His grandfather had the most awkward timing of any wolf to ever live. A few days after he and Hazel had become… partners, he was told he was to be given a diplomatic mission. To head to Ashen and help in any way Venom needed. Which led to him packing a bag (and filling it with treats Halo gifted him) and heading to the border. He was to meet Hazel there, and he was more than a little nervous about the fact. She’d wanted to see him off, and he didn’t know how hard that goodbye would be. He arrived to find her standing there, waiting for him. He shifted his shoulder, moving the bag that hung there as he approached her. “Hey.” He said, awkward as could be. “So, you ah… ready to head to Ashen?” He asked. It would be a long journey for her. She had to head there and back again with little break between. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

Hazel really wasn't ready for this. They hadn't really been apart ever, much less for an unknown amount of time like this. It was a diplomatic mission, so why couldn't they have sent one of the actual diplomats? Why did they have to send Basilisk off to Ashen? Hazel knew better than to raise her complaints about it, but she wasn't happy. She'd stuffed her favorite blanket in Bas's bag when she didn't think he was looking. She'd spent every night since the news curled up next to him, quietly wondering what she was going to do. This was a fact of their lives, and Hazel knew that. Still, that didn't mean she was happy about it. Hazel made it to their rendezvous point first, and somehow that didn't surprise her. It was only a few minutes later that he arrived, shouldering his pack. "Hey," her tone and smile were relaxed, despite the weight in her chest over the whole situation. "Ready as I'll ever be... are you?" It's a quirk of her brow, a toss of her head. Reaching out to nip at the much taller boy, Hazel took the first few steps away from home. Trying to put on a brave face, at least for now. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

Basilisk grimaced at her question. It felt weird to be leaving the Armada behind… but maybe it would like, broaden his horizons or something? Maybe a small part of him was also excited, viewing it as an adventure. But leaving Hazel behind was hard. His emotions were a jumbled, sloshing mess. So it was hard to decide exactly how he felt, but he knew this goodbye was going to suck. “Yeah, ready as I’ll ever be” He said, offering her a small smirk as nipped at him. “We’ve a long walk ahead of us, short-fry we should get started.” He said, and crossed the border of the Armada for who knew how long. It was a mild sort of day, and the weather looked clear. Small things to think about, instead of the big ones clambering for attention in his skull. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

She'd miss him. She couldn't help but already miss him. Still, they had their walk, and that was time Hazel wouldn't waste being all sad and shit. It was a decent walk, and a nice enough day. Bas got to go on an adventure, and she'd be back in the Armada, doing the same things as always. There was comfort in certainty, and she had developed enough certainty to keep herself from coming undone. Though Hazel wouldn't admit it, parts of her were still healing. "If I get tired I'm just going to make you carry me," she grinned, pretending to collapse into his shoulder for a step or two. She couldn't help but tease and prod, things that hadn't change. Things that would never change. "I can't even imagine how bored I'm going to be with you gone, ya know." Hazel remarked as they walked. It felt like the nice day and clear skies were mocking her, to a degree. How could a day so nice feel so crummy? "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

“I wouldn’t even notice the weight.” He said teasingly, bracing his shoulder a little as she propped her weight on him for a moment. He liked that. Liked her being close, feeling the weight of her at his side - which he could do, despite his words. It was a weight he knew he would sorely miss soon. “Well. I expect there to be an extension in the tree hut, oh and I left a couple gifts for you under my bedding. You might want to see to that before the place starts to stink…” He shot her a grin as he offered her plenty of things to occupy herself with. At least she had the familiar comforts of their home. He was going to be completely out of his element when he arrived, and he was more than a little worried about it all. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

