There was very little that she wouldn't find a way to give her children when they asked for it, but she had managed to fend off the pleas to escape from the boundaries that Resin and her had set. Resin had eventually allowed them to venture to the lands that bordered their own, but that was as much slack as they had allowed... until now. They still couldn't go that far on their own, but perhaps a little supervised adventure could be arranged. Her little blueberry had been the most vocal and insistent in his requests to go beyond their boundaries so it only seemed fair that he would be the one she took out first.

She walked along with a smile, letting him take the lead and just keeping an eye out as they went. She knew what laid ahead of them from her own travels, but that look of awe and discovery on his face as he forged the path for them was completely worth it. The only guidance she gave him was when they were slipping between the lands owned by the near by packs, but once they were on the other side she let him run free. "Which way do you want to go now, Art?" she asked as she dipped her head to nuzzle the top of his head affectionately.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Little gasps and coos of amazement came from the dark-furred pup as he wandered through the new terrains. Artorias was having the time of his life on his day out! For one, he was getting to spend time with his Mama, just the two of them! He also finally got a chance to see the outside world beyond the borders of the Hallows, taking in all the sights and sounds and smells along the way. He was particularly interested and wary whenever Tamsyn guided them past the lands owned by other packs. Artorias stuck close to his mother when they did, his little nose twitching a mile a minute as he smelled all the other wolves, wondering just how many packs existed in the world. He had no idea there were so many wolves living so close to home! He loved the way Tamsyn allowed him to take the lead in their journey, always making sure he didn't run too far ahead and always kept his mother in line of sight at all times.

Artorias bounded out of the thicket of trees they had been wandering past, amber eyes wide to make sure he didn't miss a thing. The river running alongside them, the stone ruins off in the distance, the grey cliffs to the east, and the distant sound of the ocean was incredible! A gust of wind brought a flurry of fiery-hued leaves fluttering past them from a few nearby trees, dancing around the two wolves like a ballet of changing seasons. Tamsyn asked him which way he wanted to go now and he turned to look up at her with eager eyes sparkling with a wanderlust. The world was theirs to see! A huge smile split the boy's face when she kissed his forehead, turning to survey their surroundings. "Hmm..." Artorias' eyes gleaned over everything he could see—until he spotted a lake a short walk away surrounded by tall grasses on almost all sides. He had always been drawn to the water, and he'd never seen a lake before! "Ooooh, let's go this way, Mama! C'mon, keep up!" he said and headed off in the direction of the lake, his little legs moving in a flurry of motion to keep ahead of his long-legged mother.

All the while on their way to the lake, Artorias stopped to sniff at the variety of plants and flowers they passed, memorizing scents and discovering the dips and curves of unfamiliar lands. Since his training had begun, Art hadn't had a lot of time to just be himself and have fun. These days were a rarity in his life now, and with his mothers both trying to run the pack, not to mention the addition of two "siblings", their attention was a scarce resource at the best of moments. A one-on-one trip with Mama, who knew when he'd get this chance again? As they got closer to the lake, a new assortment of wildlife and plants began to appear. Artorias gawked at the horsetails that dwarfed the pup and the dragonflies that hovered around the grasses and shore. "Wow... What's this place, Mama?" he asked, a question he had posed to Tamsyn every time they crossed into a new terrain. He was ravenous to learn and see more, and Tam was providing the enthusiastic boy with an all-you-can-eat buffet of discovery and learning!

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Tamsyn chuckled as he bolted off in the direction of Firefly Lake, grinning and giving a little shake of her head at his never ending energy. Oh if only she had half of that energy so she could actually keep up with her little fur balls... "Okay, okay!" she called back with a laugh when he insisted that she keep up and she picked up her pace a bit to follow after him at an easy trot. It was okay if he got ahead of her a bit as long as he was still within her line of sight. After all, he was getting bigger by the day and sooner rather than later he'd be out exploring on his own. He might as well get a taste of it eventually. She never rushed him, letting him take his time to investigate every inch of their path as they went. She had been through here several times before so none of it was completely new to her. That let her focus all her attention on her blueberry boy and enjoy watching his amazement and joy while he discovered the world around him.

