The Sentinels yuletide wine

optional pack activity to decorate the borders of donnelaith with juniper and holly branches. three day rounds. @Blue Willow @Dante @Pearl @Behati @Casmir @Osprey @Eilidh @Malachi @Kitten @Regulus @Aria @Sanuye. set for tomorrow morning. 

snow had gently rimed the land in white while the wolves of donnelaith slumbered, and lasher roused himself from his shared den with blue willow to gaze fondly upon the crisp paleness. an amusement came his his countenance -- he trudged crunchingly through the drifts to where spears of dark emerald hung with dark red berries. their fragrance filled his senses as he gingerly used his paws to break the branches and drag happily the shattered branch toward the borders.

taltos arranged it at the base of one large bole, facing outward toward the sea. after some sundry primping, he returned for another, and as he brought yet a third branch to join its fellow, the spirit of yuletide had gripped him. tipping back his crown, the man of donnelaith gave a howl for the wolves of his pack to join him in the decoration, though a warning laced his words against the ingesting of the bright berries -- he was rather well-versed in the toxicity of plants, having watched and listened unto blue willow for many months now.

Blue Willow felt him move and at first didn't stir, but as the cool air came through she moved and slowly pushed herself to her feet. It took her quite a few tries, and finally she both waddled and trudged towards his howl. In her maw she carried some dried petals and some seaweed. She smiled softly at his gentle reminder about the berries, and felt pride dance in her breast. Stepping gently towards him she met him and laid the items down. She licked Lasher's gently. 


She placed the dried petals around, a few shiny rocks near the bottom of the tree. On top of that all she draped seaweed around the tree in a strange tier shape upon it's bonny branches.

didn't mentioned blue willow in here because i don't believe she is near lasher, correct? (:

Digging into the frigid earth was not an easy task, but it did not mean that it was unimportant. Aria knew that she needed to dig a den before she froze to death or was slaughtered out in the open while she slept. Unfortunately, easier said than done. The young white wolf had barely broken the ground with her paws, and whined with frustration quite often. Just as she was about to give up and live with the birds, she heard a howl (thankfully nearby) of invitation. Her tail wagged with excitement, hoping she could greet Lasher once again and perhaps meet his family and the rest of the pack. With a quick yip of confidence she began towards the howl, sniffing occasionally as to not run into anything unexpected as she made her way. 

Aria arrived within a good 5 minutes of hearing the howl. She heard the task loud and clear; celebration. She wasn't exactly sure what they were celebrating, but upon her arrival she watched her alpha drag large holly branches to put on display. Perhaps a worship of life through the winter? She decided she liked this holiday, and right away her tail began to wag with excitement. She wanted to show that she had in fact arrived to help out, and upon doing so she would then leave to begin the decorating. She dipped her head to Lasher as he passed, and then looked to where he had come, headed that way to grab some of holly's on her own.

She had heard his warning as well, but she knew of the berry's deadly side regardless. She had studied some herbs and plants on her own, and was well aware of the poison that resided in the pretty red spheres. She grabbed a branch between her sharp teeth, as white as her coat. Before going to place it on display, she glanced around, hoping for someone new to appear. 

gotta get a quickie in here!

Dante had fallen into sleep lulled by another of Osprey's tales, sleeping well, but awakened to frigid morning air and a constriction in his chest. He exited the den silently, not wanting to wake his partner with the bout of coughs that afflicted him.

The dry cough soon subsided, and slightly hoarse for a time, he got an early start to his day. He was cheerful despite the unwelcome wake up call and thought little of it, choosing to peruse the eastern border that day. When Lasher's invitation came he was poking his head beneath the roots of a tree, sniffing around. Backing up, he lifted his head, bemused by the message. Decoration? It was an odd concept, but he wasn't about to argue. If they wanted the fun, he'd give it a go.

Now he set out on a different task, seeking out branches that seemed festive enough to contribute.

his dad was weird. that was the conclusion to which Cas came. but that made everyone else weird, too, considering how many of their pack had joined the druid in dragging green-and-red branches to the border. The boy yawned muzzily, rubbing his eyelid along a raised foreleg -- he cast his eyes about for his sister or Behati, but saw neither of them. whatever, the Mayfair child decided. he might as well join. 

approaching dante, he chuckled. "my dad has odd ideas," Cas muttered, but searched too for a perfect bit of decoration.

