Hushed Willows ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

MANDATORY pack meeting, to discuss the arrival of the Morningsiders. Dated, well, whenever the Morningsiders get here. Lol. In rounds, no order, next round will start 12/19.
@Seabreeze @Olive @Delight @Khali @Aviana @Sunny @Aliac @Catalina @Sif @Pema @Desdemona @Teleklos @Brilliance (Qilaq can join if she wants) @Radcliffe @Ibis @Mali holla

Lots had happened in the last few days, not the least of which was the arrival of the wolves from Morningside. Lily was over the moon to have new faces joining them, and she knew the time was now to bring them all together under the same roof canopy of trees. The blackbird settled into their rendezvous space and glanced around it before letting out a howl, summoning her packmates, both familiar and unknown.

She felt bad for the children; they'd gone through so much already, and now they would have to adjust to more. God help them if the plains pack brought more youngsters along. Olive's and Seabreeze's children had been relatively good sports, but Delight's son and daughter--well, and one was still missing, too. It was all quite a mess, and Lily hoped to see it at least somewhat resolved by the end of winter.

The adults would be fine, though. They would thrive with new blood. If the Morningsiders were all as kind and gracious as Sunny and Aviana, they would do well. Also, Khali's sister--her sister-in-law, now, of a sorts--was coming, too, which gave her a further thrill. Things had not been perfect, lately, with departures and disappearances frequent, but perhaps all could be mended, with time.

A fresh start. The beginning of a new era.

Khali had been out looking for food to fill their caches. Not knowing about the arrival of his sisters packs even, but the thought of getting through winter weighed on him heavily. It wasn’t just himself he had to think about now it was also Lily who he admired tremendously. He was just about to catch a rabbit, a small win but a win nonetheless, when Lily’s call rang out and hit his ears.

immediately he took his mind off the rabbit and it wondered what was going on. Hopefully it was good news or mediocre either would do but bad news would not especially when it was his love giving it. The sandy man trotted toward the howl curiousity in every step. As he came up to Lily he nuzzled her cheek softly and then smiled. “A pack meeting. Everything okay? With you?” He asked softly and took a seat beside her.

delight has been -- delight, reclusive as always, though he forces himself to come out into the sun for lily's call. he knows he can't go on like this forever, letting himself sink further into the dark, unpleasant void of his head -- oh, hell, he needs to talk to seabreeze, but not friend-seabreeze, therapist-seabreeze.

that's for later, though.

for now he makes his way to the meeting site, greeting lily quickly before taking a seat. he hopes that this meeting will be, ah, smoother, and that his children will actually show up after his scolding of them last time. that's another thing that is overdue, he thinks, a family meeting -- well, let's get through this and then deal with that.

OOC* Phone post also too lazy to put ooc and make two separate posts right now so I’m PP’ing Aliac second half will be her post. I’ll make separate ones next round OOC*

The young she wolf was attempting to adjust to her new lifestyle. It was different due the language barrier that kept her from socializing with her pack mates. Once she heard the howl she headed towards its direction and saw a few wolves she did not know or recognized.

Aliac was getting herself used to the new territory as she heard the howl as she made her way towards it she saw Khali and her tail wagged in happiness. She saw no one else she knew so the female went to his side and whispered. “Hey.”

She had been exploring the territory in much preferred solitude when she heard Lily's call. Her heart raced at being in a big confusing group situation again and she swallowed hard before forcing her paws to move. She liked Lily, and she wouldn't disappoint her by not responding to a pack summons. 

When she arrived, there were a few others that she recognized from around but didn't really know. It was her fault, really; she hadn't been doing a very good job getting to know anyone, but talking to others had seemed like such a daunting and exhausting task that she had given into to her weakness and just kept mostly to herself. Sif found a seat way in the back far enough away to be comfortable, but not too far away to be rude and silently waited for the meeting to start.

Since Ibis' disappearance, grief had swelled up inside of her.  It had no temperature, neither warm or cold, but it had a definite presence.  It grew behind her sternum, pushing against her heart and her ribcage, demanding they make room.  It pushed against the walls of her chest.  She didn't know who she was without it anymore.  Without her grief, she was sure that her organs would collapse in on themselves, she'd fold in on herself like a black hole and cease to exist.

