded in going unnoticed.

The boy followed along with the others, but slunk cleverly from one adult's shadow to the next, concealing himself from his sire's allies despite his interest in such a large congregation. He wasn't as curious as his sister and his heart didn't thrum with excitement at the idea of leaving home or meeting a bunch of strange wolves. Strange wolves in such numbers were surely trouble, and like his hesitant mother, Aventus didn't like being here.

Wapun Meadow didn't enchant him, much, either. The image of a larger, sun-kissed white pup played on the backs of his eyelids as he moved from Rosina's shadow to Evien's and then Astara's. He remembered being here and interacting with her and not understanding much of it. He was bigger now and understood better now, but the gilded girl was not among these wolves. The others failed to capture his attention like she had, all but one.

From Astara's flank, Aventus could practically taste the tension that wound through her. He lifted his eyes to the culprit, a she-wolf standing far taller than she ought to here where Ursus ruled. Even a child like Aventus knew that was stupid, and so his gaze lingered on her, but his ears listed toward his dam for indications on how one dealt with such pomp. The words she spoke didn't match her actions, and astute little Aventus picked up on it all.

"A pleasure to meet you all," he smiled to Ursus.
A fine band of what appeared to be warriors an a medic.
A lethal glare from one dark woman drove daggers into them all, and he knew that they may not have such peace as many wished.

Derg slunk around his pack, bumping forward those to hung back too far with a soft smile.
They needed to show interest and not have reservations about mingling.
Baptise checked Nyra subtly, a sensible move.
 Donovan's words were heard by all.
He made the connections with Midar and the woman with daggers. Interesting, something he'd bring up at a later date with Donovan.

He came around back towards Donovan, and noticed the small pair of children by the woman.
Surely Merrick's mate from the way she was acting.
He didn't think the woman was one of talking, otherwise, she'd probably announce in a loud voice for them to all fuck off and lay down the ground rules.
But she didn't and used her body with he was more in tune with noticing it seemed than his pack.
Perhaps his upbringing.

He brought his body neutral and low as he drew his nose close but far from intruding the space of the mother and her young.
"We will be certain to protect you all," he smiled softly, glancing to Merrick whilst also watching for the woman to throw her fury down on him.
He wouldn't mind, mother's were funny about their young, and she certainly wasn't happy about the Saints.

praimfaya catches renard's look, meant for her she assumes, and offers a small nod of her head, assuming that it meant they were of a similar mind as her. it is tiny, her exchanged glance with her fellow blade, before her frostbound gaze moves forward to study the interactions. the tension, the hostility from the woman beside the leader of ursus, the pledges of protection from the saints that makes her want to gag. it was too much ass kissing for the commander who didn't make alliances. the split geda's of her coalition outside of this place were just branches of one tree all beneath her rule. none of this pledges that, to praimfaya, seem to be largely one sided.

it brings into question in her mind if ursus would be so willing to return the favors or if they were simply seeking to take advantage of donovan who, from the way he speaks from the front — words that praimfaya is only paying partial attention to — appear to praimfaya to have fallen for it hook, line and sinker. even as derg nudges her forward — she inches closer to the group begrudgingly, shifting closer to renard more than anything — she makes no introductions and offers no pledge.

The air was tense, heavy, and though Rosina was very much aware of it she played the role of blissful arrogance.

  Her white tail waved happily, bright blue eyes widening on Donovan, intrigued. Not all of his group seemed like they were happy with his pledge, though in all fairness, none of Ursus seemed in agreement savor Merrick and herself. 

Already, the hard stare of her Dark Enchantress causes another of the Saint group to fold before her apologetically though Rosina prances forward towards Donovan and beams. I'm very greatful for your protection. She insures. Hell, she might need it. Although after having not only trespassed into Easthollow, but ripping the ear plum off one of their members, they hadn't much done anything about it since. Perhaps too weak to know not to start a fight. 

Her attention turned to @Derg then. My, what a war-torn fellow you are. I'm certain you have no trouble at all putting yourself in a fight for friends. Because they were friends now, right?

Oh... well, this wasn't bad. They needed the help - their pack was not the best at making friends, and Evien had been worried that they never would have a true ally. But here they were, offering their help, and Merrick seemed okay with it. Leila... not so much, but she just seemed jealous, more or less. 

The medic zeroed in on the man who appeared to be the Saint's healer as well, scanning him over. Black and brown fur and bright eyes. Bigger than Evien, but overall not too different in appearance. 

"@Merrick, would it be alright if I took their medic to see the medicine den? They can see if there's anything they need," he explained. It would be part of their allyship, surely, the sharing of resources. They had plenty here - Evien had made sure of it. After all, @Baptiste had brought them herbs as well. 

tags because there's so many of us xD

protect them all. the temptation rose immediately to snort at the mere suggestion – but they had a truly unfortunate amount of practice with self control when this kind of thing was happening around them, and derg was not joking. as long as renard had known him, he never joked. which just made the whole thing worse.

what did donovan want from them? renard had been under the impression that it was an alliance to deceive everyone else into thinking the saints had more strength than they did – but maybe they were placing too much of their own logic into the grandmaster's empty head. and in the meantime there was nyra doing her level best to turn this into an incident, like she couldn't see the rising hostility in the woman she was speaking to; in the meantime the tension in the air was palpable, and they couldn't believe derg and donovan didn't notice.

though it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't.

fuck, if they wanted to be particularly doubtful about this – and donovan being donovan, why wouldn't they – he had probably fucked someone here, and that was the only reason why they were all playing nice right now.

uncomplaining when derg nudged them forward despite how ridiculous it was, the idea that they were all here to make nice, renard inclined their head. like the silver-furred blade edged closer to their side, they watched, and said nothing.