Once they passed through the thick grasses that surrounded the lake and blocked it off from view from the outside world, she slowed to a stop beside Artorias while he took in the new plant life and bugs that he may have not seen before. She knew the cattails at least would be new to him since that's not something that grew around the falls or the hot springs, but perhaps a dragonfly or two might have shown up around the river. "This is Firefly Lake," she replied to his question, turning her gaze to glance out over the open water. It was a pretty large lake, but she could still see to the other side fairly easily during the light of day. She grinned and added, "There's a very special reason for it's name, but we'll have to stay till it gets dark so you can find out!"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias was in awe of how smart and worldly his mother was. She had an answer for everything, she knew the names of all the plants and critters and lands and packs. One day, he hoped he would be as clever as she was, and be able to see all the things she had already seen. Artorias watched as a dragonfly buzzed by in front of his face, hovered an inch above his nose, then darted off in another direction just as the pup snapped his jaws at it, missing getting a bite of bug by a hair. Tamsyn mentioned there was a special reason for the lake's name, and although he knew being out after dark was against the rules, if he had Mama with him then surely it was okay, right? "Can we stay and see the special reason, Mama?" he asked, turning to her with big, pleading puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeeeeeease?" He knew it would be a long shot, especially since home was still a good walk back. It would mean they would have to find somewhere to camp out for the night, but what an amazing adventure that would be!

Another dragonfly buzzed by Artorias' face, and this time the boy resolved himself to complete his hunt of the insect. He snapped at it, chomping down on empty air as it buzzed into a clump of cattails. Giving little growls, Artorias bounded after the bug, leaping into the reeds and pushing them down under his weight. He saw the dragonfly again and snapped at it, lunging forward only to miss again and stumble off of the cattails. The resulting movement caused two things to happen: Artorias shift his weight enough for the cattail to spring free and smack him in the rump, then as he turned around in surprise, the bulbous end bounced back and smacked him right on the end of his muzzle, stunning the boy. Artorias yelped in shock and stumbled back, losing his footing and ending up splashing butt first into the cool, shallow water of the lake.

Artorias glanced left and right to regain his bearings, suddenly realizing that he was in the lake now. He glanced down at the clear water he was sitting in with the rocky sand beneath him, lifting a damp paw to splash at the water. He glanced back up, amber eyes looking for his mother with a sheepish smile. "You're not a very sharp one, are you?" The voice tinged with a strange accent seemed to call from the sky. Artorias turned his head about, trying to spot whoever was talking to him. "Up here, pup." Artorias followed the voice and spotted a lone raven perched in a nearby tree, staring down at him with what he assumed was the bird equivalent of humor in its black eyes. Rising to his paws, Artorias trudged out of the water and over to the trunk of the tree, staring up at the raven the entire time. "Um... did you just talk to me...?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. Could birds even speak lupine? Was that a thing?

The raven sighed and rolled its eyes. "No, I was talking to the other wolf that just fell into the lake..." Artorias' brow furrowed and he peered back at the empty lake, then back to the bird. "But there are no other wolves in the lake...?" The raven covered his face with a wing and shook his head. "Oh dear, you're denser than I thought..." "Whoa! This is so cool!" Artorias exclaimed, beaming wide and turning to call out to Tamsyn. "Mama! Come look at this! This crow can talk like us!"

"Wha- crow?! Excuse me, boy, I am a raven! One of the most intelligent birds alive! Of course I can talk!" The raven swooped down from the tree with a graceful flutter of its wings, landing on Artorias' back while he sized the wolf pup up. Up close, Artorias could see just how sleek each black feather appeared, inky black with tints of a navy blue undertone in the bird's plumage reminiscent of a midnight sky. "Oh, the world is just going to eat you alive, isn't it? Where is your mother? I daresay I need to have a conversation with her about the quality of your education." Artorias barked happily and looked around to see if Tamsyn had made her way over yet to see his strange new bird friend.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

She had fully expected him to immediately beg to stay to see the lake at night time as soon as she mentioned the fact about the lake's namesake and he certainly didn't disappoint. She laughed lightly when he turned his big, amber eyes toward her and gave her the longest, most drawn out "please" she had ever heard. She gave him a long, contemplating look as if she was seriously considering the question, even though she had already made up her mind before they had even gotten to the lake's edge. "Okay, okay, we can stay," she conceded with a grin. They weren't that far from home if she wanted to get him back once they were done looking at the fireflies, but this also wasn't a bad place to set up for the night if they wanted to camp out for a bit. She had already warned Resin that they might not be home tonight so it wasn't like her lover would come looking for them or be worried. Plus, she had left Blue behind to be an extra set of eyes on the other pups for the night.

