Sun Mote Copse Children will Listen

Wraen looked down at Towhee and smiled, while her cousin was overflowing with gratitude. She sent a sly grin in Niamh's direction and rather than saying something noble, selfless and downright lame ("don't mention it", "what are sister packs for", etc., etc.), she teased the other leader gently: "Oh, do go on. I never grow tired of hearing that."

Then her sergeant-at-arms spoke and the sovereign listened attentively. Few weeks ago she herself had scouted the Great bear wilderness and tapped in the Kintla flatlands as well, but that had been a hurried mission and some chance meetings aside, she had never got proper chance to actually explore. Mainly because she felt the pull and need to return to her pack right away. 

The down-side of Niamh's plan was that they would be left without a dedicated warrior to watch over the borders. But would her departure for few weeks change things for them much or if at all? This side of the valley harboured no enemies of theirs and as far as she was concerned about their closest neighbours the Moonspear, they weren't interested in this area either. For now anyway. 

"Exploring North, the shore-line and the sunspire region would be very valuable," she told her levelly. "I was in the next valley - where Redhawks formerly resided - few weeks ago. Situation is not much better there than it is here. Except there are more packs that compete for overlapping strips of land and resources," she explained. 

"Keep your distance from Moonspear. They are not our enemies, but I and Hydra - their leader - are no friends either due to some stuff in the past. They are very protective of their hunting grounds - that's, what they told me, when we happened to run into each other," she added and it was not clear, whether there was any chance for an alliance as long as the head of the Cerberus was ruling the mountain and the Moonspear would speak to them from a position of power. 

"I would suggest exploring the shores too. Not too far from the sentinels, where I was born, there was a place, where the sea-lions enjoyed to gather. Perhaps, if the earthquakes have not scared them away, we might have a chance to hunt there," she mused. "Would you wish to take Bronco with you as well?" she finally asked, remembering their last in-depth conversation and the growing over-confidence of the boy.

Then, realizing that all of this would be too much for one wolf to cover, she cast a glance at Towhee and said: "Once you are able to walk, we could explore the area around the strath. Thus - Niamh - you will be free to do your job in the North."