For no real reason, Resin followed a strange scent out to the orchard where she'd collected the bees. It wasn't a dangerous scent, it was simply something unknown. Curiosity drove her to seek and discover.

The day was overcast. Every once in a while the sun would peek out from behind the clouds. It made travel easy for the thickly furred woman. Another strong whiff of smell hit her nares and she continued on. In time, she reached the source of the smell. There was an old dead tree with thick roots exposed That wasn't odd, but the strange fungi growing atop it was. Little nodules of earthen color barely visible beneath the dirt. They were the source of the smell.

Carefully, Resin dug a few of the little nubs up from the ground. The smell was rich and nutty. Entirely new to her olfactory library. She would take them back to Iolaire and would remember the place. Perhaps they were edible.

Mortis held back a chortle as an unexpected prey made itself available to him. He had been working on his climbing skills in a different environment. He felt now, very familiar with the weeping willows and mangroves near his home. The orchid offered a different type of environment. He found the branches to be thinner, more frequent, and less sturdy. He wasn’t sure he liked them, but they were still an experience.

Climbing up had been hard, and he had left many a telltale sign of his climb. Broken branches, and gouges in the tree marked his path. His scent, thank goodness, was concealed by fermenting fruit, and the fungai below the tree he had picked.

He hadn’t expected to see Resin here, but he wasn’t about to let such a good opportunity slip his grasp. She was a wily woman, always on the move, always on the lookout. But would she expect an attack from above? Few seldom did.

He leaned further forward on his branch, looking at her topside view. The back of her dark ears and black ruff. He waited until she turned, collecting her samples. Her bad eye was towards him, giving him an opening. With a battle cry, he leapt from his space. Wings flaring either side of him like an avenging angel as the drop-wolf, well, dropped.
He aimed to land beside her rump, and leap onto and grab it.

She'd barely stepped away from the tree when the attack came. A roar sounded and she could feel the wind ruffle her fur as something big and heavy dropped down beside her. Being on her bad side, she couldn't see what that something was. It didn't matter. Action needed to be taken.

Instantly dropping the weird fungi from her maw, Resin spun. Jaws wide and a guttural snarl escaping through those jaws the scarred woman leaped towards the threat rather than away. Anything foolish enough to attack her would die. Her big body slammed hard into another furry mass and her teeth were just about to sink home when she realized who had attacked her.

Wings. Teal stripes, big, wide eyes. "Mortis Fatalis," she snarled, standing over his prone form. "I could have killed you." Her coat was bristled, her hackles raised. Had he pulled his prank from the other side, it may have been a different outcome. Since she couldn't see who had dropped behind her and had assumed an actual attack, she was ready to kill.

The woman stepped away, inhaling deeply and trying to compose herself. She could have seriously hurt him. To Mort, everything was a game. His game almost backfired this time.

Damn, but she was fast. She was on him in an instant. She slammed into him, and knocked him off balance. He fell hard, wings flailing on either side of him in a last-ditch effort for balance. He was too busy trying to righten himself, he didn’t realise the full death in her expression, the anger when she recognised him.

She seemed mighty angrily, and he didn’t both with trying to pull himself to his feet. Instead, he hunkered down, and looked up at the older woman. At least she hadn’t clipped his ears like his dad might have when he got as angry as that. “Grammy?” he asked softly. She wasn’t proud of how far he had come? How well he had managed to scale the tree, and drop? She was simply mad at him.

Resin continued to move a few paces away from him before sitting down. She rolled her shoulders and took another deep breath. Fear had struck like a snake the moment that she knew it was Mort. Fear for what could have been. With her scissor like teeth and the power in her trained jaws she could have done some serious damage.

His soft,  hesitant tones came from behind her. He was still so childlike. The most childlike out of the bunch.  Composure regained,  she cast a glance over her shoulder and motioned for him to come close. She wasn't mad at him. She had simply been filled with emotion.

He bit back a sniffle, knowing he was being silly for taking her anger personally. She only wanted to keep him safe. Tears would have had his father scorn him. Was it funny, knowing that tears from Indy or Asla would bring out his soft side? Why not Morts? Why did Azure like Indy and Asla, but not him? Was he really so wrong,so different, that he had to have different standards from everyone else?

Truth was. He was sick of being Sirius’ heir. Sick of being the eldest. He just wanted to be himself, with no expectation. No heartbreak.

He sighed softly, and got to his feet, padding closer to Resin, sitting obediently at her feet, before shoving his butt backwards and resting his head on her paws. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to. He had given her a fright, gotten scolded. He knew she forgave him, and he her. Resin didn’t always need words.

His demeanor when he approached was simply not Mort. Usually he could brush a reprimand off quickly and continue being his normal, bubbly self. Not this time. As he curled himself up before her and placed his head on her paw, the big woman looked down at him. She could see the tears in his eyes and a frown crossed her features.

Lowering herself beside him, Resin lifted one thick foreleg and pulled the boy close, tucking him against her. Her dusty blue nose snuffled atop his head and she released a rumble in her chest. "Tell me what's wrong."

There was no doubt that he would tell her. Mort wasn't the kind to hide things, especially not from her. He spoke; she listened. That was how it went. She waited now for him to begin.

He sniffled a little as the elder woman pulled him close, tucking him against her. Not many could make Mort feel small again, but Resin managed it. He could still tuck against her side, wings folded down. Sometimes, he felt like he was surrounded by imps.

He let out a soft breath, relaxing against her, and closed his eyes. It made it easier to speak, that way. “Azure’s always had it out for me, even before we were heirs. Asla struggles to understand me. Mum is scared for me” after his suicide attempt, he understood that one. “Somehow, me and Indy never ended up close. Dad seemed to swap between… contempt and pride for me. I know he hates my goof act. Maybe that’s why I do it. I’m sick of trying to make him proud, and not matching up to Azure. I’m just… I'm sick of all of it. I’ll never be as good or as like any of them. I’ll never fit in. sometimes, trying just really… really sucks.”

Ears shifted as he began to speak. Her features turned down in a frown as he unleashed his current thoughts to her. She felt for the boy. It was a terrible feeling to be so out of place. She gave him a light squeeze and waited until he was finished to reply.

"Those are heavy woes for one so young, " she began in her gruff, rasping tones. She didn't like that he was feeling that way but he was at that age. The age where hormones start to flow. When your mind develops deeper thinking. She wouldn't reverse time to live as a yearling again for anything.

He was tired of trying to be like everyone else. "Don't try to be like anyone else, " she spoke softly, snuffling the top of his head once more. "You just worry about being Mortis. If being heir isn't what you want, then speak your mind. If others don't understand you, then they don't need to." She actually chuckled softly. "I've been heavily misunderstood in my day but I've never stopped being true to myself."