When Artorias hopped away to chase after a loan dragonfly she grinned and gave a little shake of her head. "Be careful around the water and don't go to far!" she called after him, watching him disappear into the cat tails with a sigh. An easy smile lingered on her muzzle as she turned her attention back toward the water and she settled down onto her stomach on the lake shore. It wasn't very often these days that she got a moment alone so she figured that she might as well take advantage of it and give Artorias a chance to explore and "hunt" within earshot. The lake was so peaceful and it made her a bit sad that they'd be moving so far away from it, but she was certain that there would be other places to enjoy just as much once they made the move to Auster. It never failed that she always found something to miss whenever she moved to a new place. With the place she had been born it was the lush pine tree forest that would get misty in the early morning. When they left the Armada she missed the beach where she would train almost constantly while she was building up her skills. And now-

Her musing and thoughtfulness was cut off by her son calling out to her about a crow that could talk. She blinked with confusion and lifted her head to look in the direction of where his voice came from with a confused, lifted brow. A... what? She got to her paws and hurried off to find him, arriving just in time to see the raven perched on Artorias' back and hear the bird make some kind of comment about education. She blinked with surprise when she saw that her blueberry's seemingly nonsensical comment was actually pretty spot on... besides the part about being a crow when it was actually a raven. Her ears flicked with a bit of worry just from the fact that there was a strange bird perched with its talons on her son's back, but she tried not to worry too much just yet. "Um... Who is this, Artorias?"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Artorias had been trying to crane his neck to get a better look at the raven that had perched itself upon his back when Tamsyn came upon the two. When he heard the heavier footfalls of his mother coming closer, turning to greet her with a wide smile and a wagging tail. "Hi, Mama!" he replied, turning to try and look at the raven again. "I don't know, but I'm gonna call him Inky!" The raven turned and gave a look down at the excited puppy.

"Do not call me that." The raven turned to look at Tamsyn with an abrupt birdlike turn of his head. "Good day, ma'am. My name is Corbin. Is this your boy?" He gestured to the smiling, tail-wagging pup with a flap of one large wing. "He's... delightful. Although a bit rough around the edges. And the poor lad doesn't even understand sarcasm!" That was the most horrendous thing to the obsidian avian, that his scathing sarcastic comments went right over the boy's head! How was the dark-furred boy ever going to outwit others without snap retorts and clever comebacks?

Below the bird, Artorias giggled and looked back to his mother with excited eyes. "He talks funny, Mama! Can I keep him?" he asked.

Corbin turned an exasperated look to Artorias. "I am not anyone's pet, nor am I anyone's servant." The raven, however, had always had a penchant for putting himself in advantageous positions, and making himself useful to a pack of wolves did come with benefits, namely security and a stable supply of food. "Are you lone wolves, or do you hail from a nearby pack? There are quite a few in this area." If they were pack wolves, perhaps he could find some way to make himself useful. Being the boy's tutor and supervisor of sorts, if the pleased his mother. A tit for tat. That way he could ensure his survival through the coming winter.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Tamsyn had to bite back the snicker of laugher that threatened to escape her when Artorias declared that he would be calling the raven Inky, but was quickly distracted when the raven itself denied the silly name and turned to address her directly. She had never spoken to a bird and was genuinely surprised to hear him speak so well and so eloquently though she had always heard how intelligent ravens could be. "Indeed he is," she replied with a smile when Corbin asked if Artorias was hers after introducing himself, giving her silly, grinning boy an amused glance. Returning her gaze to Corbin, she continued to listen to the slight compliment and criticisms he had for her son only to have Artorias ask about keeping Corbin with an adorable giggle, earning a slightly exasperated sigh from her even though an amused smile lingered on her lips. He was so cute, but sometimes so very obvious in his puppy-like tendencies.

