This was bad - very, very bad. Azure huddled behind a tree near the den, pressed up hard against it's rough bark and panting roughly from his sprint home. Over and over he told himself he didn't mean to hurt his brother, he only wanted to help him learn to fly. Yes, he was angry, jealous, and bitter but that didn't mean his intentions were malicious. After all, he'd suggested the boulder first so that Mortis wouldn't hurt himself, it wasn't his fault that the stupid pup couldn't figure out how to fly. He thought he was becoming a bird, and that was stupid too. At least birds could figure out how to soar without tumbling off a cliff and getting their siblings in trouble. He knew this would come back to him, understood that after the mean lady was through taking Mortis to see a healer that she'd be coming back to tell his parents what he'd done. He also knew that he had been commanded very firmly to go to them, and would be in more trouble if he ran away. The gears in the pups mind were turning, working overtime to figure out why he'd been hit so firmly and scared so badly. His body still ached from the rough tumble across the grass, and he could smell the shame on himself from when his fear dribbled down his leg. With as much confidence he could muster - which wasn't a lot - the boy limped towards the mouth of the den. Truthfully the shove was not enough to injure him, but instinctively the pup knew he'd draw more sympathy if he was wounded in the battle. As he hobbled through the doorway he called out hesitantly. "Dad?" His voice was sad, and it shook with uncertainty that was not the least bit fake. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius was sorting stock in the den, putting aside coats he had made for his Wife and children into a corner as he checked for damage and wear, to see what he needed new ones of. He paused when he heard his son speak, the voice of his powerful, confident boy was hesitant, and worried.

The Warlord dropped the coat, and made his way instantly over to his child, looking him up and down as the boy stood in the entrance way. He walked as though he was injured, and Sirius could smell the mess on him. Clearly, something had happened. Had someone thought to mess with his children? He smelled nothing but pack on him, if one of his own had hurt the Prince…

He walked over, scooping Azure up and pulling him into his lap - gently, of course - and looked down at him. He pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, considering him a moment, before grabbing him by his scruff and taking him outside the den. He said nothing until he had dropped the boy as gentle as a lamb into the stream just outside their home. He began to wash the child, and only then would he speak. “Tell me what happened.” It was a command, but a kind one.

His father greeted him with kindness, and immediately Azure knew that word had not reached him yet on what had happened. He chewed at his inside of his lip anxiously as the titan dragged him into his arms, and remained quiet and still while he was carried to the nearby water and washed. His father was being incredibly gentle, and if anything it worried Az more. He knew the alpha was a force to be reckoned with, and how his terrible might made others quake in fear. If Resin's strike was hurtful, Sirius' would be moreso. Perhaps he'd find himself faced with the cliff once more once he learned the truth. After he was clean, his father spoke. His command made the boy swallow hard and fearfully, though he straightened and tried to look brave as he faced his looming and expectant father. "Resin hit me." The boy said softly, though he'd tried to make his voice firm like his father's. "I deserved it, but I didn't like it. I want to bite her." He frowned then, his eyes narrowing with angry determination and hurt. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius stilled at the words Resin hit me. He did not know the warrior very well yet, other than as Io’s mother. What he did know of her told him she was practical and trustworthy, what would bring her to hit the child? Nonetheless, she had done so, and he would have to deal with it now. He considered the options, and wondered which would be kinder, to maim the older wolf, or send her from the pack? Neither was going to leave him in the good graces of his sister. He frowned, his motions of cleaning becoming a little less gentle, not on purpose - he just forgot to expend the same amount of energy being careful with the small wolf.

At least Azure sounded determined, admitting that he deserved it, but that he was not happy about it. “What did you do?” he asked, and then immediately followed it with. “If you do not like to be pushed around, learn how to be strong enough to stop it. I think it’s time to start your warrior training.” the boy was young, and tiny, but to Sirius there was no such thing as too young or too tiny to learn to fight.

From the way his father's body stilled and then resumed cleaning more vigorous than before, Azure knew Sirius' anger. Something inside him recognized it, it was familiar to him and the response that triggered the alpha's protective nature was understood by the pup even when smaller and easier concepts went over his head. He tried to steady himself so that his father's cleaning did not knock him around, but mostly failed. Eventually he rolled in Sirius' arms onto his back, pressing his bear paws up against the large man's face firmly so he'd stop the tongue-assault. "I pushed Mortis off a cliff." He answered then, his words coming easier now. A part of him wanted to take accountability, to draw his father's attention. He did not like the thought that Resin would be punished for her actions against him as it made him feel weak and helpless, and before Sirius could make his mind up on the woman Azure was determined to let his father see the whole story. "She held me over the cliff where he fell, called me a coward, and then she hit me." The memory made the boy sad again, and then angry once more. He hated feeling weak, and yet still hated that he might have hurt his brother unintentionally. It wasn't like his father would believe that he was only trying to teach him flight, however, and so he left that part of the story out so he'd not be accused of making excuses. His father's words stung, and Azure's ears pulled back. How could he ever make himself big and strong enough to hold his ground against a wolf like Resin? His mother might have simply told him he was too little, whereas his father acted like it was his fault that he'd lost the 'fight.' Azure huffed softly, still frowning. "I remember your lesson." He told him, trying to show his father his strength. "I will find another way to get her, like with the rabbits." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius ceased his cleaning as the pup pushed him away. His tiny paws weren’t enough to stop him, but they were enough to tell Sirius what he wished. He leaned back, giving the young wolf some space, and a chance to speak. He did so, and the first words out of Azure’s mouth were not something he ever expected to hear. He did not think his oldest boy was dead, the way Azure spoke, and the lack of howls about the pack calling for him immediately, told him as much.

