Kaiyo was quickly settling into his new home, much easier than he ever expected to. Everything was so different, the pack, the culture, and more importantly the wolves. Hika knew he wouldn’t have settled in near as comfortably or easily without his friend’s help. They’d been fast friends too, like nothing he’d ever experienced back to home. Mortis wanted to be friends because of who he was, not what he could gain from their relationship. He was refreshing and easier to be around than anyone Hikaru had known in what felt like a past life.

Had he not found the winged boy Kaiyo wondered if he would even still be here. He could have been wandering around in the snow for the rest of his life, and with how cold his toes had been wouldn’t have been very long. He was at least a little warmer now, but he kept close to the beaches where the wind was still warm from the unchanging ocean. Hopefully Mortis would show him those hot springs he’d mentioned.

Thoughts of being warm again filled his mind as he looked out over the archipelago. Stormy eyes as gray as the day. The sun refused to come out, and that partially made it seem colder than it was.

Hanako knew she couldn't stay away forever, that if she was gone for too long Sirius would send someone out to look for her and that wasn't drama she wanted to deal with right now. She had no idea what she wanted but the list of what she she didn't was growing longer with each passing day. And yeah, maybe it was old news and she was holding onto the past a little too tightly but the metaphorical wounds felt fresh and difficult to ignore. A sigh slipped past her lips as she meandered her way through the territory, making to make use of the most worn paths just so her scent and presence would be noticed.

Slowing to a walk she noticed a wolf up ahead, he didn't recognise them as an armada wolf but the same couldn't be said in the general sense. Her brows smushed together as her eyes took in the pale of his coat and the koi splodges that were clumped together on his face and back. He was a koi wolf, a proper one if she remembered correctly. Unlike herself, or she'd quite pointedly told. Along with a myriad of other rejections she'd rather not remember, thank you very much. But yes, she was about as certain as could be that she recognised him. He'd been just a boy at the time but he'd been one of the very few wolves there who had actually wanted to talk to her. She'd....sort of forgotten him to be honest but at the time she'd been very grateful!

She sprang up to his side, tail wagging in a pale blur. But uh...What was his name again?

"Hicky? Is that you?"

He could imagine the beaches during the spring and summer, clear blue skies and vibrant new growth green. Now you could scarcely tell they were very nearly a tropical paradise. He could thank the spirits for the warmth of the breeze, but even still he felt a chill go through him there on the sand. He was going to have to go live in the hot springs or start carrying around a warm fur wherever he went.

Kaiyo’s attention was swiftly drawn at the sound of approaching feet. He was going to slowly introduce himself to the wolves of the pack, but so far he’d only managed to make himself comfortable first. Stormy eyes lifted to see an unexpectedly familiar form. She was just as friendly and high spirited as Mortis, maybe that was why she’d found her way here. Hikaru had enjoyed hanging out with her when she’d visited the Iga. Not that she had stayed long enough, nor did she remember his name.

The cold drained him of any high strung energy, not that he hadn’t had that kind of thing long trained out of him. ”Oh it’s Hikaru.” He corrected her with a grin. ”Its good to see you again, Hanako. You look lovely today.” She had looked lovely the day he’d met her too, and if he was honest with himself he’d had quite the puppy crush on her. Not that her was sure he could say the same in this moment, he’d obviously not had the same effect on her, but then again he had been so young.

Oh whoops, well that was embarrassing. Hanako forced a laugh, light and airy as though that had most certainly been her intention all along. It was a joke you see? Ha ha ha ha! He didn't seem all that offended anyway and corrected her gently, giving her the chance to store his name somewhere in the back of he head. Hopefully she wouldn't lose it again this time. Like any good gentleman he went onto offer her a sweet compliment, the likes of which she'd been starved of for quite some time, to be honest. It had been chipping away at her sense of self esteem and worth, souring her mood and slowly pushing her into jaded and bitter territory. But this was enough to put her at ease, for now.

