• Closed • Deep Thoughts

[Nir'wei]

Seeking out Kura when he found need for her was easier than most others. They all shared a scar, something almost like a Fracture Scar of legends, that intertwined them in some way; when he focused, when he wanted to find her, it was almost like he could simply walk in the direction he thought she was, and it worked. Some unseen hand guiding his sense of direction. A byproduct of technically giving their lives to save Scalvoris, what felt like a very long time ago now, but couldn't have been more than a few arcs. He'd let it guide him now, and found it leading him towards Scalvoris Town, though not directly, and not towards where he'd expected.

He probably wasn't what anyone else would expect, either. He'd taken his wolf form the moment that he'd landed, and let the others form around him, but there wasn't just a pack anymore. There was a crowd. Above walked two specimens that would have towered over most horses, somehow freakishly large, even compared to the typical standards of freakishly large. A third in the middle, just as big, and flanked by two more that came up to his shoulder. The three that trailed behind, smaller still, still would have towered over ordinary dogs and wolves, though compared to those that came before them, looked almost like children. Almost.

All three groups were thoroughly outnumbered by the actual children, though.

Pups scrambled ahead, tripping over their own feet and bumping into one-another in an effort to keep up, under the watchful eyes of the flanking wolves at the outer edges. More still clung close to the middle, making some of the larger wolves huff as the scrambling of wolfpups made them stumble in step. The three at the back were meant to be herding the stragglers and keeping them from falling behind, but they were constantly fighting a losing battle, splitting off to pick one up by the scruff or nudge them along with the rest of the group. Some of them played as they ran; snapping at each-others ears, squeaks and growls mixing with barks of alarm when groups stumbled into each-other and scuffled until a firm nudge separated them again, or their playful attacks distracted them enough to fall behind. Including the adults, the children, and himself, it made for twenty-three wolves. He remembered when it had just been one.

"Did we have to bring all of them?" Cold huffed, glancing across for only a second before returning his gaze down. Despite the grouch holding a rough and malcontent tone the entire journey, he didn't dare take his eyes off the pups for more than a few seconds.

Nir'weis eyes never stopped looking forwards. They were getting close. "Yes." He wouldn't have elaborated any further, but he could feel the question bubbling to the surface in Cold's head, and he answered it immediately, rather than waiting for him to broach it. "I won't leave you behind with them, in case you need me, or I need you, while out here. We've spent enough time apart and I promised myself it wasn't going to happen again. Not anymore." He'd spent far too long just... avoiding the wolves, or refusing to let them out when they needed to be, out of fear that he'd be seen as different, out of discomfort of being an inconvenience, or somehow making a scene, wherever he went, whatever he did. In some way, it let him believe he was still normal, doing that. Except when lives were on the line and he'd fully embraced them, those same people he'd tried to comfort, he'd tip-toed around to conform to their expectations, had screamed, run in fear, turned on the animals even while they did everything they could to save lives. It was the moment he realised no matter how he tried to limit himself for those around him, they just wouldn't understand, not really. He would never hide them or separate from them again, for any reason.

"Besides. You can't hide them in the Faldrass forests for the next two arcs, hidden from the world like it doesn't exist." He snorted at the mere idea. The world wouldn't give them the luxury of hiding away, anyway. Crises found him like flies found dung. "They'll learn what we do and they'll learn it young. That way, they'll be more prepared than we were at their age... and in two arcs, they'll be happy that we gave them what they needed. Even if it wasn't always what they wanted." It was a rationale he'd had to reiterate. It wasn't one that all of them shared, but enough to defer, with certain conditions, of course. He wouldn't take children into dangerous situations, as he had with Squeak, if it could be absolutely avoided.

During their little internal conversation, they'd neared where he'd pinpointed Kura would be at that moment; the Scalvoris Town Council Hall was far from the lavish states of old Rynmere, or Rharne, but it was still more than good enough, and thankfully its doors were just about large enough for the hulking forms of the larger wolves to duck down inside, coming across a very startled-looking receptionist who looked caught between raising her voice at the crowd or silently sitting back in her seat. It looked like she might collapse with relief when he stepped forwards and shifted back into a more traditional human form before her, giving her a respectful nod which she returned once she'd calmed herself.

"Is Alberach Kura currently in a meeting, or scheduled for one in the next few breaks?"

