The boy trembled as he looked down from the cliff to the sea. He had promised his mother he would not try to fly again, and he intended to keep that promise. He wasn't trying to fly, he was trying to fall. There was too much pain inside of him. Something had gone very wrong, very quickly, in his short life. His wings where wrapped tightly to his side, he didnt want them catching air and allowing his descent by accident.

He didnt want this. He was convinced, with this painful, hard idea, that sat in his gut. He was a burden to his family, that the lives of those he loved would be better off, if he wasn't in it. Would it hurt? He remembered the pain in his paw after Azure had thrown him off the first cliff. He trembled again, doubt in him. No, he had to, he had to... he took a step forward, earth crumbling under paw, he was so close to the edge...

Call it mother's intuition, but Zee knew something was wrong. It stirred deep in her gut, kept her from focusing upon her hunt. Life had become a lot more stressful since her pups left her womb, and though she tried to ignore the very real worry that gripped her she couldn't rid herself of it entirely. With a final growl towards the deer she had spent the morning stalking, Zee turned away and loped towards home. As the cliff ridge came into site, Zee's world stopped. Her little boy stood precariously over it, looking down at the ground. At first she'd thought he'd broke his promise and went to try and fly once more, though his wings were not extended as they should be to catch the air. A mixture of emotions hit her harder then they'd ever had before and she stampeded forward like a bullet. Zee'd advantage was her small size, her agility. She did not want to give the boy a chance to spot her and leap out of fear, and so instead of moving up and simply using her paw to pull him from the ledge she tackled him from the side and away from the edge. It broke a part of her to need to hit him with such force, though the protective instinct inside her told her it was the only way. Hopefully she'd knock the air out of him, scare some sense into him. All Zee knew was she was terrified, furious, and heartbroken all at once. When she landed atop him in the grass the queen leaned down to wrap her jaws around his throat lightly. Her paws pinned him to the earth, and her low growl would vibrate throughout his entire body as she held him there. Was this what Sirius felt when danger dared to approach his charges? Zee could hardly rein herself in, torn between shaking the demon out of her beloved boys body, tearing off his offending wings or simply holding him in her arms forever, never to leave her again. It took her time to release her hold upon him, as if she was worried he'd disappear the instance he did so. Though her teeth drew away from him, her head did not. She feared too much what she'd see inside him if she met his gaze and pressed her cheek against his instead as he lay on his back in the grass. "Why?" Zee whispered in his ear, voice about to break. "Speech"

He was overlooking the cliff, contemplating if he had the courage to go through with it, his paw already precariously balanced on the edge. The next moment, he was on the ground, bewildered, frightened eyes looking up into the rage of his mother. He couldn't breath, he realised, the wind had been knocked from him and he couldn’t seem to draw it back into his lungs.

Before he could even begin to comprehend his change in location, loss of breath, and anger in his mother's eyes, her fangs would be against his throat. It was like, suddenly, the choice had been taken from it, and it woken something inside of him. He thrashed beneath her, desperate and wide eyed. His movements did nothing, he was just a baby and Zee a full grown wolf. He realised he should be dead by now, but she wasn’t ripping out his throat. Her growl vibrated through him, and that he had shamed himself the same way Azure had shamed himself, the day Resin had held him over the cliff.

She released his throat, and laid her cheek against his. He could feel her frightened breath, and understood how badly he had scared her. “I’m sorry Mumma. I’m sorry. I don’t wanna be bad, or wrong, I don’t know what I did, and I don’t know how to fix it” he cried.

Zee felt her son's thrashing and held tighter, unwilling to give him the freedom his body desired. There was desperation within her, and she struggled to grasp hold of her senses and not react the way she immediately wanted to. Her firstborn child had stood at the edge of a cliff, willing himself to step off of it. The thought shoved forward in her head again and again and no matter how many times she tried to rid herself of the sickening realization she was unable. What was wrong with him? Zee did not like to think there a problem within the minds of any of her children, but could not neglect the issue by ignoring it.

He apologized, and she barely heard the sound. Actions spoke louder than words and no matter how many times he might apologize and try to explain himself, Zee could not forgive it. "I love you." She told him, the only genuine response she could muster. It would be a lie if she tried to reassure him, to tell him he wasn't broken. To tell him she forgave him and understood, and could help him through it.

