Winded and with wobbly legs, Hanako stumbled over the Armada's forest border. She'd been set free and knew-or at least was reasonably certain- no one was on her tail, but she fled all the same as though there was. Like Sparrow might just change her mind and go; nah you know what, can't let you leave after dropping a bombshell like that. Somehow everything had gotten even messier, tumbled down into a pit of what the fuckery even Hanako struggled to comprehend. The sort of tea that was piping hot, so sour that she couldn't even stomach one sip.

She slowed to a walk, head bowed and sides heaving as she stood in the slushy snow, not sure of where she should begin. What even needed to be said. Except that she was hurting in the worst possible way, her ego aching like a physical wound. That she had the power in her paws to make everything worse and despite what was good and right that's exactly what she wanted. To be the one to come up on top, to tell her truth and see what unfolded.

She tipped her head back and let out a warbling call, urgent and a little wobbly from how out of breath she still was. So help her Azure had to come quick she needed-there was a lot she needed, really. The list too long and her breath too short.

"speech."

Time in the Armada passed quickly as spring came upon them once more. There was always more to do, to construct, to adapt to daily, which would have been distracting in itself without the added bonus of new members, a member preparing to leave, the promotions of his prized children, and the pack challenge of his brother. Many members of his family had set off to the east in preparation to watch the challenge and Azure had volunteered to remain behind, to keep the pack running in the absence of so many key wolves. Perhaps the most annoying of challenges to overcome was that of his other children, the disappointments. Without Hana around to manage them he was forced to not just acknowledge them, but to actually take care of them. This was not what he signed up for when he decided to become a father. With Abaven gone it also meant Calypso would pose a problem for him again... but that was an issue he'd tackle when it became impossible to ignore. As the days passed and he was forced to associate with his children, he missed his mate even more. The next time Sirius insisted on sending her out on a multi-week adventure across two continents, Azure had half the mind to veto it and tell him to send his mother instead. More days passed and Azure's mood shifted more towards anger - was she stopping for tea and biscuits at every pack she reached? By the time the urgent and breathless call rang out into the woods, Azure had a whole dialogue prepared. Some long winded speech along the lines of 'What took you so fucking long? I can't stand five more minutes of your daughters, and I should never have bought that damned pigeon for you if it can't be bothered to keep me updated on things, and the next time you leave we're hiring a sitter.' In his head, it all ended up in the two of them back in their den, curled up in bed after a night of good ol' fashioned homecoming gymnastics. He sprinted from the Col to meet her, the loving reprimand on his tongue dying as soon as she came into view. Azure's sprint fell into a lope, and then a cautious stride as he neared her. Something was wrong, something more than just the demands of her very long diplomatic mission. A pang of deja-vu reverberated deep in his chest and he swallowed, keeping the alarm from reaching his tone. "Was it Chimera?" "Speech"

Thankfully she mostly managed to catch her breath by the time Azure arrived on the scene, an immediate question passing his lips as she surged forward to push her face against the floof of his neck. All thick and warm, sturdy as she leaned her weight against him. His question was a little unexpected, the last time she'd run into the King of Fenmyre she hadn't had any problems with him. He was alright, mostly, seemed intent on doing his own thing, his own way. Whatever that might entail.

She shook her head, burying her face more in the process so that when she spoke her voice was muffled, forcing her to pull back just a little. He needed to hear this, clearly.

"No. I didn't even make it that far." And understandably as soon as she was free her former quest of spreading the word for Sirius went right out of the window. "I-okay so- I was doing just as I was asked. Started off with Fireside to let them know about the move." Made sense since they were closest, on the way as she worked her way south. "But no one was even there. Tyrian and all his lot, just gone. Their cattle too. So I went looking about to see if I could find any clues as to where they went and- Sparrow found me there. In the barn."

She glanced up, gauging his response but pressed on as she inched closer. Near smushing herself against him as close as she could manage.

"We-I tried to hit her with a stick then we got into an argument and-" Her words spilled out, a torrent of memories flooding back. The shame, the embarrassment, the mortification. Things she couldn't let go of, things she deserved retribution for. "She attacked me, grabbed the back of my neck and- She tied me up Az, it was so awful." She sniffed pitifully, hiding her face once more. "Took me back to her pack and locked me up. Let her pirates torment me, call me such horrible things. I just wanted to come home."

In hardly a second his fiance had crossed the ground between them, burying her face in his neck for comfort in the same manner she had half a dozen times before. Somehow the familiarity of it was comforting to him as well, and he leaned his cheek down into her scruff to complete the embrace. They did not linger that way long, and as Hana pulled away to answer him the fur upon her scruff brushed past his nose, reigniting the fury within him. He knew who she had been with before she could even finish her story, the evidence was clearly there, buried deep in her undercoat and permeating her skin. Sparrow. His mate had begun to speak, but he could hardly hear it over the roar of blood within his skull. Azure leaned his head back from her as she inched closer, nostrils flaring as they sought the frigid northern air. She had been with Sparrow. Why? For how long? What had transpired? Most of her story went in one ear and out the other - in this moment, Azure could not care less about Fireside or Tyrian or what she had found there. It was only at Sparrow's name that he was able to focus, to meet her gaze firmly and without distraction. He absorbed the story in cold silence, tasting her shame and embarrassment and the truth of her words. Sparrow had kidnapped her. This was not a mere playful act of piracy, it went above and beyond the maims they had attempted, the fire they had set, the thievery from their marketplace. At one point Azure had hoped that if he simply ignored them long enough that the pirates would get bored and fade out of existence like so many other packs had. It was a stupid assumption, and one Hana had paid for. He would not make that mistake again - Sparrow had stolen an alpha's mate, and like his father before him he would burn villages to the ground to avenge her pain. He stepped forward towards her once more, bringing her back into his chest and doing his best not to breathe in her polluted scent. "I'm sorry." Azure's words were whispered even within the empty woods, meant for her and her alone. "I should have been there. I shouldn't have let this happen." There was more he needed to say, names he needed to acquire. He needed specifics on how she had been harmed so he could retaliate with a fitting (and greater) severity. Those things would have to wait, at least until she was safe and warm and ready back at their den. "What can I do? At this moment, what do you need from me?" There was very little Azure was not prepared to give to his koi-wolf. If Hana wanted fish, he would likely rather freeze to death in the northern ocean then return home empty handed. If she wanted Sparrow's head, well, Hana could find her way back through the woods to the Col without him. Comfort, empathy, and understanding was much harder... but Azure would do his best to muddle his way through it if she asked. "I'm not good at this, Hana. I know how to avenge your suffering, but I don't know how to relieve your pain." "Speech"

