Settling back into daily life in The Hallows wasn't as strange as she had been expecting it to be. She supposed that her years as a pack wolf never really went away. She had even begun to join back in on some of the shorter patrol routes that she had walked years ago when she was working alongside Resin. It was always bittersweet walking these halls again, but getting to see the young faces of her grandchildren and getting to see the adults that her own children had become was more than worth it. She felt like she had a good balance this time around with the den she had out in the plains with Kane. They were able to have a little space to themselves and were able to be out under the mood and stars at night while she was still able to come be in and around the castle during the day. It had been a couple of weeks since they made their move back into The Hallows and now she felt like she was fully back into a real routine again.

She had just finished eating breakfast with Kane and had done a brief loop with him around the plains before he went off to do some hunting while she came up to the castle gardens to do some stretches and some of the old routines she had learned from Sirius so long ago that it felt like a whole different lifetime. She came out to the familiar training fields and started going through the motions that Gwynevere had encouraged her to pick back up as she combated the aches and strain on her aging joints. The medicine that her daughter came up with helped tremendously, but she knew that keeping up with the exercise that her muscles had grown accustomed to was important as well. As she was moving through the poses and fighting stances that felt like second nature despite the fact that she hadn't been in a real fight in quite some time, she picked up on the fact that she was being watched. She paused in the middle of one of the transitions between one defensive stance and the next and glanced over to see who it was with a little smile already on her lips. With as many grandchildren as she had running around the castle these days there was really no way to guess. "You don't have to just watch, you know! You're welcome to join me!"

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

She had overslept. It wasn’t until she heard flutter in from the balcony did she stir. Having missed morning patrol, Bramble didn’t also want to miss morning training either. Feeling all out of sorts and rather frantic, the growing dire princess raced from her room. With fur sticking out in odd places and sleep still in the corners of her eyes, she made her way down and through the castle. Berry could barely keep ahold of her scruff as she hurried. There wasn’t even a moment to pause and say hello as she passed by her mother. All she heard was the humored chuckle as she shot a sheepish grin over her shoulder. Finally, she burst through the castle doors and into the fresh morning air. Inhaling deeply, Bramble made her way to the training rings. The outdoor arenas were slowly becoming her favorite place to train. Dirt, mud, sand, rocks, there could be anything strewn across the grounds to help her adapt and learn. Today, as she skidded around the corner, it appeared to be the normal sand and dirt. Except the usual trainers weren’t there. No dad, no Mercury, no Tika. Instead, her grandma Tam was doing odd movement that caused her head to tilt. Slowly her racing paws until she was slowly ambling toward Tam, Bramble paused. Her brow furrowed as she watched her grandma. What in the world was she doing? Another tilt of her head and then her eyes widened when she suddenly heard Tam call out to her. Join? In what? Drawing closer, Bramble gives her grandma a quizzical look. “What is it that you are doing?” She asks tentatively as she comes to stand near Tam. Bramble Carpathius

The one guarantee you were bound to have with a half dozen small curious puppies roaming around was that at least one of them would probably be watching you at all times. In the case of little Ember, that fact was true tenfold. The girl was as curious and fascinated by everything the adults did as she was energetic, which was to say a lot! Whenever she wasn't stalking alongside her father or mother like their personal little shadow, she was following one of her older siblings to see what they were up to. Today, Ember wasn't able to find any of them after breakfast, so the girl meandered her way out into the gardens, hoping to stumble upon someone to play with or learn something new from. As soon as the little dark ball of fluff went bouncing down the terrace steps to the garden grasses, she spotted her grandmother doing... something, and her older sister Bramble watching.

Intrigued by this unusual display, Ember approached with a cocked head as she watched Tamsyn going through her movements and poses. The little Carpathian girl plonked her rump down on the grass when Tam invited them both to watch and join her if they wanted and that was all the invitation that she needed to let loose the barrage of curiosity. "What're you doing, Gramma?" she asked along with Bramble. It looked like lots of the things her father did when he was training with her older siblings in the sparring rings, but slowed down and exaggerated. Was Granny Tammy a powerful warrior like her parents were too?

"Ember"

Much to her pleasant surprise she had not just one of her granddaughters around, but two beautiful young ladies wondering what she was up to. Bramble appeared first, the older girl from Artorias and Briar's first litter looking at her quizzically and asking what she was doing. Little Ember was right behind her with a similar confusion and Tamsyn chuckled lightly at their curiosity. "Only some stretches and moving through a few defensive and offensive stances. Nothing as mysterious as it might seem. These old muscles just need a little extra help warming up, that's all."

She turned to face the two of them as she spoke, admiring how much of their parents she could pick out in them. Bramble obviously took after their mother which Tamsyn was actually very pleased by. Briar was a beautiful girl and she was proud to have a daughter of her old friend be a member of their family. Ember, however, took very heavily after her dad–and herself, if she was being honest–and already was growing into quite the lovely young lady. It was wild to think just how much their family had exploded from the one surprise litter she and Resin had raised together.

"You two can join me if you'd like," she reiterated as she began to settle into a stretch once more. "Even if your muscles and joints don't ache like mine do, incorporating some stretches into your routine is still very beneficial. It helps with your flexibility and mobility and it means your muscles won't fatigue as quickly when you're training." She felt a bit like she was teleported back to when she had mentored and trained wolves back in the way and it was easy to fall back into that role of teacher.

She stepped back a bit from them to give them all plenty of space to move as she went on to say, "Plant your back paws firmly so you don't slip and then slowly walk your front paws forward till your chest almost touches the ground. Keep your butt up and your back as flat as you can. You want to really feel that stretch in your hips and through your back and shoulders. Only go as far as is comfortable though–you don't want to pull a muscle or strain a joint doing this." After she explained what to do, she demonstrated it herself, slowly crawling down into the right position and then holding that pose for a bit while she felt her muscles lengthening and stretching. It was a dull pain, but in a good, productive way.

Tamsyn Carpathius of the Valley

Bramble smiles down at Ember as the young girl joins her and granny Tamsyn. Her attention is pulled up to Tamsyn when she hears their grandma chuckle at their quizzical expressions. A little smile of embarrassment warms her features as she listens intently. If there was a wolf she respected as much as her parents, it was Tamsyn. Their dad had to learn all of his skills from someone!

When Tamsyn offered them to join, Bramble's tail gives a few excited wags. Stepping forward into the ring, she listens with intent ears and bright eyes. She watches curiously as Tamsyn begins to get back into stretching. Following Tamsyn's instructions, Bramble plants her hind paws firmly, placing them slightly apart. Already, she could feel the difference in her joints from standing slightly different than she normally did.

One of her brows arch as she watches Tamsyn then slide down into a puppy-like play bow. Her nose scrunches slightly. How long had it been since she'd done that! Trying to hide her giggle, Bramble follows suit by allowing her weight to settle into her hips and allowing her front paws to slide forward through the dirt. As her spine stretches and chest reaches toward the ground, she can begin to feel the strain of her muscles. It really was different!

"Do you do this every day?" Bramble's tone is slightly incredulous as she focuses on trying to get the best position possible for the best stretch.

"Speech"