Zee had kept a careful eye and ear on her children, and though they thought they explored alone there was always someone nearby. Bast and Marshal had been invaluable, as had her viper. It had not gone past her notice how well Azure, Indy and Asla played together... and how Mortis and Azure had been recently at each other's throats.

She loved each of them equally, and valued family above all else. While Sirius might have taken the stance that the pups should toughen up, Zee wished for them to grow stronger with the help of each other. That couldn't happen if her two oldest were stuck in a feud already when they'd hardly left the den.

The alpha tilted her head back and called for her boys, a stern howl that insisted they respond immediately no matter what it was that they were doing.

Azure heard his mother's call, recognized the firm tone she'd used and dropped his wood immediately. While their father had sent him to the wood pile as punishment, he did not want to go against his mother's command. The pup moved as fast as his oversized paws would allow, coming up before her and sitting obediently to wait and see what she needed him for. He wasn't sure what her intentions were, but he did know he liked attention. "Yes momma?" Azure asked her sweetly, tail thumping lightly against the ground. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis was quick to respond, he loved his mother unconditionally, and had been spending a lot of time of late under the safe umbrella of her stomach. He dreaded the day he would be too tall to crawl under there easily and get underfoot as she went about her daily chores. She must, at this point, be rather accustomed to the limpet she had grown in her coat.

He trotted towards her, trying not to look at Azure, knowing it would only cause him to glower darkly, and he didn’t wanna mumma to start in on that. Instead, he came to a stop before her, all of his attention only on the pretty blue/tan wolf that had birthed him.

Zee waited patiently for her children to arrive, eyeing them each in turn. They didn't look at each other, and she could see in the way they carried themselves that it was true that the pair were having an argument. She cleared her throat quietly, drawing their attention and then stood up to reveal the leather straps that hid behind her.

She gave them a moment to look, and then spoke. "I don't like what I've heard." Zee did not need to say much, for both boys surely knew what it was she referred to. This was not supposed to turn into a battle of he said she said, and she wished to hear no excuses from either of them. "The pair of you are more important to each other than you know. I had hoped you would discover this alone without help, but it appears I must intervene."

With a soft and sad sigh, Zee moved towards the boys. The hardness in her eyes commanded them to remain still, though her paws were soft as she looped the leather around Mortis. She wrapped it so that it made a makeshift harness, one the boy could not simply slip out of and would need to cut to be freed. With the other then, she worked on Azure. The same style of wrapping was done to his body, and when she'd finished and pulled the leather tight the boys were bound together. There was enough room between them to move comfortably, though they would need to cooperate to accomplish anything. Not even could one child lay down without the other being also forced low.

The mother's gaze was sad as it shifted between them, though she tried her best to speak with a neutral tone. "The two of you will remain like this for two days. You will eat together, sleep together, play together, and have your lessons together. Figure it out. If I see the straps have been gnawed or cut, I will include your father in the next intervention." She hoped her threat would be enough, and that the pups would not deliberately try to weasel out of their harness. "I love you both very much. Learn to love each other." With that Zee stood, heaved a sigh, and walked back towards the den.

Azure could not contain his soft growls as his mother manhandled him, though her touch was gentle. He could feel her disappointment, and as soon as he realized what it was she was up to his jaw dropped and whiney groans spilled forth from his mouth. He wanted to complain, to kick and flail but he had already had tasted the wrath of two adults. It would not do to anger her, especially when he knew the next step of the ladder was to be his father. Sirius' paws could move with swiftness and strength, and Azure had no desire to be cuffed ever again. Once she'd left, he turned to his brother bound to his side. "Can you walk properly, or do I need to drag you?" He muttered bitterly, gesturing his nose towards his brother's sore paw. This would be a very long couple of days, and an incredible test of patience for the boy. His ears flattened, and he stared out across Sea's Plain towards the den that was much too far away. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He had never seen his mother look so stern, and she spoke of the argument between them as though she knew what had happened and found them both to be at blame. Panic shot through him, at the thought that his mother, too, did not care that Azure had tried to kill him. If Zee, of all the wolves in his life, did not believe he belonged…

His heart almost stopped, until Zee mentioned the two of them working together. Maybe she did care, maybe she just wanted the two of them to be friends, like Mortis wanted. Still, he wasn’t very happy about being manhandled, and a touch of panic still ran through him. His heart beated painfully quick inside of him as the boy who felt fear easily filled with adrenaline. He squeezed his eyes shut as his mother wrapped something around him, when he opened them, he would see how tightly he was bound to Azure. To the wolf who had tried to kill him.

His panic increased, and his eyes were wide with it. He should have told his mumma, he should have told Zee exactly what Mort had done. Did she already know? If she did, would she force him into such close proximity with him?

The thought of Azure being forced to drag around Mortis’s corpse, because he was dead, and Azure was stuck with him in this stupid harness, crossed his mind. He didn’t know if he should laugh or weep.

Mumma gave one last stern lecture, and then left them there alone. Mortis panted, he was breathing so heavily, and the second Zee was out of sight, he started to wiggle, the feeling of claustraohpe weighing down on him. One more fear to add to the bunch, Morits had a feeling he wasn’t going to like tight spaces ever again after this.

Azure, much calmer than his brother, would gesture rudely towards his injured paw, and ask if he had to drag him around. Mortis, through his fear had likely been pretty visible as it was, tried not to let it creep into his voice. “I can walk ” was all he said, and at least not he wasn’t trying to wriggle.

