After scouting out the location of the bison herd and confirming the stocky beasts were on the far side of the Knolls, Tyrian headed back to side opposite of them and nearest to the Range. Though they were intriguing, meaty creatures, Tyrian was wary of attempting to confine them like the sheep and zebu that made up his flocks, or the horses he hoped to one day own. Bison were just too strong and too...stupid. If he'd seen one stampede over something piddly he'd seen a dozen. That made them too dangerous. And besides, they largely stuck to the Knolls so it wasn't like the pack had to go far to hunt them.

He sat down in the shade of a large oak tree that grew on the line between the Range and the Knolls, and looked out over Fireside. Tyrian was keen on expanding the herds. Breeding and bartering had already tripled their numbers, but they were nowhere near being sustainable. He wanted enough to see them through the hard times and to trade for other things. It was for that reason that he had decided to hand out assignments. Some wolves would be sent out in Boreas and others would be given tasks to handle at home.

Tyrian howled for any in his pack who might be interested in breaking out of their daily routine for a bit. Some would be given reasons to explore Boreas. Others might be given alpha approved reasons to beat up their pack mates and/or strangers.

OOC: think of this as pre raid prep. Gotta get those skills up! Participants will be assigned some sort of point earning task depending on their "career" and skills. Tasks will range from spars (possibly melees, for those interested), to scouting potential raiding targets, to hunting (but not killing) wild sheep, zebu, and some sort of equine. There will be other tasks if I can think of them! Perhaps going to potential targets and picking a fight with a member of a target pack to get a feel for what they're up against? Who knows what you'll get, honestly. This is NOT mandatory! Attending is a good idea, though, as Tyrian will be paying attention and those who make an effort to prepare will benefit in some way when it's time for the raid ;D

Breaking out of her daily routine was something Asvor wasn't about to say no to. Once she'd been terribly worried about the monotony of settling down in a pack that wasn't run by her own family, but she'd long since gotten used to a routine of her own and she found herself comforted by it rather than frustrated. Finding ways to shake things up wasn't too hard anyway, especially not with a group of wolves like Fireside currently possessed. But she certainly wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to shake things up even further. Quickly enough she made her way toward Tyrian's call, surprised to find she was the first one to arrive so far, though hopefully not the last. "Have something interesting in store today, I hope?" Asvor said in lieu of a greeting, letting a faint grin touch her lips, her question more rhetorical than anything, knowing she'd find out soon enough what he had planned for them.

He was in a very, very salty mood. He couldn't stop thinking about his loss against a stupid abaven yearling, and he knew if his dad found out, he'd be disappointed in him. Huffing, he glanced at his reflection in the stream for a moment...well...on the plus side, he got some cool scars from it. But on the other hand, he knew he needed more training. He'd been getting pretty lax on it for a while, the male too cocky for his own good. While he hadn't been the one to start the fight against the abaven brat, he had still lost and the thought didn't settle well with him. So he had returned home and tended to his own wound, letting it heal on its own and keeping to himself until he heard Tyrian's call. He was used to his dad not being the alpha anymore, but that didn't mean he'd be able to escape his dads teasing if he ever found out about that fight. "Uuugghhh..." He groaned before heading off to the knolls to seek out Tyrian, and upon arriving, found only one other pack member there. While Ares wasn't in too good of a mood, he sat down and offered a greeting anyway. "Hey Tyr, Asvor." Foul mood or not, he was curious about what they were being called for.

Chaos lifted his head in interest when Tyrian's voice rang out to call the pack together. Oh, something to break the routine hum drum, eh? Well, he was down as hell for that, because frankly retirement was a little boring, and if Tyrian wanted to send him off into the wild yonder to sneak a peek at another pack or something, or hell go steal him a sheep, he was all over that idea.

Trotting in with his usual casual air, he caught sight of his son there already and gave him a cheerful, lopsided grin. About time one of his kids got more involved in the pack - Lyra had inherited their mother's wandering paws as well as her color, it seemed like, but he was glad to see Ares getting into things. Interesting to see the new scars slicing across his flesh - Chaos hoped he'd gotten those looked at. Their healers might have been few in number but they were pretty skilled, particularly little Alarr who was practically genius level healing. But hey, they sort of matched now, with the gnarled claw marks that ran down either side of Chaos' face from his fight with Valkyrie. Ah, now there was a woman... even if the bitch had hurt his feelings by raiding them. And then mauling him. Oh well.

