Anya Southpaw
(Favorite Thread)Art by Nat
Del Cenere Gang
The passing year has marked one of growth, wealth, and utter prosperity for the Gang.
A quiet winter of respite was shaken up come the thaw as far-southern neighbors, Casa di Cavalieri, sent out invites to their first Olympics, to which a number of Ashen departed in order to compete for glory and fame amidst the territories at large, and, riding that high, ambition bled into the Gang with infectious enthusiasm.
As the world started to thaw, the Ashen blossomed to life, taking on a litany of projects involving Irving’s gardens, and the start of a fledgling apiary as well as more resolved efforts to reach out on trade excursions to other packs. On the heels of this came the first amongst the Ashen Ring tribunal – Peony Braithwaite, rife with aspirations and armed with a diplomatic tongue took her seat as the Gang’s La Oreja, and shortly after, Morrigan Archeron’s green thumb and medical knowledge saw her joining the heiress at the seat of El Corazón.
With their new station, came new expectations. The small Ashen Ring formed Syndicates – each dedicated to their craft to help fuel the affluent direction Del Cenere was taking. As summer faded out, its final breaths brought about the Gang’s first successful Lancaster Stockshow, with delegations spread to neighboring packs and loner bands alike in hopes to bolster trade relations and mutual interest.
Such a large turnout, however, was bound to turn heads. The latter part of the year was pocked and marred with a number of incidents, ranging from the Calloway Raids on Charmingtown to kidnappings, to the murder of then Enkindled member, Azade Feriqi’s, husband by an unknown assailant, Ashen Ring member, Peony, and daughter Tansy, fell victim to a kidnapping as the nights grew ever longer and snow blanketed the territory – and now, in the cold, something more creeping, quiet, and insidious lurks beneath the veneer of temporary tranquility.
Come what may in the coming months, one thing is certain: The calm and the quiet are never guaranteed.
Catalina Del Bosque
(Favorite Thread)“Beneath the Angel eyes, lies a demonic presence.”
Art by Nat
Cent
(Favorite Thread)Cent's hand went up to her collarbone and her eyes went wide in an expression of shock, for she saw what was going on, saw the hidden layer of this blasphemous interaction. For was this not the fabled Witch Doctor, Sugarberry Preening the Lack, come to this gathering of respectable Ashen folk with his wife in tow? Yes, the curvacious one was definitely his wife, as one could see in how similar she was to him, and yet she seemed not to react to her husband's open display of affection to another woman! The answer to this strange occurrence was so simple, so obvious in hindsight. This Shaggybean Perry the Sack was the most awful type of man - a polygamist
Art by Bees
Evelyn Escuella
(Favorite Thread)"I ain't never wanna hear you apologize again." Rafa furrowed her brows and blinked. "You ain't some craven fool, Rafaela, you're a Tejada; an Escuella. You fight for your values. You ain't true to no one but yourself. That's somethin' to be proud of. Am I understood?" It was just shy of a mother's pronouncement of pride, but Rafaela knew that it was likely the closest she would ever hear from Evelyn.
Fredrick Knight
Most Character Growth
(Favorite Thread)Freddy closed his eyes, lifting his good arm over his face to mask the build up of tears that trickled out. Letting go was the hardest part... because... He loved the Ashen. He loved his home.
Art by Gen
Hosea Courtright
(Favorite Thread)"Yer grandmama never liked me much, did she?"
Art by Despi
Joaquin Rose-Morales
(Favorite Thread)"This place... It reminds me of home enough, but it is still very different from what I'm used to."
Art by Despi
Kubota Mossberg
(Favorite Thread)“I’m not sure how much Alonso told ya’, but, we ain’t from around here, and winter’s comin’ faster than we outrun it. Your town and your people seem like good folk; people that we wouldn’t mind stayin’ with and getting’ t’know better if you’d allow for it, sir.”
Art by Songbird
Peony Braithwaite
(Favorite Thread)“May God have mercy on your soul. Bless your heart, you poor thing.”
Art by Pabs
Rafaela Tejada
(Favorite Thread)With that sudden realization, Rafa's thoughts came to a full stop and tumbled over and atop one another, bursting into a million weightless seed heads that scattered and were immediately carried away by the tumultuous winds within her mind.
Sean Butler
(Favorite Thread)"T'ey call me Cap'n Sean t'ere, an' I only look young, trust me."
Art by Nat
Wesson Walker
(Favorite Thread)For a beat, Wesson was silent. “How long d’ya’ think we have?”
Art by Songbird
Wichita Long
(Favorite Thread)Brother? She was dumbfounded for a moment. But she had to laugh; it was a short, huffing sound, barely a laugh at all. "Yer brother..." She leaned back from the underbrush and looked Florene square in the eye. "Wouldn't happen t'be Bennett Braithwaite, would it?" They favored one another. It made sense. Wichita just felt like the world's biggest idiot, was all.
Art by Adel