The receptionist paused, glancing from him to her book of notes for a moment, then back again. "Not at the moment, Councillor."

"Good." He didn't need to tell her where he was going, and she didn't need to ask. He let the sense of her location carry him as he took off again, wolves filing in behind like some grand procession. At least there'd be no doubt she'd hear him before he arrived.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura was going through resource records in her usual office in Scalvoris Town. There was the trap for the remaining Pirate Lords to set, the rebuilding of Havardr and Almund to see too, the military to manage, and just general recovery and management work to oversee. She had been more absent than she had realized during the prior cycle, and now that she was more settled, she had been able to turn her attention back to the matter of ruling Scalvoris. But before she could do any of that, she needed to see what was available for use. That was the task she was working at when Speck, an owl who was her oldest familiar, spoke up in her head.

"A small of horde of wolves is walking through Scalvoris Town. There's a few that look bigger than regular wolves, like Velduris wolves, but most of them are puppies. Is your mum coming to visit?" she asked, her tone both curious and surprised. Speck and Ornery, Kura's other owl familiar, rarely spent that long in Kura's office and both liked to find high places where they could perch and watch the city while she worked. Kura looked up at the question and thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so. But I believe Councilor Nir'wei is her Champion. It's most likely him comin' our way." she said, her tone thoughtful. Cally, Kura's adopted, and only recently acknowledged, daughter and assistant stood up and went to the door to open it for Nir'wei.

"Not yet, Cally. Speck saw him comin' through the city but he'll be a bit yet, if he's even actually here to see me." she said, turning her attention back to the supply records. It didn't take that long for Nir'wei to get to the Council Building, and she was informed by her owls when he arrived. The sound of a large number of approaching paws confirmed he was coming to her office, and Cally opened the door ahead of the first oncoming puppies. They spilled into the room and Cally seemed utterly delighted at the sight, but stayed at least reasonably professional. The office's third occupant, Kura's own Beta Wolf Phelan, looked up at the puppies and Nir'wei's pack when they came in, his tongue hanging out in a wolfy laugh.

"Well, you lot have been busy." Phelan said, his tone amused. The Velduris wolf, who had been one longer than any of Nir'wei's wolves besides Sovar. In fact, Phelan's gaze did briefly seek out Sovar and he gave the other wolf a nod. Both were from the Spectral Forest, after all, rather than from any of Idalos's regular forests. "Sorry to say that Skadi and Marrok aren't here, but they've got their own duties." Phelan said to Sovar. Indeed, Kura's two Omega Wolves were back at her house, protecting the rest of her family. Noah and Madison's own Velduris Wolves, Nova and Starr, were still growing, after all. Greetings done, Phelan took one look at the puppies trying to drive their parents to distraction and promptly joined in the pups play.

Kura, for her part, had smiled slightly at the puppies when they had poured into her office and done nothing more than shake her head when Phelan had started playing with them. When she looked up at Nir'wei, he'd almost certainly be able to notice a change in her demeanor. She was less guarded than she had been before, more open and more at peace with herself. Not, however, any more vulnerable or any less dangerous. More like she didn't seem to feel the same need to keep people at arms length anymore. "Hello, Nir'wei. What brings you and yours out into the wilds of civilization?" she asked, some amusement in her tone, though there was a sharper edge underlying it. She knew full well that he wouldn't have come to see her on a whim, after all.

[Nir'wei]

Though he was the only one who knew where he was going, it didn't stop many of the puppies charging ahead, those characteristic squeaky barks filling the corridor long before they'd arrived at their destination - and the moment the door pulled open, they charged in all at once, with wolves quickly filtering in after them and Nir'wei somehow finding the space to squeeze between the eager crowd. At some point, he'd have to teach them proper manners; how to walk in order, line up to pass through doors, and to actually make room for him! That would be for another time, though. Probably when they were much older than the squeaking pups that tumbled over each-other now, filling the room until it became difficult to even make a step without checking under his feet for fluffy balls of terror. "I'd apologise for the intrusion, if I ever thought you'd not want to see that," he chuckled, easily noticing that look of glee on Cally's face and leaning in conspiratorially. "They're friendly, go on."

