Aurielle Adravendi

She padded along the trail in the wooded hillock, climbing and pausing now and then to be sure Coran wasn’t flagging. They were climbing to the top of the hillock, a spot not often visited. The hill wasn’t a smooth one. It had its rocks and crags and boulders, and the climb was tricky. She thought she might take Amorielle up the trail. The child had a navigator’s heart. However, at this time, she had a nasty cold, and was tucked away in bed, under Paladin’s careful watch. Coran, the second-born, and her only other son aside from Ardyn. She grinned to herself, unseen from Coran’s view. Perhaps her and Red’s next litter would even out the numbers and bring more boys into the family. Ardyn and Coran held up well to being outnumbered by the girls, though, and were already showing the signs of being males of the family, protective of their sister and noble of heart… Though she wished that didn’t mean Ardyn getting in a brawl with a beehive. She paused as they reached a level spot in the trail, wide enough to stretch out and smiled at Coran. “How are you doing? Need a rest?” Coran was determined to support his brother, protect his siblings. The hill climbing would help his endurance. After a time, she had a feeling he’d be able to run this trail all the way to the top and barely be tired. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Coran could feel the tension in his muscles that told a story of the exercise he was getting.  It wasn’t the painful sort from overwork but the type that assured him that he would find himself growing stronger so long as this wasn’t a one-time-only thing.  He had tried to keep his eyes fully higher up ahead of him and watching mom but he had quickly learned that needed to pay attention to the next few strides as well if Coran didn’t want a paw in some crack or to put all his weight on a boulder that was a bit too lose to be safe. Coran was enjoying the trip up with every new sight and just looking back down at where they had come.  He kept his strides as long as he dared while still being sure of his footing. The young pup was occasionally painting for that bit extra air but he wasn’t done in yet.  “I’m ok momma, we can keep going!”  Like any proper young boy, he wasn’t about to show signs of weakness.  Coran wanted to show off how much he was growing and what he could do!  While he might appear tired with the occasional panting or deep breaths the tail muscles still seemed to have plenty of energy with the speed it was clocking. Coran did two leaps like strides to try and make his way around a particularly rocky spot that looked made for a pup's paw to get locked into, looking back proudly at the natural entrapment he’d avoided.  Of course, he could have simply walked around, but where was the fun in doing it the easy way?  Certainly, by the time they were done here, he would be in for a deep nap.  Just not yet.  "Maybe at the top we could take a small break," ok so maybe he was a little tired, but only a little! "Then we could race back down!" Yup, racing down the rocky path would be fun and perfectly safe.  Coran was confident he'd be just fine, down was bound to be a lot easier than up.   Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aurielle Adravendi

For all the hard climbing and brain-work it took for his small frame to follow her, it seemed Coran was unwilling to let himself be daunted by the adventure. Aurielle chuckled softly at the boy’s stalwart eagerness to push on, watching as he navigated a tricky spot and nodding her approval. While it was doubtful that he’d go in the Messenger’s Circle, this climb would still benefit him, teaching him to be sure-footed and nimble. The chuckle turned into a soft laugh as he suggested a race back down the hill once they’d rested. Her own adventurous spirit warred with the mother’s urge to cringe at the many possibilities of serious injury that could assail her son racing down the hill. Her tail flicked playfully across his nose as she pressed on up the path as she suggested, “We could race to the meeting Boulder once we’re down on the hillock’s flank. Whomever reaches the rock first get to eat the first strip of honeyed bison steak Domari pulls from the fire, eh?” She tossed a warm smile back to her cream and snow-colored boy, tail swaying cheerfully. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

His mom’s laugh gave Coran that quick hope she’d ok their wild race down.  When the tail tip attacked his nose the small pup raised a paw to take a swipe at it, as his ears pricked and head looked up at her words.  Coran looked from mom and down the path imagining being at hillock’s flank and the distance from there to the boulder.  It wouldn’t be as adventurous as racing from the very top, but it would be easier and maybe he was a bit tired.  Just a bit. “ok!” This time they would do the shorter race, but he’d make sure mom raced him down the whole way some point.  Marby Ardyn would want to race the path more with him?  “Sure, but mama I’m gonna win, cause I want the first strip!”   The set challenge helped boost his energy level and had him leaping forward, “Let's go! I wanna get to the top!” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aurielle Adravendi

