Corvus and Twig's litter were partway through their second season of life, and were old enough to begin integrating into pack life in a more purposeful way. While Corbie had the utmost faith in both Twig and Corvus to have given their pups the basics, they were going to need mentors other than their parents as they grew older. It was an important part of growing up, to go out and learn from different perspectives and personalities. As alpha their continuing education would be her responsibility, not just the parents, so she needed to be on top of that. Raising her muzzle, she called for the whole litter to join her, with Corvus and Twig as well if they wanted, in the orchard beneath the ripening apple trees.

OOC: Mandatory for Canary, Jay, Magpie, Rye, Skylark, and Vine. Optional for Corvus and Twig. Due July 10

A call? For her? Okay well not just her, Magpie was not the only one it seemed was being summoned. The girl had been busy rooting around in her pile of treasures she couldn't find the cool smooth rock she'd found a week ago! Had someone taken it? Magpie pouted, frowning down at her pile of stuff, she'd already looked through all of it, she was sure! If she was being honest she didn't really want to answer the call that rang out for her, she was annoyed by her missing pebble! Sighing loudly, she promised herself that she'd interrogate her siblings about it later! So it was that the girl would arrive before Corbie, her mind already slipping from the talking to she'd give her siblings later and onto whatever this new adventure would bring. "Hey! What're we doin'?" She asked when she arrived, practically yelling, though she wasn't exactly close yet so it was probably alright this time. She was first it seemed! Magpie puffing out her chest in pride, the fastest of her siblings!

"Speech"

Art by Chernotrop

There was no way Jay was going to miss something all her siblings were invited it - truthfully she wouldn't ignore Corbie's call anyway no matter what she was calling for, but that was besides the point. She didn't have a defiant bone in her body, at least not yet. She reacted to Corbie's call as quickly as she felt she could, abandoning her task at hand quickly enough that she forgot what she was doing altogether. As hurriedly as she could she made her way across the Orchard, hoping she'd make it there before the rest of her siblings, but Maggie had beat her by a long shot. Huffing a little, she drew closer, though her tail was wagging in a wide arc behind her, proof of her good mood even if she did wish she'd been a little bit faster.

The call that came out wasn't from one of her parents. It wasn't from one of her siblings. It was Corbie asking for them? Maybe it was something important. Or fun. Rye was hoping it would be fun. The call had come from the direction of the Orchard, and the small girl moved as quickly as her little legs would carry her. Her gaze was bright, curious as it settled on the world around her. Yeah, this had to be good. Good and exciting! She's ready for whatever it is they'd be up to.

"Wait for me, I got little legs!" She chirped, trotting to join the group that had already gathered around Corbie. Solidly, Rye plunked down next to Jay, panting. Whew! It was hard to be short out here, my goodness! She offered Corbie a sheepish smile and a wag of her tail, as well as an excited little wiggle. Yeah, it would probably be fun.

The call rings out through the pack lands, calling together everyone in his litter and Merlin lifts his head from the dirt. He had been watching a really cool bug wander through the dirt and he is really sad to leave it. Hoping that Corbie won’t mind him being a few minutes late, the boy goes back to his bug watching and promptly loses track of time. As his bug carries a large leaf toward a tree, the pup gives a giant start as he remembers the call. Swiftly he stands and immediately crashes back down to the earth as his clumsy paws get tangled around themselves.

Huffing indignantly, Merlin untangles his legs and carefully stands, making sure to take it slower this time. Once on his paws, the pup gives himself a firm nod before he is off and running, racing around trees until he spies several of his siblings gathered around the alpha. Applying his brakes cautiously, the boy slows to a trot and moves up to the others as he gives Corbie a beaming smile. His tail wags behind him as he plops his butt down next to Rye, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he looks at his sisters and offers them all a wink. What wonders will this day hold?

Vine was outside the family den maybe a little ways away when Corbie had called for her and her siblings. She didn't want to keep them waiting but it seemed that way when she arrived and almost everyone was here. It was just her family though so she wouldn't worry too much. Even under the eyes of Corbie, maybe she was just a little too young to worry about true responsibility. Though she did want to do good and make her parents proud. She took a seat somewhere between her siblings, giving a quick little glance with a smile, the same little pup grin looking up to her alpha.

"Vine"

Leaf had been working on clearing part of the fields. From the moment the girl was able to leave the den she had been drawn in by the crops growing wild in the fields. She got to thinking… What if she cleaned up a section and tried to replant the crops? Maybe there was a way to get more of her favorites?

But Corbie's call interrupted her pulling out the weeds and dead plants. A frown was on her face. Well… outside of theory she wasn't really sure what went into this anyway… alright. Leaf turned away from the small patch she cleared away and headed in the direction of the call with her pale legs covered in dirt.

She was the last of her siblings to arrive. Leaf took a seat and looked to Corbie, her tall wagging behind her as she looked at the alpha.

