Redtail Rise the man of the crowd

setting this for 12/17/2022! mandatory pack meeting!

the sun had risen ten times, set ten times, since Shey had fallen to the jaws of that white bitch.

she has conferred. she has spoken with her wolves, and her ghosts, and her conscience.

and now, Avicus summits a high point near the rendezous and howls for her pack, jaw held stiff in determined fury.

she calls for @Prophet, Augur, @New Snow and @Aventus, @Ashlar—and the children. @Redd. @Relic. @Masquerade. @Ancelin. @Lilia. @Bobcat. Relic and Reki, too.

and damn them if they did not appear.

it is war.

and she is the siren, calling them to their destiny.

A gargoyle, perched beneath the height of Avicus.

Strong, devoted, wounded. Blood had spilled from there own. There could be no time for dallying about or wishing for warmer seasons so soon.

The had the boon of the children near-adults from last season.

His gaze roved them all, but settled on Lilia heavily longest.

it was a changed and quiet boy who attended his aunt with his usual promptness. 
she wanted to fight.
it perturbed the boy, and yet it fired him also. his hackles rose silently. he trained his eyes on the leader of the rise. was it not for this that they had trained?

With each day, the shock and excitement refused to fade. She remembered the face of the wolf who had been slaughtered- and the scent of the one who had done it. She was a hound on a leash, heeling to her guardian's gentle but firm command. It did not stop her from wanting and dreaming, though. 

The call shook her, and she nipped at Reki, before darting to the meeting area, her quiet friend hot on her heels. Fleet, and by chance in the right area at the right time, it takes very little time for Lilia to arrive, breathlessly eager. She slid to a halt next to Ancelin, her shoulder at his, and silenced the sound of her panting breaths though her lower jaw chattered slightly with anticipation. She met her guardian's gaze, and despite the nerves that were singing in her ears, she was focused. Ears cupped and eyes wild, she bids herself a bit of congratulations on being among the first to arrive- Reki not long behind her.

Masquerade had grown and changed a lot these past few months, though their obedience to their mother hadn’t wavered. The moment the Wealda summoned her subordinates, the young wolf quickly kicked the last bit of dirt over the spoils they’d cached and spun, breaking into a ground-eating lope.

There was a violent energy when they arrived at the rally. Masquerade glanced around at the others, seeking their siblings in particular. They saw Relic but not Redd. The call had only sounded moments ago and much of the pack had yet to arrive.

Their attention shifted to the queen. Usually Masque would move closer to offer their mother a submissive nudge. But now did not seem like the moment for such conduct. This was a moment for pure savagery. They kept their distance but bowed their head, baring their teeth in service to Avicus.

Ashlar’s shared moment with Arric had settled his mind a great deal and some of the weight he’d carried lifted. He was still unsure, still quiet in the way he interacted, but he felt renewed in his purpose.

The talk of war troubled him greatly, however. He’d allowed himself to hope she’d forgotten, that they could live in peace here and thrive, but someone had again been killed on their borders. Ashlar did not like blood for blood. He understood it.

He would stand quietly in the rear, tail low, nerves tied in his stomach. He didn’t know what to hope for, and even wishing the enemy went unfound felt like treason. Bloodshed was inevitable. He only hoped he could heal anything that was broken.

Redd was silent when she arrived, slinking in to stand near Masquerade.  Her stare was focused on Avicus entirely, intent and anticipatory.  This would be their chance to prove the pack’s strength and unity.  She would not fail them.

Her part was to be a tooth in the maw.  The jaws of Redtail Rise would close and she would draw whatever blood was ordered.

they are called; all of them.

to their bloodkissed warlord.

bobcat does not wait for his mother, assuming that she is not too terribly far behind. father has already gone with the command to stay despite his itch otherwise.

reckless youth paints bobcat's aura in vibrant reds and gilded golds: arrogance and the merciless kiss of steel upon flesh. a dragonling ( but not yet a dragon ) ready to bear his teeth and sink it into those whom would oppose them.

he joins those gathered; golden gaze cutting to their leader where it rests.

New Snow trails after her son, arriving not too long after him. Like most, New Snow was vexed for their lost. The other had committed an act that demanded something more from each of them, and for all of her kindness New Snow was an unforgiving woman when crossed. Redtail Rise had become family; they had taken her in, when she had been with child. They had accepted the union of she and her mate.

