The fur along his spine was still bristled, his lips set in an unyielding grimace as he paced swiftly through the plains and into Venom's domain. Hattori he'd left behind with Sirius, and he'd sworn to his father that he could make Venom see reason and allow the Armada to keep hold of the Shinobi warrior until the threat against their member had past. The possessive bastard inside him was suspicious - likely another trait inherited from Sirius - of the warrior who claimed to have knowledge on the impending attack. While Venom likely wouldn't care for any alleged danger to Hana, Azure hoped she trusted him enough to gift him this one favor. By the time he reached her den his heavy coat was slick with sweat and his chest was heaving. He allowed his eyes to close, to breathe in relaxation and steady his worries before rapping a paw upon the den. Az felt like he hadn't laid eyes on his Empress in forever - and excitement built in his chest as he called out her nickname. "Little serpent?" His head dared to poke past the furs, sharp aqua eyes struggling to adjust to the dim light. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Hattori was never one to be late, and that he was now to their routine lesson didn’t go without notice. It was more than that he was late though, Hattori had been the one to look after her. In more ways than just keeping her live though, he tested her mentally. Kept her sharp, but also became her eyes and ears since she could no longer be as mobile as she once was. When she could get out into the real world Hattori was the one who’s shoulder she leaned on. He’d become not only an asset to the Empire but also to the Empress personally.

The sound of heavy claws against stone didn’t go unnoticed and Venom lifted her head as sunset eyes searched the low light of the doorway. She was expecting her shinobi but the sound of Azure’s voice captured her attention completely. She hadn’t seen him since before her injury, Her leg still bound in its splint and signs of her imprisonment were scattered about her private chambers.

Venom shifted uncomfortably, her injury giving her more trouble today. Still she greeted the young Warlord warmly. ”Azure.” She still felt a pull of affection for him, knowing that the role of her season couldn’t be let blameless. She kept any comment about his age far from her mind. ”Where have you been?” She should have felt hurt by his absence, but all she could focus on was seeing him again.

Even with all the stress the young heir felt, the sound of Venom's voice manage to ground him. There was something else there though in the den between him, a quality he couldn't name but that drove his nostrils to flare. He slipped his head in further, his pupils dilating against the dim light - or was it the intoxicating scent? Azure didn't know. She'd never been one to keep him out, so when a moment passed and she gave no protest he proceeded the remainder of the way in. Enclosed in the space with the scent made it all that more distracting, and he almost had forgotten why he'd come to visit her in the first place before his eyes fell upon her split and the reminder of impending danger returned. His sharp eyes darkened with anger and he shook his head to rid himself of the distracting fragrance coming off of her in waves. "What happened?" Az asked softly, lowering himself to the den floor before her. Why hadn't he been told she was harmed? Did she have no faith in his ability to avenge her, once he'd failed against Kai? The scar upon his face had long healed, though the tightness around his eye would always remain as a physical reminder of the failure. Fuck. His lips pursed into a tight line and he blew out a quiet exhale to hide his shame. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Azure easily demanded all of her attention and Venom was eager to give it to him. She’d missed his presence, especially with her injury. Hattori had taken up any and every task she asked of him and more but she’d not been able to bring herself to have him fetch Azure. Maybe deep down she had been waiting for this moment, Venom had been waiting for him to return to her. There was that nagging thought at the back of her mind though, so much time had passed since he was beside her. Venom was forced to wonder where on his list of priorities she took place. She didn’t miss the scent of Hanako on him, and with that her heart fell. He’d taken so long to give her an answer, and now, especially with Hattori’s near constant presence and irreplaceable loyalty, she was able to pull back the curtain and see what the truth really was.

Azure couldn’t make her a priority because there was another who already claimed it. Venom tried not to let her suspicions take hold of her, assumptions could go either way and the Empress wanted so badly to be wrong. He was supposed to be her Warlord, her Emperor… But if he could deny her first request and take so long to give her a real answer… Venom hid her emotions as his dark voice reached her ears. He didn’t answer her question either and the young woman guarded herself for the inevitable.

”Sirius asked me the same,” she tried to chuckle to dispel the tension that was suddenly built up in her body. ”An unfortunate misstep.” She explained more easily, there was still no one to bite in retaliation to her injury. Quiet blanketed them for a moment as Venom’s sunset gaze roved Azure’s body and returned to his features. There was obvious worry and concern but it felt different. Venom could feel everything changing. ”I’ve missed you.” She whispered cautiously, hinting at how long he’d kept his distance from her. Even now with inches separating them she felt so far away.