The same could be said of him, sorta. He'd grown quite a bit since they'd last met but he wasn't nearly as tall or as imposing as Hattori or some of the other shinobi were. Which wasn't a slight against him, of course, folks came in all different shapes, sizes and colours but well...what was he doing here? Koi wolves were not common in this part of the world, for a long while she'd been smug in the knowledge that she'd been the only one. Official or not. But then Hattori had came and well it seemed as though koi wolves naturally followed suit. She wasn't really sure how she felt about that, a bit miffed perhaps. But not aimed at Hikaru fore sure.

"Ahh thank you! You too! You've grown so much, I remember when you were up to here!" She lifted a paw to about elbow height. Most certainly an exaggeration but shhh.

Hanako giggled as he corrected his name, he was understanding and had a low tolerance for being offended. He shrugged it off, it seemed like so long ago that they’d met. Kaiyo wouldn’t have been able to forget her name if he tried though. A lot happened since he’d met her, he had grown to his adult height and likely didn’t have much more build to put on. He was completely average in his physical regards. He didn’t have much hope of reaching her stature either, she was at least six inches taller. That was the length of a good kunai.

”I’m still about that tall.” He joked with her as he shifted slightly in the sand, not quite polite enough to get up from his warm spot. ”How long have you been here?” He asked with a curious tilt of his head as he settled himself further into the sand. ”Have you seen Hattori?” Not that Hattori would have mentioned seeing Hanako in particular when he’d asked about the Iga.

Hanako noticed he didn't get up but she didn't think much of it. Instead she settled by his side, folding herself down into a neat little pile. All of the other Iga wolves had been a bit too formal for her tastes, of course she played along as well as she could but their language and culture escaped her. No matter how hard she tried she felt as though she just wasn't going it right, maybe that's why no one had taken a shining to her there. That or it was something else entirely, who knew?

"Ohh since spring, I think?" Wow. She knew it to be true but it felt surreal all the same, as though her time in Boreas had just been a dream. She shook away the malaise and held onto her smile. The fact he brought up Hattori came as a surprise and it showed on her face, plain and clear. If he was asking then he'd seen him, right?"Yeah. I've seen him a couple of times but he's SO busy he just doesn't have the time to talk to me. Last I heard he was cosying up with the Empress but...you didn't hear that from me." She shot him a meaningful side glance.

Hanako settled beside him, unlike the Iga her mind wasn’t on the proper propriety that should be seen to. Hika held the urge to keep old habits, but he had shed his potential title and he was just as much Iga as Hana was. Not. The thought often weighed heavily on him, and he wondered if he would ever not feel like a failure. Hana didn’t press those thoughts though, if anything she desiracted him from what once was and what could have been as she settled in the sand beside him.

Hanako had been here in the Armada nearly a year now, and Hika wondered if she had found a place anything like what she was headed towards when she had been paraded in front of the Iga. She seemed almost surprised that he asked about Hattori, but she really should have figured out of everyone the once heir would be his first appearance. He did remember one thing, no one had really talked to her to begin with back in Nippon, so Hattoris business certainly wasn’t anything new.

”Yes, he seems to have found quite a place for himself.” Not that Kaiyo was surprised. Sinobi, heir to the strongest clan in Nippon, it made sense he would be aiming for a position like Emperor. ”So, what place have you found?” Had she been trying to cozy up to the Armada’s heirs? And why was he so worried about the thought of her snuggled up in Mort’s wings?

Hmm that sounded about right. The few times she'd caught glimpses of Hattori when he wasn't speaking to her Keepers he'd always been busy doing Iga things, so even though she hadn't thought much about it she wasn't all that surprised he'd made short work of making a name for himself here too. Good for him and all that but she wished he'd found it within himself to at least give her the time of day, they were about the same age and they might have had something in common if he'd just given her a chance! But nope, he'd barely even spared her a glance before dismissing her. It was old news and she really had no reason to get worked up about it but well she'd been dealing with a lot lately and rejection was just a sore topic. That's all.

Hikaru asked what she'd been up to and yeah, she might have climbed the same heights as Hattori had but she certainly had done pretty well for herself, if she did say so.

