Ankyra Sound [RE] A lightness in my chest.

Hi! This is very random, blame the dice. Firefly wants to celebrate! The pack survives while Drageda is no more; @Grezig has had her kids, and the Ro-zulie-fly kids are coming soon! Please treat this like a pack meeting — except of course its not 100% mandatory; cameos are also welcome.
[FF has raided the caches for supplies and cleaned up debris from a section of beach.]

The turmoil of the past few weeks felt as if it were behind him - behind them, as a whole. The ranks had settled with @Vaati at the helm, and after a bit of time away Firefly had returned to the beachfront claim ready to take on the future. He wondered if it would be entirely appropriate to follow through with the idea that had struck him upon seeing the ocean again — but like every decision by the man, he wasn't about to overthink it. So he began to prepare, silently, alone. Raiding the caches, clearing a section of the secluded beach, and waiting for the perfect time to call for everyone. He wondered (with just a shred of self-doubt) if they would come if he called. After his many failings as their leader Firefly honestly doubted his own resolve; he wouldn't blame them for staying away.

It was time to unite the pack. They were a ragtag horde of strangers for the most part,  but in the days since Rusalka's inception they'd seen one another through all kinds of situations. The constant struggle against the dragons of the cliff; the skirmishes; losing Rosalyn to them and regaining her; now, they would work together while their enemies were absent and fortify themselves, bring about a rise of new blood. It was the perfect time to celebrate.

As Firefly completed his afternoon-long task of clearing the beach, he cast back his head and howled against the sound of the crashing waves; he called for @Caiaphas and @Illidan first, then @Erzulie and @Rosalyn, @Yami — and kept going until his throat felt raw from the effort of summoning the entirety of Rusalka. There was nothing left for him to do but stand there and wait, keeping an eye on the food he'd laid out along the beach in case a curious gull were to swoop down and attend the meal. It wasn't for the birds — it was all for Rusalka.

a series of calls rouses the woman from the secluded section of beach she'd marked out as hers, well-tread and heavy with her scent, but tucked neatly out of sight. it's hardly a nice section, rocky and crumbled and sharp underfoot, but she supposes that is more likely to ensure her solitude here. there is nothing better with which to describe her state than acute discomfort, which descended sometime between the previous morn and now. standing with a stiff shake to her pelt, the woman makes her way to the source of the call, finding there Firefly and what seemed to be an entire cache strewn across the beach. she stills some distance from him and reclines on her haunches, her desire to approach the meal at war with her much stronger desire to be entirely antisocial.

Rosalyn was trying to take things easier as both she and Erzulie's time came closer.  Erzulie's would come before hers, any day now... and it made her loathe to wander far.

But when Firefly called, she felt the pull of actual company too strongly to stay away.  So she made her way slowly towards it, pausing only once as a sharp ache settled in her back.  The pains had come intermittently, not strong enough to be labor but enough to warn her against pushing herself.

When she arrived to see Firefly there she sat down, not wanting to approach right off.  They hadn't resolved anything since her attack, and his words still sat raw in her memory.  She wasn't terribly interested in getting into another discussion; she just didn't want to sit alone.

the sylph was well aware of firefly's comings and goings before his howl -- not because she was a wretch with a crystal ball, but because a storm of gulls had taken flight overhead and betrayed promise of food.

she was contemplating investigating when the howl for her personally rose into the air; giving one last glance at the cloud of ever-evolving wings, the siren stiffly made her way towards the summons.

she was not the first there; she gave cassiopeia a precursory glance, and then elected to sit aside rosalyn. her keen gaze flitted to firefly in quiet expectation, wondering just what possessed him to call about such a gathering in the middle of the day.

Feel free to keep jumping in! Sort-of a free-for-all.

A few wolves arrived; each seemed less invested in the concept of togetherness than the last, although when the round figure of Rosalyn appeared, followed closely by Caiaphas, the man was pleased to see them lingering together in the sand. He swept his gaze across the expanse he'd cleared after that — recognizing Cassiopeia, but nobody else had come around yet. He could wait for more, but he was impatient to begin (especially if the gulls began to swoop and steal from the exposed meals). If anyone else wished to partake then they were welcome. This was meant for all of Rusalka, after all.

He approached the small gathering, making sure to keep his eyes on Cassiopeia and motioned with a tilt of his snout that she should come closer, and then spoke to the lot of them: Okay, I imagined a bigger gathering than this, but we'll make do. I'm sure the others are on their way — he craned his neck and looked along the path behind Caiaphas, almost expecting Illidan to come sauntering along any second, but then shrugged and continued.

