Dragoncrest Cliffs Toujours

@Mireille first and then all please join :)
@Valravn @Theo @Coraline @Raelle @Maleah @Astera @Thibault

Her coat still slick with oceanwater, Chacal carried the last of the necessary oysters to the pile which had been placed in a heap below the great arch that overlooked Siren's Bay. She and Mireille had been fishing all morning- enlisting some help from Suzu, given the sheer amount of oysters that they would need to find for the celebration. She counted them over again, to make sure that they had enough for each participant to take three. 

Two great conches had been filled with sea water, and had been set off to the side, nestled into a bowl in the sand, dug out to keep them from toppling over and spilling the water once placed on the ground. 

An unspoken excitement was shared, anticipating how delighted the children might be, and how pleased the pack as a whole might be with the coming announcements. Once they were ready, she looked to her sister with a smile, and together they summoned every member of the pack to join them in Siren's Bay.

sharing the hours before a pack gathering with chacal helped the sisters consistently reaffirm their bond. mireille found herself more talkative today, speaking fondly of coraline's return and commenting on how quickly chiro and chani had grown.
six months, and in another eyeblink her own children would be the same age. winter hunters.
her pelt shimmered with sparkling droplets; her face was a study in delight and readiness.
making a mental note to ask chacal about organizing a larger hunt with the rise, mireille checked the conches a final time and then wound her voice with that of the tanzanite.
sapphique's powerful beauty was lavish that day, ready to be strengthened by another ceremony to bind them closer.

Rae returned quickly to Sapphique, unwilling to relinquish her duties to the pack for too long. It was this sense of productivity which kept her grounded, purposeful. To an extent. As time went on she felt increasingly directionless; lacking in any solid goals or dreams for her future.

It wasn't that she'd never thought of it. Once, she'd had a whole plan for her life — back when she was too young to put such plans into action, too young to know the burdens that came with it. Now she didn't know what she wanted.

But she knew how to answer a summons well enough. So she abandoned her hunt and went to answer the call, greeting Chacal and Mireille with a smile. Then, in spite of herself, she looked for Suzu.

Her first meeting since her return, and in it Coraline rejoiced — a well distraction from the onslaught of grief. Proudly the seawoman emerges from the tunnel, gracing the white sand; tail a waving ribbon of cinnamon-honey. An outward smile to her sisters; new faces, young and old.
Chacal has filled out with age into an effervescent young woman, mature and tall and now roja; and despite the warmth that blossoms as she gazes upon the seabrine huntress in her newfound position, the pang of hurt at her mothers' absence holds firm.
But surely they are proud; surely, they chose this, even if she was not here— not here. She had missed so much.
But she was here now. Here to heed the call of the sea; here to watch as the bodies swarm upon the coast, and here to be one with her family again.

A first meeting as a woman of Sapphique, as pearl; and quickly did Maleah come, flitting about as a darklit sandrider from bluepeace to the bay.
Mireille glows, Chacal glistens; and Maleah greets each with a small grin of her own, sand-tattered ears flicking to the sides of her head. She hurriedly finds a place to sit as faces both known and foreign usher in, honey-lemon eyes lit with an expression of inquiry.

Oystercatching was tiring. 

While she was adept at swimming and treading water, Suzu's natural buoyancy made it more difficult for her to fight the water and dive down far enough to harvest the shells. And between the sparkling bubbles of water, the constant turn of waves and the long, billowing strands of kelp, even spotting an oyster was a challenge. Sometimes she felt herself running out of air just as she caught a glimpse of one- and by the time she rose to gasp, and then dove back down, the current had carried her several metres away. 

Physical labour had never been her forte, but she'd helped out as much as she could, before she landed at the beach, thoroughly soaked and exhausted. Her mother and Mireille set about searching for conches, and Suzu excused herself, treading wearily down the beach toward an inlet where she had stashed some food. There, on a flat rock, she flopped and settled for a nap. 

She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep for when the call came out. Her fur was still wet, though- an indication that she'd perhaps only been asleep for a matter of minutes. She stood, still heavy from exhaustion, and shook another round of seawater from her pelt, before she moseyed back down the beach toward the gathering congregation. 

She pulled up alongside Raelle, mouth opening in a wide, noisy yawn before she smacked her lips, and settled down next to her friend, waiting for the rest to show up. 

Surely, once the children arrived, she'd perk up a bit more.

old faces mingled with new; coraline had returned, and the blood of sapphique was strong in the assembly before him.

val cast his gaze to each warmly. chacal’s pelt slick with saltwater, mireille glistening — raelle‘s gaze searched the crowd while maleah drew to their fold, watchful. and suzu — she looked tired. val grinned sympathetically to see her so thoroughly put to work.

curiouser than the oysters at chacal and mireille’s feet, were the conches filled with water. val took his place discretely to the side, leaving space for the young to make their grand appearance.

