Lost Creek Hollow when we last spoke i was a dog with a broken leg

pack meeting thread predating the move <3 not mandatory but encouraged! @Silvertongue @Ash Star @Acantha @Esma @Ksura

wren had come to her wife stained in crimson and wrought with despair.
she explained it in a jumbled, garbled mess; her father was alive. he had come to her, to riverclan, tried to — reclaim her. it was as if a nightmare had come true. she had sent him away covered in his own blood, and she was safe, okay; but riverclan was not. not anymore.
she sits in the heart of the hollow as she sends up a call, flecked with scarlet and mud still; in that moment, wren became leader as she rounded up everyone who would listen. they needed to move.

Ash was irritated for having her rest disturbed and for having Wren step all over her authorty. There was a dangerous glitter of anger in her eyes as she arrived, but it was replaced with quiet concern at the look of the women.

She shot her a small glare, but moved closer to inspect.

What ails you?

Just a cameo unless called or addressed further that Acantha would remain back at the den with the pups so Ash can go. <3

Someone called the pack to gather and quickly—a rambunctious commotion occurring within the hollow that day. Ash Star seemed irritated—as their pack Star, Acantha could not blame her, given she was the packs leader. So while her curiosity stirred her to attend, instead, she remained back in the den with her younger siblings—allowing Ash Star the freedom to deal with whatever had risen.

Still, snug against the front of the den, shielding Darrow and Aerilyn from view—Acantha’s own cerulean eyes stared hungrily outward, waiting for news of what had transpired.

she had come home to disaster, and she was thankful for it. trying to calm wren covered the miserable cadence of her own heart; assuring her wife that this man had gone. the fear was palpable, bone-deep; she seized upon it and agreed in that moment to leave, even if no one else would go. standing beside her wife, silvertongue waited for the others to gather, dipping her head at ash star, smiling waveringly at acantha.

all still welcome to join and voice themselves! just getting this kicked off <3

silvertongue knew better than anyone else what this was.
frazzled, mind racing and muscles vibrating inside her skin; ash star and her elder daughter are the first to come forward, and when wren swallows, it feels like a boulder is lodged in her throat.
i have something to tell you, she wasn't good at this — she'd never done this before, but instinct drives her onward. my-- a very dangerous man has found riverclan. i know him, unfortunately, and i fought him off, but i-- and she looks to her wife, then, searching for the boost of morale to say what she needed to say. he will return. so, silvertongue and i are leaving. we can't raise our children here knowin' what he'd-- what he'd do to them. and i'd like you all to come with me, especially you, ash star, she glances at the new mother, vulnerable and yet resolute; i know i haven't been on anybody's good side, really, as of late, but-- please, i beg all of ya to trust me, just this once. this is-- quite possibly the most dangerous, and, and, reckless thing i've ever done, but we are in so much danger if we stay. so much.
heart hammering, so so loud, so loud, so loud; this had been a long time coming, and somewhere inside of her, the songbird knew it.

Ksura returned to the densite with a fresh hare only moments before the call came out. He dropped the leggy creature and looked from Ash Star to her daughter, Acantha. She decided to remain behind to watch the pups, leading Ksura to smile and nudge the rabbit toward her as a reward for volunteering to babysit, as well as something to distract her from her worries.

He was glad she had come to join them. Ash Star seemed grateful for her return, and now her younger siblings would have a sister to look up to. Acantha also posed as an asset for the small family- able to hunt for them as he did, ensuring that they got the best care. 

Ash Star was visibly unnerved; he trailed along behind her, wondering what might have prompted Wren to call out and summon the pack for a meeting, rather than coming directly to Ash Star. Regardless, he felt more concern than disdain, and his instincts tingled when he saw the woman, muddy and bloody. 

While Wren explained, Ksura tried not to judge- but his paternal instincts had been triggered. It seemed that she had drawn someone dangerous to their borders- and he was not convinced that the man would leave the rest of the pack alone if she and Silver left…Or that he wouldn’t hunt them down if all of Riverclan went with them. His frown deepened. 

