Each day it seemed the Armada shifted and grew, Tamsyn and Malalia were promoted, new wolves were brought in. Himself he remained stagnant and felt as if there was a big red strike upon his face labeling him as a failure for all the world to see. Each day was a lesson in patience, an exercise in whether or not he could pretend good enough to convince his father that all was okay and he was a changed pup. The anger was growing however, building within him with every kind word he forced out and every snide comment he swallowed. Usually he'd go murder something with Asla to clear his mind, though his sister was going through struggles of her own and he didn't like to burden her with his. Rather then fall victim to the train of thought that he was weaker or lesser of an heir then Mortis, Azure decided now was the time to hone his skills. There was a specific tree in the plains that he had his eye on, thick enough with low enough branches that perhaps he might be able to hoist himself up. All of his siblings were capable of climbing, their mutated paws making it easy to grasp the bark and scale a trunk. Azure's were different, the claws did not withdraw like a cat's but they weren't wolf-like either. His father once had called him a bear, and while he'd never seen one he figured that it was the name for the paws he was born with. What he didn't anticipate was how to remove a paw once he'd gotten both latched. So instead of climbing upwards towards the branch, the heir hung suspended off it's bark with his long curved claws dug firmly inside. His upper body strength was lacking too much to hoist himself higher and unhook them, and so sheepishly he held there with his face pressed against the bark in disappointment. Fuck. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Yawning, Magnus stretched as he pulled himself from his den after a calming afternoon nap. His forelimbs stretched out in front of him and his chest lowered until it touched the ground, leaving his rear in the air and tail curling over his back into a deep stretch. Pulling himself from it, his rear then lowered as his hind legs stretched out behind him individually while he held his upper half up. Afterwards, he shook his coat all over and decided to take a stroll before his shift patrolling to limber himself up from the sleep stiffness.

He hadn't been out very long when he noticed something odd. Still a distance away, the child hanging from the tree was just a blur of brown but he headed in it's direction anyway to check it out. Unaware that it was an actual child dangling, he wasn't in much of a hurry and was simply out stretching his legs and wondering who had dangled whatever-it-was from the tree. Maybe it was a new training element, something to beat up when no one else was around to train. Seemed like a good idea to him, maybe he'd even get some use out of it before his shift.

However, the closer he got to the tree, the more he was beginning to realize it wasn't a prop hanging to beat up on, but instead a living creature. Assuming it to be a bear at first, he slowed to a walk in case it came down from it's tree. Debating on calling for help to chase the bear off, it was only then that he realized it wasn't a bear, just a dumb idiot who got stuck. Smirking, he approached a bit faster and noticed the resemblance to Mortis and Sirius the massive child had, as well as resemblance to a bear.

"Damn, I thought maybe someone strung up a training bag." He laughed at the kid dangling from the tree, stuck in some way that he couldn't readily identify.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

At the sound of paws behind him Azure squirmed further, desperate to unhinge himself before he was caught in such an embarrassing predicament. He wiggled and wriggled and snarled his frustration to the bark, eventually tiring and hanging his head once more as the wolf arrived. His tattered ears pulled back as Magnus' words found him, eyes lidded in a glare still directed towards the stupid tree. "Yeah, well, it's not as easy as it looks." The prince muttered. There was absolutely no way he was asking for help from this guy, if it was his father or Mortis or anyone else maybe it'd be different. He took in a deep breath, scrambling his hind legs up against the tree to steady himself before working to unhook one paw at a time. Eventually he dislodged himself, falling to the dirt at the base of the tree with a thump. The heir's chest rose and fell with exhaustion, though he only allowed himself a moment on the ground to catch his breath before he stood to turn and face the man. He had to regain some dignity, his wounded ego wouldn't allow him to simply walk away now. "Thanks for helping." Azure spat sarcastically, lifting one brow towards the man. "I'm Azure Fatalis. Prince, heir, whatever you'd like to call it." Giving his name and title was not a polite act, it was to shove in the man's face who it was that he let dangle. To hopefully draw out some sort of apology or other form of grovelling. "And you are?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He smirked at the kid, taking his sassy attitude with stride and eating it up. Perhaps he'd finally found someone to tear into with words every now and then. He'd been holding back lately, saving everyone from his smart mouth in case he wound up with more trouble than he wanted from it, but this kid seemed to dish it back well. When he finally found his way down, not really gracefully he might have added, his brows rose as he waited for the child to get back up. With the kids size, he assumed he'd done more damage to the ground than it had done with him, so he simply waited without offering a paw.