He came in at no longer a waddle, but a crawling pace of a walk and stiff body once he stopped. His eyes were beady, but wide, staring forward and quirking his head all about at the strange items and gathering! And faces he'd not grown familiar with- they made him nervous. By now, the boys size started to show. His puppy coat was plush, thick and red.

He looked over to his Val's direction before whispering from afar, "Va, papa, what happenin'?"

Theo heard the pack meeting call and he went over with perked ears

tante coraline. chani, who tried very hard to be more poised that day, could not stop curious glances from flying the newcomer's way. it was so odd, to have an unknown face around that really wasn't unknown at all. coraline wasn't a stranger, she was just — well.
distracted by the showings of hard work, especially by her sister suzu's obvious tiredness. chani trotted to them first, offering a nudge to suzu and a grin to raelle; she stuck out her tongue at val; she pretended to kick a little sand at maleah's ankle; she nipped theo's shoulder; she wound close to chacal and laughed at something mireille was saying.
the oxide-eyes blinked, and then chani was making her way toward coraline, beside whom she settled. "hey," the girl said in a stage whisper.

There was a meeting. A rally for the pack. Astera's first. So what was the occasion? Huh. she quickly made way for the beach, taking note of the collected oysters. Was this a game? A celebration?

Tousaint had become sullen, distant and quiet in the past few days. Bitterly, he avoided the other children, and his bid for solitude made him quiet company for the adults who checked in on him, only to find him disinterested, abrupt and standoffish. He began to find himself growing lonely and isolated. 

When the call came for the wolves to be drawn together, he did not want to go. Had he not been lurking near the tide pools, he might have avoided the ordeal altogether. He approached, noticing the gathering of wolves on the beach under the great arch, and the pile of oysters on the sand. He looked for Valravn, and wandered to his side, head down and ears folded back. 

Toward Astera, he gave one brief glance- exhaling a soft hiss through bared teeth to warn her to stay as far away from him as possible while he plunked himself down beside Valravn, turning a blind eye to his brother who he hoped would have the common sense to leave him alone.

she was not far behind astera. her small steps were noticed by val, but she ignored him - as well as all the other faces collected that day.

miette’s focus was on chacal - the oysters, and the conches in the sand.

she had the good sense to sit on astera’s side, where she was shielded from any glance from tousaint.

miette turned, ears cupped ahead.

Round two!

I will ask all Sapphique participants to wait to post again until they have been tagged. We'll have a mini round here with just a few replies, and then we'll get back to the pearl celebration.

In the meantime, feel free to do go your pearl rolls in preparation, in this thread!

Most of the wolves present knew what was taking place, but for the children and for Coraline, an important ceremony was about to take place. The tension amid the youth was palpable, and she noted with only faint concern the way that Astera and Miette seemed to be opposed by Tousaint. Chani sat next to her aunt, and Thibault next to Val. Maleah looked about excitedly, likely because her own pearl ceremony had not been long ago- and now she would witness another one. Side by side, Raelle and Suzu; something about their friendly postures caused a spark to jump to Chacal's eyes.

She welcomed them with song, as she had always done.

"We welcome you all, on dis fine Autumn day,
as we celebrate toget'er, in de family way.
We celebrate de children, in deir coming of age,
an' Coraline, who has returned, to our saltwater stage.

T'ree oysters you choose, opened one at a time,
until deep within, a pearl you will find.
Show it to de pack, an' I will tell to you,
de meaning of your pearl, an' how it will guide you."

She looked to Mireille, a twinkling in her eye.

"But first,"

She said, stepping back, and allowing her sister to step forward. Her smiling lips quivered as she attempted, poorly, to keep herself from absolutely beaming.

