“Happy?” he asked me as I took my seat.
“Yes,” I said. The others laughed.
“Now that we got the important matter of the chairs out of the way,” Finlay said, looking pointedly at me. “We can start by welcoming Amie to our group. I think we are all looking forward to her advice,” he continued. The three others eagerly nodded.
“Thank you. But as I told Medow yesterday; I think you are doing a far better job than you give yourself credit for. The pack is thriving and is harmonious. I don’t know what I can contribute with,” I honestly told them.
“The pack is a good pack, and I agree with you. We mostly got those things under control. Well, Finlay does most of it, and he is a natural Alpha,” Martin agreed.
“But what we worry about is the outside threats and how we can prepare the pack to face them,” Sam continued. All four of them nodded in agreement.
“We are a low ranking pack. But we are low ranking since you couldn’t participate in the last games. I would think packs and rogues that are after land would go after one of the confirmed weak packs,” I said. Finlay and Martin both shook their heads.
“We have chased away wolves that have been close to our borders. It has only been one or two at the time so far, but we think they are scouts,” Martin told me.
“Pack or rogues?”
“Both,” he said.
“We think it’s due to the fact confirmed weak packs have already been targeted and all good land has been taken. Most of those packs are living on barren land or in the cities,” Finlay told me. I shuddered at the thought.
“And then there is us, and all this amazing land. Okay, I can see why they are willing to chance it,” I said. “So we need to prepare. Even if we are a strong pack, not everyone can fight or defend themselves. What is the plan if we get attacked?” I asked. Finlay got up and got a map from a locked drawer and spread it out over the table. It showed the pack land and someone had drawn symbols on it. They all explained what plans they had put in place to keep the pack safe. They had hideouts in two places in the village and then seven more scattered across the land. Most were natural caves they had fortified and made sure to keep food and blankets in.
“It looks good. It’s a good start,” I said. “But we should add some general pack training that everyone participates in. Something that teaches everyone to find shelter if they get caught by surprise.”
“Everyone? Even the pups?” Martin asked.
“Especially the pups. We all know they have a tendency to go exploring either on their own or with a friend or two. They need to know what to do if we are attacked,” I said.
“Should we maybe just make sure they stay close to an adult?” Sam suggested. Finlay, Medow and I all shook our heads.
“Exploration is necessary. It gives them confidence and nourishes their natural curiosity,” Finlay said.
“I agree. It’s better that we teach them to hide, contact an adult and wait for help,” I said.
“Okay. But how do you train pups? I know how to train adults, but even I know that won’t work with pups,” Sam said. I giggled. I had seen him train the warriors when I visited and he was right. His training style was to yell at the warriors and shout profanities when they didn’t do as he wanted.
“No, we won’t do it that way. I would say that we should turn it into a game,” I suggested.
“Oh, yeah. Like a hide and seek tournament,” Medow said enthusiastically. I nodded.
“Not a bad idea. We could have different classes. One for pups, one for regular pack members and one for warriors,” Finlay thought out loud.
“We can arrange some fun prizes and us five will be the judges and trackers,” Martin said.
“If we do it two or three times a year, everyone will have a good understanding on what to do in a sharp situation.” They all looked at me and nodded. We agreed to plan the first tournament as soon as possible. “So how are we doing with training for the games? If we do well there, this won’t be an issue,” I said.
“You know the training schedule,” Sam told me, sounding confused.
“You use the same one as for the warriors? That seems excessive since the games are almost six years away,” I said. Four wolves looked at me as if I was stupid. “What?”
“Do you expect us to have separate trainings for the games? We just combine it with the regular trainings,” Sam asked.
“Oh, okay, you are planning to only send warriors?” I asked, as I understood why we misunderstood each other.
“Yes. In our old pack that’s how we did it. Should we send others?” Martin asked, sounding unsure.
“No, no. I guess that’s fine,” I said.
