Nova Peak Yeah, I'm loving all your warning signs

Wylla is rallying the pack to discuss how to deal with Rusalka's encroachment on Dragoncrest Cliffs! This meeting is mandatory for all adult members, pup participation is optional. No post order, next round begins Sunday, November 15th or whenever all the adult members have posted if sooner! @Mahler @Stag @Takiyok @Star @Taikon @Asra (and @Thade @Astraeus @Calcifer if they want to join).

After her discovery on the cliffs, Wylla fumed all the way home. By the time she entered the woods and began climbing a towpath toward the ridgeline, she was so steamed she had to stop and force her breath out. It wouldn't stand. If Rosalyn was anything to go by, the wolves squatting on the cliffs could pose as much a threat to her family and the other families in Sagtannet as the Saints had. The old bitch had claimed to have no interest in them, but she couldn't trust that. As Rosalyn had said, she could not entrust her family's safety to some other pack.

If there was a diplomatic option, she failed to see it. Wylla knew that alliances were as flimsy as day old ice on a puddle. Maybe peace could be had for a time, but there would inevitably be a misunderstanding—Rusalka encroaching on Sagtannet's claim by hunting near their borders, or Sagtannet seeking to access the beach that lay near their claim and Rusalka throwing a fit about it—and the alliance would mean nothing then. No. She couldn't let it happen.

She cleared the treeline and found a narrow plateau overlooking the grotto below, and it was here she stopped and howled a long, urgent note for the wolves of Sagtannet to gather.

The urgency of Wylla's note caused Star to hurry in her arrival. The old matron had no inkling of what this could be about; she had not encountered any Rusalkans nor their scents, usually staying away from the coast anyway. Once she arrived she lowered her chin in a small respectful nod to the Eisen, before settling onto her haunches before her, pale ears thrust forward with a businesslike dedication to listen to her words.

Urgent.
This wasn't something he expected. Wylla and Takiyok had been quite clear that Sagtannet was a pack that kept to themselves. They were not families that went looking for trouble. Taikon felt a wrenching feeling in his stomach as he worried that somehow, the Saints had found a way to reach their tendrils all the way to the mountain. Perhaps Ursus even had come up to try their luck at rattling his new pack.
He moved swiftly. Years of travelling on his own meant he was efficient, and arrived only just after Star. The little wolf sat at attention, and he nodded at her before looking to Wylla.
She was pissed. Her eyes flared with a motherly fury that he had seen in enraged bears with cubs before. Something had triggered her. He wondered if a child was missing. Like a soldier, he stood rather than sat, ready for her instruction.

Curiously so, the nightmare was summoned. There she saw a white wolf and a gold wolf, and the Eisen of the mountain. Asra knew her place, and was in the back of the group, but with her dark colors and usual streak across the eye, surely wouldn't go unnoticed. It was best to be present, especially with such an urgent call.

She sat, a nod to all with but a friendly smile.

it seemed both he and wylla had met the wolves who sought to claim the cliffs as their own. he was by turns made melancholy by it, then angered. sagtannet stood strong. had they not already paid a blood-debt to the cold mountain? frustrated by the prospect of war, by the scarcity of his oldest brood, by the distance of his youngest, it was in a somber mien that mahler attended wylla's summons.
star there, and asra. the new man must bear the name of taikon, and something unflattering and threatened nudged the back of his mind. he had long been the only man of age in sagtannet that now, when confronted by a male his own years and with a striking look to him — his own masculine sense snapped to fore and he wondered grimly if this would be his replacement.
but mahler held the rein of his control; he joined wylla and was silent, deferring to her word.

Taki stretched and reluctantly pulled herself from her ledge at the sound of an urgent call from Wylla. Had it not been urgent, she might have entertained the idea of remaining where she was. But, if something was going on, then she needed to help deal with it. She was a fighter, and even if she had wanted to do less of it lately, she wouldn't be lazy ever. 

It took her longer than some to arrive, and when she did, she trotted over and stood next to Taikon, her gaze respectfully on the Eisens as she waited to see why they had all been called here today.

