a road either to safety or to ruin

Avantika again stood alone in the courtyard, having just called for any pups who had a desire to be taught some of the skill of fighting. She thought they had actually been pretty good at showing up for her calls, showing that at least a few of them had some ambition to learn. While the Hallows was kind and accepting of every wolf as far as Avantika had seen, it was still important for them to work hard. They were only children, but eventually they would have to earn their keep by helping her, Mercury, and every other warrior of the Hallows to protect those within. Or they might choose a different path, to heal their sicknesses and wounds, hunt prey to feed them, explore and increase their knowledge of other lands, or nourish instead other knowledge and alliances of the pack through study and diplomacy. All were important, though Avantika of course had her favorite and the one she felt most qualified to teach. She didn't quite know where her expectations for the pups were -- or even precisely what their current skills looked like -- but she had not seen anything that had her less than impressed.

"Speech"