Golden Glade to forge a path into the marrow of the spirit

Official moving thread!
Set June 11th, around midday. Participation is not mandatory but is highly recommended -- this is, after all, an important event! There will be no posting order in each round to help keep things moving.

Timeline of events for this move:
- 5/25: Raven tells Quixote she wants to move to Golden Glade (thread).
- 5/26: Rannoch & Liffey meet with Raven & Quixote to propose merging their family with RH. Raven lets them know they'll be moving (thread).
- 6/7: After traveling back to LCH to get their family, Rannoch & Liffey return with everyone and join RH. Raven gives them all a few days to rest and recover from their travels (thread).
- 6/11: Moving day!

Tags so everyone sees this: @Quixote @Vasa @Owen @Phoebe @Rye @Cinder @Rannoch @Liffey @Breccan @Deshyr @Sionnach @Aengus @Tiarnach @Eshe

When Rannoch and Liffey had confirmed they were rested and ready, Raven sent up the call for the rest of her pack and gave everyone time to assemble. Though word of their intention to move had spread quickly after the decision had been made, for those who were still a little unsure of what was going on, she and Quixote filled them in and made sure everyone was on board with it. Many were glad for the change of scenery -- the plateau had never been a big hit with some, particularly those who had moved here from the grandeur and beauty of Redhawk Caldera. Raven herself was filled with excitement and relief, having never liked this exposed, waterlogged, nearly-naked expanse of land. She looked forward to enjoying the shelter and privacy of a forest again, as well as having new places to explore and put down roots. A place of her own, chosen by her. Moving away from here felt, in a way, like closing the book on an old chapter of her life, one fraught with abandonment, pain, and bad memories. Though the move to Golden Glade was so short it barely deserved to be considered a big deal, to the alpha female it felt like a brand new chapter, an opportunity to start fresh and rewrite what had, up to this point, been an exhaustingly endless parade of bad news.

The trip took no time at all, requiring only that they descend the plateau on its gently-sloping northeastern side and then follow its flank south to the forest that waited at its foot. A beautiful and serene wood nestled comfortably between the plateau and its neighboring peak, whose canopy was cheerfully green and whose floor was carpeted with moss and spangled everywhere with bright shards of golden sunlight, it welcomed them with birdsong and the sweet scent of maplewood. A stream babbled somewhere nearby, and the scent of game ws strong in the air. She liked the Glade's close proximity to the plateau, so that those who were attached to their old territory could still visit anytime they wanted without having to journey far. She also liked that it was still close enough to the Firebirds and to Towhee and Phox's new pack to maintain close ties. Once they were comfortably within the embrace of the woods, she turned to her packmates and announced, "All right guys, I hope you all drank lots of water before we left because your pee on the borders would be greatly appreciated." She grinned. "We'll need some caches dug and filled, and I'll be needing a messenger or two to carry word of our move to the Firebirds and to Towhee. Some of you might have already heard, but we're going to be changing the name of our pack. Since the Frostfurs and the Redhawks came together to make this happen, and Rannoch and Liffey will be leading with us now -- they'll have the same authority that Qui and I have -- our pack will be called the Frosthawks. This is sort of like turning over a new leaf in a lot of different ways, and while it means a lot to me personally, I hope it can be a good thing for each of you too."

Rye was surprised to hear an unfamiliar call for him to gather, but it was within borders so he went along with it and finally got to meet the mother to Owen, even  if it wasn't direct a meeting. Rye had heard whisperings of a move but it was never comfirmed until then, and it was soemthing that shook his world a little. However once they arrived he realized, it wasn't much of a distance from the plateau. He was glad, maybe they were closer to Towhee. Speaking of, "I'll do it!" Rye blurted out rather loudly. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time more calmly. "I'll tell Towhee, but uh, I'm not quite sure where she resides." Was it weird he blurted that out like he did? Probably.

True to her nature, Wisteria remained near the back of the group for the entire journey down from the plateau, scrutinizing the backsides of her new packmates with naked suspicion. Any who ventured near her or attempted to engage her besides her littermates and her parents was met with a low warning growl; given her skinny state and her bright fur colour, there was likely more than one growl thrown out on the trip.

She hardly cared what Raven had to say, since she still felt like a starving loner being eyed and judged by fat, spoiled pack wolves (in other words, she felt like an outsider among them), but milled about at the back until the Alpha female finished speaking. Mostly for the sake of her family, the only wolves here she cared about (so far). If not for them she likely would have just stolen food from this pack and been on her way, but for Rannoch, Liffey, Breccan and Deshyr, she had to make an effort to integrate.

She had no intention of wasting her limited energy marking their borders for them; she ducked into the woods and disappeared among the trees, hoping instead to find something to eat that wasn't another wolf's leftovers for once.

Things felt like they were happening too fast. Yet the day of their grand move had drug out uncomfortably, at least in Phoebe's eyes. She hadn't quite fallen to the rear of the group as they had move the short trip, all too well aware of the growling she had heard carrying on back there, but she did not carry the enthusiasm that would have cast her to the front of the lot.