Thade took to exploring the broad avenues of his anxiety during the time his mother went perusing off grid. The boy refused to leave Sagtannet’s realm himself, and he severely disproved of it when others took to traipsing outside their given borders, but it was a worse feeling to be trapped by one’s own boundaries when a loved one might be in danger.

He could only pace to calm his nerves. Imagining all the terrible things that could be happening to her out there…

Then he heard it, her summoning howl, allowing relief to uplift him from the pit of his troubled thoughts. She’s back. Yet, the pressing tone of her voice brought forth an additional bubbling of irrational assumptions, confirming only his worst fears. Oh gods, she’s lost her other eye! I knew this would happen if I didn’t go with her!

The boy didn’t waste a single moment descending. He arrived, panting and wild-eyed, zeroing in on Wylla, who appeared fine. Artifice! He dodged forward to make certain, ostensibly forgetting to “read the room,” as he aimed to snuffle fiercely about her salt-lashed frame, hunting for injury.

It is only his restlessness that encourages him to answer the eisen's call. 

Phantoming the congregators, the boy leans against a spruce in wait. Amidst them there are two new forgetful faces, the snowstrike'd woman and goldilocked thrall. Star was not batting them on the brow with her paw ( like she did to him, which he still was not very appreciative of, at all ) nor was Mahler roaring as he was on the saltlicked cliffs, so there was no need to cash in any mind.

His gut does cartwheels at the sight of badger-boy Thade;
brown-nosing and groveling from what he could concur for Wylla, the act of closeness between them was cloying at the least. How could this boy, older than he, who he had respected before, writhe into his mother's breast this way? And why hadn't he ever gotten this chance for his own? Hot pressed lips etch a taut faced boy.

Stag had been by Phaedra's garden when Wylla's call sounded; urgent as it was, he wasted little time in arriving.

There were faces here already. The assembly bore several wolves that were entirely new to Stag -- each of them received a perfunctory sweep of his gaze in half-interest, but his true attention was dedicated to Wylla. Mahler was given a brief glance in acknowledgement, as was his mother -- but Stag stayed rooted to the fringes.

Thade did what Stag wished he had the balls to do. Feeling a twist in his gut, Stag looked away and it was then he caught Astraeus' taut expression. One that spoke very plainly of loss and pain.

And another emotion too -- but Stag dared not acknowledge it.

Next round starts next Sunday, November 22nd, or once all adult members have responded if sooner! No post order!

Wylla watched them all gather, first the pale forms of Star and Taikon, who she was pleased to see looked interested and attentive despite his newness to the pack. Then an unfamiliar white-slashed female whose appearance made Wylla grit her teeth a little. Another woman to come along and contend for the right to breed, and likely with their male alpha to boot? Who would claim when the time came that she was deserving, no doubt, and beautiful and whole besides. Greaaat. Mahler and Takiyok came next, the former given a perfunctory once-over, the latter a smile, which faded when Thade swept forward and began to inspect her.

Wylla clacked her jaws admonishingly at him while pulling her muzzle out of reach, fixing him with a stern glare that said, this is not the time or place for this behaviour. Any other time, Wylla would've considered it sweet that Thade was so concerned for her wellbeing, but in front of the pack, he was simply overstepping his place. Her eyes swept over Stag and Astraeus as she surveyed the crowd once more, giving her son a rough nudge to indicate he should withdraw, then fixed them all with a grimace.

There are wolves settling on the cliffs, just across the way, Wylla shared, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the sea. The same cliffs where Mahler was injured. The same cliffs where I lost my eye. The same cliffs that have held tyrant packs before whose sole aim is to cause torment to any and all who live nearby. They are as close to us now as the pack in the mountains when we chose to leave that place for the safety of our families.

I believe they will become a threat to us if we leave them be, she said. Those cliffs have dark history. Bloody history. There has never been a wolf to walk that place who was not violent by nature, and I do not trust these newcomers. Their leader has more scars than skin. I believe it is only a matter of time before they become trouble for us. Their claims of peace rang hollow to Wylla. They could've accepted that they were settling too close to an established pack and moved back a little, but they didn't. She expected they would fight tooth and nail for that cursed place, and she wasn't having it. It is time for Sagtannet to defend what is ours, she said, and remove them from the cliffs, once and for all, for the safety of our children.

