Gregory found himself almost hiding in the kitchens. He knew if he gave in to his need to follow Aricka that he wouldn’t come back down and get everyone accounted for. So there he sat drinking coffee and trying not to make the kitchen staff too uncomfortable in his presence.
It wasn’t that they were afraid of him. It was just life had gotten set in its ways and they just were having problems with the changes in routine. But, he couldn’t think of a single thing he could do to get this set
The other factions had finally arrived over the next couple of hours.The merfolk had to make do with the swimming hole and the cat shifters made do with cabins at the far end of the pack lands. There had only been one incident with the cat shifters when one of the non-predator shifters requested that they ensured their litter box was nowhere near where they were staying.A swift reprimand and apology came directly after that.The non-predator shifters received cabins near the medical centre and packhouse as they would be working as support personnel within the medical centre, kitchens and war room.&n
Gregory took the stairs back down and soon was greeted with the din of so many voices and scents his first instinct was to flee. His senses were blurring everything together. He could not make out any given sound or smell. It was like this often in cities, but he wasn’t used to it in his own home. As he resisted the urge to find a quiet space away from the crowd, he had to enter the war room. There was why the chaos of scents and sound existed. Everyone was already at the meeting and seemed to be trying to communicate something to someone else. It was a zoo in more ways than one, but no one seemed about to kill anyone else. So
Gregory was not getting tired and irritable as the night wore on and the fine details were hashed out. Jobs and groups decided on. How they were going to move the people and equipment was discussed to the point he felt it was just splitting hairs. But, that was what he told the group at the beginning of the meeting. Now they were going over how the timing was going to go down to the very last second it felt like. Now they still have to hash out how they were going to get those they could save back here and to proper medical attention, also, the injured and of course the prisoners if they needed to interrogate th
Once the final faction members had been appeased and the fine details had been assigned and agreed upon. They packed up what they needed to and left the members behind that were needed to take the first shift in the war room and communication centre. Others were headed to sleep and the rest were sent to organize everything that would be needed for every step of the mission and have it ready to go.The clock was now no longer looming but was ticking on the wall of the war room in reality.Gregory headed out the back of the
Darkness leaving the world again and the creature that is known as Hannibal was forced underground again. He had long ago shunned the harsh rays of the sun for many other reasons. But he told himself it was because life in the sun had long since bored him. Why should he waste his time within the mundane world? All that was left for him there at this time were games to pass the time and he was done with that. He had lost the enjoyment of the challenge when he could outsmart them all again and again. No, the time was coming in just a few days to change the board and the game. He was going to take it to a whole new level. No more of this skulking around to avoid detection to get what he wanted. No more cowering in fear of detection by those lesser beings. How dare they tell their elder he was wrong, perverse and criminal. He would soon be telling them the real truth. His truth.
Only a few hours to go now. Gregory could feel the excitement and dread mixing with a level of anger. The army was ready to assault all locations at once. All reports from those that could stealthily investigate had come back that the enemy camps were gearing up for something. But from what they could see it was not this attack that they were gearing for. They would not be ready for this attack at all. The rogues would be caught flat-footed in their territory. There was speculation that the rogues might believe that the council would not send out a force to stop them. Others thought the
He’d summon the scum to him as soon as he sensed his conscious presence and he was still not here. It was irritating. He wanted to know why his plans weren’t moving faster and he would not accept excuses this time. His army wasn’t getting any bigger or even closer to being a fighting force. His anger bled into his eyesight and his power lashed out from him at the closest creatures. A flock of birds fell from the sky in a hail of feathers. Each small body landing in a sickening thud. The sickly smell of disease and rot filtering suddenly from each still form. 
