Redtail Rise Who run this mother?

Hey guys! I wanted to get this up now so that it doesn't get too far ahead of me. I'm going to forward date this thread to May 25, which would be exactly 8 days from Saena's departure date. With ~1.5 days to travel to RHC and ~1.5 days to travel from BDP to RR, she would be recovering in BDP for around 5 days.

This is a pack meeting, so attendance is strongly recommended, as failing to attend will count against you in the next rank shuffle(s). This round will end May 25th!

@Reek @Wynter @Arion @Lacinia @Smash @Gunnar @Rifter

It was a long five days in Blacktail Deer Plateau. While Saena appreciated the care and attention of her family there, the circumstances were so far from ideal that she spent most of her conscious time worrying. Redtail Rise was in capable paws, but being gone so long didn't sit well with the Alpha female, who feared that her return would be met with animosity rather than relief. On her fifth day at the plateau, she sought out each of the wolves who had cared for her and bid them a farewell and, against their wish that she remain and rest a while longer, Saena set out for her pack in the north.

The going was slow and painful. Several of her wounds weeped blood as she traveled, but she diligently cleaned them each hour and thankfully avoided infection for the entire day and a half journey. When Redtail Rise appeared on the horizon, Saena's heart beat faster with relief and fear—fear that Reek and Arion would take it over for good, fear that they would reject her, and most of all, fear that they had already left.

But when she reached the borders, she was pleased to find their scents were still fresh. Everyone's, save Junior's, were still fresh. With that fear alleviated and the others acceptable outcomes for her foolishness, Saena crossed the scent markers and delved into the trees. She found a size-able clearing and, without hesitating to consider the possibility that she would be replaced as Alpha if they saw her unfit following her disappearance, Saena howled loudly for the entire pack.

Not far from where the wounded Saena paused to issue her call, there lay a pile of carefully gathered leaves. The instant the prodigal Alpha female howled, it seemed to shudder. Then a head popped up abruptly, just like a jack-in-the-box. Two bright orange eyes blinked rapidly before eventually fixing on the pale form nearby. Two dark legs appeared as Smash sat up on her haunches and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Was she really seeing an orange panda wolf with a bobtail or was this a dream? She was still there when Smash let her forelegs fall back onto the leaf pile.

Springing from the crunchy bed of lettuce leaves, Smash shook some clinging detritus from her chocolate pelt, then trotted toward the other she-wolf. Now that she thought about it (read: now that she was a little more awake), this stranger fit the description of one Saena, the Alpha female of this joint. Reek and Arion had filled her in on the status quo and described the rise's proper leader. They hadn't seemed too sure of her return, so she was happy to see that Saena hadn't bailed before Smash even got a chance to meet her.

The new subordinate's dark face split into a grin as she came to a standstill perhaps three feet from Saena. This time, she remembered her manners and let her head and tail drop. "Howdy! Saena, right? I'm Smash. Your grand poobah and his sidekick accepted me while you were away." After introducing herself, the two-year-old reached out a foreleg for a friendly fist-bump... and then abruptly noticed the female's injuries. "Oh, snap! Someone stole your tail! I mean, among other things." Despite her joking tone, her amber eyes looked genuinely concerned as she took inventory of the Alpha's various contusions.

Arion could not, would not abandon Redtail Rise, but neither did he believe he had the capabilities of leading it. His mind in turmoil as he continued doing his duties, patrolling the borders until he was dead tired and then proceeding hunt for the pack and fill the caches. Saena had entrusted the Rise to Reek and himself and the Greek knew he could not disappoint her, everything had to function normally. The caches had to be filled and the borders, guarded. And yet, even though he knew the pack was still strong and all that was needed was (probably) done, he was restless and more often than not, he did not sleep instead spent the nights patrolling the borders, honey eyes glowing in the dark as they scanned the distant horizon.

The nobleman had been awake long before the sun rose, and even though his pelt remained presentable and groomed, there was something about him that indicated his tiredness. Perhaps it was how his steps no longer had the same swiftness in them, his eyes lost a bit of their sarcastic and witty light, barely concealed worry hid behind his usually warm honey orbs. And deep in his heart, he yearned for the return of the Rise's leader and her sister, for they were now his family and the usually emotionless wolf cared.