Taikon was pleased when Takiyok stood beside him. He reached out and prodded her gently with his nose, quickly redirecting his gaze to Wylla. Whatever she had called them here for was not good news. For a time, they waited for the pack to arrive. The leader calmly corrected behaviours she needed to without words. When they were all settled, she revealed the reason for the urgency.
The prince listened attentively. Wolves had settled on cliffs, and Wylla did not like it. She went on to explain that all who settled upon the cliffs were evil. She likened their presence to that of the Saints when they had been on Sawtooth. Taikon expected her to suggest that they tighten their borders and send scouts to ensure the intruders were not he sort she was suggesting.
Then, she didn't.
She wanted to push them out entirely. Taikon blinked and licked his lips anxiously, looking at his new leader in disbelief. This seemed to him the very definition of warmongering, for she had been strangely careful to avoid saying that the newcomers had done something to Sagtannet. Wylla was prematurely suggesting to the pack that they "nip it in the bud" before the newcomers became a problem, but Taikon did not think this wise.
He shifted his position and looked at Takiyok. He was not in a place in the pack where he could openly disagree with her. However, when he had signed on to this gig, it had seemed quite clear that he had entered a peaceful group of families who had no interest in doing anything other than defending their own when need be.
Taikon tried to think of a way to respond that would not make her angry, but he couldn't think of anything. So, he did the next best thing and asked it in the form of a question. Have they attacked any of us? he asked calmly, meeting Wylla's gaze for a moment. Though Taikon had also judged the Saints without meeting them, it had been on the evidence that Aphrodite had been brutally assaulted by their leader.

All Asra wanted, was but a tranquil life. The thought of what was once a peaceful family was left far behind within the Court of Nightmares, and even now she only wanted to live but within the glacial mountain, and live her days away. She would this time, prefer but a loya mate. Though it seemed, even here, the peace she so wanted, as hard to gain.

"Have they done anything to us?" Just like Taikon, she voiced similarly alongside him. For Asra, did not understand why they wanted to cast them out. She spoke of the bloody past, all a history with darkness surrounding it, and once more did Wylla say, someone has claimed it. Though she did not say the same wolves took her eye, nor harmed Mahler; so were the groups different? All that was mentioned a woman of scars who gives a wary feeling. It seemed..

Wrong.

Was there really a point.. For needless war if they have not done anything?

Glacial eyes looked toward the one-eyed Eisen with calm look and a hint of worry.

Grim news met the court. Stag took Wylla's words seriously, falling to contemplative silence as he mulled over the news.

They'd just uprooted themselves. It'd been so painful - for him, for Phaedra.. His heart pulled for the daughter of Wylla, who had lost more than just a garden in the move.

His muzzle was set in a grim line as he considered Wylla's announcement.

First to speak were the pair of wolves he didn't recognize; a barb of something similar to contempt shot through him as they dared throw their questioning of his leader into the court. They hadn't been here during Sagtannet's last exodus; they were literally two newcomers who threw their voice to the wind as a slap against Wylla's face and judgment.

Stag found his fur bristling. Had they not voiced their objections so subtly, he might have arrived at a similar conclusion: watch and wait -- but as they dismantled Wylla's suggestion with their well-aimed questions, Stag found his patience thinning. He felt a loyalty stir under his breast for the Eisen, who had only ever seen Sagtannet flourish under her rule.

"Does it matter?" He trained his gaze to each of them, feeling their questioning of his leader dig deep under his skin. "To wait for them to attack us would be a mistake we cannot afford."

Wylla didn't keep them waiting, thankfully, and after a correction of her son's behavior, she informed them of her reason for calling them here. It seemed there had been some kind of disagreement with a pack of wolves setting on the cliffs just west of them. The Eisen believed they were a danger to the pack and she wanted them forced out. 