The closeness suited them now more than ever. It wasn't like they'd ever been shy about that kind of thing, but now? Well, now it seemed like it meant even more. Hazel couldn't begin to articulate how happy that made her. Like, the for-real kind of happy she didn't think she was allowed to feel. The adult kind of happy. The kind of happy that, if things had gone differently, she wouldn't have even lived long enough to feel. "Of course, I'll go drag Mort back from Valta again to do more building," she laughed softly. At the mention of gifts though, light danced in her eyes. It would always be the thought that counted, and he thought of her. It was in the same way she thought of him and... no she wasn't going to get sappy about this. Still, her steps were a little lighter. "Make sure you uh, fully unpack your bag when you get there. Not like I uh, hid anything in it, or anything." A wink, a grin. "What are they going to have you doing in Ashen, anyway? This isn't some elaborate ploy to have you fall in love with a princess or something, right?" Though her tone was joking, there was maybe a little seed of worry in there. She trusted him unconditionally, but he was the Armada's heir. Hazel could only think about the way Azure looked on her, the way he viewed her as less. The way that she'd always feel the need to fight his view of her as little more than the orphan girl that had huddled against Bas's side, caught red handed in the storehouse. Did Azure even know about their relationship? Did Sirius, for that matter? For as much as she tried not to worry, it was her own self-doubt creeping back in at the edges. It would ever be Bas that she doubted, it would be herself, it would be the circumstances. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

He twitched his brow at her, wondering what she had hid in his pack. He just hoped it was nothing that was going to jump out at him the moment he opened his bag. He wasn’t totally sure that wink wasn’t full of mischief. He jostled his pack a little, tilting his head to see if he could hear anything moving around in there. Bas had to laugh at what she said next. Like he was interested in some Princess. “If so, my grandfather is going to be sorely disappointed. I don’t need a Princess, just a scrap of a wolf who doesn't know when to give up.” Tenacity was at least half her makeup. And he knew that if it wasn’t, he would have lost her multiple times in their life. Like the day her dad turned up… that one still gave him nightmares. His voice grew a little more serious, and he glanced across at her. “I don’t care about anyone else, just you.” He whispered. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

The quirk of his brow had her grinning. Let him be on his toes, let him be worried that something might jump out at him. Some day she'd learn how to use a spare spring to rig something to explode, but Halo would probably have something to say about the girl using one of her good jars to pull a prank like that. At the mention of the Warlord though, Hazel's heart squeezed. Sirius had accepted responsibility of her when she was just a pup, and renewed that responsibility when she'd nearly lost her life trying to protect the pack. He'd accepted her as a charge, and made her feel like family. It wasn't necessarily his acceptance that worried her. Sirius was getting old. He wouldn't be the Warlord forever, and when that time came, it wouldn't be his acceptance that mattered. "Have you um, told him? Or anyone?" Hazel was uncharacteristically shy about it, curious to ask. Still, Bas's words put her worries to rest. As long as they were together, there was nothing that could come between them. As their voices lowered, Hazel walked ever-closer to the boy's side. Brushing against each other as they walked, granted she was careful to avoid the spurs of bone that made his sharp points even sharper. "I love you, you know that right?" Her voice a whisper. Her tone is tender as they move together, nearly as one. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

Basilisk paused, then shook his head. He hadn’t told Seer, and he definitely told Azure. He wouldn’t let his dad break up…whatever this was between him and Hazel, but surely that was a fight better put off until he returned from Ashen? “I told my mum” He said, his voice almost shy. She was an easier wolf to tell than the dominant males in his life. Hazel brushed closer to him, and he could feel heat in his fur wherever they brushed. He didn’t want this to end. He didn’t want to reach their destination, and have to walk away from her. This was still so new between them. He was worried it was fragile, and that distance would tear it. He didn’t want to take any risks with losing her. “I love you, too. Hazel. I think I’ve loved you for a while now.” He said, voice husky and soft as he turned it and nudged her gently in the cheek. “Maybe we should… stop, and have a picnic. This valley is really nice, and it’s a long journey. I’m sure grandpa doesn't expect me to make it one day…” and then he could put off that goodbye, for just a little while. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