Coran accepted the challenge easily, and she chuckled softly as she led on, letting Coran take the lead for a few feet until she caught up and directed him up a tight switchback and up onto the summit. The view might not have been remotely like that from other hills outside Valhalla, but it was a good one. The wooded hillock stood alone above the plains, the crest of the hill mostly bare. She sat and tugged the cream and white brindled boy into a hug against her belly. In no time, it was likely her sons would outgrow her height, so she enjoyed the moments of cuddling them like the pups they were now. They weren’t to be her last litter if she could help it, but she’d savor the moments as long as she could with these children. “To the south, there, is the Avian Estuary. Your grandfather lived there for a little while. And to the north, that way, is Lirim’s lands. Grandpa Regulus was born in one of their territories, the Whistling Willows.” She pointed with a glowing, pristine white paw at each landmark and direction as she named them. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Any point Coran had the notion of being tired he just reminded himself that Ardyn could probably do the whole thing easy and he couldn’t Ardyn get too much better than him.  Just because Coran labeled Ardyn his best friend and future alpha didn’t mean he couldn’t also be very competitive with him.  Truth was that was enough to make him all the more competitive.   At the top of the hill he moved towards the edge to get that extra good look out at the scenery, fluff-tail wagging energetically at the view.  Then he was being tugged into his mom’s belly for hug time.  He looked up happily at her for a moment, enjoying the mom time but then his eyes drifted off to the scenery again.  As she mentioned the different areas Coran did his best to remember the names she mentioned and where each was.  “Can we go to Avian Estuary next?”  It sounded like a fun spot to go see.   All it took was getting to sit down for a moment and interesting sights to make the pup decide he had more energy.  Of course, it would still fade a lot faster and there was still a race to do that was sure to exhaust him but these details were forgotten as his imagination tried to imagine the place that looked so far from this height.  Was it really all that far when not on the hill?  Maybe it wouldn’t take time to get to at all?   Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aurielle Adravendi

Coran never seemed to stay tired for long, and his question brought a soft chuckle. “Certainly. Maybe not today, though. Perhaps we’ll go as a group and you and your siblings can practice catching birds. Many, many birds live there. Big birds, little birds, tiny birds. Most of them noisy. There are also dangerous predators on the eastern edge of it, so we must be vigilant when traveling there.” She gently poked the bridge of his muzzle between the eyes at the last statement, smiling down at him, though internally she shuddered at the thought of losing any of her children to the animals that made that area their home. She’d fought one and it hadn’t been fun. She cuddled him for just a bit longer then rose, knowing he’d be vibrating soon enough. She led him down an alternate path, though one just as difficult, taking her time and letting him navigate the terrain. “Have you considered who you wish to mentor you, aside from your father and myself?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

With mom agreeing to take him she could feel her fur being thrust about by the tail cheerily wagging as he imagined in his mind what all these birds would look like.  How big was big?  In his mind, they were giant creatures as big as his mom but maybe he was going overboard?  How small could they get? Smaller than the birds he’d already seen?  However, the sizes quit being important when she mentioned the predators, eyes trailing up her muzzle as he got poked.  “Dangerous for you?” Certainly not!  How could any predator be a match for their mom? The time to rest then ended and he was ready to blaze ahead as she led him back.  The ‘blazing’ slowed when he realized a straight out run would just end up with him rolling down the hill. All it took was one slight trip up from a crack hidden amongst some rocks to make Corran remember to pay attention.  Once more the game went from a speedy run to find the best path and any spot that meant having to take a second to look about was all the more exciting.  So his pace became a mixture of confident leaps and trots to more cautious stepping around certain areas.   “Who else to mentor me?” The question came as a surprise and to his chagrin, Coran hadn’t considered it at all.  In his mind, he had imagined just training up with mom and dad teaching him everything.  Sure, he imagined sparring with the other wolves and taking on jobs to work harder.  Coran quickly thought through the current wolves and their ranks, “What about Justice?  I need to become a strong fighter.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aurielle Adravendi

To Coran’s question, she nodded, adding, “Always be aware, in this world, there will always be something bigger and more dangerous than yourself. No one is invincible.” She brushed a kiss over his brow with a smile. She watched as he navigated his way down, eyes glinting in amusement as he realized that speed would get him hurt and care would be needed. She moved at a pace that wouldn’t push him to keep up and sacrifice care and caution for speed. His surprise at her query brought a faint smile to her lips. She hadn’t expected him to be thinking of the future. Her children were still children, young and playful. His suggestion brought a faint grin, and she hummed in acknowledgement. “Why don’t you ask her? You could also ask Cairo and Domari. Both are good fighters, though Cairo hasn’t had the experience of a raid yet.” She traversed a narrow trail, following a switchback as she glanced back up at him to see his response. With Valhalla now reasonably well-filled with experienced adults, it was no issue to have them co-mentoring the children of the pack. It would provide them with a well-rounded education in fighting, with mentors possessing differing fighting tactics and methods. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

“Who is Ardyn going to train under?”  It was a perfectly good thing to consider when Coran had to decide himself.  Was he only going to train under mom and dad or would he be picking out another main trainer or lots of them?  He had to know a lot so maybe he’d have a lot?  As to fight training was it better if they have the same trainer or different ones to compare notes?   Coran skipped found an easy patch where he chose to circumnavigate and instead hope up a small patch of rocks that acted like a little ramp up and down for no other reason than they looked more fun.  He pushed off the last rock to get a bit more steam charing down a few strides before he slowed to the earlier pace.  It had been a clear path down that short stride but it didn’t last long.  Still, there was something to feeling like one is flying for a moment that demand it be tried. “I want to learn,” a sudden pause to carefully hop over a few deeper and wider crevices that could trip up small feet if not careful, “about um, leaderly stuff?”  What the heck did that all cover anyway? It felt like it must cover everything cause you had to know everything to be a leader right? “So I can help Ardyn later with whatever he needs to do later on.”  It wasn’t the best explanation but he figured mom would know what all that would entail that he wouldn’t have thought up.  Sure, he had some ideas down on it.  Knowing about the pack functions and knowing how to greet other wolves and manners and such but Coran was willing to bet there were lots of important things he didn’t know to ask about. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think