Silvertip Mountain When Snows Arrive

No posting order, fast rounds. Tagging for visibility and if you miss some rounds just join in whenever! Round ends Monday 23rd. @Zaria @Steady @Chaska @Alastor @Ryuu @Cho @Mason @June

FitzDutiful was feeling the need to get his pack more connected. The winters were due to begin and already he could feel the start of winter turning its cold face towards them. Any moment and she was going to start blowing and that would cause the snows to come. He was slightly concerned that Zaria would find the winter's too cold but he had a plan for that, something he was going to do later. For now, he wanted the pack to be as a family should be and think of each other.

His new meeting point was near the lake of Silvertip Mountain, a lake that then ran into the depth of Ravensblood Forest, it was his favourite spot of the mountain for it allowed them a view of all the land - when the mist wasn't strong. This evening, the mist was just beginning to build up. It provided them protection, even as it took away their sight for they were above all and no one could see them. Lifting his muzzle, he howled for his pack to come and reconnect.

Playing it like she's a little late despite posting first, lmao.

She was just returning from a trip in to the lowlands when she heard the call. The voice of her father spread like the mist upon the mountainside; eager to see him, June picked up speed and worked the pathways. Halfway up, a bird flit through the trees - it was a tiny thing, a sparrow maybe. Its tiny movements were so fast she almost couldn't follow them - but it was enough to distract her. 

Why was she on the mountain again? Oh! Right, daddy.

Pivoting around a cluster of pine trees, June skidded over some rocks and continued her search for her father. He wasn't in the usual meeting place. Clearly she had no sense of direction, because she had not ended up in the forest where her father had settled. After a bit of confused wandering, she emerged from a gap in the trees in time to witness her dad - and at least one other wolf - hanging out in the mist.

Zaria was with Fitz as he decided for another meeting. It wasn't often Zaria wasn't by his side, only her trip to the hot springs were without him. Zaria wasn't going to admit it any time soon but she was getting rather attached to Fitz. Her wound was getting better, the skin had closed up leaving her only without fur where the wound previously was. This pleased the vain girl because it looked like he fur was going to grow back neatly over it. She couldn't walk around with such a big ass scar. She wanted to keep her beauty.

What she didn't like was the incoming cold. Since a few days the wet and windy autumn turned into a more colder and had a frosty nip to it. Currently she had snuggled herself against her personal heater (Fitz). She would soon realize what other surprise was waiting for her. Though in this moment she just threw her head back and howled with him. The alpha pair sounding as one united front.

Chaska stood to his paws at hearing the alpha's howl. Right away, he began trotting along. The coming cold was soon to be upon them, and he had prepared himself as best he can, expanding his den a little wherever he could. He may yet survive this winter, like the past ones.

He found Fitz and Zaria near a misty lake, the grounded cloud rolling in swiftly. The mist suited him, clouding everything from him, but also towards him. No one would see him coming. A good defensive position, if one was to learn the lay of the land. He sat on haunches across the couple, catching a glimpse of the arrival of the alpha's daughter. Chaska gives a bow of his head, his tail swishing softly from side to side across the ground.

Mason’s ears tipped upwards when he heard his Dad’s howl. Immediately his muzzle lifted to the sky, joining with the call for a few discordant notes, before he bounded towards the sound. He had not been doing much, just milling around the lands and trying to find herbs.  
    
He knew where Dad would be making the meeting point, and so he didn’t need much thought as he headed towards the lake. Although it was not the old meeting point, he knew what it meant to his Dad, and he innately knew this is where the Alpha would be calling them to. This was where he had been initiated. Ranger. A name only Dad, he and June knew. Something that even Zaria did not know, and Mason had decided, would probably never know. If he ever gave anyone that name, it would be his children. Perhaps if he met and fell in love and mated with a girl, he would give her that name. But for now it remained a secret between the three true Silvertips. 