"How else would you learn? Trial and error, kiddo." He scoffed, narrowing his gaze while his smirk remained. When he introduced himself however, a slight roll of his eyes followed. How many kids did Sirius have, anyway? Regardless, the title the kid held meant nothing to him at this time. "Magnus Vyle." He said bluntly, appearing bored with the kid already since he'd gotten himself down.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

The young prince puffed out his chest in defiance as Magnus scoffed reply. "Well Maggie, I'll let it - and that eyeroll - slide since you seem so very new to life in a pack. Maybe next time you see your future alpha in a predicament you might think to help him." Yeah, so maybe Azure was not technically the future alpha. Heir, yes... though Sirius had made it very clear that he could lose the title as fast as he'd earned it. Magnus didn't know that however, and the young pup had too much fire in him to ignore even the smallest amount of disrespect. He straightened out his shoulders and stepped forward towards the man. Already he was rivaling the height of their tallest warriors although he was not quite nine months old. It was strange that this man was brought into the Armada, especially if Az's impression was correct that titles meant little to him. Sirius was usually a wolf who demanded respect, how did Magnus earn his? Did he fake it for Sirius' benefit? The idea was interesting, and Azure wondered if he too could learn the art of faking polite. It would do him wonders in the race to alpha. "The Armada has taken in many wolves lately. Were you one of the broken ones, or one of the fighters?" Az wasn't one to tip toe on hard topics. He'd heard that some of their members had troubled pasts and were brought in for sanctuary. If Magnus was one of those wolves, Az might seek to find his politeness-lessons elsewhere. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Magnus hardly flinched at the nickname he'd given, and even less as the child approached. Regardless of the child's height, Magnus was older and likely wiser than any punk that thought an attitude like that would earn him respect. Demand it from others, sure, but Magnus wasn't one to freely hand it out just because of someone's name. He scoffed, amused that the kid was pushing his name and title on him like that was all he had to back himself up. Sure, the kid was bigger and likely stronger due to his size, but even he knew cockiness wasn't an ideal trait for an alpha, if he really was the heir after all.

"You'll dig yourself a very deep grave if you treat those that serve you with that foul mouth. Perhaps if your name so much as slipped from your fathers lips in the many times I've seen him, you'd have gotten the respect you think you deserve." He sneered, rising from his seated position and curling his lips at the punk. His brows furrowed, willing to challenge him should he seek something to release anger on. Magnus wasn't much different from the kid, especially in his youth, but hardly found his behavior amusing.

"Why don't you find out then, hm?" He braced himself in case he took up his offer, his once playful smirk turning into an irritated frown as he glared at the larger kid.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

It was Azure's turn to scoff this time, and he raised an incredulous brow towards the man. This was not the first time he'd heard those words from one of the wolves of the Armada, and hearing it again from this stupid stranger was even more annoying. Who said that an alpha had to be kind to their members? As long as you had the strength to force obedience, Azure didn't see the point in trying to earn some weird mutual respect. One maimed and tattered ear flicked forward in annoyance. "Bullshit." He emphasized the vulgar word (praying his father wasn't around to hear it) for Magnus' benefit, being the kind of wolf to do the exact opposite he was told. If Magnus thought he had a foul mouth he'd go even fouler. "A good alpha can command respect with strength and an iron paw. If my members need me to tip toe around their feelings then they can go elsewhere, there will be no room for weakness beneath me." A soft growl pulled from his lips as he eyed the man. Magnus suggested he see for himself, and Azure huffed his response. "Sure, yeah, I fight you and kick your ass and then you get to run to my father to tattle. No thanks, been there, done that." There was no chance Azure was letting what happened with Malalia happen again. Not when it earned him his first of three strikes to his title. Besides, Malalia had won their match and there was no coming back from the embarrassment of talking big and not being able to back it up. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

A single brow raised at the vulgar word, yet his smirk settled back onto his face. Least the boy knew some decent vocabulary, but he doubted he could back it up at this point. Despite the anger boiling within, he was actually finding this amusing and wondered how long it'd go on. It'd been quite some time since he fought with words and not tooth and claw, making him soak up every minute of this banter like a sponge. Piloerection took over his body, the adrenaline rushing through his veins causing a slight shiver of excitement to wash over him. Looking into his eyes, one might see how much he was actually enjoying this.

"A good alpha earns respect, not demands it, like your father - like Mortis." He sneered, staring the boy down hard hoping it boiled within Azure to think he thought Mortis would be a better alpha. To be honest, he thought Mortis to be too soft for the position, but Azure didn't know what he thought of the boy and he used it to his advantage.