But still she perservered.  She had no choice!  She had her wife, her friend, her child.  She had Elysium to care for.  She was pleased to see the turnover for this meeting, and she resolved herself to this: if Delight's children did not show up to this meeting, so be it.  If they did not want to bring themselves before the public forum to give voice to their concerns, they would not be given a chance to air them.  It was here or never.

She waited patiently for the pack to arrive as she moved to stand next to Lily, pleased that she wouldn't have to shoulder the meeting this time.

when the call is set out, brilliance picks up her head and closes her eyes. a weird pain has settled behind her eyes and she tiredly starts to stand, joints too young to be creaking making ugly sounds along the way. every part of her wants to ignore it but she knows she can’t, not like last time. how much of sad, disappointed papa can she really take? how many she can take of sad, disappointed her?
 
her stomach churns at the thought of facing the other wolves, god, wolves she doesn’t even know! but she bites back the feeling and slowly slinks in that direction.
 
it is no surprise she is not first to arrive, nor that @Mali isn’t there, but she spots delight and a few others and makes every bit of effort to skirt around the outside of the group so she can come sit near her father. her thin frame shivers from a sudden gust of wind but she doesn’t make an effort to scoot closer to anyone, waiting to see what this boring meeting will turn into.

Faye’s short life hasn’t been very consistent but she is a patient little girl. Her mother wants to take her out of Morningside and she will follow, for what other choice does she have? She doesn’t really like it. She likes the Maplewood but at least wolves she knows are here, as few as they are. She’d just been getting bigger and braver and meeting the other wolves and now, all of a sudden, they had to live with others? Mostly unsure of what to do with this information, she stays quiet and reserved and mostly with her mother unless otherwise told.
 
A big howl goes up and her large ears swivel, searching for its origin. She’d been following a scent trail through the willows, away from anyone else, and so she does her best to make it before she gets in trouble. Not knowing the territory makes things a bit confusing and she gets lost a little, eventually coming up to the right of the meeting. Her eyes widen in surprise, not knowing a single wolf that has gathered, and she stays back a great distance (though not hidden) and waits.

Olive was not very quick to call anything she did a success. She had seen her dreams crash and burn one too many times to believe that old fallacy too quickly — but Elysium was quickly challenging all of her expectations, and since they had been so low, quickly exceeded them. It seemed as if mostly everyone was happy, with the exception of Seabreeze, who had lost poor Ibis, and Delight’s children, who continued to challenge the new authority at every turn. Olive did not let it derail her appreciation, for they were all children and children could not be expected to act as adults do. It was simply not how their brains worked, but it was how hers did, and Olive let that finely tuned sense of right-and-wrong guide her. 

Their numbers were swelling, however, with the new inclusion of the Morningside wolves. It soothed her, to see the concept of a sanctuary so widely recognized. The woman was glad that the other pack felt comfortable enough to meld into their own, and was proud for helping to have visualized such a concept. She had not the opportunity to meet most of the members (and her children were almost no longer a viable excuse, as they were almost full grown and capable of surviving without her constant attention), but trusted that, with time, all things would settled and relationships would bud and thrive — even in the cold of winter.

Lily called for a meeting. Their last meeting has ended in shambles — with the children fighting and arguing and embarrassing their parents in front of the Seraphim. Time and distance healed most wounds, however, and Olive almost foolishly trusted the children not to act up this time. If it meant that they were absent, let it be. A solution would one day be found for these challenges, and Olive had a sneaking suspicion that the only change required was a little more time, and a little more maturity on the Cherubs’ parts. Olive entered the scene and placed herself delicately beside Lily and Seabreeze. She did not know what this meeting was about (other than to welcome the Morningsiders to their ranks), but the Sylph trusted her councilwomen implicitly and would fold into whatever message they felt they needed to share.

There’s another howl and she doesn’t think she can ignore this one. She’d made an attempt, before, approaching the group before she saw all the wolves she didn’t know. As much as she still keeps to herself, a small corner of the territory, she’s certain they won’t tolerate it for long. Some of her strength has return, some fur growing in, but the days are still too cold for her where it has not quite filled in the empty patches.
 
