It was a surprisingly mild day for winter. The sun beat down from overhead, warming the land. It was the perfect day to be outside. It was also the perfect day to teach. Iolaire arranged several furs on one side of the fire pit. She started a little blaze within the stone ring, just big enough to warm those resting nearby. Though mild for winter, there was still a chill in the air, so the fire would do everyone well. If she had her way, they would be there for a while. She even brought snacks. How thoughtful. Once everything was situated, the small woman raised her muzzle upward, releasing a playful call to any that had time on their paws today. She was going to give a lesson on language, but not just any language. She was going to teach any who would listen about the languages of species outside of their own. One of her own lessons when living with the old woman was to communicate with all creatures, big and small. One never knew what useful information they might have. As Iolaire waited, she settled herself upon a fur at the head of the others. Enki and his pile of children were curled up in a ball nearby. Ila, the mini caribou, grazed, sniffing, snorting and chewing grass. Hopefully others would bring their companions as well. Perhaps she could help the pack to better understand their foreign friends. "Speech"

Mortis popped out from the cellar to find Io about the firepit, the last of her calls fading away. Whipping bloody paws on the long grass, the young boy closed the door, his recent kill skinned and dried inside with the rest of the packs stores. He trotted over as she raised her head to call, and he sidled up close to her. He ignored the rest of the carefully laid pelts in favour of being close to the older woman. He settled down on the grass in front of her, before flopping over so his head rested on her feet, and he looked up at her upside-down face. His wings expanded on either side of his body along the dusty floor. “Hey Auntie, whatcha doing?” he asked, one paw raised curved in the air to paw at her. His Kea-companion glided down from the top of the pack-obelisk where she had been waiting. She landed on his exposed stomach, and he squirmed a little where her claws tickled him. "Mortis"

Venom knew she still had a lot to learn, and hopefully she’d do it before she took the throne from her mother. She trained hard, but she was also getting into the habit of teaching, and her tiny sister was a perfect student. Or she was too timid to try and get out of doing whatever big sister said to do. When she heard Iolaire’s call she decided to bring the small girl with her.

The two Ashen princesses made their way to the Armada lands, though they were kind of slow going. Venom refused to let Siren ride on her back and by the tim they arrived the younger girl was worn out. Venom was hardly fazed, she did patrols and trained her body hard. Siren was so soft, the older girl wasn’t sure what use she would be in the future. Maybe a pawn she could send off to another pack.

The thoughts were sent away as she arrived silently, a soft grin of greeting given to both Iolaire and Mortis.

Siren didn’t exactly like spending time with her older sister, she was bossy and didn’t ever let the tiny princess ride on her back. At least she didn’t tease her as much as Chimera did. She learned a lot from her sister, even if she didn’t always like the lessons. When she led her towards the Armada the girl was excited and didn’t give much complaint to how long a walk they had to go. Silently she hoped that she’d get to see Mortis while he was here. She hadn’t seen a lot of him in the last few days, and she hoped that he hadn’t forgotten about her.

The tiny child brightened considerably upon seeing his form on the ground, but she was also worn out from walking. ”Mort,” she greeted with a huff and fell into the grass beside her sister. Exhausted, but she couldn’t help the innocent grin on her features as she saw her only friend once more.

Dunkan heard a call,a call that he almost ignored due to what he was doing.He was doing his respective trainings.A future warrior he was and thus he needed to work hard to sharpen his skills more and more.The raid was a good starting point from where he could now focuse on the skills he saw needed more work.But maybe a the call could bring something new.And after a few minutes of deep thinking he decided to go and give it a try. Calmly he approached with cold eyes and there she saw the healer who attended his wounds.And a few more wolves were there.In a calm way he walked forward with confidence within his steps for then taking a seat. "Speak"

Hela smiled as a call came upon her ears and in a prompt way she attempted to follow her two nieces,maybe she could get something of this.She walked forward with eyes of pink painted with a soft expression.The last time she was here she was engaged with another wolf in a fight,this time she was here with more civilized thoughts.Learning was something she was always doing,renovating the knowledge was always a good thing.As she came closer she took a seat beside her niece Venom giving a quit nod to both girls and the other wolves around. She didnt know mostly no one ,but maybe someday that could change. "I hope you all dont mind me joining right?" She said smiling. "Speak"