Corbin spoke for himself again, denying the possibility of keeping him as any sort of pet or servant. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about chastising Artorias for how he was speaking to the intelligent avian since Corbin was more than doing that for her. The banter between them was ridiculous and adorable, but at least it put her more at ease and made her worry less about the fact that there was a strange bird perched on her son's back. When Corbin asked about their status as loners or pack wolves she nodded and replied, "We are part of a pack near by called The Hallows. My partner and I lead it. Why do you ask?" she questioned with a slight tilt of her head. It did make her wonder how this raven learned all of these things about wolves like the language they spoke or about the existence of their packs. Maybe that was something she'd ask him about later, but for now she was interested to see what this raven had in mind.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Ah, perfect! Tamsyn's response was exactly what Corbin had been hoping for! If these two were pack wolves—and the leaders of a pack to boot!—then he could be set for life if he got in their good graces. No more would he have to find a flock to fly with and struggle with food or the frigid winter months. Gone would be the days of fearing other predators coming for him in his sleep. And with the promise of this pup being the son of alphas, he could make himself useful to the family and have shelter, food, and survival all but guaranteed. "Ah, so he's a little prince of sorts. Heir to the pack, I'm sure? Well, he'll need someone to keep an eye on him no doubt, perhaps teach him some more refined social skills. Maybe a touch of sarcasm so he can have a hope to last in a verbal confrontation." With a flourish of his wings, Corbin nodded his head in a bobbing avian fashion and fixed Tamsyn with a smile. "Very well, then I would like to offer my services to you, Madam Alpha. If it pleases you, in exchange for regular meals and a warm place to roost, I would be happy to accompany your boy and ensure he doesn't get into too much trouble, as well as mentoring him where I can."

Artorias, who had little idea what was going on, only picked up on some of Corbin's strange ways of speaking. He did, however, catch on that Corbin wanted to come back with them. His eyes lit up and he peered back at his mother with an expectant gaze. "Does this mean he can come home with us, Mama? Pleeeeease?" He glanced back up at Corbin while the bird peered down at him. "I promise I'll be more polite and I won't treat him like a pet!"

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Corbin seemed obviously pleased with her response that they were pack wolves and chuckled a little when he declared that Artorias was a prince and heir. She gave her blue-hued son a glance at the thought, but didn't comment on it. It wasn't something that she and Resin had even discussed. She felt like they were just now getting into the swing of running the pack and were preparing for their move to Auster - who the pack would be handed down to when they were no longer able to lead hadn't crossed her mind. It was honestly hard for her to imagine any of her pups being old enough to lead a pack on their own, but she knew that day would come sooner or later. One day she would blink and they would be old enough to have families of their own if they so chose. Distracted by her own thoughts, she almost missed the rest of Corbin's offer of teaching Artorias and keeping an eye on him in exchange for meals and a home.

Her son was of course absolutely thrilled which made her grin and laugh lightly in response. She had already taken a liking to the raven anyway so it didn't take much convincing to get her on board, but she liked the promise he made to be more polite all the same. "Okay, okay! Of course, you're welcome to join us, Corbin. I always appreciate another set of eyes on this rascal." She was positive Blue would be the most relieved that he would be off the hook for watching at least one of these fluff balls. They were a paw full and a half and even just having such an intelligent bird having an eye in the sky on her precious blueberry boy was a huge relief. Now she just needed to find a way for all of her children to have that sort of supervision... especially Rudyard.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Tamsyn's approval of Corbin's suggestions made the raven puff his feathers out proudly, practically bristling with glee. "Thank you, ma'am! I assure you, neither you nor your mate will regret this decision. I will make sure this little rascal grows into a respectable young man by his first year," he said, smoothing himself back out into his usual composed temperament. Corbin turned about on top of Artorias, tilting his head to glance down at the boy. "Now, I believe proper introductions are in order, yes? You already know my name is Corbin, but what may I address you two proud apex predators as?"

