The winged boy had heard of the patient recovering in Auntie’s cottage. He knew that it was somebody his dad had rescued and brought back here. He also knew that Malalia considered the patient a friend - which basically meant he and Cairo were halfway to being friends already. Tail wagging lightly behind his back, he stopped up at the cottage. He already had permission to come by when he wanted to. His Auntie adored him, and he her. He hoped bothering a patient fell under that category, too. It was late in the evening. He didn’t even know what time anymore. Somewhere before midnight, at least. He stopped at the entrance, and popped open the door and made his way to the patient wing, scratching on this door. “Hello, Cairo, you awake?” he whispered. "Mortis"

To say Cairo was awake would be a lie. To say he would be very happy to wake up was definitely a big truth. He stood upon a precarious tower of stone that wobbled and shifted under his weight, threatening to topple every time he caught his balance. Below, far, far below, the earth yawned, ready to break him. The stone beneath his paws shifted, the tower rumbled with a grating, repetitive sound, and he was falling, falling, falling… “…awake?” He jolted with a yip, eyes snapping open and wide, pupils shrunken and wild before he registered his surroundings and slowly relaxed, chiding his hammering heart. Just a nightmare. But he wasn’t alone. He turned his head and studied the very large dark male. If it weren’t for the wings, he’s have thought it was Sirius in the dim lighting. “Mortis, is it? Yeah I’m up.” He studied the boy. So large and still a pup. Had Artur grown that fast? Pushing away the disturbing memory of the dream he smiled up at the boy, shifting carefully, almost to his belly. “I hear you tell good ghost stories…” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He heard the yip, and nudged the door open, wide-eyed, wondering if the patient within was okay. When Cairo settled his eyes on Mortis and spoke, Mort had to assume it had been something like a bad dream. Mortis had had those a few times himself. In fact, he had a bad dream of falling for months after his brother had pushed him off a cliff. He settled down near the door, smiling at Cairo, his tail wagging lightly behind him. “Oh, nah, you should hear Mal, hers are wicked” he said with an easy laugh. He scooted a little closer to Cairo and whispered. “But I think the campfire is haunted” he winked, since he was sure of no such thing, only knew that something weird had happened after the ghost stories. “Did you wanna get a bite to eat? I just brought back a wild pig” he could have brought the food to Cairo, but he suspected the other might like a change of scenery - and if not, well, he could drag the pig over easy peasy. "Mortis"

Cairo could see right away why Malalia – although she hadn’t said it aloud – hoped this boy would be the next Warlord of the Armada. He was good-natured, and Cairo smirked lightly at the comment about her stories, nodding, “I’ll bet they are.” His ears perked at Mort’s invitation. At the moment, he didn’t think he wanted to go back to sleep and find himself taking more mountain-issued flying lessons, so he grinned readily. “Sure. Let me just work myself up. Still takes a bit of effort, but at least my ribs have fused back together. Now it’s just the legs left.” Soon, so very soon, he’d get to go home. He hoped he hadn’t missed Aurielle’s birthing. He slowly rocked to his belly and worked his way to a sitting position. It was a lot easier now than the day with Sirius. His back leg still jutted out to the front, but it would heal whole. He had to believe that both legs would be whole once healed. Otherwise, he might go mad, lost in his own mind and fretting. With a heave and bounce of his hind end to get his good back leg underneath him, he came to his feet, tail arcing and swaying for balance. “It’s progress, for sure.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Cairo responded with good nature, and the young boy's grin only grew. When he spoke about how well he was healing, the pup snorted softly. “I sure hope your legs aren’t fusing together. You’ll be a fish, like i’m a bird” he teased, crouching down besides the injured wolf to offer support rising if it was needed. It seemed it was not, as he managed to work his way into a standing position without help. Mort scooted back to his feet and opened the door out of the patients wing, holding it open for Cairo to pass through. He would make sure to take it slow for the man, and keep a close eye on him. He wasn’t a healer, but he could summon one in a heartbeat if he thought it was necessary. After that was the door to the cottage itself, and the crisp night air beyond. He stepped across the deck his dad and Auntie had built together, and down onto the grass, watching and fretting gently over his friend. "Mortis"