Practically rubbing his paws together gleefully, he flashed his grin at his baby brother. "Oh, this does sound exciting. What are you up to today, Tyrian? What new and exciting ideas are swirling around in that devious skull of yours?"

Torrent had been hunting when Tyrian called, but in listening to his voice she chose to leave off the trail and head back towards him. She had been more or less hiding out since they'd returned to the old pack lands, haunted by the nightmares and memories the volcano awoke. But over time she was slowly becoming desensitized to the sight of it, so while the nightmares didn't stop she was no longer flinching if she happened to see it on the horizon. She'd quietly done her duties and then slunk off when they were done, but no longer. She was ready to start taking her life into her own paws again and stepping forward to become what she wanted to be. A warrior, not a sheepherder. She needed to prove herself to Tyrian and show him that she was worth more than just a warm body to watch the flocks.

She headed towards the call, only to be nearly knocked down as her older brother's son Talon careened into her while he sprinted past her and struck her shoulder. The smaller, lighter male bounced off her and tripped over his own feet, flailing and yipping like an idiot. Torrent snarled at him and briefly considered ripping off one of his ears as a reminder to stay the fuck away from her, but didn't slow her pace and soon left him behind while he struggled to untangle himself from a bush.

She seated herself with Asvor rather than Chaos or his son, because she wasn't sure her temper could handle any more irritation today. Chaos had been great as an alpha, but he couldn't ever take anything completely seriously and you were never sure when that silly humor of his or Ares was going to rear its head, but it was probably going to be at the most annoying time possible just for him to be contrary. She sat poised and silent, eyes fixed on Tyrian with a faintly curious tilt to her head.

Talon was lazily watching the sheep, looking for all the world like a blue-eyed, prick-eared version of a livestock guardian dog with his wide-eyed dog-like grin as he sunned himself there, when his uncle Tyrian called. He immediately leaped to his paws, his jaws shutting and his head and ears raised in a pose that might almost have been dignified until his lips parted once more in a foolish grin. Oh that was exciting!

With no further regard for the sheep he sprinted away with a spurt of leaves and dirt kicked up by his paws. Halfway there he spotted Torrent, Tyrian's sister, and went to sprint by her to beat her there, but his clumsy paws tripped him up and he slammed into her and bounced off the heavier female's shoulder. He, being much lighter built, went tumbling off with a startled yelp and a flailing of paws and tail as he rolled. It was ok though, because a friendly bush very kindly stopped the wild bouncing rolling. Too friendly a bush - when he tried to stand up he found that it had wrapped around him and trapped him on his back with all four paws in the air! He flailed and wriggled and grubbed along until he managed to scoot backwards far enough to free himself from the bush's grasping branches.

By that time, Torrent was well out of sight and he had no hopes of beating her there, but he sprinted off again anyway to get to the group and flop down panting and quite pleased with himself. His pale fur was rumbled and full of dirt and sticks and leaves, but really no one should be in the least bit surprised by the disreputable appearance.

"Говорить"

Darya had quickly gotten used to her job watching the sheep, even used to the others who helped with the herds. She wasn't totally certain the call was meant for her but the woman had decided she needed to be more proactive since the meeting with the other healers and so despite her uncertainty she padded after the call.

Hellfire gaze swept over the gathered wolves, feeling her heart drop a bit when she didn't see the familiar blue starred pelt of Jupiter. She sent a small polite nod towards the young white yearling she recognized as another of the shepherd's. Darya moved in towards the group a bit but still hung out closer to the fringes, further into the group than the last pack meeting she'd attended but she still didn't feel comfortable among the masses without her smaller blue guardian to help her feel safe.

Art by Sgulert

Darya has a thick Russian accent, hover for clarification.