Artorias' eyes grew wider with excitement, if it were possible for those giant puppy eyes to get any bigger, when his mother agreed to let Corbin come home to live with them. Were it not for the large bird on his back, the pup would have started bouncing about in joy. Instead, he let out a few happy barks and looked back up at Corbin again when the raven began the process of introductions. "I'm Artorias," he replied, tail wagging so fast it was almost spinning. "I can't wait for you to meet the rest of the family when we get home! Rudy's gonna be so jealous!"

Corbin folded a wing across his chest in a mock bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Master Artorias. Ah, you have siblings...? Well, we'll be sure to begin your sarcasm lessons immediately then. Can't have you ill equipped to handle your brothers and sisters, can we?"

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"

Tamsyn grinned at Corbin and Artorias' reactions to her approval, the raven seeming exceedingly proud and her son practically bursting with excitement. They certainly made quite the pair and she couldn't wait to see them get to know each other more and more. Hopefully Corbin had the patience to work with her energetic, extroverted son. "I'm Tamsyn," she replied when Corbin requested their names, giving him a small, polite dip of her head. She smirked and chuckled when Artorias mentioned how jealous his brother was going to be when he found out about Corbin, giving an eye roll at the idea.

She glanced up at the horizon behind them and noticed the sun starting to sneak its way down, putting them closer and closer to evening. "Come along, you two," she commented, getting to her paws and motioning over her shoulder back the way she came. "Lets go get settled in for the show." She led the way back to the sandy spot on the shore that they had first found themselves in when they got to the lake and found a spot right by the water that seemed to be mostly free of rocks and such. She settled down on her stomach facing the lake and smiled as she motioned for Artorias to join her. She gave his forehead an affectionate lick before she turned her attention out toward the lake again. It was just beginning to get dark, the sky warming up with colors of orange, reds, and purples when the sunset fully began to take effect. Before it was even fully dark, she saw the first few blinks of the fireflies and she grinned, peeking down at her side to see Artorias' reaction whenever he noticed them. Quickly a few scattered lights here and there grew into a whole blinking light show that glittered all across the lake and make it seem like the stars had come down to the water to put on a little show.

Walk | "Talk" | think

The sun had just begun to dip beyond the western horizon, veiling the land in twilight. At Tamsyn's instructions, Artorias followed close beside his mother while she led him back in the direction they had come from, Corbin perched perfectly on his back while he walked. If it hadn't been for all the physical training Resin had been putting him through, Artorias might have found the bird to be too heavy to hold for long periods of time. Thankfully, his developing body and growing muscles made the bird's weight manageable, and as he got older and stronger, he would barely notice it at all. He followed in his mother's paw prints left in the sand, literally trying to match each step she made, although ending up more jumping from paw print to paw print with a giggle. Once they arrived at their venue of choice, Artorias sidled up beside his mother and pressed into her leg, leaning himself against her while they watched out over the water. The sky exploded with fiery colors as light faded away into early evening. The lick Tamsyn gave his fore head made the boy giggle again and nuzzle into his mother's legs, happy to be able to spend time with just her. Between all the other siblings and "other siblings", it felt like his parents' attention had been fractured between them all. He was happy to take whatever time he could get with them.

Just as Artorias was beginning to wonder what they were waiting for, a sudden faint glow over the water caught his attention. He had missed it, but kept peering out over the lake, trying to spot whatever he had seen from the corner of his eye. It took a minute, but then there was another glow! And another! And another! Soon it looked like a miniature starry sky had appeared over the lake as fireflies danced and twirled in the autumn air from seemingly everywhere! Artorias gasped in awe, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. He had never seen fireflies before! Because he and his siblings hadn't been allowed to leave the den til mid-autumn, seeing fireflies in the wild hadn't been something they had ever experienced. "Wooooow! Mom, look at them all!" he exclaimed, rising to his paws and walking right to the very edge of the water to get as close as possible to the glow bugs. "What are they?!" As he asked his question, one of the fireflies buzzed right in front of his face, almost landing on his nose before glowing once and flying off again, bringing a huge smile to the boy's face.

"Speech" | Thoughts | "Corbin"