Enough was enough. Artur had considered for a long time what to do about the situation and he had come to some pretty strong conclusions. So what was the situation? The only trained healer in the pack seemed to be more interested in Regulus and his mate and their issues, and no effort was put forth towards Geoffrey and Viviane. No one had been interested in training him either, though Aurielle seemed keen enough to train Cairo and Caelia, but Artur was at the point now that he was confident experience would be the best teacher for him. Geoffrey and Viviane on the other hand couldn't learn healing like that. They needed a teacher. As the oldest it was his responsibility to make sure his younger siblings were taken care of. Therefore, he needed to find his two neglected siblings a teacher.

Because what he had planned was more solidly outside the rules than a simple unauthorized field trip, he had taken more precautions this time. He had simply, while passing each sibling briefly, murmured to them to meet them here, and where to exit pack lands to get there. Each sibling had a different route to take, and each left at a different time. Nothing to cause suspicion. He had been here for hours already waiting for the times he expected each sibling to arrive. He had arranged for times and routes that would avoid the stationary sentries.

Now he just needed to wait.

If it was possible to die from curiosity Geoffrey should have been saying his last good-byes and handing out his possessions, because any second now the desire to know what was up was going to kill him. Artur had approached him all covert and spy-like so of course Geoffrey was dying to know what required such secrecy.

He was careful to follow his brother's instructions to the letter and so sometime after Artur had made his rounds, Geoffrey arrived at the meeting place. He sidled up to his brother and murmured, "So why all the spy stuff?" A thought occurred to him then and he squinted at Artur. "What did you do?"

Viv had been surprised, when Artur brushed by her earlier, for him to quickly murmur instructions in her ear, telling her to meet him at the lake, and to go a specific route at a certain time. It wasnt like him to be so secretive. Well, it was, but not like this. Usually it was just keeping secrets, not this... sneaking around. Even when he had dragged them to the battlefield it had been relatively open, except for not telling Cairo or any of the adults. They'd all left openly and traveled together. So why was Artur being so sneaky and all now? It made Viv uneasy, but she couldn't deny that she felt the draw of curiosity. If she didnt meet with him then he would never tell her, and she would get eaten up with wanting to know. So after a great deal of arguing with herself she had finally mustered up the determination to cross the border and take the route she was supposed to. She thought she was late, but was surprised to see that only Artur and Geo were there. Artur never wanted to invite Cairo - he thought Cairo was a tattletale though Viv thought it was probably just that Cairo didnt like to do what Artur wanted to do - but he had never left Caelia out of something before. And she was the brave one, much braver than Viv. Why would he pick Viv and Geo but not her? Confused but burning with curiosity, she sat down next to Geo and tilted her head to the side, blinking at Artur. "You arent going to make us go to the battlefield again, are you?" she questioned with wary concern as it crossed her mind. "I really didnt like it there...." She trailed off uncertainly, not particularly wanting to cause an argument but also really not wanting to go there again.

Geoffrey showed up promptly, which was a little concerning since Viviane should have gotten there first. He hadn't wanted to give the golden-furred sibling a chance to accidentally blurt out what was going on, so he had given her a more immediate time. Geoffrey appearing first implied that she had decided not to come or... but a moment later she popped up to sit next to Geoffrey, late but there and, to his relief, alone. If she had gotten waylaid by someone no doubt they would have been hot on her heels or have come in her place. He doubted Cairo would have passed up the opportunity to lecture him on how good Aurielle had been to them. "It isn't about what I've done," he told Geoffrey. "Its about what hasn't been done. The two of you have been neglected. Valhalla abrogated their responsibility towards us and I'm afraid I have let it go in too long hoping that someone would do the right thing." He shook his head and continued quickly before one of them could protest. "When is the last time either of you got any attention from a pack member? When has anyone showed that they cared about any of us? When is the last time either of you even got any training at all? I would bet anything that neither of you has even seen Paladin since before Mom died, except at the meeting." His muzzle twisted in disgust, remembering how they had all five been put on the spot, the pity and the condescending that had been directed at them for the whole five seconds before everyone else had moved on and they were forgotten. He shook it off and continued. "Its not acceptable that the two of you haven't gotten the training you need. So I think," he was careful not to say that he had decided, to keep them from stubbornly digging in their heels if they thought he was going to boss them around. "I think we need to do find you training outside the pack. I have an idea but it wouldnt be strictly... lawful. It wouldn't hurt anyone, but Aurielle would be pissed if she found out. I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked me out just for considering it but someone needs to help you guys and I'm willing to take that chance."

