A conversation and teaching moment with a small apprentice was halted along with the rest of the normal chatter of the clan. Bast's ears snapped towards the fluttering of wings, her gaze going from the bird, to it's lively perch, and then to the clan leader, mismatched eyes glowed in the direct light of the sunset.
The deputy was the last one in, ushering a few younglings ahead and keeping her eyes on stragglers-- and Amora, who seemed to be pestering not only Sharps but the poor bird the message had flown in on. Perhaps sending a carrier bird into a clan of cats was ill advised. Or maybe it was a gift. She held back a snort at this thought.
She shut the wooden doors of the Hollow behind her and stood near the back of the crowd, arms crossed as per usual and a hard frown pressed into her face as she awaited the news. The air smelled like uncertainty, and nerves. And, to be sure, the news was bad. And uncertain.
Bast opened one of the doors of the Hollow for those who wanted to leave right away, and then wove her way over to Hakon. As she approached, she gave one of the clan members that was still sitting next to Hakon a look that said 'beat it.' She took her place next to him, sat down and back languidly, legs drawn up into a crisscross position.
"Your orders?" She said, eyes wandering over all of her clanmates.
Before the assembly began, she'd begun thinking up names for the winged-creature, as Sharps suggested. Bird, birdie, Dovely... Distracted by the impending news, nothing genius came to mind. In fact, even new ideas for her traps came to a halt. Momentarily. When the leader spoke, her attention was his.
Amora half-hid her face into pillows as Hakon's gaze landed on her, as if being directly accused. She'd have fully buried herself, had she not been mindful of the bird accompanying her. Only when the clan was dismissed did she raise her head, glancing at Sharps for the all-clear.
"I guess the ghost bird idea is out for the moment? Ooh! What if we call him Phantom? The Phantom Dove! Hmm... maybe not."
Wiggling her way up his chest, kitsune mindlessly rubbed her cheek against the stolen adopted bird, plotting. Her thoughts may have remained in the realm of traps, but not of the kindest sort. She thought of nasty snares, guerilla tactics-- ideas that toned themselves down during her years in Galeclan's peace.
"Tranquil, maybe? Tranquil the Phantom Dove, harbinger of... of unity. Of the clans."
Tossing silly ideas up in the air, she turned her head towards the clan's leader and deputy, noting his detachment.
"Wait, hey, follow my lead on this one."
She insisted, rising from her spot and carefully stalking over to the two.
Treading on soft cushion, she readied to pounce from behind him-- until she recalled his threat towards her usual antics. Instead, she nuzzled her face against his shoulder, the immense amount of fluff to her tail creeping around him as well.
"No need to fear, we're all still here and prepared, and okay. Look, Bast, this is Tranquil! Actually, I'm still thinking of a name. But I'm gonna keep him; he's super soft and does cute little coos."
In truth, she came over to offer her suggestions-- but her priority was to keep the two in good spirits. Lucky her, she still had her hired volunteer assistant. Depending on far he was willing to help her, anyways.
[attr=class,whocan]Noticing Amora's wide lavender eyes watching his own, the healer raised his eyebrows jovially, thinking such was the response she had been eyeing to receive. Immediately, concept names entered the atmosphere, each with a relevant theme floated to gauge assistant satisfaction-- was his guess. "Tranquil, hm. Tranquil," he murmured calmly. Sharps delicately brushed some of Amora's hair that had been ruffled here and there by the dove's landing. When she directed her attention to the clan leader and clan deputy, he figured something was bound to click into a plan or a plot. The healer rustled through his pocket for a morsel of dried cloves to chew on idly. In lieu of an apple, the herbal packet made for a quality tooth-related pastime. When Amora prepared to get up, Sharps gave a faux bow and trailed behind her, getting up slowly. His neck let out a quiet pair of cric-cracks with a stretch to the right and a stretch to the left.
