[Pack Event] Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

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There's no chance that he's going to lose this, Dimitri thinks as he heads into the woods to hide. There are good places, sure, and he's going to find the best one. One they'll never expect him to hide. There! An underbrush! He's growing larger every day, but he's just barely small enough to fit under the brush. He crawls beneath it, letting the leaves scrape off onto his fur. He breathes in deep, knowing that the earth beneath him would hide his scent. He would be here, hidden, until the end--

A sound. He's not alone in the bush. Dimitri freezes. There could be a monster in here. A monster of great proportions. Or perhaps just Sreda trying to freak him out. "Haha, it's not funny," he mutters under his breath. "Stay quiet or we're going to be caught--"

And then a pair of beady eyes stare at him from a branch above the brush. There it is, a sort of brush sparrow that exists only to peck at seeds and eat worms. That's absolutely disgusting, Dimitri knows. And then the sparrow decides to land on his nose--

Dimitri screams.
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Rolled a 9

---

He had a bad feeling about this.

Oh well.

Gathering up his courage, he crept away from the clearing as silently as he could, hoping Valeska wouldn't be able to hear any leaves crunching underfoot. This was hard enough already...

Everywhere he went, someone was already there.

Gods damn it.

Shooing motions and the sound of desperate hissing drove him away, further and further, until the only place left for him was a spot right near the southern border - a large cluster of bushes, just tall enough to conceal him, but already their leaves had begun to fall. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. Alder sighed and bolstered his resolve, crouching down to crawl inside and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, the very tip of his fire-red tail stuck out like a traffic light.

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Valeska woke with a start.

Shit, she thought, lifting her head, looking more than a little disheveled. How long had it been? She looked up toward the sky, and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized that the sun was still where it was supposed to be after the allotted twenty minutes had passed - gods, she was tired, though. Just as well that she turned it into a power nap.

Rising to her paws, she gave a cursory shake of her pelt before throwing her head back to howl, alerting her packmates that the hunt was on - and padded quietly out of the clearing, crouched low in a hunter's stalk.

---

She found @Dimitri first.

Gods almighty. It's not like it was hard.

He was, admittedly, very well-hidden, and likely would have remained undetected for some time (if indefinitely) had he not let out the most blood-curdling scream second to Violet. Valeska hurried over toward the source of the noise, more panicked than anything else, fearing the worst - had he fallen? Broken his paw? Accidentally submerged himself in the lake, now fighting for his very life?

She skidded to a halt as she came upon the scene, just in time to observe a tiny sparrow flying away from Dimitri's face poking out from beneath the bush he had used for concealment.

“Ah - my darling,” she began, stifling a laugh. This was Very Serious to her son, so she ought not to rile him up further. “You frightened me! Goodness. Well, I have found you either way, so it is best you return to the clearing.”

Giving him an affectionate lick, and making an internal note to make it up to him later, she departed.

---

@Amphitrite was the second to be discovered.

She, at least, had not screamed, though it appeared her time spent searching for the perfect spot had resulted in a lack of any good spot at all. Valeska's nose led her to the general area she had chosen, and it wasn't long before she spied a furry top to a pile of leaves beneath one particularly large oak tree.

Padding silently forward, she nudged the pile with her paw, grinning as Amphitrite's head emerged with a resigned expression.

“It is only your first time doing this with us - do not worry. There will be many more chances for us all to embarrass ourselves,” she said merrily, then ushered her back to the clearing.

---

@Violet remained ever her impossible child.

The High Priestess barely even had to follow her scent. She walked in a straight line, cut through the heart of Fate's Respite, and found her sitting in a hole in the ground, half sticking out like a groundhog in February. The girl might as well have just stood out in the open - if disappointment were measurable, she would have been in the red.

“Daughter - what is the point of participating, if you do not actually participate?” she said accusingly, eyeing her with a frown. “Is it over your coat again? I have told you, you can be cleaned afterward - ridiculous! It is done, then, go back to the glade and wait for my return.”

With a final, dignified huff, she turned on her heel and went off to pursue the remaining wolves.

---

As the sun sank ever lower, bathing the land in hues of autumn-orange and misty purple, @Urszula was unlucky enough to find Valeska.

