Announcing the beta. (Meeting)

[MooniiKinz]

And I remember everything,
Everything I loved,
I gave it away like it wasn't enough

The wind whispered through the trees above her, as she watched the creaking pines with gentle green eyes. Without knowing what she was doing, Aradis just sat there, looking up as the day faded and stars awoke from their slumber. She had been the Siverian's alpha for a few weeks now, and was already thinking through the duties that awaited her.

As she watched the peace grow and bloom, she wasn't without thoughts. She still needed to announce a beta, but she felt like, out of the whole pack, none stood out. But, as usual, her thoughts were battled, and won by real thoughts, ones that told her the answer to her troubles, ones that would always lead her.

A grin came upon Aradis' face as a firefly buzzed past her ear, landing on the shortened fur for a split second before buzzing off, to go where all insects go for the winter months. Slowly, the fae rose to her paws, taking a glance at the last rays of sunshine before turning around.

With a swift bound, she scrambled up the rocks so she was standing atop the overhang of her den, her paws only millimeters away from mid air. As she stood there, looking at what pack members stood in the clearing, the sun vanished, leaving only the growing moonlight. It was the perfect time to call the meeting, for no one would be asleep, and no one should be out of camp.

With a final glance, she raised her muzzle to the sky, saying hello to the stars before opening up, a melody howl escaping her lungs. "Come my pack, for I carry this news, and it must be announced." As the howl ceased, she looked back down to the wolves, a large smile upon her muzzle.

[.Rabid Lycan.]

The sun was just abandoning the day for her nightly slumber when the call roused him from his post. Ears twitched, detecting a disturbance in the settling night, but not an unwelcome one. Slowly, the darkly hairs of his pelt shuffled seamlessly as the brute came to a stand, with one exception. A large scar broke the smoothness of his pelt, slicing across his flank. A war trophy, to be sure, and a reminder of his devotion to eliminating their Hellfirian rivals.
You bastards tortured my sister, killed my mother, threatened my pack…
Kar’s eyes burned determinedly at the thought. But Annelise had returned to them. His mother, Siveria, had gone on to become a goddess in her own right. With a soft smile tinted with both sorrow and nostalgia, he realized that the pack had reached his mother’s season. Be gentle for us, mom. We need the elements on our side.
Slowly, he gathered himself from his self-appointed guarding perch at the entrance to the camp, and entered the clearing. The wolves who usually accompanied his presence, Coal and Lance, were gone. He winced at their memory, both having been slaughtered in the last confrontation. But, if there was any hope, at least he would have someone at his side. Kar padded to sit near the nursery, where his sister’s children no doubt were resting. The seasoned warrior cast his gaze about, searching for signs of his sibling Healer, but saw only a few other denmates rousing to the occasion.
Wonder if she’ll be appointing new positions?

Elsewhere in the camp, a younger fae arrived in attendance, the neophyte sitting respectfully to one side of the clearing. It seemed emptier, somehow, without her father near. Not that she had gotten used to the absence of her mother, granted, but now without anyone at all, the world seemed a tad colder.
Nevertheless, Natoma’s ears perked for her siblings, and to her Alphess’ words.

[Sivoncé™]

Well, I have the face them all sometime.
Annelise had been back in camp for a week, but she'd made somewhat of a hermit of herself. She didn't have many answers to the plethora of questions that awaited her. She only had the beginnings of a story to explain how she'd come to have children -- the truth could not be known by anyone but her brother, Kar. For the past six months, she'd been a captive in Blood Mist. She was missing an entire foreleg and had to crouch slightly when she walked.
But she was still here. She had survived.
She looked at her pups, sleeping soundly in the corner of the herb den. Typically, a mother would raise her pups inside the nursery, and should sickness or a battle break out, Annelise would remove them from the healer den. But for now, she wasn't comfortable going about her home so freely. She wasn't ready for the questions.
Bravely, she left them to sleep and strode out to face her pack.
She studied the new alpha momentarily, then entered the gathering crowd with a small grimace. I haven't spoken with her at all yet. She'll want to know what happened....I suppose I'll have to do it after the meeting. I just hope she doesn't ask me for the whole story in front of the entire pack. They have a right to know, sure but... Moons of isolation had her quite nervous as she took her place at one side of the alpha.
Breathing deep, she looked to Kar, and let the sight of her brother soothe her. It'll be alright.