Carefully and slowly, Qilaq picks her way through the territory. She avoids spots with the thickest smell of wolves and comes in from the left. From her distance, she observes, and only inches closer maybe she can hear. Rounded ears stand alert on her head and she carefully lies down what she thinks is a safe distance. She doesn’t suspect any of these wolves are going to hurt her, since she’s been here this long without anyone bothering her, but she can’t find it in herself to get any closer.

He had been wandering the territory trying to get used to it for the past few days. It was beautiful and the change of scenery was refreshing but he ached for the Maplewood. It was the memories holding him back, the knowledge that they had left so much behind. His dad's memory, Dawn's memory, Shale and Catori...they were all left behind there. And Kitten! What if she wanted to come home and couldn't find them? All these things kept nagging at him not to mention everyone he brought with him seemed to be a bit nervous about merging. When the call went up he followed it as quickly as he could, arriving to see many unfamiliar faces and amongst them his mate. He did another quick survey of the crowd and spotted Faye sitting a good distance away from everyone else.

Torn between Aliac and making sure Faye was alright, he chose the latter and made his way to the pup. "Hey Faye....not settling in too well?" he asked, his eyes soft with sympathy. He sat down near her and gave a small sigh "I know I'm struggling. I hated having to make the choice. I'll tell you something though, making friends helps even if it's slowly just by saying hi. If you wanna come sit with me and Aliac you're more than welcome" he said and gave her a quick smile before standing and walking to Aliac, greeting her with a nuzzle and a lick to the cheek as he sat by her side. He moed his gaze to Khali and Lily, offering both a smile "Hello Lily. Hello...sir, I'm Sunny" he said trying to be polite though he didn't know the male's name.

Another change. As though Pema and her children hadn't been through those enough recently. She wasn't in disdain over them, just disappointed in herself and the world that all these things were happening. This wasn't the life she wanted for her children and she couldn't help but feel guilty for their situation. But this was another fresh start. Hopefully, this would be a better start then their last one. It seemed more difficult than the last. Without her former mate and without her boldest son.

She didn't know what her place would be in this new pack, but she was determined to be known and make a difference. She heard the call from what she assumed was the leader of the pack. The past few days she had been with her children. Guiding them through the territory so that she and they were more acquainted with it. She had told @Padma, @Meadow, and @Radcliffe to try and stick close to members from the Morningside pack if they were with her. They were getting older now and didn't need her for everything, but she didn't know the members of this pack. She was sure Sunny wouldn't have had the pack move here without knowing the nature of the pack, but knowing she didn't know everyone still made her a bit uneasy. She would need to meet everyone another day. But today seemed like a good day to see everyone's face.

She went to where she heard the call and found a large gathering of wolves from both packs. Faces she knew and others that were new. She nodded her head to everyone she passed and caught eye's with and sat down hoping that her children would be there to join her soon.

Next round ends 12/26. If you missed the first round, you still can jump into the second. No post order.

Faithful Khali was the first to arrive, of course. Oh, yes, she responded, cuddling closer to him. We're here to welcome the Morningsiders to their new home. They were sanctuary members, now, but she knew that deep down, they were Morningsiders and always would be. But they were welcome, no matter what they considered themselves. Everyone was.

She greeted warmly those who said hello to her, and made eye contact with the ones that huddled themselves away. Aliac received a warm smile--her new sister, she thought with a thrill--and her eyes warmed at Sunny's gentle reassurance of a girl she did not know yet. This was bittersweet for the new wolves. A new beginning when they were still grappling with an ending. She curled her ebony tail 'round her paws and waited.

Not everyone came. . .but most, and that was enough for her, at least for now. There was always the possibility of late-comers, too. She cleared her throat gently, pitching her voice above the gentle hum of whatever conversation was occurring.

Thanks all for coming, Lily announced, beaming, the tip of her tail thumping softly against the ground. I know it's been quite the past several days. I wanted to gather us all together to welcome the new faces in our forest. The Morningsiders have come to join us, so that we both may thrive through this coming winter.

She dipped her head to Sunny, blinking slowly. Make yourselves at home. And for those of you who are not new, introduce yourself. Make a friend. Let's show not only the Morningsiders, but the whole rest of the wilds, that we are a place of warmth and welcome. If you don't know me, I'm Lily; this is Seabreeze, and Olive, and Khali, she listed each of them as she gestured with her muzzle toward the trio. Come to us if you have trouble, or questions. We're happy to help.