the obsidian too noted how the children seemed — particularly averse to one another. making a mental note to take them aside, or perhaps with chacal at another time, mireille set her attentions on making this yet another fine ceremony for their pack.
suzu and raelle were given their own once-over, the red woman attentive to her sister's perceptions. they had become a well-working and intuitive team, and on her better mornings she felt that erzulie and rosalyn would truly be proud of their daughters.
chacal's voice began soothingly, and mireille leant into the magickal sirensong that her sister had cultivated to lustrous silk over the years.
a smile dazzled for coraline, returned to their fold, and she was pleased to see that chani appeared to have accepted the newer woman as one belonging to them.
oysters, pearls; she was filled with a girlish delight for the moment to come when she could join them in their playful searches.
chacal paused their ritual, however, looking knowingly to mireille. there was a rejoicing in her heart as she stepped into the place before their assembly, sweeping them all with a warm look before she settled on the man who had dedicated himself entirely to sapphique, to them.
"@Val," mireille grinned, "come here." her eyes took him in; she tried to keep all from her gaze but the proper affection for his loyalty. and perhaps she would be successful, and perhaps for a moment's iota she would let something tiny shift because she could not allow it to smother without a breath.
"sapphique has stood strong wid your streng't, val. after — after we had to rebuild  de life we had, you have always been t'ere. you do not waver an' if you fear, i donnae see it." he was a granite stone upon the edge of a warm beach, sentinel as much as the blackpines which feathered their scent upon the crisp air.
"de children love you, an' from you dey will be able to learn so much. you be family, val, eternal an' steadfast as we have all been in sapphique."
her emerald eyes shone with a teasing light, a wry look as she softly challenged, "be aventurine to us. to all of us. a stone which holds de sea. a stone dat is immovable."

his family assembled.

thibault spoke in a quiet inquiry: pearl ceremony he mouthed to the boy, keeping quiet while faces spilled in. he smiled warmly to chani's impish greeting, waved silently to theo and astera; but it was tousaint's stormy entrance that caught his eye. he made note to ask the boy later.

chacal's song broke over the congregation. val stood at attention, ears perked and expression that of warmth and excitment. he recalled his own pearl ceremony -- how stingray had been so proud -- the grinning faces of every sapphique wolf as each tried their mettle against the tough shells.

he wondered just what the pause was in chacal's voice - the way her eyes twinkled told him something was up her sleeve. when mireille took to stage val was shocked to find her eyes fall upon him. a current thrummed under his skin.

she beckoned him forward.

with a reassuring smile sent to both tousaint and thibault, val rose from the sand. a sense of shyness took his heart, to be called upon in front of a gathering -- but val did his best to hide his trepidation, standing before mireille with his gaze sparkling. a soft gasp spilled from his mouth unbidden as mireille continued -- offering him a rank all his own of the most beautiful color.

he looked to each of their faces. some -- most of them -- he'd grown up alongside. but others, like maleah and coraline, had come into their fold as if they'd never been absent. he was so singularly proud of them -- of this moment -- that his heart sang as he quietly replied: i will -- i'm honored.

Watching Mireille step forward to speak in front of the others never failed to stoke her everlasting faith. Had the bear taken her soul alongside the others, the pack would have still thrived with her sister taking the lead. And now, as she addressed Valravn, their future was secured once more.

She thought of Sobo, and tears came to her eyes. For Valravn they had coined a new rank, one still oceanic in hue, and so appropriate in name considering that Valravn had always been an adventurer.

She kept an ear bent toward her sister, and with a watery, wandering eye she watched Valravn's expression as he listened to Mireille speak. Chacal silently made her way to the two conches which had been settled into the sand, and with a couple careful swipes of her paws, she uprooted them. She placed one at Mireille's feet, before she retrieved the other and returned to Mireille's side just in time to hear him accept the position.

The water shimmered inside the lip of the conch. She grinned, her teeth clenching slightly against the shell's edge, and gave Mireille a slight nod. Then, she turned so she could stand alongside Valravn, shell quivering lightly in her mouth. There, she slanted the eye nearest to him back, and wrinkles formed between the edges of her lip and the underside of her eye.

It was the safest and friendliest way to christen Valravn without forcing him to wade into the waters he detested, but she wasn't about to lie to him and say that it hadn't been her suggestion. So while it was intended to be very much a stately and ceremonious thing, Chacal could hardly wait to get to publicly dump a conch shell full of cold seawater all over her brother's head and shoulders.

She would wait for Mireille, of course- before she would tilt her head back, and pour the water over the very back of his crown and down his shoulders, a glistening, silverish cape of seawater.

he was so shy, this val of theirs. but through surprise and emotion, he accepted their rank of aventurine, and a beam was upon her mouth as proud tears shone in her eyes. 
it was where he belonged, and mireille was pleased to have him with herself and chacal in a role he had proven himself fit to hold, over and over.
chacal took up her conch, and with a mischievous light sparkling in her own emerald expression, mireille gently grabbed her own.
it was a fine idea; the scent of brine hung within the air and together the sisters baptized val with a piece of the ocean he had never quite come to adore as they did, but in this moment, they were all touched by the waves which lapped outside the ironstone walls of their vaunted home.
all was right, and her joy was immeasurable, a laugh echoing out around the corners of her held conch.

val's breath shuddered with captive pride. chacal watched him, the rim of her golden gaze glittering. between her and mireille, the surface of the water held in the conches shimmered.

trouble simmered in that gaze of hers. before val knew it, he was baptized by saltwater; the sensation sending a thousand needles of alarm chittering through his fur. his stomach flipped -- he heard distantly the bubble of mireille's laugh, but he was too busy fighting back a scream.

the water dribbled from his head, down his spine, through his skin like icy mercury. val swallowed back his terror, a brave face put out for the world as he sat there, newly minted as sapphique's first aventurine.

