As a high ranking wolf in the Armada, it wasn’t long before his Father informed him of the reappearance of Hanako. She was a wolf he had tried not to think about too much, since the loss of her friendship had left quite an ache in his chest. But hearing she was home? Of course he wanted to seek her out.

Just a little enquiry, to see where the two of them stood. He didn’t want to dance awkwardly around a packmate. So, he trotted along to her den, a cautious smile already beginning on his muzzle. He wondered if the koi wolf had held onto that friendship bracelet the younger version of Mortis had made…

He scratched lightly at the den entrance, surprised to see Azure’s companions hanging around. “Hanako, are you in? It's… it’s Mortis.”

"Hana""Mortis"

Hanako wasn't really under house arrest, but with the weather being as cold and dreary as it was she had very little interest in venturing outside. Sirius had been right in stating that hiding away in here would be a waste, that it quickly lost its cosy charm, but she still wasn't sure how she felt about all of this. About everything, the twists and turns her life could take if only she took the leap. But even that seemed to be asking for too much, with Sparrow and her pirates Hanako had simply been swept up by the charm of it all. She hadn't thought about the consequences much at all and it showed, clearly.

So lost in her thoughts, Hanako was taken aback by the light scritching by the entryway. She paused, her ears tipping forward as they caught the soft timbre of Mortis' voice. What was he doing here? Things between them hadn't ended well, to say the least, so the fact he was reaching out at all made her feel a little hesitant. She wasn't really in the mood to get into another argument, least of all with a Fatalis who easily loomed over her.

His rejection still hurt, especially with how it had violently spiralled out of control, and she wasn't really sure how she felt about it all. Despite what she claimed she was the sort who clung onto grudges, her ego couldn't tolerate slights and Mortis had snubbed her pretty thoroughly. That and she could still catch Hikaru's scent on his fur just rubbed her the wrong way, like he was inadvertently smushing it in her face. That he just didn't want her.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied, frowning a little, the tone of her words such a stark contrast to how they used to be. How she wanted things to be.

He waited patiently outside the den, twitching his ears in her direction, listening for her voice. When she spoke, it sounded glum, and a bit emotionless. Like she was talking to a stranger. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, but it still stung. He and Hana had been so close once, and the loss of her would always hurt.

“You guess you're in?” he quipped gently, sticking his head around the corner to find the familiar colouration of the Koi wolf. “Hey, Hana.” He said, a sort of yearning fondness in his tone. He didn’t venture any further than the den entrance, and fought not to fidget. “I can go, if you’d prefer, I just thought you’d like to know I’ve been looking after Toshi for you. If you want to come get him?” no telling how she would react when she saw the roundness of her companion. Looking after had mostly meant feeding him, and he had wanted entirely too much of that.

"Hana""Mortis"

Dealing with Mortis was something Hanako had been dreading, it was why she'd spoken to Azure about it. But it seemed as though the winged Fatalis was determined to try and break through the icy walls she'd put up to keep him at bay. Her feelings of resentment had simmered down somewhat, her temper did not flare at the sight of him and she didn't feel much of a pull to spit cruel words his way. But something had been lost between them, irrefutably so, and Hanako wasn't convinced it could be replaced. Or if she even wanted it to be. With a sigh she pushed herself to her paws and finally met him in the middle, just standing shy of the den entryway. He hadn't changed at all from the looks of it, he'd already been about full height as a yearling, and he still carried that youthful edge to him. Like he'd forever be soft at heart.

"So that's where he got to." Hanako acknowledged with a hum. The raccoon dog hadn't followed, no doubt having chose to stay behind to take full advantage of Mortis' kindness. It sounded like something both of them would do, give and take. "Sure, show me where's at." She said after a brief moment of thought, still holding him back at arms length.

After a moment he heard the rustle of movement in the den, and then she was near the entrance, her eyes scrutinising him. He offered her a smile, a little shy, but genuine. He was determined not to ruin this with a flood of overzealous emotions. He could hold himself at bay, and present the face Hana needed. If indeed she needed anything from him any more.

He folded his wings in tightly against his sides, and gave her a nod “This way” he directed her, before moving off in the direction of the pack's central dens. He had last seen the tanuki near the firepit, digging into a large piece of seabass that the Winged Heir had caught. He didn’t imagine the companion would go far while there was tasty fish to munch on.

"Hana""Mortis"

Hanako followed Mortis in silence, remaining a few paces behind as she glanced at her surroundings. Azure had been quick to shoo her into her den and though she was free to walk the territory she hadn't done so just yet. No one knew of her current predicament, so there was no reason for her to avoid her (former?) pack mates, but she found very little pull to seek them out. The only other person here who she didn't have a complicated relationship was maybe...Sedna? But she'd always kept to herself so it wasn't as if the girls hung out all that often.

