Though she wasn't terribly old, years of battles were catching up to the giant woman. More and more often she was forced to seek rest. Even one year ago, she had been able to patrol non stop. Now her previously injured shoulder ached and felt as though bone was grinding on bone. She needed to rest or she would make herself lame. The big woman pushed it though, as was her way. When her body wanted to quit, she told it no and went just a little further. Today that was a mistake.

Resin moved gingerly on the toes of her front left leg. The shoulder ached and she limped along, the altered gait terribly noticeable. Making it back to her den, the giantess crumpled to the ground in the shade, exhausted from pain. She had an idea that something within the shoulder had shifted or pinched and wondered if it would be like that for the rest of her days.

Rest was what she needed. So the behemoth would lay in the shade until the pain eased enough that she might move inside the den. It would most likely take a while for the inflammation to settle. She could call for Iolaire, but she didn't want to worry the busy girl. Instead she simply lay on the grass, head between her massive paws, and watched the world go by.

The day after his injury, Morits would pull together what shreds of courage he could, and do something he knew he needed to. Mortis was only just learning the world was darker than he had believed possible. That a brother might try to kill brother, and a leg could be in too much pain to use. Resin had told him to watch his back, not to trust even family. He didn’t know the old warrior very well, he had barely seen her, but a trust had formed. She had saved him, and then kept his secret.

He didn’t know why, she owed him nothing, but she had done that for him, and he owed her a thank you, at the least. It was a short walk to her den, and he found her outside, lying in the grass. She looked frightened, the big, heavy set warrior with her strange, serrated teeth. She looked like someone that might eat puppies if they bothered her nap.

He lingered, bordering on the idea of fleeing or staying, when he finally managed to make himself go forward. He said nothing, just quietly stopped before, and sat, taking weight of his fractured foot, as he simply watched her.

"You don't have to sit there looking sullen, boy." Due to a damaged voice box, the massive woman's vocals were gravelly and scratchy. The single sulfur yellow eye that she possessed cracked open and her gaze fell upon the winged child. As any trained warrior would, she had smelled his approach the moment that the wind brought it within range. It was curious to the woman that he would choose to seek her out. Not one member of the pack, save Sirius, had done so thus far.

With a grimace, teeth pulled back from the woman's odd teeth. She pulled herself to an upright laying position. "Now, what brings you all the way here?" Her blocky head tilted to the side as she watched the boy, waiting to see what was on his mind. No doubt it was the events that had led to his own injury. Betrayal was a difficult thing to swallow, especially when it came from so close to home.

He looked at Resin a moment longer, before she cracked open her one good eye and told him not to look so sullen. He jumped, if just a little, at her sudden words. She looked like such a fearsome beast, like some great monster had chewed her up one day and found her too difficult a meal to swallow, and spat her back out again.

“I-I wanted to say thanks” he admitted, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “For looking out for me, and not telling” he explained. It was not much of an explanation, but there was no doubt as to what incident he referred to.

The child's jump of surprise brought a low chuckle from the woman and the corners of her maw actually lifted in a grin. Resin wasn't one to smile often. Life was a serious thing and she was a serious wolf. She had a soft spot for male pups though. Perhaps it was because her own had been stolen from her. She remembered what it was like, having three young boys running around her paws with Iolaire in tow. In a way, she missed it.

Mortis spoke, thanking her for helping him and keeping his secret. The scarred woman arched a dark brow in slight surprise. "You are welcome, young one." Lifting one wide paw, she patted the earth before her, offering him conversation and an ear if he needed. "I'm sure that you're filled with confusion. Has he said anything? Your brother?" She wondered what excuse the other child might have for blatantly pushing his brother off of a cliff.

Mortis shrugged, the confusion showing on his face, and, since Resin wasn’t shooing him away, he took a more comfortable seat before her. With the easy affection of a child, he spread out until his front paws touched hers, and he pillowed his head on them with a sigh, looking up at her through his lashes. The expression on his face was a mess of confusion, frustration, and appreciation.

“He said he wanted me to fly. He wanted to help me.” he explained, he let out an exasperated breath. How much had Resin seen before she had grabbed Aure and held him over the cliff? “Did you.. Did you see the way he looked at me, when he was standing up there?” he asked quietly. Maybe he had misunderstood the expression on his brother's face.

Mortis settled himself with his head on her paws and the warrior's hard heart melted ever so slightly. Black backed ears perked and she looked down at him with that lone eye. The plethora of emotions ran over his face. Who could blame him? With such a betrayal at so young an age, he was bound to be lost and confused by it.

Mort said that Azure wanted to help him fly. He asked if she had seen his face. "I did not see his face before, but I saw it after. That's why I thrust him over the edge of the cliff. He needed to know fear as well. The same fear of falling that you felt." Resin's way of thinking was a hard way. There wasn't room for much emotion, but she did her best to convey her thoughts in a manner that the boy might understand.

"What's done is done. You were pushed and injured. Your brother is the one that pushed you." That singular yellow eye bore down into the pups lashed, blue orbs. "What you do now is what will make you or break you. Will you lay down and accept that he is dominant? Or will you rise up, make yourself stronger, and show him his place?" There was something about this boy... She wanted to keep him close. His spirit spoke to hers. She waited for his answer.

Mortis winced a little at the speak of installing fear in Azure, and the fear that had been installed in Mortis. He didn’t want Azure hurt, but he also didn’t want Azure hurting him. He was feeling very annoyed at his brother, and his fractured paw ached, which was entirely his brother's fault.

Resin was very matter of fact, and her words knocked him from his self pity. Mortis looked up at the mighty warrior, still cushioned as he was on her paws. “Can you teach me, Grandmumma?” he asked softly. If anyone could teach him to be strong, surely it was Resin.

The look in the child's eyes as he asked the giantess for help was difficult for her to bear. Her heart ached for the boy. He was feeling small and weak and the events with his brother added confusion to the mix. When he asked her for help, she couldn't deny him. "Yes." The fact that he had called her 'grandmumma' had melted the hardened warrior. Maybe Iolaire wasn't the only one wishing that her daughter could have pups.

With a long sigh, the one-eyed woman looked down at the lost boy. "We can start your training tomorrow. For today, stay with me. Know that you are safe here. Nothing and no one will harm you." One thick foreleg move out and, with a wide paw, she scooped the boy into the space between her outstretched legs. "Let your mind relax, little warrior. Close your eyes and let all of the bad feeling drift away for a while." Bluish tongue protruding, Resin began to gently groom the boy. "You deserve a break." With the grooming and the low talk, she prompted the child to take on a sort of meditating state. It had always helped her when she was young and struggling. "Close your eyes and try to free your mind, little warrior."