"It isn't about what I've done."At this Geoffrey cocked his head slightly, but as Artur began to explain, the boy's gaze dropped to the ground. His expression was pensive, if a little broody, and he didn't lift his head until Artur had finished speaking.

Though Artur may have been anticipated a protest, Geoffrey didn't disagree. Since their mother's death the Aurielle's failings as a leader had been all too apparent. He hadn't realized just how much she'd done for them. And Artur was right. Geoffrey wanted to be a healer someday but he was already a yearling and had no training whatsoever. Though she had done her best to prepare them, that had been a skill his mother had been unable to teach him.

Geoffrey didn't particularly like the idea of angering Aurielle, but he was angry and frustrated enough to set aside his misgivings and hear what his brother had to say. He owed it to himself and his family to live up to his potential and if that meant looking elsewhere for the training he needed that was how it was going to have to be, wasn't it?

He swallowed, then said quietly, "I agree. It's not right. Our rank is 'Promise' like we're promising young things who will one day become great whatever-we-want-to-be's for Valhalla, but we can't do that, can we, if Valhalla ignores us." That statement brought to mind the uncomfortable thought that perhaps Valhalla wasn't the place for them anymore. It was the only home he'd ever known and he couldn't imagine being anywhere else. "What do you have in mind?"

Viv noted with a sigh that Artur had ignored her question. He did answer Geoffrey though, and Viv bit her lip uncomfortably as she listened. She opened her mouth to defend Aurielle and Valhalla, but Geoffrey beat her to the punch and... agreed with Artur? She listened, because while she was willing to believe that Artur was growing out of being a bully Geoffrey had never been one and he was smart. His words carried greater weight with her than Arturs. Troubled, then thoughtful, she stared down at her paws. If Geoffrey agreed with Artur... "Aurielle is doing her best," she offered quietly. "She has just been busy with her family." Her brow scrunch in consternation. Weren't they supposed to be her family too though? Great-grandfather Cairo had adopted Aurielle's grandmother. That should have made them cousins, and family always took care of each other. That's what Mom had always said. "With her other family," she corrected herself, more uncertainly. A beat, then she gave a defeated sigh. She really, really did desperately want to learn to heal. "I dont want to get in trouble so I hope it's a good plan."

Geoffrey, too, could see which way the wind was blowing. He could see the consequences that they would reap if they docilely followed along with Aurielle's rule. Artur shook his head grimly at Viviane's attempt at a protest. "Then her best isn't good enough. We shouldn't have to struggle our whole lives because of her shortcomings, because she can't keep up with running her pack. She only ever takes care of her favorites and ignores everyone else." He clamped his jaws shut on the last bitter word and fought it back. They probably wouldn't go along with this if they just thought he was doing it out of spite. He took a deep breath and let it back out. "Valhalla's allies. If they are as important as Aurielle thinks they are, they must be able to help us. We go to one of them and say Aurielle sent us to trade for training for you because Paladin is so busy. I'm along to protect you because the older wolves are needed on the borders with Regulus and his mate both so sick, and we can trade my services for your training. We can't go to Lirim, it's too close and Aurielle probably checks in there too often since the alpha is her family. It'll have to be one of the other ones. Abaven might be best." He bounced his gaze between them, settling on Viviane. "Its my idea, so if Aurielle catches us you'll tell her the truth. I came up with the idea and made the two of you go along with it. It won't be your fault so she can't get mad at you, just me." His mouth formed into a grim line. Truth be told he looked forward to that inevitable confrontation, but he wouldn't get his siblings stuck between. That was why Caelia wouldn't be invited. She was too close to Aurielle now, and he didn't want to put her in that position, or test her loyalties - he was afraid of finding out they had shifted.

Viviane offered a quiet almost-protest, but she also couldn't deny the truth in Artur's words. Their brother had always had the uh, strongest personality in their litter. He was forceful, serious and headstrong, and it was no surprise to Geoffrey that he'd taken it upon himself to do something about his siblings' predicament. It was also not surprising that he was so angry and possibly motivated by more than his love for his siblings, but Geoffrey couldn't fault him for his anger and he certainly couldn't hold it against him. Geoffrey was angry too. Disappointed more than anything else, but angry all the same.

