With the pup training having been recently handled, it was time to move up to the apprentices. He wanted to gauge their skills so that he could determine whether or not they were due for promotions. He sorely hoped they'd been working on their chosen paths, else they'd likely just get the common ranks for those paths. He knew when the pack first started there had been wolves with high sights and ambitions. But as time went on, he continued to see less of that. Where had their ambition gone? How could he encourage them to aim higher? Was it his sole responsibility to ensure they were getting the training they needed and more? No. The other members should've been helping, and even if nobody else was then those who wanted higher ranks should've been honing their skills regardless.

Needless to say, he was severely disappointed in the pack and the direction they were going. And he wasn't sure what else to do. Clearly, the last couple of meetings did little to get them in gear...maybe he had to actually start being firm and implementing the warnings and consequences he had threatened.

Standing in the snow at the side of the ship, they'd be doing their training on even terrain today. Tilting his head back, he sounded a call for all the older fighters (though pups could attend if they so chose), and waited.

OOC//Mandatory fight training for fighters 1yr+. Pups are welcome to attend as well. First rounds due by 3/23.

The Destruction enjoyed the puppy training and he didn’t hesitate to appear in front of Acere for the second round of training for the older wolves. He was again lingering within the workshop at the side of the hull in the ship. His large paws brought him out to the flat plain beyond to find his alpha once more. He gave the alpha a quick wink as he came to take his place expectantly. Alabaster ears perked as his icy silver gaze watched for Kirsi to appear beside him. He’d been debating about working on armor and weapons for the pack as they planned to raid soon.

Yurei finally decided to come out, after weeks of hiding while she regained her health, health lost to her issues. And feeling unsure about how others would think of her upon seeing her like this, she just stood on the low. Now she was better in looks, she didn't look as scrawny as before. And now she felt less unconfident with allowing others to see her. And just in time when she heard her alpha's call, quickly she trotted forwards with flat ears and tail almost tucked under her body. There she spotted the two males, one she didn't know and her alpha. In silence, she sat down. "Hello" | 'Thoughts' | 'Your speech'

Kirsi wasn't quite sure her own ambitions had been set high enough. It was easy to tell herself she was still settling in, though it'd been seasons now since she and Song had joined Winterfell.. though the volcano's eruption seemed to have been a culprit to some amount of lost time, even if they hadn't been affected very harshly so far in the north. Even still it had caused life to come to a sort of standstill. It was the kind of lull she wasn't complaining about, not after how her life had been upturned before joining the pack, and settling in with Song had been far from unpleasant.

But it was time for action, and the seriousness of Acere's call reminded her of that. They'd been raiding soon, and she needed to be prepared. Maybe even just some longer treks, away from Winterfell's borders, would allow her to tone herself to the point where she felt ready for a real fight - and maybe another trip to the Battlefield was in order. Ears swiveled toward his call, curious as to what he had in store, and nimble paws carried her to the ship and those that had gathered. Instantly her attention drifted to Song and she moved to sit alongside him, offering him a faint smile, though her attention fluidly snapped to Acere.

She had remembered her family.

The names of her sisters… their faces… and their horrid ends.

She remembered her parents, how they had fought valiantly to keep Bridget and herself from being taken… The memories caused Bellamy to feel sick to her stomach. She had, as a result, withdrawn for a while, just herself, Whiskers, and Ears while she processed her grief. Bells knew Acere wasn’t happy with the members of his pack for shirking their duties… and she had started to question if she was really so different from them after all. She thought of what he told her about the reason for needing to raid… and Bellamy had come to a decision.

She was going to help Winterfell.

Bellamy had told herself, over and over, that it was the right thing to do. Acere’s healer, Drifa, had helped her… and now was the time to start working towards doing what was needed to repay that. Any other alpha, as she was told repeatedly, would have sought retribution for trespassing rather than offering a place in their home and understanding. Bells swore she wasn’t going to let that kindness be taken for granted.

So when Acere’s call rose the female got to her paws, nudged her companions, and declared her intentions to them.

