Mercy was old enough now, at least fro the perspective of a Scout, to begin training as a scout and//or guardian of the pack. She was well aware that Mercy was more interested in being a hunter, but she told the child that in order to be a hunter he would have to be swift and fit, and such things could be accomplished when he accompanied her on trips around the borders and to and from the pack. She was quite sure she was instilling a sense of wanderlust in the child, as he followed her quite happily beyond the borders into lands which might otherwise frighten a child- but he had good faith in his mother and seemed to show no reluctance to go exploring. It made her proud.

With her child in tow she ventured back toward the packlands and paused as she heard the voice of another wolf declaring that the borders had been marked. It was the voice she knew to be from Crow, having known that he was a part of the pack but having never spent any great deal of time around him personally. Mercy answered the howl with one of his own, which was much higher and quieter, but Sagacity smiled. "We should go meet him," She said, and her son was eager to do so and picked up an eager trot.

They returned to the packlands side by side, Mercy leaping over small tufts of grass which would be stepped over by his mother. She got Mercy to use his nose, as soon as they reached the borders, and track the male up his current place- atop a large rock. The child exclaimed his victory proudly, and was given a smile and a nod from his mother. "Teaching him to track," She said to Crowe, giving him a nod. "He wants to be a hunter. How've you been?" She asked, looking up at the large white male; he had a robust handsomeness about him, a feral sort of charm which made him somewhat mysterious when coupled with the fact that she knew very little about him, save for that his name was Crowe.

It wasn't his favourite activity- he'd just as soon have his head down and snuffle along the ground in pursuit of prey of some sort- but his mother assured him that he needed to scout as well, and that it would help him become a better hunter. He was fairly sure that this was all something she'd made up in order to get some company while she went out, but he went along without any complaint because the child liked spending time with his mother- and he liked the fact that she praised him and told him he'd be a good hunter even when they weren't hunting.

When they were on their way back to the pack, his mother stopped suddenly at the sound of a howl. He did too, and tilted his head back to answer enthusiastically. He looked at his mother expectantly, and when the suggestion came to track him down, Mercy bounded forward at a trot, lowering his head as he did so. They'd have to catch his scent, of course, and this was his area of expertise! It certainly helped that the scent was fresh and he'd been marking the borders not long ago, so Mercy had little trouble following the scent trail Crowe had left behind, and picked up the pace as the scent got stronger and stronger.

"Found 'im!" He cried as soon as he spotted the kingly white male laying atop a large boulder. He approached beside his mother, tail waving to and fro behind him and puffed out his chest a bit when his mother told Crowe he was going to be a hunter."A good one!" He interjected, and sat down patiently when his mom began to speak to Crowe. Mercy liked the look of him- he was huge, and very tough looking- he'd probably be able to bring down a deer with no problem![/dohtml]

He certainly didn't seem terribly enthusiastic- but perhaps it was simply a guard he put up when meeting other wolves who'd been an acquaintance for so long. They couldn't be too familiar with one another, as that would be assuming that they knew too much about each other. She knew fully well that Crowe was ranked at the bottom of the pack and perhaps it was his somewhat lackluster smile and attitude that had placed him there. It was one thing to be of a low rank, but another completely to have been put in the omega placement below any new wolves joining the pack, until he'd gained the favour of the alphas. Still, Sage did not deem it necessary to treat him as though he was the dirt between her toes; he was a packmate and Mercy seemed to have taken a shining to him.

She let her son speak about hunting and kept an eye on Crowe while he commented about taking another animal's life.He didn't go too far with the topic, and Sagacity might've butted in had he continued about it- but Mercy didn't seem rattled and she knew that it was a fact of life- her son would have to kill in order to provide for the pack. It was her job, as well, to teach him the difference between killing for food and killing to survive. And she hoped that he would never have to kill another wolf. Sagacity blinked and a small curve at her lips showed silent amusement when he spoke about her skills. She nodded."I'd hoped he might become a scout like me. But he's set on being a hunter and that's just as well; he'll serve the pack as much as he can, won't you?"

