Hammers in the Shadows

Part One: Shadows and Ice - Chapter Nine

I growled, though I tried not to scare my little brother. "Councilman, do you think that we can afford to loose more of our people in a war? Look around you, and think about who we'd lose... it could be your son, or his mate, or any one of your close relatives." I shifted my gaze around the table while I gently hugged my brother. "The other reason that I feel that a shift in location would be good for the Pride is because the new location is much more remote and isolated with fewer humans living in the same area. I'm sure that you've all noticed that we've started to tone down our activities due to the presence of humans in the region."

Now there were a few nods around the table as the councillors had seen it and they knew that in this sense I was talking about the modern reality that we faced as a Pride.

Olaf banged his hand on the table, "I may be a stubborn old cat, but from where I stand I can see that our Pride leaders are looking forwards to the future instead of simply staying with what we've got now."

"Olaf, you are an old cat, but even you have to admit that this is home." The elder beside him said. "You sweated and toiled alongside me to build this Pride up from nothing."

"Yes, I did Gregori but now I realize that it is time that we find ourselves a new home, and I have to say that my daughter's mate has found us a place that we can settle permanently. Shanna and I knew that this place wasn't perfect but we couldn't search around for something better because at the time there wasn't much of road network."

I sat back and listened as Olaf and Elder Varnistov got into a rather congenial debate about the future of the Pride, and Shanna and Olaf's decision at the beginning of the 1920's. While they were talking about that I smiled at my mate as both her and I had one of my siblings in our laps, as my sister had crawled over into my mate's lap.

After letting the council debate the actions we held a vote and both Anna and I were pleased when the vote came out the way we both desired it though that was only the first step that we had to agree on.

"Now that we've voted as you prefer Pride Lord where are you going to have us go? We don't exactly have the money, or the resources to purchase a new territory, or build a new Pride House." The oldest council member who'd stayed with the Pride Eleven yeas ago asked.

"As I pointed out before we've just, retroactively declared Vladimir Berekov as Rogue and therefore the place that he's taken for his own is now forfeit and since he was originally he was of our Pride the ancient rules apply, whatever he's made for himself is now the property of the Pride."

It was at that point in our deliberations when the door to the room banged open and Zane, hobbled into the room, in naught but his shorts, he'd removed the bandage that had been wrapped around his chest and the angry red looking scars on either side of his chest were obvious. He walked over to an open spot on the table and banged his half staffs on the table. "Don't be fucking idiots, we're here to help. I have promised Mark my personal help to relocate your Pride. I helped the future Matriarch Tashi, of the Nam Cho Pride, to convince her parents to move. They were a very small Pride, not even fifty people. Now they are doing well, and prospering with a population that is starting to approach sixty people, including cubs. If you don't want our help I will leave, I won't like it but we will honour what you want." By this point he was panting slightly and I could tell that he hadn't yet come anywhere close to recovering from the wound he'd sustained.

I looked at my stubborn friend as Anna rose from her seat before handing my sister to my mom and walked over, taking his arm in her hands. "Dear friend," She said guiding him to sit down at the unoccupied chair behind him, "We do desire the assistance, moving the Pride isn't a simple thing. This council is because we had to come to an agreement on that course of action. This isn't a wolf-pack where Mark and I would be able to dictate our course of action. Instead we have to reach a consensus with the rest of the council."