Griffen and Kaylee arrived at the meeting, perked with interest at the sight of the new alpha. They took their places on either side of their sister, Natoma, and exchanged thoughtful glances.
"I wonder what's all going on," Griffen murmured.
Kaylee shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but -- hey, isn't that Annelise?"
Griffen nodded solemnly. "She came back about a week ago, she had pups with her."
"Pups? But," Kaylee wrinkled her nose in thought, "who's are they?"
"Her's, I guess." The neophytes fell silent, studying the alpha and healer with curiosity.

[MooniiKinz]

Aradis kept her gaze steady as the pack filed in the clearing, settling in their spots to listen. She noticed Annelise, with her missing foreleg, it was hard not to pity her, but she looked alright, maybe not physical, but the alphess could tell that she had comfort. Even without her help.

The young alphess tore her gaze away, looked at the rest of the pack. While not all the wolves were there, the meeting would have to start soon, as there were other things to get done.

She flicked her tail, beginning to speak as some chatter quieted down, the clearing become silent for a few split seconds. "I've called this meeting to announce our new beta, I've thought long and hard of this decision, and I hope the new beta will do well." She paused, smiling at the pack below her paws. "I've come to decide our new beta shall be Kar. I already know he is a loyal member, and I know he will be a great leader." Without having to say anymore, she jumped off the rocks, landing with a light thump on the dust.

With careful steps through the clouded moonlight, she came to a stop in front of Annelise, flicking her tail in greeting to the herb healer. "I'd like to speak to you." She turned, gesturing with her head towards her den, before continuing.

[Sivoncé™]

Pride flowered in her chest. Annelise beamed at her brother with a radiant smile upon her face. Mom would've been so proud of him. There was a bittersweetness that tainted this thought as it passed in her mind, but she was not at all envious of her brother; he deserved this honor. Kar was the loyalest wolf she'd ever known. She made to walk over and congratulate him, but Adaris called her back. Dipping her head to her alphess, she padded over to the alpha's den. There would be plenty of time to congratulate him later. Her nerves began to flare. The time for questioning had come. For the pups' sake, I'm going to have give a pretty convincing lie.

[MooniiKinz]

Aradis padded with careful steps as she entered the dark den, but quickly forced herself to adapt to the lack of light filtering through the entrance. She turned and stopped, sitting down while her dark tail flicked over her cream paws. She waited for Annelise to settle herself, her usual smile on her muzzle.

"Theres only two things on my mind, one of which doesn't involve anything about what happened." She paused, flicked her ears at the noise of the breeze. "The first thing I'd like to know is what happened." She looked outside, making sure no wolves were nearby, lowering her voice so no one outside could hear. "And I want the truth, cause no matter what you tell me, everything will stay the same." She took a breath, looking at the roof of the den. "All I'm asking is about the pups, are they part of another pack?"

[Sivoncé™]

Annelise inhaled sharply. She hadn't known what she'd been expected, but nothing could prepare her for this. Of course, wolves would already be talking, it would already be obvious, wouldn't it? She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before -- she should have. She'd been thorough in attempting to find a plausible lie, but even now, she was rapidly trying to fix the gaping holes in her semi-rehearsed story. Of course, the alpha would want the truth.
Of course, they already expected the pups were half-pack.
Annelise had never shown much preference to the males that came her way, and never really was close with any but her brother and her deceased mentor, Magic. Either she'd been through more brutality than one would like to think of, or something else had happened.
Should I tell the truth?
For now, she chose to answer the first.

