This was an overdue visit but this time Bellamy did not walk alone. Her intentions were to hit Avalon first, to speak with Corbie, and then make her way to the Armada. She had faith Corbie wouldn’t mind Alexander staying behind while she went - the boy had already offered to help assist in some hunting for the pack. He was eager, a good child, though she had noticed a serious side to him starting to develop as well, not unlike her own. A balance, perhaps, of her own nature and Gavroche’s own. Even Hay had seemed to hit that development after the tiger attack. The woman hummed softly, seeing the familiar territory of The Range come into view. “You were born in the safety of this pack, Alex.” Bells explained. “Corbie is a great woman, and one that we can trust without hesitation. You will do your best to help them, won’t you?” She asked her son. Once he had given his response she came to a stop, gaze flicking out across the lands. She raised her muzzle, howling for Avalon’s alpha and the woman she considered a friend. "Speech" 'Thought.'

His mother had decided to take him along for a chance at diplomacy, a chance to have him help Avalon with some hunting, and to give Hay a bit more time to recover from the events of the tiger attack before she started having his sister shadow her on these trips. Alexander didn’t mind. He knew Haydee would soon be spending lots of time with their mom and welcomed the chance to spend some time with her too. Their trip from Auster had been pleasant, the companions they had with them were more interested in their own conversation so, for the most part, it had been like they weren’t even there. He moved with a pep in his step, eager and excited to see Avalon for the first time since he was a newborn. He’d been too small to remember the pack when they left it. At his mother’s question he gave a firm nod. “Of course I will, Mom! I’m getting really good at catching prey in Auster - I want to see what they’ve got here in Boreas!” The saber toothed boy was ready to keep going, but his mom stopped and he sniffed the air. Oh, right! Borders! His mom had told him it was bad to cross those without permission. Instead he’d sit next to her, tail wagging as he waited for Corbie to arrive. "Speech," 'Thought.'

A familiar voice called out from the borders, pulling Corbie's attention away from what she was doing. Immediately her expression lightened, and her tail began a slow wag. Ah, Bellamy! The former member turned alpha was someone Corbie had been hoping to hear from, to check up on her and her family, particularly the adopted cub that had been stolen.

As Corbie trotted over to join Bellamy, she saw that the other alpha had not come alone, bringing what could only be one of Bellamy and Gavroche's pups, now a pup no longer. A genuine smile lit Corbie's face. "Bellamy, so good to see you! And is this one of yours? The time seems like it's flown by since they were born."

Her son sounded eager and Bellamy couldn't help but give a soft chuckle. He was a good kid. A bit rough at times but that was to be expected… Alexander was her son after all and it only seemed natural her temperament might pass through to him as well. Overall though he seemed far more content to help out and do some hunting. She was hoping that he might be able to help Avalon a bit in that regard while also exposing him to some other types of prey. She couldn't be more proud of his progress thus far. He was doing wonderfully! Before long she could see Corbie approaching and the older wolf's tail began to wag back and forth. It was always a pleasure to see the other alpha and this visit was overdue. She dipped her head, responding to Corbie in kind. "Good to see you as well, Corbie! Yes, this is one of my sons. No longer so tiny, eh?" They were yearlings… time really had flown. "I was hoping I might be able to leave him with Avalon for a little while. I am on my way to the Armada and I thought it might be good to swing by and visit you as well. My son is a naturally talented hunter, and he has been curious about the prey here in Boreas." Bellamy's eyes were shining. She knew he would be safe here. "I would also like to talk to you about an official trade between our packs now that things in Ethne have calmed down and everyone is accounted for." A way of letting her know Saga was safe as well. When she was here the last time Saga had been taken by Ignis… something that still made her uneasy. What was he planning…? "Speech" 'Thought.'

A woman came, a woman that Alexander could only assume was Corbie. He had been too little when he was within Avalon before to know her, but seeing her now the yearling smiled. She seemed nice, and she smelled of the earth and the animals she helped care for. As his mother spoke Alex puffed his chest out a little. He was proud of how much he had grown, and how much he had learned thus far in his short life. “Hello! My name is Alexander~” The boy tipped his head forward, the long bangs of his mane shifting back in place before his right eye. He had gotten used to it always being in his face though, and worked around the difference in his vision. It meant he needed to compromise his vision when hunting, but he was able to do so.