She looked to Crowe then, and knowing that his size and the fact that he was already inclined toward marking the borders, she asked "Will you take on the guardian role, then?" She asked. And something about her voice made it seem as though it was a hopeful suggestion. He'd certainly make an excellent sentry-- plus it might help him win over the alphas.

Perhaps it was because he didn't know any better, but Mercy couldn't keep himself from staring at Crowe. He was so impressive, even though he wasn't really trying to look tough. He was big enough that Mercy figured he could've swallowed a rabbit whole, and strong enough to shove some pretty good sized boulders down the mountainside, should he feel so inclined. The smile that was given was well received by the pup who perceived it as he would any other smile, since he couldn't yet tell the difference. He was even more impressed when Crowe talked to him, rather than talking about boring adult stuff with his mother.

"Uhuh!" He said gleefully as Crowe asked him about his hunting record. The comment about taking another creature's life didn't disturb him in the least- likely because he already knew and accepted that he needed to eat and because his grasp of death was fairly weak. Prey needed to die, and wolves weren't prey so he didn't connect the death of a prey animal to the death of someone who would matter to him. "Cool!" Came his enthusiastic response. When he then spoke to Sagacity, Mercy was quick to nod and pipe up. "I'm gonna feed the whole pack someday! I killed a fawn ma caught for me," He said. "So I'm gettin' better arready!"

As Crowe stood, the boy's eyes widened. While he'd seemed impressive laying upon the rock like a calm lion watching over the pridelands, he seemed all the more immense now that he stood, showing off his height and bulk, shaggy white fur hanging off his body but not concealing the muscle beneath. Mercy's little tail waved from side to side, a clear indication that he was quite pleased to see how big a wolf could get- and secretly hoped that he, too, would one day be so big. He took a moment to look down at his paws- he'd been told before that large paws meant he'd grow to be big, and while they made him a bit clumsy, he didn't rue them now- if anything, they made him believe even more that he could be big and strong like Crowe one day too.

"Teach me!" He blurted excitedly when Crowe asked his mother what his body would be good for. "I wanna be big too! Can you teach me? Please?" He said, leaning into the plead so as to be polite and perhaps persuade the large male to teach him how to look so impressive. Of course, he was wrong in thinking that he could be taught how to be big, but the way Crowe crouched, showing off the impressive strength beneath his pelt made Mercy desperate to learn at least how to make himself look strong. He too crouched, but his body was lean and slight still, having grown out of his puppy fat and into pre-adolescent gangliness.

Crowe addressed him with a compliment and the boy all but fainted from flattery. As impressionable as he was, he shivered lightly and smiled, his entire hind end wagging from side to side with the force of his whipping tail. "I'll catch food for you! Mama's teachin' me how!" He proclaimed, eager to do whatever he could to earn the man's respect and tutelage.

Unlike her son, Sagacity was not so easily impressed by the male's size- there was something about the way he talked that signalled to her that there was a reason he'd been placed at the lowest rank within the pack. Still, she was more inclined to give him a chance and to disregard any possible attitude problems if he was willing to prove himself useful. He stood and crouched, showing off muscles which did attract Sagacity's eye- she was, after all, a creature driven by instinct and instinct told her to seek out the strongest possible companion and thus she felt drawn in, even if against her better judgement, by his impressive stance. Mercy took to him right away- but she knew the naive young boy would be blind to any flaws in Crowe's personality simply because he was a handsome man, and spoke well to him.

Her son's excited plea made Sagacity raise one eyebrow. What was he good for? She chuckled slightly and touched her muzzle to Mercy's brow to tame his wild spirit. The boy settled back down onto his haunches beneath her touch, though his tail still swept from side to side. She looked up at Crowe, sizing him up with her eyes and cracked a wry grin.

"Puppysitting, apparently." She said. The boy already looked up to him and Sagacity, as a lone parent, didn't mind having the chance to leave her boy in the hands of another while she went out on a hunt or a scouting mission. "Surely you wouldn't be too slow to keep up with this one," She said wryly, indicating that she intended to test his skills with puppysitting- something the entire pack had to practice- at that very moment. "If you wouldn't mind watching him for an hour or so, I'd like to take care of some business...?" She said, her tone indicating that he had the opportunity to refuse- but she'd really rather he didn't.