A Leader's Questions...

Rain lowered her head, ears flicked back, eyes narrowed. She was cautious, and suspicious of the wolf in front of her. They seemed off to her, like Magic. She watched the wolf with narrowed eyes, silent. There were strange wolves in these lands, first Magic and now this one. Who seemed to behave like they had more magic than should even be possible. The shewolf kept her gaze locked on the wolf, and answered the question. "No, not really. The only thing that could be considered "royalty" are the leads, myself and Crystal. Every wolf is equal to some extent." She kept it short and to the point, keeping her eyes on the strange wolf in front of her, who seemed to be trying to hide in the shade of a tree. 

Rain lifted her head, and picked a wolf at random. She caught their eye, and asked the next question. "Do you believe in magic? If so, to what extent? We personally do, it's a force of nature as much as gravity and the wind." With the strange wolf who had asked the previous question, it had been on her mind. 

Magic turn her head. 

" i believe in magic.  i have always believe that magic is real." she says. 

Magic was the only surviving pup in her litter , when she was born.   it was by some kind of magic that she survived the winter.  li

" to me magic is the way things can happen unexpectedly. magic is force not bond by nature" she says. 

to her there is no limit how how much she can believe in magic. 

" when i survive the winter i was given some magic powers from a spirit " she says. 

" how did you get your name? was it by some event that earn you your name?" Magic asks. She knew how she got her name , but she is curious how other leaders got their name. 

Like Rain, Magnolia was suspicious of the two. Magic especially seemed off to her, the other wolf was just mysterious. "I received my name from my mother. I wasn't always Magnolia, though. In my old pack, we didn't have official names until we were trainees. I don't remember my name, but I remember when I joined the Prophet. Blossoming Flower was giving me a tour of the territory, and I stumbled into a magnolia patch." She still missed Blossoming Flower greatly, but she had to move on.

"Have you ever met a wolf who seemed off before?" She tried not to make it sound obvious she was suspicious of the two.

Unlike some of the other wolves, Ambrose did not see anything suspicious happening amongst the gathered wolves. While he did feel his hairs rise on his back, he attributed this feeling to just being amongst fellow leaders (and therefore threats to his own leadership) rather than anything untoward.

"Usually my pack chases away or kills any wolves that we feel are loitering around our territory" he said. "I myself rarely speak with unknown wolves on my patrols; it is not worth the risk of being ambushed by other packs. That being said I have encountered several wolves that are 'off': regularly pacing in a circle, foaming at the mouth, incredibly aggressive and do not listen to reason". He frowned - while he was no stranger to indiscriminate violence, those wolves were unsettling to come across. "In any case, I give them a wide berth. I have heard that such conditions can pass to other wolves like a plague; wiping out entire packs. I will not have my pack go the same way!" 

With that, Ambrose caught the eye of another wolf in the clearing.  "You. What do you do with stranger wolves you encounter? Do you act before they can make a move on your pack?" He then smirked mockingly. "Or do you let them walk all over you and invite them into your den to sleep?"

Rain tipped her head, and her ears flicked back when the male described the wolves he'd met. "Rabies." She spoke bluntly. "A plague indeed." As for his question, she decided to pick her words carefully. "Most strangers are just loners, travelers. We let them pass through and go on their way. I know first-hand how difficult being a loner can be, so if I can provide them at least some sense of peace, I'm willing to do so." She raised her head, and looked him in the eye. "However, if any wolf, pack or other wise, comes on my territory for the purpose of threatening of harming my pack, they will get taken care of swiftly. As the code dictates." She bared her teeth to emphasize her point. The safety of her pack was not something she took lightly. 

Rain glanced around briefly, before catching the eye of a wolf across from her. "How do you deal with infighting? Violence among packmates can spell disaster for any pack. Do you fight violence with violence? Or do you try to make peace? Or do you just get rid of the problem entirely with banishment? Do tell." She was curious how others handled their packs, she found it was a good way to measure their morals. 

