Swiftcurrent Creek you soon find you have few choices — mandatory meeting, r2 ends 11/17

Mandatory pack meeting. Please respond as quickly as you can/by the deadline!
Round 1 ends 11/12.
@Durnehviir @Aria @Chusi @Iseabail @Akiri @Talos @Akatosh @Soltero @Eilonwy

Snow fell from the sky—what once had given a sense of quietude and peace over the creek now only alarmed him. Viinturuth was missing, and winter was almost upon them. Their window to find him was short, and he acted fast to his mate’s news.
 
Constantine’s song resounded over the waters and outward, his howl noting urgency and demand for attendance. As it quieted, his tongue spilled across his lips, a low rumble escaping him as the beast felt a gentle quake of nerves quiver along his spine. He stood stoically, remaining in the center of a small clearing and his eyes drifting to @Durnehviir every so often. They had brought children in to this world and had been unable to protect them all—and what was worse, it was from themselves their pups had needed protection from.
 
His features darkened noticeably as he waited—the lashing of his tail giving insight to the tension that emanated from his very being. There had been a stint of healing in his life—the shadowrunner had begun to ease back to his old self—friendlier, open. Durnehviir had lulled that from him, and the possibility that life did move forward even when he had felt he had lost everything.
 
He had not known what it was to lose everything until it was his own son that was gone from him.

aria did not know why they were called. she distanced herself as much as she could from the rest of the pack while still managing to keep up with her duties. she patrolled often, stayed on the borders, and hunted as much as she could. she brought her kills to the caches closer to the center of the territory. that is when she saw the most of the rest of the pack. 

so to say she was out of the loop was quite accurate.

the pale dole settled herself among the crowd. trying to find constantine's gaze while actively avoiding durnehviir's and also trying not to let the woman see her look to him. she quickly just settled on keeping her gaze down, studying the ground beneath her paws as she waited for some sort of instruction from the alphas.

might be keeping her in the pack after all

Whisper was on the borders when she heard the call of her alpha, so long had she stayed on the sidelines it was almost as if she knew not the members of her own pack and felt like an outcast in her own home. 

Regardless, she goes to where the howl originated from and waited for further instructions.

Not only was one of the leaders' pups missing, Chusi's own was missing too. She was afraid she had spent too little time with her young boy and that he, right in the confusion and stress they had found themselves in, had wandered off to find someplace else. Winter was approaching, but the absence of only one pup did not do much to her. She knew how it was, feeling unwanted by a parent and sheltered. She knew that wherever Kubo would go, her spirit would follow him, and that that spirit would give him the strength to do what she had also done; find his own path, meet kind strangers and perhaps even find a mother or father that did want to take care of him. Perhaps it was selfish and out of character for the caring, peppy Chusi, but she truly believed her son to be better off without her.

With little @Eilonwy at her side, the young mother joined their gathering with a soft frown. She sat down near the newer girl she had met some time ago, Iseabail, and held her daughter close to her chest as she groomed her to look presentable. Her ocher eyes wandered off to the pair that had taken her in moons ago, then to the newer faces she hardly recognized. She knew some of their names but had yet to truly meet them, but she felt like this was not the time.

He had yet to meet his other packmates, aside from the alphas - naturally, he had grown as more the solitary, wandering type, and had mostly stuck to the edges of the territory, patrolling and mapping the fringes of the area in his mind. He knew it was logical to introduce himself, but he found himself frowning at the prospect of forming his own approach, so he would wait for the opportunities to present themselves, instead. 

The smoky traveller did not, however, ignore the howl. He had been merely napping when it had risen on the air, wind brushing lightly against Soltero's ears and bristling his whiskers. Picking himself up with a short grunt, he had shaken his coat to free it from the lacing of snow that had gathered atop his back and had slipped a tongue out from between his lips to sweep across his muzzle. large paws snuck him closer and closer, until he came within view of the little gathering, apple-green gaze trailing between each figure as they materialised in his vision. He placed himself close enough to hear whatever news was to be announced, but he would rather not creep into the center.