The yearling would grin as his mother mentioned his hunting talents, happy to offer up some assistance to one of his mom’s friends as well. “Yeah! I have been working on hunting ever since I was small. I’d be happy to stay for as long as you would allow. Mom says that your pack would be a safe place for me to continue working on my skills.” But there was also other business that his mother wanted to discuss with Corbie as well, so Alexander tried to reign in his excitement and settle down so that the two adults could talk business between Ethne and Avalon.

"Alexander"

The boy's enthusiam for his mother's plan was infectious, drawing a smile from Corbie as well. "We would be delighted to have you among us, Alexander," she told him. "It's always a pleasure to have young energy around, and someone who has worked so hard from such a young age to learn the craft that they love is to be respected and cherished. Your family and your pack are lucky to have you." She switched her gaze to Bellamy, including the alpha in her smile. "We will be happy to host your son, and provide him with all he needs to enhance his knowledge. So, what did you have in mind for trade?" she added, moving to the next subject Bellamy had had in mind.

Corbie said that Avalon would be delighted to have her son and Bellamy felt pride swell in her chest. She was lucky to have all of her children, each of them a unique individual that put their heart into whatever craft they had chosen. Including the young one she chose as her heir. Her gaze would slide from her young one back to Corbie. She knew that Alexander would be able to grow here under Corbie’s care. But that wasn’t the only reason why she was here. The woman chuckled softly. “I was hoping I might be able to convince you to let go of one of your sheep. My son, Corbin, has one as a companion, and from what you were telling me they tend to do better as a group. I was hoping to also trade for some knowledge and instruction of keeping animals. I know little about keeping live prey, but we are hoping to keep some smaller critters. Wild, flightless birds, and some dik-dik if we can round some up. They are all small critters though. I’d be happy to trade any of Ethne’s goods in return. Herbs, pelts, the couple of bags we’ve made thus far, porcupine quills, herbs, or even the rock candy that I mentioned before.” She glanced over at Alexander. “Alex has brought you that sample I promised as well!” It was her son’s cue to give Corbie the bag with some gifts for Avalon, including the bag itself. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Alexander was happy to know that he would be able to stay with Avalon, and he felt pride swell in his chest as the woman’s words. He definitely did his best for his family, and he was lucky to have them! He would do everything he could to be a productive and helpful member of the pack. He would listen to his mother start talking about the trade that Ethne desired, knowing that she intended to try and raise some of the wild turkey that wandered near their lands, as well as try to bring back some of the chickens that walked around Boreas. But that was going to be the tricky part, wasn’t it? He was quiet, letting the two alphas speak, at least until Bellamy mentioned him and the gift they brought. Alexander would slip the bag off and present it to Corbie. “Some rock candy as well as some ginseng root and boneset my dad gathered!” The boy said proudly. “I helped mom get the candy gathered up. I hope you like it!” They had collected a fair amount. He hoped that all of her pack would be able to get a small taste! "Speech," 'Thought.'

Bellamy's explanation of what she wanted to trade for made Corbie nod. "Indeed, sheep do poorly without others of their kind, even the more primitive breed I raise. I do have a trade I am working on to get a new breed in to start a second flock with, a more docile breed though they're less hardy, but I am sure you wouldn't want to wait for the first lambs off that flock if your son already has the sheep now. What were you hoping to get? We do have this year's lambs that are on grass now, ewe lambs and ram lambs both, or wethers if you prefer them as they are easier to handle. Or adult ewes or wethers, if you would prefer older sheep." Her mind was already working on how she would help them with learning to keep small stock, and it reminded her of how she had taught Aryn to keep bees and prairie chickens. A bittersweet reminder, since she hadn't been able to find the older woman to check back with her. Like with Aryn, she wouldn't charge anything for teaching her knowledge, considering it a way of giving back to the world and caring for those in it. Shaking off the melancholy, she smiled at Alexander as he offered her the samples. "Thank you," she said gravely to him as he indicated what was in it. "I am sure the healers will appreciate the herbs, and I am very certain we will all appreciate trying the rock candy I've heard so much about." Turning her attention to Bellamy, she added, "It would be wonderful if we were able to get a measure of rock candy, and perhaps some medicinal herbs that grow down in Auster that we can't get easily, in exchange for some of the sheep. Alarr is a very knowledgeable healer, but he is our only healer and having him travel too far to gather what he needs can be risky."