Lily grinned, lifting her nose to peer over the crowd. So--who has good news? Share it, any of it. Things you've done well, something you discovered, anything. Let's hear it. She thought this might be a good idea to start, rather than allowing the newly merged pack to share grievances--Mali'd be in right on time for that, she thought sourly--or ask complicated questions.

Her children’s absences do not go unnoticed, but Olive chooses not to pay attention to it. Instead, she makes the deliberate decision to focus on each and every one of the attending member’s faces and index them in her memory — a lovely tan female with children, an unaccompanied young girl, a dark coated man who spoke like a gentleman — as Lily’s dulcet tones sweetly drifted in one ear and danced around in her mind’s space.

Olive was immediately impressed with Lily’s demeanor and sense of professionalism. She appreciated the way the young woman toed the line of warmth and authoritative directive as she instructed the others to introduce themselves, speak their minds and make a friend. It was the perfect place for the shrouded sylph to share her sentiments, similar as they were, without treading on the councilwoman’s toes. “Yes, welcome! We are thrilled and honored to have you here — Elysium could not exist and work its magic without you.” Olive’s smile shined bright as the winter’s first snow as she offered a cordial dip of the head to everyone in attendance, even the cherubim. 

Then — an opportunity!“I have a small bit of news…” she began falteringly, interjecting a bit despite her having been the last to speak. It was not small news at all, but Olive had a fine-tuned sense of modesty that prevented her from calling it anything but. “Seabreeze and I are officially wife and, er — wife!” Perhaps this had already been assumed by any wolf who encountered the two woman, clearly enamored with each other for well over a year, but the decision to pledge themselves to one another permanently was recent and, Olive suspected, might encourage others to share in their happiness. This meeting was all about good things, whereas Elysium’s previous meeting shone a light on all the areas they had left to grow. Onwards and upwards!

not to her surprise, of course, but no one really notices her. maybe mali is right. she’s hardly noticed what the adults do when she’s around because she sticks to herself or her brother or, if she’s lucky, her papa. they have other wolves and other children and now a whole bunch more. her head turns, searching for her brother to pop out from somewhere (and that she’s really expecting him to but it would be nice for some company), before she ultimately gives up and lies down without really listening to what’s going on around her despite the cheery news.

Seabreeze sees Brilliance. It is a pleasant surprise to see her, and though she doesn't bring her brother, Seabreeze tries to shoot her a warm, thankful, assuring look.

She is also thankful that Lily has taken over while she is so tired.  She directs the meeting so well!  At the mention of happy news there's only one thing that she can think of, but her lovely wife covers it.  She searches for Delight's gaze, sorry she didn't tell him before he had to find out like ... this ... but still, she can't help the happy glow that takes over.  Wife and wife, she echoes idly as she looks at Olive before placing a kiss on her cheek. Don't you think that's more than a small bit of news, dear?  She teases with a wink.

he smiles a little, watching khali and lily. they're sweet, and lily deserves sweet, he thinks. lily explains the arrival of the morningsiders -- delight glances over toward the new faces, none he knows. they seem nice. he promises himself internally to make more of an effort to intergrate with them. it's baby steps, but he can manage. 

olive is next to make an announcement. truthfully delight had assumed olive and seabreeze were already officially together -- but somehow, hearing it out loud makes something in his belly twist. lily and khali, olive and seabreeze: he's surrounded by joyful couplings and it. hurts? no, he's not a mopey teen, why on earth should he feel jealous of their happiness? he can't -- he won't -- have that, not when they've all been so kind to him, so careful of his glass heart, so tolerant of his failures to function. seabreeze meets his gaze and he forces a smile, mouthing "congrats," hopeful that his clear-moon eyes don't hold any of his hurt in them. foolish boy! 

desperate to move past news of the happy marriage, delight finds his mouth opening, his attention moving back to the morningsiders. "ah, not news, per se," he begins, fumbling, "but -- well -- so -- i know it's, um, hard to go through -- changes, and -- well, i'm a historian of sorts, so -- if any of you have stories of morningside, or histories you'd like to share, i'd be happy to listen and help ... preserve them with you. my name's delight, by the way." shyly he ducks his head (he hasn't spoken so much in so long!) glancing towards his former co-leaders to make sure that was okay to say, before looking back at their newest acquistions, tentatively hopeful some will take him up on the offer.