As you can see I've collected some of our food stores here on the beach. I called for all of you, all of us, because I think a celebration is warranted. We have a lot to celebrate, don't you think? As he said this, Firefly's attention drifted between each woman; although he realized afterwards that Cassiopeia might not share the same connection as she was new blood, she was still welcome. We survived despite Drageda's reaction to us, in fact, we outlived them; they're gone, and that alone is reason enough for a party — but also, there's the future to think about. His eyes land on Rosalyn. I wanted to celebrate you, and Erzulie, and Grezig — who... I realize now, might not come to her own party.

Had he made a terrible mistake? Maybe.

Yami took her time answering the call. Well, kind of. She still smarted over the way Firefly had bailed on her to go to Rosalyn, so her attempt at taking her time to arrive on the beach was done in a likely failed attempt at showing him she didn't give a fuck about him anymore. The fact that she still arrived within minutes of the start of the party was because she 150,000% absolutely gave a fuck about him.

She glanced around at those gathered as she stepped at, making a point to look casual as she swept her gaze right past Firefly, even though he was speaking. She was hoping to find another male there that she could shower with attention to make him jealous, but there were none. That meant she would need a different tactic--a prerogative solidified further when he declared that this feast was to celebrate Rosalyn.

Fucking. Rosalyn. AGAIN.

Well, her and the other two pregnant women. 

But FUCK Rosalyn.

Rosalyn wasn't sure how she felt when Caiaphas sat beside her.  In part grateful, but in part still sore over the last time they'd spoken.  She and Erzulie had talked but things had not completely resolved in her own mind, and part of her would find it unfairly hard to forgive the wedge the woman had unwittingly driven between the two of them.

She didn't move, however, as Firefly gave her something far worse to consider.  Her expression shifted, then smoothed over as she hid... whatever it had been.  There was nothing worth celebrating her for, but she wasn't about to divulge what she hadn't even shared with her wife.  And as she thought that, her anger left, leaving only a kind of hollow sadness as she raised her gaze to Firefly's and smiled.

Alright then, let's celebrate.  She made no move towards the food, but she did bring herself a bit closer to mingle.

She couldn't very well fault him any longer, not when it was unlikely she'd end up a mother at all.

caiaphas missed the slight misgiving rosalyn's features shared, for her attention was focused on yami with some curiosity. it was subtle, but she thought she saw something else souring the casual front the girl put on; she was just about to rise and probe yami for details when firefly announced the bounty's purpose.

well, then -- even a bitter old salt crone like caiaphas couldn't deny the gesture was sweet. she dipped her head in acknowledgment, rejoining with her approval: "we do have much to celebrate. a kind gesture, firefly." the sylph, dictated them by societal politeness over true hunger, moved to the banquet in slow strides, nosing along the smorgasbord for morsels to eat.

Caiaphas moved to loom over the scatterd meats upon the sand, and Rosalyn too; Firefly was more enthusiastic with the prositive responses of the two women, but as they moved away he spotted Yami and thought he caught a scowl - no, maybe just a negative vibe - but this event was meant to unify them, banish all ills. So he huffed an invitation to her and closed the distance - glancing briefly towards Cassiopeia and nodding to her as well - before fixing his full attention on the agouti girl.

Yami! I'm so glad you came. You probably heard what I said -- but its more than just celebrating the mothers. I wanted to celebrate everyone; we've survived so much together, and I think we've earned some time to chill out, eat, and, uh, stuff. It wasn't as concise an explanation as he'd intended. Oh well. Come on! Lets go check out the beach -- I mean, the water. Maybe we can find some more cool stuff to add to the party?

Yami watched with cold, feigned indifference as Rosalyn looked at Firefly and smiled. Ugh. It was sickening. She looked away as she considered bailing right then and there, but then she heard her name and saw him coming towards her. Her heartbeat quickened, but she kept her outward appearance shielded against her reaction.

Well, except for the brow quirk. That just couldn't be helped. We've survived so much together. They'd survived themselves more like, and Yami wasn't truly convinced of that yet. But, he was paying attention to her. That always had a rather mollifying effect on her mood. "If you want," she answered coolly, glancing nonchalantly over at Rosalyn to see if the woman was witnessing her victory. She looked back at Firefly then and gave him a smile, trying to look as pretty as possible, whatever that entails.