The pups were not long given their freedom from the den before their parents threw them into training. The first task was relatively simple, though was to ingrain within them the necessity of navigation and the importance of being able to find their way home. Azure was not pleased in the slightest, well aware of his inability to determine directions. His sister Asla was much better at it then he was, if she was here he knew he'd be able to complete his task. Sirius had dropped him off in the dark. The crypts were nearly impossible to see inside, except for the rare trace of light streaming down from above. He watched his dad leave, unable to navigate the maze with enough speed to catch up to him and eventually was left in the dark all alone. His ears fell to his skull, and he could hear nothing at all. He tried to sniff and find the trail, but the warlord had left a trail too jagged for him to follow with accuracy. It felt like he'd been wandering for hours when it reality it was likely only few minutes. Regardless, Azure wished desperately to be back home in the plains where he could see the sun and the trees and the familiar landmarks that showed him the way. He let out a few soft whimpers, believing himself to be so alone that no one could hear his fear. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis did not like to be alone, he followed the scent of his mother as quickly as he was bal,e but still he lost her. Once she was out of sight, he trembled a little, and was forced to take on the realisation he was alone. At first, he wanted to panic, it was dark, and he had no idea where he was or what was down here.

He might have given in to panic, but he heard then a soft whimper. He almost didn’t recognise it as Azure, he didn’t think he had ever heard his brother make that noise before. He paused, titling his head, closing his eyes, and listened. It was Azure!

Somehow, knowing his brother was there, and frightened, bolstered him. He didn’t much like Azure half the time, and Azure had really confused his life, but he was still his brother, and Mortis still loved him. The pup took a deep breath, and considered the world around him for a moment. He might be frightened easily, and not comfortable with killing things, but he knew how to track a scent really well.

He strode through the darkness, trying to look calm and assured, and near immediately tripped over something on the floor he couldn’t see. He tumbled forward, catching his balance with his wings, and tried to pretend like nothing happened.
The exit is this way” he said with all the confidence he could muster. It was a guess, but not a random one. The air didn’t smell as stale in that direction.

Azure's whimper was cut off as shuffles sounded from nearby him. He listened, paralyzed until suddenly a foot brushed across his paw and he yelped in startled fear. Mortis' voice called out to him, though it was hardly recognizable as his soft cowardly brother. Azure's ears pulled harder against his skull and he frowned down into the darkness. He could be lying, trying to lure Azure deeper into the maze as payback for his shoving him off the cliff. The pup didn't know what to believe, but he did know he didn't like being alone in the dark with no idea how to get home. It definitely didn't help that occasionally he saw glowing eyes pierce through the darkness, then vanish shortly after. He collected himself with an audible inhale, and then scampered after his brother. Suspicion still gripped him. "How do you know?" The pup's voice was equal parts accusing and worried, and at times it shook. When he got out of this maze, he decided he'd bite his mother and father to punish them. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis gave his direction and kept walking, waiting for the moment Aure decided to follow him. He really, really wanted his brother to trust him, even this little bit, even cautiously. come on, come on he chanted mentally, and almost cheered with the sound of Azure’s steps started after him.

His brother's cautious question made the winged boy scrunch up his nose. He didn’t have a good answer for his brother, and he probably didn’t look as confident as he wished he did. He stumbled and shuffled through the darkness of the cave, and smacked his head on a stalactite. “Cause it smells differently, can’t you tell?” he asked, as though it should have been obvious, even though it really wasn’t. He wanted Azure to think he knew what he was doing. Besides, with all his thoughts on impressing Azure, he didn’t have much room left to be scared.