Mason emerged from the mist like a ghost, on the opposite side of June. Of course there was a moment’s hesitation when he spotted the small cluster of wolves that incorporated his family. His favourite beings. Orange eyes burned through the fog, but without further hesitation he padded around the lake’s edge towards Fitz, June and Zaria. Brown/grey-tipped ears were semi-flat, wispy tail nearly between his legs, but he reached his goal nevertheless. Mason held his breath as he reached up to nuzzle at his Dad’s chin. He did not give Zaria a further glance, because he knew he couldn’t meet her beautiful eyes and keep up this braveness. Instead Mason turned to greet June with a brotherly lick square on her forehead. 

Mason wished his feelings were settled, but he did know this – he desperately wanted to banish all heartaches over Zaria. They were getting more and more infrequent. To help him in this, he had not spoken a word to her since that day when he had helped her with her wound. He had watched her from a distance, worried about her wound’s progress. He cared for her, and he likely always would. But he did feel like his ‘love’ for her was beginning to fade into the back of his mind. That was what he was focussed on, intent on moving it towards a platonic relationship only. Unrequited love was pointless and hurting everyone.

Mason turned around, sidled around the group, before settling into a spot at his Dad’s right side. The rightful place of the heir, taken back after all the silliness. Mason’s posture straightened as he waited for others to show up.

/Casually tosses in a gloomy bum because why not

An off-feeling had settled into the pit of the male’s stomach, though he wasn’t yet sure what it meant. He was certain it was not an illness, or at least not one of your “standard” colds. It was, however, something he’d felt before, but couldn’t quite place a claw on exactly when and where he’d felt it. Either way, it made him uncertain, driving him to consider heading off on a long trip around Teekon. A part of him wanted to, even urged him to, but something continued to hold him back. He’d made a promise to teach June, and though they hadn’t met since then, he wasn’t going to take off and break his word. That one bit was the only thing keeping him from straying too far away. No matter how often the urge to explore hit him, he refrained from falling victim to its persuasions—for now, anyways.

Alastor was lingering along the edges of the pack’s territory, icy eyes glancing out in the direction of the sea every once in awhile. Since his arrival at the mountain, he’d yet to seek out the Bay, but something told him he wouldn’t have had much luck even if he’d tried. Little to no movement had been seen as far as he could tell, leading him to believe that the pack had either relocated, or was no longer around. Both options saddened him, sending him into a bit of a slump. It was times like that in which the itch to travel grew especially difficult to scratch, but not impossibly so. He was in the process of fighting with himself when a howl sounded throughout the mountain, accompanied by another that seemed to mix with it, and then responded to by one much shorter. His own voice did not rise, but he did answer the call by forcing himself to head in the direction from which it’d originated. He was mildly disinterested in the reasoning behind the pack being called together, finding that his mind was elsewhere. Though he entered the area where the others waited, his thoughts were miles away, hidden within the sky—that is, until his gaze found the family stationed at the front of things. It was then that he understood the feeling in his stomach, knowing it to be his own loneliness, combined, perhaps, with homesickness. It’d been a long while since he was in Greece, but despite that, he didn’t miss it any less.

The Greek approached the others quietly, expression somber rather than enthusiastic. He was not good at faking what he felt, never had been and perhaps never would be, but he did try. He gave a nod of greeting to all before settling himself down on his haunches, waiting to hear the reason they were called together. It didn’t seem to be urgent, but the way things seemed were not always how they truly were. So, he kept himself silent while waiting, working to drag his mind back down from the clouds above.

Steady had been wandering around the base of the mountain, winding through the trees at a leisurely pace. To an outsider, he may have looked lazy, just walking through and not doing much else. But, Steady was always on guard when it came to the borders. He spent the majority of his time patrolling them and making sure the pack was safe. If anyone asked, he would admit he rather enjoyed it. It was a comfort to know his pack mates were safe and he was helping ensure that.

He wasn't, however, always in the best position for a howl. He could tell where it was coming from, and he wasn't exactly nearby. He returned a short howl, letting them know he was on his way. He climbed where he needed to, and ran where he could, until he reached the group.

In a rare display showing his still-young age, Steady went to his belly and dragged himself the last few feet, huffing and puffing as he did so. He came to a stop beside Mason, obviously overacting when he plopped down to his side and let his head drop with his body, his tongue lolling out of his jaws. After just a second, he looked to Mason and grinned before getting back up and taking a seat across from the leaders, now in a display of mock seriousness, his chest puffed out and his body as still as a statue. The ever-loyal soldier.