By the time they arrived to the centre of the Plains, Toshi had already eaten a considerable amount of fish. He turned, a little taken aback by seeing Hanako after so long but wisely had the mind to seem at least a little bit sheepish. He had indeed put on a lot of weight, but the majority of his bulk was pure floof. That or unless Mortis had been feeding him lobsters every day. Not really sure what to make of her turncoat companion, Hanako eyed the fire, its flames dancing in the reflections of her pale eyes.

"So...how have you been?" She finally asked Mortis, not really looking his way.

They found the round critter easily enough, chowing down on his fishy prize. Mort gave him a fond look, before turning back to Hanako. His once-friend had her eyes on the fire, and it reflected well against her white body and koi markings. She really was a stunning figure. He found himself looking away again. He knew why he had pushed her away. He had done it for a brother he loved, and it had cost him his friendship with Hana. He didn’t know how he could have done differently, but he held some regret all the same.

His own eyes drifting to the fire, he tilted an ear Hana’s way. “I’ve been…” Lost, confused? Trying to find himself and his place? “...good. Taking some lessons with Sirius and the heir from the Hallows. Do you know him? Artorias.” Trying to learn a little more about standing on his own four feet. “How about you, Hana. How have you been?”

"Hana""Mortis"

Hanako wouldn't turn to look at him but listened all the same, her ears tipping slightly so she could pay attention. He was sugar coating it but what else had Hanako expected? It wasn't as if their current dynamic could shoulder the weight of harsh truths and they both knew she'd only asked to be polite. Though their former relationship was lost, sunken to the bottom of the sea, she saw no reason to be snappy or cruel. They were in essence starting from the very beginning, as aloof strangers who weren't sure where best to put their footing. It was better than constantly fighting and Hanako knew better than to stir up conflict within the Armada. Azure wouldn't like it and he'd made it pretty clear he supported Mortis' actions, for once.

Hanako shook her head, she'd never even visited the new Hallows lands, let alone rubbed shoulders with the wolves that called it home.

"Heir? He one of Resin's kids?" At his next question she shrugged, it was loaded and like Mortis she gave the bare minimum. No wasn't the time or place to delve into... anything really. "I'm fine. Shouldn't really complain." Which was to say there was a lot she disliked, but complaining to a Fatalis wasn't the way to go about it.

It did seem like a strange sort of conversation. A polite meeting of strangers, they might as well have been talking about the weather. He was just glad she didn’t turn and run from him, as she had done in the past. It was a chance to see if they could build something new, and he wasn’t about to blow it.

“Yeah, Resin and Tamsyn” He agreed, wondering if she knew that Resin had passed. Another pause, and then Hana gave a fairly bland answer herself. He did prick up an ear at her wording. Shouldn’t complain. “You know I'd beat anybody up for you if they gave you trouble?” he said, glancing back towards her with a half smile lifting at his maw. Mortis, the friendly giant. Beating up wasn’t exactly his forte, but he would always defend his friends.

"Hana""Mortis"

Hanako hummed, she knew Resin better than her mate but had still seen Tamsyn around the Armada, when they both still lived here. It was strange, how wolves came and went, settling their roots here only to rip them up after much time had passed. Hanako imagined they had asked to leave and received Sirius' blessing, for all his possessiveness she knew he was mostly reasonable at heart. That if she had gone through the proper channels he would have let her leave, probably... Except that Hanako refused to admit fault here and the longer she lingered on conflicting thoughts the more tangled they became. Making her question whether she even knew what she was doing, what she wanted and so on so forth.

She side glanced Mortis for a moment, her sight lingering on his profile. His face was a little more streamlined than Azure's, his form carrying a daintiness his younger brother did not.

"Why, you hankering to fight Azure?"

He found Hana’s gaze on him rather heavy, and found himself standing a little straighter. As he did when Sirius glanced his way. Straight, shoulders back, and alert. He found it oddly strange that Hana’s gaze would have the same effect on him now as Sirius. Perhaps it was the familiarity of a gaze searching and finding him wanting.

He did grimace a little at the name Hana dropped, but the winged wolf was true to his word. “If my brother is giving you a hard time, and you wish for it, I'll knock him back a step for you.” He promised her quietly. This time his gaze searched her, looking into those familiar pale eyes, and wondering what was going on between her and Azure. He knew his brother loved her, but he could also be an idiot. That… ran in the family, perhaps. If Azure had hurt her, he would defend her, brother he loved or no. Strange, how he broke his friendship with Hana in his bid to ensure Azure had first claim on her, but he was still willing to punch his brother on her behalf.

"Hana""Mortis"

Hanako quirked a brow, not really sure if she believed him or not. She knew Mortis was not a liar at heart but she struggled to see it, to know he'd square up with Azure if only she asked. It was a lot of power for one woman to have, the sort she did not deserve, and yet selfishly she found it tempting all the same. She lingered on his phrasing, on the emphasis of him knocking Azure back a step and then his intentions became a little clearer to her. So he hadn't changed all that much it seemed, his life had shifted and reshaped itself around him and here he stood, unwilling to rock the boat too much. Lest he let too much water in.