The pup's parents filtered in not long afterwards, setting themselves around the edges of the room and with eyes practically locked on the pups scattered under the desk, awkwardly struggling to climb shelves, and pawing at the ankles of anything they could reach. Sovar chuckled and nodded back to Phelan, shuffling closer to the fellow Spectral Forest wolf with his mate Kin practically glued to his side, ridiculously outsized. Castile's imperious gaze and Squeak's dopey smile were locked together, and Cold and Myrth's proud parental gaze had that age-old familiarity that meant even on other sides of the room, they were practically locked in step. The pups were such a mad mix that there was no telling which belonged to what pair, and none of them answered Phelan; Greyhide did, chuckling softly. "It was a long time coming, frankly." Some pairs had come together much faster than others, but they'd all been together for arcs now.

Nir'wei snorted softly at that and left the wolves to organise themselves, Phelan immediately overwhelmed by several of the pups flocking to the unfamiliar wolf and harassing him from every angle with blunt teeth and squeaks closer to that of a bird than a wolf. Instead he looked back to Kura, a hint of a smile still on his lips. Well, how could he not? It felt nice to be around people who didn't look at him and his own with intense suspicion, as though the puppies at his feet would eat a man like a school of piranha's at the command. "Oh please. I'm practically the scourge of civilization at this point." Twenty-two wolves was still just a fraction of what he could have brought. He looked down to the miniature horde again, consciously stopping himself from another chuckle. Karem above, though, he couldn't stop looking at them without smiling a little. "I'm the Wilds That Walks now, I should think." Again, he looked back to Kura and tried to keep himself on-topic.

"Anyway. I haven't come over anything dire, really. Just to ask a favour, one I felt was better to ask about in person than in some letter, or over scroll." His handwriting was atrocious, and he wasn't great with words. Better to look people in the eyes and do things the right way. "Also, I was hoping for some advice. The way some things are going... aren't going the way I want them to, I guess you could say." That was putting it charitably.

Well, there was no point in stalling. Even if there was nothing he would have liked better. "I always secretly wanted to run one. Never thought I would, or could, but that pirate attack... made me realise just how valuable it could have been, back then. I want your permission to build a... let's call it a specialist team. Small, tight-knit. Natural Affairs, but... ready, to do things like I do them." It all sounded incredibly egotistical, when he said it all out-loud, and would have been laughable, if not for the fact he was living proof that it worked. "I want to teach them how to turn a shoal of Sea Wolves into a force strong enough to sink a galleon. I want... the next time someone threatens the shores, for the sky to turn black with Emperor Bats." He grit his teeth and huffed to himself, softly. "The Rangers are good. Better than good. The Elements... damn, do they try, I saw them out there. But those animals, when they go down... we can just breed more. I'll teach them how, I'll learn myself. They don't need to be paid. They don't go on holiday. They don't even answer back." A little of his own bias crept in. "Plus... I'd be lying if I didn't admit, I'd hope most of them take up the obvious choice and pray for Karem's Blessing."

He knew what that was going to get him. "I'm no priest, preaching from the halls like the Devout, and Karem... I know she's not in it for that. But damnit, Korlasir..." It was the first time he'd met other Wolfwalkers, besides Kura. He couldn't help feel slightly awed, even as Champion. "I saw something there that we could have here, something... brilliant, and powerful, like nothing else. It doesn't just come from the powers she gives or the wolves we keep, it's something stronger, it's faith, it's a greater purpose, that I saw in Rynmere's worship of the Seven and Rharne's zealots to Ilaren, but not here."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Nir'wei told Cally that the puppies were friendly, and with nothing more than a slightly amused nod of permission form Kura, Cally promptly sat down and started petting, scritching, or playing with any puppies that were in reach, trying her level best to give all them any attention they requested. Phelan, for his part, took being mobbed by puppies with ease and was content to let them nibble and squeak at him without a fuss. He did look up at Greyhide when the other wolf spoke up, though. "Wow, you laughed. I wasn't entirely sure you knew how when we first met. You always seem to take yourself so seriously." he said in the middle of playing with a few of the puppies, his tone lightly teasing.

Kura let out an amused huff when Nir'wei called himself the scourge of civilization, but did give a slightly more serious frown when he called himself 'The Wild That Walks'. "Not a bad title, but don't go gettin' wrapped up in it. Names like that are good for losin' yourself in, and you don't always notice it happenin' until someone points it out to you." she said, her tone turning rueful at the end. "As I've recently had pointed out to me." she said, shaking her head slightly. When he asked for a favor and advice, she smiled and gestured to the chair across the desk from her. "Advice I can give, often whether people want it or not." she said, her tone a little self-deprecating. She was, as Faith had once called her, meddlesome and didn't always do a good job of reigning it in. "The favor will depend on what you're wantin'." she said, her tone calm.

