A long time had passed since Basilisk had been a boy in the sea-side den of his parents in the old lands of Armada. Along time had past Since his Warlord Grandfather had set his main duties to hunting simply to replenish the stock the hungry pup had consumed. A long time since his siblings and then his parents had vanished, one by one.

He was a wolf now who fought for what was his, through the fight with his Auntie for this pack had cost him. It had cost him in family members and loyalty. His decision to move the heirs of his family from Ignitas line to Teegra had cost him as well. As once choosing Ignita had cost him.

He well understood now that every choice held consequences, even if they were ones you could not immediately see. He returned home that night, and wrapped his paws around his wife as they settled in for bed. Their children were getting a story in Mortis’ den, and it was oddly quiet. “with every choice I make, I know who I am a little less. Am I monster, my love?” a quiet moment of weakness where only the one he loved could see.

Ignita was looking forward to the rare night they got to themselves. Though she was intimately aware of how all the little ones would fly from the nest sooner than she wanted.

She was fluffing up the nest and picking things up around the den when Bas came through the door. The children were old enough now that they didn't make as many messes and even helped to put the den back together again when they got too rowdy. She sighed as she met him in the nest, it was then that she read his face. The way he stepped in was heavy, his countenance sordid. She tilted her gentle gaze to him and then melted into his embrace. She leaned into his soft warm fur as it enveloped her.

Ignita's ears perked up and she reached up to cradle his gargantuan muzzle with dainty golden paws, her gaze concerned and seeking. Pulling him closer to meet to face, she brushed her paw over his brow.

"In what sense? Where is this coming from my love?" She asked, her tone soft, her touch tender. In some ways, sure, someone might call him a monster. Monstrous in size, with deadly saber fangs and spurs. Perhaps words in the market gathered steam and rumors and opinions had made their way to his ears. As they do. But his core? No. Not to her, not to her children, not to the members of this pack.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

The small golden lady he called his own reached a paw towards him. Pulling his muzzle closer through sheer desire on her part, and obedience on his. There were many times where her will was easy to bend to. He sighed softly at the feel of her paw across his brow. Soft and soothing, as he knew she intended the gesture to be.

“Choosing this pack over my father.” Choosing you over Hazel.”Fighting Kyanite for the throne. Placing Tee in our midst. Having a litter with you, despite the dangers. Force claiming my mother. So many paths behind me, so many more to come. How many wrong ones have I chosen? How many right?” He said softly, laying out the choices of his more recent years. The choices he had made since becoming an Alpha, an adult.


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

Her golden eyes danced over his intensive blues. The choices he had to make lay before her, the unspoken one as obvious as the nose on his face as well. None of them had been easy or-- "Your... Mother?" she raised a brow, she wasn't going to miss that little tidbit. But she shook her head and held a paw up before she continued.

From what she knew of his parents, and it wasn't much, they had been as dysfunctional as her mother.
"Bas... Being a Warlord is not about being the king of a popularity contest. The name itself denotes war, winning, and making tough choices. Armada literally means a fleet of warships. But at the moment, we have no war and we have no king higher than you. Yet we must be ready for the potential." She looked down and smoothed his fur over his chest. She knew he knew this, he knew this since he was a child. But this was her job, her job to comfort and remind him of who he was. She took every job seriously, this one especially.

"You're not a monster. You protect the wolves of this pack and for that, you've had to make tough choices for... their good." She sighed. Still struggling with her own resolve over his choice to police her womb, she understood it. "We don't have to like the choices that need to be made. And you don't have to pander to other's emotions about it either. You offer this pack protection, a home, families, resources, and the like."

She leaned her head in to place a kiss on his lips then looked at him curiously in his eyes. "So... Your mother? Tell me more..." She asked, attempting to weave the short locks of his black and blue fur into a tiny braid.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Basilisk snorted softly, though he understood where her words came from. It was less the perception of the pack, and more where those choices would lead him. Each one changed his path, the pack's path, their path. Where would those choices eventually lead him? He wasn’t sure it would ever get easier, choosing for not just himself, but the many. Perhaps it shouldn’t, perhaps the day it did would be the day to worry about.