I just got back from moving, please help me catch up by dropping threads I owe here. <3

He'd been grazing on the outskirts of the knolls near the buffalo, studying them out of interest more than anything. They appeared to act similar to his own kind, though he had to admit, it was purely instinct that he even know how his kind was supposed so act. And he suspected it was similar to these grazing animals...in short, sometimes he felt like a horse who didn't know how to horse very well. His parents had died when he was too young to be taught properly, but he was picking it up pretty quick. Living among wolves though made it a little more difficult. Not that he minded at this point. When he heard Tyrian's call he decided what the hell, might as well see what was going on right? He'd been here long enough...he felt he had every right to attend their pack meetings or whatever they called them just as much as the next guy. The stallion didn't take long to get there, and he stood at the back of the group so as not to block anyone's view while he waited to see what this was about...

Mint was hunting as the call met her crimson ears. She had already managed to catch a Rabbit not long ago that was buried beneath some brush but she also had a freshly caught Duck between her jaws. It's neck had been snapped previously but some blood dribbled from her lips. She tried to make the death clean but her fangs still managed to puncture the flesh. It was much less messy then it would have been if she were a tired rogue. Her aim was to not lure any scavengers into Fireside's territory on her way back. Mint stepped easily towards the half buried Rabbit and slung it's corpse over her hackles. Gripping the Duck's neck to carry between her jaws. The huntress dropped the fresh catch off at the food stores. Mint took a moment to shake out her pelt and lap at some water to wash away the blood. No doubt she still smelled of the hunt but she didn't want to show up appearing to be some savage. She loaped into the clearing with a small grin before finding a seat a polite distance away from those that already gathered. Since joining Fireside she hadn't interacted with many of its members. Mint wasn't shy but she also wasn't overly intrusive. She was focusing on making her mark by upping her hunting game rather then socializing. As she sat green eyes settled upon the young leader and her tail flick towards her own leg gently. Mint awaited patiently to figure out what was going on.

Bringing up the rear, Jupiter ambled in after the others had settled. It was about time for him to head out again so he'd been seeing to his supplies and checking the state of his cart to make sure everything was on the up and up. He'd left to answer Tyrian's call before really getting a chance to look the wheels of cart over, but he expected them to still be in good shape from the last haul. He'd been keeping the contraption safe from the elements in one of the Range's many sheds and baring a rise in humidity or something else that could have escaped his notice, his traveling things should still have been in good shape. Still, it was better to look them over to be sure than to get out in the middle of nowhere and have everything fall to pieces.

The corners of his mouth depressed slightly as he spotted Darya seated by herself. She may have looked tough but the giantess was worryingly shy and he wasn't sure how to go about fixing that. Being rather gregarious himself, Jupiter was baffled by Darya's introversion. He just didn't get it. There was so much to be gained by making friends. You could get all sorts of things from wolves if they liked you.

Though he was largely devoted to pursuing his own gratification, Jupiter wanted more for Darya than just following him around. Not that there was anything wrong with that - he rather liked the attention - but what about those times when they weren't together? He had this thought of her laying outside his den the whole time just waiting and while it was likely untrue...how untrue was it really?

He huffed as he sat down beside Darya. If, he decided, she wasn't going to go out and make friends, then dammit, he was just going to have to drag her around and make her make friends.

The first to arrive was Asvor who greeted him with a playful question. Tyrian's lips parted in a wry, toothy grin and he shot back cryptically, "Oh, just a few somethings." He made a note to send Asvor somewhere extra special. She was trustworthy and clever, and if she wanted interesting he could give her interesting. He had the perfect challenge in mind for her and that thought was enough to make him smile to himself.

He was still smiling when a sour looking Ares arrived. Tyrian quirked a brow at his nephew. Had it been, say, Jupiter, Tyrian would have immediately chalked the low demeanor up to a hangover or something along those lines, but he wasn't sure what to make of Ares. They weren't as close as he would have liked. The young king made a mental note to try to fix that and then raised his voice in a greeting to Ares. "Ah, Ares, glad you could join us."

Chaos was next. As per the norm he was upbeat and teasing. "Oh you know," Tyrian replied quickly and in as flippant a tone as he could muster. "World domination via the sheep trade and piracy. The usual."

The rest filed in with nary a word and each received a nod in greeting or, if the personality in the spotlight was the kind he could have fun with, a raised eyebrow. When it was clear no more were coming Tyrian got down to business. "Right, well, thank you all for coming. If you're like me the routine of pack life can only sustain you for so long before it gets monotonous and you need to do something else as a bit of a palette cleanser. So I am proposing just that; a brief change of pace to keep us sharp." He dipped his head and pursed his lisp for a moment as he considered his next words, then added, "Now, what I have in mind isn't just a game or training. Everything we do is for the betterment of Fireside - no? - so there is purpose to these missions. Some of you I'm going to send out to spy on our neighbors. Others I'm going to send to look for prey animals for us to consider adding to our flocks. And everyone will be given something to do here at home to help us prepare for the raids I have in mind."