The Command Centre and War Room were a hive of activity as information, reports and requests came in fast and furious. Edith and Allan stood in the room clarifying responses and permitting requests. They made sure to view the reports and have them passed on to the correct people that needed to know. Edith found it especially tiring, in a mental sort of way. While her mate seemed too on the other hand be in his element. Who would have known that he came into his own under fire like this? “I’m taking a break and I’m going to check in on Aricka. She’s oddly quiet and that worries me.”“Yeah, I don’t think she took well to being ordered bac
The morning started early, with grey skies and a hell of a lot of noise. Last-minute boxes of food and supplies were being transferred to trucks to compensate for the sudden doubling of Max’s pack size. His mother had stopped him and informed him she had taken the young pups’ names. In the New Year, she would add them to the NARC registry of his pack. So it was official. He had a pack, and it was happening at least on paper. A quick text message to Jenna, and he was rounding up every damn person coming with him. They weren’t all outside after breakfast because one of the younger ones was hiding somewhere and it was like an Easter Egg hunt for her. If he thought life would
When Max finally got back to the major crowd, and that’s what it had become as curious pack members came in to offer their help. While getting the scoop on what happened at the front gate.He was no longer used to this many people, and it was wearing on him, with the pain dull throbbing in time to his slowly fraying nerves.Max couldn’t leave these pups, but he was also itching to speak to each one of them. Just so, he knew how to integrate them into his pack. He’d have to do that when he got home from here and then keep a very close eye on everyone.What he found was a memory of the past ringing with a lilting voice of his mother as she read a new poem, she had found but fit so well into their lives. It was as if they had made it for this moment.Max had missed most of the opening refrains of the poem. But it was as if it spoke to him, and his mother claimed the ti
Aricka had received several texts from Allan and Jeff. The rogues were actually young adults lost in the war’s chaos. There were two injured and nearly thirty of them. The pups, as Edith firmly insisted on calling them, needed space to get clean. They were hungry and came with the clothes on their backs. Many were female, and they didn’t have any form of real leadership. They were there looking for guidance and a chance at survival without going rogue. Even their Druid family members chipped in to help. The sadness was physical when their story’s relayed to all. It was a physical example that hit the council members present in the face. This minor war had lasting effects throughout the Supernatural World. Others were not in the war but were suffering the lasting effects of loss because of the Lich’s victims’ deaths and those who had died in battle.&
It’s Yuletide, and they strictly enforced the rule of hospitality during this season. In Northern Ontario, it’s the only humane thing to do. It’s not truly the rule of law. But a moral tradition. They will give anyone who comes to your door space to sleep and a meal for the night. Until it’s safe for them to travel on. It doesn’t have to be fancy or even a bed: just a warm, dry place and simple food to eat. In a land where one could freeze to death within fifteen minutes of going outside, it’s needed even if they’re dressed for the season. It was a tradition from the old country. Now Gregory had to find this car off in a ditch and then deal with twenty-five to thirty more people to house and feed. Richard/Max… He had to get his name straight in his head before talking to these people.
Gregory had to divide and conquer. The pups and such needed people looking out for them, with everyone doing different things. So he sent some volunteers to look over them. His brother was one of those volunteers. He had to get more wood and things for the decorations to be freshened up with. The ladies inside would handle that, and he would leave his mate with the work inside of entertaining and guiding those efforts. Let Allan take the lead on the first shift of snow clearing, and when he and his crew came in, all snowy dragging equally snowy pups in. Gregory knew precisely what happened. The pups appeared bored, and they had started a snowball fight with the adults.Frederick looked like he’d fallen or tossed in the snow and thoroughly co
As he thought of his pup grouping, Evan and the pack were having fun running through the wooded area and playing in the snow. It was great being able to get outside and just have fun. He found it thrilling, and he’d thought it might be his wolf side affecting his actions. But it wasn’t like it talked to him. It was just part of him. Like someone was Italian or Japanese. He didn’t care. He was in a happy place now. The adults were bickering until the snow stopped falling, and a lot of them got busy clearing the roadway. It had taken longer than expected when the younger people had decided that they were going to ambush them with snowballs. One of his druid cousins had made the trees shiver and drop their snow on his Great-Grandfather, who’s not impressed and sent a few snowballs flying of his own in retaliation.&nb
Once, people surfaced for a late breakfast. They sent the pups and other juveniles out to play in the snow with a few adults watching them. Even Richard took a turn watching them from the back porch. Just so that someone with fully working limbs could haul snow from the garage down to the entrance gates. This was no small feat without a snowplough of some sort. Someone had at least been smart enough to park the visitor’s vehicles inside the garage to avoid the need to remove ice and snow from them. But with over five hundred metres of the driveway from the garage down to the main entrance, it would be a long time until it fully cleared, and they could sand it. Because of wolves running about, sand was a far safer product for their paws. Salt would burn the plants and leave burns on paws. Also, salt often made things worse in t
Aricka woke up on the third day of the season, and all she could think about was that there were only ten days left. If she thought it was slow going, going to war. It was a whole new form of torture when there were clashing personalities.Edith and Moreen got along like a house on fire. Both sat and talked about whatever came to mind. There didn’t seem to be a topic that was off the table for them.Frederick and Allan, however, had started out the first night or so, not getting along well. Until they found out what happens when mulled, they added in spiced cider, and the two were off to the races on who come object more often than the other about anything and everything. Who knew that two older gentlemen could brawl like boys in their twenties? They’d lost two lamps and a chair in that incident.Then Allan hid in his apartment with Edith. Aricka was sure that Edith was there to
After two great days of snow and fun, Evan jumped from his bed to be greeted by more snow coming down. There was so much he couldn’t see the trees that were not so far from his window. With a sigh, he figured everyone stuck inside would soon enough to turn on each other.Video games, music, and lots of food. What more could anyone ask for? There’d be presents again too. Everyone got one present every day for a whole twelve days. It was so much fun to see everyone’s faces when they opened their gifts. No one knew who had actually bought any of the gifts. Some adults even played a guessing game about who bought various gifts. It was kind of funny to watch.Running down the stairs, he realized some of the other kids were up, and they all gathered in the Entertainment Room. It had quickly become their unofficial hang out. The adults figured they were safe there, and Aria had been cool about what games they could play too. Some snacks were still out, and E