Sharps greeted Hakon once more as well as Bast as he followed Amora over to them. "Hello. The coos of Tranquil, or to-be-determined, are indeed very cute. I suspect there more pressing things to be doubting or confirming than this but it is nice fact to know, you know?" As possibly the most reluctant warrior in the clan, Sharps took care to not propose any tactics or strategies before Hakon, Bast, or Amora did, lest he seen as a warrior once more instead of the healer he was. In truth, his ears' resolute and sharp position gave away his confidence in the clan regarding the dark news and, almost certainly, days ahead. Internally, he resigned himself to the likelihood that some of his warrior instincts and thought processes would be put to use in the near, near, near future but, until asked, he enjoyed being in the conversation as an above-average healer. "We are here and prepared, as Amora said," added Karlsson simply. Though the threat that demolished Maelstromclan was yet an ominous unknown, Karlsson always held a Plan B just as strongly as he did any Plan A; Hakon and Bast likely did the same-- all of them had come up in, more or less, the same lauded generation of Galeclan warriors. Such careful planning and tactical thinking was commonplace for warriors of their level, though they made sure never to take talent for granted. Karlsson chewed some more on the herbal bits and put his hands in his pockets without compromising his strong, upright posture at all.
"I want to know what you think about this." Hakon had muttered quietly in reply to Bast, keeping his eyes on the bed while his long hand reached over and offered her the note. It was a small, yellowed and weather-worn piece of parchment that simply said:
Maelstromclan is dead. M,W,C. Attacker unknown: black arrows, magic? Meet in two. ~(Seal of Insignious)
"Men, women, children. Black arrows." He said softly to himself, his eyes burning a hole in the sheet. His mind was racing, sorting through all the fiends he'd witnessed in his time. All the drama he'd heard between the clans throughout the years. All the possible reasons this could have happened. The internal structure of his thoughts could have been likened to a castle crumbling to the ground, shaking everything he'd known in the desperate attempt to understand why the slaughter happened, why, maybe, Galeclan didn't have to be involved. Not his people. Not his family.
Hakon hadn't even noticed Amora's presence until she spoke, and her soft voice broke his internal rampage. His large black ears turned with her voice and his shoulders relaxed slightly, hearing her talk about something as frivolous as the messenger dove. Then, hearing Sharps chime in next, the leader looked up at the lion and gave him a deeply grateful smile. Karlsson was always a creature of confidence and encouragement, and Hakon was incredibly proud of him.
"I know you all can handle anything." He said fondly, looking at Sharps, then turning his head to see Amora over his shoulder. "Thank you for reminding me."
Her eyes turned to his offering, and Bast plucked the note from his fingers. She read the front, flipped it around to examine the back. Held it to light and from a different angle, looking for more information. She found none.
"Years of peace have made us soft on the outside. But inside? Predators by nature." She said, haughtily, still holding the note to her eye level. She rolled it back up again and tucked it into the breast of Hakon's shirt.
"I want to come to this meeting. I think..."
She trailed off from her previous thought as Amora and Sharps approached, toting their feathered friend. The deputy frowned and curled her tail around her leader, unconsciously. Nodded at Sharps in appreciation, and then nodded at the fox, too.
"Riiight. Very cute." She fought the feeling to roll her eyes. "Be careful with it. You know how flimsy their necks are." The bird was a pretty thing. She salivated, but ignored the impulse to bite it.
Puffing out her cheeks, she took heed to Bast's words and plopped her head down fully on Hakon's shoulder. She left just enough space for her feathered friend to adjust or even roam some if it willed to.
"So... I know you said no traps and all,"
Amora delicately started, hoping her tone held none of its usual signs of mischief.
"But hear me out, like, I could put some at the border for intruders. They don't have to be wicked awful terrible, but just something to alert everybody. I could go with Sharps; he could even supervise it, maybe help, too."
She slid back from Hakon, giving the lion a pleading look.