For the first time in her life, Zee empathized with her husband's blood-thirsty nature. She remembered the times he'd stormed off out of anger to seek out a wolf to bleed, or a creature to take the life of. Something to divert his feelings. She growled again, and then with one paw rolled the boy over onto his stomach so that she could grasp him by the scruff. It was as gentle a hold as she could manage, and while she did not hurt him with her teeth she was sure he could feel the tightness of her grasp.

Without another word she stepped across the Tall Grass Plains, son in tow. If he'd speak to her, she'd merely not respond. Zee didn't know what to say, nothing had prepared her for motherhood and surely nothing as hard as this. When she reached Iolaire's cottage, she tapped hard upon the door - the severity of the situation something she'd hoped to get across in her urgency for the healer to answer.

Zee was frightening him, his soft, gentle mother who had always had nothing but hugs and kindness for him. She was so angry, like what he was done was so wrong it was beyond comprehending. He shrunk beneath her anger, trembling, and afraid. The smell of his pee not in the least bit subtle, yet somehow forgotten. His mother claimed she loved him, but everything about her actions seemed to say otherwise.

He was too frightened and confused to form any coherent thoughts. Her anger almost made him feel more like he did not belong, but her anger was because of what he had almost done. She didn’t want to lose him, but she was so angry he didn’t think she would ever forgive him again. He had messed up, big time, just like he always messed up. But the only reason he had messed up this time, was because of all the other times he had messed up. His confusion was intense, and he wanted the gentle warmth of his other mummy. The one that didn’t snarl her teeth and vibrate with rage.

He curled up when she picked him up, not fighting her in the least. He closes his eyes, even through the blind swaying of her walking almost made him feel sick. He opened them when she stopped, and he recognised the sight of Io’s den. He cried out before he could stop himself, a soft little. “Auntie” a whimper, more than anything else. As through quietly begging his Auntie to save him from this scary mummy.

After a long morning of working in her garden and crafting various things, Iolaire decided that she deserved a nap. The day was a little overcast so the tiny healer decided to take a nap inside her little cottage. She'd been sleeping for a little over an hour when there was a rap on the door. Iolaire mumbled as the sleep slowly receded from her mind. She hated being woken up. Her sleep had been so good...

Pushing her body partway up, Iolaire sat, blinking away the sleep. "Come in," she called out to whoever was at the door. The skin would be easily pushed aside as she had not tied it when she entered earlier. As she waited for the caller to enter though, she heard the small, quavering voice of Mortis calling for her. Gods, what was it this time?

Iolaire moved quickly to the door, sweeping the skin aside. Zee stood there with the hanging body of Mort between her teeth. A silver brow arched and she stepped aside, motioning for her sister and nephew to come inside. Once within, she allowed the skin to slide shut, giving them privacy from anyone that might happen to pass by. Io motioned to one of the piled of furs in the main chamber. She took the other, seating herself on the lush pile. The serious look on Zee's face troubled the woman. "What's going on?"

As he cried for his aunty her heart clenched further, but she was not about to put him down to hug him and risk him running off towards yet another cliff. Zee tried to force herself to remain calm when Iolaire answered the door and to not forget that her son was present. A part of her wanted to just release her feelings in a long-winded explanation, to vent to her sister. Though she knew she needed to not scare Mortis, to make him feel worse then he already did.

They were invited in, and Zee placed Mortis down upon one of the furs and promptly placed a paw upon his back between his wings. Not even the hide door made her feel secure, and the touch upon him was the only thing that could steady her and remind herself that he was safe. "My son, your nephew..."

Her eyes slid shut and she worked to steady her heartbeat. "I found him with one paw off a cliff." The words were excruciatingly hard to bring forth and impossible to elaborate on, and Zee reopened her eyes to meet Iolaire's gaze, begging her to understand what Zee could not say. "He needs help I cannot give him. You helped Sirius, can you help Mortis?" Originally she'd had doubts about whatever miracle Sirius claimed the healer performed for him. Zee had seen all kinds of injuries healed by those skilled with plants and herbs, but never one that manifested in the mind like the warlord. She could not deny however that the promise had been kept. Sirius' night terrors were ended with precision, and Zee needed to believe that Iolaire could do the same for their son. "Please."