Cai snorted softly at Mortis’ joke. It was slow going. His legs were still splinted, but the splints were just stiff enough that he could balance by touching the tip of each paw to the floor. It was awkward, hopping work, and he was a lot more winded by the time he made it to the ground outside the cottage than he would have liked. Getting back in peak physical form would take work, but hopefully, things would only get easier from here on. He glanced back at the cottage, hoping he hadn’t wakened the healer and her mate, but things remained quiet, so he grinned lightly at the winged boy with a cheerful, “Lead on?” He followed slowly, occasionally pausing to breathe, but he was dogged, good natured, and determined not to collapse until he reached the kill the pup had made. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Mortis kept his pace slow for the injured wolf, who hobbled along in an awkward fashion. Mortis understood his pain, he had sprained his leg after Azure had tossed him off the cliff, and been forced into something similar. At least a sprain healed faster than a break. ”Of course!” Mortis said with a friendly wag of his tail, and began to lead the older boy to the kill pile. They approached the communal space, and the moment his eyes fell on his hard-work, he would see the coyotes. “Oye, get!” he yelled, furious, forgetting for a moment to keep to Cairo’s easy pace as he launched forward, yelling at the creatures that would eat his kill. "Mortis"

The stroll was amiable, but as they reached the kill pile – which seemed to be like a communal cache for recent kills… did they process them later on? He assumed they did – he spotted the shifty, cocky movements of coyotes. His hackles sprang up, as Mortis bounded forward with an indignant yell. For a second, he nearly leapt forward again, but his current disability restrained him, and he realized, as the yotes scattered then converged to defend their pilfered hog, that he wasn’’t going to be able to fight them… not on his feet. A coyote spotted his less than whole-bodied movements and veered toward the perceived easier opponent, back humped, face snarled in a grimace. Cairo dropped abruptly with a muffled grunt as the coyote sprang the last few feet for his throat. He was reminded of his fight with the third lion he’d ever tangled with as the much smaller coyote came over him, surprised for a second as the wolf it had attacked fell over. Cairo arched his back and snaked his jaws upward under the coyote’s guard and around its throat, thrashing his head as his teeth punctured flesh and vein, and pressing the inside of his good foreleg to the coyote’s shoulder to throw it to the side. He released the rapidly drooping form and rocked to his hips, front half upright in time to see another coyote, hanging back from the brawl, decided the less able wolf was a better target and bounded forward. He met the coyote with a rumble and snap of the jaws to impress upon it that attacking him was abad idea, giving the coyote a moment of pause, long enough for him to glance for Mort and assess the situation before lunging for the yote that was testing his bluff already… you’d think they’d see one dead coyote and run. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Mortis had been learning how to smoke the meat under his Auntie’s instructions. He had intended to let Cairo have his full of the kill, and then preserve whatever remained. Now it seemed he might not be able to do anything with it, not if pesky scavengers tore it apart first.

As Mort raced towards the kill pile, he heard the sound of violence behind him. He froze in shock, realising he had left the injured wolf unguarded. Turning, with horror on his maw, back to Cairo, he would see to his surprise that the wolf had it under control.

With his back turned, one of the coyote’s thought to ambush him. A shrill cry from Saph, his Kea, warned him of the approaching threat. He turned in time to see it lunging for him, and he dove into its attack. Wings spreading out on either side of him, as its teeth skidded against his fur and fell free, as it collapsed under the weight of the overgrown pup. Using his wings as cover from further ambush, he spread them over himself and the coyote as he finished the kill.

Mortis was holding his own, though his bird was a vital piece of the fight that kept the huge pup from being ambushed as he remembered his charge. Cairo snapped his teeth at his own impertinent opponent as he saw Mort was fine, and the coyote hung back for a second before deciding, foolishly, to commit to a pounce. Cairo ducked his head and snapped for the coyote’s foreleg, wrenching his head to one side as he caught it then throwing his weight slightly from his half-risen position, thankfully rested on his good leg, sending the yelping coyote tumbling and buying time to assess his surroundings again before the coyote could stand again on three legs, one visibly broken. Cairo smirked slightly, remarking in his head that at least he wasn’t alone in the broken leg wagon. A furtive movement caught his eye, another ‘yote hanging back as his friends fought, considering whether to dive at the hog for an opportunistic theft and dash. The coyote he’d mangled bolted, having had enough of wolves, and never mind the pork supper. The furtive one edged closer, eyeing Cairo speculatively and more cautiously. But Cai's eyes spotted yet another form seeking to dart in on Mort from behind as he finished his coyote and barked out a warning of, "Behind you!" as his own made a testing dart for him, sensing its brother's move. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think