what happens after happily ever after?

Sirius arrived mere moments after, echoing his sentiment and pulling the Empress into a hug. Azure's head turned subtly from the familiar gesture, finding it too easy to remember the time long past when he would have greeted her that way. As the two had pulled apart and each found others, Azure had felt the gaping absence of closure between himself and his first love. Neither wolf had been prepared to admit fault in what had happened and while the distance between them grew, it seemed so did any hope of reconciliation. While Azure still grieved the loss of one of the few wolves he'd ever loved, he had forced himself to give her space to move on and replace him. And she had. With Hattori. Az was not sure if he could ever move past it to the same extent. Collecting individuals was in his blood, it seemed, and even as a yearling he'd fought hard against the necessity of choosing between the two women who held parts of his heart. Hanako - while not what he'd call a consolation prize - had not been a choice of his own, but the last remaining option. With each sighting of Venom he was bitterly reminded of the decision that had been stolen from him.

"I can't argue with that." He returned softly to her apologetic comment, stepping back as Sirius did to invite her further across their border and into the mountain beyond. "In the future, you could send for an escort. I'm afraid the unclaimed territory outside our borders might not be as safe as we'd like. The pirates have been escalating their harassment against us, we're lucky they did not come upon you in your travels." In fact the entire empire (and the pirates, too) were lucky, as four packs would surely go to war over an attack upon their Empress.

"Speech"