"Do you think she'll give us trouble, Akutan?" Ticon asked, taking his place while they waited for the others to arrive. The one he spoke of was Aylie. The Clan was past the stage of paranoia now but they were still nervous over it and only let their guard down when they were asleep. Akutan himself was constantly on edge but had grown to be an expert in keeping it hidden. About the only one who wasn't really affected was Byakko. He didn't fear what Aylie could do to them. He was more afraid of what she would do after he was gone, leaving the Clan without his own protection. Sara kept her focus on her healing arts and her family but Ticon was usually her bodyguard when she was herb-hunting and Buckshot wasn't available. Sara wanted to take no chances for the time being because of her life choice to never bring harm to another. Thus, she was a painfully easy target. She didn't want to leave her pups without a mother.

"I pray everyday that she doesn't. So far, she hasn't sought us out or tried to undermine us but I'm not about to be lulled into a false sense of security. I could be overestimating her desire to knock us down a few pegs for slights both real and in her own mind but I'd rather overestimate than underestimate. Underestimating anyone is a surefire way to get hit from behind and my family can't afford that right now. But as long as she leaves us in peace, we'll do the same. Dad's long given up on reconciliation with her and I never had a prayer of such things either." he replied.

Ticon just let a small smile cross his maw. Akutan and Byakko had come to an understanding that the younger wolf had needed him as a father figure, rather than an uncle. So the Fringe had more or less adopted the Maelstrom as his own son. He still referred to him as Uncle when among other members of the pack but among family, he was Dad. As it were, Aylie was rarely spoken of in conversation between family members but the agreement had been reached that each of them stay strong in light of anything she may want to do. Ticon had even voiced his own opinion that she never should've been let back in when it was plain she was bound to go rogue again. He knew rogue behavior as well as he did loner behavior so his insight wasn't misplaced. He had already decided he wanted to take the Clan's concerns to Alana, feeling that as an outsider to Clan matters, he was the best wolf to do so.

The Maelstrom saw others coming to join them and sat up straighter. "Greetings, my Jovians. Thank you for answering the call. I just wanted to touch base with you all and see where we stand both as a rank and on our runs of the border. I know the earthquake did a fair amount of damage but we can't afford to get caught unawares by anything wanting to take a crack at us while we're recovering.  So my first order of business is to ask you all to do a run, reset scent markers, and clear the border of any debris you can move. Our usual patrols have been doing well enough so I don't see the need to double them for the time being but if you feel led to pull more runs, by all means, do so. We can never have enough eyes watching the border. Remember, we are the pack's first line of defense. Keep up the good work. If there are any among you wishing to join the Jovian Winds, see me when the meeting breaks and we'll get started." he said.