There was absolutely not a hope in hell she would have been discovered if the branch hadn't snapped. Valeska was so offended by the smell of scat in Zula's chosen hideout that she was more eager to leave than stick around to find anything else out, but when she made a very quick about-face to exit -

OOPH!

“What in the gods' names...” she sputtered, rolling the bear-woman off of her. Valeska looked up into the trees, realizing where she had hidden - and where the smell was coming from. “Sacred Wolf Mother. I commend you on your efforts, even so; you are fearsome in any competition. It is only fate that the branch gave way, otherwise you went... above and...” she sniffed, wrinkling her nose. “... Beyond. Ahem. Go, now, I shall return soon!”

Darker and darker, the sun began its final descent...

---

A faint splashing tickled the edges of her ears. Valeska swiveled quickly, rushing toward it on silent paws to investigate the noise, hoping to spy someone there - yet on arrival, she could see nothing but a few remaining ripples to denote that anything had ever happened.

Suspicious.

An eerie quiet fell over the scene, and she glanced around furtively. A glint of sunlight reflecting off of fresh mud leading away from the shoreline - a trail, perhaps? The little wolf bent down, giving it a tentative sniff, and came away with a snort. Awful.

The glistening mud led her a few yards away and toward the forested treeline, disappearing into the darkness. A few shreds of daylight remained, with half the sun still peeking out from beyond the horizon line cast by the mountains - there was still time. She hurried her steps, approaching the underbrush with a pensive look before realizing the evidence led just between -

“@Sreda!” she exclaimed, jumping back. “You frightened me, child! Ah, that was very clever; Zula employed a similar tactic, but she took it to... one could say... greater heights.”

She was proud of that joke.

“Ah, I am running out of time; I must hurry! Go back to the clearing, I shall meet you there.”

---

The little wolf gave just a cursory look toward the borders, figuring no one was obvious enough to hide near the outskirts of any rivaling pack's territories. She gave the south scent-lines a quick look since there were more opportunities for stealth in the forested areas of their home than toward the tundra, but it was still so unlikely she -

A flash of red.

Oh, come on.

It seemed that her children were inherently terrible at this.

Valeska approached slowly, carefully, then slapped the end of @Alder's tail with her paw in a playful gesture to alert him of her presence. He yelped once, then sat bolt upright, looking wholly put-out.

“Silly little flame,” she chided him sweetly, ruffling his head-fur. “You must tuck all of yourself in to hide properly. Aether sees everything, you know.”

As she said that, the sun at last disappeared beyond the mountains, casting milky blue shadows over Fate's Respite as the lake was swallowed by darkness.

It was time.

And yet... still many wolves remained undiscovered...

---

Valeska returned to the clearing where the less-than-fortunate had gathered once more, and she cast a sly grin toward their surrounding faces. There were too many left for all to be declared successful, and seeing how only one may assist with the sacrifice - she had a plan.

“It seems some of us are quite skilled in the art of stealth,” she announced to the sky, loudly enough for most still in hiding to hear at a distance. “It seems that even Aether cannot find them all - but only one can emerge victorious! Thus, I call upon the greatest spiritual eye among us to seek them out; the last wolf to be discovered tonight shall be the one to aid in Zula's ritual!”

The High Priestess stepped theatrically to the side, allowing her chosen seeker to forge a path through the crowd and slink into the evening darkness.

---

FINAL ROUND. @Rigby, @Mordecai, @Tallulah, @Fiora, @Narcissa, @Lyubov and @Harper are to each make one last roll using the Discord Bot so all can see the results, then post them in the Discord's Elysium Plotting channel.

Any rollers who tie are to roll against each other to break it, then post your results - then so on and so on until no ties are left and a clear victor remains.

The chosen Seeker will post next discovering the remaining characters in order from lowest roll to highest, and the final round of posts by myself and the game-players can then be made of the post-game rewards and ensuing sacrifice with the winner.

---

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The sun would set.

The golden demon would wait.

She knew her purpose, her place. She knew what the event was about, and she'd chosen (on purpose) to make herself invisible to the crowd. Perhaps some would wonder why she wasn't there — but she supposed most wouldn't notice. Valeska was, and always would be, the face of Elysium. Amaranth was but a golden shadow, warm and prevalent within the spiritual realm, and yet an ambiguous and impersonal mystery when it came to the inner-workings and politics of their pack and their family.