Akatosh wasn't too far off when the howl came up, so he took his good old time wandering over.  The snow had been an interesting distraction for the day, so he'd just been trying to figure out more information about how this white stuff was going to be changing the world here.  It was weird stuff, but it's tendency to melt was making science hard.  He was by himself this time, which given the family drama had become more common.  His brother? Akatosh blamed Talos for him being MIA. Surely the wild sister had convinced him to go off on a bizarre adventure and hopefully they'd be back soon.  Other options didn't exist.


When he showed up on the scene at last, there were already a few waiting to see what was up.  He found himself a nice snowy patch and flopped directly on to it, rolling round.  He wasn't  taking things too seriously, apparently, but he was still a kids, even if he looked more like an adult every day.

When Issy finally arrived a number of wolves had gathered, many whom she wasn't familiar with. Finding a spot amongst the others, she settled on her haunches before turning her attention to Constantine. 

Talos's head snapped up as the summons echoed across the lands. She was not within the lands the pack had claimed, and for the first rebellious moment had no intention of answering that summons. But her ears picked up a distant note within her father's voice that concerned her afresh; a certain anxiety and urgency that set her own feet to dancing anxiously and uncertainly in place. She lowered her head and tried to tell them to be still, tried to will herself into ignoring it, but the enlarging lump in her throat and the tightening tension in her chest simply would not let her. All sorts of disasters and premonitions of doom began to play through her head in rapidfire fashion: what if, what if, what then... until finally she threw her own stubbornness over in disgust and, before she even knew what was happening, her feet were running home, her eyes blurred with emotion that had her only avoiding the intervening treetrunks and other obstacles at the very last second. As it was she still managed to trip herself in a small ditch on the way there, gaining a slight limp which she steadfastly ignored. It did make her a little slower and later even than she'd entirely intended, however.

It had been a little while since she had actually crossed Swiftcurrent's borders, and as she approached them her speed began to falter; her footsteps measured their paces with even more sluglike caution as she drew nearer to the meeting place proper. Talos slunk in around the far edges of the clearing and stubbornly remained there, her suspicious and sulky gaze darting itself around unpredictably from one form to another. She noted Eilonwy, and only one of her brothers, along with another familiar few faces—Soltero in particular got a longer and extra-withering look. Most importantly however, she did not see her mother... though she did spy her father, of course. And Aria. Yes... her. Talos glared long and resentfully at her father, but in the end it was Aria whose face the youngster's silvern eyes settled upon as they lasered their focus forth with white-hot fury. Talos set her jaw and resolutely said nothing, only ghosted a little further away around the fringes of the group, pretty much as far and she could get from Constantine and Aria both, and there she skulked and hovered restlessly like some sort of ill-wishing cursed spirit. Anyone who dared to so much as look her way would also be met with a scorching glare balefully warning them to keep their distance.

The howl had summoned him, but he was definitely one of the last to arrive. Traipsing forward, the youth gave his sister a wide berth, given the daggers she seemed to be shooting in everyone’s general direction. Viinturuth’s scent had faded from the lands, and his champagne eyes clouded with worry, a light frown on his masked face. Pulling up to the side of his brother who had flopped unceremoniously to the ground, the darker juvenile settled beside Akatosh, his eyes falling to his parents, wondering what this was about—he couldn’t even recall the last time he seen them together.

Thanks, everyone! Next round ends 11/17 just to keep it fast. PP Durnehviir... can change if required, Rebel!

Durnehviir remained silent, sitting a decent distance from him, despite his desire to remain as if united for the appearance of the pack. She was past appearances—understandably so, and his sole focus needed to be upon finding his son. Perhaps what had been between he and his mate could not be fixed, but he was desperate to not allow his family to crumble further. His children were his legacy—they had taken them to the creek to ensure their safety. He would see them to safety above all else, physically and emotionally.

He had failed before, but as his eyes took in the oncoming wolves, he gave a small nod at each of their arrivals. His gaze lingered on Aria for a moment, knowing his beloved’s own eyes might be upon him, watching for some hidden meaning behind his looks to the pale dove, but he only sought to see how she was doing—her welcome wagon to the pack had been less than enthusiastic. Aria ensured the assistance of filled caches and of guarded borders. She was loyal to a fault, even when met with hostility. It set his eyes ablaze, but he spoke nothing.

They were a small group, but they gathered quickly. The last were Talos and Akavir—the former complete ice in her greeting to not just her family, but her pack mates, while the latter took to a casual but worried stance beside his brother, likely noting his sister’s frostiness.

