It was early morning, Spring was on its way out and he knew summer would be coming soon. His brother's pups were well beyond ready for training, so Ace struck out of his den with that in mind. He made his way to the base of the mountain, today would be a training day on level ground. Perhaps when they were more sure-footed and a little more trained, then he would consider training on the steeper slopes of the mountain, or perhaps even in the maw. Once he'd made it to a good location, he began to clear the area free of rocks and other debris that might get in the way. He wanted a good, clean training day today, though it wouldn't be particularly easy either. As he moved some of the rocks, an idea struck him. Why not make a fighting arena of sorts? Almost as soon as the idea came to mind, he set to work setting large rocks in a large round circle about ten feet in diameter. It took him a good bit of time, but once he was satisfied with his work, he moved to stand in the center. Tilting his gaze upward, he noted that it was still pretty early, the sun was barely rising above the trees which meant his nieces and nephews were probably still sleeping. Rolling his shoulders, he howled for the pups of the pack and waited. OOC// I wanna try and keep this going, so each round will be 1 week. Please try and post each round asap! First round due 8/22! "Speak"

It seemed the boy's nights were getting later and later, as he was finding it hard to return to the den when he was supposed to during this particular growth spurt. He had thus far obeyed, but it was quite a change considering when he was younger he was the last to want to leave the den. It seemed he could never quite get enough sleep or food, though now his interests were barely on either. He was hungry for something else, for experience in honestly probably anything at this point. He was beginning to sacrifice time to relax for time to explore and felt confident he knew all of the quickest paths down the mountain.

Massive paws for a wolf his size worked quickly once the howl disturbed him out of the deep slumber he had fallen into after exerting his energy yesterday, raising the herculean pup during the same time that his eyes were barely open. Wide and alert now, dual-tone blue hues were fully visible as he focused, oversized and once flattened ears now struggling to swivel toward the entrance of the den with their awkward weight. Finally, he had his senses and was able to grasp what was happening. He was not panicked, but curious. It appeared their uncle was calling for them and from the sound of his tone, Dom could tell that the Imps didn't have a choice. He looked over the sleeping bodies of whoever happened to be in the den with him still and issued a loud bark, just in case the howl hadn't been loud enough from all the way down at the volcano.

Man, Dominus loved the volcano. Something about that area and how dangerous it appeared to be both spooked and thrilled the boy, so as often as he was allowed to do so he would explore every little hiding place. His dark pelt seemed much easier to blend in with the rocks in the volcano and it sent shivers down his spine to know that today would be spent on that side of pack territory. Dominus could not wait for his siblings, he was already setting off down the quickest route he had stored up in his memory bank. It required a few long jumps across particularly rocky areas and fallen pines, but Dominus was beginning to make a sort of sport of it.

When he appeared to the circle of rocks his uncle had constructed, he grinned with excitement for a moment before remembering to contain himself. He liked to appear just as mature as they when in the company of adults.. so none of that starry-eyed kiddish crap! Even though, he was really interested in what his uncle had in store for the day.

He wanted to ask The Judge what the rocks were for, but he knew that in time he would tell them. For now, something else seemed to be on the boy's brain as he looked to the trees up the maw's mountainside behind him with a devilish grin. Hoping that his uncle wouldn't ruin his fun, he let his knees bend so that he could crawl along the very last patch of bushes before the barrenness of the volcanic plateau took over. He would wait for the next sibling to answer the call hopefully hidden in the shadows of dawn cast from the trees, wide and reflective blue eyes the only giveaway to his presence. Should one of them fail to spot him, he wouldn't hesitate to lunge and scare the ever living crap out of them without mercy. >:)

Much like her siblings, Domina was also out and about from the den. She had grown accustomed to her newly found freedom from her parents with ease. Her golden sliced red gaze was fixed upwards to a pigeon as it roosted in the trees about the mountain side. The soft cooing sent chills down her spine, smaller ears twitching at the tips with each soft sound her target made. Domina's tongue slipped between her lips and lapped at the drool that was beginning to pool out the sides of her mouth. Her lanky legs bent in as she drew her body down towards the ground in a stealthy crouch position, her shoulder blades protruding from her back flesh as she did so.