"I work as the Armada's diplomat. They're all really strong and capable warriors, I won't deny that but...their social skills are a little lacking." She sniggered at the thought of Sirius and co just barking at someone's borders, like a pack of feral hounds. Bork bork bork."What are you looking for? I could slide in a good word or two if you like?" Nepotism at it's finest but who cared? Not Hanako.

Hattori had been everything Kaiyo remembered, stoic, straightforward and to the point. Once their conversation seemed through the once heir was gone from his presence. They could find each other easily if need be, but Hikaru didn’t see having much time to devote to the shinobi. They weren’t best friends even if… Hika’s thoughts strayed much to close to a certain follower of Hattori’s and he quickly rushed to focus on Hana’s voice.

”A diplomat? Doesn’t that suit you.” He replied politely as she spoke further, turning a question on him and offering to put in a good word for him if he needed her to. All Hika could think of was how good the wolves of the Armada had been to him so far. Mortis literally taking him under his wing and Hanako offering a head start. ”You must know Mortis pretty well then?” He answered with a question first, surprised at how much the heir made it into his head. ”I haven’t really decided what I want yet. I wont be a shinobi anymore so what does that leave me?” He hadn’t figured it out yet.

Hanako certainly thought so. No one here could fill the role quite as well as she did, after all it had literally been made for her paws to fill. Hikaru soon changed the topic and for one reason or another brought up Mortis, of all wolves. Hanako would have flinched had her mask not been so firmly stuck in place. It wasn't that she was surprised Hikaru already knew him, Mortis had been pretty quick to introduce himself to Hanako too, but why bring him up out of the blue like that? It was almost as if he knew, like he was rubbing the refusal in her face, as if she hadn't suffered enough as of late. Why not kick her a little harder whilst she was already down hm? But surely not, neither of them were the sort to air dirty laundry, this was a matter between them and no one else.

"Mort? Oh yeah we get along pretty well. He's lovely to everyone, always goes out of his way to make them feel at home. He's good like that." As in Hikaru wasn't special if he was receiving any special treatment. She then hummed, considering his words. Or made a show of it anyway. "No one ever really told me what shinobi really do but....Well, look at it this way some people join up completely green, barely able to hold their own. If they found their place here I'm sure you can do too. "

In Hikaru’s mind the train of thought was flawless, Hanako must be of a high rank if she was a diplomat, and the high ranking wolves would likely work with the heir of the pack. He’d yet to meet any of Mort’s other siblings but he was vaguely aware of the brother who shared his heir title. Hana used the boy’s nickname and mentioned what she thought of him. ”Yeah he’s been really nice, if he hadn’t asked me to join the Armada I don’t know where I’d have ended up.” Probably a little koicicle somewhere. ”The Armada has to be a pretty great pack with an heir like him, right?”

Hana encouraged him a bit, uncertain completely of where he was coming from but she knew the pack. He had nearly a lifetime of training even if he failed at using it most of the time, he was far ahead of some that joined here. ”Well, let's hope that’s the case.” He wasn’t completely convinced, but there was promise. Mortis was always so helpful he was certain to get assistance if it was well and truly needed. ”Good to know someone has faith in me.” He half chuckled at himself, reminded starkly of the family that pressed him out of his home.

Hanako hummed in agreement, even if her true feelings were far more complex than that. She crossed her paws, eying the orange of her toes as she wondered how it would all pan out. Unless Mortis had a change of heart he would never lead the Armada and...well if Azure kept going down this road it probably would be best if he didn't either. It was complicated and ultimately none of her business but well this was her home too, even if it didn't really feel all that homely right now. But that wasn't anyones problem but hers, now was it? She forced a smile, all airy and light hearted. Right now she'd found herself falling headfirst back into old habits and was just giving Hikaru what he wanted, reassurances by the bucket load.

