Venom was nearing her first birthday, but she was technically still a pup. Her mother gave her more responsibilities now that she’d taken a higher rank, and she was still eager to talk to her mentor about all of it. Not to mention maybe get some more lessons from him. She wanted armor and weapon too, something sleek and elegant. Nothing huge and obvious like her mother’s long polar bear cape. She hoped the Warlord might help her get an edge on her siblings and the contest for Empress.

She padded along the tall grass plains with white gloved paws as her purple tinted gaze looked for Sirius. He wasn’t the one she’d find however, her gaze fell on one of his sons. One that she had been trying to wrangle not so long ago. He’d grown so much already. ”Hello there.” She offered with a glance around, not sure who was watching him now.

Mortis was allowed some freedoms now, and he liked to wander through the Armada territory. His wide-eyed gaze moving back and forth as he tried to catch everything. He saw, just once, the form of Marshal, who seemed impossibly big to the small wolf, as glided lazily in the air above. The Fatalis had no idea of course that the bird watched him, seeing Marshal was hardly an uncommon occurrence, and he dismissed it without a second thought. He was far more interested in finding the trickle-down garden of his Auntie, which up until this moment he had heard of and not seen. He bounded forward, eyeing the small pond and the way the water lapped against the surface, and occasionally sprinkled down to the layered earth below. He didn’t stop until he was at the earth one level beneath the pond, and found the muddiest patch. He had just gotten his paws and chest soaked in dark murky liquid (and likely destroyed a few herbs) when he heard a voice. He turned around, and saw the purple eyes woman. He knew her, he had seen her on occasion around the den, and had even been picked up in her maw before. “Snake!” he cried happily, her serpent feature being what he remembered best about her, as he pulled himself out of the mud and launched himself at dirty-puppy velocity towards her. "Speech"

The boy recognized her, which was more than she was expecting, but it certainly brought a huge grin to her maw. She liked Sirius’s children but they were actually becoming enjoyable now that they were getting older. Like his dad the boy had his own nickname for her and Venom grinned at the word. She wasn’t often in high spirits, but it wasn’t as easy to stay stoic when you had an adorable puppy call you an endearing nickname.

She wasn’t excited that he was dirty but she allowed him to mbush her anyway. Venom embraced little Moris in return and rubbed his head with one white paw. ”Hey Squirt.” She teased him and looked where he’d come from. ”You know, I don’t think Io will be very happy about you messing with her garden.” She warned him, ”We should get out of here before she catches you.. Us.” Now she was muddy too, and obviously an accomplice.

He grinned impishly up at the taller pup, enveloping one of her paws in a hug. In return she brushed a white paw through the fur above his head. She looked back where he had been playing and pointed out that Auntie Io might not be happy with him. "...oops" he whispered. He hadnt meant to do anything that would get him into trouble. He had just been playing!

He was surprised when Venom seemed to count herself as one of the culprits, making it a game, and he looked st her conspirstorily, before jumping up and smearing a muddy paw across her nose. Now she definitely looked like she had been up to trouble too. "Come on, let's go hide!" He suggested, already turning from the mud patch and garden, and sprinting into the tall grasses that easily towered above him.

Venom gave up trying to decide if he sounded remorseful, they were in this together now and as long as the boy didn’t get caught it didn’t matter right? Maybe one of her dog cousins was the real culprit, that one she pup always seemed to be over here. She was half surprised when the young boy smeared more mud on her nose. Venom was finding it easier to get into the game than she expected, how long had it been since she had played anything?

”Where are we going to go?” The young princess asked him as she raced after his gangly form. The trail they made in the grass could potentially just lead Iolaire right back to them. Not that she saw the boy getting into too much trouble.

They raced through the undergrowth, the taller form of Venom easily keeping up with him. She asked where they were going, as though he had any inkling of forethought and planning. Actually, as Venom said it, Mort realised he knew exactly where he was going. He hadn’t moved with intent, but somehow he had been going that way anyway.

He lead the snake-girl to the border of Tall Grass Plains and Sea’s Plains, moving close to the borders of Weeping Woods. There, tucked nonchalantly in a corner was a big weeping tree that grew right on the Armada side of where the lines converged. It’s big trunk was bent, swooping out over the line into Weeping Woods without actually touching the ground, and for a pup with feline like claws, it was easy to scramble up the trunk, and duck into the branches and leaves over the rogue territory. Here, she could see the flattened big space where many branches criss-crossed, creating a stable area to stand and sit in. tecniqually, in a puppy's mind, this was Armada territory. That’s where the tree was growing, so that made it so, right?

He settled in and turned to Venom. “Shhh, this is my secret spot, don’t tell, okay?” he said, trusting Venom with this secret.

At first Venom wasn’t even sure that Mortis knew where it was he was racing off to, but as she asked him the boy seemed to more fully make his decision. Her long legged stride followed after the younger pup as he led them to the very farthest reaches of the empire. Venom recognized it, but never put any special significance when she helped with patrols.

He scrambled up into the tree much faster than she’d seen any non clawed puppy, she was similarly endowed and followed right up behind him. It was easy to keep their claws a secret, and she wondered if he noticed her sharp claws earlier. She settled in beside him, barely finding enough room for her tall frame to fit.

