The Sunspire He is just a toy but I turn him on and he comes to life

@Rannoch @Terance - small leader meeting to discuss current events.

Wraen had been shocked to find out about the attack on Ibis and, though she did not feel personally responsible for it (because - in her opinion - there were wolves, who dealt best with inside matters, and there were her and other hunters, who were at their best outside), this did make her feel uneasy. With so many children to look after it was just a matter of time before something similar happened again. 

Therefore one evening after storing some remnants of a sick fawn she had found in the cache for the mothers, she chose a location that was not too far away from the dens, where the children lived and called for her two fellow leaders. There were matters at hand to discuss without hesitation. And not only about defences, but some potentially worrying developments regarding their food sources in the future.

nowadays, all terance did was patrol and stand guard and remind his wife and kids that he loved them. that was, in his opinion, the best course of action for how to handle this. love and extra protection. so, of course, when wraen called, terance was less than surprised. however she planned to handle this situation was most likely different than how he was dealing with it. that wasn't a bad thing, terance wasn't upset, he merely wasn't surprised that wraen wanted to meet.

terance and wraen were always concerned about different things. terance more focused on the mental wellbeing of others as well as their immediate safety, while wraen seemed to care less about how wolves felt and more about far off future problems-- at least, in terance's opinion. even back in moonspear, terance seemed more concerned about rannoch and liffey and moonspears princesses, while wraen seemed to focus on something that terance just couldn't understand since it involved the dislike of his closest friends-- the cerberus. he didn't even remember what their first argument was about-- just that it was incredibly insensitive, and that he'd been furious with her for a while. lately, that seemed to be most of their interactions. 

and terance held terribly long grudges. though, for wraen, he tried to move past it. they'd succeeded, for the most part. 

so the pack's beta padded up with a curious look, giving his sister an affectionate nudge on the shoulder and settling opposite from her, paws crossed and ears pricked.

It seemed as though misfortune was constant in Sunspire. Out of everything that had transpired, Ibis' incident had weighed heavily on Rannoch's mind the most. He couldn't imagine what Terance's family was going through and when his mind wondered, Rannoch often put himself in Terance's position. 

When he wasn't analyzing the safety of Sunspire's children, he was monitoring the food reserves. The last portions of the doe they had caught were abating, and it was becoming more evident that food was becoming scarcer. 

Wraen's call was a welcomed distraction from his over-analyzing. Rannoch had meant to call a meeting much earlier, and he appreciated the initiative that she had taken; he suddenly felt guilty about how neglectful he had been. 

"Wraen, Terance," he greeted as he approached the group. Before sitting between the Betas, Rannoch gently bumped his muzzle against each of their shoulders. Once settled, he turned to Wraen with a smile. "Thank you for calling this meeting," he said.

Had Wraen been able to look inside each of the assembled men's minds, it would have amazed her, how much thinking and contemplating did, but how very little action they took to discuss matters out loud. She was familiar with Terance's tendency to blame himself for things that was out of his control (and at times she wondered, whether this mindset was something he simply felt comfortable in being), but would not have guessed that Rannoch had had thoughts of similar fashion. 

Anyway - there was no time to wait and she went straight to business. First things first: "How is Ibis doing after the attack?" And naturally she would also want to hear, what Seabreeze had to say in matter as well. Her brother's relationship with her still had not been settled properly and because she did not know his girlfriend/lover/mate well, she had her doubts about her being a trustworthy individual. However, she trusted Terance's judgement and rarely ever gave in into her own doubts. "And how is Seabreeze and the rest coping?"

The rest being not only Olive, but Finley as well, who ever since giving birth to children had had different priorities in life and had no time for friendship stuff with Wraen. "Basically - I want to hear your thoughts on the matter - why it happened and what should we do about it so that it never repeats itself again," she went on after the appropriate explanations were heard. "Secondly - we are begining to run low on food, this takes a heavy toll on hunters like me and the rest, who have to provide for the three mothers and the kids as well. And as much as you might not like the idea, I think that the load would be eased considerably, if the mothers now started to provide for themselves. And instead of a big, flat NO I want to hear, how can we incorporate this along with increased security for the kids."

"they're all fine," he said softly with a shake of his head, "i think ibis is too young to remember it-- but she's a little jumpy now." nothing too different from a typical pup though, terance thought. he watched her quietly as she asked, what can we do to make sure it doesn't happen again. well, nothing he hadn't already been doing. "nothing we haven't already been doing. we've upped patrols and have been keeping a closer eye on the pups. there isn't much more we have control over," he said with a furrowed brow. he was head guardian. he was in charge of this. he'd already figured it out. 

and then terance stared. while he didn't necessarily disagree, was she seriously picking this moment to bring this up? okeanos and ibis were old enough, olive's kids were old enough-- liffey's kids were airing on the side of two young (i think)-- but after the wildcat incident? this was the appropriate time to suggest we start weaning kids from their mothers? terance could only think of how devastated and nerve wracked seabreeze would be away from the kids for so long. 

