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

she is not ignorant to her dam's ire. she's unaware of the reason, sure, but the intensity rippling through Astara is catching, and she finds herself bristling, too. the atmosphere is tense, like the day when her dam had crushed the woman's throat between her jaws. she expects more blood today.

her indigo gaze locks on the man with her mother's eyes. he has not yet spoken. he has not yet acknowledged the strange resemblance between himself and Ursus's queen.

and the words continue.

"and ursus returns the favor," merrick declared back, catching the hint in donovan's eyes and letting his own single orb glint in recognition. a wild thought swam to his mind; he and the tiger, unfettered once more, in this very congregation.
hiding the grin of want and amusement that threatened to make itself know, merrick glanced toward the bear-pack's handsome physician. under any other circumstances, he would have refused to allow any within their sanctuary. but they had come here upon a message of alliance and allyship.
"please," he murmured to evien. "and take her with you," he muttered for the young doctor's ears only of his blackbird. "for once, i don't want a fight." his blood-honey queen would, he hoped, welcome the  opportunity to threaten another in her silent manner. rosina's voice, syrupy, pointed, dragged a grin from his lips, though it faded quickly.
while he had initially liked nyra, her continued address of the raven thrumming with a deeper and more tactile rage would not serve this assemblage. "will you ask donovan if i might speak with him before we all part ways?" merrick inquired of the pale woman, cutting in with his voice and the two steps that put himself between she and the jealous raptor. his energies were polite but his intention to end their discourse clear, his firm claim to the rights in the meadow.
he turned back to the rook simmering in her fury, gave a gentle swish of his tail, filled his single eye with the sight of her. i am yours, merrick gave wordlessly, allowing all sound to die down roundabout he and her; for a long moment he belonged in totality to the woman. "go with evien. he wants to take baptiste into the valley."
"leave them with me," he said of avicus, trailing his gaze along the line of the girl's own to where it rested on a near-shadow of her mother, and of aventus, who he caught attentive toward his dam. "i'll show everyone the gifts you gave ursus."
if the corvid was willing to capitulate, merrick would beckon the young pair forward; if not, he might signal his own withdrawal from the meeting, for eager as he was to meet with the tiger again, nyra must not be allowed near.

As Merrick cut in between her and the blackbird, Nyra took immediate notice of her error in standing so tall while addressing the Bear Queen. Nyra should've known better.
Upon the Bear King's request, Nyra slanted her ears back with a quietly sorrowful expression, a soundless message of apologies for her brazenness, and she slouched her posture, giving a quiet nod before the Titaness turned and went to Donovan, softly murmuring the message; "Merrick wants to see you before we part ways." Before she retreated to the outskirts of the pack.

i know i posted twice in this round but i need one more post to count for trade stuff!

praimfaya watches the tense exchange from the blackbird; noting, perhaps cruelly, how nyra wasn't picking up the very clear and hostile message that ursus' queen was dropping. she tucks this tidbit of information away to analyze later when she goes over this bizarre conglomeration of wolves gathered to the behest of their sovereigns. her geda's operated at a much easier level: each pack was led by their own leader but all leaders answered to her; ensuring that they were a coalition. these promises feel empty to praimfaya. there is nothing, really, to keep each pack from stabbing the other in the back.

she shifts beside renard before after a handful of moments, she follows after nyra, sensing that this meeting has wrapped up and eager to return the canyon to process what she has learned and witnessed today.

astara’s gaze cut to nyra; ivory empress with the high crown. a vision came to the blackbird of that head, tumbling

to the dirt.

her gums lifted in a silent snarl as she stepped forward, the children at her side. she was no rube — the baroness’ kind words hardly matched her flaunting posture, which astara interpreted as a direct challenge.

then her castle, her rock, is stepping between them. astara allows this, though she looks to both of her children with a flick of her tail as if to say ‘unacceptable’. no wolf would disrespect her on her own hunting ground. as merrick addressed nyra, astara grinned — fully expecting a reckoning. however, her savage vindication fell from delight to suspicion as she listened to merrick’s words. 

he wanted to get rid of her.

why? astara’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. why was she being herded off like an embarrassment? was she not queen of bears, was her place not beside merrick?

were they not equals?

