The raid had disrupted the normally peaceful flow of life in Celestial, something Mask did not think was so bad a thing... a thought the other members of his pack may not be in agreement with, considering. But it had, for a time, seemed to shake the pack from apathy into a wary wakefulness. He did not have any faith that the activity would persist, however, and even less faith that there would be more hunting activity within the pack. It seemed most wolves chose to fight or heal, when they did anything at all, and while those were admirable to know, the pack would not thrive if every member simply chose to feed themselves and not join in to take down larger prey. The adults of the pack were for the most part likely hopeless, too set in their ways to bestir themselves to change for the betterment of the pack, and the apprentices seemed likely to join them there.

To be fair, it probably wasn't so bad as all that even at the slowest, and it wasn't being helped by the fact that most of the adults would be nursing wounds taken in the raid. Certainly the lack of skilled, active hunters did give Mask an edge as his ambitions drove him, but often it did seem like Celestial slumbered constantly through life. Mask was an ambitious individual who had spent most of his life beside and competing with other ambitious individuals, so the lack of drive within the pack was startling in contrast. Well, perhaps it was best to start them early, and the raid as well as the meeting just prior to it had introduced to his attention the litter of odd little pups one of the newer members had whelped. Perhaps in them he could instill an interest in hunting, and a depth of loyalty and ambition that he could not see much elsewhere.

Coming to a stop near the center of the plains, he lifted his head in a howl to call the litter to him. It wasn't an invitation so much as a clear command - the children were six months old now and more than old enough to learn to be obedient to their elders. Oh, they could choose whether to show or not, and Mask had no interest in disciplining someone else's kids... but Mask would be certain to report the training and their behavior to both their mother and their alpha, and if there were problems, or if someone didn't show, well, they could choose to discipline them or not.

OOC: Although this training is meant for the pups so it will be beginner stuff, anyone else is welcome to attend as well. Deadline will be Monday, September 4

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

He’d been spending his time healing after the Raid, and brooding over his options. Like Mask, he shared the misgivings that any resultant activity from this event would likely peter out in time if nothing was done to keep the boulder rolling. Not only that, but with his and Solveiga’s unborn children, come their births, the pack would well and truly be overfilled. Even with this unfortunate train of thought, his features softened into a warm smile as the subject of his Consort and their unborn litter settled into place. It was one of the few things that could settle his hackles lately. And speaking of children… Mask’s call to Marina’s litter reached his ears and he lifted his head, interest kindling. Rising, albeit stiffly, he padded toward the howl, hoping he’d see the multitude of rainbow backed pups heading for the call as well. However, he arrived first, settling off to the side with a nod to Mask. ”Well done, Mask.” He let the approval show in his voice. Now, he hoped, the youngest additions to the pack would come to learn something interesting.

He'd left his dumb siblings behind to go exploring on his own, the boy getting ever closer to the borders without a watchful eye. Each time he went near them, he debated testing his limits by wanting to step foot beyond, even if just an inch or two to see if there was any differences beyond the borders. Of course, he never did...but each and every day was tempting. As he walked along the borders today, red gaze staring unblinkingly into what lied beyond, his ear twitched at the sound of an unfamiliar howl. He had no idea who the hell that was, but it sounded like it might be for him and...sigh...those idiots. He found his siblings so very annoying, Argus and Nova the most but that's because his mother seemed to dote all over them the most. He'd taken on independence at an early age, and often preferred to be alone and terrorizing other creatures that he could find. So far, he had chased and killed squirrels, rabbits, birds, and other small game he could find and get his teeth around. Did he eat them? No. He merely seemed to do it for sport. He thought it was fun, and got the idea in his head that he couldn't wait to get bigger so he could get his teeth around bigger and better prey.

Abandoning his task at hand, he made a beeline for the call, and once there noted that he was the first of his siblings to arrive. Already there was one male he didn't know, and the bright red male who he knew led the pack. His mom had mentioned his name a few times, but Azazel never really cared to remember names. He couldn't remember the names of those his mom had pointed out in their last meeting, and he didn't really feel bothered to remember them anyway. In his mind, nobody else mattered. He had that voice that kept whispering to him in his sleep. A voice he never told anyone about. For him, it was normal. He assumed it was normal. So he never made any mention nor indication on the outside about it. Approaching the two males, he eyed each one in turn with a rather blank stare. The kind of stare that was empty, void of anything but life. But even then it held a darker tone to it. He sat down silently for a moment before finally speaking. "Sup." The only word to slip from his tongue for now.