Nonetheless, it was still extremely inappropriate for the thoughts that came to the father. Thoughts like… would this harden up a boy that had already been a disappointment to him? A boy so afraid to kill he had not even hunted nor attempted it yet. Also thoughts like… would the boy be scarred for life now, and useless to him? Sirius, as he watched the very start of these children's growth, had already began to see Azure as the first born, and not cowardly Mortis.

“I see” Sirius said softly, doing nothing thus far. It was not good that the thought of Azure being held over the cliff pissed him off more than the knowledge that one of his children had already pushed another over the edge.

When Azure pointed out he should fight clever, not strong, Sirius grinned, and ruffled his coat. “That’s my boy.” his grin faded again into something more stern. “It was not Resin’s place to punish you, nonetheless, family is to be protected, not harmed, Azure.” For Zee’s sake he really ought to add something more to this, to make the lesson of looking after his siblings and not hurting them stick. It was hard, because Sirius also wanted Azure to be competitive, to be the puppy he rooted for in the months to come. “Pushing Mortis off the cliff was wrong, but owning up to it was right. Because of pushing him you will be at my beck and call for the week, you will learn how to do chores, and you will learn how to work hard. This is a two-fold lesson, because it will also be the start in teaching your body how to be strong.”

Thankfully his father stopped his cleaning as Az pushed against him, and it made him feel strong that he could stop even his direwolf dad from pushing him around. Sirius' soft response had the boy craning forward to listen, head tilting and eyes narrowing with suspicion as his expected reaction continued to not be released. His father's lack of anger, it must have meant what he had done was not that bad. After all, Asla got more anger from their father when she'd wandered out of the territory, their mother was angrier at both Indy and Asla when they went to close to the ocean. Was this because the pushing was not a big deal, or because Azure was more special than them all? The thought was enjoyable, and he smiled. It didn't take long for Sirius to continue, to punish him with menial labour. Azure was unbothered by it, more focused upon what it all meant then the work he'd need to do to make up for it. "Don't be mad at Resin." He told his dad suddenly, his voice serious. "I don't need you to defend me, I'll do it myself." The cogs in his mind were turning, and he was already planning how to get back at the wolf who had dared to strike him. "I'll help you with chores. I'll work hard so nobody ever hits me again." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He looked at Azure as the boy smiled, and realised that the boy might have gotten the wrong opinion. Mort might be weaker than Sirius would like, and Azure with a strength he wanted to nurture, but he had still done something wrong and he needed to walk away with the lingering taste of that wrongness. He looked at the tiny creature he had just carefully cleaned and showed affection to, and hid his sigh.

Sirius rose fully to his feet, the motion casual and easy as he took a step forward. As he walked, he cuffed Azure, hard, turning to the boy as he moved past him. “You will remember that you will not willfully harm what is mine. Mortis, for all his faults, is mine and when you confront Resin, you will take it as a lesson to learn how to be strong, you will not be deceitful nor dishonest. There will be a day, Azure, a day quickly coming, when you will realise the responsibilities before you.” His heir needed certain attributes, and the smug pride after hurting his brother, was not something he was going to encourage, no matter how strong he wanted his boys to be.

Sirius's expression was hard to read, but as he stood Azure's tail began to wag slowly. Were they to start the chores and training now? The puppy was ready, eager to learn and grow strong like his father. He rolled out of his father's arms, pulling himself to his feet to follow when suddenly Sirius' paw was coming towards him and thudded hard against the side of his head. Azure's already off-balanced frame was thrown over, and the pup rolled into the stream. He spluttered, kicking his feet out to try and right himself against the soft resistance of the water. When he finally managed, the pup was soaking wet and looked up at his father with hurt. This didn't make any sense, why was it okay one moment but not okay the next? Why wasn't he allowed to bask in his father's pride for more than a minute before being shoved down once more? The wet pup's feelings were quickly overwhelming him, and try as he may to put on a brave face the pup couldn't manage to contain his confusion and hurt. He inhaled a shaky breath, steadying himself before he might start to cry. "Yes, father." The boy's whisper came. He still didn't understand - after all, did that mean he wasn't allowed to nibble on Asla anymore? Or that he couldn't spar with his brothers to get stronger? What about if Resin lifted her paw towards him again, was Azure not allowed to defend himself? It was all so confusing, but two cuffs in one day was enough for the boy and so he did not voice his concerns. Swiftly he lifted a paw to swipe at a tear that had escaped his eye, lifting his head back to his father with the most confidence he could muster in that moment. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius watched as the boy fell into the stream, and came coughing back to the surface. As he regained his breath and feet, his first words were exactly what Sirius wanted to hear. The Titan moved back over to him again, leaning forward to kiss his snout. “You almost took a life that was not yours to take, so the lesson must stick, but know, son, that I love you.” he said, and despite Azure’s tears, he was trying very hard to be strong.

He felt a glowing pride inside himself for the boy, despite how others, even those close to him, might feel about what Azure did, and how Sirius felt about it. He paid that no mind, as he gently placed a paw about the boy. “Come, lets teach you be strong, my little bear.”

Somehow, Sirius' words missed their mark again. His mention of Azure almost taking a life intrigued the boy, and he felt strong once more. Pups didn't take lives, not unless their parents helped them. Surely that made him more powerful than the average wolf, and he wished deep down inside that he was successful so he could be proud of a kill. Almost immediately after, the guilt returned and he remembered it was his brother he was thinking about killing. How confusing. He didn't respond verbally - the last time he'd misconstrued his father's words he'd gotten a solid cuff - and so instead just nodded as if he understood perfectly. When his paw was placed upon him, Azure looked up at his father. "What's a bear?" He asked carefully, as his father lead him away. Azure was more than ready to learn to be strong. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."