why, why was he designing to have her escorted off like she was a child, by Ursus’ invalid medic?

what was merrick’s objective, publicly humiliating his blackbird like that? and why did he want her to leave— what thing would he do (nyra?) the moment she left? why couldn’t she be here, unless merrick did not want her to witness whatever scene he partook in next?  

instantly, astara’s skin prickled, for merrick had just denounced his rook as some lowly, gibbering idiot by excusing her from a gathering she belonged in as Ursus’ queen.

astara raised her head, her jaw set. she placed one paw in the dirt and met that singular eye with measured distrust — and worst of all, deep betrayal — for she could collect no good reason in her heart for why her rook wished to see her gone from his company.

she had no reason to leave; she liked even less the idea she would leave her children to these wolves she did not know. astara, who had once done merrick’s bidding with giddy excitement, felt contempt burn in her heart. 

no, she refused to be shepherded off like an embarrassing half-wit, and she would sooner sink her teeth into her rook before she left her children at the whims of this barbaric, untrustworthy crowd.

Donovan heeds Nyra’s message after Merrick’s speech. Even as Merrick steps before the pitch black shewolf known as Astara, he too has her eyes on her like a hawk. Watching even as Nyra turns her back and slinks down in submission to the alpha female. Astara bares her teeth and Donovan’s eyes catch the pearly whites. A grin of his own spreads across his maw. The silent, feisty type. Protective of Merrick it seems. Only if she knew what the brindled male did to her bear then perhaps she’d be attacking Donovan instead. If opportunity allows it, he’d meet her eyes with a gleeful glint in his own — curious and perhaps only slightly challenging. 

The glance she shares with Merrick is obvious and filled with disappointment. Perhaps even hurt, who knows, he doesn’t care enough to truly look into it. He looks to Merrick instead, hoping to meet his gaze knowingly to silently tell him that Nyra delivered the message loud and clear. He’s eager to have another talk with the coy. Whether it be a hunt, an actual talk, or a recap of their first meeting — the mesmerizing heat of their bodily friction. Either way, it doesn’t matter to him. 

Looks like this meeting is about to wrap up. He might end up sending. Derg home with the pack while he has a little play date with their allies alpha. Guess he’ll have to see which direction the meeting goes.

Tension electrified the air.
They were arranging to have Baptise see their reserves for medical supplies and the like. Perhaps he should go too, to see their place of residence.
Though, he doubted it may happen.

Merrick cut off Astara, and she rose from her hunting to daring him to fight her.
Discord.
Uncertainty in their leadership. Did Donovan cause this? Why did the silent woman not explain her displeasure? His jaw tensed, but a woman's words warmed his ears and softened his expression.
His eyes lifted to her instead.
"A friend, yes. But you seem to be a troublemaker, no?" He smirked, tail waving softly.
Her very person seemed to buzz with an itch to cause more trouble. To make people work for her, to satiate some need.

Ursus and The Saints would be a catalyst for disaster.
By themselves, at least. Like two parents who didn't agree on anything except their child.
Where they would rub like chalk and cheese until you got water and ice.

He let the Ursus leaders sort themselves out, passing a pointed look at Donovan to not stick his nose where it would get scratched.
It was their problem, not his.
Derg sidled up towards Rosina, making to talk with her more and mingle their scents.
He needed to be an example and prove that these wolves were allies.

they'd had nothing in the way of expectations coming here. and so that was justified. nothing of their conversation even suggested this would work. donovan was either painfully naive, didn't care, or knew and was using it, and he was long past earning the benefit of the doubt. he hadn't noticed praimfaya, he hadn't noticed finley, and he hadn't noticed them.

and ursus' leaders...there was little they could take from the scavenger, but the blackbird made no secret of her open fury. renard's focus slid to nyra, and then back; she was another saint with more impulse than sense, but at least she had the presence of mind to step away from the mess she had created.

unlike donovan, though, merrick seemed inclined to keep his companion on a leash. he stepped in front of her before she could strike, and at the closer distance derg had ushered them to, they lingered long enough to watch her meet the scavenger's single eye with head raised. the saints brought problems wherever they went; they shouldn't be surprised. this quickly, though.

the smile curved along the edges of renard's lips, now, a fleeting thing. turning in praimfaya's footsteps, they followed her back.