At her reply Azure managed to raise a single brow, an expression of disbelief though he'd not go so far to voice it. However complex their relationship, she was still his Empress and his vow to her still remained. If she was choosing to lie to him, he chose to assume there was a reason behind it no matter how infuriating it may be. At the very least, he owed her his trust. "Very well." The heir replied, equally cautious. "I've missed you too." His eyes roamed the rest of her body - a more thorough inspection should there be more of her injured that he missed at first glance - though his gaze lingered a little long, the silence stretching with it.

Eventually Az drug himself closer, sliding his belly across the den floor until he was nose to nose with her. His lips fell apart slightly, his tongue slipping across his teeth. She smelled so damn good, though in the faint background Az could smell him. For a fleeting moment he almost dared to ask - how much more than a 'warrior' was this koi-wolf to her? To his Empress? He pushed the question down, for fear of hearing the answer. "I.. I came to ask you a favor." He admitted, his voice rough. Never had he felt so much pull towards another, and while occasionally a woman's scent had caught his attention similarly it had never came from someone he already had such strong feelings for. Az shuffled forward a little closer - moving slowly should she ask him to stop - to aim to run his nose from beneath her chin up along her cheekbone and up behind her ear. "Though truth be told, I'm having trouble remembering what it was."

It didn’t seem like he was satisfied with her answer anymore than Sirius had been. She chuckled lightly at his expression, though he didn’t press her for more information. ”Were there a living being behind it, I’d have already asked you for its hide.” Venom assured him with an easy grin that hid the way her emotions flared up in her chest. Azure was the complete opposite of Hattori. He didn’t hide anything, and in some ways that made it easier to be so close. In other ways she was still torn and uncertain. He’d rocked her whole foundation when he’d brushed off her offer to become Emperor.

Azure spoke softly as he echoed her sentiment, and despite the low light Venom didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered over the curve of her body. Venom didn’t stop him even as he pulled himself closer. His bright eyes were an intense gaze, but Venom met them with her own. She held herself back from touching her pink nose to his as his deep voice rumbled lightly in the small quarters. She almost answered him, but he closed the distance between them with a gentle touch.

Venom sucked in her breath as he nuzzled her, she’d mostly gotten a handle on the way her body rebelled against her in Hattori’s presence. That task was nowhere near as difficult as now, with Azure’s breath a caress on her dark ear. The young Empress closed her eyes and leaned into his affection, ”There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you. If you remember.” She returned, but grit her teeth as she refrained from embracing him like she wanted to. Venom couldn’t make herself pull away either. ”Perhaps some fresh air would help.” Her words were a whisper as she tried to convince herself of those words. She wouldn’t be Deathbelle, she couldn’t repeat her mother’s mistakes.

Her reassurance brought from him a dismissive noise of acknowledgement from the back of his throat, his anger at whatever had harmed her fading almost entirely in her very distracting presence. Should she have asked him to leave now to retrieve said hide, Az wasn't sure if he could even bring himself to stand. His wide paw lifted, aiming to come gently upon the side of her neck opposite to where his face nuzzled in close and hold her to him. The feeling of her plush fur between his toes made it hard to resist flexing them and hooking into his Empress more securely with his claws, though he did manage to resist. Even having gone from her for so long, she still felt like his, and everywhere Hattori's scent touched her he was driven to overwrite with his own.

The reminder of what she would do for him was like a dagger stabbing into his chest and he grimaced against her fur. She'd offered him the prize he'd always wanted - a throne beside hers, an Empire to rule beside her. Not giving her an answer that day was foolish, and the more he thought on it the more he wondered if the offer had already expired. Or had she given it to another? Biting back his growl, he nuzzled himself deeper into her fur. Before he knew it, his jaws were parting and he was peppering gentle nips down the side of her neck. Her suggestion was a sound one, though he dismissed it almost immediately and without consideration. "I don't want fresh air." He replied easily. 'I just want you, can't you see that?' The frustration bubbled, though melted away as fast as it had come on.

Where she was hesitating Azure was not and Venom felt herself melting into the young Warlord’s hold. Her confession would bring a strangled growl and his features further into her fur. Like she’d lashed at him with her words. ”Azure,” she whispered his name softly, but was cut off as her breath stuck. The feeling of his teeth against her neck causing her skin to alight into flame. He couldn’t know what he was doing to her. She was able to suck in a breath as he dismissed her suggestion, and Venom realized the trouble she was in as she pressed against him.