She leaned back and listened quietly to his proposal, or maybe it was a question, though she noted that he went about it kind of backwards, coming to what he was talking about in more the middle of the thing rather than at the beginning. Then he turned to what had inspired him to bring the matter up with her and she smiled slightly when he talked about what he'd seen in Korlasir. It was where she had grown up, after all, and she had always found it rather inspiring herself. "You want to, essentially, make a military branch dedicated to weaponizin' Scalvonite fauna, is what you're sayin', yeah?" she said, before giving a smile that was rather reminiscent of the look a predator animal might give right before springing an ambush. "Oh, I do like that. Brings us closer to our own nature and gives us an edge no one can predict." she said, her tone surprisingly cold.

"Now, as to whether they turn to followin' mum, that's between them and her. I've no trouble with you encouragin' it, just make sure they know how she feels about prayer if they ask." she said, her expression and tone returning to normal. There was a pause as there was a quiet yip and small growling coming from around her feet and she bent down to pick up the wolf puppy that was busily trying to eat her feet. "I'm a bit out of your league yet, wee one." she said, her tone amused as she set the puppy in her lap and started scritching it behind the ears. "In all honesty, your proposal comes at a good time. The Elements are gettin' restructured a bit and I'm honestly considerin' a more...significant re-organization and restructurin' of our military." she said, her tone thoughtful.

"As for Korlasir...yes, we lack the kind of unifying purpose that the Empire has, though it would be difficult for us to have one. My eldest grandchild is almost as old as this government is, and moreover, this government was made out of necessity, not out of ideals." she said, her expression turning slightly abstracted as she thought. "Empress Raskalarn unites her empire behind her vision and her will, even someone as powerful as mum is. A committee cannot inspire people in such a way, and its disunity affects the island as a whole." she said, her tone thoughtful and almost distant. After a moment, she shook herself and looked back at Nir'wei. "I gather that this specialist group is the favor you spoke of, and I support its creation, but you mentioned advice as well. What's troublin' you, Nir'wei?" she asked, her tone back to its usual calm, though there was more warmth to it than there had been before.

[Nir'wei]

Greyhide snorted at Phelan's assessment - but it was a light-hearted sound, while his eyes focused on the pups gnawing at his ankles and tumbling over themselves in a blunt-toothed frenzy. "I think I just... haven't had a lot of things to laugh for, until now." Of the seven wolves soon sat loosely around the room, nudging a pup here or there or simply standing guard while Kura and Nir'wei spoke, Greyhide was the odd one out; the only one without a mate to call his own. Just because none of the pups of the pack were his flesh and blood didn't mean they were any less his to watch over, however. If anything, it made him closer to them all; he'd settled surprisingly well into the role, and constantly swarmed by pups, taking over whenever a couple needed their rest, had given him a lot more time reflecting on himself. Much as Nir'wei had. Much as they all had, really. None of them had really considered the idea that they could still raise a family, given their upbringings and circumstances before Nir'wei had taken them in. Now... it was like their whole life was open in front of them again. None of them were going to take it for granted.

Meanwhile, Nir'wei raised an eyebrow at the comments on his 'title'. There was something more going on there, that talk from experience, but he didn't pry. "I just came up with it in the moment," he said, dismissing it easily, "but people have a way of creating a reputation for you, if you don't make one for yourself." He didn't need to remind her of this nonsense of being an 'Imperial Spy' again, he hoped. "I'd rather have some title of my own design than let others make one to call me behind my back. At least then, if nothing else, I'll know that it's accurate." Whether he really intended to live up to it, or whether it'd just become something to hide behind, well that'd all come down to a good bit of luck.

Much like the luck he'd thought he'd need to convince her of this team. "Thought you might. That's exactly what it'd be." Though of course he didn't really intend to limit them all to just Scalvoris fauna. Not when there was so much more interesting things they could cultivate, but that was something to approach when the time was right. One step at a time. "Just because I'm no priest doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about what real devotion to Karem looks like," he chided lightly, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of them all bowing to effigies of the Wolf-Goddess and dedicating kills in her name. "Whether they decide to or not is entirely up to them, but... I lead through example, and I'll make them into something that Karem would feel proud of." A slightly warmer smile settled comfortably on his face. "Loyal to themselves and each-other. To this island. To me, and to you." There was the unspoken implication there that he didn't bother pointing out, of course. Loyalties to Karem would give them a unique position, putting faith in Karem, and by extension Kura and Nir'wei above that of any other chain of command, if needed.