She hated this, every ounce of it. For a creature that so very rarely ventured out, leaving the safety and the familiarity of the plateau behind was not unlike a waking nightmare. But it was one of many in her reality, the second and just as fresh strike was the fact that soon it would not just be she and her sibling that her mother looked after. It should have been a happy occasion for her family twice over, but to Phoebe it was days of doom and gloom.

Listlessly, she milled about with the others as her mother spoke, and tried to keep her emotions in check. It would have been fairly easy to whine and carry on like a child but she was far from the child here now, and those children seemed to be handling it with some degree of decorum that she too had to possess. Her gaze was glassy as she looked past them to their parents and then onward to her own, and she felt a painful lump rise in her throat again.

Breccan had followed along with the group as they made the official transition to their new territory. It didn't much matter to him; he had only spent a few days at the plateau, and had hardly even given it a cursory examination. What was another move, when he had already been uprooted twice before in less than a year of life? He felt like he had little control over what was happening to him, and he liked it less and less with each passing day.

The only consolation was that he found he wasn't the only youth upset with the circumstances. There seemed to be a general feeling of unsettlement among the younger wolves of the bunch; he knew that Deshyr shared his sentiments, and even Sionnach had been grumpier than usual as of late. When he took the time to glance at the faces of Raven and Quixote's kids, he noted that at least one of them looked displeased. It was validating, in a way, although it didn't do much to improve his mood overall.

When they arrived, he listened without expression as Raven welcomed them to their new home. She spoke of turning over a new leaf, and Breccan wondered why that leaf had been turned at all, when there had been nothing wrong with the old one. His gaze roved over the shaded treescape; he felt a tug at his heartstrings as it reminded him of the hollow. He only partially listened as a list of duties was provided, and one of the Redhawks volunteered to act as a messenger. In the background, Wisteria slipped quietly away, and Breccan watched her go. He had half a mind to follow her -- not to pursue her, but to escape the crowd.

He stayed, though, standing stoically near his family, looking the part of a Frosthawk while feeling anything but on the inside.

Owen hadn’t known what to make of the news when it was first broken to him and his sisters, particularly with that detached air of unreality hanging about over the whole thing. Others might wax nostalgic for the pack’s previous home, but Heron Lake Plateau was the only one he’d ever known in his relatively brief life. They couldn’t really be moving away from it for good, could they? And so disturbingly soon? He had to wonder if maybe they were going to have to roll Mom the rest of the way along the path they trekked there as it was. But obviously Raven was completely onboard with this relocation nonetheless, as she stood there orchestrating and delegating and generally quite happily acting the part of assertive alpha. Maybe if she’d seemed less cheerful and authoritative about all this Owen would have felt a little more comfortable. As it was, she seemed so thoroughly enthusiastic and prepared that Owen (who really felt like he could have used another month, or three! to get used to even just the idea) felt left out, like there was no space for him to have a voice in all this, and like his own discomfort and uncertainty would just get in the way of the pack’s determined steamrolling downslope to claim their new home.

He hung back, his feet and tail dragging a little, but voiced no complaints as the group soldiered onward with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Owen gave one spindly female a glance, noting her own reluctance and wondering if she was one of these new Frostfurs since she didn’t smell too familiar— but he saw her flashing teeth at another and rumbling more than once, so he gave her a wide berth and stuck instead to the safer shadow of his sister Phoebe in the main. There was another youngish male that piqued his interest a little, but seeing the boy’s displeased mien Owen didn’t presume to venture too close there, either. He didn’t want to make any trouble and upend things even more today of all days, after all. Mom (and Dad he supposed too, though he had yet to glimpse Qui in the small mob for sure as of yet) had enough on her plate right now, after all.

Owen stood there uncertainly with paws awkwardly akimbo, twitching an ear as he heard Rye speak up and offer to inform Towhee of the move. Almost Owen offered to guide him, but then the younger male hesitated again, biting his tongue as he looked furtively around for Dad. Owen wasn’t entirely certain if he was still supposed to be avoiding Aunt Towhee (and Poe! Who he presumed had scarpered off to join one of the other splinter packs...) for reasons still somewhat bafflingly fuzzy and mysterious in his head, or if his probation period was over now. ...Probably better to play it 100% safe though. It seemed strange to him if Rye of all wolves was going to be the one to go talk to Towhee, really, but whatever; Mom and Dad could deal with that however they saw fit. Owen instead opted to sidle up beside @Phoebe, after another long moment of glancing about in discomfort. Well, we’re here, I guess, he muttered, as much to himself as anyone, and then cleared his throat a little and said to his sister more audibly, Uh, hey there. ...You doing okay? Okay, actually, maybe that was kind of a stupid question. Owen didn’t really see how she could be okay with this sudden upending of their world. I mean, uh...are you hungry at all, or anything...?

Quixote was a bit of a ghost during the trip.  He lingered at the edges, appearing briefly at Raven's side now and again to report in how things looked ahead.  Traveling was the most unsafe time for them all, so he made sure there weren't going to be any surprises.  Then he was gone up ahead of them again.  At least it wasn't that long of a trip or chances were that'd get old.  