Even Hanako knew it wasn't his fault, wasn't slapping him across the muzzle with the blame. But she needed his apology all the same, felt the power dynamic shift as some control was handed back to her. Some but not all, as it rightly should be. She exhaled shakily, squeezing her eyes shut as she just sort of...was walloped with the emotional turmoil of it all at once. It could have been worse for sure, but it was still unwanted and miserable and egregiously unfair. Twisted her from the prize to a victim, where her wants and desires weren't even listened to, let alone taken into account.

She couldn't be angry at him, couldn't even force herself to feel even a little petulant towards Azure. He'd make things better, he always did.

Thinking on his offer, she allowed her eyes to drift shut again. She really had run here as fast as her legs would allow, doing that on an empty stomach left her feeling far weaker and woozier than she'd realised. They hadn't starved her of course, food had been offered and promptly refused, but the end result was all the same. She needed time to rest, to be somewhere safe, a nice big bed with an endless sea of furs and maybe some snacks from the kitchen. That sounded nice.

She wouldn't be leaving Armada lands for a while, that much was certain on her end.

Pulling back a little, she looked up at Azure with a gaze as grey as the sky above. It was important that he asked, that he was tending to her first and letting his rage burn later. Let her know where his priorities lied and soothed the catty, self-centred parts within her. He knew how it was supposed to be, they both did and though the circumstances were unpleasant this was a good thing, in a way. For her at least.

"I know you're trying." She offered the length of his muzzle a quick brush with her own, distantly a little frustrated at how out of reach it seemed to be these days. "I just-I think I need to rest a little. Maybe have Lyre bring some small things to eat to the den. And...I don't want you to leave me unless you have to. It feels like it's been so long, I missed you so much."

She did not ask much, a fact that was as infuriating as it was relieving. It did not seem right to simply sit there and be supportive while she lounged on hides and snacked on morsels delivered by his servant. Azure needed to do something, and it was difficult to do something when one of her requests was to simply remain with her. She had missed him - a good thing, surely - and he could easily shirk some of his pack duties to tend to her needs back at home where needed, but that excluded him from revenge. Azure sighed, closing his eyes as her muzzle brushed gently past his own. The first thing to do would be to get her out of the cold. He  snaked his neck around hers in another embrace, and then gently eased her to move with him so they could begin the journey through the woods home. Once there he would call upon Lyre, who would draw for her a warm bath and provide her with anything and everything she might desire. This would be a true test of the servant's abilities - Azure, without an outlet, would not look kindly upon even the most slight of failures. Once they were moving, he began to tentatively bargain. Testing the waters to see exactly how important his closeness would be to her in these coming days, and whether or not he could convince her to change her mind. "If I'm to stay here with you, how will I see Sparrow and her pirates punished?" He posed the question casually, but it was foolish to think Hana would not know him enough to recognise his intent. "I could bring you home one of her spurs... or an ear, with the earrings still attached. Lyre would take good care of you while I was away, I could make sure of it." "Speech"

Hanako followed him easily enough, didn't need to be told twice as she fell into step beside him. Leaning against his side she felt the rumble of his words pass from his ribs to her, she'd expected him to protest and complain. Knew he couldn't just sit around as she did, even after she'd asked so nicely. It was hard to get too salty about it though, when she knew he intended to act in her place, right the wrongs in a way that could not be forgotten. She hummed quietly, closer to a sigh than a sound of consideration as she imagined it in her head. Realised maybe she was asking for a little too much, needed to pull back just so. Be somewhat reasonable.

"I understand I'm just...being selfish, I suppose." At least she admitted it.  It wasn't hard to see what he was getting at. He'd refrained from ever harming her like that before, but she knew his tastes and that he wouldn't settle until his appetite was sated. If it ever could be, after what had been done, after the precedent set. She should have felt a stirring of dread at the incoming storm, maybe even tried to smooth things over and yet she felt no desire to. Just wanted to sit back and see. "If you have to go then... It's what I deserve, isn't it? Retribution."

While she had given him the answer he had wanted, the words themselves did not hit right. His ears pulled back briefly, guilt softening his brewing anger. "You aren't being selfish." Azure murmured, moving in slightly so his frame would bump hers lightly while they walked. "I am." It was an easy enough thing to vocalize and accept, especially as he had no intention of not being selfish in this particular situation. He spoke it as if it was mere fact, unavoidable and as natural as breathing. "I will stay with you for a few days. If I go to her too soon, she will be prepared for it." Besides, he would need time to pass the thought at least past his father. Azure would not seek permission from the Warlord for his right to a retaliation, but it was only fair that Sirius knew what was to come, in case he never arrived back home. Leaning over to brush his nose across her ear as they walked, he grounded himself against her scent and did his best to ignore the remnants of the bitch who had tainted it. "You will have your retribution, this I swear." "Speech"