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---Shortly after Thorin's Departure---

The clan of Haldis had been...horribly decimated. Much of the pride had. How many original members of the clan were spared aside from himself? One or two? Very quickly Steinn knew he had some tough decisions to make. Decisions he'd never thought he'd have to. Shortly after Thorin departed, so did Steinn. There was new blood to bring in to the pride.

Steinn's father, Kinoc, and his father's father before him, as far back as the name of the Clan of Haldis was remembered, had been a clan of the strictest tradition and pride in their strong dwarf blood. To be a member of the clan of Haldis was to be strong. They were true warriors at heart. Now that blood was all but gone...

He had always been taught that the colors of the mountain marked each Dwarf for their strength. Strongest of these were the colors that marked many of the original Dvergr - the strength of the warrior. Then there were the rubies, the sapphires, amethysts, emeralds...the rarer gems that had carried strength more mysterious. Strengths that the clan didn't focus very much on, for it was not physical in nature, and thus, of no interest to them. (Babushka and her family had never understood, or perhaps never gotten, the full lesson. In their arrogance they became hateful towards anyone not of the mountain. They either didn't know, or chose to ignore, the lesson about the special strength of gemstones. Babushka herself was ignorant about gemstone colors!)

However at this time the pride could not afford arrogance and bigotry. The clan, no, the pride could not be so picky. Besides...perhaps it was time for the Haldis Clan to explore more than just physical strength. Sigh...he knew the spirit of his father would not be pleased with him if he brought weakness in to their clan - so much was his father's thoughts wrapped up in his warriors. All Steinn could do...was pray for forgiveness. He was Patriarch now, and yes, change was indeed at hand. It was too late to open his father's eyes - they were now closed forever more - but now with his open, and his search turning ever so slightly more desperate, perhaps he did not have to fear his return to be empty pawed....

---Back to the Present---

Steinn was returning just in time for the celebrations it seemed, with just a small number in tow, but any was better than none at all!

His time away had allowed him time to think about just how he would run his clan. Now that the small majority that resided there were new blood, the strict adherence to tradition was pointless. However if there was one thing he would choose to maintain, to rebuild to its former glory, it would be their army.

Stienn's father, Kinoc, had been a strong commander and teacher as well as patriarch, and took great pride in his warriors. The Haldis clan was one that actively sought out Hyenas to make sport with, and were always brawling - a real rowdy bunch. There was always some competition, friendly rivalry of sorts, among the warriors of Haldis and maybe even among the warriors of some of the other clans. Something Stienn had always wanted to organize was an annual tournament of sorts to focus this energy.

Yes. He would do that. He would do what he could to bring the clan of Haldis to new heights of glory! He could do that, right? After all, a tournament would be a reason for celebration, as well! And what Dwarf did not enjoy a good celebration? As for what new things he wanted to try; focusing more than just physical, he wanted to explore those other mysterious strengths. One of which he'd found, was strength of the mind. Yes, Clan Haldis could do with some intellectuals. Diplomacy was always something the clan had lacked much luster in to the point where they had been known simply as 'brutish' and 'reckless.' Those days were done. If he could do it then Clan Haldis would become known as wore than brutes, but dignified! Honorable!

He was very excited to begin and lay the foundations for his plans. He just hoped the enthusiasm didn't fizzle out. Stienn was not good at following through with his grand ideas, but now more than ever he had pressure on him to do so. He couldn't fail them.

Stienn was fairly young - born perhaps a moon or two after their King, Thorin. However Stein had not been Kinoc's first born. Stienn had not been so explicitly groomed for leadership as his brother who had perished with their father. It was short-sighted of Kinoc, and Stienn wished he had insisted on having more of his father's attention, and wished he'd have been held to more responsibility. He often found himself wondering he he really had it in him to be patriarch....but if not him, who else? There may be some who would challenge him, but before he was Patriarch, he was a Warrior of Clan Haldis, and we've already been over that esteem, have we not? Unless he found someone more capable of leading the clan than himself, he would not so easily be displaced.


[tl;dr]
Stienn approached Thorin with a smile, "My King, it is a pleasure to be back!"

"Aye, Steinn nodded, "and eye opening. Congratulations to you and your queen. May your rule be long, and the pride prosperous!"

He had high hopes. Change was exciting, and he didn't dread it like some. No, he welcomed it.

"And to your brother as well! It is certainly a good time for the pride after all that has happened."

Stienn's mind was far from marriage personally. There was much he had to do for his clan first.

((Steinn would like individual RP to get to know all members of his clan!))




Babushka's prejudice was indeed a family trait. Her father had been a member of Haldis before he married her mother and joined her in Clan Dracen. He'd fostered her view, fed it.

With all the change in the pride though, it was time for her views to grow. Not that she would admit that. No, she was holding fast to what she'd been taught, stubbornly standing like immovable stone to what she knew. Unlike Stienn, she was not so keen on change.

