Corbie wiped the back of her foreleg across her brow, sitting back with a sigh of accomplishment as she gazed at the young ewe with her new twin lambs, now standing to nurse. The first lambing of the year had been unexpected and early, but first timers were often unpredictable like that. It was good timing, though, since it was indeed the time to be calling the pack together to celebrate the end of winter and the birth of spring. Everything had been prepared for some time, waiting for these first signs of spring. The snowdrops and crocuses, the daffodils were peeping out of the snow already, and now the first of the lambs had arrived. It was a prestigious beginning to the season already, and there were ten birthingdays to celebrate, six of whom would be reaching a major milestone in their lives.

The alpha took a moment to wash up thoroughly in the river before heading into the barn, where a small feast had been set up with warm mulled ciders - it was still cold, after all! - dried berry teas, and melomels to drink to add a touch of the summer to remind them all of the upcoming warmth to look forward to. It would have been hard to miss the commotion in the barn as set up had occurred, then been temporarily abandoned for the lambing, so it probably didn't require a lot of notice, but Corbie lifted her muzzle to call out lightly, bringing the pack together beside the merrily crackling bonfire.

Signs of spring are starting to be appear within the lands of Avalon and that means that Merlin is officially enter the first full year of his life. While Corbie is tending to a lambing, the youth is out scanning for signs of returning prey near the pack’s borders. He was serious when he talked about learning how to hunt and tend the sheep that they keep and he simply cannot wait to get a mentor. The call from Corbie is not unexpected and it is welcomed as the mere thought of a feast has his stomach gurgling its hunger to him.

After all, he is a growing boy.

Abandoning his place near the Avalon borders, the hungry youth joyfully bounds through the land, excitement practically causing him to vibrate as he goes. It doesn’t take him long to reach the barn and he slows down to a trot before entering the warm interior. A bonfire crackles merrily beside the alpha as the tan boy dips his head in greeting and offers, “Hi!” The single word might not be important or even earth shattering but, to him, he is grateful to have the leader in his life and he wishes to acknowledge her presence.

Seating himself near the spread of foods and drinks, his eyes widen with greed and his jaw drops open as drool begins to drip inside his mouth. For a long moment, Merlin marvels at everything that has been prepared before his green eyes dart over to the monochrome Alpha and he says, “Wow! This is amazing! I think I am going to try a little of everything.” Without waiting for an invitation, he plucks a steaming piece of meat from the food that is laid out before him and plops the sumptuous morsel into his mouth.

Chewing slowly, he savors the flavor and ducks his sheepish apology… just in case he wasn’t supposed to eat yet.


"Merlin Destruction"

Álarr was eager for the return of spring and the new plant life that would follow. His stores had taken a hit over the winter and of course the down time had set his mind to whirring with new ideas and experiments to conduct. He was eager to get started. Álarr kept a set of herbs ready to tend to the sheep as needed as well as as a preventative. He still felt a bit awkward tending to prey animals but would do his best to assist. As a fighter, though, he'd shifted his duties to focusing more on the borders. Hungry bears would be waking from their winter slumbers and already he'd caught scent of one far too close for comfort.

Álarr shifted his head to the sun and noted its downward trend. There was to be a festival tonight. He headed back to his den, cleaning up and loading the ale onto his wooden travois. He arrived to see Corbie at the feast as well as Merlin, one of the yearlings. "Good evening, I've brought the ale I've been fermenting."

The cold temperatures had done little to deter young Leaf from spending the majority of the sunlit moments outside of the den to take a leisurely stroll through Avalon’s lands. It was still cold, too cold to work the earth and mess with the fields… but soon there would be a sea of green and plants to watch grow. She could hardly wait for those days, and she hoped that she could convince one of her siblings to join her. She didn’t have a true goal in mind yet, she just knew she wanted to tend to the overgrow fields and bring about order somehow. But where to begin, when they were as mixed as they were? It would likely take seasons of work to fix, but Leaf wouldn’t be deterred by that. She looked at the task as a challenge she would eagerly tackle.