Whiskers was proud, beaming with motherly pride as she followed after the she-wolf. It was the season of her heat too which had Bellamy a bit on edge. She was hoping to use the spars to relieve stress in all forms. She didn’t want to continue to let her mind race, to drive her mad, and thus she planned to pour time into honing her claws and fangs for a cause that, in the long run, could aid her own ideals.

She arrived, Ears smirking on one side, Whiskers giving a nod and smile to Acere on the other, and Bells remained on the outskirts of the group. She didn’t sit, ready to begin, as she looked to Acere. “If Winterfell to prep for the raid… I request to fight your most experienced fighter, Acere. Unless you’d prefer to do a… melee of sorts?” Bellamy’s words held a fiery passion within; it was clear fighting was far easier on the femme than casual conversations.

“Gotta make it look good, against an ally of Winterfell or not, right?” Ears was grinning as he cut in.

Bells waited, making sure the Devil was done before speaking again.

“I’ve decided I’m going to aid the pack’s cause. You’ve been patient with me… kind…  and I’m going to return the favor.” She glanced at Whiskers who gave an approving nod.

It felt odd, saying those words, and speaking civilly to boot, but Bellamy found it didn’t hurt.

In fact? It felt kind of nice.

Idalia trudged to the meeting with her head lowered. The past few months had been a whirlwind of confusion and emptiness. Her father's abandonment had rubbed her raw and left her aimless. Now they were being called to raid an ally, and though she found it distasteful, she was loyal to her family and pack. Acere had an air of nobility about him that made her want to believe in him, even if she was experiencing personal doubt. She arrived late and stared sullenly at the gathered wolves. When would they begin the trip towards the east? Days seemed to pass without direction and now that they were finally propelling themselves towards a goal, she found herself itching to begin.

Kai was beyond ready for these raids to begin. Participate in two raids and he'd officially earn his freedom, or so Acere said. While Kai wasn't the most trusting of wolves - far from it, really - he had no reason to doubt Acere's promise to him. Though part of him had wanted to flee from the moment he'd been guided here, really Winterfell hadn't been too bad, though admitting that even to himself felt like a weird form of defeat in a way. Leaving here without any bad blood sounded more ideal than the first option, as much as he loathed belonging to a pack at all. After Winterfell he had a feeling it would feel as though life was beginning anew - and he wondered what kind of life that would be, though already vowed to himself to stay out of the messes of others. No helping, no being lured into traps, and certainly no more indentured servitude. He'd gnaw off his own paws before that became his fate again, he'd decided.

But for now? Apparently some training was in order. As if I need training, Kai thought to himself, fighting a scoff as he headed toward the old ship that marked one of Winterfell's lands. He wasn't a fighter by trade, not really, but he had no qualms against fighting when he needed.. and he doubted training would really do anything for him. Either way he'd see what Acere had in store for them today. At the very least, it'd be mildly entertaining.. right? He hoped as much. The oversized male let out a huff as he moved toward the others that had gathered, coming to a halt and flopping onto his haunches dramatically, away from the rest of the wolves here.

ooc: Not sure if Natha should be here. If not I'll have this post deleted!

Natha was slowly settling in to Winterfell though she had not made herself known to the other wolves. She was hoping to get a feel for the pack lands and spent much of her time exploring. She had a den in progress but hadn't bothered to fit it out too much as she planned to be on her way by the end of autumn. A howl rang out that she recognized as the alpha's call. She was still working out what particular calls meant though she figured this was some sort of summons. Natha wasn't for sure if it included her or not but she thought it was worth checking out and so she answered the call.

A number of wolves were already present and she took her seat in the back so as not to draw too much attention to herself. Lifting up a paw she licked at it for a moment before washing her ears.

