The heir of Sabertooth laid in his den, located on the healthy side of Sabertooth’s lands. He had been lucky enough to not be afflicted with the mystery illness that had overcome many of the pack members, but he felt so alone, worrying about what was to come. He had heard of nothing regarding his remaining living family after the war who had been infected, many of them were on that side of Sabertooth, after all. Aeolus worried every night and prayed for all their well-being, despite preparing for the fact that they might not all make it out alive. He sighed, before his spirit sense picked up on a presence outside of his den. The prince stepped out of his den, looking down at his paws at first before lifting his head to be greeted by his father’s ethereal figure.

Aeolus stepped back in shock for a moment. He knew that it was going to come one day, but he really hoped it would not be this soon. But it was, and he would have to face it. The ethereal form of his father spoke - ”Aeolus, my son. I have faith that tch’ya will be able to rule Sabertooth successfully under our family name.” He paused, clearly waiting for Aeolus to straighten out. So, the newly crowned alpha stood upright and locked eyes with his father. Aeolus was unsure how to process this whole situation – usually this crowning was much more of a formal process, between living members and in front of the pack. But no, this was to the sole eyes of Aeolus himself. Would Hermes believe him? Aeolus knew his brother was originally entrusted with the throne, but given his actions, that clearly changed to Aeolus. His ears perked at the sound of his mother, to which he turned his head and saw her ethereal form as she spoke. ”Rule with your head, not with your heart. You’ll make a fine King.” The look-a-like to his now deceased father gave an affirming nod to his mother’s own ethereal form before looking back to Achilles. ”But-“ Aeolus had started before his father interjected. ”Don’t doubt in tch’ya capabilities, Aeolus. We love you.” As his parents started to dissipate, Aeolus called out ”Mom! Dad! I-“ with tears in his navy blue flecked gray eyes. He was nervous, scared even. Sure, he watched them rule with a close eye, but how was he supposed to start, let alone potentially on his own?

He glanced at his soul-strand. It was still connected to Derevko. But Aeolus couldn’t read the lass at all. Hadn’t seen her, or the lass from Ashen Woodlands in a while yet either. Perhaps she was infertile? Aeolus knew that if kids were produced, he would want to be involved, but that certainly would throw things regarding his ruling here under the bus. The pack might view him alike to Hermes, who had straight up caused a war. The Sabertooth alpha sighed and took a deep breath before looking to the sky.

A familiar body was up in the air – Hermes?? The distant shout from his skyborne brother echoed through the barren trees. ”It’s cleared! No more sickness!” A hearty, excited laugh followed those words, which was then followed by more words with little thought: ”We’re not doomed!” Aeolus rolled his eyes at his brother’s bluntness, but it had multiple other members come out from the tree lines. A sigh of relief left his chest at the count of wolves that had survived the plague, his family included. A small smile graced his lips before it disappeared and was replaced with a howl, calling all members to meet at the meeting clearing. As the last notes of the howl bounced off the branches, Aeolus took the short flight to the pack clearing.

---

Upon arriving to the clearing, Aeolus stood atop the stony ledge that his parents once stood upon, folding his wings over his strong back. His steely gray eyes watched as everyone entered, noting the few that were missing. Obviously, Achilles and Pandora, Adonis, Aegaeon, Misty, Admon, Aurora…his eyes flicked to his brother, Hermes, as he entered and sat down by the stony ledge. For a moment, his eyes softened, showing concern for Hermes, who seemed to be way too happy moments ago when he announced that the sickness was cleared. Aeolus looked back over the crowd, and indeed, it was. Everyone appeared to have energy once more, and those who had been injured in the war seemed to have dark scars from their once rotting wounds. Everyone was invigorated, himself too. When Derevko entered, he made sure to check that their tie was still between them, and it was. Once everyone he thought was part of the pack made it into the clearing, he spoke. ”Attention everyone. I am pleased that so many of us have survived the plague. But, as you might notice, a few of our members, including my father, Achilles, have passed. May they rest peacefully.” Aeolus paused for a moment, bowing his head and closing his eyes. After a moment of silence, he rose his head back high and spoke once again. ”Because of Achilles’s passing, it was bestowed onto me, as the heir of Sabertooth, to rise to the role of alpha. Therefore, I called this meeting to, for one, to check who of us had made it this far, but also to assign new rankings given that many of the royal children can now carry a role, but also that we have new members that have not been assigned roles.”

Aeolus first turned his gaze to Remus. ”Remus, you were loyal to my father as Beta, therefore you will remain as Beta and work alongside me.”. Aeolus continued the eye contact as he continued to name other members of the pack. ”Hermes and Derevko – you will be acting as the Deltas. Since the war, we need a strong militia, and given how you acted in combat then deems you worthy of the ranking. Those who are ranked as sigmas will be chosen between for the roles of heir-deltas after training reveals your strengths. Cosette, you will remain as a Zeta alongside new Zeta Daneliya. Theta will be occupied by Achelois, with Selene as your heir-theta. The Iotas will remain as Eryx and Dionysus. For Kappas, Marika and Ianus will take the roles. For a new role, Lambda, also known as the lead hunters for the pack, if I remember correctly, Jinthe, you said you were good at that? Therefore, I want you to lead those efforts. At some point, you will be assigned a male partner to work with, but alas, we have many females and pups yet here within the pack. The rest of you of age are sigmas. Are there any objections?”

After responding to any potential objections, Aeolus then spoke once again to his pack members. ”It is also important to know that the alphas of all the packs met shortly after the Sabertooth-Tarben war and before the plague became an issue and a peace treaty was discussed. Therefore, some of our royal bloodline are going to have to step forward and be married off to other packs royal members. While the pairings still have yet to be figured out, do not be surprised if you are called upon or are asked to call upon another pack’s royal family.” His eyes briefly caught onto two daughters of Hermes, Bia and Peitho, who had almost polar opposite reactions. Bia rolled her eyes and groaned, while Peitho seemed excited about the arrangement. Nonetheless, Aeolus continued to speak. ”While I know it is not the most ideal situation, I, and the other pack leaders, hope it can prevent future wars like the one that we were just involved in.” The new alpha then stretched out his wings, finally sitting on the stony ledge that his father used to sit upon. ”Are there any questions, concerns, or other statements of importance?”

His eyes locked on the planet ethereal lass that his parents adopted ages ago stepped forward. Venus, was her name? ”Alpha Aeolus, your family has been kind to me over the months, but I made a promise to Keira, the visiting theta from Nightingale, that I would take up the role of theta for them if she happened to have passed, and sadly, she did. I need to return her corpse to their lands and hold my end of the promise. I hope you understand.” Aeolus took a second to ponder, but then nodded in understanding and spoke to the creamy-colored planet lass. ”Thank you for your dedication to Sabertooth and our ally Nightingale, Venus. Eryx will join you for the journey, and return to me with any updates on their behalf.” She smiled softly, quietly thanking him, before walking off. Aeolus then looked back to the crowd, waiting for any other issues, if any, to arise.

Actions and thoughts and "Words."