"Tattling makes one weak, certainly not a risk I'm willing to take." He simply said with a slight shrug as he sat back down. What would he gain out of it? It'd only make him look like the child Azure was being, which was no better than Azure acting this way.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

As soon as his brother's name had left Magnus' mouth, Azure stopped thinking about the consequences. The titanic pup snarled and snapped his jaws audibly, taking one single step towards the man. "Mortis is weak." He spat. "He would hold your hand while you died, while I would paint the ground with the guts of the one who struck the blow." The young prince was vibrating, though whether it was out of anger or passion Azure didn't even know. It was an argument that was brewing within him since the first day he was told how an alpha should act. Az saw things differently, and could not be swayed. "If you want to follow a ruler too afraid to defend you, who will not bring himself to punish the deserving and will hold himself back to spare the feelings of Boreas then by all means, cast your vote to the favorite winged son." He was lost in his feeling, unable to see that Magnus was enjoying the moment. Perhaps Azure would have stopped his rant if he knew, to keep him from the satisfaction of the very outburst and reaction the man was seeking. "I will conquer Boreas and all will fear our name. One day you will thank me for the power you'll inherit, or you'll find yourself on the wrong side of a chain." For the moment, Azure did not strike. Though the temptation was quickly building to take Magnus to the ground and force him to see reason. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Magnus had backed himself into a corner really, because he couldn't argue with that logic. Mortis wouldn't make a good alpha for so many other reasons that outweighed the ways he would, but of course both were still young and apparently had much to learn before either would take the throne. His words did irritate the child beyond control though, and it had been exactly what he was looking for. Though his exact wording wasn't what he expected, he did appreciate the boy to finish the job instead of standing by one while they perished. That was a good alpha, but demanding one's respect and earning it was an entirely different thing.

"Listen boy, because I don't think Mortis would make a better alpha, but acting the way you do will not get votes in your favor. Watch your tongue or others will gladly follow him over you and leave you without so much of a whisper of your name." He snapped back, though kept his tone collected the best he could. He'd riled the boy up a bit too much, he could tell, but he hoped his words would have some effect on him if others wouldn't. "Fake it until you make it." His teeth clicked together sharply as he watched the boy, eyes narrowing as he waited to see if he tried to attack.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

Azure did his best to collect himself though his rage would not fade. A low growl rumbled from his chest at Magnus' snapped reply and for a second the prince entertained the idea of attacking. Instead however he tore his gaze away, lifted one oversized paw and swinging it hard at the ground. The deep furrows his claws gouged made him feel better to look at, he could pretend that the ground was bleeding thick crimson blood rather then mud and dirt. He took in a deep breath, blowing it out his nose before turning back to look at the man. "It doesn't make sense." Az stressed softly, trying to keep his voice level. "The weak should follow the strong. It shouldn't matter how friendly your alpha is as long as he keeps you fed and warm and safe. I don't need my pack-mates to like me to protect them, so why should they need to like me to follow me?" Azure was not so stupid as to think he was winning their heir race in any way - that is, if it did end up coming down to a vote - when Mortis was the other option. Everyone loved Mortis, he made friends with every new face or family member. Azure did not know how to win that sort of devotion, and without it he worried about how this would all end. Not well, he assumed. "I can't change myself." He insisted. "I don't know how and I don't want to." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Magnus listened with little intent to offer more advice since he hardly had any of his own experience to back it up and although he was getting a bit annoyed with the situation, he couldn't help someone that didn't want to be helped. Regardless, he listened and offered whatever he could to the boy and it was turned down, though he was beginning to see how it bothered him as he pawed at the ground and attempted keeping his voice level when he continued to speak. While Azure had valid points, Magnus worried it would be those points that chased some of the members away. He took a deep breath in order to calm himself before speaking, making sure to listen to everything the boy had to say before offering anything else.

"No one is asking you to change. I'm only saying that if you rule as harshly as you're suggesting, there may not be anyone left for you to rule. Demanding one's faith rarely earns it. Wouldn't you rather have loyal followers instead of scared ones?" His tone was softer now, hoping to calm the boy the best he could but knowing better than to expect much more than that. Azure wasn't his child, and for that he was slightly thankful, but he could only offer his opinion and hope that it made some sort of difference.

"Speech!"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2020

Azure lifted his head to Magnus once more, brows furrowed in confusion. The man's voice was soft, and from that Azure could see that he wasn't trying to joke with him. "What?" The young prince's bewilderment quickly shoved aside his anger. "Nobody needs to be afraid of me, that's ridiculous." This was being misinterpreted in some way, it had to be. Azure did not intend for his pack-mates to fear him, only those who may oppose him. "They shouldn't feel scared, they should feel safe." He struggled to think back to his actions over the last few seasons, the things he'd said or done to make others hate him. He'd never threatened anyone, had he? Sure he was a jerk but that didn't mean they feared him. Azure did not want to rule through blind devotion, but he also did not want to his pack to ever feel fear. "That's stupid." He insisted after a moment, his denial shifting his confusion back to frustration. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."