Council in the holt-glen

[peachbug]

Softling struggled for a moment, absorbing the strange words from her chief. She had grown as a cubling trusting Sureshot as her sire and mother had, but what was to become of this? Softling rarely acknowledged her ties to her tribemates, but her heart hurt and her anger and sadness bubbled over her broken thoughts like heavy mud, clinging.

**Father, we cannot split the pack! The-the tribe is...** Her sending went unfinished and she buried her face in Snapbone's dark fur again, snarling. **This is wrong! This...this is not...how...**

**How would you have our chief act, my cubling? By remaining, we do not only harm ourselves, but the precious wolves as well. We must think of the tribe's sake, above all.** The hunter sent gentle as a mother's touch, and Softling visibly flinched. **Wolves would not-** **We are not wolves.** Flintfire sent firmly. Softling swung her eyes, green with touch of gold that glowed fierce in the night, and glared with all the wolf in her she could muster. She felt him try to send once more, but blocked it from her mind.

The young female leapt to her feet and howled, ignoring the surprised expressions of the elves around her. Her cry was loud and long, and with a quick swivel in step, she ran beside Snapbone from the heart of the holt. She wept and her mother's bright face followed her footsteps.

Flintfire thought better of starting after her. He looked apologetically to his tribemates and considered the events quietly, the decision he knew he must make creeping into his thoughts.

[peachbug]

Redthorn nodded and brushed her younger lifemate's hair with one hand. There was one more she must speak with before this went any farther, close to her soul as her lifemate and child.

**Lightgaze, soulsister?** The huntress sent tentatively. **What do you make of this?**

[Kris]

Oct 8, 2008 0:56:00 GMT -6 Anna said:

Sobering instantly, she quietly stood up and circled around the outside of the gathered tribe until she could come up behind Stormfire. She put a gentle hand on the shoulder of the chief's daughter. **Stormfire?** she lock-sent gently. **He has chosen you, dear friend?**

The voices of their tribemates continued to sound around them, but Sunsong ignored them, ignored Stormfire's gathered family, and simply waited for her friend to confirm or deny.

Sureshot stood, impassively waiting for the tribe to be silent. At last he held up a hand and the quiet that descended was almost thunderous.

"I've made my decision," he said.

Quickflight buried her head against Waterdance's shoulder. Keenedge took a step forward, his eyes betraying his distress. "Father," he began, reaching out a hand. "Father--you can't mean--"

Sureshot met his son's eyes and smiled sadly. "No, son. Not you." He put a hand on his eldest's shoulder, and Keenedge sagged with palpable relief. "I need you here. And you," he added, placing his other hand on Preyfinder's arm; the young Wolfrider's face mirrored his brother's, relief mingling with rising curiosity.

Longtooth stepped forward. "Is it me, Father?"

Sureshot paused for the smallest moment before shaking his head. "You've good instincts, Longtooth," and he let go of Preyfinder to clasp his youngest son by Quickflight. Longtooth pulled loose, his face downcast. *You'd make a good chief if you'd learn to think of others first,* Sureshot added, not unkindly. *And in time, I think you will. One day. Today is not that day.*

Keenedge and Preyfinder looked at each other, and Preyfinder swallowed hard. Both turned to look at the figure who now slid off her perch on the Father Tree, and advanced towards them, slight as a fawn.

Sureshot's eldest shook their heads in unison.

"Father, you can't," Keenedge blurted, stunned. "She's barely more than a cub! She's a bare stripling--"

"Send one of us with her," urged Preyfinder and Longtooth.

"No," Stormfire said, before Sureshot could speak. She met her brothers' eyes, her head held high. "I'm not having any of you come along," she said softly. "I will lead this new tribe. I'm of the chief's line as much as any of you. And I can do my duty as well as any of you."

Longtooth was the first to snort. "You're barely over three eights and four," he returned. "All you know is how to sit on a wolf and throw a javelin or two. What are you going to do when there's a real threat to the tribe? You can't run to Father then. Or your mother."

The derision in his eyes made the hairs on Stormfire's nape rise. But she remembered what Sureshot had said. You'll be questioned by all of them, and they'll test you in different ways. If she couldn't meet Longtooth's test, she had no business being chief.

*I won't need to run to our father or mothers,* she sent. *And I daresay I know more than you do about dealing with a threat. You see a chief, and you see nothing but a figure about whom songs are sung, and howls are held. I see a chief, and see the mother or father of the whole tribe--the one who protects as well as leads, who shoulders the blame for what goes wrong and shares the praise when all goes right. Are you ready for that, brother? Prove it to me, and I'll let you tag along.*

*Let me?* Longtooth's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. Stormfire held her ground and shared with him the memory of the last time the foaming sickness had stalked their tribe, of the bitter grief they'd shared as elders, adults, and cubs were lost; of all Sureshot had done to try to save them. Her brother winced as she added, as sure as a spear-thrust, *Can you do this? Will you do this?*

I don't know if I can, a small voice deep within her whispered. But I know I must.