All six pups trickled in, each in their own way, and Corbie smiled and greeted them each by name as they did, until all six had come. After greeting Leaf, Corbie gave them a moment to settle in and watched for all eyes on her. "Today starts an important part of your life in a pack," she told them all seriously. It was a little bittersweet to her, who had not grown up in a pack, but she'd had something like this of her own at around their age with her guardian. "Today you will each tell me what you think you'd like to train in, and very soon I will give you each a mentor or mentors to guide and teach you in whichever skills you need for it. This isn't permanent - you can always choose a different path if you find you don't like the one you are on. You can always come to me to make a change. For now, though, tell me what you think you might like to be learning. Hunting? Fighting? Scholarship? Navigation? Healing? Painting? Weaving? There are as many options as your ambitions can lead you to." She sat attentively, her eyes on the pups, waiting as they considered.

The dappled boy sits alongside Rye, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth in happiness as he watches Vine and Leaf arrive and settle in. Green eyes then turn to Corbie, head tilting slightly as she begins to talk. Brows furrow slightly as she talks about today starting an important part of their lives but, as far as Merlin can tell, it is just another day. She goes on explain that they will all pick the skills they wish to hone and his paw begin to tippy-tap the ground in excitement.

When she is finished, the boy turns his gaze to his siblings as he tries to allow his sisters a chance to answer first but none of them are quick enough so looks back to Corbie and excitedly blurts out, “I want to be a hunter and fighter! I want to help take care of the sheep and protect them from others animals that might attempt to harm them. Also, can I learn how to craft things like armor? I really don’t want to waste any part of animal that I kill.” To Merlin, letting things go to waste just seems disrespectful to the creature that gave it life.

Eyes sparkle with joy as he looks to Alpha.


"Merlin Destruction"

It wasn't long before the rest of her siblings ambled along, all looking just as excited and interested as she was. Tongue lolled from her mouth as she eventually sat down, tail hardly slowing as it continued to wiggle behind her as Corbie began to speak. She explained today started an important part of their lives, which she didn't really get but she believed Corbie anyway. Today they'd get to tell her what they wanted to train in! Okay, maybe that was exciting. Merlin spoke up first and she was quick to follow on his heels. "I think I wanna be a fighter, like mom and dad. Maybe I could someday help lead the pack in big hunts?" It was ambitious, sure, but little Jay had no reason to think she couldn't conquer anything she wanted to.

Corbie would start speaking after she had greeted her, and Leaf tilted her head to the side as she listened to what the Alpha had to say. She didn’t completely understand the important part, but it was exciting to know that soon they would be getting mentors to help them get better at their chosen skills. Merlin and Jay spoke up, each expressing an interest in traditional hunting and fighting. Then, when she got a chance to speak, Leaf would speak up too, her expression thoughtful.

“I’d like to work with the fields. Right now the crops are mixed and kind of all over the place, but I think with some hard work we can work on setting up sections of the same crop and it’d be helpful to get more of the ones we like!” Her eyes lit up as she spoke of farming, the concept clearly pleasing to her. “I also like the idea of helping the others hunt, and I want to get really good at getting a hold of small prey that might try and eat the crops so I can make sure they stay safe.”

This would maybe seem like a big change... but Vine wasn't scared of that. She wasn't the most adventurous pup, and she tended to lean away from any trouble. Maybe it was just part of the upbringing from her parents. It was easy to follow in the paws of her parents and with Corbie giving the option to change later on she wouldn't be sweating in her choices. "I'd like to focus on hunting." Just like mom and dad.Jay seemed to have the same idea. Her other siblings seemed to stick towards the same tasks even if a little different from her own. She had to say to at least herself she was interested in learning a lot of different things, but for now she would stick to what she knew best.

"Vine"

The rest of Magpie's family shuffled in and she greeted each with a smile and a wag of her tail and just barely stopping herself from bouncing to her paws each time one of her siblings arrived. Then as Corbie spoke her mind started jumping from idea to idea so fast she actually couldn't speak right away for once. It seemed her whole family was leaning in one direction and admittedly Maggie wasn't sure she wanted to be the same as the rest of them but in truth it was where she wanted to go, as far as she was aware she was the only one to have gone on a hunt yet so really, who was copying who hmmm? Finally she found her voice. "I wanna try all sorts of things!" Yep that was probably expected of her. "Like everything you said!" Magpie nodded like what she'd just said was the most profound thing anyone had ever heard. "But I already really like hunting!" A very reasonable response she thought, after all how could she really know what she wanted to do if she hadn't tried it yet?

"Speech"

Art by Chernotrop

It was hardly any surprise that the pups all leaned toward some form of hunting skills, given their parentage and the leanings of the pack as a whole, and as something of a hunter herself Corbie was pleased at their enthusiasm and variety of interests. "These are all very good plans," she told them with a smile. "I will see to getting you all mentors, and I will announce it soon. I will also be bringing you each out myself one on one on occasion, so please do not be surprised or concerned if I call for you alone. I promise you it won't be because you're in trouble. Probably." She gave a low laugh and winked at them. "You have all given me a lot to consider, so I will let you get back to what you were doing while I think about it."