And that was okay, that was the way it was destined to be. That was the way she wanted it to be. But that did not mean that Amaranth would not be a participant in their games ... for Amaranth loved the idea of a game. Of fun. Of mystery. And as such, she'd chosen to watch the sunset and watch every hidden movement of the members of the pack. She heard Valeska's call for a challenge ... yes. And Amaranth would be the fangs of justice, the teeth that would crunch on the scruff of those who thought they would be so dutifully hidden.

She would find them. All of them.
  For Valeska. For the Five. Not for herself ...
     ... obviously.

Amaranth lingered in the distance, her body hidden against shadows and the ambivalent golden sunbeams of the sunset.

For ... whoever Valeska could not find ...
   ... Amaranth would.

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The lithe shadow of Amaranth retreated into the darkness of the underbrush, only the smallest golden flicker of her tail-tip visible before vanishing from sight. Seven wolves remained, and the sun had descended into slumber for the evening; everyone was surely growing hungry and impatient, so Valeska stepped up again and raised her head to make her final announcement.

“In the name of impending dinner, I shall go forth and seek four of the remaining seven. The three who elude me will be Amaranth's prey to find - and then we shall feast and conduct the sacrifice,” she said over the gathering. “I will return!”

Having only just caught her breath from her last venture, she rallied and took off again, tufted paws padding quickly into the distance as she galloped away to help finish what she had started.

Amaranth was meticulous. The last expertly-hidden wolves would surely pose a great enough challenge to take up the majority of their time, so the Priestess felt confident assisting her partner was the correct avenue to keep things moving at a clipped pace.

As the evening grew colder, her breath came out in soft plumes, trailing behind her like smoke carrying along the wind - she felt her stomach growl. She was getting hungry.

Yes; in the name of dinner, she would find them.

---

@Harper was clever. She knew best how to conceal herself among plants she was familiar with, understanding what varieties would hide both her dark pelt, large size and even aid in masking her scent. She had chosen wisely - the hydrangea cluster held a faint aroma of vanilla on its own, and as Valeska stalked past, it was only the gentlest, smallest whiff of smoke that gave her pause.

Her nose twitched.

She looked to the sky, which remained partly concealed by fog. The smoke-scent seemed to be in concentrated in a more pointed area, lingering in this one particular patch of forest. The little wolf narrowed her eyes.

Suspicious.

There were many places wherein a body might conceal itself, with plentiful bushes and large trees and leaf-piles scattered around, and there was an absolutely stunning milky-pink hydrangea bush standing tall above the rest of the nondescript plants.

So overt, it was covert.

Valeska crept closer, sniffing deeply. Vanilla. The hydrangeas smelled delicious, but there was a hint of something else... something familiar...

She thrust her head inside the bush. “Ah-hah!” she exclaimed. “I commend you on your craftiness. Now come out, we will soon celebrate!”

---

The silver wolf changed course, heading into the dense forest of pines nestled in the southernmost part of their home. She had passed through this area once and caught nothing amiss, but there was a nagging feeling gnawing at the back of her mind that she just couldn't quite shake.

@Tallulah was perfectly suited to this environment. Her mottled coat perfectly mimicked the hazy, dappled light that filtered through from overhead, and Valeska had probably walked past her two or three times already when something caught her eye.

Movement out of the corner of her vision. It was so dim and fleeting it had already vanished by the time she turned her head to observe, and she hesitated - waiting - but the motion did not repeat itself.

Hm.

Valeska shifted her head to look toward the opposite direction, quite slyly, still keeping her gaze where she had originally looked - and there it was again. A soft exhalation of air turning to steam, and she whipped around with a triumphant expression. “Gods, that was good!” she said, laughing merrily. Tallulah was still just a dark shadow to her, hardly visible even now - but she knew her friend. “You came very close. I will meet you back at the clearing; there are only a few left!”

---

Valeska was quite impressed over @Narcissa's absence. She thought Sreda would have been the one to vanish in her entirety, considering even the possibility of her opening an eldritch portal to another, darker dimension to evade capture - but she had gone hard and only sabotaged herself by accident.

Her golden daughter, however, was quite skilled. Perhaps it was her naturally quiet nature that aided her now, so used to being a wallflower, but this was an excellent showcase of her skills.

Scenting the air deeply, her mother searched high and low through Fate's Respite, letting out the occasional small chuff to see if she might startle her out of hiding; yet Narcissa remained undeterred, holding fast to her silence in whatever place she had found.