He wasn’t surprised that she had picked up on the one new piece of information he had dropped. He leaned into her touch, amused at what she was trying to do to his fur. “My mother turned up on the beach. She told me she joined a pack, looked after their children. She wasn’t back to stay, it was if… as if she had come back to take pride in what she had made, without taking any responsibility for it. I was her creation, but what has she done to mold me?” A growl entered his tone, the frustration returning easily. “I decided she was done running from her responsibilities. I took the choice away from her. She can learn what it is to build something for once. Meet her grandchildren.” Was it wrong taking that choice from her? He wasn’t sure. But he remembered that frustration that had swept through him.


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

Weaving the locks of fur like she would a length of leather was no small feat, and it was proving to be a little more daunting than she was capable of. So her paws moved on to making patterns in his fur while she listened.

So... mom turned up and regaled him about her most recent feats... "Where was your mother in your childhood? I don't think I know much." She said, tilting her head, looking for more of the story and why he might have reacted this way.

Control. It always led to control. The chaos of his life needed control for him to understand it, to feel safe in it. She had, perhaps above all of the pack, felt that sting of his need for control more keenly. But now his mother was the most recent...

She pulled the inside of her cheek in between two of her teeth to gently chew on it, her paws laid still on his fur as she thought. Her mind refused to consider something right on the tip of her tongue.
"So... What did you learn?" She asked carefully, resuming her drawing into his fur, ever so gently.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He paused, looking to the cave wall for a moment. Taking her question seriously as he pulled himself through his memories. His most recent ones hadn’t included his mother for a long time. “She wasn’t a strong presence in our training or education, or punishments. But she could be a warm hug to return to, and she always seemed proud of us, if distant.” He said after a moment. His father had been a stronger presence in his life, and a conflicting one. He’d wanted so often in his life to make the fierce Fatalis proud.

He gave a warm chuckle and kissed the top of her brow, his attention returning to her at her newest question. “Was I supposed to learn something?” He asked, a little amused. “That I want her in my life, and our children's lives?”


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

She nodded as he described her influence in his life. Mostly absent it seemed. She was grateful to be a constant influence in her children's lives. Seeking and promising to always be available if they wanted her. Maybe she hovered a little too much over Jaime and scolded Citadel a little more often than the others. But she was present, whenever they were there before her.

She smiled and gently bumped her head up into his kiss on her brow. But the smile soon faded into a more serious thoughtful look. She thought of her own mother, "We know about my mother. The confusing inconsiderate chaos of that woman... I know that I don't want any of our children to know her. What if your mother does the same to our children that she did to you?" She asked casually, her head drifting into an absent tilt. Another thought... "Do you want them to know their grandmother as their grandmother or as a slave? What would that teach them?" She wondered aloud.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

… and they’d gotten their wires twisted again. Did she truly think the worst of him so easily? Her first point was a good one, and one to consider. Did she want her disappointing his own children? He was torn on that point. He loved his mother. He wanted her to be her best self, to stay, to meet his grandchildren. To teach them how to be willy and sly and quick on their paws. But could he trust her to stay?

He addressed her second point first. It was easier. “I may have force claimed her, but she is not destined for a slave rank in the Armada. She is mother of the Warlord, she is my fathers mate. She will not be a slave, I simply won't make leaving easy for her…”


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

"Oh... Not a slave then." She nodded as if she understood. She hadn't known that was an option around here, to be force-claimed and not made a slave. "Well, perhaps I'd like to meet her then. Maybe after she and I have met we can discuss if she should be an influence over our children. Does that seem fair?" She asked, she had brought her paw up to his chin and was stroking the soft fur there. Something had changed between them, she couldn't put her finger on it, but something had changed. Perhaps after the children were born after they had their fight... When he made his plans for Teegra known... Was this what he was referring to before?

"My love? How do we know if our choices are good or bad?" She asked, her mind hopefully grasping the point of the conversation.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He let his eyes flicker close, feeling the warmth and scent of her around him. “I think that would be a good idea, my love. I can't trust myself to be objective with her, and I don't know which way I'll swing.” Honest, stark truth. The sort only Ignita received from him. He let his eyes flicker open again, seeking her brilliant gaze. “Your opinion matters most to me, I'll leave this decision entirely in your hands, and to your judgment.” Besides, he had to start conceding authority to her at some point. Why not start here?


He leaned forward and kissed her muzzle with a small smile. “Whatever or how much exposure to our children you decide, I'll support.” and then perhaps he and his mother could have less volatile conversations then one that involved their children. 


“And here that's what I thought I was asking you.” He teased very gently. He didn't have an answer for her.