[attr=class,whocan]Sharps stretched his arms slowly as they talked; his own concerns related more to the safety of that leaders' meeting in two days. Their being drawn out to a summit together, even if in a secure or secretive location, could be a much-awaited opportunity for whomever had orchestrated Maelstromclan's demise. Karlsson considered saying something about it but felt there'd be a better time for it. There was, of course, the possibility of each leader bringing with them a security attaché or two; this would be more reassuring, he thought to himself despite knowing that whatever could destroy an entire clan... could probably handle a few more people at a meeting.
Amora's suggestion cut through a bit of the tension, being a pragmatic step towards shoring up some of the clan's defences. Sharps tiled his head and looked at the kitsune before looking back at Hakon and Bast. "I think it could work. Alternatively, we could prepare them here basically and then give them to you to drop off behind you as you exit the territory for the meeting. I trust in Amora's understanding of the terrain. It'd be helpful for keeping the north-west safe without sending our people there on patrols," Karlsson said contemplatively.
"No." The leader said firmly, though keeping his expression tender. "Nothing hidden. We don't yet know what we're up against and I don't want anything that one of us may get trapped in accidentally- or any sort of alarms going off. Security will be heightened, but stealthily. "
Hakon looked over at Bast, his long tail flicking her hair gently. "And you'll be staying here when I leave for the meeting. The clan will need a leader. I'll bring someone else."
However, not the next one. She turned her head quickly with her lips pursed, eyes wide, as though she was going to protest. Ultimately, even if that was what she was doing, she decided against it. The deputy became somewhat more withdrawn in her body language. She understood the order of course. She just would rather be hearing right from the horse's mouth. Or, the horse's living brother at least.
"Alright." She said, leaning forward elbow rested on her thigh and chin on her palm.
"Well. Take Amora and you can keep her safe," To translate: Keep her from getting herself into shit. "and she loooves to go places with you." Bast deadpanned.
"Or you can take Sharps. Good idea to travel with a healer." Especially one that was armed with instinct.
With Sharps' backing her words, the kitsune's confidence grew. She gleefully popped up and onto the leader's shoulder once again, only to be immediately shut down. The heartbreak. Regardless of his tender expression, she felt her usefulness crumble, to which she slid onto his back and sighed. Stroking the bird's head with a finger, she listened in on Bast's suggestions-- only to poke her head out, pitching in her own two cents.
"No way, Bast. I wanna stay here if he's leaving! I'll protect everybody, same with you. Nobody'll get past me and my tr-- claws, mhm."
Smooth. So smooth, she slid back in place behind the leader and played innocent, petting at the bird again. Really, it was light as a-- well, softer than she expected.
[attr=class,whocan]Appreciative of both ladies offering a vote of confidence on his behalf, Sharps quietly let out a low purr as he finished chewing on his little herb mix. A short bow added to his subtle show of gratitude. "Bast, Amora. Safe paws for the clan to be in. But it's up to you, Hakon. We're at your disposal, basically."
Karlsson placed his hands on his hips and flicked his ears casually; he wondered for a moment what the other leaders might be like, having only heard bits and pieces about them and their respective clans. As long as his presumption that Hakon must be the tallest of the clan leaders remained intact, Sharps imagined he had few expectations that could be dashed or otherwise unmet. Here's hoping they're amenable cats, he thought to himself.
Hakon's voice grew cold, lowering to a threatening growl. "Amora. I mean it. Absolutely no tricks. Disobedience is not an option and will not be tolerated."
Letting out a quiet, frustrated sigh towards her, the leader rose his eyes to Sharps.
"Mm. A fine healer." Hakon said, giving Sharps a little knowing smile. He knew his clanmate's desire to remain off the battlefield and he hoped to keep him away from it as long as he could. "Alright." At last he stood and stepped gracefully off the bed, the dark robe hanging off his shoulders flowing with him. "You and I will go, Karlsson." Gently, he touched his head down onto the lion's mane in an affectionate farewell before leaving the room. "On with your day, then." He said to all of them over his shoulder.