It felt even more poignant, given Kura's soft musings. "I agree, in everything you've said. But I think you've already said the answer to that problem." He didn't prod any further though.

Turning away when the conversation returned to him, he swallowed back a slight sigh, looking over the crowd of little fluffy piranhas that swirled around Cally, between Phelan's legs, and playfully chased each-other around the room, weaving between the legs of tables and chairs. "It's becoming harder to be around people." He nodded to the pups. "The pack's growing. At some point, Arle and Bachu will mate, and Karem willing, I'll begin to restore the Hyx species from the brink of its extinction." He pursed his lips. "These are just the beginning. My pack is going to get bigger. Much, much bigger. But it's going to scare a lot of people, just like it did during the pirate attack." Of course she'd probably heard already, one way or another, about what had happened in Hopetoun. "I know that it's wrong. I know that it is, really. But sometimes it feels like things would be better for everyone involved if I just took a forest and called it my own. Really, completely, mine, and stopped bothering with hiding so much of myself every time I go outside, just so that I don't cause a scene." If there was anyone who might understand that, he'd figured it might be Kura, really.

"How do I manage both sides? The part that's me, and the part that needs to be something else, for everyone around me?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Phelan nodded at Greyhide when he said he hadn't had much to laugh about. "To an extent, that's because you're still learning how to wolf and unlearning how to human." he said, before motioning towards Nir'wei and Kura with his snout. "I mean, neither of them are human, but Sev'ryn are the same. All entirely too serious." he said, before letting his tongue hang out of his muzzle in a canine laugh. "I think it's because they've only got two legs and no tail. They can't run properly so they act all serious to compensate for their lack of an appropriate number of feet." he said, his tone showing his amusement.

Kura, who did briefly pause to give her beta wolf a flat look at his comments on the optimal number of feet, gave Nir'wei a nod when he mentioned it was something of a good idea to make his own reputation before someone else did for him. "True. And do tell me the next time you report to your superiors in the Imperial Army, yes?" she said, her tone rather dry. When the topic turned Nir'wei's new troops and his desire to increase Karem's followers in the island, Kura listened attentively. When he chided her that he did know what actual devotion to the Great Wolf looked like, she grinned slightly. "Good. Because if I find some statue to me mum out in the wilds, I'll break it." she said, her tone joking.

She did catch his comment about their loyalty to the two them that would, at least in theory, grow out of their loyalty to her mother, but she didn't directly comment on it. While he was probably correct, she had never needed to lean on her heritage to get people to follow her and had no intention to do so now. She did agree that the unity of purpose would be helpful, though. When he mentioned that she'd already said the answer to the problem of Scalvoris's lack of unifying symbols or mythology, she nodded slightly. "I've considered a few potential answers to that problem. It's somethin' I've been ponderin' for a long time now." she said, her tone thoughtful.

Then Nir'wei started talking about the problems he was increasingly having being around people. She listened quietly and when he finished, she nodded slightly. "I understand the urge to just...be away from people. For a number of reasons." she said, and Nir would probably notice the odd mixture of melancholy, regret, and self-recrimination in her voice when she said it. "But, for the issue you're havin', it would actually be counter-productive." she said, before picking up the puppy that had dozed off in her lap and setting it on her desk, where it yawned and curled up into a ball. "Unfamiliarity leads to fear, suspicion, and distrust. You probably noticed that you didn't need to hide your wolves while in the Empire, and that's because mum's Wolf-Walkers are so familiar to everyone." she said, her tone gentle. "It sounds a bit obvious when I say it, but the secret to not needin' to hide yourself from everyone is to simply not do it. Let the the whole pack run about, make them more familiar to folks." she said, her tone gentle.

