Indigo brought the band up to stay near the Hallows, for more than one reason. First and foremost he wanted to see Aslatiel and talk to the little boy and girl who were no doubt becoming bright little stars just like their mother. Another reason was to talk to his father more diplomatically, he was a new band up and coming, having early trading partners was essential. Thirdly was to check in on his remaining brother. Yes he had younger siblings, but his littermates would always be special, and now that they were missing one already… He felt like he had severely neglected Mortis.

He was on his way towards the Armada, passing through the springs which he intended to linger at. Or bring a couple special wolves back here. The thought was heavy on his mind when the object of his search appeared. He was relaxing in the hot springs, incredibly close to another wolf. Indigo knew what intimacy looked like, he was no stranger now. Clearing his throat as he approached the smaller pale coated man suddenly turned beet red, spoke a quick apology and swiftly left the two of them without so much as a breath from Indigo.

Surprised mostly, Indy raised his brows towards his dark coated brother, not having suspected he’d have a taste for the same sex. Indigo hadn’t at first, but then Segin came along and… ”Did I scare off someone important?” He perked one brow then. He’d never been curious about his brother’s love lives but he felt like he stumbled on something he shouldn’t have.

"Speech"

It didn't feel right to relax in the hot springs admist the worries of his family. But Hika liked it hear, and he couldn't deny his friend a little happiness. He leaned against the white wolf and closed his eyes, trying to fall into a feeling of relaxation. That feeling didn't come, but something else did. Hika suddenly stirred beside him, and then took off out of the hot springs without a second thought. Mortis looked from Indigo to Hika, feeling like he should be following after his friend. But... Indigo. He had seen so little of his brother.

His heart in his throat, he pulled himself slowly from the hot springs and perched on the edge. The cool air stealing away the warmth the water had given him. "Indigo..." he said softly, his eyes suddenly sad as he looked at the other wolf. They had been close as children, before Indigo has started to pull away from him. Had wanted something more then the Armada, while Mortis had just wanted to be a good son. Was this wolf a stranger to him now? It felt like it was so. "Its been a time. How... how have you been?" He did glance in the direction Hika had left, but let the question lie. It had been too long since he had seen this wolf. It felt strange, almost awkward to be talking to him now.

Mortis looked like for a long moment that he was going to follow after the koi like wolf. Indigo might have imagined the looked of longing in his brother’s eye as the man disappeared into the foliage after a moment of hesitation, his face deep red and his embarrassment palpable. Indy wouldn’t press his question too hard as Mortis looked to him and seemed consumed by his presence. ”Hello, Mortis.” He returned softly, with a little nod as he walked up a bit closer to his winged brother. Indigo had been gone from the Armada since he was a yearling, maybe at one time he had intended on returning to the Armada, but not so much now.

”You can go after him, I wouldn’t be offended.” He offered his brother softly. ”I know the feeling.” There was a deeper understanding, but maybe even his brother wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. ”I’ve been doing… better these days.” He told him honestly, much better than when he was here for their loved ones funeral. He’d seen the white wolf then too. ”Who is that man?” He asked softly and quietly enough that Mort could ignore the question if he wasn’t comfortable revealing the answer.

"Speech"

He missed closeness to his brothers, and now Azure was... gone, and Indigo was a stranger. It struck Mortis in a flash of emotion, the loneliness he was mostly able to shuck off in Hikas presence. He wanted desperately to have a chance at a redo, to find a way to keep his family together. To be enough for Indigo, to have understood Azure. To have been strong enough to keep them with him. He let out a soft sigh, shivering in the cool air. He wrapped his wings about him. "That's Hika, he's a friend. He helps me feel less lost in the storm." The storm of their loss, and loneliness, and the way their loves had fractured since puphood.

"Stay a while, Indigo, tell me what you've been up to?" He wanted to go after Hika, but more then that, he wanted to reach out to Indigo. To try and bring back some of what he had lost. Hika would still be there at the end of the day, but Indigo wouldn't be.

Indigo hadn’t been active in the Armada in a very long time, beyond Aslatiel he had distanced himself. It was never his intention to separate from his family, but after the Hallows moved to Auster there was little helping the distance that grew between them. Indigo tried to banish the thought, there was no changing the past. Indigo knew better than most the dangers of exploring ‘what if’ on his own. He knew Mort was doing the same just by the look he gave him. Indy was understanding, how much in his life would he change if he was given the chance?

Mort’s words struck an incredible chord with him. Hikaru was his friend, one who helped to keep him stable on the long road. If Indigo didn’t know exactly how that felt… ”I have friends who do that for me.” He offered thoughtfully, eagerly putting attention to their similarities despite the distance between them. ”Though, they have become much more than friends.” He admitted softly, feeling his face grow flush at the confession.

Indy moved towards Mortis, carefully lowering himself into the hot springs with his brother, eager for the invitation and happy to stay and give Mort some of his time. He didn’t really want to keep him from the cute man that had made his retreat but he did feel a little bit selfish. ”Do you want me to tell you about them?” He asked softly. Hikaru seemed almost exactly to Mort what Duchess and Segin had swiftly become to him. Now he had Em and Gypsy as well, both were an essential part of his life. Emersyn was the wolf who always had his back, and Gypsy helped to carry his burden of sorrow. ”We’ve formed a band, we’re going to travel the world collecting rare herbs and trade as we go.”