Arion was hunting when the howl rang through the air, the voice was familiar and a moment later, a smile spread across his features but quickly vanished when he took off towards the source of the call. He arrived swiftly and a wide crooked grin touched his maw the warrior bounded towards Saena, "Saena, you're back!" the Greek exclaimed and lost in the moment, touched his nose to her cheek before remembering himself. Taking a step back, he made sure his posture was one of respect and appropriate of a subordinate and licked her chin in deference before stepping back.

"What happened? Who did this?" he asked, eyes searching, for he had noticed the wounds on her pelt. Honey eyes darkened with concealed fury but knew his questions would probably be answered when the whole pack arrived. He had ignored the words that Smash spoke, and though he had arrived late, Arion had heard her comment about being a sidekick. A crooked, mischievous smirk touched his face as he turned to look at the female wolf, "You mean the grand poobah and his warrior partner," the stallion corrected in a sarcastic manner. "I ain't anyone's sidekick and you, little twin, will do well to remember that." 

A summon was called, it sounded familier. It was Saena which was someone she had been looking for, including Junior. It took a while to realise they had left the territory so she had stopped looking for them. She was looked forward to seeing them again. She had a few things to share with both of them and didn't wait to keep waiting to share things. So she steadily marched her way to her thinking about how to start a conversation.

As she got there other wolves had beat her to the spot. For some reason she had assumed that Junior would be with her but Lacinia didn't see any signs of her. She started to approach the group but then stopped for a moment when she saw Saena's injuries. Her heart skipped a beat in shock. Someone had attacked her for sure, then what happend to Junior? Did the two travel together and got ambushed? 

There was one question that she wanted to ask now. A question that could show her dark intentions. "Who did this?" She asked in a serious tone. She was ready to go out there and take the lives of those who caused those injuries. No one who trys to take form Lacinia will be forgiven. Saena offered her a home, If someone took that away then they would be punished until dead. All she wanted was a clue to finding them so she could settled the score and keep the takers away from the sources of her possible happiness.

Reek's obsession with border patrol grew in tandem with his nagging sense of paranoia. With every passing day, his shifts on the fringe of the the territory grew longer and more rigorous. Luckily, Smash had found the raggedy wolf early in his lead, well before his worry had manifested into a three headed monster of sorts.  Upon the eighth day of Saena's disappearance, Reek would have most likely turned the drifter away and back to the street.  Anything from the outside was now an enemy in the bastard's book.  With so much uncertainty, it was impossible to be sure.      

Both his physical and mental state were beginning to deteriorate from stress.  He had forgotten to eat, to sleep, and to speak.  Reek had been reduced to nothing more than a physical manifestation of paranoia itself. It had been a wonder so far that Reek and Arion had been able to conceal their panic from the rest of the pack... however, Arion always had a better poker face than Reek did, which is why the raggedy man devoted himself so much to his work.  He wore his emotions on his sleeve, so it was probably for the best for Reek to leave to social matters to Arion.

His current shift had lasted 18 hours straight, well, until Reek collapsed from exhaustion on the borderline.  Tired eyes had snapped shut, and Reek sprawled out across the ground as he laid face down in the dirt.   It was just too much for the bastard to bear.  He was falling apart at the seams.

Reek stirred from his unplanned slumber when he heard the howl of his alpha from within the territory.  Saena was back.  Mustering all the energy he had, Reek rose and ran as fast as his tired legs would take him in the direction of Saena's call. "You're back!" Exclaimed Reek as he pushed through the treeline.  He reached the clearing and upon seeing his alpha, Mr. Know-it-all, Loony-Laci, and of course... the newbie, all of the pent up worry that had built up had left Reek's expression.  However, it was only short-lived.  Something had happened, and Saena looked like shit.

"—and holy fuck, what happened?"  Asked Reek in earnest.  Several questions flashed through his head. Where did you go? Did you find Junior? Why leadership so hard?  However, what happened, was all Reek was able to ask after the initial shock.

Gunnar was late to the party. He had been searching for both Junior and SAena. When SAena's call rang out. He hurried towards it and stood near the back of the pack waiting and watching. He was late, so he didn't wish to push his way to the front. Though he worried his brow down. He wanted to make sure Saena was okay, because from his standpoint, she looked bad. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, hoping that she would answer the questions that were asked. He settled to his haunches and waited silently.