Corbie thankfully seemed quite receptive to the idea of the trade, and Bellamy smiled, though her expression soon turned thoughtful. Corbie echoed the bit she had remembered about the sheep, and the woman wondered if there was a particular gender of sheep that might do better with her. Was it good to have the genders mixed? Bad? “I’m not sure what would be best for Rocky, truth be told. She’s a fairly small breed… probably around the same age as my yearlings or so. Would it be better to get lambs or older sheep? And what gender would work best with a smaller female sheep? I would hate to try and get some sheep just to have them not get along well with her…” The worry the woman showed definitely betrayed her worry as a mother. Rocky might not have been her pup, but the sheep had definitely become part of her family. Her friend was thankful for the gifts, and Bellamy gave a small nod with a smile. “That will certainly be doable. The rock candy is all over the back part of the cave where we have made our home. Some of it practically stretches from the ceiling all the way to the floor! The herbs shouldn’t be a problem either. Gavroche and our deputy, Fenix, have started working on herb patches in our territory to grow different herbs from Auster. There is also a lovely spot between our home and the Hallows that seems to be bursting with herbs. It is a free territory so we should have no trouble at all getting Avalon a good variety of herbs for trade.” Bellamy spoke happily. Any opportunity to allow Gavroche to shine made her happy. The tiny male could do so much despite his smaller stature. She was proud of him. "Speech" 'Thought.'

Bellamy described the sheep that she had, and Corbie took a long moment to consider. "With a young, small sheep, I would suggest starting with lambs, the younger the better. That way they would grow up respecting her, and her smaller adult size wouldn't come into play until they were older and already used to obeying her. I'd suggest wethers over rams so there was no possibility of her getting pregnant by a larger male and risking complications, or ewes though they might be less accepting of her leadership as adults." It seemed that the trade would be no difficulty, as Bellamy spoke in some depth to assure her of their ability to get her requests. "I'm glad to hear you all are doing so well with your trade goods, it will go far in getting you established among all the packs."

Corbie would set to explaining as Alexander sat back to let the two alphas talk. So with Rocky being a bit older, and smaller, lambs would make more sense. As well as wethers, or young females, to reduce the risk of any complications and injuries. With Corbie’s concern about the ewes potentially being less accepting of Rocky’s leadership that pretty much made it clear what the option was. “Wethers it is then. I know Corbin would be devastated if anything happened to Rocky, and making sure she is safe and comfortable as we bring the new ones in would be just as important as making sure the lambs felt safe.” Things were working out well, and Bellamy’s lips would turn up in a smile. “We have no alliances yet, but there are several packs who we are on friendly terms with. And I’d much rather those I could trade with and not have to worry about my children being hurt by than the latter.” The woman let her gaze scan in the direction of Avalon’s lands. “It might be worth having your healer start some herb patches of his own here. I can have our healers make a note of the conditions the herbs need to grow, and perhaps you can grow some yourselves here. While I’d love to keep up consistently trading with Avalon, I am sure that having some on paw in case of emergencies would ease both of our minds.” Bellamy valued Corbie and her wolves, and she hoped that none of them would need those herbs, but life and fate were fickle things… “When I return for Alexander, I will come with the promised herbs. Wait for me then, my friend, and Alex, you be good and help Corbie and her friends out, alright?” The she-wolf would nuzzle her son, giving a quick lick before he pulled away and made a face. Yearling or not he was still her baby! Bellamy would look back to Corbie again, giving a nod of farewell before making her way toward the Armada. -Exit Bellamy- "Speech" 'Thought.'

Corbie nodded at Bellamy's advice, though she knew despite the advice she'd be trading with the packs in the southern continent for herbs anyway. They were too far to the north to grow every herb she could get from Bellamy's pack, and while there were certainly northern substitutes, their trade opportunities would not be at risk of drying up. Bellamy loved on her son for a moment, admonishing him to be good and helpful - Corbie was sure he would be, raised by the conscientious Bellamy as he'd been - and made herself ready to leave. Corbie returned her nod with a smile and nod of her own before turning to Alexander and gently gesturing him into pack lands. They'd best get him settled, then.

-exit-