"Well, it started about a year ago, didn't it? It's been so long...I've lost track of time. I was captured, Babylonia took my leg -- revenge against my mother, Siveria, for killing her -- and luckily, a Yozoran warrior named Shade was able to rescue me before anymore damage was done. We hid in the Eternal Tree; being a healer, I was able to enter and hide with Shade and keep Babylonia and her Hellfirians away. And then there was a great battle in the Twilight Clearing with the packs and Blood Mist, and we were able to escape. This was long ago. I thought I was safe from them, but I guess not. Only a couple months after that, a pair of Blood Mists caught me alone and dragged me off to suckle Babylonia's pups, because she had died in the birthing process and they had somehow procured knowledge of my pregnancy -- they needed someone to feed the pups while she went through the reincarnation process. When she returned, they actually didn't do very much with me. I wasn't given much food, was held in a cave, and this was my life. They never pushed me for information, but I think it was because they wanted me isolated; I could barely even get a whisper of news. I knew they'd be planning something hideous for me and something worse for my pups, but they gave nothing away. And then, one of them made a lovely mistake; a recently captured Destinian was being bothersome, so they shoved her in the same cave as me without thinking. I was able to speak with her briefly and heard the news about the recent battle that started with the Destinians and Blood Mist, and eventually involved the Sheerans and Siverians as well. They pulled her away from my den, but BurnNote was crafty and I had given her a good dose of information about the way Blood Mist wolves seemed to operate. She managed to talk her own captor into allowing her to run. When BurnNote ran in one direction, he came and got me and helped me flee in the other direction. Only one wolf followed us, but Regulus -- the one who let me go -- was able to shoo him off. Azlyn found me after I had the pups, and Regulus took off. And here I am."

[MooniiKinz]

Aradis listened intently as Annelise spoke of what had happened, how things always took a turn for the worst. Gosh, why is Blood Mist this stupid? "The pups, whose their father?" She closed her eyes, directing her head up to the ceiling. This needs to stop...

((Gah, I must be tired))

[Sivoncé™]

(( That's alright -- it's hard going back to school after a long break ^^ ))

Annelise met the alpha's eyes with a level gaze. "I am their mother, and if I wished to disclose who sired them, I would have done so, but I do not." Annelise held her tongue, silently hoping that this old tradition would hold true. In some instances, like Annelise's case, it could possibly be considered rude to press her for such information. They've no idea what happened over there, maybe they'll leave me alone about it if I seem sensitive to it. "Regardless, I will be the one who raises them, and they will be just as loyal to their pack and family as any other pups would be."

[MooniiKinz]

Aradis smiled. "Well of course! And I know their gonna grow strong in this pack." She paused, turning serious once more. "Second order of business.. I still need to go to the Twilight Clearing to receive my twelve lives, I was hoping tomorrow night." She thought through what she would do after that was done. This battle has to stop..

((Look at that ^ I'm gonna try and twist the plot a bit! XD))

[Sivoncé™]

Annelise stifled her relief with a flash of surprise on her features. The thought of a familiar, old ritual pleased her. The Eternal Tree had been a safe haven, protection from the Blood Mist assasins when they'd tried to take more than just her leg. There was a certain place in her heart that would always bear a warmth to this spiritual place. Returning to it with the new alpha felt very right; her paws tingled at the prospect of stepping onto sacred ground. She dipped her head. "Very well. I will fetch you the stregthening herbs you will need for the cermony and we can leave whenever you're ready," she barked.

[MooniiKinz]

Aradis nodded slowly, closing her eyes as a breeze swept through the den. "We'll go in the morning, there is other things I have to take care of after the ceremony." She kept her mouth shut of what she was going to do, and she could only hope it would work.

((Should I make a thread for her ceremony? Or wait until tomorrow after school considering I have to go to bed in about, a half hour.))

[Sivoncé™]

((Umm, well do you want to start it now and then we can finish tomorrow if we don't tonight? The Destinians just had a ginormous bombshell thread and might be asking for help from the Siverians pretty soon for the battle -- the Yozorans said no ))

Annelise bowed out of the den and ducked into her own healer den. After pawing through the piles of herbs and leaves, she put together a small bundle of stregthening weeds. She knew they would carry a bitter flavor, but they would the energy that kept Adaris going during the ceremony. There was no other act so rigorous or jarring as an alpha going through the ceremony for their twelve lives. Annelise left the bundle at the front of Adaris's den and returned to her pups.

[MooniiKinz]

((Yeah, let's start it now. Btw, you keep spelling her name wrong, Aradis not Adaris xD))

Aradis grabbed the herbs and brought them into her den, setting them to the side for the morning. As she padded to the back of the den, she thought through her plan. How threatened could Blood Mist be if she was alone? No blood will be spilled, I'll make sure of that..

-End-