Upon her counterpart's eyes on her the pale priest turned her eyes towards the crowd and noticed the unusual face amidst them; or rather, the face that was just as expected, much like her sister, much like the dark man that had tried to lure them away from the dark woods when they were little. Relatives. This one seemed much like it too and the ghostly woman found it hard to peel her eyes from him once she had been made attentive of his presence, finding a great curiosity to find out more about him.

Even her counterpart's growing frustration with being shipped off -- all of the process of that, actually -- was missed entirely by the priest as she stared at the man, knowing somewhere in her heart that he was related by blood to some degree. The likeness was undeniable.

Things went from bad to worse, and Aventus soaked up all of it like a sponge and radiated it back. His lips skimmed back from his teeth to match Astara's, and while he didn't follow his dam forward toward the irreverent white she-wolf, he hung there, poised to take advantage should Astara lunge. Then Merrick was between them, ushering them back, and black lightning crackled between the lead pair.

Aventus watched all this with cold, calculating eyes. There was much he didn't understand about the situation that Ursus found themselves in, but he understood the wrongness of his parents being at odds in front of all these spectators. His silver gaze found the striped one with his cocky grin and his hovering manner and Aventus let his hackles lift up. He did not like that man. He did not like this pack.

In large part because of Astara's humiliation. Aventus didn't move from his place alongside her as she challenged Merrick's command; he worshipped his sire and obeyed him always, but didn't want to be left in the company of that man and his grin without her.

Oh, yikes. Evien was excited to bring the Saints' medic to his den and share pointers and perhaps have another healer he could associate with, up until Merrick told him to take Leila as well. The black wolf was, understandably, not happy at their leader's words, and Evien couldn't blame her. He wouldn't have wanted to be escorted off like that, either, should their roles have been reversed.

Still, eager to save face and possibly ease some of the tension that had been steadily building, Evien padded over to the purple-eyed woman, fixing her with a small smile. 

"Would you mind coming with me?" he asked quietly, voice hushed to keep the one-sided conversation out of ears' reach of any eavesdroppers, and his brows knitted together. "I know it's probably not ideal, but I could use the protection." That was not a lie, either. He didn't fully trust these wolves, as much as he was excited to have a potential ally. He didn't want their medic to attack him when his back was turned - he doubted he'd stand a chance, should a fight break out. "It's completely up to you, Leila." He wondered, vaguely, if she'd recalled him offering the name to her in the first place, or if that was something that happened often with the mute wolf. 

Regardless, it felt proper to address her with a title, so he would.

a kind of anxiety ripples through her as the tension between her parents comes to a head. she watches as Astara stands her ground, and though she had started to walk forward at Merrick's invitation, one look from her mother brings her to a halt. it is not an enviable position for them, the two cubs, and she glances at Aventus, wondering what he thinks of all this. he looks as uncomfortable as she feels.

she returns to her place at her mother's side, standing tall despite her misgivings. a man of dark brown speaks softly to Astara, and her ears cup forward to catch the words. leila, she mouths, confused. she has never heard anyone call her mother by any name. is this it?

Avicus looks, then, at Merrick, though somewhere at his chest, afraid to meet his eyes. a line in the sand has been drawn, and she has chosen Astara, rather than follow his orders. she eventually lets her gaze wander back toward the group of unfamiliar wolves, taking note of the varied shapes and sizes of them. 

and that shadow. . .she is drawn to him, especially.

she refused, and a great part of merrick quailed at how the raven regarded him thereafter.
a heartbeat of time, and the rift between them expanded.
he had meant to relieve her of this gathering she had seemingly so hated, only to receive the lash of her wordless accusation,
betrayal,
and merrick's gaze dragged pain to the surface, that she would think so ill of him. had he not loved her above all else? a twist of his lips. the stares of any assembled went unnoticed; she refused, and merrick surrendered the gambit as a failure.
his eye dropped apologetically to avicus, then to aventus; they would see this day that the only one who could command such from the bearwolf was the fierce woman who had borne them.
there was a pride within his concession as flagrantly he relaxed his dominant air and nosed toward her chin appeasingly. in all other things the boy was choked with confidence, but he was nothing without the blackbird, and shook his head toward evien, though it was only a rebuke of himself. the healer was free to take baptiste within the medicine-den; merrick would atone in this meadow for his misread.
the others were beginning to turn away; merrick nodded across the crowd toward donovan, bidding him wait, and moved to flank the rook. only when she chose to leave would the coywolf also.
and shame was in merrick, but it would not be recognizable as such to any who looked upon the man still and quiet beside the bearqueen.