Adore's attention went straight to the howl that called for her - well, not just her. All of the younger wolves in the pack, which included her and her siblings. She wasn't exactly excited for whatever was in store for them, but at least it was something to do. Ever since the raid she had felt trapped to the area near their den so this was a great excuse to get away for a moment even though it wasn't all that far. She hurried to get there so she wouldn't be late and was happy to see that the only wolves there were the man that had called them, Regulus, and Azazel. At least she was one of the first "students". She happened to walk up just as her brother greeted the older men with a short "Sup." She glanced toward her sibling with an annoyed glare that said "Really?". She took making a good impression that his lack of care for it irritated her. Adore wiped the glare away and gave Regulus and their teacher a bright smile and a dip of her head. "Hello!" she said as she settled down on her her haunches a short distance from Azazel. If she was being honest the sickly sweet demeanor was just as repulsive to her, but she felt like she had to make up for her brother's nondescript attitude now. "We're going to hunt, right? What're we working on today?" "Speech"

Mask kept his face politely blank as Regulus sauntered up. He nodded briefly in acknowledgement of the alpha's words, though he saw nothing particularly important about simply calling for the children - now, when he had taught them well, then it would be well done.

It was not long before one of the children finally appeared, giving both adults the sort of stare that rebellious youths seem to think made them cool and scary. Mask did not roll his eyes, nor did he react in any way but to return the child's stare with one of his own that barely disguised his contempt for the whelp. Oh, he had seen children like this before. A large portion of his work for the cosca had been to scout out and bring in likely youths to train in their ways, and his work had brought him into contact with all kinds. He had never chosen a child like this. Others of his peers had, believing that the brats would never balk at doing the dirtier sort of work. He, however, was looking for... more. These sorts were never trustworthy, never worthwhile, and training them for the cosca would have been a waste of time and far too great a risk. They could never be family, and for them, "men of honor" would never be ought but a euphemism.

But, this was not the cosca. Who Regulus chose to let reside in his pack and how the boy's mother chose to raise him was not his business. He deliberately held the boy's gaze for a little longer, then spoke smoothly and in great contrast to the boy's sullen greeting. "Good morning," was all the simple words the velvet voice spoke. No threat, no warning, just a gentleman, speaking firmly to a child.

His gaze cut to the other child who had spoken, making it clear the greeting had been for her as well. Her coloring was as... vivid... as he recalled the children being, despite the darkness of the caves in the raid. Making anything that colorful into an efficient hunter would be interesting, to say the least, if not impossible. They would, he reflected humorously to himself, be much better off staying in a pack where they would not starve. Her, he would not have recruited for the cosca either, in large part simply for the fact that she was female and his peers would not have accepted anything less than perfection before they would allow a female to join them. He thought with a rush of pain and bitterness that it had been such a female seeking to earn a place in her own cosca that had destroyed him, and through him the red brothers. But more than that, she was simply too... memorable. A wolf of the cosca must be able to stay in the background, quietly and forgotten, so when something happened no one could point to them as the culprit, or remember them at the scene. A rainbow colored creature could not simply blend in and be forgotten.

He waited a moment longer, but no one else approached. He tilted his head to the alpha and spoke quietly to him, dryly. "I was perhaps to be thinking there were more of these children, sì? Were they to being gobbled up by bunnies in small time from raid?"

Well, no matter. Regulus knew which of the five had not appeared, and Mask himself would be reporting the morning's training to their mother. He settled himself upon his haunches and eyed both youths calmly. "Today," he began, taking great care with choosing the correct words so to not confuse them with his language issues, "you will be learning to be doing tracking. This is skill to suit any path chosen, whether pack wolf or loner, whether fighter or healer or hunter, and no matter to other issues of the physical. The blind, the cripple, they can still to be useful tracking. It is not to be simply tracking of prey animals, but to be tracking of wolf prey as well. Escaped prisoners, murderers, rapists. If you are knowing how to be tracking, and to be knowing all the tricks of those seeking escape, you can to be finding anyone anywhere."

He alternated his quiet, icy eyes between the pair who had answered his call. "What uses can you to be thinking of for using tracking in your life right now, as pup even?"

