There had been a lot for Bellamy to reflect on lately - some of it good, some of it okay, and some of it things she would rather not have to acknowledge at all. She was slowly making her stance on the packs of Boreas and Auster known, meeting with Artorias of the Hallows near his lands and entertaining a visit from Sirius of the Armada. While one of those relationships seemed to be more promising than the other she at least could confirm that they hadn’t made any additional enemies at this time. Yet, at the same time, there were no alliances formed with the pack. Alliances at this point seemed more like a dream and Bellamy had decided to let go of the idea. For now, she just wanted to know what pack could be a potential threat. At the end of the day, though they had been an official pack for a little while, Ethne still had a lot to prove. Asking for an alliance was a big step and, especially with so little known about them, it didn’t seem reasonable to expect any pack to consider the idea. On the bright side though they had several packs as options for trade and friendly stances with most of them. It gave her hope for a promising future. But… there was a shadow that hung over the Leader. An event in which a starved tiger chanced crossing their borders and made an attempt on her daughter Haydée’s life had shaken the woman more than she cared to admit. Blinded by the fact they had borders now she had fallen into the trap of security and belief that, with them, her members, her family, would be safe within them. A hope that had been shattered when Hay was grabbed. Though the tiger was brutally dealt with by Bellamy herself, and their wounds had been healing, the woman was still shook by the event. She hadn’t felt such rage in so long, true and blind rage, tearing into the flesh of an enemy mercilessly and viciously… and… more importantly… she had become terrified that she might lose one of her pups this time. Truly lose them in a way they couldn’t come back from. That alone had caused the Leader of the pack to withdraw and become heavily attentive to their borders. Bellamy had started to neglect herself… and she was sure her family was growing worried. Her companions certainly were. After brief amounts of sleep, never near what a wolf would need to feel truly rested, the woman would rise and set off to diligently patrol their borders in search of other predators, wolf or not. She stopped eating as much, if at all, and had been losing weight. Their numbers being low, and the fact that many of their members were children, were enough reason to stress the Leader of Ethne to no end. Could she have asked Fenix or Dagrún to assist her in the patrols? Of course she could have. Hell, they could have been doing such tasks already and the woman wasn’t even paying any mind to it. Her mind was constantly on alert, in a state of check, be proactive, protect her family. It was getting to a point that if someone didn’t force the woman to take a proper breather soon she was going to make herself seriously ill and be denbound for a while. As Bellamy neared the edge of the falls, where the water cascaded over the edge, the woman came to a stop. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. She’d been patrolling since before dawn and it wasn’t yet noon… yet she had no intention of going to sleep anytime soon. From this vantage point, however, she realized just how much of their territory she could see. Bells lowered her rump to the earth and flicked her ears back a little as her gaze sought any of her children that were out of the den. She just wanted her family, her pack, to be safe… no matter the cost. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Dagrún had taken a break from her patrols to make a daring journey northward. She'd received word that one of her sisters had been sighted there, but to her great disappointment it had been a mistake. The woman had looked very similar but was not her sister. She'd have called the trip a waste if it had not been for a chance in counter with a bear and a gorgeous damsel. Dag grinned to herself. She wanted to see the other woman again but of course she had to had to live so freaking far away. Curse the luck!

Dag flinched and turned to lick at her left shoulder which sported a few good gashes from the bears claws. Did Ethne have a healer? If so she needed to find them. If not… well, she'd do her best but herb specialist she was not. Dag continued her walking. She didn't want to be gone from the pack for too long so she pushed herself to the limits with travel all the while telling herself that she was a Finnvi. A viking. She could push through wounds and aches. She had ancestors to make proud after all.

When she arrived back at the base of the fall she was surprised to see Bellamy up… and not in great condition. Dag coughed to alert the other to her presence then approached. "And here I thought I looked like shit. What happened to you?"

Bellamy hadn’t expected company, let alone the company of the pack’s combatant. The cough caught her attention and Bellamy spun quickly, perhaps too quickly, guarded, fur bristling slightly. Paranoia… an old curse from her younger years. Be ready for the worst. Be ready to fight until your last breath. But seeing Dagrún as the one standing there the Leader let her fur fall flat once more. She eased herself back to the earth, a slightly guilty look crossing onto her face. When had she let herself get back to this state, to become so prickly that the slightest sound, even from a friendly face, could give her a moment of panic? Bellamy drew in a breath, realizing that she hadn’t spoken to any of her pack members about the incident that had happened. Her mate knew, her children knew… but… “A tiger was having a hard time and decided to cross our borders in search of prey. It made an attempt to try and take off with one of my daughters.” It was an honest answer… and even as Bellamy spoke those words the memory of Hay’s cry surfaced in her mind. Her ears pressed back against her skull and she averted her gaze back to the packlands. “I… I could have lost her… hell, it could have attacked any of the pack…” The woman’s words were quiet. “...our numbers are still small, most of Ethne are the young ones… If… If I’m not more vigilant…” Bellamy trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence as she cleared her throat. “You’re hurt.” She shifted the subject to Dag, casting a sideways glance at the woman. She had caught sight of the angry gashes. “You should go to the cave behind the falls - my mate, one of our healers, should be inside. Unless it hurts too much to keep going… I could call him. If I may ask… what caused the injury…? Is it near Ethne?” If there was a threat she’d need to confront it now before it had time to become a bigger one. Especially if it was something that could hurt a capable warrior like she believed Dagrún to be. She had never tested the other woman’s skills herself but had been given no reason to doubt her. She frowned, waiting for the Finnvi woman to speak again. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Dagrún stood patiently as Bellamy whirled around to face her, ready for battle. She expected as much, hence the cough to alert the other rather than just walking in her space. Her ears flicked forward at the mention of a tiger trying to take off with one of the packs pups. Dag flinched, her ears falling to the side at the pang of guilt in her gut for not having been there. She did not interrupt as Bellamy continued, nodding at the comment on the packs size.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could've been there to help." She sighed. "It's hard. We have two whole territories to patrol and so few adults. I'm not sure what the solution is." They had more pups then adults at this point. Obviously it would help to recruit more adults into the ranks. However, if they could keep the kids safe for another season they'd have a crop of yearlings they could train to handle such predators, or at least be better able to escape from them.