It wasn't often that Steady wasn't mature and serious, but there was something about the pack coming together that got him into a playful mood. Probably not the best time since these meetings usually leaned toward the serious side, and he could get in trouble with his brother for playing around. But, Steady wasn't perfect.

So sorry this is late, didn't expect things to be this hectic :D Round ends Saturday 28th

FitzDutiful waited, with Zaria by his side, as the wolves began to arrive. He smiled at each of them in turn as they arrived, feeling ever so proud that each of them would come to a gathering like this - a chance to reconnect. Above all stood out the fact that June arrived independently of Mason and that Mason came to his side when he got there. His two children were growing up so fast. Steady, the last to arrived, did so with a playful manner and FitzDutiful stifled a small laugh though he didn't try to keep the shine away from his eyes. That was just the sort of mood this needed.

"Winter is fast approaching and soon the snows will begin. This may be new to some of you, but it make it less fearful I though we'd try something new." Turning around, FitzDutiful brought six stones into the centre and carefully arranged them. Each stone was slightly different to the other; there was a big dark round one, a small white one, an egg shaped one, a moss coloured one, an almost square one with very sharp edges and an almost see-through one.

"Each of these stones represents one of you. One by one, pick a stone and afterwards I'll whisper to you who you've got. This'll be the person that you've got to find a present for to surprise them with. " He didn't know what he would do if someone picked up their own stone, make it up on the fly he supposed. As long as everyone went to someone else it didn't really matter who got what stone.

Zaria had been a bit skeptical about her mate's idea at first when he explained the idea to her. Though, once she realized that she would get a present too that made the whole thing a lot more fun. Zaria had no idea what she had to get for any of her pack mates, so in that sense Fitz had been right that it was good for bonding. Secretly she hoped she would pick Fitz. She looked at her mate and shifted more towards his direction. If it wasn't so cold she might have joined Steady into his playfulness and frolic around with him, but Fitz started to explain about the stones.

Zaria got to her feet, her tail up as she trotted forward to the stone. The dominant little thing looked over the types of stones. She wanted to pick first, just like how Fitz and her would eat first. She glanced over the stones. She felt like the one with the sharp edges might be hers, though she didn't like the fact that she would be see-through. No, she was a brick wall, only lowering pieces for someone she allowed to see. Her green eyes glanced over the types. Would the big black one represent Steady? The little white one that wasn't perfectly round June? Six stones, she counted the wolves. Her, Fitz, Mason, June, Steady, Alastor, Chaska... that was seven. "Don't we need one more stone?," she asked to her mate then.

Chaska let off a yawn. The night before had not been so pleasant with him. Unconsciously, his forelegs slipped forward, and another yawn came, blocking out the first sentence from his ears. But the second sentence caught his attention, and he sat halfway back up, staring at the stones. One of his eye-ridges quirked up in a skeptical look. How was this going to help with the winter? Then an idea popped into his head. Which was quickly demolished by Fitz's explanation.

He couldn't help but wonder which one represented him. But then, he realized something. The same very thing Zaria asked about. There were indeed six. So whose stone was not present?

"Must we figure out who is who?" he voiced, as Fitz had not said which rock represented who. Of course, he may have been getting ready to say it before Chaska asked. Oddly enough, Chaska thought he may be the moss one. Why? He didn't really know.

Quickie post where June, being June, screws up.

June liked games. It seemed as if this meeting would become a big game - so when her father finished explaining, her enthusiasm was overwhelming. She dove quickly towards the pile, scooping up the small white rock in her muzzle and then settling back, flumping her butt down and grinning at the surrounding wolves, the stone held carefully between her teeth. Did she win the game?

