He found Ignita in the storeroom, and scarcely came to a stop before he was barking but orders. “Ignita, come.” He commanded his slave, turning on his heel and leaving the room again. Knowing his little Songbird would be at his heels, he led her across the Col. Heading to a little den that sat unoccupied across from her own Den. He pushed aside the makeshift door and entered, his tail swishing slowly behind him. A grin twitched on his maw, out of her sight.


They arrived at last, to a low table made for a wolf to easily sit in front of and rest in as they worked. On the table was an array of parchments of different sizes, and next to that… that a large variety of little pots inside the pots sprang the primary colours, though a few pots were empty, and a flat dished container lay near them. “I met a travelling trader.” And had paid very, very dearly for this collection. Some of the finest coats he had caught and skinned himself were gone from the den now. “On that paper you'll find some care instructions. Apparently the paints can dry out over time, but it's easy to bring them back to life. This is yours, Ignita. All of it.” at last, his commanding tone bleed away, and a hint of doubt entered. “If you want them, that is.”

Her task was suddenly interrupted by his massive presence in the storeroom. She had little time to greet him before he barked out his command for her to come. The sharpness in his tone startled her heart to beating in fear and her paws quickly made sure to shorten the distance between herself and her master.

As they quickly crossed the col she couldn't help but feel like she was in trouble and thought she could feel the eyes of everyone watching her being led to some kind of social gallows. Did she forget something he bid her to take care of?

They entered a new room she hadn't entered before and saw a curious set up within. Confusion crossed her face as she struggled to comprehend what it was he was showing her. A trader? Paper... instructions... Paints?

Her brow was furrowed in confused contemplation. She slowly picked up the instructions and read them. Then she put it down and looked at the pots for a moment, her mind struggling to shift gears and absorb what she was seeing, what it all meant. She dug into her memory banks for the word paint, knowing she knew what it was but it was escaping her for the moment.

She picked up the pot that held the brilliant blue pigment and it suddenly came rushing at her like a falcon to the face.

"Wait... my... Mine?" Her heart now beat with an excited energy, and her brows lifted in surprise. She glanced up at Basilisk, searching for the joke simply out of habit. He had never given her something just to whisk it away, but she couldn't help her upbringing taint her perception. Was it truly hers? She could... paint?
"I've never painted before..." She said quietly in awe, would she be any good at it? Could she paint the brilliant murals of the old palace in a new way that would suit the Armada?

"Basil this is amazing! I love it!" Her own nickname for him slipped through her tongue in her excitement. Would he notice, would he mind? She wanted to hug him!

"Speech"

He watched her carefully, observing the moment she understood. The hesitation and doubt, and then excitement. ‘I've never painted before..’ she said. He wasn't sure… wasn't sure it would suit her style, or something she would enjoy. But he had seen the trader, and found the paints… the creeping whisper in his heart had told him to buy them. “Yes, well. I've seen your sketches. They're good.” He told her. Still watching her almost wearily as she took in the expensive gift. He was afraid… afraid his deeper feelings would ruin the friendship building between them. He had come to realise that she was something he could lose, because he wasn't allowed to hold her tightly. He was afraid.


He grimaced at the nickname that spilled from her lips. “Basilisk.” He corrected her sharply. “Or Warlord, Master, Lord, he who owns me…” his voice turned dry, and then teasing the more he spoke until he found himself reaching forward and tugging teasingly at her ear. “there's a horse hair paint brush around somewhere, And you don't have to remain in the cave. The table folds up, so you can carry it around and paint where you like.”

She beamed beneath him as he praised her sketches. She was delighted to try her best to learn how to paint! Would she have had these opportunities if she had stayed in the desert?

He sharply corrected her away from the nickname, at first it jolted her mildly but she smiled almost secretively as his voice trailed on about the names she could call him. She felt him reach forward and her heart beat faster as she felt his breath on her ear, a shiver ran down her spine as he teasingly tugged it. The rogue! She gently pulled away and playfully glared at him with a coy smile. She couldn't deny she liked it.

He told her about the paintbrush and how it could be carried around! She responded at first with a playful smirk.
"Well, He who owns me, I can start looking for that paintbrush... after..." She dipped one delicate paw into the yellow paint and tested it on the paper, it was thick and would need some more water. A tiny yellow paw print was left on the paper, the color was so bright!
Her tail wagged back and forth swiftly in delight.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

“...After.” His mind went somewhere it shouldn't, and his expression went blank as he looked at the little fiery wolf. Watching as she turned - not to him - but to the blank page he had laid out for her to use. Using her paw to spread yellow across the page. He was thankful her attention was elsewhere, as he wrestled control of himself once more. Focus. He told himself.


“Well, she-who-belongs-to-me” he said, almost lazily. “The trader hinted that mixing these colors might produce unexpected results… he winked when he said it, if you're brave enough to try.” He challenged the girl. The trader had also said he would make sure to travel back this way in another month to see if they wanted to restock on their supplies. Of course he would, with the treasures Basilisk had paid him with. This might yet be an expensive hobby for her to develop. He wondered if they couldn't produce some paint of their own…

She smirked as he rumbled his almost lazy title of hers then allowed her attention to be pulled back to him when he remarked about what the trader said. Her mouth dropped slightly in excited awe. Then frantically dipped her paw in a bit of red and smeared it over the yellow on the page. Suddenly a bright orange blossomed where the red and yellow met. She audibly gasped.

She stood with her arms on the table, her tail swaying behind her in excitement, leaning over the paper and pots.

She dipped a clean toe into the blue pot and smeared it over the colors, practically vibrating with joy as it crossed the yellow into green, the red into purple, and the middle into a dark muddy back.