He stiffened like a nervous colt feeling a blanket spread across his withers for the first time. Cool water poured down his nape and threaded its way through his fur and back down to the ground, where it disappeared in the sand. She put the conch on the ground and nosed away a rivulet of water from his cheek, rumbling affectionately in his ear as a means to congratulate and calm.

She stepped back, now considering Valravn a leader as well, bathing him in a proud smile.

"We welcome Valravn to de role of Aventurine,
to 'elp guide us an' lead us t'rough thick an' thin.
To Sapphique, you be true,
we 'ave faith in you,
an' we now invite de pearl ceremony to begin!"

She chimed.

"Take your oysters, an' choose t'ree.
Open one at a time, until you see
a pearl- it will tell your destiny."

She said, stepping back and fully expecting a bit of a ruckus to break out amongst the young ones as they picked out their oysters.

miette waited - oh, to her enormous credit, she waited so patiently! she barely paid attention as the adults spoke of val and his leadership - big deal! all the same, a curl appeared on her lips to see him stiffen, and she elbowed astera in a shared snicker.

the rivulets of water on val's back scarcely hit the ground before miette was up by chacal's urging, flying greedily towards the oysters. she seized three and laid them out neatly, made a great show of deliberating which one to strike first -- and then, seizing a plump one between her teeth cracked it.

she felt something hard between her teeth and spit it out, glancing to her fellows so they could see she was skilled enough to get one first try. but the pearl! oh, it was so ugly -- a sad, brown little thing that had miette's eyes darken in hidden disappointment.

He chuckled quietly when his mother and aunt dumped a conch full of saltwater over Val's head and shoulders, amused to see what looked almost like a prank to him. He couldn't help but wonder if this happened for every wolf who became a leader and if so- those celebrations would always be a little bit funny. 

He perked up a bit when Chacal instructed them on how to find their pearl, nodding along with the instructions and he'd barely stood up when his sister sped toward the pile, hastily stashing her three oysters aside. He watched with a slanted gaze, before he strode forward himself- excited, but doing his best to remain poised as he leafed through the pile with a gentle paw, picked out three oysters and carried them one by one back to his spot. 

Much to his chagrin, the first oyster had no pearl in it. He double checked, poking around in the oyster's meat before he ate it carefully- not wanting to accidentally swallow a pearl if he'd missed one. 

He heard his sister crack hers open, and glanced over to see her pull a small, dark brown pearl. He thought it was pretty, but she looked thoroughly unimpressed. It served her right, after having stolen his beloved fox brush. He cracked a bit of a grin, and opened his second oyster. 

While it was small, he could feel the little bead in the oyster's flesh right away, and eagerly fished it out- licking it clean and setting it in one of the empty oyster shells. He'd not expected to find a black pearl, not when the majority of them were typically a bit lighter in hue; he thought it unique, and likely full of meaning and he felt himself bursting with pride as he looked up to see what explanation he might be given.

Oh, she was so happy for him. Of all of them, Val deserved this position the most.

Upon her mother's invitation she joined Miette is a dash for the oysters. Selecting three, the first and smallest one hid no pearl. Astera pushed it aside, finally extracting a violet pearl from the next. Oh, how it shined in the sunlight, and how it matched her eyes. It was beautiful.

She turned her lilac gaze upon Miette, curious to see her find. It was a small, brown pearl, a mirror of Sobeille's own appearance. As she opened her mouth to say words of praise about the tiny spere, she held her tongue, seeing the disappointment in her eyes. After a moment of consideration, Astera pawed her own purple pearl towards Miette, offering an exchange. It was only a pearl, after all.

val, aventurine! mireille grinned, then stepped back as the children approached. it was pleasant to her that val would now take place in their ceremonies as leadership, encouraging the bond between newcomer and their young alike.
val.
she thought of spring.
she lifted her voice in a delighted tone as oysters began to be cracked open and pearls revealed!

chani laughed loudly as val was doused! it was funny to see him all wet on land, and she exchanged a delighted glance with chiro before chacal motioned them forward.
as she was not a baby, chani approached with studious eyes and selected three oysters, carrying them off a small distance away to keep the little ones from being too nosy.
the first oyster gave its pearl, and chani was left with a large moongilt pearl which mirrored that her auntie mireille was carrying. pleased to share this commonality, chani strutted closer and sat near the obsidian, looking now to her mother.