"I've...had to learn recently that tryin' to keep ourselves separate from the people around us is not a good idea. Moreover, with what you're wantin' to build, we'll want our populace to look at normally threatenin' lookin' animals and see somethin' they can turn too for protection. You and I can start that with our wolves and your packs." she said, before she paused in thought for a moment. "Actually, come to that, I might know where you ought to start lookin' for recruits. I'm likely to consolidate the Rangers into the regular military within the season. I'll be sendin' some of their best and brightest to join some of the best and brightest remainin' Elements in a sort of officer's trainin' camp." she said, her tone calm. "That's bein' run by Vega Creede over in Sweetsong. She might be able to tell if any of her students would be a good fit for what you've got in mind. And given everythin' she's done, she's rather less than likely to be bothered by you havin' a whole gaggle of wolves and other animals followin' you around. Mind that Sweetsong moves around a bit, so you might have to look around before you find her." Kura said, her suggestion serious.

[Nir'wei]

Greyhide snorted at Phelan's suggestion. He was still learning how to wolf? He'd spent arcs, many arcs, with no choice but to learn how to wolf, in every way that one could wolf. Granted, he'd probably never overcome some of those human instincts, buried somewhere deep down where even he couldn't see them... but that wasn't it. Still, it felt easier to laugh now. There was even an undertone of amusement in the noise he made while he turned away from the other wolf. Not enough legs indeed. "They think that because they've got no fur, they're meant to act as cold as they feel all the time." Okay, that one actually did make him laugh a little. A very canine sound, on the edge of a bark, that had Nir'wei glancing his way as well, though like Kura, he didn't say anything to interrupt.

"Oh yes, the very fate of Idalos may hang in the balance if the Imperial Marshal doesn't hear all the details of your daily activities, like mediating land disputes between two disgruntled farmers over a foot of fence," he answered in a suffering tone, "and, please. I think I'd be more insulted than Karem if I found someone making little wolf-shrines all over the islands. Symbolism isn't carved from wood or chiselled from stone, it's forged in the minds and the hearts of its people, and brought to life through their actions." He paused. "Or some bollocks like that." He didn't want to just throw an answer at her, but it was quite clear that he was trying to hint at something. Hinting quite a lot.

If only the answers could come as easily when it came to himself. "Mmm. I can see your point. It just feels easier being away." He scratched the back of his head with his nails. "Cassion isn't helping. His stupid Mark makes me itch when I sit down for too long, it feels like. Hard to breed familiarity like that, when you just aren't around, though. I get it." To be frank with himself, he hadn't even looked at the future and thought what would happen when the people were forced to mix with animals even more, being protected by their personal blend of trained horrors. He'd thought they'd figure it out one way or another, but was that what had happened in Hopetoun? Hardly. He'd need more time to mull it over. Perhaps put together a better plan of being forward-facing and working closely with the villages and towns.

However, it sounded like he had a plan. "I'll head over there as soon as possible, then," he agreed, nodding. "There's no point wasting time and the quicker I start, the more time I have to get them ready and able. Sweetsong is the first start. If needed, I'll use whatever I find from Vega and the officers to branch out from there, and I'll send you a report of how the recruitment has gone when I've found a suitable number to get working." That brought him a moment of pause. "At the moment, I'm not sure what that number would be. If they show enough promise to work independently, it'll be a small number. If not, they may have to work in groups of two or three, to get the desired results."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Phelan just gave a canine smirk when Greyhide snorted at his suggestion, though it turned into a laugh when Greyhide brought up the Mortals lack of fur. "I still think it could also be the lack of tails. So focused on staying balanced without a tail that they don't ever have time to relax." he said, his tone amused, but as he spoke he did cast his gaze over the rest of Nir'wei's pack. They were unusual for a Velduris pack, mostly natural wolves that had been uplifted. Greyhide, despite Phelan's teasing, was indeed mostly pretty good at being a wolf, but he was less sure that he, or indeed most of Nir'wei's pack, had fully learned how to be a Velduris Wolf. But that was, perhaps, a conversation for later.

Kura snorted when Nir'wei joked about the fences. "I'll have you know it was two feet of fence and they were ranchers, not farmers." she said, her tone showing her amusement. She did give him a slightly amused tone when he tried hinting at symbolism to her. It wasn't that she didn't get it, but more that his grasp on subtlety of speech was still a work in progress. Still, he wasn't wrong, she needed to make a move soon. She felt reluctant though, making any such move in cold blood. It was a problem she'd been having for a while now, and one she'd need to settle soon. For Scalvoris' own sake as much for as for her own peace of mind. Next time she was home for a few days she'd have to work it out.

