It was a cloudy afternoon with a chance of rain. Citadel was restless and bored, and he didn't like the look of the clouds up ahead. To easily rain meant being locked indoors, bored out of his mind. Instead, he wanted to pounce in some thoughts rattling around his brain. Who better to answer them than his mother? Ignita knew everything.

He found her in the storage room, cataloguing some boring items. He went up to her and dramatically flopped over her forepaws. Trapping her where he wanted her, which was paying attention to him and not the storage items.

“Hey mum. Can I ask you some questions?” He asked, waiting a brief moment for approval before plunging on. “If you're the consort and dad's Warlord, who has more authority?” The subject of authority was of great interest to him.

With a summer storm threatening to rain on them Ignita was working to make sure any of the easily soaked items in the storage were high enough to not get soaked in case of a flash flood. She was particularly aware of sudden flooding during hot seasons taking populations unaware. And since she heard of the flood not too long ago she wanted to make sure they were prepared... She was writing some notes down to get the ideas of keeping things in order when her son came in and laid over her paws. She smiled and chuckled, dropping the pencil and burying her face into his charcoal chest.

"You Silly, I was working on that." She pulled out her paws from under him, with some effort, my he was getting big, and placed the paper and pencil on one of the shelves. She finished her last note before looking back up at the shelves. She nodded as he asked if he could ask a question.

The question had her pause and tilt her head for a moment.

"If you ask him, he'd say he did. But I can think of several instances where I might actually have more authority and he defers to me. Which means he'll take my leadership. We're equal in most ways, he has his specialties and I have mine. He knows how to fight and how to train and lead others, I know how to find solutions to problems and plan ahead for problems that might arise that don't occur to him. I have the authority in the Storage room for one thing. He wouldn't know what to do in here or where to put anything!" She squinted at Citadel and bent down to give him a gentle kiss right before the golden nubs of his crown. He had the cutest little white diamond between his eyes she just wanted to kiss and snuggle into every time she saw him.

She picked up some cured leathers on a bottom shelf and put them on a clear space over her head a little. There... Only jars, buckets, glass, and crates will be on the bottom shelves.

"What would you do if you had to follow one of Daddy's orders or one of mine?" She asked him. Sitting down and giving him all her attention finally.
"Speech"

“I know,” Citadel said, a little smuggly. Pleased that his mother had stopped what she was doing to pay attention to him. When she pulled out from under him he sighed dramatically, and leaned against a wall until she was done.


His mothers response was thoughtful, speaking of situational authority. Which wasn't something he'd considered before. She then posed a question to him and he huffed. “That's what I'm asking! Sort of. Who has ultimate authority between the two of you? You're both the highest in the pack. But if it came down to it, if you both said a different order, which one would stand?” He had more questions, but needed to get to the bottom of this one first.

She smiled at his answer, it gave her a clue as to how he saw them both. He regarded his parents to be of equal standing.

"Well something to keep in mind is that when it comes to authority, the one who makes the orders takes on the responsibility for any mishaps and consequences that happen from that order. To lead is to take responsibility for the lives they are leading." She gently picked out some fluff from his fur behind his ear, "Also, the first rule of the Armada makes it pretty clear who is in charge around here. The Warlord. If you were faced with two different orders one from me and one from him, I wouldn't fault you if you followed his over mine. Having a clear line of leadership is important for any pack." His mind was as inquisitive as hers. It was a good sign he was thinking of these questions!

"Speech"

Delete

He powered right over the ‘responsibility’ part of power. Boring! Surely his parents weren't always worrying about consequences? Certainly he didn't want to dwell on the idea. He got back to his paws, circling three times in tight turns. He was trying to put together his thoughts. So, his father was the ultimate authority of the Armada. There was a rule to prove it. But what did that really mean? He broke rules all the time. 


