The adventure with Hana was more stressful then Az would have liked, he hadn't minded playing the role of escort while he was growing up but now with his failure to protect his mother upon his shoulders, he found it hard to relax outside of the Armada territories. Thankfully it was an uneventful adventure, but he wondered just how many more times the frequent navigator would drag him along to explore a brand new world and suddenly found he had empathy for his poor father in more ways then one. Not only had he needed to keep an eye out for his koi-wolf and keep her safe from harm, but she'd found an object she joked about asking him to take home for her and Azure couldn't let the idea go.

He had returned Hana home, had a much needed rest, and with the morning sun went off in search of the one wolf who might understand the need he felt to see her smile like that again. Pausing along the beach that ran along the base of the alpha's den, he briefly considered knocking upon the door. His mother was likely inside along with the Warlord, and without much interest in facing her and that failure to protect again, Azure resigned himself to sit and wait for Sirius' morning routine to begin.


"Speech"

Sleep and Sirius had never been friends. Long before the sun had risen, he slipped out from his den and made his way along the borders. He did twitch a little at catching the scent of Azure and Hana where they had crossed outside of his territory - he didn’t remember giving that wayward Koi girl permission to leave. Shaking his head, he made his way down to the forest border of the Armada, and began to hunt for Zee’s breakfast. Grabbing her food from the stores was a no-go but at least Artorias had given her a few warm things.

By the time he caught breakfast, morning was just beginning to peak along the horizon, and he returned to the den to deposit the catch for his Wife. coming upon the den, he found Azure waiting outside. “Son.” he said in greeting, brushing past his teal toned boy to leave the food just inside out of the elements.

Backing out again, he nodded his head to Azure. “Walk with me.” He commanded, bringing them away from the den where their voices wouldn’t disturb the Queen. Azure never came for him unless he wanted something

"Speech"

Sirius arrived from a direction Azure had not anticipated and the heir's brow raised, confused and slightly impressed. It should not have surprised him that the Warlord started his mornings so early, but it did serve as a reminder that one day if Azure were to inherit the throne, he may have to stop sleeping in. Oh, how responsibility was as annoying sounding as it was wonderful.

His father beckoned him away from the den and Azure obeyed silently, remaining that way until they were at a far enough distance away to ensure his mother's rest would be undisturbed. "How are the pack stores recovering? Hana said she brought back quite a few fish." Before he asked a favor of his father - especially one that would draw the warlord away from his pack and hunting - he wanted to ensure they were stable enough for it to not be an outrageous request.  

"Speech"

They moved away from the den, and Azure seemed to instantly grasp the reasoning of it. Holding in his questions until they were out of earshot of the den. The Warlord raised his brow in surprise when Azure’s first question was about the pack's supplies. Somehow, Sirius didn't think he had come looking for his alpha at the break of dawn to talk about supplies. “It’s slowly building up again, on our current trajectory, we shouldn’t have to tighten our pelts for winter”

His voice darkened a little as he spoke. He knew sometimes these things happened, but it still frustrated him that now his pack had to work double time to prepare themselves for the coming winter. If it followed the same suit as last winter and lasted more than one season, they might find themselves in some trouble. They would have to raid to keep up their supplies.


"Speech"

Azure nodded thoughtfully, murmuring a soft "good, good." as Sirius confirmed that the stores were on the way to being restocked once more. He glanced down at his paws, then back up to his father, biting his lip as he tried to spit out exactly what he wanted to say. Eventually he had to just man up and take the chance, and so straightening his shoulders and meeting his father's sharp gaze he spoke once more.

"So, I was on a trip with Hana to the mountains, we came upon some sort of compound built into the rock." He wanted to rush past the finer details and into the meat of the issue, before he bored his father with a simple navigation story. "Anyways, there are some square beddings in there, a whole shit ton of them. And they're heavy, but really comfortable. They're firm but soft, and, well.." He sighed, tearing his gaze off his father's face and grimacing down at his paws, feeling like a child again. He continued, his voice quiet and almost embarrassed. "Hana joked about me bringing one home, and I'd like to do that, but I need help. I figured, maybe if you could help we could grab one for mom, too." While the shame hadn't left his eyes, he brought them cautiously up to meet Sirius', intending to use the best bargaining chip he knew of on the Warlord - his mother.

"Speech"

Azure's murmured response told Sirius that it had indeed been conversational filler. There was an awkward pause, as though his son was struggling to verbalise something. The Warlord waited, giving him a chance to work through it. When he spoke, he found himself grinning, and managed not to laugh.

“Alright, how far is this compound? Have you considered what we would need to move them? How heavy are they” he asked, already bringing them to the logistics of the matter. The lost coats from the storm wouldn't matter so terribly if he could bring home something unique and comfortable for his Wife. Of course, there was also the question if their wayward Hana deserved the trouble - but then, she had been fishing to fill the supplies.

"Speech"

The Warlord's grin said all it needed to and Azure suddenly felt the foolishness fade away, catching his father's train of thought and running with it. Permission had been granted, now they had to determine how. He squinted, trying to remember the heft of the weight of the thing although he'd tested it so barely with a paw. "Heavy, but I think we could between the two of us at least get it into a cart." He suggested. "The compound itself is between here and the battlefield, hidden in the mountain beside Fireside's territory. The difficult part will be the river to cross with the cart on the way back, I think." Azure had not gone and looked whether there were makeshift bridges along the river's shore, he'd never considered himself a scout or explorer and that was information Sirius would have already gathered. It may have been a fools errand, but at least he could say he tried.

"Speech"

Azure gave him what information he could, and Sirius nodded. He glanced up at the early morning sky, and then tilted his head even further, opening his maw and summoning the bear. “We will toss two planks of wood in the cart, and cross at the shallowest part of the river, it’s worked in the past.” he explained to Azure.

“Meet me at the border ready to go in ten” he ordered, already moving to get the cart. Aure had never asked much of him, and it was clear he was falling hard for Hana. doing this for his son, and bringing home a wonderful bed to surprise his Wife? Yes, he was all aboard.

"Speech"