Valeska was thoroughly puzzled.

Something golden shimmered ahead, so small it could have easily been missed. The High Priestess moved closer to inspect the object. Fur... Narcissa's fur, she surmised, though her scent was cloaked with berry bushes. She was close to the mountains, mere yards away from the sheer rock-faces concealed by a barrier of underbrush.

They were few and far between, but the more she looked, the more small, thin clusters of fur she could spy caught along the thin branches leading in toward the mountain face; some were smeared with faint traces of berry-juice, explaining why she had not caught any unusual scent.

Valeska pushed her way through the shrubbery, spotting a crack in the wall.

Two golden eyes glimmered from the darkness within.

“My lovely girl,” Valeska smiled, motioning with her head for the child to emerge. “You will make an admirable huntress one day; perhaps you might even teach Violet and Alder a thing or two.” Gods knew they needed it. “Go, run along now; we are closing upon the end!”

---

Unfortunately, Valeska was now found herself thoroughly stumped. She had roamed across the entire scope of Fate's Respite, repeatedly shoving her exhausted body into various cracks, crevices, underbrush and even holes in the ground, all to no avail. She let out a frustrated sigh - Amaranth would have to take care of the rest.

The little wolf retreated at last to the home-clearing, bits of twigs and leaves comically stuck in and around her fur as she wore a haggard expression. “For the life of me, this was so much harder than I thought it would -”

What the -

The goat was snoring. Valeska glanced around at the collected wolves quizzically, motioning with her muzzle as if to say, 'am I imagining this?'

But no - the goat was snoring. Quite loudly, in fact.

She padded closer, wondering if they had either drugged it too much or not enough, but as she neared the unfortunate sacrifice, she realized the sound was coming from somewhere... underneath it.

Valeska reached out a paw and gently pushed the goat.

@Rigby lay inconspicuously beneath, curled up in a tight ball, sleeping soundly with his little nose smashed between his paws. His aunt brushed against his head with her muzzle, waking him soflty.

“Rigby,” she whispered, stifling a laugh. “You have done so well, child. It was only your snores that betrayed you - but let us leave the goat in peace, now, and allow Amaranth to do the rest.”

---

 

Next post will be Amaranth finding the remaining three!

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Little did the finalists know ... The Final Boss lurked in the distant, hazy sunset.

Amaranth sat atop a rock for the duration of the meeting, her golden pelt warmed by the encroaching sunset as it dispersed through the fog. The sweet sound of Valeska's voice wavered up through the mist, caressing her golden ears as her purple eyes closed ... lulled into a state of intoxicated entrancement. It was almost as if Valeksa would unknowingly summon her, a hell-dog from the mist that would awaken to do her bidding.

As the meeting progressed, Amaranth kept her eyes closed. For she could not see below, and they could not see above ... the environment was only conducive to seeing things directly within paw-reach, with a dense fog hanging heavy around the wolves of Elysium.

But it did not matter.

She knew the rules. And she knew the game. And a hunger grew deep in her belly as she awaited the contestants that would soon run and hide from her silver wife. A treacherous and striking game of Hide-And-Seek, hmm?

And then —
     —the sun would set.

And the beast rose from her position on the rock, carefully leaping down into the hazy forest below to find those who would remain unseen by Valeska.

---

As she prowled through the undergrowth, she shimmered like an undead wraith, glittering gold against the cold misted moonlight.

She first made her way down the mountainous path, stopped by a mild intrigue as the scent of rabbit lifted into her nostrils. Amythyst eyes dilated, a hunger hitting her for a brief moment before she wondered ... wondered if someone would hide in that very small crevice and use the fresh scent of prey as their disguise. And as she nosed forward, her ebony nose bounced off the soft fur of a baby wolf. One of Harper's own. Petal. A gentle smile touched her lips as she gently used her teeth to pull the child from the protective crevice.

"A wise hiding spot, @Fiora , but not quite enough to hide from a hungry nose," she cooed, winking once before prancing off into the moonlight once more.

---

And as she darted off, hanging low to the earth, she turned her gaze left and right and left again ... careful to dodge sticks and twigs on the earth as to not give any of the hiding wolves a hint of her location. And it was then that she saw a ... very mighty pile of leaves. It seemed ... unusually tall, really. Quite pronounced, and it cast a mighty shadow on the ground around it.