When Nir'wei explained that Cassion's Blessing wasn't helping him breed familiarity though, she smiled slightly. "Use it right and that bit of wanderlust could actually be quite the boon to you. Remember, Cassion favors the small journeys as much as the big ones. Take some trips around Scalvoris, keep the pack out and about with you while you do it. It could go a long way towards establishin' that familiarity." she said, her tone thoughtful. "And believe me, I get wanting to hide away like that. It's easier. I spent fifty years hidin' from my own doubts and longer hidin' from my own guilts and fears. It's easy and comfortin', but it'll hurt you bad in the end." she said, her voice showing a more notable sadness at the end.

Kura nodded when Nir'wei said what he planned to do in regards to getting his troops set up properly. "Sounds like you've got a plan for gettin' started. One thing I would note, make sure your troops are around people regularly durin' trainin', both civilians and other soldiers." she said, her tone calm. "Anything else you want to talk about while you're here? Or anythin' else troublin' you?" she asked, her tone back to being warmer and more open.

[Nir'wei]

Greyhide snorted softly at Phelan's last remark, but had nothing else to add. Nir'wei likewise chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of Kura actually mediating such nonsense with a straight face and a calm tone, considering how much the scenario already made him want to just growl. His thoughts were elsewhere, though. Without even intending to, his own words had snagged on something he'd not considered before... at least, not properly. "Actually. How many would be needed for something like this?" he asked with a slight wince. He hated the idea of asking for even more money. Growing up working off little more than trades for goods, and spending many of his arcs around Rynmere and Rharne effectively relying off his own two hands and the land around him, had given him a terrible understanding of just how many nel things would be worth. He just assumed if it couldn't be traded for, with a skinned deer or two or a newborn pup, that it was probably very, very expensive. This was why he had an administration assistant to cover all the bookkeeping, and he largely left her alone to handle finances, salaries, budgets and all those other weird things.

"The Menagerie has been hanging by a thread for arcs." He twisted his mouth slightly, since that was partially his fault, not doing something about that. "One building and a small collection of trainers caring and preparing all the creatures used by Land, Air and Sea Elements has never been sustainable, and they're long overdue more space on different islands, more specialised staff, and a more integral involvement with the Elements than just your average blacksmith. Mounts aren't the same as a sword or a piece of armour." Suppressing a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Besides, it's a tactical disaster. Anything happens to one building and what, no horses, no air mounts, no sea mounts, all at once? In an ideal world, I'd split it three ways. Air, Land, and Sea have their own places, their own trainers, and their own support staff."

He begun counting off on his fingers, thinking aloud as he went. "I'm happy to lead this, but I can't do this alone. This team, these... pelt-wearing beastmasters... Peltbacks, whatever they end up being called, will need more support than the Elements as they are now can provide. We still don't even know what it might take to tame and train the more unusual specimens of Idalos. Like Drowners, or Sea Wolves. Ordinary soldiers don't usually have to smith their own swords before they use them, or be the first people to discover how to use one. This is work for researchers, scientists... civilians, most likely. I could make them part of Natural Affairs, some other team, but that's another team working closely with the Elements, to know whether what they find could be used for combat."

"If it can't be used by the military? Someone needs to put it to better use for domestic gain." Another point. "Better or more plentiful meat, new healing properties, who knows. It's something Saoire's School would probably have better luck with, but that still needs to be put to use, parsed for the average farmer, or some such."

Another point. "Could the Menagerie be expanded even further to cover all the new creatures used by these Peltbacks?" The more he said the name, the easier it felt to come back to it. He liked the way it rolled on the tongue, short and straight to the point. "I can train them to look after their own creatures and care for them. But it's not as simple as the wolves," he explained, gesturing to the crowd around them that was beginning to settle at last - no longer running around the legs of Kura's desk or falling over one-another, but finding their own cool or dark spaces to curl up or sprawl, sometimes piling over each-other but too tired from playing to do more than squeak and nip at each-other in agitation before flopping back over and huffing in annoyance. "If we stand a good chance of facing something like the pirate attacks again, each Peltback would need to hold some fifty or more creatures at any one time. A real standing force. It's not like your average soldier, keeping his sword clean and his breastplate dent-free. They'll need more... and there's nothing in the Elements that could really help with that. It'd all have to come from themselves, or each-other."