Domina dangerously sought to stalk forth, but a sudden outcry from another wolf broke the silence- the pup's feathered 'friend' took to flight without hesitation and disappeared into the brush with a frightened screech. She straightened her posture just as quick as the bird had taken off, ears upright and alert to make sense of the howl. Uncle Acere. Dual-toned vision shifted down to the base of the mountain and where her uncle's call originated from. Her dark nostrils flared as she let out an annoyed huff of having lost her potential prey. With a swish of her tail and a kick of her over-sized paws, she pranced off towards his location.

In no time at all she found herself descending from the maw, her head and tail held high as she strut along. Once she caught glimpse of the bright white coat of her uncle among the circle of boulders, her lower jaw unhinged as she broke out into a smile. What could he have in store for the pups, she wondered. Whatever it was, she could not contain the anxious and excitement that was building up deep within her core.

She was peacefully sleeping in her corner of the den, curled around herself and letting her mind take her into the world of dreams. She didn’t understand dreams, how they felt so real, but were so unreal at the same time. She didn’t understand thier purpose to life. Most often she dreamt about where she would be in Ruina when she was older, the women she may become. She dreamt about Ruina culture and what all she had been taught so far. There was also times she dreamed of foreign things, stuff that didn’t make any sense to her right now. All those dreams came to an end when the call from her uncle echoed through the den. Ears perked but the rest of her body remained still, taking in the howl and listening to its intention. Uncle was calling for some training, something she could not afford to skip. Soon her ears heard Dom get up to leave the den. Uncurling herself she stretched and pulled herself to her feet.

She quickly moved out of the den, fallowing Dom’s Fresh trail to where the meeting place would be. She didn’t bother trying to keep up with her much larger brother, saving her energy for the training. It didn’t take all that long to reach the circle of stones, her uncle sitting in the middle of it. Dom and Domina were already here. She crossed the boundaries of the circle and approached her uncle, stopping and having a seat. She waited for things to begin, staring at the rocks and trying to figure out what the circle simulated. Was this going to be a ritual lesson?

He'd been sleeping soundly, even his uncle's call had gone unheard while he was in slumber. Pressed against the warm bodies of his siblings, he didn't stir until the warmth from his siblings began to die down. Slightly irked that his backside wasn't being warmed anymore, he rolled over and opened one eye to see where everyone was. He spotted Actaea slipping out of the den, and he wondered why. Having not heard his uncle's call previously, he decided he would follow his sister to see what she was up to. He hung back as he followed her down the mountain until the reached the base of the volcano. There he watched as she approached his other siblings and...uncle? Oops. If his siblings were there with their uncle, then he guessed that something important was happening. Yawning the last of the sleep away, he approached the group and flopped on the ground with his siblings. Crimson gaze met his uncles, head tilting as he wondered what was going on. "Speak"

The large pup was resting just outside of the den, looking out over the landscape while the sun rose. Usually he would wait in the den, pretending to sleep so he could observe his siblings, but sometimes he liked to wait out here. It was a lot quieter without the sounds of snoring and breathing around him. It seemed like he could hear his thoughts better out here in the early morning even though he knew that was ridiculous. After all, if his thoughts were just in his head it wouldn’t matter how quiet it was.

The silence didn’t last as long as he wanted it to. A howl from his uncle caught his attention first and he watched as his siblings started to file out of the den. He waited till he saw Ignis leave last before he stood up and started heading that way as well. His observant, two-toned gaze caught a small glimpse of his brother’s tail through the bushes near where the rest of the group had gathered. He paused for a moment behind his brother a few feet back, watching Dom with a quizzical look.

He pieced together what Dom’s expectation was and a sly grin popped onto his muzzle. Casso pulled himself together and smoothed out his expression as he walked around the front of the bushes like he was going to walk into the circle of stones that their uncle had waiting for them. He listened for the shuffle of leaves that gave away Dom trying to leap out at him. He spun around at the last second to face his trickster brother, leaping forward to try and pounce him with a grin. “Nice try!” Casso said with a laugh before he turned to head toward the rest of the group, still smirking a little to himself as he settled next to Ignis.