Drífa was not a fighter by any means but as a healer she felt she ought to be present for the adult spars. While adults were more experienced they tended to have rougher fights with more serious injuries and she wanted to be available in case anyone needed tending too. Drífa worked with Halla to pack the herbs and items they'd need and then she headed off to the meeting. When she arrived it seemed most everyone was already there. Her eyes spied Yurei and she moved over toward the younger healer before settling down and taking a seat. "I'm here if there are injuries to be tended to though if you find yourself with odd numbers I'm willing to step in and fight." She was old but feisty and hopefully she could be a challenge if needed.

Tyto heard the call but he hadn't made to get there early. He had been busy tracking down a small herd of deer but since he had been doing it by himself, he hadn't been able to bring one home. It was his fault, really. He thought he could do it alone but when he tried and failed, he realized he would need the help of others to bring down bigger game. Feeling defeated with his failed hunt, he finally stopped moping and headed to the training session where he found most of the other adults, and yearlings but his sister wasn't there. That was alright, maybe she was busy...but he didn't know what she was up to. Maybe training on her own for the pending raids? Whatever the case, he sat among the group and waited for his uncle's instructions.

He'd been practicing how to better use his antlers with his mom when the call went out. Excited to have a formal group training, Incendio wasted no time in heading over. Although he was late, he hadn't missed the training yet and he found a place to sit with his mom while he waited for it to begin. He wanted to participate in the raiding, but he didn't feel like he was experienced enough to do so, and besides...he could hang back and defend the pack if he needed to, right? One couldn't be too careful, after all. Who knew if someone else decided to try and raid them while his uncle and the others were out on their own raid. He didn't know much of the details and etiquette when it came to raiding if any, but he didn't think too much about it. Glancing at his mom and at the others gathered, he couldn't help his excitement as he waited for the training to start.

He'd been late to answer the alphas call. The male hadn't really wanted to leave Avalon by herself until she reassured him that she would be fine with the kids. He hadn't really left her side since her mate had passed away, the dual toned male helping her with her kids, especially when she needed rest. But since she urged him to go, he reluctantly did so. The dual toned man headed towards the ship where the others were gathered, blue eyes searching the group but realized he didn't really know anyone save for Acere. He would have to do better to get to know those he lived with, but it was hard for him to be social and even worse with small talk. Pursing his lips, he sat down at the edge of the group and waited for the training to start. While he didn't particularly need it, maybe he could help instruct the yearlings if the extra help was needed...

He'd been fiddling with his armor again when his uncle summoned the pack for training. He wasn't sure if he was happy with the result but then again, he was always kind of a perfectionist when it came to these kinds of things. Or tried to be, anyway. His uncle was good at crafting, but the crimson male wasn't too good at it. Maybe he'd seek out the blacksmith to help him out later, but for now, he needed to get his butt to training. Dropping his stuff off in his den, he headed out to the ship to gather with the others. It didn't take him terribly long to get there, but it seemed most of the pack had beat him there. Spotting Yurei, he edged over to her and sat beside the alabaster she-wolf. "Hey Yurei, how's it going?" He flashed a grin at her, hoping to try and ease any worry she might have about this sort of training.

Her one good eye shifted when the call of her father brought her to attention. After the attack that she faced with Narcisse, the thought of even fighting at all did scare her. She was a rather meek and gentle individual, however, the thought of protecting herself should anything transpire while she was away did cross her mind. Her heart raced inside her chest as she closed her eyes in thought. The skill would be rather good to have, and she wasn't going to have her father around forever to protect her. She would have to fend for herself some way or the other.

With a heavy huff, she got up and walked over to where Acere resided. She sat down with the other wolves in thought, seeing a lot of older wolves, but a few yearlings that stood out among the crowd. One of them she knew, but they didn't necessarily talk much. After her capture, the yearling hadn't had any other form of conversation with any of the others, and that did need to change. Her tail curled around her frame as she looked at her father, giving him a small, assuring smile. She needed to prove herself, for deep down...Altair considered herself rather useless at the moment. The scars that surrounded her face would be a permanent reminder for the meantime, but she would bear with it and see what would happen. After the capture, she didn't want to feel useless again and would actually try and defend herself this time. With the training that was bound to be a little easier...at least she prayed it would be.