The feeling of need scrambled her thoughts as he easily chased all of her sense away. A whine slipped past her lips as she tried to summon her wits about her. Venom could hear the emotions she felt in the words that Azure didn’t say. The path that was so easy to follow. She pressed her eyes closed for a moment, frozen, before giving in, just a little.

Venom wrapped her arms around Azure’s neck, craving the close contact once more. She really had missed him, having him here now was both blessing and curse. The Empress was in no state to be entertaining such company. ”I know. I don’t either…” she trailed off with an unsaid ‘but.’ There were consequences to their actions. One in particular she wasn’t ready for. Still, she held him close, how long had she craved attention like this? ”My warlord.” Venom uttered softly as she pressed her nose to the base of his ear. Her discipline failing her with every moment that passed.

When she moved to embrace him, Azure let out a soft sigh of pleasure. While he'd never intend to manipulate her affections he couldn't help but greatly enjoy when his Empress would give in to them. Az did not often put himself in position to be rejected, and when the rejection did not come he felt a relief he didn't realize he was waiting for. As if he was holding in a deep breath for seasons, he felt like in her arms he could breathe again.

There was the issue of her unspoken 'but', and he felt perhaps that her actions were not entirely her own at the moment.. but Az was not selfless enough to break away from the embrace even with the inkling that it was not what she might fully want. "Careful." He whispered into her ear. "Your leg." Shifting, he moved to rest upon his hip to give her injured leg more room to move. Nothing had ever overwhelmed him as fully as his need for her in that moment, and he leaned into her to try and suffocate some of the desire that was taking such a firm hold upon him. "Yes, yours." The heir confirmed, trying not to dwell on how much lesser his 'secret' title felt in that moment. Az blew out a hot breath into her fur and swallowed hard. "Do you think the Armada would notice if I just never came home?" He mused.

”Careful.” Venom blinked back her lust as Azure’s voice reminded her of more than just her splinted leg. Venom had been ignoring the ache that was building, as well as her looming mistakes. Azure pulled away only slightly, giving her enough room to rearrange her leg into a more comfortable position. It was just enough to break the spell and Venom tried to take in a clear breath. She tried to clear her mind, to take a step back and look at what she was doing. Venom was allowing her baser instincts to take over, and it was oh so easy to give herself up to Azure’s strong arms.

She couldn’t forget Hattori, nor the moment that Azure had rejected her offer. Likely he had no idea this moment had been at stake. She was again reminded of the months between them in age, and knew even with how much she wanted him, they couldn’t go any further than where they’d gotten. Not without his final answer being uttered. She was an Empress, she couldn’t be as easy as letting him crawl into her bed to have her. Even if she wanted him just as badly.

”Yes, yours.” A shiver raced down her spine, but there was doubt in her eyes, he’d put it there when he’d rejected her the first time. She leaned into him again, wishing that life wasn’t so complicated as it felt in these moments. ”Your father is much too possessive for that.” Venom returned with a light chuckle, however her voice grew more serious. ”I.. Didn’t think you wanted to stay with me.” She whispered softly, hinting at their conversation two seasons ago. ”Is there someone else?” Venom’s voice was pained. When he’d become so defensive about Hana, her scent lingering on his pelt, his determined rejection. The span of time he’d let go on before he’d come back to her.

Venom seemed to pull away at his reminder - emotionally, if not physically - and Azure clenched his teeth, wishing she was whole and uninjured so he could grasp her closer and harder to get back that closeness. It felt as if they were teetering on a ledge waiting for a stray wind to blow them in either direction, and while Azure did not like situations he could not predict, he was thrilled to balance precariously with her. The young heir shifted as she did, moving so that he could take some more of her neck gently between his teeth when she posed her question.

The pain was clear in her voice and his jaws snapped shut, his muzzle dropping so instead it was his forehead that pressed against her fur. Fuck, fuck. The reminder of Hanako was like a cold shower, and Az shut his eyes and inhaled to try once more to lose himself in her delicious scent. His chest tightened, his breath catching on the pain. The effort was futile - lust could not win out when he felt as if he was suffocating. "You have no idea how much I want to stay with you." He whispered back.

For all the good things Venom made him feel, Az did not know if he'd ever stop feeling so young in her presence. While it was indescribably frustrating, he allowed himself this once to accept it without ill-directed wrath. To try and benefit from the presence of someone wiser. "Venom.." He murmured, posing to his Empress an uncertain question. His brows knitted against her fur, struggling over the words. "Can you love more than one wolf at a time?" The shame of having even asked the question heated his face and he clenched his jaws tight once more. It wasn't an answer to her question - but what was he to say? He loved them both passionately, though not wholeheartedly as he expected to. It was as if his heart was split down the middle, and each wolf held a half of their own.