She wanted to be coveted, fought over, but not to the extent where she was in essence backing Mortis into a corner. Not when his affections laid somewhere else.

"You shouldn't say that." She finally uttered with a flick of her ear. Toshi glanced behind his shoulder and peered up at Hanako, sensing her shift in mood. "Your priorities lay somewhere else, with Hikaru."

"My priorities lie," he said gently "with all of my friends. With all of my pack." And if even if she were a new wolf in the Armada without all this history between them. If she was new and struggling and hurting in some way, he would call her friend and stand up for her. That was the decision he had made in returning to the pack. In understanding that he might have to defend these wolves from an unstable Warlord. If Azure proved a threat to his wolves, then he would make the same promise against his brother.

He knew Azure, and knew his brother would defend the pack from any outward threat, but Mortis would always balance him within the pack. That what the responsibilities Mortis had decided. What it meant to return, and what it meant to be Heir. He shook his head, letting the heavy thoughts roll away for the moment. Let some of the serious sink back, and offer her another smile. "Since Toshi has been devouring our supply, would you like to go fishing with me?" He suggested lightly.

Mortis was quick to double down on his sense of duty and his place in the Armada. She understood where he was coming from and acknowledged his heavy burden as heir, but in pointing such things out he was merely skirting around the issue. He hadn't even mentioned Hikaru at all, as if he hadn't spent the past few months wandering the world with the koi-wolf at his side. It was his prerogative to spend his time with whomever he wanted, but really was he so wilfully ignorant? It seemed as though the Fatalis brothers shared something in common after all, an inability to stop and try and see things from Hanako's perspective.

He was all to eager to brush it all aside, to go fishing like they were fast friends once more. She hated being difficult, took no pleasure from being a stick in the mud, but she just couldn't let go like Mortis wanted her too. It felt like the past clung to her like drying tar, the more she tried to peel it off the more it spread across her form.

"Maybe later." Was the softest way she could think of putting it. It was proof she still cared, she supposed, that she was still trying to people please, to a degree. Soften the blow as much as she could."Sea's too cold."

And there is was. He gave her a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. They weren't strangers and new friends, as much a he might wish to pretend otherwise. She was a wolf who didn't forgive him.

Her polite refused was met with a dip of his head "Of course." He agreed, knowing there would be no later. He glanced back at her fish eating friend. He would miss the tanuki's company too, but returning him had been right. "Don't hesitate to call if you need me, Hanako." He said, finding a polite distance in her full name. She could hurt him a hundred times, but he would still fight for her. But maybe that's was more who he was, and who he wanted to be. She had given him a strength, in hurting him.

"Good day to you, Miss Hanako." He said, his wings spreading from his body as he dipped his head to the woman, and brushed gently past her, moving towards the Armada beach.

Now Hanako didn't like that. Her brows pinched as she huffed out a sigh, what did he want from her? She could tell her response was not what he'd wanted to hear, old sores hurting anew but what else was she supposed to say? She clung to past grudges as though her life depended on it, Mortis couldn't just trundle back into her life and expect everything to be fine without acknowledging the mess they'd both made in their wake.

But if he wasn't ready to do that just yet she wasn't going to make him. It wasn't her place and even if she wanted to she simply didn't have the right words to give, none that weren't tinted by old bitterness.

"Look just-don't. Don't call me that, I'm not old." She huffed, feeling more than a little offended.

He brushed gently past her, angling his feet towards the familiar territory of the Armada beach. He thought he had done okay. Acknowledged her presence, returned her companion, and offered his aid if she needed it. He had done it with a smile on his maw, like she hadn’t broken something inside of him. But her words made him hesitate. She hadn’t moved, standing where he had left her when he threw a look over his shoulder. He huffed a soft laugh at her words. Torn. Walk away His common sense told him, but he had always craved her presence. “Well. If you don’t have anything better to do, you could wait on the shore, and I could catch you some breakfast.” He suggested, almost shyly. "Speech"

Hanako thought about it, the tip of her ear flicking as she ran the thought through her mind. It wasn't really like she had anything else to do but she felt guilty, almost, as though she was leading him on. Goading him into thinking old paths could be retrodden. Neither of them could take back the past, pull in tears already shed, but she saw no harm in just sharing his company. In allowing one another not to feel so alone, a mere shadow of what they used to have but enough for now. It had to be, anything else would be asking for too much.

"Sure." She agreed, idly glancing eastwards, towards the distant call of rolling waves.

If nothing else she realised how much she'd missed the ocean, that the salty tinge of the air belonged on her coat, accentuating her naturally soft and sweet scent. Taking the lead she padded her way back down to the sand and couldn't help but feel a rush of nostalgia washing over her, it was all so familiar and yet different. Her thoughts didn't quite so level as they used to, or as easy to manage, to simply just go with the flow of it all.

"I suppose Sirius chose this place because of Ashen, right?" She asked Mortis, shooting him a side glance. Did the Warlord even like the sea? Or was he simply trying to replicate it's destructive, unyielding nature?