Wynter had been exploring through the woods when the familiar howl of her alpha rung out through the trees. It had been a week or so since she had seen the young fae though. It wouldn't be abnormal for wolves to dissapear every once in a while.

She trotted joyfully towards the sound of the call but stopped abruptly almost running into her mate and a few of the others who were looking concerned at Saena. Wynter took one glace at the white alphess and her eyes widened. "Oh my god," was all she could muster at that moment.Then shaking herself back to reality. 

"What the heck happened to you? Who did this?!?" she said anger in her voice. Who dare hurt their alphess. Who could possibly have done this. Wynter thought for a moment but couldn't figure out who it could have been. Whoever did though was in for it though she could tell just by the others shock and concern. 

Wynter didn't really know what to do she had no skills. She looked around at the others hoping someone knew something or would do something say something. Wynter wasn't much of a leader. A follower more like. 

*tosses Mercury in here*

Mercury had been on the trail of a rabbit he'd been pursuing, a small but necessary deviation from patrolling — something he had thrown himself into with boundlessness vigor. He could not focus upon a rumbling stomach which had been the reason he had taken from the cache to sate the hunger quickly. It was to refill what he had taken that had given way to the hunt, though it was interrupted by a loud howl. A summons for the entirety of the pack, though the call was not Reek's or Arion's — both of whom were, according to them, temporary leaders in the true Alpha's absence. This call was female, and though the dark skylark had nothing to go off of he suspected that it was Saena and that she had returned to her throne once more. He had paused, losing the rabbit as he listened to the summon, though he would have turned away from it, regardless when her call had risen, breaking through the air. 

He would return to the hunt after, he decided as he loped off in the direction the call had risen, appearing to be one of the last to arrive. A good amount of the pack was already gathered, Gunnar — though given their recent transaction he kept distance between them, to be on the safe side, turning his cheek, skin broken where his brother's attack had made contact in a indirect cold shoulder manner. He was not ready to forgive Gunnar for attacking him, even though Mercury had no idea that he'd hit a nerve, having not even realized Ragnar had been killed, as if Mercury should have automatically known; Mercury was sure that Gunnar had his own grievances with him, though.

Eyes of imperial green found the one he assumed to be Saena easily enough, her coloration was unique, and she was pretty he noted, despite that she looked pretty torn up. Compared to her, his wound was barely more than a cat scratch, and quickly Mercury looked around at the wolves gathered, wondering if any of them knew how to care for wounds. He knew some things, at Perseus' dictation that he learn, but he was no qualified healer by any stretch of the imagination. For now, he remained quiet.

This round ends May 30th!

The first to arrive was not Reek or Arion, as Saena expected. It wasn't even someone familiar. Smash emerged seemingly from the earth, though a second astonished glance revealed a hole dug into the ground, and sprang forward like some sort of brand new sprite. She was unlike any wolf Saena had ever seen, with a dark brown coat and even darker face and legs. What she desperately wanted to ask when Smash finished her introduction was, what's a grand poobah, but instead she said, "my body parts are a hot commodity lately," without even thinking about how stupid and/or vain that sounded.

Before she could properly introduce herself and figure out whether Smash was someone worth keeping around or not, others flooded onto the scene. Arion, Lacinia, Reek, and Wynter all arrived with the same concerned question on their lips, while Gunnar arrived along with an unfamiliar male wolf in silence. Her eyes lingered fretfully on each of their faces, though there was clear mistrust when they landed on each newbie, but until they were all assembled, she didn't answer them. She was just glad that none of them challenged her for her place as she'd half-expected them to do.

When things began to quiet down, she coughed lightly and seated herself to save some energy. Her wounds stung the whole way down. "Junior is gone," she announced sharply. "I was unable to find her. Her trail goes east, then disappears at a river. I don't believe she would've left without a word, but currently, I have no idea what's become of her." Saena would never allow herself to think the worst. There was no evidence of that.