Taikon and Asra were the first to speak up, asking for more information about whether the pack on the cliffs had actually done anything against them. Then Stag spoke up, dismissing their concerns and stating that they could not afford to wait for them to attack us. She studied her firstborn's face as he spoke, admiring his willingness to protect the pack as well as internally fretting over the thought of him in any kind of battle. 

Neither can we afford to lose a war and who knows how many of our numbers at the beginning of winter, Taki calmly pointed out on the tail end of her son's counter argument. Not that she thought they would necessarily lose, but there was now to be sure of the outcome. There was a time when she would have been chomping at the bit to push another pack away from a territory to close to theirs. But now, she wasn't so sure—she could understand Wylla's concerns, and another move did not sound like the solution either. But she also agreed somewhat with the concern shared by Taikon and Asra; what exactly had this pack done to warrant this type of response? Did the Eisen have more proof of how they were a danger that was more concrete than her feelings and opinions of the leader and the group in general? War was a lot to ask from the pack, and was it worth it to put everyone through that based solely on her opinion? I'm not saying that pushing them out is a bad idea, I just wonder if we should give it some more time and see what becomes of them. Maybe they wouldn't cause problems, and maybe they would, but she felt like they could at least afford to take a breath and scout out the situation a little better before committing the pack to a battle that could very likely cost Taki her son. Mahler and Wylla's children were not old enough to fight, but hers were, and it made her hesitant to rush into anything.

wylla's voice was passionate; it filled the cold air and raked at mahler with its sense of fierce indignation. rise up and fight. remove them. his gut winced at the thought.
he had remembered astraeus, coming along to his first tense meeting with rusalka, even if it had been unknown to the former general initially. and seeing his son so close at hand to the seawolves had sobered him at once. he thought of their saltwater invasion into sagtannet, should they fail in their mission. of the children slain, for that aforementioned woman had promised a great cost.
all of this could be overlooked had mahler not watched each of their new thralls question wylla, followed by takiyok's more balanced statement. one dissenter could be persuaded. three could not, and mahler felt to demand so much from such new loyalty was unadvisable. star had not yet spoken, but mahler felt she would do what was best for her young. and stag! irebound and young, honed already despite his age. and yet even the young prince could not command his own righteous anger — not this time. 
without the backing of sagtannet, there could be no battle.
the man understood wylla would know this, might wince back or lash toward them with a command; he moved to her side, meaning to quell whatever tension was beginning to rise with the long shadow of his presence.

Star listened as Wylla shared, thinking of what a war would mean for Sagtannet, for her. A fearsome battle could likely be her last; she was no longer as young as she used to be. It did not sound as if they had harmed Sagtannet, yet- and Star wondered why they would rush into war now, when they had fled before. She also felt she could not allow herself to die yet. Marble and Calcifer were not yearlings, and she promised herself she would live till then to raise them fully. As much as she doubted her eagerness to rush into war- the new recruits both speaking out caused her fur to rise slightly in annoyance. Especially so the female yearling- too young to be taking a stand to her new leader, though similarly, Taikon was fresh here too. Star narrowed her dark gaze upon the both of them, and though she wondered the same, she did not speak her opinions. She was a knight's sword, used for wherever Sagtannet wished her to be. And if that was war- she valued loyalty above all, and gave only a nod to Wylla, an acknowledgement that she would follow the Eisen to whatever.

Last round unless some discussion happens that pushes it forward! No post order, basically a free for all now.

She expected some sort of agreement, maybe some well-put thoughts on better ways to proceed—they had, after all, abandoned a far better fortified territory just to put distance between themselves and their new neighbours, and she was certain that none of them wanted to go through that again—but instead she got the wolf equivalent of a middle finger from one of Sagtannet's newest.

First Taikon, whose first impression had been so impressive to her, disagreeing in a thinly veiled question. That would've been fine, every wolf had a right to their concerns and she would have listened, but he had the sheer audacity to meet her eye in the process. There was no greater insult than to look a leader in the eye, especially in a tense situation like this. Wylla transformed in an instant, letting her fur stand on end and flagging her tail high over her back as she drilled her gaze into his and bared her teeth in a silent warning. How fucking dare you, her posture screamed. He hadn't even been there a week and he was already challenging her via his body language. It seemed his polite border etiquette had been nothing but an act, and she was sick to death of wolves like him that couldn't be bothered to show basic respect to their leaders. If not for others swiftly agreeing with him, she would've revoked his welcome to Sagtannet and sent him off with her teeth in his hide. She had no time or tolerance for disrespect, certainly not from a newcomer.

