A valley between two mountains with forest and a river. A unique area that fluctuates between various gravity levels, allowing creatures to traverse between the ground and sky. Stars, clouds, and space dust, as well as beautiful trees and flowering plants can be found here
The Southern tip of Verdantis’ claim was a peculiarity that Quinnat had often felt unnerved by previously. The fluctuations in gravity could be sudden and mystifying in places and the regular swirls of colour in the sky were distracting - for an on-duty Sentry, at least. The pockets of air that lifted a wingless wolf’s paws off the ground in Cloud Bend could almost definitely be used to the Kingdom’s advantage but it was hard to keep his eyes on things at ground level - like most threats - when the sky was putting on such a show.
The constant presence of something to marvel at above his head tested Quinn’s focus on a normal day but that challenge had been softened in the preceding few days, snuffed out by a growing worry which took precedence: Mercedes had vanished.
Quinnat had initially focused on Whitewater and the Muddy River, which seemed more saturated in scents, searching with such fervour that he’d all but worn a path from the rapids to the delta. There was still no sign of their Monarch by the time he’d paced around the Southern border and turned back for the heart of Cloud Bend, searching through the night. The stars gleamed at him but Quinn felt no joy in gazing at them as he picked through the lush vegetation beside the river that snaked through the valley.
Only when the reflections of the stars in the river started to fade, replaced by a pink hue, did he admit it to himself. There was no sign, no scent, no sight to fill him with confidence or fear. Only questions remained and one in particular blared in his head like a siren:
How do we move forward?
There was no getting around it: Verdantis needed leadership. Since the Duskorna woman had trespassed and taken Shifty with her, Quinn had ruminated on when the next run-in with the opposing group would be - and how Verdantis could prepare themselves. He had entertained the idea of leading before, safe in the knowledge that the seat was taken - but it had never been something he’d had to consider with any real seriousness. Now was different; now there was no escaping the gravity of the choice laid out before him. How he wished he had his sister to call on for advice.
But no - his sister had banished him from their previous home, leaving Quinn alone. When he’d found Verdantis, he was no longer alone. The Kingdom wasn’t the same as a treasured sibling - but Quinn wanted to protect it and its citizens. Verdantis had given him back a life worth living. He wanted to protect it now.
He'd enlisted Dos to spread the word as far and as swiftly as possible in hopes of reaching as many Verdantians as possible.
Hopefully most would be on their way, but for anyone who was nearby, Quinnat tipped his head back and let out a summoning howl.
Like Quinnat, he too had noticed the Monarch's fading presence. In the land of Argaia, that could mean any number of things, none of them good, and all efforts he made to find her came back with nothing. When the call for Verdantis came out by Quinnat, he had good reason to suspect her absence would be among the topics discussed. Gabriel would veer off to the direction of cloud bend. It was a magnificent place, but whose constant gravitational fluxes were something he still had to get used to - which is exactly why his next practice spar will take place here, in unfavorable conditions. Perhaps he could ask Urna or Dos to fight him when the teacher gets worst. Speaking of Dos, it was she who had arrived to him with a message of the upcoming meeting. Which is why, when the howl came forth, Gabriel was ready to answer.
A quick howl back to note his upcoming arrival, and then Gabriel would try taking a path with lighter gravity, allowing him to move just a little bit faster to the meeting. Eventually, the gravity would return to normal by the time he got to the meeting spot. Upon his arrival, he would give a bow of respect to Quinnat, before taking a seat off to the side.
As soon as Flame heard news of the meeting at Cloud Bend, she headed over as quickly as her wings would carry her. Even though she was used to flying, she had to admit that the strange gravitational fluctuations of the cloud bend made her trip a bit harder. She was never sure how much she should flutter her wings. A simple flap could send her soaring way too high. A few times, she found herself crashing into some tree branches as she tried to navigate her way through the forest.
Eventually, though, her efforts would bring her to the gathering. Gracefully, her paws touched the ground as she looked around her. “Please tell me this meeting brings good news,” she said with a hint of worry in her voice. She hadn’t noticed Mercedes's disappearance. She did, however, notice her absence from the meeting...
Strange, she would expect the Monarch to be here first. Maybe she was on her way; perhaps something had just held her up.
Urna padded downslope, feeling how the tug of gravity swelled and faded as she moved, like waves rolling into shore. Cloud Bend was one of her favorite places in Verdantis' territory. Today, the cosmic clouds swirled overhead like circling vultures.
In place of a carcass, however, there stood Quinnat. Disappointing, she thought with a chuckle she couldn't quite smother at her own joke.
Urna hopped onto a chunk of floating earth and circled to gaze down (and up) upon the arriving members of her kingdom. Strange, wasn't it, that she knew so few of them. They came on wing and by foot, some through portals or shifting seamlessly from one animal form to another. Something like gravity pulled them to the center where Quinnat called them. Urna sprang lightly onto a lower slab, then heavily to the ground as the weightlessness of the anomaly faded.
She greeted the citizens she recognized—sending a nod Gabriel's way—and found herself a place to wait beside a tiny green-winged jackal.
Dos draped herself dramatically over the nearest large stone, her sister and mother snickering to themselves at her silly behavior. She wasn't really that tired, sure her forelegs were sore from flying all over the territory alerting everyone who smelled right about the meeting called in Cloud Bend but it wasn't like she wasn't used to flying. Her twin tails wagged when she spotted the familiar curved horns of Gabriel, though she stayed by her mother and sister's side. There were so many creatures here! She was vaguely aware that this new version of the 'pack' had a lot more members than she'd ever met but it was something different to be seeing it all in person.
Gabriel took to greeting members as they arrived, giving nods and welcomes as they approached. He wasn't a figure of any significance, but he wanted to give a friendly presence despite the circumstances. When Urna arrives, Gabriel would give a nod as well. But then, in a low voice intended moreso not to disturb the silence too much than to be secretive, he would say to her, "ve should spar sometime. Cloud Bend looks like a good place for it," unstable, ever shifting terrain would be a good place to fight. Not every battle will take place in an open grassfield.
Though he wouldn't say it, he hadn't forgotten about his intention to train with dos. The specifics of that idea was still cooking in his mind.
Reed was a stranger to everyone in Verdantis except for the one who had invited her, which also happened to be the one who apparently had the authority to call pack-wide meetings. She had been in the area trying to make a habit of actually being part of the kingdom when she heard the talks of the meeting. She felt like she should probably attend it, ya know, to show she actually was part of it.
Sat perched atop Reed's dreads was Pip, her blue ring-necked parakeet familiar. Pip was busy pruning his feathers as he sat, currently ignoring all of the many faces that surrounded them. Reed walked carefully as she entered the strange gravity fields that made up this region, both so she didn't lose her step and look like a fool in front of all these strangers, and so she didn't disturb Pip and his grooming. It really was an inopportune time for him to take up his daily pruning session, but alas, he was hard at work and she did not want to deal with him upset at her for knocking him off his balance.
Once she was a good distance away from all of those gathered, she made herself comfortable and listened with interest at what would be happening at this meeting.