"There are more pressing concerns." She let that hang ominously over them for a moment, then said, "I went to see my family at Redhawk Caldera. As some of you know, my dad lives there along with his kids and mate. I was invited to help one of the kids with Naturalism a while back and thought I would make good on that while I was in the area." Saena took a deep breath, willing down the animosity that was rising rapidly in her breast, and then told them, "when I arrived and called for him, his mate met me in his stead. Without any explanation she attacked me in an effort to kill me, but I got away from her. My dad didn't intervene. I've been in Blacktail Deer Plateau under the care of my aunt, a renowned Healer, ever since.

Prior to that, my dad, the Alpha male, attacked Reek for saving the life of one of his kids. I don't know what provoked these attacks, and I don't care." Her voice grew cold. "They have declared themselves enemies by attacking ours, and I will sentence them as they sentenced me if ever I see one of them here. Redhawk Caldera wolves, especially their leaders, will not come near our ridge. They will die before they get close." She wouldn't command her wolves to go out and kill other wolves, but Saena knew if she encountered any wolf from that pack in the north, she would make an attempt on their life, fighter or not. It was fair payment for her treatment, and it was all they deserved.

"That said, I don't want to give them a reason to come here. Their Alpha female is a psychopath with a death wish who would not hesitate to try to kill any of us for no reason whatsoever. She proved that. Henceforth, we—all of us—are prohibited from going anywhere near their pack, for your safety and all of ours."

Despite her injuries, the Alpha didn't miss a beat. Smash smirked and replied in kind, "You know what? I like you." Before she could joke much further (or more seriously inquire about the nature of Saena's wounds), other wolves began to appear on all sides. While they were busy raising a fuss over the Alpha female, Smash sidestepped to take a closer peek at the leader's stubbed tail. Never before had Smash seen a wolf with such interesting markings and a bobtail. This Redtail Rise place really was full of characters.

And there was so much more to the story! Truth be told, Smash only half-listened as Saena spun her tale. She was too busy looking around at her pack mates, cataloging their faces and scents. She did gather the basic facts: someone called Junior was missing; Saena had gone to see her father in a different pack only to be attacked by his mate (who must not be her mother, considering the phrasing); and, as it turned out, blood was not thicker than water, as Saena declared the two packs official enemies.

Welp... Smash quipped to herself, I might have bitten off more than I can chew here... She snickered, then shook her head. She had only been here a matter of a day or two and already she was knee-deep in melodrama. Well, it seemed the pack could use someone like her around to keep things light after that heavy helping of histrionics.

"I don't know you and you don't know me but," the Rise's newest member said after Saena finished, "I've got your back, gurrrl." Despite her lighthearted tone and the playfully cheesy salute she offered to the yearling Alpha, Smash's bright orange eyes were as sincere as they ever got.

One by one, Arion's packmates arrived. Reek, Lacinia, Wynter, Gunnar and Mercury, everyone that was part of Redtail Rise had arrived. The chocolate warrior sank down onto his haunches, ears swiveled towards Saena as she spoke and the first thing the Alpha female said was that Junior was gone. He straightened himself, all his attention fixed at Saena as she explained, saying that she was unable to find here and that her trail went east and disappeared at a river. If his theory was right, then that meant that the swarthy yearling had indeed taken precautions to throw the pack off track.

But the chocolate wolf pushed his thoughts regarding Junior aside to listen intently to Saena's next words about a more pressing concern. It seems like the indigo eyed female had gone to see her family in Redhawk Caldera, probably after searching for Junior, and was going to help one of her father's new kids with the art of Naturalism but when she arrived and howled for her dad, his mate met her instead and without explanation, attacked her. Immediately, Arion's hackles bristled and he unconsciously pulled his lips back in a silent snarl but forced himself to relax as Saena continued to speak.

Apparently, his leader's father's mate had not only attempted to injure Saena, but to also kill her. Her dad did not intervene and she managed to go to Blacktail Deer Plateau, wherever that was and was cared by her aunt which was a healer. She then proceeded to explain what Arion already knew, how the Alpha male of Redhawk Caldera attacked Reek for saving the life of his child.

Redhawk Caldera would be Redtail Rise's new enemies and they would be greeted with the kiss of death if they dared come near the ridge. Saena told them they were not allowed to go near the pack which was absolutely fine with Arion, he didn't need to meet a psychopathic female or a shitbag deadbeat dad.