Pearl had heard the inviting howl from the warm confines of her den, but it took her a while to get out of it willingly. After her paws hit the snow, she shivered and began to run over to where most of the pack could be scented to warm up. 

Coming across the others and the dangerous yet festive plant was, she watched them for a bit, yawning, then joined in the decorating. Spotting a pretty good branch, Pearl grabbed on to the base of it, careful to avoid the berries, and tore it off. Carrying it over to the grouping of its likeness, looking pretty odd, she set it down and attempted to position it as best she could. Looking back, a smile on her face, she began to look for something else fitting for the borders. She didn't understand the purpose of this, but she liked it.

Osprey's sleep usually was very deep, but she somehow always managed to wake up the same time Dante did and begin her morning by seeing him off to, wherever his path was going to lead that day. So it was a bit of a disappointment, when she opened her eyes that day to see that she had slept in and therefore was alone in the den. 

Shivering in the cold she walked out and greeted the world with a big yawn and a glance around. It had snowed the previous night and the forest looked a lot different than, when they had arrived few weeks ago. Osprey figured that she did not mind the snow, but the temperature... ugh... 

Lasher's call to invite his packmates for festive activities was quite unexpected and a tad bit confusing. The solstice was near - that was true - but she had never celebrated it. Not thought that it was of much importance anyway. Therefore, what made her go, was both curiousity and a sense that she might find Dante among the rest. 

She was not wrong and soon not only she caught the scent of him, but also recognized him among the group. Politely greeting everyone she met along the way, she approached the beta with wagging tail and curious expression. "So - what are we doing, exactly?"

sorry, guys! i've been sick D:

quite besotted was lasher with his task that when he paused to look 'round, he was happily and pleasantly surprised to see that many of his pack had joined their eccentric leader in decorating the borders quite festively. the sharp leaves of dark green and the spheres of blood-red berries formed a stark contrast against the pale and new-fallen snow, and it pleased lasher's sense of artistry greatly.

buoyed by the participation, a mischievous light grasped the druid -- presently, he pranced a bit with a giddy beam upon his features, before he troweled up a good bit of snow into his forepaw and lobbed it clumsily at his tall son.

As usual, Eilidh was late to the party. It seemed to be more than a habit with her, but rather an ingrained thing, something she could no more change than her eye color. But she was here and that's what mattered! Hearing her family move about the area, gathering decorations and bestowing them upon the trees that surrounded their home, Eilidh decided to get a little something different. 

There were spirits here in these woods, spirits she had met and knew well. She was keenly aware of their presence and the need for sustenance. She didn't know where they came from or why she was the only one to see them, but she respected them and wanted them to be happy. So instead of offering them gifts of holly and green boughs (which they had plenty of anyway, thanks to her family), Eilidh went scavenging on the beach for something a little more unique.

She returned as quickly as she could, carrying a long and wind-bleached bone between her teeth. It was likely the jawbone of a seal or small whale, and it had made its home on this beach for some time. And to appease the spirits that roamed the Sentinels, Eilidh placed them near her father's offering, and gilded the bleached bone with holly berries and green pine, to signal the festive yuletide spirit.

Eilidh is goin' cray... Or is she?? 

It was clear that the wolves were busy with this new task, and Aria wasn't quite sure why. She could tell it was a celebration of sorts, but she was unsure of why.  She had just recently decided it was to celebrate life, although she wasn't positive why she came to the conclusion. Was she to ask? Perhaps not, perhaps she would seem a bit out of place, and she did not wish to seem out of place.

Without giving the topic anymore thought, and without waiting for someone to come and speak to her, she began to drag the branch again. She drug it until she reached smaller trees, ones with spindly branches and a lack of leaves. Aria tilted her head a bit at it, the large branch still in her mouth, before a bit of a smirk rested on her face. She dropped the branch, moving her attention to the tree. She was aware of her surroundings, even as she focused. She was well aware of Lasher creating a sort of piece nearby, and adding too it was a white wolf with dazzling green eyes. The pretty fae couldn't help but still a glance her way for a moment, perhaps this was one of the children that Lasher bore... Eliza? Maybe? She made a mental note of the newly discovered packmates, hoping to make her acquaintance with her in the near future.

Her attention returned back to the tree, and with careful hold she began to gnaw at the trunk. Nothing moronic, mind you, she seemed to know what she was doing and on goers would mostly likely only be mildly confused, rather than judgmental. As she took her time with the tree, it had become clear that she was carving intricate designs on the tree. Some appeared to be holly bushels or poinsettias(the winter flower, her elders had told her), but others were symbols that were unidentifiable, at least, to everyone but her. 