He would need to seek her out later. For now…

“Thank you for coming quickly. Our son, Viinturuth, is missing.” He paused, waiting to see if anyone volunteered information on the boy. He noticed that Chusi’s own boy was missing, though he had yet to realize the boy had also disappeared. “Winter will be here soon, and we need to bring him home before the storms become worse.”

He swallowed, his eyes glancing to Durnehviir, ever the silent stone in her concern. “Durnehviir has stepped down from her leadership role for now. She will go to seek our son.” Something he hadn’t been unable to talk her out of—for her to remain and him to go. Her trust in him was completely shattered, it seemed.

“Iseabail, please accompany Durnehviir to the packs and lands north and north west from us, mas e do thoil e. Stay together.” He pleaded to the ebony she-wolf in the native tongue they shared—his nostrils flaring as he released a breath.

“Aria and Soltero, can you please check out the packs and lands east and south east from us?”

His gaze drifted over the two, knowing he could trust Aria for certain of the two. Next, his gaze found Chusi and Akiri. “Akiri, please help with the cubs and maintaining the lands. Same as you, Chusi—I don’t want to separate you from your own children.” With that his eyes fell to the kids, wondering if there was anything they demanded, though his gaze warned them to keep their tongues in check.

“Are there any questions?”

Her ears perked up and slowly slid down again as the situation was explained to them. Her grip around Eilonwy grew slightly tighter as she swallowed away what was left of her pride. She had done nothing to ensure Kubo's safety, nor had she done anything to even find him.

Mah own boy's gone missin' too. She added, perhaps a little too softly. Bu' I'll stay 'ere if that's what tha pack needs, ta ensure Viinturuth's return. She would probably have her hands full with the fragile Eilonwy anyway, and she didn't dare let someone else take care of her. She knew Kubo to be strong, perhaps strong enough to do what she had done many moons ago, but that didn't mean she wasn't just a slight bit worried.

Talos's puckered face suddenly unglued itself from its soured and rotten expression as her father told them all about Viinturuth. Her brother...was missing?! Talos's eyes were bewildered and wide as she looked all about again, almost as if she expected to see him suddenly magically appear in their midst. Come to think she hadn't really smelled him about, either, but she had been so busy being angry and making sure everyone knew about the cold shoulder she was turning here that she hadn't really paid attention...

Genuine worry furrowed her brow as she looked about, and then her eyes finally spotted her mother, and were caught there for a moment. Hurt and frustration and worry were apparent, and for a moment Talos tried desperately to rekindle her familiar anger before looking down at the ground by her feet instead. Mother was going to go looking for Viinturuth... might in fact have already been searching, all this time, while Talos herself had been off stomping around everywhere except the home packlands here and hadn't even know he was missing. The girlchild shoved her upwelling of guilt aside and did her best to overlayer it with further irrational anger. It was still her parents' fault somehow, she was sure, and Aria too—maybe Viinturuth had been so upset at the revelations that he had run off. Talos thought back to the last time she had seen him, when she had been so wrapped up in her own overwhelming feelings of upset even as her world felt like it was literally being upset all around her, and tried unhappily to remember exactly what she had said to her sibling, anyway. Her eyes flickered to Akatosh and Akavir in turn as well, and then away again.

Dully she heard her father's voice as if from a great distance handing out one assignment after another. You pack wolf go do this, you other pack wolf go do that...yeah, yeah, yeah. What did any of it matter, in the face of all of this?! Another fresh burst of anger broke through as she heard him with his oh-so-leaderly calm gravity asking if there were any last questions. Her eyes were aflame and her pelt freshly abristle as she found herself on her feet and staring in furious challenge at her father—hoping all the while that she could garner enough of that fury to mask her sorrow and concern. Yah I gotta ques'ion, she ground out, a small burst of white teeth flashing vibrantly against her dark pelt. Wha're you gonna do, Father? Or are you jus' gonna follow Ar'ya?! Her burning gaze settled itself on poor Aria's figure once more, at last. Anger was better; anger was safer. Talos wasn't sure that if she let her misery and fear burst forth it wouldn't simply engulf her entirely and drag her down into its dark depths along with her. So: better to stay mad at everyone. Far better. Maybe even at Viinturuth himself—what'd he have to go and do a dumb thing like getting himself lost anyway, at a time like this?! Dumb brother! And Aria was the safest and easiest target, at least of those currently present, for young Talos's wrath, most unfortunately for her.