This was beginning to sound like an awful idea.

He sucked in a deep breath, then hissed it out through his teeth to calm himself and take stock of the situation. "If this group is a specialisation of the Elements, then they'll either need a very big and complicated support network inside themselves and supported by the Elements, or one outside, run by Natural Affairs to do the leg-work and give them what they need to keep running. No different than the Menagerie supplying the Air Elements with Enormowls, but just as important and expansive. I can help make it, just like the Peltbacks. It'll just need more investment." Nir'wei paused. "Or I can make the Peltbacks into their own organisation. I'll train them myself, hire all the teams and split them up, run them under Natural Affairs as their own project. It means it can start smaller and build up more naturally over time, instead of trying to fit into something as large as the Elements from the first day. More autonomy and independence. But less of a cohesive structure and more direct competition with the Elements than collaboration."

It'd be the same amount of work either way - a lot. But most of it was long, long overdue, since Natural Affairs had nothing but himself and a few members of administrative staff to its name to cover all of its duties... most of which were still so nebulous that he was effectively given a free pass to meddle in whatever affairs he felt like in the moment, arguing that it was technically under his jurisdiction. Either way, it'd mean hiring a lot of people and putting them directly under his control. Creating an entire chain of command, and putting his second-in-charge Tylar to work that afternoon finding a viable place to expand their operations, beyond just the few cluttered rooms of office space they held in the Elements Hall. "Whatever you're doing to reform the Elements is up to you. If they're a new branch or a specialty or their own thing, makes no difference to their training, but a support structure from the ground-up will be the hard part... and perhaps the most beneficial for all of us. New food sources. New weapons. We've probably barely scratched the surface of what Scalvoris has to offer, but we can't throw soldiers at the problem and expect them to come out with good observations beyond whether it can kill a man or not. This'll require some nuance."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura raised a slight eyebrow at Nir'wei when he mentioned that the menagerie wouldn't be able to handle all the animals he'd need for his group in its current state. But she didn't say anything as he worked through the various tactical and logistical issues that supporting his new group, that he had apparently decided to name Peltbacks, would run into. When he got the end of his long train of thought, she rolled her eyes slightly. "Of course it will take an expansive support structure. Any military unit does." she said, her tone lightly lecturing. "This is your first brush with tryin' to do anythin' military related, yes? Because even an average soldier has a lot of support goin' into him. For one soldier to function properly, much less at peak efficiency, there's quite a few people behind them. A cobbler for shoes, specialized smiths for weapons and armor, a tailor for uniforms and cloaks, a tanner for things like belts, and a medic for any wounds they take. That's just for a basic infantry soldier, to say nothin' of archers, siege troops, varyin' types of cavalry, or naval troops. This also doesn't factor in things like food or the construction of buildin's." she said, her tone calm.

"Now, each of those folks supports more than one soldier, and the same will be true of your Peltbacks. But buildin' the infrastructure will, frankly, be the easy part. You're right that the menagerie itself won't suffice, but that's been true for arcs now. Frankly, I've been playin' nice with the military and waitin' for them to move on their own, but recent events have made it clear that we don't have the luxury for that anymore, outside of any other issues." she said, her tone calm. "That said, you're thinkin' a bit small in terms of infrastructure that would be needed. Three buildin's, one each for land, sea, and air? Entirely insufficient, if anythin' happens to any of those buildin's, we're out that entire branch until the buildin' can be repaired and any animals lost are replaced." she said, her voice calm.

"Now, as to whether or not the martial part of this will be part of the military, I'm afraid it will have to be. I'm goin' to be closin' one gap in our military by foldin' the Rangers into the Elements, the last thing we need is another one. But frankly, the military's infrastructure in general is about to get rather forcibly expanded. I'd already planned to make a few more Menageries, in addition to the other improvements." she said, her tone calm. "If you're worried about where the fundin' is goin' to come from for that, don't be. We apparently haven't been usin' that much of our governmental budget, somethin' that's really about to change." she said, her tone cheerful. "So you just be sendin' me a list of what all infrastructure it turns out you need and I'll make sure it gets sorted. Actually figurin' out the trainin' and use of animals, whether for military or civilian efforts, that'll be the hard part, so you let me and mine focus on gettin' infrastructure set up." she said, before giving an amused smile. "It is, after all, our job."