“Okay… so dad's the ultimate authority in the Armada. What happens when dad and another alpha clash? Like, let's say the Warlord and another leader both want the same thing. Who has the ultimate authority there?” He was going to keep asking until he got to the very top. What was the most ultimate-ultimate authority there was?

Her golden eyes crinkled up in half moons as she watched him think, tightly circling. He was starting to master those paws of his. He circled like she had done as pup when sorting out her mind. It briefly reminded her of how she would be scolded for it. She let him run it out, there was no pain in it, it didn't need to be squashed, it probably helped him think it out, like it had her.

Hmm... what was this about being an authority? Has he had a conversation with someone about it?

"Your father is the ultimate authority on Armada only. If another Alpha comes here onto our lands, Basilisk's word holds over theirs. He commands Armada members in Armada lands. When two alpha's meet on unclaimed or open land they are equal. They can still command their own pack members but cannot command the other Alpha's pack members." She knew he wanted more about the clash of alpha's though, she picked out a stick that gotten stuck between the nubs of his crown, gently fussing over him as unobtrusively as she could, "Ideally if two alphas want the same thing, they can negotiate and talk it out. Trade goods, carefully maneuver for what they want, and give what they don't want. They are equal. They are not of higher authority than the other." She looked at him carefully, his golden eyes saying he wanted more and about something more specific.

"What brought this on little Love?" She asked, knowing full well what direction he was aiming for. She just wanted to know where it came from.
"Ignita"

His mother explained where his dad's power started and ended, though she didn't really answer the question to his satisfaction. How far did power go? “If they can't make an agreement and don't want to let it go, what do they do then? Or are they so equal they have to walk away?” He wanted to know. He came to a stop before his mother, looking up into her golden eyes.

What had brought this on? He tried to chase back his thoughts a little. His brow scrunched as he considered. “Well, my parents are both alphas, and an authority to others, not just me. It got me thinking about authority. And now you say you and dad aren’t equal. Are other parents not-equal too?”


"Citadel"

Yep, she wasn't going to be able to avoid it.
"If two alphas cannot agree, they have two options," She was loathe to tell him, she didn't want to think of her son fighting and getting hurt or hurting someone else for that matter. "They can walk away, which is the safest and most noble option, or they can fight and whoever is the strongest can take it. But that option is incredibly risky and could bring on larger consequences than just the fight between the alphas. A fight between two alpha's over something can start a terrible war and cause a lot of harm. It's a very last resort."

His next question was interesting, she didn't quite know how to answer that one. Almost, she did, but she didn't know how far she wanted to take that answer. He had a knack for pulling the truth from her, she didn't want to lie to any of her children.

"Hmm... Your father and I are equal up to a point. The structure of families can be a different conversation outside of leadership roles. Like one mother one father, two fathers, two mothers, I was sure we went over that at one point." Her mind was starting to wander again, what was he getting at? There was a box overhanging the edge of a shelf, and she got up and started to shift it back against the wall, "In leadership roles, the leader can decide who has more authority over another within their pack. A leader can have one partner or several and the alpha can decide who has equal authority to their own or not. It might upset the relationships between the partners, but there's a consequence for every choice made."

"Speech"

Whoever was strongest. So the most ultimate authority of all, was the wolf that was strongest. Despite his mothers best efforts, all words on consequences went in one ear and out the other as he contemplated this. Basilisk was one of the biggest wolves he knew. One of the strongest, too. But could Cit one day be stronger?

His mother got up, moving something on the shelf. She said that she and his father were equal to a point. But that didn’t really make sense to him. Something had to be one thing or another, didn’t it? How could it be one thing one time, and something else another? Too complicated for his little puppy brain right now.

Wait-- he caught something else in her words, though he almost missed it, lost in his thoughts. “Wait. You can have more than one partner? Parents can be more than two? But only if you’re a leader…?”


"Citadel"

Speech // thought

The minute she mentioned that alphas could fight she knew his mind was lost to her. He was stewing on the idea of how to be the biggest strongest he could... Was Basilisk like this as a child? She sighed and shook her head as she fussed with the box.