"If they dare come near here, I'll send them on their way," the Greek said, there was no need to ask what he meant, for the dark grin that touched his maw explained everything.

Gunnar was upset when he heard about Junior. It upset him, and made him a little sick. Despite that they weren't blood, she was his sibling still at least in his heart. He wanted to go search for her, but if Saena couldn't find her, he doubted he could.

Gunnar listened and shook his head, he had not thought Peregrine would have done such a thing. Sure, he hadn't been opening to Gunnar, but at least he had answered his questions. Gunnar shrugged, it was really no never mind to him, then his jaw tightened. His mother was sending a wolf to them, soon to talk about an allieship that Peregrine had requested. Oh, no he hoped with all he was worth, that his mother wouldn't be the one to go. Granted the woman was strong, she was a shield maiden, but she was also petite and full of grief. Surely she wouldn't go, she had the babes to think about. Yea she would send one of the males. He sighed, and then looked back to Saena.

I'm afraid that I don't know many of those from the Caldera, nor their scent. So are we to greet all wolves that come near with violence, or at least the promise of violence? Or attack and ask questions later. I'm good either way. I just want to check?And I can get you something for those wounds if you like? I'm probably not as good as your aunt, but mom taught me some things. Gunnar wasn't sure what she wanted, because if she met most with violence, as his father had done. They would have deaths, slaves and other things. Which he was okay with that too. And he was more than willing to continue to try for the healer trade, that he had wanted so long ago.

I dont know what's up with this code stuff but they dont appear in edit mode

Once the others arrived Saena explained what was happend. Lacinia's heart skipped a beat when the subject was about Junior. Disappeared? Gone without a trace? Even if Lacinia didn't get much of a chance to really talk to her, it didn't seem possible that she would go without saying anything about it. Using a river or a lake was an easy way to get rid of bodies. She was taught this and has even used this method before. It leaves little to no evidence. Lacinia expected the worst. The world was already unfair, she didn't expect any miracles. Any hopes that this world was more peaceful than her old world disappeared. 

She took a deep breath. So the Redhawk Caldera was the one behind it all.That was all the information she needed here. They have already tried to take away which was enough for her to want them all dead. A straight on war wasn't her style. Deception, Isolation, and then assassination. It was a job meant to be done alone. Now the question was should she tell the others what she intends to do or should she make like a shadow and go take out those wolves one by one. There was time to prepare for such task, she could decide what she wanted to do later.

"Staying on the defensive will not remove the danger." Of course she didn't want to say what she had in mind in front of the others. It would endanger her even more if she did tells everyone and the information was leaked. This was not the place for talk of assassinations which actually frustrated her. She wanted to leave and talk to a single wolf at the very least. "It seems the world just got darker. So if you'll excuse me, I got to prepare myself for an up coming task." She said, taking her leave. Her last words were meant to make the others curious so that they would come to her afterwards if they wanted to know what she was going to do.

Deep inside she was upset about the lost of a possible best friend. Everything would have been ok if there wasn't problems hanging around. Something was going to need to be done and that was not staying here to protect the territories.

-Will exit unless stopped-

It wasn't long before the rest of the pack filed in to the meeting to listen to what their injured alpha had to say.  Saena quickly launched into a fiery and condemning speech against the wolves of Redhawk Caldera, and Reek couldn't help but agree.  It seemed to him that the Caldera was full of trigger happy nut-jobs that attack for little to no reason, given his prior experience at their borders.  Although, Reek acknowledged the attack on himself in their territory was warranted due to his fat mouth, but the attack on Saena seemed random and cruel... especially since the assailant was her father's new mate.

All the other pack members all said their pieces, but all Reek could do in the mess of the situation was nod along. "Understood," confirmed Reek. Any Redhawk Caldera wolf that found itself in the north would have hell to pay... Pantaleimon included.  The wolves of the south had made things personal, and at this point there were no takesies-backsies.

Although, he had never really spoken to Lacinia in their time in the pack together, her comments struck a nerve in Reek, causing him to find his voice. "That's all we can do," he huffed, turning in her direction. Taking the offense down to the Caldera would be a death sentence. She began to sulk away, however Reek was determined to put a stop to it. "Whatever we do, we do as a pack. You will not get us deeper into this mess."