Artur's rebuttal was harsh enough to cause Geoffrey to bristle on Aurielle's behalf, but his discomfort was quickly brushed away as the logic  beat down his misgivings. Geoffrey dropped his head again and stared pensively at the ground. Finally he conceded quietly, ”That's right.” He prided himself at being able to look at a situation from all sides, and it was that ability that told him Artur was close to the truth. How else could Aurielle's selective ways be explained? In reasoning, Geoffrey tried to take the path of least resistance; the explanation that required the least amount of speculation was better than the one that was all assumption and no substance. And in this scenario what explanation required the fewest assumptions? That Aurielle had little time to give and so she gave it to those she liked best.

”It's a good plan,” Geoffrey said as he glanced between his siblings. ”But I don't want you taking the blame for me. If I go with you – and I will – I'm going of my own free will. You aren't making me even if you think you're being slick and getting your way – I'm choosing to go. It's only fair I accept the consequences of my actions, no?” It was nice and all for Artur to want to shoulder the blame, but in doing so Geoffrey felt Artur was infantalising him. It was a slippery slope; today it was shouldering the blame, tomorrow it was lecturing him on how to treat allies.

Viv's ears fell back at Artur's sharp rejection of her words. When they put it that way, it did sound a lot like Aurielle was in over her head. She needed more trained wolves to help her… but no one was able to take the time to actually train them so they could help. Maybe she was just trying to justify breaking the rules because she desperately wanted to learn… or maybe it really was best for all of them, including the rest of the pack. "I guess so," she said in a small voice. She didn't like that Artur thought badly of Aurielle, but he wasn't completely wrong either. Maybe this middle ground, taking charge of their own education so Aurielle didn't have to, maybe this was the best way.


Artur went on to detail his plan. It wasn't… all that bad really. Their allies would surely want to help and if Aurielle wasn't so busy surely it was what she would have done for them. Lying about her sending them was troubling, though, and she bit her lip in worry. "What if they don't trust us? We don't have anything to trade them or anything."

Artur stared evaluatingly at his younger, smaller brother. Maybe he had underestimated Geoffrey. Maybe instead of seeing him as a weaker sibling who needed to be taken care of, he should have been seeking him out from the start. "She could kick you out of Valhalla," he pointed out with surprise he couldn't entirely hide. "I don't care if she kicks me out. I want to leave and make my own band anyway," he admitted. It was a bit of a risk, telling them this now before he was ready. He wasn't planning on letting anyone in Valhalla know until he was already prepared to set out, and while I wanted his siblings to know… he didn't want it to get back to anyone else yet. "But I don't want you to get kicked out because of my idea. It's your choice what you decide to do but it's an option if it comes down to it."


He stopped for a moment, still digesting this new surprising knowledge. Geoffrey as an ally, not a dependent. "I was going to offer to do work for them in exchange for your lessons so you could concentrate on those. The less time we are there the better so I thought it would be ideal if you guys were able to spend all that time learning instead of working for them, but both of you are better at… dealing with people. What do you guys think we should offer?" he said slowly, cautiously testing this new footing. It stung his pride more than a little to say that he wasn't best at everything but he knew his strong point was not diplomacy, and that sort of delicate thinking would be what kept them from getting caught. He thought he had the confidence in his manner to convince Abaven that they were supposed to be there, but that would do little good if he inadvertently offended them with a poor trade offer. If Geoffrey and Viviane could fine tune that they might have a greater chance of success.

Artur’s point about kicking them out of Valhalla wasn’t news to Geoffrey. While he didn’t think Aurielle would chose such a harsh punishment, it was a possibility and for that reason he had considered it when he was making his decision. Geoffrey’s opinion remained unchanged by his brother’s voicing of the worst possible scenario. He would rather gain the knowledge their ally had to offer and lose his home than stay at home and forever be a dependent of Valhalla. Besides, his home was where his family was, not where he’d grown up. Their mother had put a lot into Valhalla and it would hurt him to be forced out of it, but he could make his home elsewhere if it came down to it. ”That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he said firmly.

Geoffrey was surprised to hear that Artur was planning to leave Valhalla and create a band. To be honest it stung to learn about it now when it sounded like he had thought enough about it to make up his mind. It made Geoffrey wonder if there was anything else Artur was keeping to himself. Everyone was entitled to their secrets but this was kind of important to the whole family. It reminded him of the trip to the battlefield and that didn’t sit well with Geoffrey.