Mortis was the first to arrive, of course. The boy, in his usual fashion, instantly fell into being adorable. As he rolled about on his back, Io kissed the tip of his nose. Dark ears flicked forward. The little green kea fluttered down and landed on his stomach, prompting the woman to grin. "You'll see." Soon others began pouring in and Iolaire was surprised to see that three of them were from Ashen. It was interesting, to say the least. Perhaps she would offer more lessons for the joint packs. She could open up the floor after her lesson and ask what others would be interested in learning. Might be a good idea and it would keep her busy until spring struck. The woman that arrived asked if her presence would be a bother and Iolaire shook her head. "Of course not. Learning is for everyone." She extended a paw, offering any of the furs that she'd laid out for them. The little healer waited a short while longer and then decided to start her lesson. "How many of you have companions?" She scanned the crowd, noting that Mort had brought his and she had brought hers, but it didn't seem as though others had brought theirs. Or they didn't have any. Either way... she would make the lesson informative. "All creatures are capable of speech. Just as wolves, different regions breed different dialects. A wolf from the south may have a different way of speaking than a wolf from the north." Canting her head to the side, Iolaire motioned to her snow leopard, Enki. "Enki is from the far north, while Bast, the leopard of Sirius, was raised here. They had some difficulty at first because their tongues were so different, but they've come to speak one another's language." The black, white and silver woman grinned. "And it's entirely within your power to learn their tongue as well. To learn the tongue of any creature." Iolaire rose to a seated position, then rose to stand. "Should you have questions while I speak, feel free to ask them." Iolaire lowered her voice and released a long, low note with a bit of guttural speech within. The leopard cracked an eye and replied in similar tones, his notes growling and extended. "Leopards speak slower than we do, though the words are generally the same. They go so long without speaking to one another that sometimes they forget how to speak well." The leopard snorted, rolled his eyes, and with a grin, laid his head back down beside his pile of children. "Speech"

He grinned up at his Auntie as she kissed his nose. She was always sweet with him, answered his many questions with a patience more endless then his father. She was always happy to see him, and he did so love to make his Auntie laugh.

A few other wolves drifted in shortly after, brought by the lead healer's call. His Ashen friend appeared too, and he smiled at Siren as she sat near Venom. At their arrival, he rolled back onto his feet, and into a sitting position. Looking a little more attentive, seeing that the lesson was about to start.

His Auntie began to speak of languages, and that fascinated him. He had never considered it before, but it was true that many companions could speak the wolves tongue, and many couldn’t. He hadn’t questioned why before, but here he could see was the answer.

His leopard companion, Osiris, was with his father and siblings. The winged pup almost hadn’t seen him, blending in with his own kind so well. The boy offered his cat-friend a grin, and gave his tail a slow, thoughtful stir. “How do I say ‘hello’ Auntie?”

Where she wouldn’t let Siren ride on her back Venom was accustomed to the weight of the giant squirrel that accompanied her. Its bright orange and purple shaded fur was hard to miss. Poison bound through the grass to reach her shoulder as she settled in to the lesson. His attention was as fully on Io as Venoms, even as Hela and the armada wolf arrived. She squinted lightly at Siren before looking to their teacher for the day.

Venom perked lightly and Poison chittered softly as Iolaire explained what she was going to teach them about today. Venom spoke to Poison in the common tongue, the squirrel was incredibly proficient, but she had to admit that she hadn’t made the attempt to learn squirrelish. Venom smiled at the thought as she looked towards the leopards as they lay and returned the words in their natural tongue.

The Crown Princess had no questions so listened fully to their teacher for a day.

Venom wasn’t great to hang out with so as Mortis smiled at her the tiny princess hopped over to where he sat. She tried to ignore the other wolves as best she could, lest the brightness of their auras distract her from the lesson. curiously she perked her big ears towards Iolaire and listened as she spoke and offered up the concept of different languages. Her mother and sisters had companions, but she had yet to make a bond like that.