But then Asra spoke, shifting Wylla's attention away from Taikon, lucky for him, and then Takiyok cut in with the same concern, although her suggestion was taken better. At least Takiyok had the sense to know that removing the cliff wolves was a possibility they had to consider, whether or not it was warranted. She was always a reasonable wolf, but Wylla knew that if push came to shove, she would side with her new beau, and that did nothing to smooth her ruffled nerves. Star nodded, but Wylla couldn't be sure exactly what that meant. Stag was the only one who backed her and spoke out against waiting for trouble to come. Such a sensible wolf—his father's son, from what little she knew of Stigmata. Not for the first time, Wylla looked out over the wolves of Sagtannet and thought, this is no pack of mine.

A sentiment that was finalized when Mahler said and did nothing. He didn't seem to care when Taikon met her gaze. He did not offer any thoughts to the wolves of Sagtannet on the matter of the cliff wolves—had he not been grievously wounded defending them before? Now he apparently didn't care about the cliffs being occupied. No support from him. Instead, he loomed over her in a way that made her feel like he was squashing her authority with his own, belittling and embarrassing her in front of the entire pack with his display, and it was enough to snuff out any desire Wylla had to continue with the meeting. She had given a lot in service to Sagtannet, and only one of them had ever deserved it. Well, she was done with it. She looked to Stag momentarily, meaningfully, then glared out at the rest.

Suit yourselves, she ground out. We'll wait for them to hurt someone. Like spineless dogs, she thought. It was the way of the wild to compete for resources and best their rivals, and she had always been wild in that sense. How had this pack that allegedly sought to claim everything in the mountain range been reduced to this? She'd waited to see whether a pack next door was a problem, once upon a time. Her brothers ended up being attacked while she sat on her ass. In her paranoid mind, it was only a matter of time before the newcomers decided to test their mettle. When that day came and the sea rose up, she decided viciously, Sagtannet could drown.

That's all, she curtly concluded.

It broke Stag’s heart, well and truly, to see not a single soul stand up for their leader.

Not even Mahler.

The newcomers he understood. They were fresh recruits, who had not faced the same crucible of uprooting their lives because of lurking danger.

Star he understood. She was beyond her years of physical usefulness, and had her children to think of.

Even his mother was afforded small grace; she broached her concerns with tactful care.

But Mahler...? To stand silent, unsupportive, as they all collectively watched Wylla’s authority wither away like smoke on the wind?

Stag’s nerves were steady, his expression one of extreme coldness as he looked to the wolves that, before this day, he would have happily laid down his life for. To realize that they would not do the same was like being doused in chilling ice water. They were no packmates of his.

Stag rose when Wylla finished, ready to follow her once she left. He understood, implicitly, what this moment meant for Sagtannet. The fractures had been there all along, but this moment defined them — and made them into rifts.

When Sagtannet collapsed, Stag would not be found in the chasm. He would be found standing alongside his family — his true family — while the spineless found themselves falling to the void.

The the immediate questioning was a novelty.
aikon, the tow-colored man challenged Sagtannet's matriarch, essentially. The silence is filled with more enquires, but inside his mind its all a cold February morning and all the shutters are flapped closed. He'd thought he acknowledged all of Sagtannet's follies. He was wrong.

He stood and walked away form the meeting as it came to close. Whether Sagtannet's lungs would rpture and choke on its own blood and collapse on itself — or somehow some ghost of understanding posessed them to stay, it was no business of his.

He would only follow that one even with that glacier seperated them, even. He didn't know that yet.
But he knew nothing here mattered.

