Spring was slow in its arrival and winter gave one last party, dumping a few inches of wet, heavy snow onto the range. Álarr finished his patrol just before dark and decided it was time to speak to Corbie about his cousin's intent to raid. He was sure Sparrow would stop by at some point, but just in case he figured he should give his alphess a heads up.

Álarr entered the barn and shook the snow from his paws before settling in the doorway, watching the large, fluffy flakes fall from the sky. The air grew colder as the sun touched the horizon. He threw his head back and howled for Corbie. Hopefully, she was nearby and would be able to have an audience with him. If not he would try another time or perhaps pass the message along to one of Avalon's fighters.

Corbie pricked her ears as a call came for her, from Alarr. It was lambing season, so she'd been keeping an eye on the flock with Tam's help while Ren patrolled the borders. Alarr's voice didn't sound terribly urgent so there was no rush, but the lambing wasn't something that required her presence at all times, so with a nod towards Tam she left her position in the hide shelter and made her way towards where he was calling from. "Good morning, Alarr!" she called out as she came into view of the healer/warrior. "What can I do for you?" She was curious, and gave him a bright, genuine smile as she came to a stop before him.

Álarr tucked his tail over his paws, enjoying the extra warmth as he watched the gentle snow fall. Afi preferred to place his paws on top of his tail but the pallas cat had a good deal more fluff. Soon he saw Corbie come into view and dipped his head in greeting. "Good morning, Corbie. I'm sorry to call you away but I caught a former pack mate of mine near the Orchard. She is now leader of the Pirates Plunder and based on our conversation I have reason to believe they intend to raid us at some point. I just wanted you to be aware." He couldn't say when Sparrow planned to raid them, it could be this season, it could be the next. Either way it would be good for the pack to be on alert and for measures to be taken to get everyone battle ready.

Alarr's words caught her somewhat by surprise, and she couldn't help the faintly chagrined smile that flashed over her muzzle. It was just so silly, really. Pirates? That was something out of old human tales, just stories. She had a hard time taking them seriously. But it did seem they would need to be taken seriously after all, since Alarr's warning was quite clear. At some point this pack intended to raid Avalon for their resources. Instead of laughing, she sighed. "I suppose it was too much to hope that others would find it in them to trade honestly for what they wanted," she said wryly. "We won't be going into it unprepared, though. I've been in talks with Valhalla for them to do a practice raid on us to show where we need to work on our defenses. I hadn't thought it would be needed so soon, but it is what it is." She studied the older wolf for a moment, considering whether to ask him about his former packmate or not... but ultimately decided not to. She was adamant that joining Avalon meant that someone's past didn't matter to her, but that didn't mean it didn't matter. She wouldn't ask someone to break trust with someone that had once been so closely bonded to them. Any information he chose to volunteer would be his choice alone, with no prompting from her. "Hopefully Ardyn will lead his mock raid soon enough that we can benefit from the practice, but be recovered when the Pirates make their own move."

Álarr hoped his brevity wouldn't be off putting or cause to much inquiry into his past. He had a soft spot for the wolves of Fireside but certainly wouldn't let that get in the way of his duties to Avalon. After all, he didn't care much for the idea of Sparrow and her wolves taking the packs hard earned food, herbs, or other items. In particular he'd worked hard on his various wines and liquors. It would be hard to resist maiming someone who tried to put that work to waste.

He listened as Corbie spoke and nodded at the mention of a practice raid. That would be useful, it had been awhile since he'd been in a proper fight. "That would be beneficial. Do we have someone that could hold a training session for our wolves in the mean time? If not I can try, though I make no promises about my skills as an instructor."

Corbie tilted her head to the side in thought at Alarr's question. While there was a large proportion of the pack that were fighters, none had yet taken the initiative of driving the guardians' actions, so she couldn't be certain that any of them yet were ambitious enough to do so. Alarr offered, but he was their only healer at the moment and, while she was very happy to see him offering to step up and very happy to see that he had taken on two skills so well, she'd rather let him concentrate on the role and responsibilities of a healer. "I will bring the fighters together and run some drills," she said in response. "Then we can see where we stand before we worry about instruction." She would need to do it soon, to get a good baseline before being raided... by Valhalla or the pirates.

Álarr nodded as Corbie explained that she'd get the fighters together first before worrying about how training would be held. He secretly felt some relief at that. Álarr could certainly help as an additional set of paws or a sparring partner but his patience for training others was low when it came to matters other than herbs and anatomy. "That sounds like a plan. I will keep out an ear for your call and plan to attend so I can tend to any injuries sustained and if you need another set of paws." Álarr shifted his pack. "It's getting late, I'll leave you to get some sleep. Let me know if you need anything more from me." He was sure Afi was already curled up and prepared himself for the berating he'd get by slipping into the den late and waking the crabby cat.

-end?-

Alarr was on board with the plan for her to call a fighter's meeting for her to assess where they were at training-wise before doing any training meetings. She nodded absently to him in acceptance as he excused himself to get some rest, her mind already working over the information he had brought to her. "Goodnight, Alarr," she murmured in return, turning to return to her duties in the pasture guarding the sheep. He had given her much to mull over, both about the Pirates' intentions to raid and her own need now to assess training for the pack. Planning would help her stay awake on watch, anyway, so she welcomed the additional input even more.

- end -