Corbie found herself drowsy beneath the warmth of the summer sun, the buzzing of insects in the long grass outside the pastures a soothing backdrop for the occasional baa or snort from the flock she was watching over. There was a hide shelter for the flock guards to use to escape the sun if need be, that matched the much larger shelters in the pastures for the sheep, but she had chosen to remain out in the sun and enjoy the weather. Besides, the shelter drew the eyes of would-be predators so they could try to avoid it and still get one of the stock, so staying out away from it put her in a place that would be unexpected. She cut off a yawn to track some movement through the grasses at the fence where the sheep hadn't been able to reach to clip it down yet.

This whole world was entirely new to little Jay, and she was eager to begin exploring it. Not completely away from the watchful eye of her father though, of course, who lounged nearby in the long grasses. He'd given her a little wiggle room to begin exploring the world though and she was eager to take it. Everything was so bright and busy compared to the hot, cramped little den she shared with her family.

The girl's lime-green eyes were wide, brimming with wonder and interest as she swatted at a beetle that landed on a long piece of grass right in front of her nose. She startled slightly when instead of just falling it began to fly, wings flapping in a panic. A little giggle left her lips as it flew off, though soon her attention shifted to someone up ahead, someone that was not her mom or her dad but definitely an adult. "Hi!" She called out, giving a look over her shoulder to make sure her dad was there. He'd keep her safe, she knew that, so she didn't have much to fear. "What doing?"

Corbie brightened at the sight that greeted her - a pup, fresh from the den, chasing a beetle through the grass. This must be one of Corvus and Twig's children, confirmed when Corbie caught sight of the watchful eyes of the older fighter. It was only a moment later when the pup caught sight of Corbie herself, and greeted her with the bright enthusiasm of a pup to whom everything is a new experience. "Hello to you too, little one," she chuckled, ducking her head to bring herself more on the level to the child. "I am guarding the sheep, those silly woolies out there, to keep them safe." She indicated the flock grazing peacefully some distance away. She smiled at the pup. "My name is Corbie - what's yours?"

Though she turned to focus on Corbie, her attention didn't linger completely on her, instead drifting from one thing to the next without warning. The sun overhead was blindingly bright, and the sound of insects buzzing and chirping in the tall grasses around her felt overwhelming. Sifting through all the sensory input to focus on what was important felt like a difficult task. She blinked hard a few times, shaking some stray grass from her nose as she focused on the adult completely - if but for a moment.

"Sheep?" She repeated her word, glancing over to the creatures - she'd noticed them before but hadn't really stopped to look at them. "Why you gotta guard them? They can't protect themselfs?" Jay asked, genuinely curious, struggling to articulate herself well. "I'm Jay!" She was eager to introduce herself, looking quite pleased too, grinning from ear to ear now at her first meeting with someone new.

Corbie had not spent a lot of time in her life around young pups - none, in fact, before Jay - so the wide eyed wonder that overwhelmed the little one was new to Corbie, and absolutely enchanting to her. Instant love at first site, absolutely smitten, Corbie found. She'd die - even kill - for this child. Who knew the maternal instinct could hit so hard and so fast without ever having had a child? Insane. She needed to seek out the other pups in the litter. She'd never known she needed pups in her life, but she was going to be forever indebted to Twig and Corvus for having given her the opportunity.

"Sheep are grass-eaters," she explained to the pup even while her own brain was exploding from the overload of adoration. "They don't have sharp teeth and strong jaws like we do to protect themselves, so we have to protect them. It is their wool and their meat that support us. Taking care of them is what we do in exchange."

Jay had been taught that the wolves within Avalon were ones she could trust, and no one - or anything at all, really - had ever given her a reason to be cautious or fearful. So she didn't spend long studying Corbie once she really looked at the sheep, absolutely entranced with them and what Corbie was saying to her. They didn't have sharp teeth or strong jaws, Jay could see that now as she studied them, watching them graze peacefully nearby. She nodded like it made sense to her, even if the concepts were a little hard for her to truly grasp. Still she thought about what she said, rolled it around in her head for awhile as she watched, finally plopping down on her rear end. "So we eat them? But protect them too? From things that aren't us? Or from other ones that are us?" She asked, the questions coming and coming as they came to her.

Jay's line of questioning was both innocent and unexpectedly deep, and Corbie quickly took a moment to ponder it, not wanting to say something wrong and give the young pup the wrong ideas at so formative an age. "We do eat them, yes, but we never take more than we need, and what the flock can support in a way that is healthy for them, and when we do we harvest them as quickly and humanely as possible. That's very important. We don't want them to suffer. But if we don't cull the flock, it will grow too large, and the sheep won't have enough food. They'll be too crowded, and they will get sick as well. We keep the flock only big enough to thrive and be happy. But other predators don't care if they are healthy and happy. They would try to kill as many as they could, even if it was bad for the flock, so we protect them from those who don't care about them, like we do."

If anything she'd been taught to be a good listener by her parents, and she demonstrated that now with wide, attentive eyes as Corbie answered her questions. Though the finer intricacies of the explanation were lost on her some of it made sense. They ate what they needed, without hurting the whole group, without making them suffer. That was good - suffering didn't sound nice at all. The group getting too big meant they wouldn't have enough food, which she understood by thinking about how if she had more siblings than she did now (which felt like a whole let), she might have less to eat too. "Wow. That sounds..." Her little brain struggled to find the word. Complicated, and a little outside of her realm of understanding, but she supposed that was why Corbie was the leader of Avalon and she was just a kid.

"Cool!" she concluded finally, finding no better word for it. "Thanks for teaching me," she added, beaming widely from ear to ear as her tail swayed back and forth, happy for some adult company besides her parents. It felt extra special!

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Wow, it was instantly heart melting, having a pup grinning up at her in excitement and happiness just from having learned something from her. She grinned back at Jay, her own tail brushing against the grass as it wagged behind her. "It's my pleasure, Jay." It made her think, that it wouldn't be long at all until these pups were ready for mentors to start teaching them more intensively than just their parents could with a whole litter to provide for. "Have you been learning a lot from your mom and dad, too?" she asked the girl. She had no doubt of Corvus and Twig whatsoever, but used the question to hopefully prompt Jay to continue their talk, so Corbie could learn more about her.

The joy that bounced back and forth between them was infectious, and boy was Jay's mood high. She got to talk to someone knew for a little while and learned something new, and she was overjoyed about it all. The thought of learning even more excited her too. The girl nodded enthusiastically to Corbie's question. "Oh yeah, lots! Lots about hunting and learning to keep ourselves fed and make sure we grow big and strong. I wanna be just like them when I grow up, you know," she added, conversationally. She looked up to them both a whole lot, and turning out to be like either of them sounded just great to her.

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