"He was right! Look! Oh wow!" She was giddy with delight, now smearing the paper with blues and red, watching as it mixed into a brilliant purple. Where on earth could she learn the recipes for these? How expensive was this?

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Basilisk stepped closer, shadowing her smaller form as he looked at the paper. He too wanted to see what would happen when the colours were mixed - and was surprised to see the vibrant orange emerge across the mix. “Hmm. He said, understanding what the trader meant now. She had a great deal more variety of colors than they had first realised. Assuming it worked for more than just the -- except he wasn’t the only one wondering. Iggy grabbed a blue, and sure enough another colors emerged. Yeah, they were going to go through that paint fast.

“Well, you love to experiment. I’m ordering you to discover all the colors of these paints and what you can draw with them.” he winked at her, his voice light and teasing. He was making it a command so that her time would be cleared to experiment.

He rumbled above her, leaning over the pages as well. Her body responded with a warming to his closeness. A rose pallor bloomed beneath the white fur as she stood at the table. She ignored it, so delighted and enthralled in the colors was she, she ignored the desires of her body to respond to his. Resolved not to give in.

But this gift was immeasurable. Her heart was so full it felt like it would burst. His command was soothing, to explore and experiment was going to be part of her job! She leaned against his arm, pressing her cheek into it.

"Thank you. I would love to find some recipes so I could make more! I can't imagine what you traded for this!" She gratefully sighed.


"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He startled almost imperceptibly as he felt her lean against him. He turned slightly, breathing into her neck but not leaning down and planting that kiss that sat in his heart. Instead, he patted her shoulder gently. Knowing this gift said the things he wasn't allowed to say, filles in for the actions he couldn't take. Or at least, he fancied it did.


“The trader wouldn't give up those secrets, but perhaps another pack might know how to make them. In the meanwhile, He said he'd come back this way so we can stock up again. So don't be afraid of running out.” He told her, skirting the comment im what he had traded. “You should paint some of the cave walls’ he suggested, knowing a bit of color would bring life to the Col.

She felt his heavy paw on her shoulder and the weight of it made her whole body relax. She pulled away with a swish of her tail to go back to the paints. He recalled that perhaps some of the packs might have information about how to make pigments but not to be afraid of running out. Then he suggested painting the cave walls.

"Oh!! Can I? The walls? Really?" Her joy bubbled over and wet her cheeks, she couldn't contain the sheer elation she was feeling. Her tail wagged aggressively behind her, making her whole body follow in the motion. Would these paints do well on the walls, or did she need to find a new type of paint for that? Nothing like trying it and finding out! An experiment! All the experiments! Her cheeks hurt she was smiling so much, and weeping joyfully.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

The happiness she gained from the gift was undeniable. He watched her for a moment, watched her tail sway behind her and tears of joy leak out. She was so free with her emotions, she expressed them so easily. Sadness, fear, joy… attraction. Watching the joy take over her body, he knew how badly he wanted to push her up against the cave wall behind them. Perhaps they'd splatter paint through their coats as they gave themselves over freely to their emotions. To be so free…


He took a step back, knowing it was the choice he could make. “The walls could do some color. Perhaps you could mark each cave - the storage and baths, sleeping dens, market entrance. You've the freedom to do so. enjoy your paints, Little Songbird.” He told her, backing out a little further. Not quite ready to turn his back and remove her from his view.

She sighed, trying to obtain her composure. My, how he had outdone himself. She kept shaking her head, she just couldn't believe she had been given such a gift. To mark each cave and paint and experiment to her heart's content. She had one painting in mind right away.

She grabbed a bit of the yellow and a bit of the red, making a bright ginger on the platter, the same as her coat. She grabbed a new paper, it was large and would fit his paw quite nicely. She dipped her paw in the orange and placed it square in the middle and lifted it up. The perfect tiny orange print left there.

"Come, I have an idea, may I paint it blue?" She said, reaching to grab his massive mit, to dab the pure blue paint on the pads, and then press it over her previous print. Her tail wagging furiously still. A splash of blue paint had made it over her cheek where she had wiped one of her happy tears away. She could kiss him she was so happy. She wanted to kiss his paws as soon as she tried grasping it. She wouldn't, she couldn't, she won't. But oh how she wanted to show him how much she loved him.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

His escape attempt was foiled by the tiny little wolf. She grabbed at his paw, and he let her. Knowing she wouldn't stand a chance of lifting it on her own. He frowned thoughtfully at her as she painted his paw blue and pulled it to the page where her own paw sat, patient and still in the middle. He pressed his paw over it, filling the page with color. He looked at the paper for a time, then turned his gaze to Ignita. She was looking at him, and he saw something in her eyes. 


Affection. Adoration, perhaps. Not an emotion he was accustomed to seeing pointed his way. Instead of filling him with heat, it hollowed him out. He stared at her, and felt his blood pressure drop. Felt the blooming pain in his heart when he realised he had already made up his mind. He'd made it up some time ago, but he had lived in denial. ‘Ignita, I… I have to go.” He whispered. He didn't know what expression was showing on his face, his body was cold and he couldn't feel it.

She beamed at the picture finished, simple, but effective. She looked up at him, her golden eyes flickering between his blues. Something curious in his echoed back at her. She didn't know what it was though, it looked... empty? No... more like... Pain.

Her smile slowly faded. Oh... She took it too far. She was supposed to be helping him navigate this not... make it all worse. Not... this. He whispered that he had to go. She looked away as he left, her eyes fell on the art piece she had made. Filled with shameful sorrow. She sighed. Art had a way of magnifying feelings. Her jubilant joy had bubbled into something more, something that was supposed to be out of reach, forbidden to her, forbidden even to him.

She wondered if Sirius knew his story was playing out as it had in the past, but this time a different path was being wrought.


"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.