But they weren’t here to talk about Artur’s band idea or to confront him on his misguided need to manipulate and coddle his smaller, non confrontational siblings so while it was tempting to ask questions about it, Geoffrey resisted the urge. ”I want to hear more about this band of yours later.”

”As for what we offer...” Geoffrey trailed off with a thoughtful sigh. He let his eyes roll heavenward as he thought. This was his kind of thing. He wasn’t particularly physical; had his mother not made it a point to teach him how to fight it’s entirely possible he would have lived out his days without learning the many defenses that weren’t instinctual or that there were oodles of attack combinations. But mental and emotional battles? Those he enjoyed. On that field it didn’t matter that he was a lightweight or that he didn’t like to get dirty. He was as capable as anyone. The challenge of figuring out what offer to make was right up his alley. They needed to offer something that wouldn’t raise the suspicions of the ally. ”I wish I knew more about our allies,” he mused regretfully.

An idea hit him. Their mother had seen to it that they could take care of themselves. She’d taught them how to hunt - it was a skill he thought their whole litter was proficient in - so why not use their skills to their advantage? ”I don’t know what kind of diplomat Aurielle is, but if I were in her place and I was sending a group of yearlings for training without first asking the ally in question if it was alright, I’d bring a gift to make up for my impertinence.” Even though that wasn’t what was happening, they needed to give the appearance that it was. ”I think right before we get there we hunt something big and present that to the alpha, both as a ‘sorry we’re showing up unannounced' and a show of our hunting skills which we can offer as payment for our training.”

He didn’t really have any other marketable skills to offer as payment. If Geoffrey had even the slightest amount of training in healing he would have offered to teach pups the barest of basics to prepare them for their real lessons, but he didn’t even have that.

Viviane shifted uncomfortably when Artur pointed out that Aurielle could very well kick them out. "She wouldn't do that," she protested. "We wouldn't be hurting anyone." But she thought about the meeting, and how Aurielle had said that anyone who said something bad about their allies or jeopardized their standing with them would be severely punished. After a moment's thought Viv admitted to herself that it would be fair for someone else to judge their proposed actions as jeopardizing Valhalla's standing with Abaven, and she drooped at the realization. She didn't want to be kicked out of Valhalla. It was home. But she'd already committed to this course - she knew they needed training if they were going to be able to help their pack. Geoffrey said he was willing to take the risk. Viviane didn't say anything more, but she was clearly troubled.


Artur asked them their input on something to gift Abaven to soothe any suspicious feelings. Geoffrey suggested hunting for them. Viv tilted her head thoughtfully. While she wasn't a hunter by nature, she was competent enough to keep herself fed. Between the three of them, particularly with as large and physical as Artur was, they'd be able to take down something reasonably sized. "They don't have asses over there I don't think," she said softly. "Or oryx. Because they don't have deserts. It's a long way to pull something but it might be worth it to offer them something unusual that they couldn't hunt themselves. Artur won't mind pulling it," she added, barely refraining from sticking her tongue out at the oldest boy. He'd started this, he could do the heavy lifting. "Maybe some furs too? We have more than we need and some of the predator furs are really pretty." The wash of sadness and grief that swept her at the thought of those beautiful furs their mother used to bring back from battles with predators was a familiar feeling now and brought no tears, though she sighed out a soft, sad sigh before continuing. "Mom would have wanted us to be able to get training. She'd be happy to know we were able to get it because of the furs she brought us."

Artur continued to meet Geoffrey's gaze for a long moment after the smaller boy stated that it was a risk he was willing to take. Geoffrey clearly meant what he said, it wasn't just false bravado. It puzzled him that the brother who'd seemed to get queasy at the thought of blood in battle remained unflinchingly firm in the face of possibly losing the only home he knew. Even Artur, who hated it there, was wary of losing that safety net, or he'd have left already. He looked away when Geoffrey went on to say that they'd talk about the band later. It was such a... Mother thing to say that it was surprising to hear it in Geoffrey's voice instead of his. "Yeah," he said simply. "We can talk about it later." He didn't need to tell them right now that the reason he hadn't told anyone was because he couldn't be certain it wouldn't get back to Aurielle. He wasn't ready yet to lead or protect a band, and the faster she found out the faster he was likely to be out on his ear without having gotten the training he needed to support his goals. Worse would be if she took it on herself to punish his disloyalty by keeping him from that training by confining him to pack lands - then he'd be stuck in the pack without any of the benefits.