Bellamy noticed her shoulder and Dag was glad to hear that Bellamy's mate could attend to her injury. "No, no, I made it this far, I can make it the rest of the way." She shook her head again at the question if the cause of the injury was near Ethne. "No, it was a grizzly bear, far, far north of here. I… I caught word that one of my sisters was sighted and I hoped it was true." She shook her head vigourously. "Stupid. She's long gone and I need to get over it. Anyway, if there's any good that came out of it I intervened against a grizzly attacking one of the Armada's wolves."

Bellamy shook her head. “It’s alright. I haven’t exactly given any of our members any instruction on what they should be doing, their duties… Unfortunately the brunt of the blame for the slip falls on me. I have to accept that.” The woman spoke calmly, not in a manner to beat herself up, but to understand why things had happened. There were consequences for inaction just as much as action. Bellamy glanced to Dag, giving a small nod. “You are not wrong. I have been keeping an eye out for potential members, and before this I had started making efforts to reach out to other alphas and establish relations. I never realized there was so much to being an alpha.” Bellamy chuckled softly. “Soon the children will be moving into the Fledgling rank though… once we have them trained maybe I won’t stress so much. Maybe...” As a mother she was sure still would. The woman listened to Dag tell her the cause was actually a grizzly, in the North. Bells arched a brow at this. Her heart gave a pang at the next thing to escape the viking’s lips. “Not stupid. If we lose hope, do we have anything left?” Her gaze and voice softened. “I’ve been in that situation myself. Despite knowing the sister that was described was caught in a cave in. Logically, there was no way she could have survived, and yet I chased after that description anyway.” Bellamy shook her head. “...As much as I’d love for Ethne to be that family for everyone, for those who may have none left… but I won’t pretend to say that blood does not matter at all. If you happen to get such information again, I’d hope you’d check on it.” Bellamy smiled a little. “Glad you aided that Armada wolf, though. They’re not allies, or necessarily on friendly terms, but they have no intention of making us into enemies. I’d prefer to keep that stance, and do what we can to show the type of integrity the pack has a whole.” She was still exhausted, but it felt nice to be able to talk with one of her members. A small weight was lifted as a result. “I plan to address some changes for the pack, as well as expectations per rank and some apprentice pairings at our next meeting. I do have something I’d like to ask you alone, however.” Bellamy flicked her ears. “Given where we are in Auster, I can not always make my way to Boreas. While I’d like you to return and spend time with us, I’d also like to encourage you heading to Boreas to interact with other pack wolves and, should you meet any loners seeking a home, direct them our way.” Bellamy drew in a breath. “I know it is a lot to ask of a single wolf. But, if you are as capable as you seem, I am sure that you will have no problems. Should you accept, I’d like to announce a new specialized rank for your position at that meeting as well. Different from our Fanciers and Connoisseur, as your mission won’t be to interact with the other alphas, but their members, and establish connections that way.” "Speech" 'Thought.'

Dagrún walked forward toward the edge of the pool and settled down with her tail wrapped around her paws. It felt good to stop moving for a bit and let her body relax, at least for now. Once she got back up to her den she'd tend to the wound. Until then she didn't want to risk getting to stiff so she fidgeted every so often.

"I never realized there was so much to being an alpha."

Dag nodded. "Better you than me. There's too much to that sort of position for me to want to seek it but I don't think anyone really knows if they're cut out for it without trying. It will be nice to get the pups trained up." Dagrún had been giving the young ones space for now, mostly because she just wasn't sure how to interact with pups or how to discipline someone else's kids if they started getting on her nerves. This incident was a wake up call though that she needed to be more invested in the packs future.

If you happen to get such information again, I’d hope you’d check on it.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I'm going to try to let it go though. I don't want to be constantly tethered to the past or the way I think our lives should've gone." The conversation turned to the Armada wolf she'd rescued and their tentative status with Ethne. Dagrún quirked a brow that they weren't necessarily on friendly terms but was glad to hear they didn't intend to make enemies. That was good. She'd have felt like an idiot if she'd rescued an enemy.