Who in the pack would be able to fend him off, if he came back? Especially if Wren and Silver were due around the same time…He believed that mothers could fight to defend their children, no problem- but he also felt that they shouldn’t have to. He wanted to omit all three women from any possible altercations so that their children would know their mothers. 

This left him- and he wasn’t exactly an authority figure, nor was he an obvious brawler. He sighed softly, and looked to Ash Star. He would do whatever it was that she wanted- but things certainly looked bleak to him.

Ash shifted. So you want me to flee my home under your leadership. Which i am assuming you will keep?

She sucked in a breath and was thinking. She could do this maybe. She and the children could leave if she grew too irritated. She couldn't allow Silvertongue and Wren to travel so heavily pregnant without a medic.

But her children were still so tiny.

I will travel with you help you restablish and then revaluate my place and whether it is with you or not. Acantha and Ksura can help me carry and keep Aerilyn and Darrow warm.

ash star's displeasure cut like a spear through the small gathering. silvertongue looked quickly to wren, reading which emotions lay in the jut of her wife's tensed shoulders. ksura did not speak, and so the sharpfang's eyes moved to ash star. "i would like you to stay with us, amiga," she said meekly. "and i can help to carry your children, if you would like." a breath; she straightened. "this is an immediate reason for us to go. but the valley is also crowded. we have a chance to start over in a land where we do not have to watch herds disappear." it was inevitable and each wolf knew it. offering a smile of encouragement and guidance, silvertongue touched wren's side gently and held her mate's eyes for a moment. crowfeather moved; was gone amid the shadows, and she drew a shivering breath, for after akavir she must still face the prince of her own eternal shadows.

where apprehension once rested, a defensive anger now began to rise. the dark eyes lay silently upon ash star for a long pause before wren speaks again. i'm sayin' we're taking our family and leavin' to start our own life, the harsh bite of her accent cuts through her frostfire tone. you have the choice to follow us or not. i'm not gonna make you do anything. this is-- it's personal.
personal in a way that was bone deep.
she is catapulted back into the mind of her frightened teenage self, the bony-limbed girl who took what little was left of herself and ran. sister, mother; that man is my father. and if there's anything i know about him, it's that he'll go through hell and back just to sink his claws into me and my wife and my children.
her grip on the ground tightens; the warm look from her wife and the gentle recourse fills her with momentary relief. her gaze drifts between them all, now, softer as the wave of bitterness settles into something numb. i want both of yas to stay with us. but i-- i understand if you wouldn't wanna.

Ash's ruff rose with idignation and irritation. Was this worrying yes. Could they stay probably not. But Ash felt that she deserved something more. Anything more than thia. Wren had been running roughshod on her life since ahe came here. And she tried. She tried.

Ash's lip wrinkled. Don't take your personal shit out on me. It was a question. You are asking me to leave, but at the same time establishing yourself as a new leader when we do move. Yes. And you don't think thats personal?

She shook her head. Just enough. Let me grab Acantha, Ksura and my children. I'm done talking when emotions are high.

Ash looked at Silver and Wren and turned away feom them. She was done with the conversation. She would go with them and then decide. 

last from me.

The rising tension made antsy. It was his respect for their authority and autonomy that kept him quiet; Ash Star did not need for him to intervene and the other women did not need for him to question their understanding of men’s behavior.

They were right, after all. Some men would stop at nothing to keep control. 

Regardless, he did have strong feelings both about the decisions being made, and how the topic had been handled. He felt Ash Star and the pack had been wronged- though it could not be Wren’s fault. She was not guilty for the actions or the nature of her father- and like any other, she deserved safety. It would take him time to convince himself that she was truly worthy of becoming a leader after putting an entire pack in danger- but he would accept the decision in the meantime.

Ash Star was done with the conversation. He sought to smoothe their departure. ”I’ll help Ash Star with the travel,” After all, she had carried his children and had been the leader who had accepted him. ”And guard the pack as much as I can; I’ll need you to describe him to me, but…Another day. Today’s been enough, you don’t need to have him on your mind again.”