”Your secret is safe with me.” She took one very sharp clawed pinky and made a cross over her heart. Yes, she promised.

He looked over at his friend-in-crime, and grinned at the mud on her nose, his own muddy paws were tucked beneath him, and he could feel the wind drift through the many cracks beneath and around them. Despite them, it was difficult to see beyond this tree without moving and looking, and even harder to spot someone sitting within it. It was a great little spot for the winged boy to hide, to sneak away from a family he sometimes struggled to understand.

Venom crossed her heart, showing the claws feet that were much like his own as she promised to keep his secret. He looked to her, and thought of how easily she had slipped into trouble with him, followed him here, and promised not to tell. A thought began to dawn in him, “Snake, are you good at keeping secrets?”

He found a nice little private spot and Venom couldn’t deny that she was impressed. It was private and unlikely of anyone to come searching for them in a tree. Not that Venom often ran from her troubles, she was more of a face your fears kind of believer, and thus far it served her well. There wasn’t much that scared her, but for the thought of losing more of her family. After her dad died.. it was hard not to be scared of losing those closest to her.

She didn’t expect the question he asked as he looked up to her with bright blue eyes. She nodded affirmatively. ”Yes, I can keep secrets.” Knowledge was power, even little puppy secrets could be tremendous facts one day. ”But you know if you share it, It won’t be a secret anymore.” Venom wanted to know, but she also wanted to warn him. He only had once chance to keep it, once the words were past his lips he couldn’t take them back.

His friend didn’t hesitate to nod, the gesture smooth and certain, like she knew exactly who she was, and what to say. He grinned at her, an easy, impish gesture. Why was it easy with Venom? Maybe because she wasn’t his siblings, there wasn’t the same… worry, that had started to creep into his heart.

She pointed out the dangers in sharing secrets, but he wouldn’t be deterred, he needed help, he was young, but he knew it was true. “I don’t know how to hunt, I… I tried, but it was really hard. It was looking at me, and I felt like a monster. I need to hunt, everyone in my family can, and they make Da proud, but not me.” he whispered, eyes sliding to the floor as he failed to keep his gaze on hers, “Can you help me?”

He grinned at her easily, the cheeky pup finding amusement in their impromptu game. Venom was letting her guard down, allowing herself to be a pup in those last few days of pup hood. She was going to be a yearling very soon. She would be an adult, capable of making her own choices and following through with her own decisions. She’d have to hold herself to a higher standard, but she wondered if she’d return to playing in the trees with her young friend.

Venom’s dark ears perked towards him as he wouldn’t be deterred from continuing. She listened, curious about how such a young boy could be carrying so much worry. Sirius was an intense wolf, and no doubt he put pressure on her, she couldn’t imagine being one of his offspring. Venom didn’t remember having any reservation killing the cat with Mort’s father. She had been eager and willing and he’d shown her how. She hadn’t felt that terrible feeling in her gut.

Venom had experience with death though, after losing her father it had been more difficult taking a life. Prey was prey though. ”It’s hard,” she started, showing that she could understand where he was coming from. ”You have a lot of empathy, Mortis. That’s a good thing, but you have to channel it where it belongs.” She tried to think for a moment how to better put her thoughts into words. ”We have to kill to live.” Venom offered simply, it was a fact of life. You killed or you scavenged what was already killed. ”Your biggest kindness to prey should be a fast end, so they don’t suffer. In the end it either you or them, and I’d much rather it be you.” She was really starting to like the poor boy, and hoped she might help him a little.

The Klein princess was young as well though, and it was entirely possible she could miss the mark with her mentor’s young pup.

He was worried what Venom would think, if she too would judge him for what he was admitting. His ears perked when her first words were understanding ‘its hard’ she admitted. Was it? Did others find it hard, too? She didn’t think his siblings had ever admitted such a thing. She introduced a new word to his life ‘empathy’ a word that described him, or at least, she thought so. He puffed up a little when she said it was a good thing, but also that he had to push past it.

He was grateful for her words, for the understanding, without giving ground. Yes, it was hard, but it was a fact of life. It was more than Sirius had given him. He crept forward, and kissed her cheek, looking up at her with grateful eyes. “Thanks, Snake” he said appreciatively. “Could you… maybe… give me hunting lessons?” it was so easy to trust this woman.

The somewhat timid child scooted forward, closer to the bigger child. Venom was nearing her yearling mark but she wasn’t there yet. He leaned up and kissed her with gratitude, she kind of felt a lot like an aunty in those couple of moments. Venom was always a serious pup, mature far beyond her short span of less than a year. ”You’re welcome, Mort.” She didn’t know it, but she was likely building the foundation of Ashen and the Armada’s continued marriage of two packs as one Empire for years to come.

”I’m not very good,” she admitted as her ears lowered to her skull. She was still young, and most of her learning was spent fighting training with Sirius or learning the intricacies of running a pack from her mom. ”We can try though.” She wasn’t going to tell him no, but she did want him to know that she wasn’t a hunter and things might not work out well.