His brother wiggled desperately and Az steadied himself to try and avoid being pulled over. The boys were the same size, neither had an advantage of strength upon the other. He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ok well I'm hungry. Let's go get some food." The prince moved towards tall grass plains, feeling the resistance of Mort's body. This would take more effort then just walking like normal. He had a feeling his stupid paws would hurt more when the journey was done. "Try to keep up, okay?" While it was a question, he barked it. Azure didn't like to have to feel like he needed to ask his brother for anything. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis was still trying to get his breath and adjust to this new thing in his life, and Azure, grumpy, mean Azure, was already over there judging him, as though it was all Mort’s fault. The resentment and fear stirred in his chest. Through some effort, the winged boy managed not to hyperventilate, but the feeling was definitely there.

He couldn’t even open his wings, not that he cared about the stupid things, but realising they where trapped, just added to his frustration. They were probably going to get itchy and uncomfortable, and he had no idea how longer they were going to be trapped for, and good god, what about when he needed to pee?

There had been a time, not very long ago, when he wanted to follow Azure about everywhere, and be in everything his brother was doing. He had looked up to the darker wolf, as though he had seen in Azure even then the strength he would carry with him in life.

If only Azure hadn’t seen that difference so quickly in Mortis, and resented him being around. He had never seemed as happy in Mort’s company as he did Asla or Indy, and then, after the cliff incident, that jealousy had turned into resentment in Mort’s heart. Now, he longer felt any joy at walking beside his brother. He said nothing, just limped painfully along beside his brother, trying not to slow them down despite his injury.

As they walked along, Azure felt an avalanche of emotion. There was frustration there and anger towards his mother's mischief, but also a shred of guilt as his brother wordlessly trailed beside him. He could feel the boy's limp in each movement the duo made, and after too many silent minutes Azure drew to a stop. "Look I said I didn't mean to." He told him, trying to emulate his father's stern and confident tone. "You don't have to be afraid of me." The boy searched his brother's face, unable to form the words to express what it was he felt inside. Why did he sometimes hate him, but sometimes didn't? It was all too confusing. He enjoyed being the center of attention, to know that Dad was proud of him and to bask in the love of his other siblings. Some part of him was although overjoyed to have the power to make Mortis shrink in fear, though the other part felt the wrongness of it. It was not empathy, nor overwhelming guilt. While the pup knew he should feel those things and knew he had done wrong and why... he just didn't feel it. His moral compass was broken, and it was exhausting to have to think about how a good wolf would act instead of following his heart. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

The silence stretched out for a time, the only sound Mortis’s jagged breathing as he limped alongside his brother. The restricting harness held the two together, and pulled against him with every step. It did not make for an easy time. He was still bewildered that his other had done this to them, tied them together and left them to it.

Azure tried to apologize, catching Mortis by surprise. He wasn’t sure how sincere he was being, but Mortis appreciated the attempt anyway. He let out a soft sigh, a sound just short of frustration. They were in this together, whether they wanted to be or not. Zee had seen to that.

He let Azure look at him, looking back into the equally blue eyes of his brother. Of all the siblings, Azure and Mortis loomed the closest, almost like twins, if you discounted the bear paws and wings. Why did they have to be so different in heart? “I just wanted to be like you. It’s all I ever wanted. I wish… I wish I was as brave as you.” he admitted, voice trailing off, soft enough to miss if they hadn’t been forced to stand so close.

The pup had already learned fast and hard that he'd inherited his father's protective streak, though couldn't quite understand why it did not extend to his older brother. Logically he knew if it were Asla or Indy feeling this way that Azure would do anything to relieve them of their hurt, even if it hurt himself. Why couldn't he make himself do the same for Mort? Mortis' words surprised the boy, and his guilt swelled in response. Why did life have to be so complicated? Why was he given such a coward of a brother? "You don't want to be like me." He told him. "I'm not brave, I just fake it." Still he thought it was Mortis' fault, the way he responded to situations that made him different. Bravery wasn't something you were born with, was it? If Mortis could just fake it as good as Azure did, or at least try to fake it... maybe they'd get along. "I was scared when Resin held me over the cliff." It wasn't something he wanted to admit, and definitely not to his brother. Though at least it was a real fear - the one of imminent death - and not a silly one like heights, water, or the dark. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis blinked incredulously at his brother as he admitted what he did. No, impossible. Azure was… was… this big brave knight to their other siblings. He was all pride, and certainty, like nothing in the world could phaze him. He couldn’t fake that, surely?

Mortis didn’t respond, not sure how to. He scuffed a paw in the dirt in front of them, leaning his weight on his back paws instead of his injured one. Azure admitted something else then, surprising Mortis for a second time in a matter of moments. “I was scared too, I didn’t want her to hurt you.” he admitted. It was a part of why he had decided not to tattle on Azure, and why he had stuck to that resolve. He didn’t want to give his brother any more reasons to hate him, or for him to get hurt.

Mortis seemed surprised by his words, and Azure turned his head from him so he could avoid the feeling it gave him. The awe and incredulous energy only fueled his odd need for attention, to be seen as the best of the litter. He knew it was a wrong way to feel, so he avoided his brother's gaze out of worry for how he'd next respond if he let himself give in to the powerful feeling. He'd admitted that he, too was afraid but for Azure not himself. It didn't make him feel any better, and he held in his groan. "She wouldn't have hurt me." He insisted, trying to be brave. "What I did was an accident. What she did was a lesson. If she threw me off the cliff that'd be none of those, and Dad would kill her for it." That much the boy was sure. His dad had never said aloud that he'd kill the warrior, though he felt very close to the warlord in thought process. Azure knew if the roles were reversed and he was the big strong wolf, he'd kill the woman who intentionally murdered a member of his family. Whether she was pack or not. "She scared me though, and hit me. Then dad hit me, too." A part of him wanted Mortis to hear what the response had been and to know that because he was too stupid to fly, that Azure had been punished not once but twice. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."