As everyone meant to be there seemed to be accounted for, the reasoning behind their sudden call to gather around was revealed. Though the Greek listened, the task worried him more than it excited him. He knew little of his fellow pack mates, if anything at all, so the idea of having to find a gift for one of them was… well, alarming, to say the least. He didn’t know what he would do, especially if he messed up and chose the stone representing someone he’d never even spoken with before. That left him with only one option—figure out which rock was meant to represent himself, then snag it before anyone else could. It was a terribly childish thing to do, he wouldn’t deny that, but he saw no other options. It was unusual for him to be as unsocial as he’d been lately, but he felt himself unable to help it. It seemed that whenever he got close, made a friend he believed would always be there, they left. They’d leave and he would be left alone, broken down and defeated. With the unlucky streak he’d been given in the past, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise that he was reluctant to get to know the other wolves of the mountain.

Gently, he shook his head, clearing his mind of thoughts of the past, not wanting to dampen his mood any further. Alastor rose up and took a few steps towards the array of various rocks that’d been laid out, examining them from afar to try and figure out which was his. Before he could reach them, however, he was brought to a halt by an observation that’d been announced—someone didn’t have a stone. Perhaps that someone would be him, and he’d be let off easy. Though it pained him a bit to admit to such immature thoughts, he couldn’t help but hope it was his own stone that was missing and not someone else’s. The male didn’t wish to partake in any activities that were so involved, and wished his desire would be answered by the Gods and Goddesses.

Alastor sat back on his haunches, deciding to leave the outcome to fate, and also awaiting a reply from the leading male. The argent fellow focused intently on the lighter man, ears pressed forward as he awaited a name to be said—or, rather, his name to be said.

Thankfully, no one seemed put off by his playful arrival, and he quickly settled in when Fitz began to speak. It seemed the meeting was to introduce a pack activity. Steady thought it seemed pretty straight-forward, but what kind of gift would he give someone? He would need to come up with something good. June was quick to be the first to choose a rock, and Steady smiled at her enthusiasm.

But, there seemed a hitch in the plan, since there weren't enough rocks to go around. Was one wolf not going to choose? Steady waited to see if there would be a solution to the problem, or if it wasn't really a problem at all.

So sorry I missed the deadline, hope I can pop my reply in here no issues x

Mason grinned as he watched Steady crawl towards him, playful and gently teasing. He reached down to snap in pretence at that lolling tongue, before Steady got back up and sat in his usual place. Alastor looked like death warmed up and Mason cast him a sympathetic glance. He looked sidelong at his Dad as he started speaking. 

Mason nodded thoughtfully at the words – snow was indeed new to him. He was enjoying its soft qualities, but not the wet cold that came with it. Mason didn’t have a very thick undercoat. His Dad suddenly turned and produced six stones. Mason’s tail began wagging with excitement. He darted to his feet immediately, but noticed Zaria was on her paws too and she was alpha-female-ing it. He stood stock still whilst she chose her stone. 

But then she didn’t. She just started to question his Dad’s reasoning. Mason pursed his lips and stepped forwards, careful to approach the stones from the opposite side. June also approached and actually picked a stone – she chose the little white one, which Mason had been angling for, because it reminded him of her. Oh well. Ignoring Zaria and Chaska who were making this game less fun, Mason reached out and grabbed the mouldy-looking moss-coloured stone. He gripped it in his teeth and, like his sister, returned to his seat. He resisted the urge to snap at the others to just pick one. He was excited to know his result.

I should be able to start the next one Saturday, December 5th

In truth, he hadn't expected anyone to notice but it seemed as though everyone was going to wait for Zaria's response before doing anything, so FitzDutiful replied; "I'll be choosing things for anyone that might join us and those that haven't made it today. But a stone may be there to represent me... You don't have to guess who is who," he said, telling Chaska as he watched June snatch a stone - the little white one that he had expected her to be drawn too. It was interesting psychology for him. "Just pick one that appeals to you."

Mason also picked a stone, and FitzDutiful motioned for everyone else to do the same. Since neither June nor Mason had picked their own stone, but the stone FitzDutiful smiled. It had been a good thing to mentally pair wolves with the opposite of the stone that he felt represented them.

