Wylans wings were badly damaged. Wrapped in careful splints, heavy and immovable across his back. No longer a joy, just a weight. He'd broken a leg, and with the weight of his wings and all their wrapping, walking on three legs was painful and difficult. He was bruised and banged up, but his heart hurt the worst. He'd lost his tree house. For one shining moment it had been everything He'd ever wanted. A place surrounded by friendship and warmth. It's loss brought home the knowledge that everything had been long gone.

His mother had left him. His friends had left him. His father was bush with his boyfriend and miracle child. Seneca had walked away and never come back. Where had karaka flown off to? He'd thought Ignita his friend. He'd even fancied her, making her gifts until it had been clear that she belonged to Basilisk. She was busy with her kids, and hadn't visited. Oleander had his health and his clinic. He hadn't needed wylan for a long time now.
Wylan, who loved so big and so freely was alone in the dark.

ever since hearing of Wylan’s condition, Spider has been thinking of the winged boy. their first friend, the most kind and accepting child in all of the Armada, who’d shown them the hot springs and offered them snacks. who loved his family and his home, only to lose both in one sickening swoop. Spider won’t pretend they’re completely healed, or that they’ve, like, self-actualised or anything - but being around Strai and Delphi had been more soothing than anything physical balm. Wylan had been there for them when Hazel had left; it’s time they returned the favour.

steps light, Spider enters Wylan’s den at a cautious pace, ducking their head inside and squinting into the distance. they spot him bundled up in bandages, a morose expression on his face, and his heart breaks for him just a little. “hello, Feathers,” Spider murmurs, stepping into view. they don’t want to get too close, not when he’s in pain and not when he might be angry with them for disappearing.

A voice caught wylans attention, and his head snapped up. Frantically he used his one good forepaw to wipe his eyes. Holding back a whimper as that shifted weight to his broken one. Who was entering his den? He hadn't been expecting anyone.


But the nickname gave Spider away before Wylan made out their coat in the dim light. ”Spider! Your back, are you okay? It was hard to get news on where you were with the… blight and all.” The blight that had eaten his treehouse. No, no. He wouldn't cry in front of Spider. They had enough difficulties in life without him adding tears to the mix. Had they heard about Ignitas kids? That had to be hard to hear. He knew Spider was waiting for Hazel to come home. Like Wylan was waiting for Halo. Except his dad had moved on to… “did you hear about… about Odette?” He asked, hating the way his voice shook.

Wylan doesn’t appear angry with them, and for that Spider is grateful. stepping closer, they tentatively reach out a paw to settle on his forearm, squeezing gently. “i’m fine. i was…safe.” they wince at the word, guilt displayed obviously across their face. settling back on their haunches, they run an appraising eye over him, noting his injuries with a stab of concern. “how are you?” their question is gently probing but there’s a knowing glint in their eye. they won’t bring up anything he doesn’t want to talk about - halo or the treehouse - but they want him know they’re there to talk if he needs it. “i’m sorry i left you, Wyl. i’m sorry if you felt alone.”

his next question gives them pause. Spider hesitates, then nods, slowly. “i did.” they let the words hang between them for a moment, heavy with meaning. “when i…found out about Ignita and Bas, i was livid. Hazel had barely been gone, and when Ignita revealed they were already trying…it felt like being abandoned. again.” a bitter laugh - though, in the wake of meeting their siblings, Spider can’t quite summon that old anger. is this how those screaming bundles win over their exhausted parents? by being so damn cute? “everything you’re feeling right now, Wylan, is completely valid. you’ve a right to feel angry.” hell, it wasn’t just his mother who’d disappeared, but also some of his siblings, too. “do you…do you think you’ll ever want to meet her? Odette?”

"Araneae Fatalis"

“That's good, I'm glad” Wylan said, meaning it. He would have spared them all the blight if he could have. Oleander may have found a cure, but the damage was already done. The woods of Wylans childhood were ruined. 


Spider's next words left him feeling watery again, though he tried not to be. “How did you know?” He sniffed. He was trying not to let Spider see his pain, but Wylan wore his emotions on his sleeve.


He listened to what Spider had to say about the two litters and gave the other wolf a small smile. “Odette is beautiful. She's my dad's impossible child. But… my mom's never coming home. That's what Odette means. It's not her fault, and I don't want her to ever know that's how I feel.”

Wylan doesn’t cry, but it seems to be a near thing. “Bas and Ignita told me,” they murmur. they’d be lying if they said they weren’t a little annoyed at Mortis themselves; Halo hasn’t been gone that long, and the subject of taking new mates is still a bit of a sore subject for them. an injured part of them wants to hate their teeth, wants to demand, ’is that how things are run here? you leave for a bit and you’re immediately replaced? but that voice represents the ugliest parts of them. the parts that caused them to snap at Ignita. that claimed to want nothing to do with their (then unborn) brothers and sisters. it’s an ugliness they’ve had to learn to sit with, to acknowledge. to learn when to embrace and when to overcome.

“i know.” Spider drapes a tail across Wylan’s shoulders, pulling him even closer. “you’re a good person, Wyl. you won’t. she’ll be so loved: by her dads, by Bas and Ignita and their kids. and, because i know you won’t be able to help it: by you.” they meet Wylan’s gaze head-on, expression unwavering. “but it’s okay to take time to get there. to heal first.” once again, their gaze returns to his injuries. “can i get you anything? are you…in pain?”

