Sleep did not come easily that night, not when her gaze kept snapping to shadows, wondered if the wrong face would round the corner. Hanako found herself at the beach, dark sand coating her paws as she stared out at the waves, huddled up in a blanket beside the smouldering remains of the bonfire she'd once put together. Or had rather had her tanuki put together with his more nimble paws. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, a thin slither of light threaded itself across the ocean waves. Her memory was a little off, not amnesia or anything equally dramatic, but the timeline in her mind wasn't quite as put together as some wanted it to be. Details were hazy and if they weren't then her pink lips were sealed up.

Basilisk had heard by now from Mortis that something had happened to Hanako. But his Uncle had been tight lipped and given him little information on what had happened, only that he should go and see her. He was due to head to Ashen in a couple days, and he wanted to be spending every minute with Hazel. But somethings had to come first, and after talking to Mortis he was worried about his mum.

Surely she was fine, right?

He followed his falcon to the beach, and found the form of his mum there. As he approached, some of the outlines of her injuries from around the blanket fell into focus. He frowned, and picked up his pace. ‘Mumma?” He said, concern leaking into the giant's tone.


"Speech"

Hanako shifted a little, her heart absolutely aching in her chest as her son called out to her. She knew she hadn't been the most...caring of mothers, had just sort of left them to grow as they would, let the surrounding family do a lot of the heavy lifting. Perhaps if she'd been more nurturing and present she would- she forced a smile, gaze gentle as her crooked smile tried to chase away what worries gathered in his expression. He had already been the largest wolf she'd ever seen before and he'd somehow managed to grow even larger still.

"Come sit with me." She said softly, wincing a little as she adjusted her position, so that she could lean into him. Cuddle like they used to when he was so very small, a blue little bean that was hers to protect and love with all her heart and more.

He hesitated for a moment, feeling a little uncertain as he looked at his mum, before stepping forward. Taking her up on her offer. She seemed so much… smaller, and more fragile than he remembered as a child. He settled himself gingerly beside her. Not sure where it was safe to touch her.

“Do you want to… talk about it?” He asked. Mortis hadn’t said what had happened to her, and he wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it or what. If she wanted revenge, he would help her with that. He would gladly rip apart anybody who hurt her, and he knew he wouldn’t be the only one in line for that.


"Speech"

He moved up beside her, all careful and ginger like he thought she might break. Or more accurately, he might squish her. Hanako was quick to smush up against him, deciding that no matter how big and old her babies got, she would always like to cuddle them. She'd wanted to be the cool mum, the nice parent, but decided this worked better for her. Just having them close, knowing that they love her, even if they don't want to admit it.

"It's okay." Hanako admitted after a moment, side stepping the topic all together. Perhaps not as tactfully as a diplomat should, but she had been out of practice. Replaced, and she couldn't really blame the motion. Sending out a hated wolf to sway others wasn't sound tactics, she realised that now, even if her pride had taken a beating. She sighed softly as she moved to rest her head against his side, all bulk and muscle, big strong boy he was. She felt safe here, which was somewhat ironic as the parent she was supposed to be the one doing the protecting. "I'm just...I'm glad you're here, that's all."

Hanako was quick to press herself against his side, and he carefully raised a paw and placed it around her. He wasn’t sure what was safe to touch, and what would hurt her. “Okay” He agreed as she deflected his question. They didn’t have to talk about it. Someone would tell him eventually, right? His Uncle, his grandfather, his father… even Halo. one of them would spill the beans eventually, and then he would know if he could extract revenge.

“Did you want to talk about something else?” He looked out across the water, blushing to the tips of his ears as he thought of a topic that would likely interest his mother. “I kind of maybe have a girlfriend.” He admitted.

"Speech"

Hanako arched a brow at his words, a girlfriend? But he was a baby, her baby-except he wasn't, not any more. She frowned slightly, wondering where the time went, how she'd managed to be so absent throughout it all. Sighing, she shook her head slightly and gave him a gentle nudge with her shoulder. Not like she could even leave a dent in him anyway.

"Only kind of maybe?" She pressed a little, giving him the side eye. She took a moment to flick through the potential girls in the pack, though honestly there weren't many options since most were related to him. That left...some of the slave girls? Hmm, she wasn't so sure about that.