Azure pressed forward, she could feel his teeth against her before she changed the atmosphere around them altogether. He shifted, but didn’t pull away as she listened to the tone of his breathing shift and change as he struggled internally. Venom was close. His words were a whisper against her dark coat, and she heard in him the unspoken ‘but’ as well. She closed her sunset gaze, steadying herself. Torn between offering him comfort and curling in on herself for the sudden indescribable pain that seeped into her chest.

She blinked back her emotions at the odd question he returned to her instead. Her mind racing as she relived the events that brought them to where they were today. Her adamant attempts at rejecting her mother’s weakness of her heart. How many different wolves had she given her heart to? How many times had she been broken in return? ”Yes,” she answered him cautiously. ”My mother had many wolves that fell in love with her, and yet she still returned to Sirius.” Venom tried to relax her stiffened frame as she spoke, wanting to return to the easier moments leading up these words. ”She nearly destroyed the Empire because of it.”

Was Deathbelle wrong to continue to love other wolves while she harbored feelings for Sirius, or had the Warlord been at fault for shunning those emotions? Venom didn’t know if there was a solution where all parties won in the end. Venom wasn’t happy with her mother’s behavior, but how could things have been different? How did dhse keep from making those mistakes over again? "Are we doomed to repeat history?"

Venom's words crafted a story he'd heard many times before, and he grimaced against the reminder of their packs' most recent struggles where inevitably Deathbelle lost her empire to her lust. Though to Az it seemed to be just that; the Empress lusted for many, and loved only one. Perhaps a second, though Azure had not the chance to meet Archon to speak on whether his Empress truly felt for him as she felt for Sirius. Her lust created incestuous children that now were unruly and scattered throughout the land, though she still loved Sirius even without ever reaching such intimate levels with him as to procreate. Azure was wildly out of his area of expertise, though he tried his hardest to convince himself that he was nothing like the ex-Empress.

"Your mother yearned to be loved, and not just by those she shared her bed with but by her pack as well." He started carefully, forcing himself to back his muzzle away from Venom so that he might meet her gaze. Az had to tread lightly with the subject, to not risk the ire of a misspoken word against his Empress' mother. "It makes sense that after all that effort, what she got back was love."

Venom's words have been cautious, though he'd not missed how in answering his question she had spoke of only the masses who loved Deathbelle and not how many of those feelings might have been reciprocated. Azure mirrored that caution, carefully crafting his reply around her message. "I hope you know by now that I'd never let you lose your Empire. Not for love or for lust, not for me or for.." He swallowed, his jaw clenching as he stumbled around the other man's name and ultimately replaced it. ".. anyone else." If Venom did not understand his motivations by now then she was blind. There was little Azure wouldn't do in the name of power, and as her Warlord his power relied on her own. His own warped sense of ethics did not place romance high enough to risk such destruction, no matter how strong the feelings may be.

He circled back to her question, his muzzle dropping to stare absently down at her bandaged limb as he spoke. A part of his relationship with her was founded on mutual trust and honesty, and no matter how much it might hurt her he had to explain. "I'm not with anyone else. It's a really long story." He managed, his lips tugging into a pained grimace. "She doesn't even know the real me. I was - I was practicing. Mortis was winning the social side of the heir race, I made no effort to keep my distain from the other Armada members. He suggested I fake it, to wear a mask. That's when I met her." Azure's skull began to pound, it took too much thought and effort to keep the explanation honest but as painless as possible for his Empress to hear. "She's everything I'm not, soft and innocent and lowborn, I suppose that is why I gravitate to her but.. she loves the mask. She could never love me. Not like - not like you could." When Hana was nearly raped and he had to punish the assailant, he could feel her disgust behind the appreciation she showed. He couldn't bear to show her any more and risk her repulsion towards him. "Around her I feel like I'm a monster that needs to be chained. With you, I don't feel like a monster at all."

Azure finally dared to look back up to find her gaze, searching for the answers he desperately needed. While his chest rose and fell steadily, he felt as if he was suffocating and Venom held with her all of the air.

Venom did not enjoy talking about her mother or her mistakes, but if she didn’t acknowledge them she really would be doomed to repeat them. She knew this was just as difficult on Azure as it was for her, but there was something special about fighting through beside him. Her Warlord had more insight than he realized, and silently Venom thanked him for being so gentle. Venom held her own bias against her mother, but after everything Deathbelle had ruled well until the moment she hadn’t.