She would not only bring new life for the Rise. If asked, she would bring death. The white she-wolf, larger and thicker thanks to her winter furs, drew alongside her son with a quiet, albeit proud rumble.

And then she listens.

I may be a little slow until the second so please feel free to skip me if I hold this up!

It was impossible not to hear the rumours circulating even when spending so little time in the pack's territory. A murder, a white wolf with yellow eyes. It should have stoked the flames of fury and vengeance in Aventus, but instead it filled him with a dread so deep he felt he was drowning in it.

He had never in his life been a coward, but he knew that Nyra was not a wolf. She was a banshee, some accursed being with the ability to flee from utterly impossible odds, again and again and again, and by now he had realized that chasing her was futile. His tongue would never taste her lifeblood, no matter if he chased her to the very ends of the earth, no matter how justified his hunt, no matter how long he ran, how hurt she was or how hale he was. She would slip through his fingers each time and would kill those he loved along the way.

Still, Aventus attended the meeting. The call left no room for disobedience. He looked at the faces around and was filled with a surprising amount of sorrow despite hardly knowing most of them. He paused briefly on each of his nieces and hoped, achingly, that Avicus did not mean to involve them in this, but knowing otherwise. They were still so young. Fierce, but so young, and Nyra was not of this world.

How many wolves would die this time only for Nyra to slip away again?

How long had Nyra been lurking here?

Arielle, Atreus...

His silver eyes lingered longest on his remaining son, his decision made as soon as they met his patchwork coat, then lifted to Avicus to listen. Outwardly, he was expressionless, but already he was making plans.

Not a coward, but Ancelin was everything to him, and he could not follow in Merrick's footsteps as a father who brought his child to an unwinnable war.

a woman who killedh our Ma hahh' killedh again, begins Avicus, her twilight eyes resting upon Aventus before sweeping over the others assembled. ih' won' be lahh' 'hhime. will come again.

her teeth set hard, gritting, showing past her clenched muzzle. we muhh' kill her before womanh kill again, she vows, her growl rippling out over her pack.

the young ones, ready. the older ones, ready.

and her brother?

Augur gone, followin' her. he'll come when he fin' her. an' for now. . .we prepare. 'hhpar. fighh'. and when ready. . .we go.

her gaze burns like the heart of a fire, sweeping over her assembled wolves. unner'hhand?

It was clear as day.

Everything they had already spoken of when they had sent Augur to track. Prophet could not afford to hesitate or bat a single eyelash at her words.

This was what he had been elevated for the day he had met her.

He settled into the role with a fever now. Eyes scanned around the ground for hesitation, for fleeing. He could not help but wonder who they might lose — before the battle and after. The ideal would be none.

The realistic?

He was no seer.

New Snow listened. Her white lobes flicked each time a familiar word came. Kill… come…

Her ears pricked as she heard their name for her man, one she was not unfamiliar with by now but one she was unable to speak the same as they. She became particularly attentive then, but could not translate the meaning of it all in its entirety. She knew follow for what it was, in that New Snow had been told this by huntleaders; universal words, it seemed. 

The hunter could not verbally respond. She licked her chops, and blinked. 

And then she threw her head back and howled a low note. It spoke her solidarity; it warned those that thought to harm their own away. New Snow did not need to understand to know that she was a wolf of the Rise, and would run with them alongside her son and Mountain Boulder until they no longer could. 

She was with them.

Lilia's ears flattened. She hadn't realized that this wolf who had killed Shey had also been the wolf to kill Avicus' mother. She gritted her teeth together in a silent snarl. Twice they had been slighted; which meant perhaps they were a target. Curse whoever it was who had Redtail Rise in their crosshairs; they would learn soon enough that the wolves of the Rise would not tolerate that sort of hostility. Now, they weren't simply sitting and waiting as a fortress for the white wolf to come again- Augur had been sent to hunt the bitch down. 

The call to end the woman's life beckons her to yowl in agreement. 

She had faith in the boulder-man's skills. He was in excellent shape, and was a natural tracker. The white wolf was wounded- practically leaving a trail for him to follow. Surely she wouldn't outpace him for long. 

With the others, she lifted her bold, shrill voice; let them make the white woman shiver in fear before they hunted her down, and got the vengeance they deserved.