Then his last question threw her off entirely and the box hadn't budged as if it was held in place by something behind it!

"Oh goodness child!" She exclaimed, "You pick up everything that serves you don't you? Sometimes! Yes and no, it's a lot more complicated than that. Maybe I'll tell you more if you can show me what compassion means." She gave up on the damn box her patience had worn thin. There was only so much brain power she could use for questions and careful answers.

"Off you go! I'll answer more questions when you can tell me what compassion means since you won't let me teach it to you." She wanted to instill a better sense of empathy in the boy, surely he was capable of it! It can't be just a character quirk not to exhibit some sense of compassion! Well... She huffed, refusing to think of the woman who sometimes called herself Mother to Ignita. Not an ounce of true compassion in that woman...

Citadel startled at the sudden change in his mothers voice. The exasperation was a quick turn and he sat himself down, looking at her with wide eyes. Ignita was normally one of the more rational and even tempered wolves in his life. If he wanted answers, he had to learn what compassion meant?

He scrunched his nose up in confusion, and while a part of im wanted to rebel at her tone he was sensible enough to realise it wasn’t the time. Instead, he ducked his head. “I didn’t realise it was an inapp-pr-in-- not a good question Mumma.” He said, trying to really sound apologetic. He didn’t like upsetting his mum, so there was a lot of genuineness to it. He was also just.. Headstrong and stubborn. Head still ducked, and feeling more confused than anything, he turned to go.


"Citadel"

Speech // thought

She nearly continued to urge him out but his reaction melted her heart to near tears. Why did she snap at him just now? It wasn't his fault the box wasn't moving and he wanted answers to his questions!

"I... No... Darling, I'm sorry." She moved closer to him, her tone soft and apologetic, "It wasn't a bad question. I promise it's okay you're curious. I..." She sighed... The question had drawn up a panic in her. She slumped a little.

"I didn't mean to snap Sweetling. I was distracted and surprised and you didn't deserve that. Could we try that again?" She asked glancing back at her young son. She swears her heart split into five pieces on the day of their births. There he was, her heart outside of her chest somehow. Her own eyes stared back at her through the face of his father. Her chest felt so full and so torn at the same time. She opened her arms to let him come in for a hug if he felt like it.

He looked at his mother sceptically for a moment, unsure if she would snap at him again. Since he wasn’t sure what had caused the first snap. He was too young to realise how obvious and leading his questions had been and how they might wind his mother up. But when she opened her arms to him, he relented. Crawling into her embrace until he could rest his chin on her shoulder.

He didn’t want to spark any more annoyance with his questions, so in an attempt to be diplomatic (or was it to show compassion?) he instead asked “What do you want to talk about, Mummy?”


"Citadel"

Speech // thought

She sighed, grateful he relented into her embrace, feeling that connection rekindle between them. She melted with her paws around him. How had he been so small not so long ago?

His chin rested on her shoulder and her head leaned into his for a nuzzle. She didn't know children could wind her up so, and snap her right back to moments of her own childhood. She was determined to raise them differently than how she had been. But much to Basilisk's chagrin, it ended up in her coddling. But was this coddling?

"Oh, sweetling, thank you." She said, pulling away from him to look in his amber eyes. "I could talk about all the things with you, but you'll only pay attention to what interests you. As it is with kids your age." She paused, her eyes glistening with tender love. "I could talk about how small you were when you were born and how much you've grown already. Too fast for my heart to catch up, I swear." She hugged him again, "I could always talk about how big you'll grow and how grateful I am to be your mother. Now, I do have some work to do that I need to focus on before the day is out. You are a wonderful distraction." She kissed his cheek, "I'm sure you'd rather go off and play instead of be put to work here." She winked, insinuating that if he stuck around a little longer she might get him into the boring tasks of organizing and counting things several times over.