The young Empress found Azure’s bright gaze as he pulled away slightly so they could look at each other. There was a comfort she could find there, as both of them proceeded with caution. Venom didn’t want to assume her mother’s feelings. She knew the love that she had shared with her father, but also Iolaire shortly after. She hated to see her mother and uncle together, maybe she had been blinded by that to see how they truly felt.

Azure continued softly, his promise to her reiterated. The most important thing was power, and holding tightly to strength and building the Empire. Nothing else mattered, not him, not her, not… not Hattori’s affection. Azure promised and Venom could feel the passion behind it. She could rely on him fully, no matter how much time he spent with her. ”Azure,” she whispered his name in thanks. No matter what happened between them Venom knew that she could rely on him. There was much turmoil between them, but there was also an unbreakable connection.

She leaned into him again as his gaze dropped and he returned to her question, it was much too direct for him to ignore and they needed to overcome the wedge that was between them. She listened, even if his words were hard to hear. Venom didn’t say anything as he spoke hesitantly, she could tell he chose his words carefully as she might. Despite his careful work she could hear the truth of his words, of the mask he was forced to wear with the girl, and how free he felt with her.

The tightness of her chest didn’t go away, and the nervous fluttering in her belly returned as he returned his eyes to her sunset gaze. Her own eyes were soft, and she felt privileged to be given such a deep look into his emotions. He’d bared his soul to her, and Venom would do the same no matter how difficult the task might be. By now, he knew that Hattori was close to her. He’d become an integral part of her life, and as their affection slowly grew Azure deserved the truth.

Holding his gaze was difficult, especially with what she had to say, but she’d keep contact to the best of her ability. ”My shinobi,” she started, taking his lead and omitting Hattori’s name. ”No one else has shown me their loyalty like he has while my leg has been broken. He’s become an extension of myself, and despite his cold exterior I can feel our affections growing. I rely on him more than anyone and Ashen would not be running as smoothly as it is without him.” She confessed softly, not knowing what Azure would say. He might have felt young in comparison to her, but in that moment she felt like a child. They were both struggling, but Venom took heart in that they were in the fight together.

”I.. I don’t know what to do.” She confessed to him, despite the difficulties it felt good to be honest with him. And even if it hurt she was glad he’d made the confession to her. ”How do we move forward better than our predecessors did?”

While he'd anticipated causing Venom pain in his honesty, some part of him was surprised to receive the same from her. Az gritted his teeth as she spoke of this other man whom she relied on beyond all others. More than anyone she'd said - that included Az, and he felt like he'd had something stolen from him. A very large part of him wanted to selfishly argue her words even though she hadn't fought him on his. He was her 'Warlord' and had shed blood in her name, that of others as well as his own.

He had to tear his gaze away from her as she spoke, so his Empress wouldn't have to focus on the hate darkening his eyes. Knowing the man's intent to replace him made it that much harder to trust him and the threat he'd reported on against Hanako, though in distrusting Venom's most trusted, did that mean Az was losing faith in her, too? He kept his complaints to himself, not willing to consider it.

"I.. I don't know either." Az confessed in turn. Everything was so wrong, when had things changed so dramatically? If someone had come to get him when she'd gotten injured, maybe things would be different. Venom may have come to rely on him instead of this mysterious stranger. He shuffled closer, and being mindful of her leg used his chin to drag her head beneath his. "I know that I love you, is that not enough?" Venom's scent was working to draw him in once more, and Azure had to steel his every nerve to keep his teeth from roaming her body once more. Knowing she felt something for another only made him want her more - to make her forget this shinobi. He swallowed, shutting his eyes and willing his pounding heart to settle. "Am I too late, Venom? Did I make you wait too long?"

She felt herself deflate even as she uttered the words to him, but he’d been so open and honest with her she didn’t feel right keeping anything from him. While he’d been caught up in Hanako she was here, relying on a man who had no reason to give his loyalty beyond a short deal they’d made. She was much more like her mother than she realized. Deathbelle’s contract with Archon, a short deal that turned into much more. Her love for her Warlord, despite the growing feelings for another.

Venom was lost, but if she wanted to get lost like this with anyone it was Azure. He pushed through the dark emotions she had seen growing in his gaze and he wrapped her up carefully and pulled her close. Was love enough to pull them through all the complication they brought on themselves? She knew that she loved Azure, the way he held onto her, and reminded her with every touch how much he wanted her.