A hum, rumbled up from his chest into his throat, before escaping out of his jaws. He tilted his head, before relaxing his pose and opening his jaws. "That depends on many things. Depending on the rank of the wolves, and what the fight is about. For small things, we get an unaffected member and mediate. If said fighting becomes often and spills out on others, or affects hunts then the two are separated one way or another. We use banishment as a last resort, and only when both wolves have been investigated. " There had been only one or two times that he's had to banish a member, so it wasn't something he was too worried about.

Scathos's gaze flickered around, meeting the gaze of the others before moving on. After a short silence, his eyes flicked back to one wolf. "How do you deal with aggressors? No matter who or what they are, pack-mate, or stranger."

Rain was silent for a moment, her head tipped slightly as it often was, ears alert. "It depends on the level of violence. If it is merely threats or small skirmishes, they will be reprimanded or chased off. If it is something more severe, like attacking unprovoked, or trying to seriously maim or kill, well.. The solution to that is either complete banishment, or death." She glanced around at the other wolves briefly. She was well aware of the blood on her paws, but at least she was willing to admit it. "It may seem cruel or barbaric, but the safety of my pack is not something I am willing to take risks with." She spoke calmly, seems she was fully willing to kill, if it meant her family's safety. 

Rain was silent for several moments more, thinking of a question. Out of curiosity, she decided to continue the dark theme of the conversation. "Most of us have blood on our paws, how much is on yours? Is it a common thing, or was it once in a blue moon? Do you revel in it, or is it purely out of necessity?"

Numen was silent for a long while, obviously uncomfortable with answering such a thing. "Killing isn't pleasant, regardless of if it was a friend or a complete stranger. I try to just chase wolves off if I can, but if they refuse to listen to reason and become a threat to my family, I do what has to be done. It doesn't happen often, but I've... killed enough to be efficient." He lifted his head to assume a confident posture, but the quiet wavering of his voice revealed how much spilling blood affected him. "My pack, my family, is too important for me to allow them to come to harm because of my cowardice."

This wasn't exactly a pleasant tone for the meeting, but he didn't want to dictate what others talk about, so he continued with it. He turned to the next wolf, taking a deep breath to clear his head. "What about you? How do you feel about the blood on your paws, if you have any? Does it bother you or is it just a fact of life you have come to terms with?"

Mystic sat up, she had appeared for a while listening to the leader's answers. She was still uncomfortable about the subject of killing. "I don't like that I have blood on my paws, or killing other wolves, for that matter," she began. "But I know that sometimes, it is necessary, if a wolf threaten and tries to kill, harsh words wouldn't turn them away. I know that now. I didn't like it before, I still don't like it now, but I know it is a necessity of leading a pack. You have to show your subjects that you won't back down to a threat." She cleared her throat, glancing around nervously, to see if any wolves had spotted her from before, noticed the magic. She glanced at Rain, who seemed suspicious of her. She would never know how she had had magic in her family for centuries, descended from a she-wolf goddess. But Mystic knew it was important not to mention her lineage, and to stay posed as a normal, non-magical wolf.
"Does your pack believe, or worship a god, or deity?" she asked, careful of choosing the right words. "Or experienced magic, or an otherworldly power or force, higher than yourself?" Mystic sunk back into the shadows of the group, before fading into mist.

Amaris saw an opportunity to talk about her pack goddess Lupa.

''The Goddess Lupa is a she-wolf. She is the protective mother who fed Romulus and Remus (twin demi-gods and the founders of Rome) at her teat. She is formidable and can bring death to her enemies or protection to those she cares about. She brings prosperity and fertility to crops and animals. My pack think of her as the greatest goddess and she-wolf to live.'' Amaris said with respect.

''But that is my packs opinion.''

With that she turns and calls a random wolf over to her and asks...

''Have you ever despised one of you breeding males so much that you want them to leave so that you can assign a new on?'' she asks this wolf before wandering into the woods for her daily adventure.