Here's that scouting opportunity. First three wolves to reply after
@Pema get to go with. Be warned, though - we're not going to wait for you! We only need one wolf to go with her, so once we have that person, the thread will get underway pretty quickly, and will probably soon come to its conclusion.
Things had been good and slow for some time, now. Quiet. The ranks had swelled to bursting, though the leader was still certain the territory could support them, as long as they only took what they needed. He was explaining this to Pema as they walked the borders together late in the evening. The kids had been left to their own devices, though there was certainly someone nearby, should they need assistance. Of course, if one of them got hurt, the wolf they'd need was standing right beside him.
Dropping the topic of plans for the coming winter, the male broached a topic that'd been on his mind for some time, now.
"How would you feel about going on a trip?" asked the male, looking curiously down at his companion.
"Just around to the other packs on the valley floor. You can't learn all you need just through trial and error, and there might be someone in their ranks that would be willing to teach you."
They reached the end of their patrol and began heading back through the woods to the rendezvous site. It'd become less of a pup playground and more of a central meeting place for the pack as a whole; even those on pup restriction were welcome at the rendezvous site, as long as there were others around as well. Grayday and Pema were greeted by a few of their packmates as they arrived, and the leader called out in a loud voice, "Anyone wanna go scoutin' sometime soon?"
He turned his attention back to Pema. "We'll miss you, too - but I want to give you every chance to learn these things. We may need it one day."
aditya had planned to go out on his own to explore the wilds, making for himself a mental map of his surroundings. but at grayday's call, he stirred--for at last, an opportunity came to make himself useful. stretching a little, he trotted toward his alpha's voice, ears pricked with curiosity.
pema and dawn were with the gray male already, and he was heartened to see them. giving them both a smile in greeting, he looked at grayday and replied, "i would be honored to join the mission."
for so long, adi had taken and taken and not given back. this was his chance to start giving back to something greater than himself. and it took into account his natural wanderlust, which was always a good thing.
Dawn and Aditya were the first to arrive. Grayday was pleased with this group, although he was a little worried about his daughter going out and possibly never coming back - he always worried about that, though, and quite probably didn't remember what it was like not to have that fear in the back of his mind.
He'd survive.
"That's about the size of it," he agreed when Pema gave them a quick run-down of the mission. "The three of you should do it. Should be enough to hunt and stay warm. I'll want you all back before winter, mind, so don't take too much time. Other than that, though, there's no rush."
He looked between the three of them. "How soon can you leave?" His attention turned to Dawn and Aditya. "Are the two of you well enough to be out?"
so it was a mission for pema. that sounded agreeable enough, and it would certainly supplement any trip he was planning to take around the teekon wilds. nodding along at her words, he turned to grayday, who asked about his health.
"i'm feeling absolutely fine," adi told his alpha, stretching a little in example. "and i'm up to leave whenever you ladies are ready," he added to dawn and pema, with a smile.
a scouting trip! aditya felt a rush of excitement come over him, involuntarily wagging his banner of a tail. finally, he could prove his usefulness to his new family. it would be a hard winter, and adi needed to know the lands if he was to serve as a scout for morningside.
Any one of you can now start the leaving thread. Please tag me in it. Grayday will only post once to say goodbye.
It seemed that they had their team, and that the team was already making plans to go. Grayday's heart thumped unevenly at the thought of their departure, but he knew that this was an important trip - one that might save them all in the future.
"Just let me know when you leave, so I can see you off," he said softly, his eyes lingering on each of them.
"You'll want to visit every pack in the valley. The last I knew, there was one in a fen to the far south, one atop a plateau just northeast of it, and one that claimed a mountain in the range across from us. Some may have moved or disbanded, and there might be new ones or ones I haven't seen.
"Whatever you do, be respectful. If they don't want to talk, leave them be. If they want to make a deal, I'm open to it - Dawn, I will trust you to decide whether or not a deal is reasonable. If you're not sure, you can tell them you want to consult me. Any questions?"
He stopped and waited patiently, knowing he was not the best at giving instruction. It usually took a lot of back-and-forth to make himself completely clear, even if he could not think of anything else to add at the time.