Saena's words — Junior is gone — caused Mercury to draw in a short, nearly inaudible gasp as the feeling that someone had shoved their jaws through his chest and tugged on his heart shot through him. He might not have known many of the wolves of Redtail Rise, the one exception notwithstanding but he did know Junior, even considered her a sister of sorts. After all, if Saena was speaking of the Junior that Mercury thought she was, Junior had spent time in Stavanger Bay under the care of Ragnar and Thistle; and beyond that they were related through Crete and Peregrine. Of course if Saena was speaking of a different Junior, his assumption made his heart quicken, regardless. Perhaps it did not give cause for such strong worry but Mercury was distressed by it nevertheless, sparing a quick sideways glance at Gunnar a bit across the ways looking past the other wolves between them as if they were not even there.

While others spoke up, the dark skylark remained silent. He wasn't entirely sure that Peregrine was the father that Saena spoke of, but the fact that Redhawk Caldera — once potential allies of Stavanger Bay though if anything ever came of it Mercury did not know — was to be viewed as an enemy to them was a strange one to the DiSarinno. He was horribly out of the loop, and there were so many questions that he wanted to ask, so many answers he sought. Yet, this was not the place or the time to ask them. One wolf in particular, an ebony female did not seem to agree with Saena's decision, as to which Reek was quick to intervene and speak to her as she made to leave. Eyes of imperial green flitted to his leader and then to Reek and then to the ebony woman. Gunnar had spoken up to offer Saena medical aid, and upon an impulse the dark skylark piped up, “I too can offer assistance with your wounds.” Though even as he offered it, Mercury had the assumption that it would be Gunnar she would go to first to look at her wounds if she saw anyone because she didn't know Mercury. The dark skylark didn't know if his consideration was true or not but if things were reversed he'd be a little adverse to letting a complete stranger heal him unless it was dire, himself. Still, he had felt like he needed to let her know that he did have usefulness.

Late, late, late!

This was the only word that circulated the clumsy boy's mind as he tried to move as fast as he could to the pack gathering -- his paws seemed to barely touch the ground as he moved, but the lanky boy no doubt looked an awkward sight. He did, at least, have the sense to slow down as he neared, and with his ears perked forward, the silver newcomer traipsed gently in to the gathering, his ears hung heavy with regret and submission. This was not how he had wanted to repay Saena for her graciousness at letting him in her ranks, and settling in to the back, he finally allowed himself to take clear view of what he had missed.

Someone had hurt Saena. Alarmed, Rifter swallowed any questions that instantly rose in his throat, opting instead to sheepishly listen to the conversation around him.. vainly trying to gather any information on what in the world was happening -- and who would think to even lay a paw on someone as sweet as their Alpha.

This round will end June 6th! Depending how responses go, this may be the last round.

Most of them agreed with her decree, which took a load off Saena's back instantly. There was really no reason for any of them to go so far south as the Caldera, anyway. She was the one with history there, but she was more than ready to cut all ties for good. She'd made an effort, but in the end, Peregrine had kicked it back in her face like the worthless piece of shit that he was.

When Gunnar asked a question, Saena shook her head. "We greet visitors more cautiously now, but not with violence. If they are too close, warn them away, but there's no need for aggression until we determine their allegiance. If they are from the Caldera or are in any way aggressive, then we drive them out. This goes for them out in the neutral lands as well. If you find one and they confirm it, or you can confirm it by scent, send them back where they came from. I won't tolerate them skulking around in the north... not after trying to murder me and attacking Reek."

One wolf did not agree, though. Aklaq, the enigmatic acupressure wolf that Saena had met as a loner, openly disagreed and then attempted to excuse herself. The Alpha female growled lowly even as Reek spoke up, and in agreement, the Alpha thrust her snout higher and fixed her gaze on Aklaq. "If you leave here with vengeance in your heart to make any move against them, you leave as a Lone Wolf, and you will not be welcomed back." This was punctuated with another growl, to ensure that Aklaq knew she was serious. "I won't have you stirring up trouble for us. If you want to do it so badly, you do it alone. I'll throw you to them willingly if you dare to make this worse for us."