Chusi had said something about Kubo missing too and yet being willing to stay here but Talos couldn't find the space within her to much care. From what little she knew of Kubo the boy was always forever getting himself into one scrape or another anyway; what did any of that tell her about her brother, the one who wasn't supposed to be getting himself into trouble all the time and tearing her attention away from the horrible drama that had so unexpectedly to little Talos waylaid their parents' relationship and, by extension, the very foundations of their little family and maybe even the entire pack. Or so it seemed to Talos. She was if anything a little madder at Chusi for being so damn reasonable and accommodating, when really all that Talos wanted to do was scream and wail and throw things, or maybe rip a few innocent nearby trees to shreds with her teeth by way of venting her internal turmoil—first her parents had started fighting, and now no one knew where Viinturuth might be; it was more than she could bear. Someone or something surely had to pay for all this: on some primeval level Talos suddenly wanted to see another hurting outwardly, obviously, just as much as she was deep inside. But instead, this might have to do: before her father had too much time to collect his thoughts, before he could possibly formulate one of the answers she most dreaded hearing, Talos exploded afresh. Our whole fam'ly is fallin' apar' and it's all your fault! she screamed tearfully at Constantine, and, with a final white-hot scathing look thrown in Durnehviir's direction as well, just in case her mother might for a single instant consider holding herself blameless in any of this as well, Talos turned tail and blindly fled, as fast and as far away as she could get from not just her own kin and what had once been her beloved safe haven of a pack but, most of all, from her own feelings. It was all just too much, too much for her to even attempt to handle. Maybe if she could just gain enough speed and distance she could leave them all behind.

Akatosh was quite happy to just roll around and basically ignore things... Then his sister had to open her mouth.  He paused, upside down, and just stared at her.  Uhh.  He slowly rolled back onto his side, watching like she had about five heads as she started back up again.  And then she just fled.

Beat.  He looked slowly towards his parents, this sort of void, confused look on his face.  What even just happened and why did his sister go completely nuts instead of being civil like everyone else?

the news was not good news. aria found her gaze raising only to rest on constantine like big, sad, pale moons(great description, maggie). the loss of a child was heartbreaking, aria felt heartbroken for her friend. even for durhneviir, who was... stepping down... her ears pricked at the mention, brow furrowing. was now the right time for that?? aria honestly wasn't sure, it felt unwise to step down from leadership in the start of winter, especially when children were missing. but, what could she say? though she didn't quite remember her motives, aria had stepped down over petty drama in donnelaith moons ago. 

and then, suddenly, aria found herself in a state of complete and utter dismay. a whirlwind of emotion sent her ears flattened to her crown, gaze wide on the small child-- another one of constantines-- who was calling her out. but what had she done? it was her worst fear. all the gossip being spread about her was coming to light here and now. from a child.

suddenly, she was standing, as if sitting was too big an emotional challenge, and shaking her head. "i will take my leave for the east with soltero," was all she had to say, and then aria turned and left the meeting without waiting to be dismissed formally. she would go gather supplies and then they could leave. and aria wouldn't have to worry about tearing any more families apart.

Surprise filtered across the wolf’s features at Chusi’s news, and he dipped his muzzle slightly. “Everyone should search for him as well. Chusi, care to give a description of him?” He knew the boy was dark, like his parents, but was uncertain of any distinct markings that may identify him easier. Turning his eyes to the others, he chuffed softly. “Viinturuth is white and his eyes are a dark brown.”
 
Constantine would have continued, when suddenly, Talos, his little dragon slayer, allowed her thoughts to be well known. The Mayfair stared at her as she held an absolute meltdown, and he flinched when she spoke of Aria, his teeth gritting. Another unfair assumption—one that no doubt had been encouraged or taught by Durnehviir.
 
Talos fled, and Aria dismissed herself quickly. He could not split himself two ways, but it there was no question who he would chase after. “Dismissed,” he rumbled to everyone else, his heavy paws swiftly loping after his daughter. He had already lost one child—he wasn’t about to let her disappear too, no matter how mad she was at him.