Donovan watches the scene silently and tries not to smirk. Every man has one. He thinks briefly as he watches Merrick’s muzzle prob at the fiery woman’s own as a way of apologizing. Sometimes it just be like that.

He takes his eyes off the two and turns to Derg. Sidling you’re beside the coffee colored male to whisper into an ear. “I’ll be staying back to speak with Merrick. Would you be able to lead the them back when you’re done, my dear?” His voice is soft and quiet as words flow from his lips.

This meeting is almost certainly concluded. At least for most of them anyway.

A silent war raged within the Ursus ranks.
Unstable leadership.
His lips pursed, watching them.
He wandered close to Baptise: "Be good," he softly smirked, knowing he would. and hopefully would keep his poisoning tricks to himself.

Donovan slid up to him this time, the antics of Ursus not unnoticed by his counterpart either.
A soundless nod before beginning his round-up, minus their toxicologist.
​He dipped his head to Merrik and Astara, "A pleasure," before he turned and chuffed to his pack, tail flagging high.
A glance to @Rosina. He hoped they'd meet again.


Derg started to move off, expecting the Saints to follow him.

Perhaps. Rosina spoke on behalf of Derg's comment about her being a trouble-maker and as he took to settle at her side, she would begin to mention certain neighbors near that she had been 'playing some games on'. 

The converation did not gain the ability to go much further besides Rosina questioning him then on his scars (and if he fancied more) when it was obvious the air had grown more tense, especially between her too leaders. Oh, young love. She purred as she smiled to her leading, devilish pair. 

She would dip her head to the scarred up man then, seemingly the second within the ranks, as the meeting began to dwindle to its end. Rosina then, too, would make her way back home.

I'm not sure if there's a real post order here, if there is please lmk! I just saw an opportunity to sneak a little trade-related tidbit in here for Aventus and wanted to seize it before the moment got away!

While Merrick and Astara stood opposed, their son scanned the milling wolves and noted that the party was coming to an end. Members of Donovan’s band were beginning to step back, and members of Ursus were doing the same. Aventus did not like the Saints and did not want to be left with Merrick and Donovan, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. He saw them often.

One of his pack would doubtlessly notice him as he began creeping along after the scarred Overseer, intent on following the strangers home to spy on them. Aventus believed that he was small and black and that made him invisible, but it wasn’t true. He was just a dumb pup still, a little bear too big for his britches, and someone would stop him. But the thought counted–here and now, Ursus would see that their small black son was a sneak-thief in the making.

oh, she was livid -- but merrick's actions were the balm to her reddening fire. astara relented, allowing his ministrations -- though her gaze snaked savagely to nyra as if to smugly lord her bear's affections over the loveless bitch. watch it and weep, you snakeish hag.

astara did not miss how nyra's words matched none of her actions. her words were oily, and promoted respect -- but her full-on stare to the blackbird, her rude body language said it all.

astara's gaze slid to donovan first, and then derg. did their leadership not see how flagrantly their subordinates disrespected a leader?

and they allowed that?

 if ursus and donovan's demons were to become a rich conglomerate of blooded thieves and murderers, an order must be established.

a hierarchy demanded and respected, by blood or otherwise. 

astara looked to her son, who slunk off after donovan and derg. her mind, however, was on nyra still -- nyra, who openly disrespected her in front of her court.

nyra, who must be put into her place (or into the dirt, if astara had her way).

the blackbird stepped assertively towards @Nyra, closing the gap until she was but a hair's breadth away. she postured openly with a high head and tail, her flat gaze hostile and commanding. challenging nyra -- daring her -- to disobey. 

submit now, in full -- show me your traitorous, worm-infested belly -- or i will kill you.

Nyra wasn't envious of the blackbird's love. If she was honest, she didn't care. But to her it was amusing how the blackbird got jealous in the blink of an eye just because she exchanged pleasantries with the Bearking.