Amaranth slowed for a moment as she realized that there was more than leaves in the pile.

It made sense, and she knew almost in an instant who would be hiding in it.

The man with the voice of an angel,
  the one who gave her a run for her money in the contest of voices.

Amaranth's front half lowered, her rump swaying stupidly in the air above her as she threw herself at the pile of leaves — regretfully. She bounced off the form of the much larger wolf, her vision dizzy for a split second as she recoiled and slapped at the leaves in front of her noisily (so much for being the creeping, scary wraith). "@Mordecai ," she huffed through a soft smile, lifting a paw to rub at her nose before tagging him playfully on the shoulder. Her eyes smouldered and she snapped her teeth on the air before darting past him, slapping him on the snout with her tail as she resumed her search for the last ... hiding ... wolf ...

---

The last challenger was particularly difficult to find.

She was small. She was hidden. She'd masked her smell, her breath, and her body in the elements. She'd disguised herself as the dead in the land of the living.

Amaranth grinned. Determined.

The pawprints on the trees were those of a child, wiping their fingers free of mud and grime ... she noted the way the paw-prints went before they disappeared, and Amaranth wondered if the youthful mind would dart in the opposite direction. And so she followed almost fruitlessly the scent of mud and berries.

She quit sniffing the earth for a moment, knowing then that there would be no success in trusting her normal, mortal senses. Her amethyst eyes closed, her chest expanding deeply as she breathed deeply in the spiritual energy of the world around her ... summoning a pretend spiritual map. Of course, she couldn't see anything. Of course, the events that would transpire next would be purely luck.

But as she moved forward into the fox den, she noted the small bundle of leaves and grime shivering with shallow intent. And for a moment, Amaranth did not even realize what she had found. Who she had found. Her head tilted almost quizzically as she pawed at the bundle. A slab of mud fell off of the white-furred frame, and Amaranth's golden ears pressed forward in amazed realization.

She knew who the winner was.

"@Lyubov ," she purred with a veiled pride. "You crafty, undead thing. You've won, my darling." And Amaranth smiled, lifting her head up to call in a soft and harmonious howl for her wife in signalment that the game was, in fact, over.

A winner had been crowned.
 And @Valeska could distribute the prizes as she deemed fit.

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So the event concluded.

Valeska regarded the contestants with an amused grin, trying hard to stifle a chuckle as she realized half of the gathered members were still either covered in leaves or muck or something else less desirable - nevertheless, they still had their charm, and she loved them all dearly.

Amaranth had done her job well, seeking out the remaining wolves with an unparalleled swiftness and a decisive, final howl, then returned to the clearing like a shadow slipping between stars. The Priestess nearly jumped, realizing her mate was suddenly standing next to her, and she had to fight to keep the fur from standing up along her back.

Heavens.

“@Lyubov has emerged victorious this night!” she declared triumphantly, allowing the pup to step forward.

“Let us all congratulate her - as well as @Mordecai and @Fiora, for even they eluded me in the first round!” she laughed, motioning toward the pair good-naturedly. Mordecai seemed exceptionally good at pack events in general, which, given his rotund physique, should not have been... likely, but there it was. Large men were often light on their feet. “As a result, they also will be rewarded; their gifts shall be the opportunity of a well-deserved 'vacation', in Mordecai's case, and for Petal, I believe I have a very lovely gemstone that you may enjoy for your own collection.”

Petal was still too young to go on adventures with the others, so her gift had to be tailored specifically for her age, but Mordecai frankly deserved a break from pack duties - it was well-earned.

Valeska padded toward the incapacitated goat, beckoning for their small victor to follow. “All have done well - but Lyubov, as you have won, you may now ascend to train in a path of your choosing and take part in the sacrifice. @Urszula, I shall let you conduct the ritual,” she announced solemnly, eyeing the proffered prey item with a wary eye. It looked up toward her, unseeing and unaware, its tongue lolling out from the side of its mouth in a comical fashion.

Hopefully the sacrifice would be... quick. She shot a glance toward Zula, flashing her a quick smile.

“Thus ends the trial of Aether's Cunning, and we may now feast!”
 

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Anyone can make posts after this for a few more days, then the thread will be archived. Thanks for participating! I promise the next one will be quicker! <3

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