He had a great deal of fun playing with Asla, but eventually it ended, and he found himself returning the scene of the murder. He looked sadly at the little baby bird, wrinkling his nose because the creature was already starting to smell. He picked it up gently in his mouth, ignoring the aroma, and turning he made his way back towards the den, looking for his mother. Asla had told him he could not fix it, and he believed her, but he needed to understand where he had gone wrong, and how this had happened. He needed to know, so he didn’t do it again. He had only meant to play with the creature, not take its life. Who was he to think its life had ever been his to take? He arrived at the den, dead bird in mouth, and found his mother at the entrance. He dropped the bird at her feet, looking up at her with big, sad eyes. “Mumma, I killed a bird” his voice was an apology and regret. "Speech"

Zee had heard her pup coming and moved to greet him at the entrance. In his mouth was the corpse of a baby bird, and it became obvious to her quickly that he was not pleased with his kill. The new mother sighed softly, giving her son a warm smile as he approached. "Mortis, my little angel." She leaned forward to nuzzle his saddened face. "Most children are pleased when they return home with a kill, can you tell me why it made you sad?"

Zee was not angry at the boy for his mistake, nor did she praise him for it. Killing the baby bird was not something she encouraged, but before she could make a lesson out of the situation she needed to know where his thoughts might be. She lay down at the mouth of the den, placing her paw upon the dead bird and looked up at him with her full focus so that he might be able to tell her what was on his mind.

His mother gave him a nuzzle, and despite his flattened ears and droopy tail, he leaned into her affection longingly. He was definitely a cuddly pup, and it would be a long time, if ever, he grew out of getting hugs from his mother. He had hoped Zee would understand, Asla had been surprised he wasn’t impressed about killing the bird, and Zee also questioned why it made him sad. His ears drooped a little lower.

“It was sitting on the ground and had its beak out to me like it wanted something. I thought it wanted to play, and I pounced on it. It made a cracking noise and collapsed, and then it didn’t move. Asla said it was death, and death couldn’t be fixed. I just wanted to play, mumma. I didn’t want to death it.” he tried to explain himself, but the mixed emotions in his chest didn’t have an easy answer. How could he describe something he didn’t understand?

Zee pulled the boy into her arms as he finished speaking, leaning her head down upon his littler one while she stared down at the bird. It was a difficult subject for sure, and while she was more than a little concerned about her daughter being involved in the story and so relaxed about the concept of death, she tried to keep her mind on Mortis. "It is dead, I am sorry son. I know it was an accident, and because it was an accident you should not be sad." She wanted to speak more on it, but stopped to think and collect her words so that she could explain it in a way the child might understand. "Animals like this bird, they're caught and killed for food. That is okay, because it is the will of nature. The birds eat the bugs, the wolves eat the birds. To kill for food is okay, as long as you are not being wasteful."

She sunk her claw into the baby bird's chest, splitting it open to reveal the very little flesh that was beneath. "This bird was a baby, like you. We don't hunt the babies. They do not have enough food on them to sustain us, you see? One day the baby birds will grow into big birds, fat with meat and more able to feed us. They will also have babies of their own, and then one day we can hunt those adults too. If you kill the babies before they can grow, quickly we will run out of birds." She sighed softly, nuzzling him once more. She did not want to shame the boy, nor make him feel worse. Only to have him understand why the kill was a mistake instead of a trophy.

She pulled him into her arms, and he happily curled up against her. She was warm and comfortable, and still had the faint scent of milk. If home had to be narrowed down to its finer points, something more precise then this pack, or this den, then he would say home was Mumma. She smelled like everything familiar, and she handed out her smiles and affection freely. There was no comfort quite the same as being enveloped in her warmth. It was easier to approach the difficult subject of death well he was in her arms. She explained that it was a necessity, and he wondered if that meant he would have to learn how to kill things on purpose. What if he didn’t want to? Would that make him a burden, and get him into trouble? He yelped in surprise when she pulled the bird apart, showing that inside was made out of meat. He leaned forward, sniffing, and his stomach rolled a little. He had eaten creatures like this baby bird? He didn’t know what to think about that. “If this baby bird was someone's baby like me, and died, does that mean something else could Death Asla and eat her?” this was important, and serious, and he tried not to look at the dead bird, pulled apart before them. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee looked sympathetic as the boy recoiled, obviously not pleased with the knowledge that they ate animals. Would her first-born son become some sort of herbivore? Oh, Sirius would die right there and then, Zee was sure. "It's not as simple as that." She struggled, trying to find a way to explain the concept of death without terrifying her son and scarring him for life.

