Hazel's usual patrol was through the market. It wasn't really the worst thing, just handling the occasional out of sorts scammer or gambler. Making sure things stayed above board, that was her specialty. Well, it had to be. Not the most exciting post in the world, but at least there were usually snacks. That, and she'd get to watch the occasional lesson from afar. There were always new and interesting wolves filtering through-- a double edged sword, if she thought about it long enough. Sometimes having to interact with them was exhausting. How many times could she give the same directions without getting bored?

That, and she'd been picking up the slack with Bas gone. When was he coming back from Ashen? Hazel was starting to miss him... starting to, what a laugh. She did her best to put it from her mind. As she made her way toward the Col, an idea struck her-- kill two birds with one stone. Hazel would get one of the pups to learn the patrol with her. Get a little more training in, and maybe she'd be able to shift some responsibility onto them as they got older. Thinking for a long moment about the youngest litter, she made her decision. One of the pups that was more inclined to intellect as well as fighting, that would do just fine. Hazel tipped her head back and called for Charlie. He'd be a fine one to join on the market patrol.

"Speech"

Charlie had felt like… he wasn’t entirely sure where to begin with things. He had been working on a weapon with his father, trying to spend some time with Andy, and even began dabbling in some training with his older sister Gossamer, but overall? He felt like he should be doing more. That wasn’t necessarily wrong, given the ethics of the Armada, but the yearling was lost on where to really dig in. He needed to sharpen his skills, maybe interact with his packmates more. He thought back to the beach and how he’d seen some nets there. Were fish hard to catch, he wondered? He’d had a fondness for birds when he was younger, but now that he had Silveris as a companion he was less keen on hunting others of her kind… Still, there had to be a good point to start somewhere, right? He knew he enjoyed the concept of designing weapons, maybe he could look further into that with guidance of his father and their blacksmith? Or…

A call reached him and Charlie turned his head in that direction. Huh, that was a voice he didn’t know well. He’d heard her around the pack of course, at the very least he’d know his fellow members in passing. Curious as to what she might seek him for, Charlie set off at a jog. He had almost reached the woman by the time Silveris joined him, the shrike winging down to land on the boy’s shoulders. Tipping his head respectfully to the femme, he realized he wasn’t sure what her name was… or that she actually wasn’t that much older than him. Hmm, whoops!

“Hello there, uh…” He offered her an apologetic look. “Sorry… I know you’re one of the ones that patrols often, but I’m not familiar with your name, miss…” His ears lowered slightly in embarrassment. This was a great start to encounter, wasn’t it? Well, hopefully he hadn’t soured their time together before it even began.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Hazel assesses the boy coolly as he arrives, a bit late but apologetic. "No miss, just Hazel." The idea of being miss made her feel... weird, actually. She wasn't that much older than they were, and even if she was? Maybe it was the inherently feminine nature of using a title like that, or maybe it was something else. Being reminded that she'd actually survived this long? Maybe. Still, she's able to refocus on the task at hand fairly easily. Hazel squints at the pup, trying to get some sort of read on him, but not trying particularly hard.

"I understand you're interested in fighting, and an important duty of our fighters is going on patrol." She began, watching the pup carefully for any sort of reaction. "You're going on market patrol with me today." It comes off a bit less gently than Hazel typically is with the pups, but that shouldn't matter. Brisk, businesslike. This was a lesson for him, but she was still on high alert-- it's still her patrol. Hazel begins to walk in the direction of the market itself without hearing any protest or input from the yearling. There was work to do.

"What do you see?" It was still reasonably quiet in the market, things hadn't quite warmed up this far north for the true busy season. Still, there were a fair few wolves mixing and mingling about, including at least two the girl made a mental note to keep an eye on. She wanted to know if the yearling had picked up on them as well, as well as why they might be persons of interest.

"Speech"

Well, it seemed like this meeting was going great already. The woman would correct him and Charlie mentally kicked himself. It made sense, she wasn’t that much older than he was… but he also didn’t want to be rude and treat her with the respect she deserved. Maybe he had been overthinking things? Was it wrong to call all lady’s miss? He’d need to be more careful in the future to not accidentally offend anyone. Though he worried about making a poor impression, Charlie gave a small nod, offering a sheepish smile. “Hazel then.” The young man said, confirming that he had understood her desire to not have the title used alongside her name. He would respect that. She appeared focused on him, and Charlie drew in a breath. He would not panic, nor stress. He would keep calm and pay attention to whatever she needed him to.

Hazel would speak again and she mentioned that it was an important duty of their fighters to patrol. That made sense. Patrolling helped keep trouble out of the Armada lands. Charlie’s expression shifted to one that was a bit more serious and he gave a firm, more confident nod. “That sounds like a plan.” More than anything he wanted to help keep his family safe. If he could do so by helping patrol then he would do so. He fell into step near Hazel as she began to walk, letting his gaze shift over the stalls and the market goers. There were different wolves here, those that he knew, and those he did not. His ears perked forward as he searched for anything that might be out of the ordinary. It was busier than he’d seen the market, despite it still being a bit colder in the north, and Charlie hmmed to himself as Hazel asked what he saw.

“A busy market, for one. Different wolves, the majority of them paying mind to the wares to the Armada have to offer, or talking to one of our merchants.” He frowned, catching sight of a pair talking amongst themselves. The one was looking around pretty often, almost as if he was nervous. Charlie didn’t look directly at them, but he had seen them sure enough. “There is also a pair over there, by one of the empty stalls. One of them is looking around in an almost anxious manner… and they seem to be talking quite low.” He frowned. Surely they wouldn’t be thinking of trying anything?


"Speech," 'Thought.'

Well, he was trying, she guessed. That's okay. Hazel wouldn't hold it against him, at least not in the long run. She's all business as they get down to the lesson, not wanting to waste any more time. Not wanting to put them farther behind schedule than they already were, in her mind.

Though he's taller, stockier than Hazel, her steps are long enough to not just keep but lead pace. Hell, she's used to keeping up with Basilisk, and that's no easy feat. She walks easily beside the yearling, at least until they come to a halt. Out of the way enough, and making sure they don't draw attention. Not yet, at least. He'd read the market as busy, which was interesting to Hazel. "Remember, lively and busy are two different things. There will be more bodies around the market when it gets warmer, but they will be moving slower. It's still sort of too cold to be busy-busy." She offers the gentle correction to the child.

Ah, there it was. He picked up on the pair, the one hanging around one of the empty stalls looking a bit sketchy. She nodded, confirming his concerns. "Good eyes, those are the ones I spotted too. What do you think we do when there are wolves hanging around that aren't doing anything wrong, but look out of place like that?" Hazel's gaze remained on the pair, though she spoke to Charlie. They had time to talk about it before the strangers tried anything, at least as far as Hazel could tell.

"Speech"