Hideaway Strath if you're soft on rebellion, it'll grow

This thread is forward dated to March 31st. I tagged everyone (some are tagged in post) eligible to reply to the Family Meeting/Náire trial. For the sake of keeping this from being too many rounds/dragging on I did a slight pp of the pack and vaguely assumed they're in attendance. If you are tagged and can't meet the deadline please drop me a message on slack or a pm (letting me know your toon's stance — or lack-thereof if they don't have one either way) otherwise your toon won't get to voice an opinion and be skipped as this meeting is mandatory. This round will end Saturday, April 1st or when everyone has gotten in a reply. @Lotte , @Chusi , @Hemlock , @Rollo

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There is nothing easy about this, Arturo thinks as he seeks out the perfect spot for the Family Meeting. It is in the very heart of the Strath, a small clearing that will serve well for it’s intended purpose. It is how Teaghlaigh was structured to deal with situations of this gravity and severity. He can no longer ignore it, can no longer brush it under the rug as he had, at first. He had tried, and he had broken a tenant by making the executive decision to move Teaghlaigh without talking to The Family about it first. There hadn’t been any time and the path forward had been achingly clear to Arturo. His time frame had been small and he knows that the move has put the most stress on Lotte. All that he can hope is that he has not brought about the death of their children. She should not have been moved, not so close to giving birth as she is. He had been backed into a corner, he had been forced. It was stay and always worry, always be suspicious, looking over his shoulder waiting for Blackfeather Woods to return and to slaughter his children. Ravensblood Forest had been a risk — a risk that he was not willing to take any longer.

His salmon pink tongue draws across his jowls as he takes a deep, heavy breath. He has done far worse for far less and the decision, this time, will not be his alone to make. He calls for those of the Family, beckoning them to him so they may conduct their business. He straightens as they trickle in, taking his place at the head of the crowd, his fiery gaze touching each of them. “You are called to this meeting as both jury and judges. In Teaghlaigh when wolves have been demoted to the disgraced rank they are given a trial where the Family passes their judgement and decides what punishments will follow,” He addresses them, firm and professional. This is not his first time Teaghlaigh has passed judgement on someone who has wronged them, but it is the first time that the wolves in question still remain among their ranks living well. He had not wanted this, had not wanted to be in a situation where his paw is forced but as Ceannasach he cannot ignore the sacrifices that Teaghlaigh has made, especially it’s newer recruits who have had it forced upon them so soon after their acceptance without any idea of why it was happening. It showed an instability and the fact that the star-crossed lovers remained, healthy and (relatively) happy but at the bottom of the ranks made Arturo feel like he is seen as an incapable leader (regardless of if it is actually true or not).

“@Dakarai and @Olive stand trial today,” He calls forth the disgraced pair so they could stand in the middle of the gathering. “Their trespass on Blackfeather Woods brought the hostile Blackfeather wolves to our doorstep. Trouble like those wolves do not just give up, do not just forget. Few among us are trained fighters,” His gaze breaks away from the group to touch upon his heavily pregnant wife. She and Chusi are the only two to hold the Mercenary rank. A pregnant woman and a young woman not even fully mature yet. “As Ceannasach, I must look out for the Family. It is my duty to make the hard decisions,” He draws his tongue across his jowls again, his lip curling back ever so slightly. “I have uprooted you without first coming to you. It is a decision I made because time is not a luxury we could afford, because I have to think about what is best for this Family.” Getting them out of the crosshairs of the Blackfeather wolves had been his priority right under getting Lotte settled somewhere safe where she could give birth to their children and not have to worry about wolves coming to slaughter them while they slept or romped around, or when they came of age: got a little too adventurous.

“Dakarai had suffered an injury and lost his memory while he and Olive were away,” His molten gaze burns as it seeks the pair. “Instead of returning to the Family so we can work out a solution together Olive took it upon herself to fix him herself. She took him to Blackfeather Woods borders where she then trespassed. They were attacked by the Blackfeather wolves and ran back to Teaghlaigh, injured. Their trail, in turn, led the Blackfeather wolves right to our door. What bothers me most is that the Blackfeather wolves did not come right away, but the fact that they had known the way despite the time that had passed since the transgressions I can only conclude that they had been scouting us out.” He does not know for sure but it is the only thing that makes sense. Of course, he realizes that this means that they might not even be safe in their Strath but Arturo has to have a little faith lest his paranoia awake something in him he does not want to be let loose.

“Because the threat of the Blackfeather wolves remains we have sacrificed our home in Ravensblood Forest to harbor the pair who are solely responsible for this. This crime cannot go unpunished. Teaghlaigh has suffered too much for a reckless and foolish decision of two.” Olive, at the time, being a leader, his trusted red herring, no less. Her betrayal hurts him the most. He had trusted her, literally, with his life and she had thrown it all back in his face. “The only punishment for this sort of betrayal is banishment,” He speaks the words firmly, despite the cold that rushes through his veins. There is no fire of wrath, only the sting of ice. “but they have infants we need to think of. Infants that can barely walk, are blind and deaf to the world around them.” He brings to attention the dilemma. “Infants that if forced to bear the punishment with their parents will live only a few days, a week at most without Teaghlaigh.” Dakarai and Olive were not enough to keep their infants alive and that is the stone cold truth. It took a whole pack to raise pups, to keep them alive and sometimes ...not even a whole pack could prevent the death of a child. “What I suggest,” Ceannasach drew in a quiet, steel edge to his smoky timbre. “is that the infants, innocents in this matter, be allowed to remain in The Family. With us, they have the best, if we are not their only chance of survival. We will raise them and allow Olive and Dakarai visitation rights in two months time. Twice a month on neutral ground with a pupsitter and guard from Teaghlaigh as escorts,” Because despite how heartless and cruel Arturo Fearghal is, he is a father first and foremost and he knows what it is like to have children and to not see them. It has been almost a year since he has seen his eldest children — over a year in the case of Bowie — and the knowledge causes him worry despite that they are all well and grown. It is a hard thing to face and he is a business man. He makes deals. Compromise is what he is good at, but so, too, is finding the upper hand. “And when the children come of age to join the adult ranks they will be given the choice all children of Teaghlaigh have: they can choose to stay with the Family or branch off to be with their parents.”

“Children should not be made to suffer or die because of something they have no control over, but you all have a vote, a chance to give voice to your opinions and I will listen.” but to banish them all is an option, as well. That choice remains at the paws of The Family. And so Ceannasach falls silent and waits for The Family to give their say.

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