He settled down in the long grass and fixed a squinty, scrutinous gaze at those gathered as he made up his mind. "The first mission is going to be to gather intel on our neighbors. I want you to pick a fight with some of their wolves. Don't take on the whole damn pack; I just want you to get a taste for what they're like. And don't just run up and pick a fight and look all suspicious-like neither, ehkay? Be clever. Fabricate a reason for being there. Have a reason for fighting. Feign stupidity if you have to." He crossed his forelegs and sought out the eyes of the fighters. "I'm going to send you in pairs. Balian and Talon you get Lirim. Torrent and Asvor you get Winterfell. Chaos and Ares you get Armada. Approach alone or approach together, do whatever works best for the situation you fabricate. This is dangerous business, I know that, so if any of you object to this mission speak now. If you choose to go and things go south...know that if I haven't heard from you in 2 weeks Fireside will come looking." Hell yes he would feign innocence and use them as an excuse to raid.

Tyrian turned his attention to the remaining wolves then. "Darya and Mint, I have something different in mind for you for your first mission. I'm not too familiar with Auster. I want you to take some time to go down there and get a feel for the land. Find out what kind of useful plants grow there. Prey animals too. Bring me anything you might think Fireside can benefit from." He wanted hides of unusual animals, rare herbs, anything they thought might benefit the pack.

He eyed the fighters again. "You may have noticed not every pack is being looked at and that dear Jupiter didn't get a target. There's a reason for this. I feel I have enough information on Abaven and as for Valhalla, Jupiter assures me he knows all there is to know about it. Which leaves Aerie and Ashen. There aren't enough fighters here to go around once so some of you are going to have to go to two packs. Any volunteers? I need three; one to go with Jupiter to a pack of his choosing and the other two to go to the remaining pack."

OOC: next round I'm only looking for volunteers to go to the last two packs! It's first come first serve; fastest to post gets them, only reply if you're volunteering. Ah, and there will be another round after this for Tyrian to give everyone their second assignment. If I've made any info mistakes (skills, intentions, etc.) in the post above that don't make IC sense please let me know and I'll fix it!

Tyrian detailed why he'd called them together, and Torrent's ears pricked in interest though she was too dignified to grin in satisfaction. This sounded like an enlightening experience, and was sure to gain her skill and prestige. He went on to give them specific assignments, and she glanced to Asvor at her side, pleased enough to have been paired with her. They'd be able to complete their mission with a minimum of fuss.

He went on to ask for volunteers to take a second foray out to the two remaining packs, and she quietly weighed her options. On the one paw, if she volunteered a second time she might not be so pleased with her partner. On the other, it would mean more experience for her. It wasn't difficult of a decision, really. "I'll go on a second mission, on whichever team you need me on," she spoke up quietly, a slight smile of anticipation curving her lips.

The others soon arrived, first Ares, and then Chaos and then.. well, a bunch of other wolves. Though she knew all of them by name, she hadn't spoken directly to all of them, but that suited her just fine. Asvor wasn't the most social of wolves but she had no problem doing whatever needed to be done. Which... was clearly about to be something, given Tyrian's tone. She was intrigued, though part of her wondered why Valdis hadn't shown up to this little gathering - surely her girlfriend had a good enough reason.

The thought of spying certainly interested her, and lucky for her Tyrian gave her a job that was just that. Okay, they weren't just spying, but they were supposed to go pick a fight with members of other packs and see what they could learn. She'd have no problem with that, not at all, and already a wry smirk was pulling at her lips. Hopefully by the time they got there they'd drummed up a good enough plan. Asvor didn't know what kind of wolf Torrent truly was, but she supposed she'd find out, and she cast her a sideways glance to see if the yearling was half as excited as she was. "All good with me," Asvor acknowledged her mission gladly, already thrilled at the possibility of an interesting adventure to the north.