Wylla's curt dismissal couldn't be good. The matron sucked in a breath, looking again to the wolves who she saw as furthest out of line- the newcomers- and shot them the stern glance of a disapproving old woman. Mahler had not spoken for the Eisen in support, and though neither had Star, she blamed Asra and Taikon for the falling apart of the meeting. It was they who had introduced the trend of questioning their leader- and at least Takiyok had spent enough time in Sagtannet to earn the right to speak up. The woman sighed, and then made to follow Stag- seeing the invisible lines drawing themselves, and deciding she did not wish to be on the side that believed themselves all worthy of making the decisions of a leader.

A question catalyzed what would be the death of a relationship and the collapse of a pack.
Wylla was quick to correct him, showing teeth. The glance at her eye was not something he regretted, though he averted his gaze in that moment just the same. Asra spoke up with a similar line of questioning, followed even by Takiyok, who stated all that he could not. He felt eyes on him. Glares. It was then that Taikon realized the place he had come to was not one where he would fit in. Wylla expected complete subservience of him. Though their meeting he had been polite and courteous, he had thought that his mind and experiences would enable Sagtannet to do better.
He hoped that, had he been a leader, that a strong question and brief challenge might give him pause. That rather than correcting such behaviour, he might encourage it, allowing people to question him in his rule. His mother had done the opposite, and in Wylla he saw the same lack of wisdom and understanding.
With no discussion, nothing else, Wylla closed things out. Disappointment rose in the Thrall, who knew that this kind of avoidant behaviour was exactly what led to pointless wars and lives lost without meaning.
Taikon glanced at Takiyok, confused, annoyed. He stood up and left without another word, slipping away from his new pack mates in order to find a place to think. This was not what he had expected. This was not what he wanted.

mahler was aware of a swift and inward crashing as the silence pressed on. he had meant to be silent in deference, fearing his slow approach to conflict would be a direct humiliation. 
but it had been taikon, and the lilac stare shifted as the man turned.
wylla had dismissed them; the lines of her body were set into familiar pathways of ire, and mahler knew at once the truth of his final dismissal.
nor had he missed how stag had risen —
but his gaze remained upon wylla as the wolves of sagtannet filtered away and a foreboding sense of a greater wrath filled the air.
belated; cursed; he was silent, worthlessly silent.

Cowed and embarrassed, Thade wilted off to the side and turned to watch the short proceedings with a glum expression. He was too lost in his own rejection at first to realized what was being said, but as the fracturing emotions of the pack intensified and quieted at the same time, the boy focused in.

The strangers, which all of them felt to him — save for his parents — were not unified behind the Eisen. There were no rallying cries, or even a mild sense of unity, as they talked about outsiders, the inferior ones by default. And what grace did outsiders deserve? If they were not all pupnappers, then they were mavens of indifference, at the very least. Thade had never had a stranger do him a honest kindness, so he was inclined to be against foreign parties entirely.

He could feel his thoughts pulling in one direction, keen to the opinion of Stag, but the sight of Mahler’s roiling stoicism grounded him. Be like Papa... Be like Papa...

Except, this tacit endorsement seemed to do something to Wylla that Thade knew he never wanted to see again. It was withering, the look on her face, the coldness emanating from it. He glanced around, unaware that he was watching the disintegration of Sagtannet, and landed on Astraeus’ detached expression. His heart sank, as fragments started to solidify, and he felt the cracks almost insurmountably widen when everyone began to disperse.

Frozen for a while, he was one of the last bodies to depart, his head full of worst-case scenarios, imagining that he would be the one to end up completely alone in all of this. He felt that he could not agree with non-action, but since his mother had already jilted him — which he did not understand as a situational repercussion — he felt as if he were not allowed to follow her either. Alone, he went to brood.

Asra was not sure what she had done wrong, especially when a few looked in her direction with a malice. She felt rather guilty at the ending, only looking around with but confusion as her ears flattened in a submissive stance. For all she wanted was to ask if the others have done something in particular to them, and if that had spurn on this desire of war mongreing to them-

and so she felt wronged.

However she knew from court life, saying more would only bring misfortune. Nobles were high and mighty, they did not enjoy defiance, much less someone to question their word, but Asra did not think it was questioning Wylla's words.. Just a question.

So she backed off, and slunk to the den where she and Taikon discovered.