down but not out

It seemed they were all bogged down with the weight of their loss, at least a little bit, even if nobody wanted to admit it. These were wounds and losses that they would recover from though, and come out stronger on the other side - that's how things like this worked. He watched the last few wolves trickle in, giving them each a nod of acknowledgement as they settled down.

Corbie spoke after a moment, and Corvus listened, leaning down to sip from the bowl of tea presented to him. Despite their losses, he was grateful, grateful that he had a group of wolves who were all willing to protect what was theirs - even when loss was not just possible, but likely.

He nodded in quiet understanding. He respected Corbie entirely, and her willingness to be open about their loss and collaborate on how they could improve in the future only heightened his respect toward her. Cloudburst spoke up, expressing his interest in helping train their fighters in defense. Though he was interested, he didn't quite have the time, nor the energy, not with his litter of children running around.

"Twig's idea is a good one," he agreed confidently.  He leaned harder into her as he spoke his two cents. "Perhaps even bird companions might not be a bad idea. Even if they're not a great asset in battle, if they could be trained to detect those poking around our borders, that might be helpful."