Sparrow had been a little late to the meeting, but it really wasn't her fault. She had JUST managed to haul herself up into a tree and get situated on a nice large branch when the call rang out. Now, being a wolf, she was not so able to nimbly jump off her branch and onto the ground. She had learned the hard way that doing that was a great way to twist your ankle. So slowly Sparrow worked her way down off the branch and to the ground. Besides, it did Tyr no good if she came to the meeting injured anyways.

Once her paws hit the ground she was on her way. She made a good part of the speech and understood what was going on. She stayed towards the back as he asked for three volunteers. Two spoke up. Finally. Sparrow peeked her head up with a lopsided smile, "Got room for one more?"

He perked visibly upon hearing he got to pick his own target. Excellent. He crossed his forepaws and leaned back as he considered his options. Now, which one did he want? It was a tough call; they both could be fun; so he picked one at random. Eeney, meaney, miney, moe... "I'll go to Armada." So maybe he didn't pick it 100% at random; he knew that one was their neighbor and that heckling them could take less than a day round trip. If he and his partner left early enough they could be back in time for dinner. Sleep in their own den and all that. That would suit his laziness nicely.

He sat and waited for Tyrian to begin the meeting, and immediately from the start, Ares was interested in what was being said. They were being sent on missions to spy and heckle their targets which...was fine by him. His most recent heckling had been some kid from Abaven, but the boy had attacked him first and while Ares hadn't won that fight, he would eventually get his revenge on the kid one way or another. He wouldn't voice that to anyone else though, and would keep that to himself for the time being. He glanced at his dad when Tyrian paired them up, a slow grin starting to part his lips as he flashed a grin at his dad before turning his attention back to Tyrian. While he wasn't keen on losing another fight anytime soon, the experience these missions gave would help him better himself. "Sounds good to me, I'm down to volunteer for another route."

He didn't know who the Armada was, but hey, his dad was a smooth talker when he wanted to be. And an outing with him would be a great opportunity to see how his dad operated with other packs. Considering he was an alpha before and all, he had a feeling he could learn some valuable lessons from him. Plus, he couldn't lie to himself. He wanted to spend more time with his dad, too.

In quick succession he got a target from Jupiter and three volunteers. "Excellent," he breathed while considering his options. All of the volunteers were shall we say, strong personalities and he was a little leery of sending pairs out without a mellower personality, but he would just have to trust they would take this seriously and not go overboard. "Sparrow will go with Jupiter to Armada and Ares and Torrent will go to Ashen." He let that sink in for a second before adding, "You guys have until the end of winter to pick your fights and get back here. We'll be having a raid meeting at the turn of the season and your input will be very valuable in deciding who we target." Any information they could glean about the skill of their potential opponents would be handy.

On to the second tasks. "While your first task takes precedence, I would like your second task to be completed before the raid meeting as well if possible as they're related to pack fitness. Chaos, Mint and Ares, as skilled hunters I'd like you three to hunt and bring me a medium or large prey animal you think is worth considering adding to our herds. I want you to learn what you can about their habits, their needs, their demeanor, etc." They needed a bit of diversity.

Tyrian's eyes roved over the fighters that were left. "The rest of you I want to practice melee fighting. Torrent and Asvor, I want you to fight Balian as I think the experience of fighting another species could prove beneficial (OOC: can be 1v1v1 for ease of judging). Ares, Talon and Sparrow, I want you three together as well. Which leaves Darya." His attention shifted to the tall, shy healer. "All this fighting is going to lead to a plethora of injuries. In the event of a raid you and the other healers will have your paws full, so consider this a trial run for the real thing."

After a moment's thought he nodded to himself, then said, "That seems like enough missions for one day. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them now. Otherwise you're dismissed. Good luck."

So not only would she be joining Torrent in heading north to Winterfell, but also apparently the two of them would be fighting Balian - the horse. Interesting, indeed. Sounded more like a prey hunt to her but she'd attempt to be open-minded and pretend she was fighting another wolf, and she nodded in understanding. They had until Winter to complete their scouting mission, which Ásvor hoped was enough time. She wasn't sure yet how Torrent would want to proceed, but she herself was more apt to formulating a plan first. At least having a vague idea of one might help them succeed in their little task. She nodded in understanding, flashing Tyrian a faint smile of acknowledgement before leaving the meeting.

-exit Ásvor-