Duskfire Glacier Nukadlik

This will be shortly after the meeting "moth to a flame" where Tzila requests to speak with three members after the meeting has concluded. Hope it's alright that I made this. Want to make sure Tzila is addressed and gets the time she needs. ^^

The northerner was troubled by the child’s outburst and departure from their meeting place. Issorartuyok had not anticipated such fire from one so young. He had watched the dark child make her statement, step forward and shout at her village with anger in her voice, and then she had departed from the gathering. The northerner had not attempted to halt her, had not wished to stop her on her furious path. Even the woman who had tried to reassure Makatza had been ignored and left behind by the child. It was a terrible shame, he felt, to try to help the glacier and to leave such a dreadful first impression upon its members.

@Tzila had requested to speak with them, once the meeting had concluded and they had found a resolution that would help to support Duskfire. Issorartuyok had nodded, agreeing, that they should meet and discuss the child Makatza and the position he had stepped forward to help fill. @Meerkat would be there, as would @Lane, so he could not feel disheartened.

When the others had moved away from the group and they were left with the natural hum of the meeting grounds, Issorartuyok moved to gather around the other three. His dark eyes were watchful. The northerner was ready for anything they might discuss.

As their packmates dispersed, the full weight of the position she had just assumed settled upon her shoulders. With every packmate's departure, she felt a little more of her energy drain. What had she gotten herself into? Hadn't she just been talking with Kigipigik about leaving Duskfire Glacier? She felt like a walking contradiction. A secret hypocrite. Fuck, was she tired. 

Eventually only Lane, Tatkret, and @Tzila remained. Tzila had also asked to speak with @Meerkat, but the coach had not yet returned from her attempt to chase down Makatza. 

In an attempt to dispel the silence, Lane spoke. 

"While we're waiting for Meerkat... I just wanted to say, I don't think Makatza was entirely misguided in what she said. She's a smart girl." Tzila had been kind to voice aloud her conviction that leadership was not passed through blood, but Lane wasn't so sure. This was Duskfire Glacier. Shouldn't it be led by a Duskfire? If not Wintersbane or Tzila, then one of their children? 

"I was just thinking. Once the pups reach nine months of age, I'd like to take one of them as my beta." She hurried to add, "That is, if Wintersbane isn't ready to resume leadership himself." With a pause, she added one more thing. "And I'd like Wintersbane to be the one to choose which pup becomes beta. If he can't lead himself, he should be able to select his heir." Lane looked between Tatkret and Tzila, wondering if they would think she was talking crazy. She was so exhausted she could hardly think straight. 

Lane's gaze flicked to the treeline, wondering when Meerkat would reemerge. Speaking of betas, Meerkat would probably make a good one to Tatkret. They seemed close, and Meerkat was also a natural leader. She would be great in that role, assuming her loyalties lay more with Duskfire Glacier than they did with her birthpack. Lane still didn't have a great sense of how long Meerkat intended to stay.

Tzila did not know Tatkret as personally as she did Lane or Meerkat. But she believed he had a good heart and ultimately held the best interest of the Glacier in mind. Qualities she valued highly and even expected of her pack mates. She waited for Meerkat to join them, but did not pressure her, moving on to voice her piece. "She is." She replied to Lane, of Makatza. "She may be my daughter, but she has been nothing but trouble for us all, despite our efforts." Her dark ears pinned down harshly to her skull. "As a mother, I think what a child like her needs is tough love. A reality check. Which is why I did not make the move to stop her from facing the world alone."

"I grew up like that. Fending for myself...after deserting my family." Her expression grew pained, sour. "I can't help but feel I am to blame. That my...demons were passed on to her." She would not get into details about how she had never entirely been a good person. Lane and Tatrekt should be able to decipher the silent message well enough, hidden in her spoken words.

 "I will support whichever his decision Wintersbane makes, when he recovers. But if he cannot make the choice, then we must use our best judgement." She sighed, standing up to shake out her coat. "I trust you both, and as much as I wish I could help more, I can't. All of this...it is draining."

It was curious to see that Lane spoke with understanding and compassion, while the mother of the child Makatza seemed to have little issue with speaking about how troublesome her kin had grown to be. Neither of their words troubled him, of course. He was a man in that discussion, and they were women, who understood the growth and development of children beyond anything he could have hoped for himself.

I do not think Meerkat will join us. She searches for the angry child, he offered in a hushed voice, quiet and serious in its nature. The brown of his eyes turned to search in the direction where the scout had vanished to. She had seemed troubled, but he did not know why. It lingered in his mind as his ears swiveled to meet their shared words.

Children are the future of this village. The angry spirit in Makatza may only need guidance, redirection, before it becomes a strength. Are the others interested in stepping to fill their father’s pawsteps? They should desire the position before it is given. This was all he had to offer on the subject. Issorartuyok thought of Meerkat. He wondered if the scout would locate the child, if she would be able to coax the anger from her… enough so that she would return to her family, anyway.

Tzila's words hinted at a family history of antisocial tendencies, although down-to-earth Lane would never have deigned to describe such proclivities as "demons." Tatrket's words on the subject were wise, and Lane found herself nodding along. 

"Tzila, you said you harbor these "demons" as well, but you've found a way to live peaceably with them, despite a lack of guidance in your formative years. Tatkret's right. As long as we're all on the same page about how we are going to guide Makatza, hopefully we can get her there too." And hopefully they could do it without any more permanent scars or disfigurements among her age-mates. This was the real reason that Lane had stepped forward to lead. She had no desire for the power or responsibility; this was simply the best move she could make to ascertain that her children would be safe. The next time Makatza decided to royally fuck up, Lane would get to decide how it was handled. 

Lane nodded again. Tatkret spoke wisely and correctly on both counts. Lane was reassured in her decision to support his ascension to leadership. Of course the pup that assumes the beta position should be one who desires leadership. Lane was vehemently opposed to the idea that any child's future should be predetermined for them. This was why neither of her children carried her Vitale surname; if either ever showed a desire to train as a medic, she would teach them, but such studies would not be required of them as they were for her, when she was a child. 

"Yes.. the pups will be made aware that this is a possibility that will be open to them, so they can think it over and prepare, if they wish. A beta will be chosen from those who volunteer, just as our leaders were chosen today." Lane nodded. The consistency appealed to her. Lane already had a pretty good idea of which pups would jump at the chance to lead, but just in case she was wrong, the children would have to option to volunteer themselves for the role. 

It appeared that Tatkret would be correct about a third thing: Meerkat still had yet to show up, and it seemed that she might not make it back for whatever Tzila wished to discuss. 

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Lane asked Tzila. "We can fill Meerkat in later, if we need to..." Lane and Issorartuyok would hear Tzila's concerns and/or requests and assist her to their best abilities; this was the first appeal to them as leaders after all, and no doubt they both desired a strong start for their tenure.

Fading here perhaps, with an optional last post from Teo? Mai/Tzila won't be able to post again while on NPC status.