A single ear flicked at the howl that lifted in the stillness of early morning, and a soft groan escaped my lips. Eyes still shut, I contemplated whether I was really interested enough to get up at the crack of dawn to attend a training seminar put on by my uncle. After all, I could always ask him for a private lesson. Still, I rolled over and stretched my limbs, yawning wide as I blinked away sleep and rose to my paws. Special treatment wasn't something I wanted to be known for receiving. I hadn't made up my mind yet what rank I wanted to fill within my mother's pack, or what legacy I would carve out for myself, but I couldn't miss the chance to see if Castellan was the title for me.

Lifting to my paws, I left the coziness of my solitary den and began my trek down the mountainside in silence. In the past months I had given a couple of possible avenues a try. In the earliest days of spring I had hosted a party within the fringes of Diveen. A foray into diplomatic affairs - and a successful one at that, if I may say so myself. Then, in summer, I had gone out scouting and met up with a gypsy woman - unbeknownst to me at first, sure, but that didn't really matter. I'd gleaned some interesting information from her about the gypsy lifestyle, and even arranged for the gypsies to visit closer to winter to put on a play. Plus, if they liked it here and Daenerys thought them trustworthy, they would likely have a place to weather the colder months of the year if they wanted it. So I'd ticked diplomacy off the list - twice, really - as well as scouting. Today it was time to give the lifestyle of a warrior and defender a try.

Truly, I had had my first run in with violence and the need to protect myself and others when I was little more than a weanling. Flashes of the purple eyed demon's assault on Samus and me flicked through my mind, dominated by the rescue efforts of my mother, and I felt a resolute determination rise up in my chest. Today wouldn't just be about experimenting - I needed to learn how to better defend myself and those of my pack. If anyone could teach me that, it was Sleekwing.

I moved into the lowlands of our home, and it didn't take me long to find the meeting point where the master warrior had called for those ambitious enough to step forward to take his place. Rather than bounding forward to greet him as family, I steeled my expression and came to sit before him. Another arrived at around the same time as me, but I did not recognize him. He looked to be about the same age as me, but he'd not been in attendance of the party I'd hosted. Introductions would have to wait, though, as Sleekwing began to speak and I felt the thrum of excitement and possibility within my chest. His words were riveting, and as he came to the part here he spoke about defending the wolf beside you I glanced to the young male, wondering if I would be strong enough to put myself between him - or anyone else - and whatever danger presented itself. I looked back to Sleekwing as he continued, thinking back on the day that my cousin and I had been attacked. That day, my mother had had the strength to put her life in jeopardy to ensure mine and Samus' safety. Did I have what it would take to live up to her? I guess today was as good a day as any to start figuring out the answer to that question.