"Speech"

It struck him that Indigo had a whole life now that Mortis knew nothing about. Friends, people that had his back that Mort had never met. The winged wolf wished… wished he could have had more time, more time to get it right. To know Indigo better, to be a bigger part of his life. He wanted to know about these people Indigo loved.

When his brother offered to tell him about them, Mort jumped at the chance. “Please, yes.” He agreed. Maybe he would even try and explain the confused jumble of who Hikaru was to him, too. Who he had lost in Hana. the things Indigo had missed. Maybe, but first, he wanted to hear what his brother would tell him.

There was longing in Morts eyes as his brother told him about what he had formed with these people, and what they were going to do with it. Despite who their father was, Indigo had stuck to his healing, and now he was building something magnificent with it. “Do you think you’ll eventually explore all of Boreas?”


"Mortis Fatalis"

Mortis seemed to crave the words that Indigo had to tell him about the life he built away from their family. Indy had always felt like he didn’t really belong here, and maybe that was true because as he formed his band he felt like he was finally doing right. Like all of his mistakes in the past were made to get to this point where he was leading the Nomad band. ”Well, it all started with Duchess. A sweet girl I met who was a lot like me, lost and broken.” He told his brother. ”We found solace in each other.” She would forever hold a special place in his heart. ”Then I found Segin in a storm. He was on the edge of death, but I convinced him there was more to life than what he had. He’s like… I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like we share a soul, he’s incredibly special to me.” Indigo felt more complete when they were together, and the whole world seemed to disappear when they were together.

Indigo’s dark fur hid his blush as he thought about Segin and her averted his vibrant blue gaze from Mort’s features as he collected himself. Clearing his throat he continued. ”There is little Gypsy. I found her in the forest, tied to a tree. She was left for dead by her father, and I rescued her, giving her her freedom. She had nowhere to go, so she’s followed me ever since.” He wouldn’t mention all of the horrors these wolves had gone through. Segin’s terrifying past, and what he could only assume Gypsy had been used for before he found her.

”Then, practically my right hand woman, is Emersyn. She was sold into slavery at a young age and bought to be trained as a gladiator. She’s an incredible warrior but after a terrine event she was released to be hunted down by her peers.” Em had been the most difficult to convince to join, because those wolves were still after her. ”I found her, half dead, at the edge of a river. She was very nearly killed in front of me by a hunter.” Indigo paused and averted his gaze again at the hard memory. ”That was the first man I ever killed.”

The confession fell from his lips and Indigo shook his thick pelt lightly as he tried to rid the memory from his mind. Mort also asked about the eventuality of seeing all of Boreas. ”Yes, all of Boreas and Auster.” He managed to grin as he looked back up to his brother. He had seen and done so much since they were last together like this. He hoped that Mortis had an easier time from life, but something told him that was not the case.

”Tell me about you, Mort.” He insisted softly, well aware of the conflicted expression his brother wore when he looked back towards the young wolf who fled his presence.

"Speech"

Duchess. He committed the name to memory, if only because of the other wolf's importance to his brother. Segin. These wolves each held a piece of Indigo’s soul, and Mortis couldn’t quite bring himself to be jealous of them. He wanted Indigo to be happy, even if he also desperately wanted him to stay. Gypsy, Emersyn. Indigo also told him about the first life he had taken, and Mortis reached out a paw, folding it gently over Indigos. Offering what little support he could. “You’ll have to come back and tell me of the places you’ve seen.” He whispered, like a promise that he would see his brother again. Indigo asked what Mortis had been up to, and he found himself averting his gaze. Indigo had been saving these wolves, and forging a path for his future. Mortis? He had been cowering from the past. “I… I returned to the Armada because Tamsyn said she believed Sirius was losing it. I’ve… been keeping an eye on him. I won’t let him hurt our family.” he whispered. Defying their father was a terrifying prospect, but actually fighting him? "Indigo" & "Mortis"

Indigo spilled his heart to his brother, unlike he’d ever been able or would be able to tell his father or Aslatiel. He told Mortis things that he hadn’t even fully been able to tell himself until the words were out in the open. Mort offered his ear and his support, as dark paws clasped his own as Mortis looked to the future and saw all of the potential Indigo had before him. "I will,” he promised with a light squeeze of Mort’s paw. "Once it's warmer, when winter leaves again.”

Mortis looked ashamed of his own path forged, he averted his gaze and spoke softly about their father and how he was struggling after losing their mother. "If any of us could do it, Mortis, it’s you.” He returned softly. Azure was gone, Aslatiel would have been a close second. She never left the Armada, and had devoted her life to it and their family. She took her duties seriously, going so far as to swiftly become a mother and give her contribution to the next generation.

Indy had faith in his brother though. He had always been expected to be hard and intimidating like their father but he was softer and felt more keenly like Indigo. Those qualities would just make him a better leader. "I believe in you.” He had already seen some very broken wolves make leaps and strides in recovery and becoming stronger, he know that Mort had untolds amount of potential and he would find the key to unlock it.

"Speech"