Longtooth shook his head as if to clear her sending out of it. Then he broke their link and staggered back against the Father Tree. Shock was clear on Skystrike's face as he hurried to help Longtooth. Stormfire drew a deep, ragged breath as she realized she'd just won the first challenge of her chieftainship.

Sureshot drew her close, and she fought to stop shaking. She couldn't look at him until he put a hand beneath her chin and raised her face. Blinking, Stormfire looked into eyes as gray as her own, and made herself stand straighter.

**Ready?** Sureshot smiled, and Stormfire felt her spirits lift. She could feel the faith he had in her, and it warmed her better than summer sunshine. She would not fail. For him, she would keep her part of their tribe whole and well.

**Ready,** she returned, and Sureshot turned back to the tribe.

"Silence!" His call brought quiet crashing back down, even as many elves stared at him in disbelief. "Stormfire will lead as many as will go with her to the new lands. This is my decision." He laid both hands on her shoulders, and added, in a softer tone, "Go, daughter. Pick out your hunters, and choose well. Just remember . . . no one with cubs, and no maiden in cub."

Stormfire nodded and turned to Sunsong. "Plantshaper?" She heard Keenedge groan in protest, "That's our treeshaper," and Sureshot hush him; but she only had eyes for Sunsong's reaction. "Come with me, my friend?"

[Anna]

Sunsong blinked, stunned that Stormfire even felt the need to ask. "Of course I'm going with you," she said instantly, sending a frown at Keenedge. Hmph! Chief's son or not, she didn't like that possessive 'our' coming out of him. She was her own being, and could go where she wished. Besides, it wasn't like the tribe would be without a plantshaper when she left. She was the younger, weaker, and less experienced of the two.

Even so, the prospect of stretching herself and her abilities as wide and far as she could thrilled her. She grinned at Stormfire, all her eagerness and excitement reflecting in her blue-green eyes. "You lead us to the spot, my chieftess, and I'll shape us a home."

[Multi-Facets]

It was a good thing Silent had been in his den among the roots of the holt when the council was called. Otherwise, he would have missed it. As it was, the noise of several voices at once brought him out of his usual trance, and curiosity brought him out in time to hear Sureshot's announcement.

It was a shock, of course; Silent had not been aware things were so bad that this had to happen. It was a large tribe, but....

Ah well.

"No one with cubs, no maidens with cub" was the order. Wolfrider women were tough, though; a journey would not hurt them- though that would slow the journey. So that was it.

Silent scanned the people gathered, finding the particular black-haired maiden who was now excluded from the trip, Recognized and pregnant as she was. A familiar twinge gripped his heart.

Sunsong was one of the first to speak, and Stormfire seemed glad for it. Others began to volunteer, giving Silent time to think. He would miss his parents, but perhaps this was for the best.

Somehow he honed his thoughts and touched Stormfire's mind. **I'll come. I will try not to be a burden.**

[Viola]

Lightgaze sought her soulsister's eyes, after the revealing of the new chieftess. **I don't know. Stormfire might pull this off. But I don't know if I... If I can.** In opposition to her son, Lightgaze loved the memories of her past and was unwilling to let those go. She swallowed heavily. Redthorn would want to leave, but Sureshot had told Stormfire not to pick anyone with cubs.

*I will go.* Longdusk's open send was filled with a mild aggravation towards the bluntness of the chief's son, and respect for Stormfire who was burdened with this task at a young age. He felt the grip of his mother's hand tighten around his own. *If you travel, you will need a guard when you rest and a scout to move ahead of the group.*

The moment he had sent, he felt relief about his decision and a weight fell off his shoulders. In new lands, he didn't have to carry the memories about his deceased lifemate and daughter's whereabouts, and could just remember them as they were. He sighed deeply.


Firecat smiled to her sister. **I know, little sister,** she sent. The arms around her started to make her feel restrained, and she bit her lip, forcing herself to stay put. But Hazel, as always, seemed to sense her discomfort and let her go. Without saying anything, she walked over to her sister and settled next to her. **I need to think this over. It grants new possibilities, but...** For a moment, her eyes flashed to Hazel, **I must decide on the right reasons.**

[oddsong]

Even in the wildest of his younger days, when he questioned even when told the sky was up and the ground was down, Thornberry had never recoiled at a decision of his chief. Sureshot was old and wise and capable and had raised a gaggle of good cubs, and the tribe flourished quite so much under him. Now, though, he felt this faith shake like a tree under a hard wind even as his eyes were growing wide. Stormfire? She was a third his age, he remembered her all in moss and down, still with her pup-fat and milk-teeth. She was no fool to be sure and he'd never refused her company in the hunt, but...

"She'd never led a hunting party - how could she lead a tribe?" he thought out loud, not caring that Windsoft was near enough to hear him. It was a question he was sure he wasn't alone with, after all.

Was Sureshot sending away the one he could spare?