The pale, giant woman would have been entirely too happy to leave well enough alone, but the shade-wraith bitch decided to approach with a challenge, and a threat.
Under any other circumstance, Nyra would have already ripped the blackbird's throat out viciously enough that there was no neck left. 
But this was supposed to be a gathering of allies, so bregrudgingly, the massive woman swallowed her pride and lowered herself to the dirt with flat ears and rolled over on her back, exposing her stomach. 

Though every part of her looked and held the submission the wraith had been looking for, especially her eyes, on the inside where it couldn't be seen, Nyra was a hellfire inferno. One who to be honest just wanted to go home, but whatever.


I may be submitting to you now, little shadow, but one day it will be you lowered to the dirt under me, if I don't slaughter you first. 

The saint lowers herself to the floor, Donovan watching the entire scene play out before him. Eyes watching Astara like a hawk. Though not for Nyra’s safety, for he knows if the onyx woman wants to kill her she probably could. 

As for authority, Donovan approves of Nyra’s decision. Much less complicated outcome. The alphas of both packs must be respected, easy as that. None of them would see the brindled male roll on his back for the other alphas or their pack. Though Nyra’s position is different than his. He too is an alpha, she is not. So therefore she must submit or face the consequences. Just as Auriel almost did with Nemisis. He stood back and watched that happen too. The dynamic is unmistakable — an alpha is to be obeyed. To disobey is an automatic challenge of rank. 

So he stands tall before them, face neutral. Watching closely for the interaction to go sour. Hell he almost expects it to. Even though to Donovan, he saw no true disrespect on Nyra’s part. This blackbird is jealous of her little coy lover. 

That puts a smile on his face. Only if she knew that it should Donovan himself that she should be targeting. Especially for the unseemly acts between himself and the dark pelaged bear wolf.

nyra.
merrick saw too, how she spoke one thing and incensed his lover in silent ways. his raven came forward then, the savage glide of her obsidian figure a silent promise for respect, even if it came at nyra's end.
merrick did not look toward departing aventus, nor did he glance toward the tiger, though his thoughts ran similar to that of donovan.
the great nyra did as was wordlessly bid; he approved of her snowy abdomen upturned in feral submission to the instinctual hierarchy that ran through each wolf. careful not to let his gaze linger beyond a cold glance for her disrespect, his attentions shifted, belonging in whole to his corvid once more.
so let it be written. so let it be done.

He strode away, feeling the ripple effect his pack, pulling them to him.
And one extra.
He paused, knowing the Saints were going to keep going, glad to run away from their allies.
He'd have to have a talk about that.

A shadow of the Urus alpha female had tried to run away too.
Was that woman really so scary?
He smirked softly. He really wanted to follow along. And Derg might be tempted to let him if Nyra wasn't indirectly causing trouble.

 

"Falbh dhachaigh, sgàil bheag."

He was glad that Nyra was just behaving though. Or whatever. She better hurry along, and waited for her to be released.

Oh, things were so tense. Evien hated it. So much posturing and unease. A roll of his eyes and a soft scoff was about as involved as he was going to get - completely disinterested in the dick-measuring contest. All he wanted was to bring their medic to his own den and talk about plants. Was that so hard?

Gesturing for Baptiste to follow, he'd lead the other man into the territory.

Evien exits here

last from me, for real <3

nyra bent the knee, supplying a brief flash of her soft and vulnerable stomach --

if only astara knew what would transpire in the weeks to come, she might have lunged into nyra's downy fur then, and eviscerated intestines from the ribs which held them -- but she was no seer, and saw only what was before her: an acceptable level of respect.

not exemplary, but acceptable was fine enough.

her gaze flickered contemptuously back to the gathering, which by now had dwindled to seldom few. astara noticed her son tracing after derg. with her head held high, astara strode past the supine nyra and her saintsmen, trailing after the form of her curious son protectively.

let merrick deal then, with the remainders -- astara had seen little show of worthiness among the saints today, and her son was far more compelling.

last from me too on this one :3 

As Astara left, Nyra was quickly on her paws again, shaking out her pelt with a sharp but subtle snort as she trotted off to join the rest of her pack as they were leaving. The giantess didn't look back as hellfire raged in her golden hues.