Her teeth gritted while she thought, and after a moment she spoke once more. "You see, things in nature change often. Like your fangs. Your father has them, Az, Indy, and you have them. Nature gave them to a wolf long ago, and that wolf was stronger for it. Because of his strength, he survived. Long enough to pass the fangs down to his children and his children's children." She paused so that the boy could absorb the lesson, hoping it was easy enough for him to understand.

"We call it survival of the fittest. Nature creates creatures that are stronger than others and more likely to survive. The baby bird you killed left it's nest too early or it's parents were too weak and died. For whatever reason, the bird's mistake meant it's death. Now it won't have children and pass along whatever trait made it weaker. Instead, the smart baby birds still up in their nests can live and they will have the babies. Their babies will be smart too, and less likely to find themselves where a pup can hurt them." She lifted a paw to ruffle his head affectionately as her sentence trailed off.

She'd somewhat dodged the question of Asla and her mortality, though knew she couldn't simply refuse to comment on it. "All of you and you sister are capable of dying, yes." It grasped at the mother's heart hard to even have to speak the words, and she held back the instinct to snarl at the imaginary foe that might take them. "Though you are luckier than the baby bird. Your father is one of the strongest wolves I've ever seen, and each of you have received blessings that make you strong, too. You have us, your aunties, your pack mates, and the Ashen Empire to protect you. As long as you listen and do not find yourself alone far from home like the bird, you and your siblings will be kept safe too."

Zee’s lesson was a very heavy thing. For a pup that just wanted to play with his siblings, and not kill things, it was a lot to take in that nature had been designed this way on purpose. That death was necessary, that the strong needed to survive. He sunk a little further into Zee’s chest. Did that make him a mistake? If he didn’t want to kill, did that make him a mistake that should die? He thought then about dying, and grimaced, shuddering. He did not want to die. He didn’t want anyone he loved to die. He considered everything she said for a long time, lapsing into silence, leaning heavily into the plush fur of her chest, breathing in the scent of her, and found himself coming to grips with death. Death was something that existed in this world, and therefore something he had to understand. He did not think taking lives of animals would be easy for him, but he came to another realization, too, “I want to be strong, I want to be a part of what protects this pack, and you, and our siblings.” he didn’t like death, but he would learn to fight, so he could keep what he loved safe from death. Maybe in this way he was like his father, in the lengths he would go to protect what he loved. He would face the knowledge of death, and accept it, if it meant that he could fight for them. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee felt her protective anxiety melt away and instead be replaced with pride at her son's words. It was a difficult lesson for the pup to grasp, but she knew it was one they'd all need to learn early in life. Hopefully the boy would be able to grow and learn to hunt and fight without worry, and that the new parents would not need to figure out how to raise a pacifist who didn't want to kill his meals. It seemed he might be coming around, and Zee sighed with relief. "You will be strong, my son." She assured him. "And you, Asla, Indy, and Az together will be able to protect each other for the rest of your lives. The stronger you become, the less you'll need to worry for those you love. Have faith in yourself, and work hard to become as mighty as I know you can be." She placed a kiss upon the top of his head, pushing the bird corpse away from the mouth of the den. "You can go play some more before dark, if you'd like. Perhaps practice your pouncing on something that can't be killed so easily, like the grasses all around us."

His mother promised him he would be strong, and he nodded his head quietly, still subdued. He didn’t like thinking about death, so instead he clutched onto his new resolve and thought instead about protecting his family. Protecting sounded so much better than killing, he just hoped they didn’t have to go hand in hand. “Can I play with you, Mumma?” he asked as she indicated he should go back out and play some more. He didn’t want to leave her just yet, he liked being curled up in her warmth, and it was quiet without all his other siblings around. Couldn’t they spend some time together? Maybe he could learn what mumma liked. “What do you like to do, how do you play?” "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee gave a soft chuckle at her son's request to play, nodding. "Of course we can play. Lets see..." Unfortunately it had been a long time since Zee had actually done anything resembling playing, and while with another pup she might suggest a wrestle or a spar or a play hunt, she had the feeling those options weren't the greatest after Mortis' response to death and killing.

She'd need to find something else to do, and so she thought hard on it. "I know. Let's play hide and seek. You stay here." She stood up, pointing at the ground with her paw. "Turn around, and wait to hear my howl. When you hear it, you can come find me. Then we can switch and you can hide, and I'll come find you." Zee moved a bit away, towards the outside before pausing and turning back."I won't go far, only as far as you can see. So look for me nearby. Use your nose and ears and eyes to find me. You don't need to touch me when you find me, just shout that you found me and say where I am."

She waited until the pup obediently turned, and then jogged off. Her body she kept low to the ground so the scent would rub off easily on the grass, and for good measure even raked her claws against the ground in a few places as she moved. Eventually she made it to the water and stamped hard paw prints into the shore before wading into the shallows. She hid underneath the bridge, letting her tail tip poke out. Once she was ready, she howled for her son to come find her.