Whatever Aklaq said at this point would not redeem her. She was now the least trusted member of the pack. Saena knew she couldn't possibly keep tabs on her all the time, so mentally, she decided that if Aklaq left at all for the next little while, she was out. Whatever darkness resided in the female would remain in her, and would not infect the pack, not if Saena could help it. "I think that's all I had to say today. I appreciate your offers of help; I'll be needing it shortly, I'm sure."

Smash was an outgoing loudmouth but even she couldn't quite keep up with everything going on around her. That wasn't to say she didn't try, though! Her ears flicked forward when a sandy wolf shot a bunch of questions in Saena's direction. Her orange eyes then cut back to the young Alpha female as she issued more concise commands. Smash licked her lips and bobbed her head. Whereas several of the others were offering their assistance with the leader's wounds, she wanted to mention offering her own brand of help, which revolved around keeping everyone's spirits light and minds off their troubles.

Before she could pitch in with a further dose of comedic relief for everyone, a dark she-wolf stole the spotlight and not in a very good way. There was something downright foreboding about her. Smash would have teased her about this in different circumstances, poking and prodding the darkness until she exorcised it from the black female. However, both Reek and Saena were quick to apprehend the female, at least verbally, warning her from taking action on her own on pain of exile.

This really had escalated quickly! Smash's mouth formed into an "o" shape, her tongue wagging back and forth as she tried to think of something to say to cut through the tension. But then Saena readily brought the impromptu meeting to a close and dismissed them. Since there were so many wolves still standing by waiting to help out the Alpha, Smash decided her offers of help could wait until a better time. Shooting the yearling an encouraging grin, she retreated out of the way, hanging about in the background until everyone else dispersed.

I'll leave this up until June 12th so you guys can get in your last posts to be eligible for EXP. Saena is exiting here though!

No one said anything. Maybe the tension of the moment had muted them all. The Alpha was too weary and too focused on Lacinia to mind their silence, though. Assuming the dark-furred female agreed to hold her peace, she would be free to leave with the others.

Speaking of others, Smash was the first to take the invitation to depart. Saena watched her go while barely holding back a smirk as she remembered the new weirdo's greeting. She made a mental note to ask about the grand poobah the next time she ever saw the masked woman. The others milled about, perhaps at a loss for what to do.

"Well," said Saena, "that's it, then." With that said, she moved off in Gunnar's direction. She would ask for his assistance today, for she trusted him far more than the other newcomers who spoke up as a potential healer, and assuming he agreed, Saena would lead him down into the woods where she felt most comfortable staying for a while.

One wolf did not agree, and as quick as lightning, Arion's golden eyes alighted on her swarthy form. He should never had made friends of her, he should have trusted his instincts, should have seen that she could not be trusted. But once again, he'd let his heart rule his head. It won't happen again, he promised himself grimly. It cannot happen again. The Greek often wondered why other wolves were so prone to being sentimental, so prone to trusting their feelings instead of logic, he'd deemed emotions dangerous and now he had the final proof.

A low guttural snarl rumbled out of his maw when she finished speaking, and continued fixing his harsh golden eyes at her features as Reek and Saena both spoke. No matter what they thought, their leader's orders had to be placed first. And Arion could see that it was the only wise way to handle this situation, any other way was simply foolish. Aklaq, or perhaps he should say Lacinia, she was simply a foolish little girl.

No one spoke afterwards and then Saena dismissed them. Arion stood up and straightened himself, golden eyes scanning over the wolves which were his packmates, lingering on those who he trusted and cared about before he too, left, melting into the shadows as he made his way back to his den, to think.

After Lacinia's outburst, an awkward stillness hung in the air.  Reek waited in quiet anticipation for her next tantrum, however it never came.  There was only quiet after Saena's rebuttal.  Reek was prepared to back her up in any way, shape, or form, but she only concluded the meeting and made her way back into the woods.  

That was it.

The others had begun to disperse, and so did Reek. The raggedy wolf turned, brushed up against his mate, and began to make the long walk back to his den atop the ridge.  There was certainly a lot to thank about after the meeting... Junior was still missing and enemies were declared.  Things had certainly become a whole lot heavier for the generally lighthearted members of the Rise.  Playtime was over.