Doubt flared in him, worse when Sunsong and Silent, of all fawns and strangelings, spoke. If the new tribe would be a gaggle of youngsters, all of them eager to meet adventure and prove themselves, they'd drop like leaves in the white-cold. He couldn't be the only one who saw this. Nothing Mist's presence close to the chief and his family, he lingered another moment, hoping.

[peachbug]

Despite her earlier shock, a new feeling arose in Redthorn as she watched her chief's announcement unfold amongst the tribe.

**Dei, something feels right for this. Stormfire is a cub, surely, but she is Sureshot's cub. I trust his guidance and this holt. Lightgaze is as a sister to me...I cannot leave her son to this path. I know he will not be alone, but...** Violet met silver as she looked into her lifemate's eyes. **I cannot risk you and the cub on one of my feelings. Never again.**

Leaning against a tree a ways across from the red haired huntress, Flintfire wrestled with the truth of his daughter's condition. Stepping out in front of his chief, he sent.

*Softling, my cub...she is a fine tracker, Windsoft, any of you can account for that. She would...* Flintfire grimaced, lowering his golden eyes. *Sureshot, she needs to join this new holt. This old one, however much it may hold, keeps nothing more for her. The spirits of our grandsires watch this holt, but she cannot hear their songs.*

His eyes slid to Stormfire. *I know the risk. She needs this chance at finding...* He could only try to convey what the true 'elf' sense meant, the words to the purpose, and could only share the feeling of the memories, the song, the howls, and knew the tribe felt his sending and understood it. His eyes pleaded with the young soon-chieftess.

[Kris]

Oct 9, 2008 0:16:24 GMT -6 Anna said:

She grinned at Stormfire, all her eagerness and excitement reflecting in her blue-green eyes. "You lead us to the spot, my chieftess, and I'll shape us a home."

"Yes!" Stormfire hugged Sunsong, ignoring Keenedge's groan. "I have my treeshaper!" She turned to Sureshot just as three sendings reached her.

The first was from Silent. **I'll come. I will try not to be a burden.**

Stormfire blinked. A sending from Silent was like swallowing a double-handful of dreamberries--her perceptions went slightly off, and she had to retreat for a moment to ground herself again. She'd known Silent all her life, and knew things were . . . different, where he was concerned. But at that moment, she met his parents' eyes, and found herself nodding. **Come, then,** she told him.

The second sending was from Longdusk, and Stormfire affirmed it the moment she heard. Longdusk would definitely be helpful, and she trusted him.

But the third . . .

Stormfire met the eyes of Flintfire, and beyond him, Icemark and Redthorn. The Recognized pair stood together; if she chose Longdusk, either Lightgaze or Redthorn would want to come--and if she chose either, she would be separating a family. Worse, if she chose Redthorn.

I can use them both. And why not the cubs, when all of us can protect them? Stormfire drew a deep breath and walked over to Sureshot. She touched his arm, and he turned to her from Mist. "Father," she said, and sent to Flintfire, Icestorm and Redthorn to join her. "We need to speak."

(OOC: Peachbug, Viola, we're going to make this a separate RP. See you there!)

[Anna]

Oct 9, 2008 16:04:10 GMT -6 oddsong said:

"She'd never led a hunting party - how could she lead a tribe?" he thought out loud, not caring that Windsoft was near enough to hear him. It was a question he was sure he wasn't alone with, after all.

Everyone was speaking at once, and decisions coming so quickly, that Stormfire had led her father and the handful of others away for a private discussion before she could process Thornberry's doubts.

"There's more to being chief that being hunt-leader," Windsoft chided Thornberry gently. "What does it matter, if she has other hunters there to lead the chase? A chief's strengths are different than a hunters."

She paused, watching the quiet discussion mostly hidden by night shadow and foliage. "See? There is a chief's decision. Sureshot set a rule, which tribemates broke. Instead of challenging before full pack, she draws away only those involved to resolve the problem. She thinks of everyone, not just herself. She seeks to keep peace, not stir trouble. Her first choice to go with her is one who can shape a safe home for all."

She looked back a Thornberry and raised her eyebrows. "Which kind of chief would you prefer, my friend? One who thinks only of immediately filling your belly, or one who thinks far enough ahead to see what's needed to keep us warm and protected during the white-cold?"

Mist had moved away from his position, leaving his chief and the others to their private discussion. The decision they reached did not matter to him, and he had no imput to give. This was an unplanned test for Stormfire; she'd need to handle it on her own.

"Stormfire is young and inexperienced," he said, nodding to Thornberry to give him his points. "However, she is Sureshot's choice, and it is the right one. She listens to advise and is not to proud to heed it. She's the right choice."

"Are you going, healer?" Oakstaff asked, wandering over to join them.

Mist nodded and gave them a slight smile. "New leathers chafe where old leathers do not."

"Well. So we know. Stormfire, Sunsong, Silent, and Mist. Possibly Softling, Redthorne, and Icemark. What of you, Thornberry? Do you stay?" She looked at Journey. "And you, my son?"