He nodded to Rye, paused then looked to Raven, Did we even know where they were going or am I blanking entirely?  It was possible.  He'd had a lot on his mind and worrying about where they went had been pretty low on the list.  They wanted to go off on their own, after all, so he wasn't gonna stop them.  Not his circus. 

Raven had pretty much covered everything.  Anyway, he shook his head slightly, trying to get back on topic.  The borders will be patchy these first few days -- a few strays might slip through the holes, oblivious.  If you're worried, keeping more towards the base of the plateau will probably be most secure for now.  Once everyone's had a good look around, I'm sure dens and gathering places will make themselves obvious enough.  Enjoy the new -- it'll be ordinary soon enough.  His only real regret was that they hadn't done this sooner -- that they hadn't just said screw it to the plateau and had it been here where there first pups were born -- but then again, maybe this would have seemed just as unlucky now as that particular patch of earth.

Vasa had mixed feelings on the whole thing.  On the one hand, adventure was cool.  On the other hand, it wasn't much of an adventure when everyone was going and it was literally just downhill from where they'd started. It wasn't particularly full of glory and not something you'd write home about.

Perhaps taking a bit after her father, she yoyoed up and down the train of wolves, peering at the newcomers, eavesdropping on conversations, and probably getting growled at for straying too close to Wisteria.  She wasn't quite making a menace of herself, but she was doing her damnedest to find something entertaining about it all -- everyone was moving too slow.  They should have just run on down and it would have been way more fun.  None of this plodding along stuff.

Heck, when her parents finally brought them to a halt in their new home, she only half listened before turning and darting off before they were even talking.  Blah blah, too much talking not enough investigating new stuff.

I know theres no posting order but just to make sure, I apologize if I dont post correctly but due to a recent thread Rye will have to take back his request to go to Towhee. This will be his last post unless needed.

On second though Rye figured it best to leave another fellow pack member to deliver the message, perhaps Towhee wanted space after all. Time to strike out on her own with that Phox guy, so he retracted his statement about being the massager and walked away. Quiet as a mouse.

Liffey chuckled at her cousin's opening remarks. The trip had been a delightfully short one. She was a ranger by trade and all, but her recent long runs back and forth between the Hollow and the Plateau in such quick succession had winded her. She felt tired still, but being here now and having renewed purpose had given her some of her energy back. That and the fact that it appeared that a couple of Raven's kids were no happier about the move than hers were. Not that she wanted any of the children to be unhappy, but it was nice to know that it was a kid thing and not that she had somehow failed to raise them right that they couldn't cope with change.

She felt a tremor of pride and excitement when Raven announced that they would be leading together. Leading the Frosthawks. It had felt wrong at first to change the name of the pack. She was no Redhawk, but she had been raised with them and knew the importance of that legacy. She'd felt guilty turning away from it, but if anyone was to say no to it, it would've been Raven's right. Seeing as Raven had been the one to recommend it, Liffey allowed herself to take pride in that too.

Quixote was the only one to really add to the conversation beyond one of the other fellows--A wolf she knew by sight, but no further. She smiled at his enthusiasm, though was a bit confused when not long after, he took it back and slipped away. With a glance at Rannoch, she decided to let it go and simply looked at Raven and Quixote with a fond smile. "I can't thank you guys enough. This is a beautiful place you've found," she said with a wag of her tail, "I'll be happy to go to the Firebirds and let my family know we're here now. Assuming someone can keep an eye on our littles for a short while?" Her gaze shifted over to @Deshyr hopefully.

Raven's opening remarks had spurred on a fleeting feeling of amusement within Rannoch. Winded, both physically and emotionally, it took a great deal to entice any excitement out of him. Despite his exhaustion, he reminded himself that this was an important day—it was their first day as Frosthawks. Although he was exultant of what they had created, he couldn't help but pine for what had been lost in the process. Rannoch's friendship with Terance was undoubtedly over, and he silently grieved for what he had lost. It was hard for him to fend off these intrusive thoughts, especially on the momentous occasion. 

Thankfully, Liffey's words distracted Rannoch's heeds, and he turned to his wife with a smile. "Yes," he agreed once he had cleared his throat. "This will be a perfect place to raise our children for generations to come, and we look forward to the memories that we'll all create together." Rannoch redirected his attention to those that he was less acquainted with and addressed them directly in his continuation. "You all might not know Liffey or me well enough, but we hope to change that in the coming days. Please don't hesitate to approach us—we are here for you all, as Quixote and Raven have been for all these seasons." Then, turning to Quixote and Raven, he spoke to them directly. "Thank you for welcoming us into your home and your most chief ranks—we will not let you down." 

In regards to Liffey visiting the Firebirds, Rannoch nodded in reply; she was the ideal candidate to carry out the job, especially since Raven's birthing was swiftly nearing. He turned to @Deshyr then and nodded encouragingly. 

With their plans in line, there was nothing else to do but explore their new home. Hobbling forward, Rannoch beckoned with a nod of his snout for their assemblage to follow. "Come on, then!" he encouraged, his spirits lifted by his company. "Let's make this place our home!" 

And they did just that, as they divided and concurred. The reign of the Frosthawks had begun, and the glade was theirs.