She couldn't help but smile. He'd told Hanako... she'd told Halo. In some way, they'd both told their moms, and that seemed right. Whatever would come with the leadership of the Armada, well, that would come in time. That would come in time, after he was home. "I told Halo... she looked at me and she said she'd figured it out ages ago." Hazel giggled as they walked, unable to hold down the smile that shone through in her gaze. Halo probably knew before they did, really. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, but she's pretty sure that there's no way she can be more fond of the boy by her side. This would be the longest in their short lives that they'd ever been apart. Even when she was barely conscious, fighting off injury and infection, he'd been there. In and out, as much as he could be, he'd been there. This was different, and Hazel didn't want to admit she was scared. So much of her identity was tied to his, what was she going to do without her best friend? She can't help but stick to his side as they go, onward toward Ashen. Was there a time that she hadn't loved him in one way or another? Not that Hazel could think of. "Kinda always, huh?" Really, she knew she had. He nudges her cheek, and she stands on her toes to kiss him softly. "A picnic sounds good, Halo packed us some stuff." Hazel shouldered the smaller pack that the healer had shipped them off with. "I like it out here, it's nice. Quiet." The remark is soft, and Hazel leads the way to a grassy knoll. It's just high enough to see out on all sides, to take in just how nice the Valley is. "Here okay?" Though she barely waits before setting her pack down with soft thud. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

“Did she?” Basilisk asked, raising his voice a little in surprise, before laughing. Perhaps he should have realised. Halo always seemed to be able to see right through them. She knew when they took her alcohol, he was sure of it. Kinda always? was that how Hazel had felt? He wasn’t sure when his friendship with Hazel had developed into stronger feelings. He wondered if she had felt it for longer than he had. But in the end, did it matter? It had led them to the same place, even if he had arrived at it a little slower. He still managed to blush when she kissed him. He was still adjusting to it “Ohhh, did she?” He asked, he’d loved her snacks for as long as he could remember. “Yeah, it’s quieter than the Armada” he agreed with a chuckle, flopping down beside her. It only took him a few moments before he was making grabbing motions towards her bag. “I believe I was promised snacks.” "Hazel" & "Basilisk"

There is a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. In some cases, that difference wasn't black and white. Hazel could see the transition as a long, spiraling grey over the course of their time as friends. A shift so gradual she wouldn't have been able to say exactly where it started and ended. As for Halo, it seemed she was all-seeing, and far more knowing than she'd let on. It's a strange thought, but a comforting one. Sometimes it was the watchful gaze of someone who knows you, perhaps better than you know yourself, that would see it first. Hazel chuckled, snatching her bag as she tumbled to the ground beside him. A fluid motion and there was a thin buckskin spread before them. Hazel wiggled onto it before dumping out the snacks between them. The seasoned smallfish that Halo had been perfecting for as long as Hazel remembered. No two batches were the same, but each seemed to be more delicious than the last. A jar of lavender and dandelion mead, lightly alcoholic but nothing over the top. Some of the Warlord's recipe smoked meats, all smelling lovely and delicious and like home in every way. Sweetened dried berries, these too laced heavily with herbs. "Damn, I don't even know how she got all that in there." Hazel's remark came with a soft grin. Halo was still packing her bags for her, at this age. "The quiet is pretty nice, actually." Her words were soft, contemplative as she chomped on a chunk of meat. "A little weird, though. I almost got used to the noise." Things had been noisy, especially since there were two litters running around. Noisy, chaotic... the quiet is a stark contrast. She flopped over on her side next to Bas, her head on his shoulder. "You think we'll be in that spot up north forever?" Hazel's mind drifts to the south east, where they'd been when she first met them. Basilisk was the pack's future, and she can't help but wonder on what that would mean for their future. All the things they'd do for the rest of their days. It's a wild thought, in Hazel's eyes. "Hazel" & "Basilisk"