Though Qilaq keeps her distance, she listens and watches, despite being ready to bolt. A pale woman speaks, announcing her relationship with another… Seabreeze? Her eyes find her caretaker, watching her as she interacts. They dote on one another like she’s seen her parents do, how Silas once did with her. She’s never seen two women together but it doesn’t necessarily seem weird when the love is apparent.
 
Her heart aches for her mate. She blinks back a few painful tears. Another starts to talk but she’s unable to listen then, staring down at her paws instead.

When Sunny comes up, her eyes trail over to him and she blinks as it approaches. Faye doesn’t really understand what’s going on other than the fact they had to move but she doesn’t seem terribly distressed over the whole thing. Confused, maybe, but if her mama is going along with it, she’ll believe it’s what they’re supposed to be doing.
 
Faye doesn’t have anything to say, anyway, as he picks up and goes to sit with someone else. She refocuses her attention to the new leaders (right?) as they make announcements and talk amongst one another. Not particularly interested in the world of adults, she turns her head and looks for her mother, surprised she did not answer the call.

Round 3 will end January 2. After that, I will post once more and give it another week before wrapping up.

I have a small bit of news. . .

Lily joined in the general celebration as Olive made her announcement, wagging her tail happily. Oh, wonderful news! she cried out, giving both leaders a nuzzle. She pressed a fleeting kiss on Khali's cheek before turning to Delight, who was now speaking.

Fantastic, Delight, she said to him, nodding, her face warm. What an excellent idea. All of us who haven't come from Morningside would love to hear stories from there. At the very least, it might buoy the spirits of those who still felt less than comfortable in the willows. There was nothing like talking about home, after all.

No one else seemed to have anything pertinent to add, so she lifted her head and quieted whatever murmurs might remain. Well, that was all I had, really, Lily said with a shrug, grinning. If anyone else wants to make an announcement or say something, do so now. Otherwise, just--remember what I said. Make friends. No one should be a stranger when spring comes.

She wrapped her tail around her paws, waiting for any last thoughts and casting a gentle glance at Qilaq, who was looking down but(!) had joined them.

Okay, technically Mali's flyby was happening a little earlier than this post but eh, you'll figure it out, right?  He'd been raiding a cache -- it wasn't like he could contribute -- and it was probably freak luck that the meeting was on the way, but he was in no hurry.  Since it had been Lily who called he was slightly less hesitant about showing his face, but when he got there, Olive and Seabreeze were being all mushy or whatever.  At a fair distance still and with a hare in his mouth, he had no desire to go any closer, veering away to a farther path as he continued on to somewhere more secluded to eat.  He wasn't gonna deal with them.  He hadn't even seen Brilliance was there as when he'd paused, she was out of sight thanks to a bush.

They had no right to be so cheery. Things were still wrong and nobody seemed to care any more.

allll righty then! one last post from me and then i'm gonna let y'all have it until the 9th, and then I'll archive

It seemed that no one else had anything to share. She didn't notice Mali's almost-appearance, so now seemed as good a time as any to wrap things up. The blackbird lifted her chin, grinning around at the crowd.

All right, Lily chirped, wagging her tail. See you around, then. Thanks again!

She bumped her snout against Khali's cheek, smiling. Well, that wasn't too awful, she remarked sardonically. And almost everybody came. That's good, right? She rose to her paws, stretching slightly and shaking the dust from her pelt. Up for a hunt? she asked her mate, glancing toward the trees.

Or a hunting lesson, more like. . .I don't know if you know, but I'm terrible, Lily added, laughing as she departed, glancing over her shoulder for Khali to follow.

He was happy that the meeting had went well. His mate seemed pleased as well which made him even more happy. Well I’d love to go hunting with you. Even teach you. he said softly and then nuzzled her cheek.

A small happy sigh was let out before he moved to follow her towards the trees. His muscles rippled underneath his pelt as he caught up beside her. First let’s catch a trail of something he nodded at her and then put his nose to the ground sniffing for a scent of any kind.