Dragoncrest Cliffs for day is near, the moon is set

promotion meeting! one post replies welcome <3 making the assumption that sobo & mireille would be back by now!

erzulie stood in bluepeace meadow with @Rosalyn and with @Chacal. the trio stood beneath the tree that would one day in spring bloom with leaves of vibrant meadow. alongside them, the sea crashed and spoke down below the cliffs, calling between the wide swatch of blackpine.
her heart was heavy. and yet it was light. 
sapphique had lived to its next generation of leadership.
her mate's presence calmed her, and at length she called for the pack. for @Njord and @Meerkat, for @Sobo and @Coraline, @Loko and mireille, for @Jorunn and @Hermes and @Dionysus. mireille, back within their fold! and sobo, who had forged in black waters first to find her.
"today be a good day for sapphique," erzulie said when they had all assembled. "today we welcome chacal into de place of de tanzanite." she would serve as rosalyn's heir there. her own mouth trembled, for it was a time of great emotion. of change. of welcome. of watching her own future become something else.
"we choose you," she said softly, turning to chacal. "de sea chooses you." in a warmer time she might have crowned chacal with a garland of twisted flowers. her cherie would wear a winter crown this time: a plait of teeth-twisted sea heather lifted in her jaws and laid gently over the gold-cloaked ears.
she would fall silent to hear chacal's words if her daughter should offer them, prepared to lead sapphique in a saltsong of pride and welcome once silence had come again.

The strapping young Beryl sat in a huddle with his littermates, conspicuously away from Njord and his little lover. The sight of Chacal standing up with their mothers filled Sobo with various warring emotions. He knew her better now and knew that she was good for Sapphique. Surely she deserved it in her own right.

But he glanced sidelong at his sister, and still believed that it should have been Mireille, that Chacal had been gone too long for this honour to be hers so soon.

He knew it would never be him or Loko. He had not come to terms with it, exactly, but it was easier to swallow these days. This was their lot in life. But it would have been easier still if it was her.

His eyes skimmed over the others — the unfamiliar grey she-wolf, the pair of younger boys whose fathers had both seemingly vanished — gauging their reactions before swivelling back to Erzulie. His face remained impassive throughout, but he lifted his voice with the rest of the pack and tried to act like he was proud.

ever since mireille's return, she had kept close to sobo, as close as she was able.
she knew nothing of his thoughts currently. her own eyes were upon chacal. she was fond of her gold-caped sister, though she did not know the older she-wolf as well as she would like.
and it hurt to see her maman rosalyn stepped down from her position.
still she trusted her mothers. if they had chosen chacal, mireille saw no reason to resist.
in her heart lurked a fear that had not dissipated since returning, and her own song was low, notes spiraling out over the salt before she steadied herself with a glance to sobo.

Leaning against Njord, Meerkat stole the opportunity to peer around at the gathered faces. She offered a smile to anyone whose eye she caught, cataloging the faces she didn’t recognize and making a casual checklist. She wanted to introduce herself to everyone personally, though now was not the time.

Facing front when Erzulie spoke, Meerkat was captivated by the small ceremony playing out. She wondered what the Obsidian meant by, “The sea chooses you.” She would have to ask Njord later, in the comfort of their shared den. She still had much ground to cover when it came to integration in Sapphique.

Her brown eyes admired the botanical crown Erzulie bestowed upon the heiress. When the time came to rally in congratulations, Meerkat added her gentle voice to the chorus.

Rosalyn watched quietly from her place behind. She had allowed Chacal to take to the fore with her mate, but was a supportive presence, watching with pride as her daughter took the position she had left vacant. The only one she would ever bear... and infinitely deserving, though she'd never thought to expect it. Raleska and Reyes had each taught her the dangers of expectation.

Erzulie's words were perfect. She had no need to speak, and that was good because she had no words to give. Everything she felt was written clearly enough on her features. With little need to watch the others any longer, her single eye was solely for the other two, awaiting her wife's cue and joining in the celebration, when given, of their future.

Present yet far gone. That was how Hermes felt now. He stood close to his brother in the midst of the crowd of blurred faces. He stared absently at the newly crowned tanzanite. Erzulie’s speech fell upon deaf ears.
And all he could think about now was how quickly he could get back to his mindless work.

jorunn watched with wonder when she arrived.

what a beautiful ceremony, a lovely way to recover from the damper of rosalyn's step down. the words of the sea hummed warmly in the granite's ears.

quickly she looked over the crowd, all faces she vaguely recognized but far and few she was deeply acquainted with. regardless it was nice to see the heart of sapphique all together.

this promotion event would undoubtedly leave her warmer to the sea wolves.

Njord leaned into Meerkat as they watched the procession together, sharing the moment. His steady gaze fixed upon young Chacal beside her mothers. The sea air blew strong that day, and pulled at the heiress’ dark mane. As Erzulie’s speech concluded, Njord let out a woop to voice his support for their new Tanzanite… unaware that others in the pack did not share these joyous sentiments.

He tipped back his maw and howled with the pack to welcome Chacal into her new rank. A new page was turning, and Njord was eager to help pen it.

Naturally, Chacal had mixed feelings regarding her promotion, but she did her best to remain optimistic. The responsibility now bestowed upon her wasn't simply a matter of legacy and inheritance, though she worried some might think it to be so. She had to believe, though, that Erzulie and Rosalyn had chosen her because they saw the future of Sapphique thriving with her as a part of the leadership. She could only hope she did not disappoint them. 

Her excitement was mixed with apprehension. She wished her mothers could simply live forever, and keep Sapphique exactly the way it was. The peppering of grey fur and the crease of fine lines she did not notice, as they adorned the faces she had loved so dearly since birth. Still, there was a tangible riptide that loomed, subtle but frightening. She loathed the idea that it might one day sweep those she loved away from her. 

She heard the voices of her packmates, and tried to allow her emotions to be buoyed by their confidence, though she felt some of her own confidence waver. She sat still as a laurel was placed upon her crown, but the words 

de sea chooses you

Stirred a memory that might have made her stiffen a bit. @Valravn. Where was her brother now? She missed him, especially now. What would he think to know she had been chosen to lead Sapphique? Would he have scorned her or congratulated her? Or would he return, one day, to challenge her?

She took a deep breath, and could not allow herself to be so troubled. She exhaled and smiled somewhat nervously, before she straightened up a bit. She would have to do this. She would have to fit the crown that was placed upon her head and not bow beneath its weight. Words were not her strength, especially when under pressure. But the phrase she had uttered many times before came to mind, and floated upon a gentle, memorable melody. 

"Sapphique toujours."

loko sat behind sobo, a passive observer. each wolf swam in his vision, his mind sticky. unpacked.

he shared the sentiment of his brother. conflict rose in him like a wave. chacal was blood. seawater in her veins. but she was also wayfarer. different. she’d walked away from the cliffs and come back.

he was not loko but an outsider peering in. his gut twisted as he thought of rosalyn. nothing - not laurelwreathed chacal or smiling meerkat - could obscure the meaning of this change. like a loose tooth, loko thumbed silently at his worry until howls broke the sky.

he wished to be happy, but grey had moved in.