He kept himself from gritting his teeth - barely - and instead listened attentively as his siblings worked on the problem of what gifts to bring to Abaven. "Hunting's a good idea," he said. "I don't think we should do it here though, even if it is exotic for them. It's not because I can't pull it that far, I could do it with a travois," he added defensively, sending a sharp glance at Viviane. "But we'd have to spend more time here preserving it just enough that it won't spoil by the time we get to Abaven and that means we run more of a risk of getting caught."


He thought for a moment, though, to show that he wasn't just dismissing her idea out of hand. "Maybe Aurielle wouldn't think anything strange about us hunting and smoking something a few territories over from Valhalla, but she might wonder why we didn't contribute it to the rest of the pack when we were done. I don't think it would be something that we'd get in trouble for but it might get her watching us more closely. I think that some good furs with a deer should be fine. Unless you guys think Abaven might think it's strange that the pack didn't provide us with something locally before we left?" Like Geoffrey, Artur worried that they knew too little about their allies' expectations. He was confident that he could make it work anyway, but not knowing what plans and agreements Aurielle already had in place with this pack definitely added to the risk. Greater risk, greater reward, he reminded himself. Regardless of what risk there was, his siblings needed this training. So, they were damn well going to get it.

Sensing that his sister was troubled, Geoffrey leaned over and bumped his shoulder against hers. He didn't say anything. Really, he just wanted her to know he was there and that he knew she was troubled. Perhaps later he would seek her out for a one on one talk. Artur was a bit brusque and Geoffrey thought he might scoff at his gentler siblings' heart to heart, and he was afraid Viviane would rather stay quiet than be honest about her feelings in Artur's presence.

Geoffrey found himself nodding slowly in response to his siblings' suggestions. He agreed with Artur's assessment and noted – and appreciated – his usually harsh brother's attempt to soften his critique. ”I think...” he said slowly, ”You're right, Artur. It wouldn't be reasonable for them to assume we'd carry something big all the way from here to there. Abaven is in the East, right? That's a long way for three yearlings. And I think if we bring furs from here and catch a deer there that should be enough to avoid suspicion. Maybe throw in a small smoked something or other from here if we have time.”

Geoffrey leaned into her comfortingly, and she beamed a grateful smile at her larger tricolor brother though it only eased the worries a little. Both the boys thought her suggestion to hunt more exotic prey was unnecessary, and she nodded along agreeably. They made good points. She was happy enough to go along with their conclusions, and honestly it was a bit of a relief that they decided to forgo it with the risk of getting caught. "The meat is just a gesture of goodwill so you're probably right that it doesn't matter if it's from here or not," she agreed softly. "I think the furs and the offer of labor as long as we are there will be enough of a trade. And providing for ourselves outside of pack lands so we dont use up their resources?" she added questioningly aw the thought occurred to her. The other pack might not be willing to part with pack resources for strangers, even allies who were able to hunt for themselves, so the assurance that they wouldnt be hunting Abaven's prey might encourage Abaven to devote more time to teaching them instead of a cursory lesson and shoved out the door so they didnt eat their dinner.


She chewed at her lip worriedly as another thought occured to her. "I'm not a good liar," she confessed. "What do I do if Cairo or Caelia ask me what we are doing?"

Artur nodded as both siblings reached the same conclusion as he did concerning the idea of dragging an onger or something that far. Too much work for too little gain. Artur shrugged indifferently at Viviane's additional suggestion. Stop complicating the damn plan, he thought irritably, but aloud said only, "One land hunting ground is as good as another. If you think it will help we can offer that."


He was getting annoyed with the obstacles and complications Viviane kept throwing up, but he couldn't simply dismiss them out of hand if he was going to keep both his siblings on board with his plan. So he took a calming breath and let it out through his nose, fixing Viviane with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Just tell them that you're trading the furs for healing lessons from a friend outside the pack. There isn't a rule saying we can't have friends and learn outside of the pack is there? And it's the truth, we are trading for training. They don't need to know where. Don't worry about it." He gave them both that same, hopefully-encouraging smile that didn't reach his eyes.


"The sooner we go the less time there is for circumstances to change on us." And less time for Aurielle to poke her nose in. "If we all go back the ways we came we can go to the den and pick out some furs and supplies and leave in the morning before anyone even thinks to ask. Don't leave in the same direction or at the same time and no one will have any reason to be suspicious and follow us." He lifted his head, already staring determinedly off towards the east.