"Araneae Fatalis"

Wylan nodded his head, and explained a little further. “Dad, Hika and Odette moved into the den under yours. My m-m-mums got destroyed when the treehouse fell on it.” and with it, most of what they had of Halos. He went to wipe his eyes. They were leaking again. Except he picked up the wrong paw and knocked his cast into his head instead. He sighed, feeling like that pretty much symbolised how his life was going. His pity party wasn't over yet.


“You say I'm a good person.” be said, his voice small. “But everyone else left. Seneca. Krak. Even Ignita hasn't visited.” He'd kept her company through a lot of her tough days. He'd made her a coat when her den had been cold. Seneca had loved it here, or so he'd said. But he still left anyway. His mother had left them all. “If I was a good person, wouldn't my friends stay?” He hid his eyes in his good paw.

Spider makes a low noise of sympathy, and for a moment they wish they had wings of their own so they could wrap Wylan up and shield him from his misery. “you know who you sound like?” they ask, softly bumping shoulders. “you sound like me.” they’ve never seen Wylan - cheerful, trusting, loving Wylan - so disheartened, and it twists them up with immense guilt. he’s been suffering while they’ve been away, no matter how necessary their absence was. “i know you’re a good person, Wyl - it’s obvious in the way you embrace everyone so fearlessly. the way you love so unabashedly. in truth, you’re one of the best people i know.” and oh, if that isn’t the truth. Spider is practically convinced Wylan’s without a bad bone in his body. “their leaving you…that’s on them. it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with them letting you down.”

they lift his chin with a paw, urging him to meet their eyes. “you’re only problem, Wylan, is also a great virtue: to love too honestly.”

Wylan had grown up in a loving home, surrounded by friends and family. As he grew into adulthood, he felt he was watching every last bit of it crumble away. Those in his family that remained were growing in different directions. He was struggling to come to terms, and with the sudden collapse of his treehouse all those emotions seemed to be coming to a head. He didn’t know how to deal with it all.

He sighed when Spider pushed his chin up, and he leaned his head against the other wolf. Appreciating their presence and support more than he could say. “I don’t like… being alone, Spider. I’d never really been alone before.” He admitted. He knew he was spoiled for affection before this, and he was feeling the loss dramatically now.


"Speech"

Wylan’s honesty is a gift, laid at Spider’s feet for them to cup cautiously between splayed palms. fragile, delicate. Spider sifts through it, parsing every fragment with careful scrutiny. a younger version of them would want to take Wylan’s pain away completely - but today’s version knows it’s not that simple. it’s never that simple. so Spider listens, eyes searching and a sad little smile twitching along their mouth. despite living in the same pack, the pair have had significantly different upbringings; for one thing, Spider has never had siblings, and any friends they’d initially made - aside from Wylan himself - had been outside the Armada. this, alongside Bas and Hazel’s more…free-range parenting style means they grew up relatively independent, social creature though they can be.

that doesn’t mean they can’t sympathise with their friend, however. Wylan is hurting, and his world is shrinking. Spider certainly knows what that’s like. “well then,” they say finally, “that’s an easy fix.” they drop Wylan’s chin and slump down beside him, wiggling closer until the pair are curled up together. “i’ll just have to stay close.”

"Araneae Fatalis"

Wylan’s life lately had been a steady expunge of people he cared about. Oleander moving out, Ignita not visiting, his mother leaving, his father moving on with a different family… he did not expect Spider's words. The gesture they made. When Spider curled up against him, and told him he would stay, Wylan couldn’t help the sudden overflow of tears. He turned his head into Spider's coat for a moment, weeping silently. Worry, sadness… relief.

When he sniffed his tears free and got himself under control he peeked out from under Spider’s fur enough to ask. “Do you mean it? Do you… do you mean you want to den together?”


"Speech"

Spider makes low soothing noises as Wylan cries into their fur, moving to rub wide, sweeping circles across his back with their tail. as heart-breaking as it is witness, they understand the emotional catharsis of a good cry. “absolutely,” says Spider, “there’s no one else i’d rather be denmates with.” they think of their current den, the one they’ve spent time making their own. it’d been a hard change after the move from the treehouse, but they’ve spent time making it their own, incorporating a handful of potted plants and a sheepskin rug. but is it big enough? “do you want to move into my den?“ they ask, “or should we find something bigger?”

"Araneae Fatalis"

Wylan wasn't sure he wanted to be that close to the imposing Warlord, and he was still feeling rather hurt by Ignitas cold shoulder. But the vulnerability he was feeling today made it difficult for him to even suggest that Spider give up their home. 


He rubbed his eyes, determined to keep the waterworks at bay this time. He'd cried enough these last few days to last a lifetime. “Do you think it would fit you, me, and Marina?” He asked, mentioning the slave he had rescued from Basilisk. The healer had also been injured when the treehouse fell. She'd lost her home too, temporary as the treehouse had been for her. He couldn't just leave her behind.

Spider tips their head, a considering glint in their eye. "Marina? i don't think i've met her." was this another of Bas' slaves? they'd caught a few unfamiliar scents since returning home, but had yet to properly investigate the pack's new members. "perhaps, if it's to be the three of us, we should find a bigger den." a part of them is remiss to leave their current dwelling, but perhaps their room could house some of the pups? "i'm sure Bas and Ig will appreciate the extra space when their kids get bigger, anyway." it'll be strange not to live so close to Bas, though. will he mind if they move? "and maybe you could introduce me to Marina? you know, if we're to live together."

"Araneae Fatalis"