June was pleased. So far it seemed like she was winning this game. If the goal was to grab the stone which represented oneself, of course - but she didn't know it was the opposite. Soon others grabs their own stones, making the collection dwindle down bit by bit. She placed the small white pebble in front of herself, between her paws so as not to lose it, and observed for a bit. Her face scrunched in to a frown when she saw which stone Mason had pulled - it didn't resemble him at all. He was going to lose! "Mason - " she started to correct him, urged to fix what she saw as broken, but then appeared to clam up. If this was a game and she was winning, she didn't want to lose by helping someone else - even if it was Mason. Her clipped tone became silence, and the girl settled for watching her own stone, waiting for the next stage.

Chaska listened to the alpha's answer. And he gave his question an answer as well. One that made his curiosity peak. Looking back to the stones, he was drawn to the almost-square one. For some reason, he found it very peculiar. An odd shape among round stones. The odd one out. Standing upright, swaying a little on tired legs, he pushed himself forward and picked up the stone between his teeth, feeling the smooth texture against his tongue. He withdrew back to his seating, before placing it down at his fore paws.

FitzDutiful explained why there weren't as many rocks as there were pack members, and Steady nodded in understanding. The dark male remembered him saying he had chosen these rocks in remembrance of the wolves themselves. He watched as a few others chose rocks, before looking at the pile for himself. If he was looking for the rock that most resembled him, it seemed rather obvious: the big dark one. So, he grabbed it, then went back to his spot, placing the stone between his front paws, and waiting for the next step.

Zaria looked over the rocks that were left over. The others were snatched from under her nose. She wasn't sure if she liked that. She wanted to go for the square one with the sharp edges but then she decided on the egg shaped one before sitting down next to Fitz again. She looked over the others and then to Fitz. She was curious which one she had to get a gift for. The slender female just decided that she would have to wait until Fitz would tell her.

I'll either archive, or begin the next round on Friday 11th (depends if any one sticks around)

No more questions seemed to be incoming, and FitzDutiful watched as each wolf went for a stone and claimed it. As he looked at their faces he found that some seemed rather nervous about this encounter. It could be scary, getting someone you didn't know as a gift receiver. Hopefully, though, it would encourage his family to get to know one another that little bit better. He thought about removing his random assigning, choosing a wolf to give, but it seemed unfair. So he decided random was the best course of action - what was the point of getting them to choose the stones otherwise. There was one stone left in the middle, Alastor didn't have one and so FItzDutiful pushed the see-through one to him with a smile. "This one's yours."

Now he re-iterated his instructions, "Now I'll tell you who you're getting a present for, but you have to keep it a secret until you're ready to surprise them with their gift. It can be anything - something you got yourself, something you bargain for, something from your mind for it doesn't need to be physical. Just make sure that you think about it."

He looked around, and chose to start with June; he whispered to her carefully, so no one else could hear. "You need to find a present for Zaria; but remember, keep it a secret!" If he was being completely honest, he had chosen Zaria explicitly for June as she was one who would understand whatever came from June's participation. Sometimes he worried for his daughter.

Deciding to go with age, he went to Mason next and whispered gently into his ear; "You've got Uncle Steady." before smiling and moving onto Steady, "Chaska for you." accompanied the quiet whisper. Zaria was next and he smiled tenderly at her before leaning close; Alastor is yours, my love." and her smiled at her target as he walked towards Alastor. "You're finding something for Mason." Only one left to go, he walked to Chaska - his loyal Chronicler and whispered his receiver; "You've got June." That was everyone. Everyone had someone to get a present for, and everyone would receive a present. Hopefully, no one knew who they had and the fun could begin.

"Feel free to head off now and start thinking about who you've got to find something for, if you need any tips or help then come and find me" With a smile that encompassed everyone, he watched them all.

Zaria looked at her mate coming closer. She leaned into his whisper and nudged him in greeting. Her green eyes looking at him lovingly for a moment. She was surprised with who she got. Alastor? What was she suppose to get him? Zaria wrinkled her nose for a moment before straightening out her face. Well at least it was a challenge, she liked that. She kinda wanted Fitz. She had to find out who had Fitz so she could trade. She pursed her lips for a moment. "Who got you?," she asked him, sticking around because she was going to stay close to her mate. "And who do you got?," she questioned.