When the wolf finished, she used all her strength to toss the holly branch into the tree, to intertwine with the branches and become stuck. She unfortunately was having a bit of an issue, and continued to attempt as the others added their own touch to the decorating.

He found a few boughs, coniferous with some large pinecones scattered, and managed to obtain them for his own contribution. He carried them and made his way to the rest, arriving and standing to observe the event for a moment, thoroughly amused. He didn't understand but he didn't need to. The sight still made him glad.

His tail waved happily in greeting as Osprey approached, and he dropped his boughs to answer and to give an affectionate touch of hello. "Not sure." He wondered if it was an offering of sorts. He knew little of Lasher's beliefs, but with his own gods, gifts were a generally accepted practice. One he'd ignored of late. "The 'what' is decorating. The 'why' I don't know." Picking up one of his branches, he looked for a spot where it would fit in, and spotted a tree a short distance away that looked promising. He walked over and attempted to prop the bough up among the roots. Wedging it in, he stepped back to admire some of the handiwork, enjoying the different tidbits others had found before returning for another branch.

"Alright," Osprey nodded her head and was going to find Lasher, who could elaborate on the matter, when Eilidh's arrival distracted her. The fact that the young child had grown into a beautiful she-wolf was not that surprising as the gift she had brought with her. A jawbone, which she put among the rest of the decorations. It certainly stood out and the elder was curious to find out, whether there was more of a meaning behind this choice. 

However, she left questions for later and joined Dante to see, where he was going to put the chosen ornament. "Looks nice," she said, regarding first his handicraft and then walking over to see, what the rest of the packmates had achieved. "So, are there any rules? Or is it up to one's imagination?" she asked, eager to join this strange game.

Cas had just found a perfect branch to add, when two things happened: first, Eilidh showed up out of nowhere. he had missed her, and so dropped the holly leaves as he began to step toward his sister with a friendly wave of his plume. however, in the next moment, a chunk of snow struck his side clumsily and he whirled to see his father standing not far off, a giddy smile on his muzzle. "oh, you'll pay for that, old man!" Cas shouted, muscles working powerfully beneath his coat as he lunged to grapple the donnelaith alpha into a brief wrestling match.

he watched fondly as his graceful daughter approached, and was pleased and surprised by the vaguely mystical gift that the child brought to the borders. however, his murkwater eyes were torn from the pale girl by the barreling form of his lanky son; lasher laughed aloud, bracing himself in the drifts to rough-house casmir with a good-natured bevy of growls and barks rising from the both of them. presently they drew apart; the druid nipped his grown son's nape before turning to the gathered wolves. "in my home of donnelaith, where i was born, we decorated our borders to welcome the snows, and then again when spring was to arrive. thank you all for joining me in such diversion. i thought it an amusing way to christen our new home."

lasher glanced to each member of his family -- for that is what they were -- in turn, proffering a warm smile of affection and gratitude, before he began to arrange fallen berries in the snow along the border, positioning them with nudges of paw and muzzle.

Eilidh laughed as her father and brother wrestled briefly, and joined in the fun as Casmir evaded his father's nip. The girl tumbled toward her brother, her heart and soul lifting as she celebrated the christening of their new home with love, laughter, and friendship. She nipped Casmir's cheek and bumped him with her hip and shoulder playfully before pouncing away, her tail wagging all the while. She paused her playful antics to listen to their Pappa speak of his time in the Donnelaith before, the one where he was born, and she was grateful for being able to learn more of her father's traditions.

It was a rare glimpse of their alpha's past, one that offered a small insight into his beliefs and the ways that guided him. Dante knew in part that his views were different and more earthbound than Dante's gods. But being able to participate made him happy, and feel a bit more understanding for the reverence Lasher felt over the ground they dwelled on.

He placed his last branch, then stood to appraise his own work a moment before casting a glance around for his mate. When he found her he moved to join her and see what she might have done, sharing in the company and smiling at Eilidh and Casmir's excited antics. The sight of them playing with Lasher gave him a slight, unexpected pang of longing, yet he kept it to himself, no change in his happy expression betraying it.

thanks to all who participated! gonna wrap it up here <3

dante was given a fond glance, as was the rest of the gathered wolves. in quiet pleasure he stood back in the snows to watch them continue their decorating, blessed to be the one to whom they looked for guidance. donnelaith would flourish -- this he knew.