Bellamy stated that she had something in particular to as Dag and then laid out her thoughts. Dagrún listened quietly, thinking over what her alpha said before speaking. "I appreciate the recognition but I'm not quite sure what to think of that. I don't consider myself to be the most social of wolves. It might work best to add that aspect to the jobs of the Fanciers and Connoisseur's. I really enjoy fighting, like a lot. I'm happy to run specific missions for you til the rank of Fancier/Connoisser can be filled but I don't want that to be my primary role in the pack. I hope that's alright."

Dagrún seemed to share her feelings of getting the young ones trained up. It’d be good for the pack as a whole… but that meant her children would be closer to being adults… ready to face the world. She hoped. Bellamy wished she could shelter them forever, shrink them down and take their little wiggle bean bodies back to the den. She would listen to the viking woman speak, a small frown on her face. She… understood where Dag came from. She longed to somehow found her sister Analise, even knowing that she had been caught in that cave in… Rosemary and their parents were dead but… she’d never seen Annie’s body… but… was it right to pine after what could have been? What… should have been? It could never be that way now… Bellamy was a bit saddened by the other woman’s response, yet, a smile of acceptance and understanding crossed onto her maw. “While I might have wished you said yes, I can appreciate your honesty, Dag. It does seem to be more of a task suited for those ranks… Maybe one of the young ones will take interest in them.” Bellamy shook her head and glanced back over the falls. “It is more than alright. Ethne members should be happy where they are, and with what they do. If you’re forced into a task you won’t enjoy, then why would you put your heart into it? Why would you be happy with it?” Bellamy rose. “We should make our way down. We can have Gav look at your wound and give you some herbs to keep it tended to, if you’d prefer. And perhaps, once everything with the meeting is settled, I could convince you to go on a patrol with me sometime… maybe you’d be willing to share with me some tales of the Finnvi line?” It was an offer meant well, for the two of them to bond, and to help keep Ethne safe at the same time. For now though, she wanted to ensure that Dag’s wound wouldn’t get infected. Infected wounds were nasty business… risky for the infected, too. The last thing they needed right now was to lose a member. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Dagrún was glad Bellamy wasn't offended at her decline of the offer. She was flattered but after living as a loner for so long and learning to rely on herself she had a keen understanding of her skills and diplomacy wasn't really one of them. "Thanks, I appreciate your understanding and I agree. Maybe if one of the young ones takes an interest they can start training early for that task. Are any of them more social butterflies than the others?" A social wolf would likely enjoy meeting new wolves from other packs. Dag tended to keep to herself and really only engaged with others when she stumbled into them.

Dag nodded. "Yea, that would be good. The journey has definitely inflamed it and though I tried to tend to it on the way I'm not that sensible with healing tasks." Sure, she could cobble some basic wound care together but it was sloppy at best. "Sure, I'd be glad to. My mother has told me many tales of epic warriors, dangerous monsters, and all kinds of spirits and gods." Here belief in such things tended to waver but she enjoyed the stories all the same.

Dagrún did pose an interesting question. Bellamy furrowed her brow, thinking. Which of her children seemed the most outgoing, that might be suited for such a role? “Corbin, perhaps. He already seems to have an interest in learning the ways of the land around him. Perhaps if I set him up with Lucy she could teach him the ways of using the land and stars to navigate… such things would be beneficial to such a rank, you know?” Not that Bells was eager to let any of her children leave the safety of Ethne… but they were growing, and before she knew it they wouldn’t be children anymore. She loved them all, but what would happen when they became young adults? Ready to start their families? Bellamy wasn’t sure she was ready for that. Hearing the journey had inflamed the wound made Bells frown a little. “I understand. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Gav, I’m sure far more of my own wounds would be in a worse state too. Hell, about the only thing I would have done prior to meeting him is maybe wash them off. I’m lucky I didn’t die of infection somewhere along the lines.” Bellamy chuckled softly. Gavroche had truly changed her, and she was thankful for him. Without the tiny winged man, she would have been lost. He gave her a sense of direction, and purpose. She was grateful for him, for their family… a family years ago she never thought she would have. “That sounds perfect. My mother used to tell me that while the stories she told might not be the whole truth, that tales often come from somewhere, inspired and spiced up or not.” As they picked their way down the path, Bellamy’s ears twitched. “Specifically the warriors, and the things they fought. I’ve seen some interesting beasts in my time, and it does make you wonder just… how far off those tales might really be… or if there is more truth to them then we realize.” Once they were reaching the base of the falls, where the water hit that pool, Bellamy lifted her muzzle and gave a short howl to Gavroche. It took seconds before an answering howl, echoing off the walls of the cave, was heard. Perfect, he wasn’t far at all. The woman’s tail wagged behind her as she came to stop in front of the pool with Dag, turning to look at her. “He should be out any moment. You may lead to lay down though. Gavroche is well, fun-sized and I don’t think he’d be able to reach your shoulder otherwise.” The woman chuckled. "Speech" 'Thought.'

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