"Sirius acts all tough but he just wants to make a home for everyone here. And I know how it is, starting new anywhere is always a little daunting but you've got this. " She watched the rolling waves for a moment, the water was as grey as the sky. Bleak. "But yeah that's how things look to me. Might be a bit biased and all, take it with a pinch of salt." She wiggled her toes for emphasis. "So is Mortis the only one you've met? Not seen his siblings around?" She asked, selfishly wanting to know if Azure had returned yet, if he was just avoiding her...

Hana didn’t challenge his assumption but she didn’t look incredibly comfortable either. Hika could be clueless but he also remembered his lessons on how to read wolves. She had strong feelings but wasn’t willing to share them, nothing that needed a warning at least. She spoke about Sirius, Mort’s father. That was another wolf he needed to meet soon. Mort hadn’t called for his father when he joined, and that alone had put him slightly on edge, but it had probably just been how tired he was.

Hana encouraged him and the boy gave her a lopsided smile in return. He was going to make it and shine in the Armada if he put his mind to it. He shook his head at her follow up question. ”No, just the Queen at the border after we made it out of the snow storm.” There were a lot of faces he needed to make himself acquainted with. ”This is as far as I’ve gotten.” Without Mortis, though Hikaru was thankful he had such a steadfast friend to stay by his side through everything going on. ”You’re the first I’ve seen. Well, except for Hattori.”

Hanako hummed and after a moment of thought she saw the logic in it. Zee was softer around the edges and thus less critical of those who wished to join the Armada, it was a clever if not somewhat under hand tactic and not something she thought Mortis would resort to. It begged the question: why was Mortis so desperate to have Hikaru join? Why couldn't he jump through Sirius' hoops like everyone else? What made him so special? Hanako was surely overthinking it but whether he meant it or not Hikaru was practically dangling it in her face, she just couldn't help herself is all.

Shoving that aside she tuned back in just to hear him mention that she was the only other wolf she'd met thus far. Her and Hattori, what an honour.

"It is getting cold, not too many wolves out and about. If you wanna meet more of your packmates the firepit is a good place, it's sort of a communal space. People come and go." She shrugged. Not that she'd passed by recently, having mostly kept to herself. "So how did you meet Mortis?" She posed the question like it was simply small talk but with each passing second the need to know got all the more difficult to ignore.

Hikaru was blissfully oblivious to any discomfort Hana felt, he was either ignorant or she was good at hiding it. He had no real reason to suspect that Mortis brought him to the queen specially nor would he have figured his friend Hanako would be bothered by the fact. She continued the conversation, and offered a pretty good tip, with the cold everyone would be spending more time at the bonfire in the pack lands. Hika liked Mort’s fire and barely remembered being pointed to such a place. ”Hmm, good point.” Maybe later today he’d stop by.

Kaiyo’s attention was brought back to Hana as she asked how they even met in the first place. The koi didn’t realize it but at the thought of their time together Hika suddenly adorned a dreamy grin. ”I was lost in a snowstorm. I heard him calling out to Saph so I rushed in to help unbury her from the snow.” He started the story as it had begun. He’d picked an awful time of year to go out on his own. ”By the time we found her all three of us were freezing, so Mort had the idea to find an old hunting dug out. We squeezed in there to keep warm until the storm finally let up and we could get here.” Ever since Hika had been enjoying how affectionate and warm Mortis could be.

Guh, she wasn't sure why she asked. It wasn't like she cared or even wanted to think about how cosy they'd gotten, all snuggled up as they rode out a storm. Look, it wasn't as though she'd developed and sudden and burning hatred for Hikaru or something like that, he really had been nice to her back at Iga but...well she didn't want to think about what fast friends he and Mortis were becoming. As though Mortis was quickly filling one koi shaped hole in his life with another one, who just so happened to be in the right place at the right time. If anything she ought to be annoyed at the Fatalis, he was the one who'd rejected her, but it was so much more easy to pin the blame on Hikaru, even if it was only cause he was right here.

"Oh...that's lucky. Good thing you were there to help." She said, swiftly getting to her paws. She'd heard all she needed to know for now, the sooner she was alone to sulk in peace the better. "I gotta head off for a patrol but...see you around? She threw in a friendly little wag of her tail for good measure.