Still, for the ceremony she put on the kind face. True, by nature she was a kindly girl, talkative and enjoyed a good time. It was just recent things prodded at her bad side. She was at least enjoying the festivities though!

((Babushka overall plot: Let's get rid of her racism by shower her that stones can come in all colors!))





Kisukari had been a bundle of excitement. The Half-Elf was all a tizzy with happiness and energy, talking to anyone who wanted to converse and answering their questions. She knew she was an oddity to some of them.

She proudly told everyone that she had crafted the lovely items their new Queen wore, and plugged her smithing services where she could.

Oh, everyone was such a pleasure to be around!

She wanted to talk to everyone!

((ICly KisuKari will be responsible for fashioning all items individuals will win in this event! =D ))






Yaya had been with the Dwarves for a while before the fires came. She was of sturdy build, and a fine warrior. She was perhaps more comfortable around the men than she was the women, for she was very much a tomboy at heart.

She was quiet though, reserved. Even with the festivities. She'd smile and exchange a few words here and there. Over all, she was the shadow.

The hymn had just about set Nayeli's fur on end, in the best way possible. It seemed to move counter to and in tandem with the procession, and it grew in the air to fill it with the song of home and belonging. It was just wonderful. While the procession had generally been solemn, Nayeli was feeling like really enjoying herself and getting the feel of her new home. Entering Dvergrheim, she smiled. The was plenty of food to be had and n** too! She hadn't really ever tried it before, but maybe before the party was out she'd get a good taste of it. "Ooh," She practically purred as she drank it in. It looked like there was much fun to be had in these festivities indeed.

Where to begin though! Perhaps it would be best to scope things out and pinpoint where to hit up first. That seemed like a fair plan to her. Making her way around, the lioness came upon an outcropping. Maybe it'd offer a better vantage point. Before making her leap up, she paused mid preparatory crouch. There was someone there, a dark leopardess! Nayeli blinked, straightening back up as she cleared her throat. She was a grumpy looking hobbit, if she ever saw one. "Hey, uh, you okay?"

Jifya wasn't sure what he was doing. He had never been near a pride before, much less joined one. But luckily he was a confident enough lion to present himself tall and proud despite feeling utterly lost. He walked with presence, making sure he nodded at any and all who acknowledged him. Making a good impression was worth something, right? He wanted to be liked by the pride members, not hated. If he wanted to be hated, he would have just stayed in the rogue lands.

He did not like that place at all.

Maybe his brother had followed- he didn't know. All he knew for sure was that he had left the rogue lands. Suddenly all the lions around him were looking very spiffy. He smiled faintly, approaching one of the spiffier lions. If one thing he had learned, it was he needed to talk to a fellow named Thorin. Since he knew a description of him, he was pretty sure he had found that right guy.

"Greetings, my lord," he offered with a polite and deep bow, "my name is Jifya. I wish to join your ranks."

"I'm happy to hear you say that," the male hummed in delight, though he had to make sure not to let himself get too excited just because he had been allowed in the lands. Of course he would be! He was a pretty cool guy, right? He needed to keep it that way.

No letting silly emotions get the better of him.

Sighing contently, he looked around. "This place is very lovely, I hope I'll find some way to help your, err, our pride out." He was trying to be cool, but he imagined he just sounded like a big nerd.

Indeed, Onundr the undying, he was! Luck was on his side, to have lived so long. How he escaped the fires, well, age and experience more than physical prowess probably helped in that, for he was not beyond the hobbling and stiff joints that came with a long hard life. There came a time in life when strength of the body failed, and the strength of the mind was all you could rely on. Luckily Onundr still had his mind. And it didn't seem like it would be going any time soon!

For now the old fellow was imparting knowledge and laughter with some of the curious new blood.

"And that's how blahblahblah, blah, blahblahblah~"

Onundr was still having a hearty chuckle as his audience moved on and his own paws brought him wobbling over to Thorin and Jifya(Olaf? IDK NAMES T___T), ears catching enough to put forth his own two cents.

"Aye, lad. There is a rich history here in Dvergrheim, and it's our job as storytellers to keep it alive!" Onundr said with a smile as he sat his old bones near the two, then he spoke further to the young lad, "I won't be around forever, and I could use a young mind like yours to hold on to our lore.. If you're up to the task that is!"

He had tried to impart his knowledge to his great-grandaughter, Babushka, but her fiery spirit sought to weave more fantasy than history. He'd always tried to fill in the blanks in her education that had lead to her slight xenophobic ways, but she saw him merely as a crazy old man these days. A real pity that...

"Thorin!" Onundr then greeted the king, as if just now seeing him. It wasn't out of blatant rudeness, no, nothing like that. He was simply covering for not properly addressing the king first! "My deepest congratulations to you and your brother! I don't suppose we'll be dodging little paws in the future, hn?" he teased. Then, glancing over at the festivities and all those enjoying themselves he said, "It is good to see the pride riiiise up from the ashes."