She was a very curious being and this would probably mean that she was going to press on the matter that he would tell her. Zaria looked at him with her cautious green eyes. They turned into slits because she was squinting them. She wasn't necessarily jealous but she kinda wanted Fitz. So whoever had him had to trade with her.

Sorry again, I fail at short rounds

Finally everyone had chosen a stone and the game could continue. Mason listened carefully to his Dad’s instructions, making sure he knew what he could do. He noted he was able to do something that wasn’t physical. Maybe a song or a poem? Or maybe he could find something for his giftee.

Mason’s tail began to drum a steady tune on the ground when he was informed that he had chosen the stone that was Uncle Steady’s. Excellent! That made it well easy to find something, because he knew Uncle Steady really well. Also he knew that anything he did find would be appreciated for what it was, even if it wasn’t anything amazing. 

Mason got to his feet, said his goodbyes, and danced out of the clearing excitedly, ready to start planning his surprise.

Really short one here. Also, just realized Chas would have forgotten his gift. Oh no!

Chaska sat there, staring blankly. It would have been easy with getting something for pups. He had to think of something. Then he remembered back to the story of the talking stone. That gave him the perfect idea. He stood to all fours, and trotted off in search of the perfect idea for June.

Steady's tail wagged in anticipation as Fitz went around to each member and whispered who they got. He stilled when his brother got to him, and he smiled when Fitz said he got Chaska. Steady hadn't spent a lot of time with the male, but hadn't forgotten sitting down with him and learning some of the history behind the pack. Steady wondered if he could incorporate that into a gift. Others began to leave, and Steady stood to do the same after picking up his rock, thinking hard about his gift as he trotted away.

There’d barely been enough time to blink before the explanation had been given and the rocks claimed. It seemed as if the male had been too slow, for by the time he’d drawn close enough, all but one of the rocks had been taken. At that, he frowned, as well as inwardly chastised himself for not being quick enough. He should have taken the initiative and grabbed a stone before anyone else had been given the chance to, that way he might have been given a greater opportunity at acquiring the one meant to represent himself. Sadly, though, he hadn’t done that, and it was already far too late to change that. The last of the objects had been placed before him, to which he responded by staring down at it. He couldn’t tell who it was meant to be, but he was certain it was not a representation of himself. That drew a sigh out between his teeth, his original plan completely ruined. He saw the event more as a chore than anything else, and wasn’t the least bit happy with his being forced to give someone a gift. Normally, it was undeniable that he would be over the moon with joy to have been presented with such an opportunity, but the worry of messing up had him unable to think with such a high level of positivity. They were all members of the same pack, yes, but he didn’t know anything about any of them. It was a troubling matter all around.

It wasn’t long after he’d been given the last stone that the results were delivered. Alastor’s pale gaze followed the chalky leader as he approached each of the other wolves, attempting to listen in so he could learn and possibly strike up a trade with whoever had his rock, but was left without a clue. The male’s voice had been kept low and unable to be heard, especially with the distance the foreigner had placed between himself and the rest. When it was his turn to be given a name, he almost asked who had his rock, but quickly decided against doing so. There was no guarantee he’d be told, plus he didn’t want to come off as being made miserable by the need to obtain a gift for a child he hardly knew—even though he was. At least he was to get something for someone he’d spoken with in the past. That would surely make things easier on him… right? He gave an unconscious shake of his head to clear his mind, then focused on what was being announced. There was an opportunity to have assistance in the little exchange he was forced into, though a part of him detested the idea of even considering taking the offer. Gifts were meant to be meaningful, not something you were told to get by someone else. Knowing that, he released yet another low sigh, begrudgingly accepting his fate.

When the gathering had finally seemed to draw to an end, Alastor stood from his place and departed from the area. He left the rock behind, uncertain of whether they were supposed to take it or not, but not particularly fond of the idea of carrying some rock around for who-knows-how-long. The Greek wolf had more important things to think of, anyways, such as what he would have to get for the alpha’s son. It was certainly going to be a troublesome task, but he felt he couldn’t back out. It was too late to do such a thing, after all.