"what, do you just want the kids to follow their moms around the pack while they hunt?" he asked sharply, clearly offended. because what the fuck? they wouldn't just sit around while their mothers are gone. terance bit his tongue, taking in a soft breath. "what if we implement a babysitting system? just one wolf-- switch off every now and then while the mothers are off." terance had a feeling rannoch would agree with this idea, so even though he hated it, displayed clearly on a knitted brow and a deep frown, terance tried to be helpful. "hyacinth specializes with puppies," he added, and then nodded to rannoch, "you too, if you've got the time."

though he'd much rather just argue over this.

At first, the subject of their gathering was on Terance and his family, and Rannoch listened with care. "Yes, I'm sure we've all had traumatic incidents from our childhood that we've forgotten in time," he offered. Ibis, hopefully, would disregard what had happened, too. 

When asked about "the rest", Rannoch smiled. "Liffey has been recovering well. I think she's about ready to get out and scout again," he reported with a fondness in his voice. Though the Matron loved her family, she also loved the freedom that only scouting allowed. Rannoch knew that his wife was slowly growing restless of being confined to the Alpha's quarters. 

Wraen then spoke of the opinions she had processed as a result of the ordeal, and Rannoch nodded as he considered what she had said. Terance, as true to his character, was the first to reply, and Rannoch listened to his emotionally-charged response. "I recently spoke to the guardians, and they have been doing everything that they can to make sure that the pack is safe," he replied. "I do think that it would be beneficial to keep one guardian near the pack's heartland at all times, just in case anything happens—it'll help us react more quickly to unexpected threats." Rannoch turned to Terance then. "Is this something you could report to the guard?" He didn't foresee any opposition to his idea. 

"I think the children are old enough, too, to be watched by a sitter," he agreed; the bite in Terance's reply did not go unnoticed. "I would be willing to help, and I think that Hyacinth would be great, too." Rannoch considered Seabreeze and Olive for a moment but, their names went unspoken. Rannoch had been reluctant to trust Olive since Cassiopeia had admitted to murdering her father, and Seabreeze seemed to be far too high-strung to deal with more than her own litter. Liffey, Rannoch knew, would not care for the others as much as she would with their own litter.

Wraen winced and her paws dug in the ground, when Terance snapped at her for suggesting that it was high time the mothers started to provide for themselves. She wrote this emotional outburst off as not something personal to take to the heart, but it was still not pleasant to be treated in such a way, when all she had wanted to have, was a constructive discussion. 

"Actually - I was going to offer the same thing," she told Terance, once Rannoch had finished his report. "Take shifts with hunters - one party goes out in the morning and returns by mid-day, feeds the kids, takes the sitting duties and lets the mothers off until the night-time," she explained in a calm manner. "That way more people are with the kids at any given time and taking care of eight puppies is not solely on the shoulders of just three wolves. It will also give some rest for us - hunters - and have moms also contribute to feeding the children. Their appetites are not going to get any smaller," she added, not mentioning that the latter approach had failed miserably. 

"And since the threat came from within the territories, I also wanted to suggest that the area you guard now is made smaller and concentrates more on the immediate vicinity of the puppies. They are our liability at the moment," she continued. "And also - we are running pretty low on the food in Sunspire read. I can't speak for the rest, but I have to travel quite far every day to get anything at all. And I am afraid that at this rate the situation is not going to improve by winter. Which means that we have to think about moving the whole pack to a more suitable area before that time comes. Maybe in autumn, when the puppies are older."

"And in regards of the future - I am afraid, that if - in terms of members and children born - we go the same rate next year, we will kill any location we settle down in terms of food within months," and not only that, she did not want to be run in the ground by the constant search for food like it was happening now. "This does not mean that I want to revert to culling - but, in my opinion, if there are accidental pregnancies like Olive's next year, that wolf or wolves will have to go. I am for reserving the sole rights to breed for leaders only."

terance was silent as the conversation continued on. his tail, occasionally, twitched in mild agitation. he couldn't help but feel attacked by wrean's suggestions. but, too tired to make a scene and not really having any qualms with the suggestions, terance kept quiet, nodding stoically  as thee conversation continued. it was, after all, true terance fashion to not speak if he had nothing to say. 

moving wasn't... ideal-- but terance figured wraen would do her own scouting thing. as much as terance loved being in the mountains-- so close to the stars, he had to admit that it wasn't the safest place for puppies. 

his only true contribution was a gentle hum and a nod, his brows furrowed as his own thoughts jabbed at him.

Wraen's suggestion was met without opposition. "We'll start implementing all of these practices immediately," he agreed as he angeled an appreciated grin in Wraen's direction. "I think that @Maia might make a great caretaker, too. Perhaps we could have her take the first shift and see how she handles it?" His gaze bounced between the siblings of the named wolf. 

Their conversation continued for some time but, eventually, the three leaders dispersed. They talked about some rising issues, and they had a plan of action—they were as prepared as they could be at that given moment. 

Rannoch returned to the shared nursery, feeling much better than he had going into the conversation with Wraen and Terance; he was able to rest easy that night.