Her ears perked at his praise! She would hold this honesty from him closely, tenderly. She knew she was the only one he was truly honest with. She melted into his chest as thanks, sinking into his fur with a light smile on her lips. It had startled her but also invigorated her, being trusted with this. Her skin was electrified as he placed that pleasant kiss on her muzzle.

She sighed and shifted her body next to him, laying her head on him.
"I don't know if I have the answer for you my love. I don't believe you're a monster, you have your reasons for your decisions. There would be consequences for every decision we make. So if you are a monster..." She mused and sat up, gently attempting to bring his head closer to hers, "Then you're my monster. I wouldn't have it any other way." Her eyes gleamed with a playful energy, her lips reached up to brush his tenderly.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He returned her kiss with tender amusement, his eyes alighting on her. It wasn't lost to him that they were childless tonight, a rare state for them. The urge to be impulsive struck him. He had rarely been impulsive since he had taken the mantle of Warlord. The crown was a sharp blade that cleaved through his childhood. 


“Are you tired, my love?” He asked, breaking the kiss. His eyes sparked on her. “Or can I convince you to be reckless for a night. To forgo sleep, and take a little adventure…?” He grinned. Carving any free time from his alpha duties were difficult, and he knew his body craved what sleep he could give it. But there was more to life then rising, doing his duties, and sleeping.

Kisses in a darkened room, alone and comforted in each other's arms, the conversation clearly concluded. She pulled away with a relaxed sigh then a quiet "Hmm?" At his spontaneous proposal. Tilting her head to him she quickly assessed her reserves and the energy seemed to excitedly bubble forth like a fresh wellspring of youth. She wasn't unsure what it would entail, but... with him... anything was possible.

"Well... sure! Why not?" She replied delightedly, her tail waving back and forth. She felt a little reckless, not something she typically experienced. "What do you have in mind?" Her golden eyes gleamed with eagerness.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

“I'm not sure, but I never did finish exploring all the territories north.” He said thoughtfully. Perhaps they could simply go, and see where it led them. He'd heard of a frozen lake up there somewhere, perhaps they could find it. He crawled out of bed, and grabbed the thick Polar bear coat, with the sheep underlay Wylan had made her. The scent of the boy had mostly faded by now, and he wasn't sure he could outdo the heirs' work. But a part of him wanted her to wear something he had made. He wasn't so foolish to worry about it now of course. His desert lady needed warmth. 


Iggy had stood while he moved around and he dumped it over her back and fascined it at the front and underside. He looked at the well wrapped wolf and kissed her nose. He'd have to try not to lose her in the snow, the polar bear coat would blend right in. “Ready?” He whispered softly, still directly before her.

She perked her ears at the prospect! It wasn't the dead of winter yet so exploring the northern reaches now would be a good idea!
"Yes!" She replied and got up, her necklace softly chiming as she moved.

She watched him grab the warm vest Wylan had made her, it made her smile with the memory. He had done such a good job of it. She let Bas drape it over her and fasten it together. She felt so warm and cared for. His kiss on her nose hadher smile broaden.

"I think so! Lead the way! It's been a while since we went on an adventure! probably the first one for adventure's sake actually!" She replied dancing on her paws, eager to follow him to the ends of the earth. It almost felt like sneaking out at the palace while the children were having a sleepover with Odette and her fathers.

"Oh wait! One second!" She grabbed her little knapsack with some of her sketching supplies. Offering it to him to carry.

"Now I'm ready!" She exlaimed and bumped her hip to his foreleg.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

That was a truth he hadn't considered. The alpha position had taken away much personal enjoyment. It was hard, carving out a moment of time. It was reckless, too. Plunging into the colder northern territories in the dead of night. He would ensure his bird was aware to head straight to Wylan or Spider should anything go awry. 


He chuckled at Ignitas enthusiasm, and dutifully took the bag when it was offered. He hasn't seen Ignita do much sketching for pleasure's sake lately, either. The weight of children and a pack? Perhaps. This outing would be good for them both.


He let her through the cave system to the Gorge, and then out into the rogue lands. He tossed her a sly grin as he angled them a little north-west out of the Armada. It was chilly immediately once they were out of the sheltered Gorge, but the Warlord didn't mind. “You're a different wolf now to the one that left your desert. Would you go back and face the past as you are now, if you could?” Partly conversation, but also genuine curiosity.