OOC: No posting order so no one gets held up waiting for other people to post. Deadline for this round will be Wednesday the 13th unless I need to postpone for emergency absence-related purposes

Nova was feeling down, and it was only after urging from her mother, including a snap of Marina's fangs, that the girl even attempted to go to the training. She felt sick... Argus was gone. Her blind sister had somehow gotten over the wall and... she kept her ears pinned, blaming herself. If she'd been a better protector, if she'd been a better sister, her mother wouldn't have gotten hurt and Argus wouldn't have tried to leave the packlands. Her heart ached... and the pale rainbow youth lifted her gaze as Mask's voice, instructing her siblings, reached her. But she didn't care about him. Not right now. Her paws lead her right to the red alpha, though not before taking notice that her brother wasn't there either. By the time she reached Regulus the girl was in tears.

"Mr. Reguluuuuuuuuussss!" Nova whined, still feeling the effects from her mother's own soured mood. "Argy's gone... Mama's upset... and... and... why isn't Ochi here?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes, praying the man had some sort of answer. This wasn't how things were supposed to be... how she was supposed to feel. Everything felt wrong... like her entire world got flipped around and now she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She glanced at Mask, then Aza and Adore. They... did they care that Argus was missing? That Ochitsu wasn't here? That their mama was acting odd?

He was numb.

There was no other way for him to explain how he felt right now. Since that damn raid everything went to hell and he wasn't sure what to do anymore. He had tried to once again help his mother nurse her wounds and keep her strength up, but something hadn't been right from day one. Everything had been going okay for the most part until two of his young siblings had disappeared. His heart was heavy when this happened, especially since Argus was blind. He had to go find them, but where could he even begin? He also still had to be sure his mother and siblings were properly fed so he couldn't leave for long periods of time.

Then to top it all off was how Marina was. He was there when she shoved Nova off and had snapped at her. It had been cold and Chasm felt it was uncalled for. He knew his mother hadn't been feeling well with her injury, but Nova didn't deserve it. So as Nova fled Chasm tried to calmly reason with his mother, tried to tell her that she was maybe a bit to rough with Nova, but his mother's reaction left him broken, shattered, and numb. Instead of talking she snapped, Shoving herself into his lanky form and throwing him into the wall of the den. She then stood over him with a snarl as if a primal way of telling him to leave her alone. When she returned to her spot in the den Chasm crawled from the den unable to believe what had just happened. His shoulder ached as some minor bruising began to form. He felt tears sting his eyes, but he quickly shoved the emotions down deep.

When Bones approached him to try and find out what was wrong Chasm lashed out at him, his mother's bad mood rubbing off a bit. Though Chasm didn't hurt his friend, Bones had decided it was best to be a part the rest of the day. Now Chasm trudged after Nova to make sure she was alright. With all that was going on he hadn't even heard the call for the training, But Nova led him straight to the training right after she began whining to Regulus. Chasm moved over to his younger sister and gently nudged her with his nose for comfort unable to form any words right now, but checking her over to be sure she wasn't harmed.

Regulus Anatolii Adravendi

When The first pup arrived, Regulus studied the fellow. He was one of the very few in this litter that hadn’t inherited Marina’s multicolored back. And he would have agreed with Mask’s assessment had he been able to read minds. He would never hold their father’s nature over these pup’s heads. However, their own behavior he would be assessing, and their actions would have consequences like any other wolf in the pack. He didn’t like the behavior of this one. There was a lack of respect in his manner, and a sense that he had no empathy. He’d noticed it in the past, and the glance of what had seemed like resentment toward the boy’s siblings at the meeting. However, this was Mask’s lesson, and he allowed the slim hunter to make the calls. One of Marina’s daughters was next, in time to catch her brother’s less than respectful greeting. Regulus kept his expression neutral, though inwardly, her look at her brother was half amusing and half worrying. Her attempt to smooth it over with false sweetness brought a faint sigh to his jaws. It seemed no others in the litter were coming, and Regulus gave a soft huff, half amused at Mask’s words. “I hope not. Last thing we need is rabbits that bite back.” He was only half joking, but his eyes lifted to sweep the surroundings as Mask began his lesson. The two already present hadn’t a chance to answer when the palest of Marina’s girls arrived, and instead of joining the lesson came to him, distressed. Chasm was shortly after her, checking her over as though for injuries. A frown creased his brows. Could nothing just go the way it was supposed to, these days? The last time he had seen Argus, he had caught her attempting to climb the wall, still low enough at that time. It had been before the raid from Talis, and now this? His eyes flicked to Chasm, noting the scuffed fur and bruised look in his eyes, then bent to touch noses with Nova, meeting her eyes. “We’ll find her, but you need to stay within the walls of the pack, and learn here, alright?” His voice was very soft, keeping from interrupting the lesson too much more than it had been already, before he lifted himself to his paws, nodding to mask and slipping away from the small group. Something was off, here, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. -Exit Regulus-