Siren listened, wondering quietly if there was a ghost language. Was Chimera privy to that information? She’d already got conflicting information from him and their elders, and she wondered if she asked him if he’d even tell her the truth. ”Do the dead speak a different language? Like ghosts?” Siren asked suddenly. Mortis said he didn’t believe in ghosts, but Venom did, and she wondered if Iolaire did.

"How many of you have companions?" Hela didnt have one,but she limited herself to stay silent and ignore the question. Someday she will could have one but for now she didn't pay much mind on the matter. "All creatures are capable of speech. Just as wolves, different regions breed different dialects. A wolf from the south may have a different way of speaking than a wolf from the north." Dark lips remained silent as she wished to hear all the story before giving her verdict or saying anything at all. "Enki is from the far north, while Bast, the leopard of Sirius, was raised here. They had some difficulty at first because their tongues were so different, but they've come to speak one another's language. Leopards speak slower than we do, though the words are generally the same. They go so long without speaking to one another that sometimes they forget how to speak well." "How could one forge an alliance with another animal? How to get a companion?" She asked interested in having one of her own. "Speak"

Mort asked how to say hello and Iolaire grinned. Putting a growl in her tones she replied, "burúmë." At that, all of the cats perked their ears. Enki was pleased. He had been teaching Io the intricacies of the feline tongue. "If you wish to learn more leopard, your kit and his father can teach you." It would be a bonding exercise for the young boys. Siren raised her small voice next. The question was a delicate one. She couldn't deny the existence of ghosts and spirits. Especially since the girl obviously believed in them wholly. Iolaire tilted her head back and forth a few times, giving it some obvious thought. "I suppose that all depends on what type of ghost. Maybe they can't speak or language. Maybe they don't want to. I suppose it's something that we could look into together, if you'd like." She wouldn't turn the girl down. Deathbelle had mentioned that Siren was a little different. Maybe she needed someone to listen to her. Hela voiced a question next, asking after companions. "Oh, there are many different ways. Sometimes a bond will form if a wolf rescues and rehabilitates an animal, like Enki and myself. Other times they can be taken when they are young and raised among wolves, like Bast, Sirius' leopard." Io then canted her head towards the dwarf reindeer that was grazing on the outskirts of the group. "Sometimes they just follow you home." "Alternatively, a deal can be struck with a parent of a species as some of them do understand our language. This is a bit tricky since most creatures thing we're coming to eat them, but it can be done." Io let her gaze scan the group, wondering if there were any more questions. "Speech"

Venom listened thoughtfully, observing more than participating but doing her best to learn all the same. Her dark features watched Iolaire with an intensity that she didn’t often show. The princess gave fleeting glances to the other wolves that offered up a question or commentary and the girl gave her sister a pointed look at her own question. Venom had her own experience with the dead. Her father’s visit in her forced dreams, she was sure that they’d spoken common tongue. Or had they?

That was a question to ponder later or possibly with her sister Toxicity. Poison chattered his teeth lightly as the lesson went on, Hela asked how one acquired such a companion. Venom looked to the vibrantly colored rodent. They’d found each other not long after the eruption, his family lost as much or more than her own. They’d partnered up against a cruel world. She didn’t have any specific questions for the Armada healer, but she wondered if she should host a lesson about fighting alongside your companion.

Siren pondered if she could have a kitten like Mortis did, and she practiced the word quietly to herself as Iolaire taught the boy the word in a cat’s tongue. She didn’t have anyone to learn from.. yet. Someday she’d have a friend like the leopards. Iolaire was quick to follow up with her question. There wasn’t a definitive answer but her teacher was willing to go on a follow up with her.

Siren nodded softly, her delicate curls bouncing lightly as she did so. She listened intently as she answered aunt Hela too. Siren felt her first real desire, and it was to have a leopard beside her one day. Iolaire listed off a few options to attain this, Siren just had to find the right opportunity.