The young Empress pressed against him, ”I want it to be. I..” She whispered into his fur, finding her emotions suddenly uncontrollable at tears began to form in her eyes. Her voice seemed to quit on her before she could utter those critical words and Azure was speaking again. ”I don’t know,” she whispered back. ”I thought you were, but...” Now that he was here she didn’t want him to let her go. Had this feeling been what he had been holding in when she’d asked him to stand beside her? ”Does it feel like your heart is torn in two?”

He held her and waited, expecting her confirmation that he'd simply forced her to wait too long. Venom had offered him the world and he'd offended her in taking the time to think about it. Perhaps the reason Az'd taken so much time away from her was the fear that this was coming, and yet it was the time away from her that allowed this other man to weasel his way in.

Az could hear the pain in her voice and he clenched her to him tighter, hating that he was the cause of it all. She did not outright reject him however, and that was enough to keep him hoping that there was still a chance that he could make it all okay again. He drew his paw up, lightly stroking his claws through her fur from her neck down her spine. The physical touch was the only way he knew how to comfort her when words seemed to fail him. "Every day." He murmured. "It feels like to choose, I need to break myself in half. Let a part of myself go, and I don't want to." If Venom felt as torn by this as he did, Az wasn't sure if he could bring himself to demand her to choose either. He sighed once more.

Even as she confessed her uncertainty Azure held onto her more tightly. She didn’t keep any of the emotions from her voice like she might have, and laid open her soul for him to see. Venom had been injured and incapable, but if she hadn't picked up Hattori after she found him injured would she have sent for Azure? Or was part of her waiting and quietly hoping that he’d come back to finally answer her? To choose her.

She knew more than ever that asking it of him had put him in the place she felt then. To lay here in Azure’s arms, but feel the pull of her heart towards Hattori. She was uncomfortable at best, and a disaster at worst. What was the solution here, what did they have to do to settle the crazy influx of emotions and feelings now? Venom heard her own struggle in his deep voice, the echo as he answered her.

”I don’t want you to either.” She whispered back as she tried to grapple with everything he’d revealed to her as well. ”Azure,” Venom tried to suck in a steadying breath as a shiver raced up her spine in response to the way his claws trailed through her fur. ”I love you. I’m sorry. For making you feel this way. For not having any answers. I’m supposed to be the high authority, and I should know what to do but…” But she didn’t.

Az shook his head briefly as she apologized, the words only hurting further. "We'll figure it out together.. someday." He didn't expect Venom to have all the answers - at least, not beyond the basic 'I don't want you, because I want someone else' and he'd doubted she'd be able to make such a decision in such a short period of time. Hell, Az hadn't been able to decide what he wanted and he'd had seasons. If they weren't to get anywhere today, he merely had to fight to keep himself in her thoughts and not allow her focus to drift back to this other man until she was able to think on it.

"It's poor timing." He managed. "Though I came to ask to borrow your shinobi." Even now while he held her and tried to forget, Hattori was in discussions with his father about the impending threat to Hana. As much as he wanted to stay here forever, Sirius was waiting for him. "He has.. information on an attack towards the Armada. Towards Hanako." Pulling his chin from her he moved to be able to look her in the eye, his expression pleading. Az had all but sworn to Sirius that Venom would give him this gift - would she make him a liar, unwilling to be away from Hattori with how she'd admitted to feel for him? "I know you need him, and I'm sorry. I can offer myself, or another one of our wolves to your service for the time. It would be for only a week."

He was quick to comfort her as best as he could, something she appreciated in the Fatalis. They would figure everything out together eventually, they had to. She pressed her features into the thick fur of his neck in search of more support and comfort. She felt more like a child now than she had since her father’s death. ”We will.” She agreed softly, feeling the tug of uncertainty. She couldn’t be confident in a decision that was so difficult to make. She very nearly forgot that he’d come to ask a favor of her until Azure was speaking again.

Confusion filled her eyes as he continued, speaking again of Hattori but this time for different reasons. Venom very nearly didn’t believe him, but he’d gained her trust with how honest he had been with her in their quiet moments here. He apologized further, and chased all ill conceited thoughts from her mind. He was doing this for his own special other, and denying her the presence of one most important. Who could possibly step up to take Hattori’s place when he was so important to the running of the pack while she was injured. Azure was asking to cripple her even further for a week. Though she kept her emotions at bay, her worry was obvious in her sunset gaze.

”You would stay with me, Azure?” She whispered softly, knowing there were none beyond Sirius she would trust to carry out her will.