Az did not like the way his brother spoke, as if the different smell in the air should be obvious. He sniffed quietly, but recognized nothing but the stale smell of mom, dad, and the moisture of the cavern. Less and less he trusted his brother's judgement, but he seemed confident enough that Azure still followed. It was hard to keep track of him in the dark but the rustle of feathers upon the boy's back was unmistakable and easy enough to follow. If anything perhaps they'd become more and more lost, their father would need to rescue them and he could say 'I told you so' that Mortis was wrong. Even better, maybe Mortis would be in trouble for his lies instead of Az. The sounds from behind and around him continued in the dark, and Azure's head lowered to between his shoulders. He could hold his frightened pose with no worry, as surely his brother could not see him clearly in the dark. Bravery was hard, especially when you felt stalked. The fur on his back rose, and his breath began to come out in faster pants. "Did you see that?" He asked suddenly, cerulean gaze piercing the darkness where he swore a shadow lurked. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

For some strange reason, Mort wasn’t feeling so scared of the dark. He spooked easily, sure, he didn’t trust the water and heights made him feel sick. He didn’t like the dark when he was alone, but he wasn’t alone, he had Azure with him, and somehow that made all the difference.

Azure didn’t argue with his logic, just followed quietly behind. It gave Mort a chance to sort out the scents, and he every now and then thought he felt a subtle breeze tickle through the sensitive feathers of his wings. They still lay hutched up on his back like a stalking bird, ready to flare out in balance. He tripped a lot, and he was starting to really get the hang on his wings helping him balance.

He put all of his effort into finding that very faint fresh air scent he kept catching, almost walking into a wall when he didn’t realise the cavern turned. Because of his concentration, he didn’t catch whatever Azure did. It wasn’t until Azure spoke, that he realised his brother was getting frightened by the darkness. It was so… so unexpected. Mortis was almost having fun with the challenge. Azure with with him, following him, paying attention to him, and he was enjoying it. What was scaring Azure?

Mortis paused, scrunching his nose up in hard concentration. He walked up to a really thin Stalactite, and shoved his shoulder into it, breaking off a stick of it. He grabbed that in his teeth, making frustrated, thinking noises in the back of his throat. “Hold this, and don’t go anywhere or I’ll lose you.” he said, shoving the ‘stick’ at his brother, before vanishing into the darkness.

He was gone a little while, as he found the scent of, stalked, and caught a mouse. He held in his mouth a time, breathing hard and trying to find his resolve, before he broke its neck. He shed a few tears, safe in the silence of the cave, before skinning it like Venom had shown him how, and brought it, and a stone back to his brother. He made sure his eyes were dry before he reappeared “Just me” he said softly, warning his brother, sa he grabbed the stick back, wrapped the coat about it, and then shoved a stone and some dry moss he had also collected into a pile. He worked hard for a little bit, leaning over it, using his wings to shelter it from any faint breeze, and got a fire working. “Auntie showed me how.” he explained as the fire crackled faintly to life. He handed the mouse-wrapped stick to his brother. “Stick it in the fire” he directed his brother.

Azure's fright did not slip passed Mortis' notice, and before he knew it a thin stick was being shoved into his mouth and he was told to hold onto it and stay. Azure was bewildered and a low growl slipped out at the instruction, though he obeyed regardless if not just so he wouldn't get even more lost than he already was. Desperately his eyes tried to adjust to the dark, and he thought he could see Mort's feathers in the distance. If his brother ditched him, Azure thought he might kill him after all. He returned however, and Azure let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. The stick he kept firmly in his mouth like a weapon, and Mortis had to tug more than once to get him to release it. After much too long, Mortis finished up whatever he was doing and a fire crackled to life. Azure let out a murmured noise that might have been appreciation or something else entirely. Well, whatever. Azure could admit it was a cool trick.... but it was useless, they had to keep moving to find their way out and the fire was only right there. It wouldn't follow them, not unless he set his br- nevermind, he shoved the thought away. Mortis was trying to be helpful, and Azure would helpfully try to not think murderous thoughts. Distrust still stirred within him, and he thrust the stick back towards his brother. "No, you." For all he knew the thing would explode on contact, Mortis' way of getting back at his brother. He eyed him carefully, watching the flames reflecting off his brother's bright gaze. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Mortis let out an exasperated sigh. He was trying to help Azure! The only reason he had gone off and done all this was for his brothers sake. He had-had killed that poor mouse for this, and his brother spurned this gift. Exasperated, he let the stick clatter to the floor when Azure tried to shove it back at him. "If IM holding the fire, the smoke will drown out the smell of the exit, and we will wonder in circles for the rest of our lives." Duh.

"If I light it and hand it to you, you'll be grabbing the flaming end, and I dont really want you to catch on fire..." double duh. They where brothers after all, even after all they had been through.