As night began to fall she heard Corbie’s call across the pack lands and made her way toward the barn. She had been aware of the Alpha gathering things and bringing them to the barn, though she hadn’t gone up to ask her what was going on. Instead Leaf had waited, knowing that in time all would be revealed. With the air getting colder now that it was night, she was thankful to step into the barn and approach the crackling fire. Her brother was already there, and another member of the pack too. Leaf would grin as she came to flop beside Merlin, catching sight of him popping food in his mouth.

“How is it? Good?” She asked, referring to the meat he just had.

Spring was here, and little Jay couldn't be more excited. Not that she was all that little anymore - she'd started to really grow into her frame, looking very much like a yearling now, though she was still thin and gangly, clearly with a bit of growing yet to do. Still, she still maintained an overall childlike demeanor, especially when it came to exploring the world around her. It was hard to shake that infectious joy, especially as she trekked over a fresh budding patch of dandelions, pausing on her way to the festival to grab a few, even though they weren't yet bloomed. Maybe if she'd slowed down she'd think to grab one for each sibling and both her parents, but she was far too eager to gather for the Snowmelt festival.

Once she came upon what was prepared, her mood only further brightened. There was food and drink, and lambs! Baby ones! Corbie had been the one to teach her that lambs weren't just food, that they had an obligation to raise them and keep them safe too, and she gave a happy whine as she circled near the ewes before moving alongside her siblings that had arrived first. She tentatively took a bite of the meat Merlin was testing, giving a grin to Leaf as she raised her head. "It's very good," she answered first, glancing over to Corbie and giving her a pleased grin of acknowledgement.

As her first birthday came around, it would seem the pack had events of their own. Maybe that was just the change of the seasons, or maybe this one was different. She wasn't too sure but none of that mattered. She tried to be as involved as she felt comfortable with. She liked to meet the others of the pack and maybe with age, now that she was a year old, maybe she could get out there more.

She came to Corbie's call, simple enough. A few of her other siblings were here already enjoying the eats that were displayed for everyone. She was quiet, a gentle smile especially to Corbie as she walked nearby. She didn't butt into any of her siblings, waiting for her own turn to grab some of the meats that they were all getting a taste of. She'd nod her head with that small smile and hum a little to the yummy food.

"Vine"

Tyrfing did not often attend Avalon's festivals - in fact, he did not spend much time around his pack members at all lately. Pups had been welcomed into the pack, bringing Tyr to become even more obsessive regarding the pack's protection then he ever had been. When not roaming the borders, he was training. When not training, he was sleeping. Now that the little ones had at least survived past their first year, the viking warrior was giving himself a much deserved break. Light on his feet, the warrior answered the alpha's call. He let the new yearlings push through the doorway first before sauntering in at their heels. While the overexcited youth ravaged the table of food, Tyrfing moved to take a seat at Corbie's side. "Skål, Corbie." He greeted, bowing his horned head respectfully. "The first lambing heralds a strong start to the season. These twins are a good omen." "Speech" table art by nightauctor

The dychotomy of Magpie was she was either going to be among the first of her siblings to arrive when called or among the last. Today it seemed she was the latter, beating only her smallest sister. She spotted a grey (or was it purple?) man entering the barn when she rounded the bend, paws skittering. She'd been trying to track something when the call had gone up, about two seconds away from shoving her face in a burrow of something. She hadn't seen the thing yet, so she wasn't sure exactly what animal it was but whatever it was it seemed the coming of spring, and therefor her first full year of life, had started bringing it out of it's hidey-holes. Only when there wasn't rambunctious yearlings around evidently.

Maggie hardly bothered to slow much before she entered the barn, her face ringed in a light cover of dirt. She trotted her way over to her siblings who aside from two men she didn't know were the only ones there... Oh and Corbie of course. Magpie settled herself next to Vine (hey when had she gotten smaller than her sister?) and decided she was going to catch her breath before she tried the food, tongue lolling from her jaw and tail a-wagging.


"Speech"

Art by LIFAmevil