"Take it, or let the let the monsters eat you, I've got an exit to find" he said fully exasperated, as he turned his back on his brother and the fire. He wasnt worried about leaving it to burn, it was surrounded in rock and the most would sputter out very soon. Azure would just have to make the choice to trust him or not.

Everything his brother had said made sense logically, and Azure was surprised to hear intelligence from the boy he'd only seen as a useless stupid coward. To respond he'd have to say just that, and the prideful pup was not about to admit that he'd been outsmarted. "Fine." He said, his voice a grumble. Grasping the stick he shuffled closer to the fire, eyes still upon his brother's turned back incase the winged boy would start to move and leave him there alone. He pushed it into the flames, and it came away alight itself. The heat was not pleasant, though he did appreciate the light. "Now, find the way out." He suggested with just a bit less bite in his tone. The makeshift torch would not last forever, and Azure didn't want to be caught in the dark again. He couldn't - just couldn't leave it like that without adding some form of snark into the conversation. "Maybe if you put as much thought into flying as you did making fires, we wouldn't have an issue." His words were quiet and muttered beneath his breath, the pup needing somehow to bring himself back up to the top after his brother had shown him up. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

His back was to his brother, so Azure wouldn’t see the pleased, proud smile that touched the winged boys lips as he heard the stick catch. Azure had decided to trust him, the second time today. Maybe there was hope for them after all. Desperate to be right, and not let Azure down, he returned to sniffing the air, tilting his wings, doing everything he could to find and feel that faint touch of fresh air that had brought him this far.

With the light of Azure’s stick behind him, moving became easier. He didn’t have to shuffle along, afraid to trip, and the two of them could move more quickly, more freely. Everything was perfect, and then Azure had to go and ruin it. There was a nastiness in his bear-pawed brothers heart. Why did he only ever show it to Mort? His siblings would think him crazy, if he ever proclaimed the cruelty in their black-striped brother.

Mortis fell silent for a time, letting the soft crackling of the fire, and the sound of their footsteps be what echoed through the maze. “Nothing about me impresses you, does it.” it wasn’t a question, not really, just a quiet, sad, understanding.

At that same moment, they turned the last corner, and natural moonlight flooded in before them, announcing the exit for even his nose-dead brother to see.

Azure focused upon the soft flame, feeling the heat upon his face and occasionally closing his eyes so he could pretend he was back outside with the sun warming him. While the dark itself did not scare the boy, there was something about being utterly alone in a strange place where he was sure he was being stalked. Banshee had told him of ghosts, and if they really did exist this crypt had to be where they lived. He hated his parents briefly in this moment for dropping him here, hated them more for dropping Mortis beside him but also faintly appreciated that the winged boy could find the way when he could not. He shuffled along after his brother, wrestling with his bitterness. When Mortis spoke, Azure's lips formed a tight line around the torch. Why did he have to be so sensitive all the time? He bit back his instant-response, that if Mortis could fly then he'd be very impressed. Somehow he thought it'd only get him into more trouble. "Why do you need my approval anyways? Brothers fight, it's normal. You should be worried about impressing Dad, not me." It was a workaround answer, one that allowed Azure to dodge the question and flip it back upon his brother. When the light of the moon broke through and the pups stepped out of the crypt, Azure paused at the threshold. They were no longer navigating a maze, but back in the open world. The wrong direction could lead them away from the Armada, or towards quicksand or mountain or volcano or rushing river. Mother had drilled into them how many dangers existed outside their territory, and Azure was aware of them all as he looked out over the distance. Ahead of them was an open field, where faintly he could see the moon reflecting off metal and man-made buildings. He hummed softly, remembering the lessons he'd been told of the neighbouring packs. "Someone lives there." Azure pointed out to his brother, the fur on his spine beginning to stand on end as he thought of the bad wolves his father spoke of. With no way of knowing if the inhabitants were friend or foe, he turned away from the Buffalo Knolls. The only direction left to head was to the left, where the trees towered overhead wrapped in thick moss and vine, and below hung a thick foggy mist. Azure changed his mind quite quickly - if ghosts existed, they'd exist there he was sure of it. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."