Hikaru mostly kept to himself so far as he tried to learn the Armada, its lands, and the way of life. He talked to Hanako already, seeing her again had been a vibrant revitalization and she had encouraged him and his growth here. Everything was very different but Hika felt more at home here, and like he belonged, so much more than the lands of his birth. Kaiyo very quickly decided that Mortis would be his friend here in the Armada, and being with the other boy filled his days with smiles. Like nothing he’d experienced with the Iga.

Mortis made this place home, and Hika was determined to prove him right. The koi scarcely knew what he wanted out of life, even having a choice was so new to him. Whatever it was, he wanted to be here, helping Mort as he grew into the great leader Hikaru knew he would be. Of course, they had a long way to go before that day, and Hika wasn’t eager to put any crazy responsibilities on himself.

Kaiyo wasn’t often without Mort at his side, but he was determined to go out on his own today when the heir was off doing his own duties. Hika might have followed him, but he was also half hoping to have a moment to make something for his new friend. Most of his gadgets, bobbles, or jewelry were dismissed by his family and the Iga. He figured if anyone could appreciate his crafting it was Mortis.

He made his way to the less often used part of the Armada territory, with him he carried a couple few items he’d found lying around the pack, the den, or from the day he’d been at the battlefield. He hid the slight blush as he thought about Keetie and desired all the more to show Mortis how much he appreciated him. The koi shook himself softly and made himself comfortable for a little quiet work. He knew this would give him too much time with his own thoughts, but he had a lot to process from the last few weeks.

When Zee had come to bed the night Hikaru had joined, the Warlord had gotten the rundown from his Queen. Mortis had a friend, Zee had accepted him, and he was to be nice! Queens orders. He was interested in the wolf Zee had accepted. The last time she had made the choice, it had been Tamysn, and she had been wonderful for the pack. He missed his friend, in fact.

As he made his way along his patrol route, crossing near the ocean, he caught the scent of this new wolf. Changing course, the Dire trotted along the fine sand of his beach territory. Passing by the training rings used for practice bouts, and bringing the wolf he sought into view. There he was, lying in the sand, tinkering with something. “Hikaru, I presume?”

Hika gently laid out the bits he had to work with. A winter rabbit’s pelt, a couple strands of leather, and a pendant. This wouldn’t be his best work, he had no special companions or appendages to help, but he had a good idea and he was going to make it work. With his clumsy paws Hikaru took the rabbit pelt and began to fold it in place.

About that time a looming figure appeared, Kaiyo brightened considerably as he thought he was looking up to Mortis. He all but wagged his tail before the voice threw him off and he realized this was not the son, but the father. Sirius, the Armada’s Warlord. Hika’s expression changed swiftly, but he managed to keep the disappointment from his features. What remained was a polite grin as he bowed his head respectfully. ”Yes, sir.” He answered without hesitation. Suddenly very aware of the fact that so far, Mortis was the only one to have uttered his first name. "The Warlord, Sirius?" He returned the question.

Not trying to be disrespectful Hika swiftly finished the critical fold in his rabbit skin over the first of his longer cords of leather.

He received a polite grin and a head nod. He had caught the start of the tail wag, and the beginning of excitement in his posture. Mistaken him for someone else, had he? He could only assume that would be Mortis. Since his son was the wolf had brought this warrior to his borders. “Aye” he agreed as Hikaru spoke his name, and settled down across from Hikaru. Giving the other wolf a moment to sort out his work, before he would speak again. “I wanted to welcome you myself to Armada, and to figure out your ambitions and desires in this pack. Is there a rank you believe you would strive for? What do you desire out of this pack?” he intended to work his way through his wolves and see what they had been up to, and what skills they wished to learn ect. Since Hikaru was new, he was a good starting point for his questions. "Speech"

Hikaru carefully placed a couple of holes in the thin rabbit skin so that he would be able to lace through with his strips. The process wasn’t so hard nor too impolite to execute as Sirius made himself comfortable. Hika hadn’t really planned on meeting with the Warlord today, and hadn’t done much studying up about the ranks quite yet. Silver eyes looked up to th eWarlord as he welcomed him into the pack. ”Thank you Warlord.” He lowered his head into an almost bow out of respect. What did he want out of the pack? What rank did he wish to attain? He hadn’t really talked too much about all that with Mortis yet. He knew what he felt though.

”I don’t expect much. When Mortis invited me I had no idea how quickly it would feel like home.” The boy confessed softly. ”I know I belong here, but fine tuning the fit is my problem. I’m a.. A warrior and a crafter.” He couldn’t claim the shinobi title and he wouldn't, but the training was still there. He could be a warrior for the Armada if that was where they needed him.

Kaiyo kept his paws busy as he threaded the leather strips through the holes he made and the pendant. It was a little more effort because he wanted the majority of his attention on Sirius. However excited he was to finish his gift.

Sirius settled down on his hunches, watching Hikaru work as he spoke. The man was a crafter. It was a skill secondary to his fighting, and one put aside in his bid to become a hunter that could keep his pack in food. But he had made many things in his life, and he watched as Hikaru carefully punched holes across the rabbit skin. The Warlord scooted over, holding out a paw. “Here, let me grab the other end” he suggested, offering to hold the piece flat and taut so he could punch his holes with better ease. “A Warrior it always welcome in the Armada. As for a crafter, we could actually do with a few of those. I have some projects we could set you to if you're interested” It would help hone his skill, and set him up with a job in the pack, which is what the Warlord was here for. Well, that and one other thing. “And as a warrior, I firmly believe that teaching is one of the best ways to learn. If you're interested, I would offer you one of my younger children to mentor.” two birds, one stone. His kidlets needed a wide variety of teachers. "Speech"

Hikaru was trying to swiftly finish to give Sirius all of his attention but the warlord didn’t miss his work. Instead the alpha moved closer to offer his assistance so that Hikaru might complete his project. The yearling koi grinned and allowed him to take hold so he could better and more accurately pierce the hide. Once all of the holes were in place he let Sirius continue to hold the little bag like accessory while he weaved. A couple longer, stronger, cords of leather at the back. He listened as the Warlord spoke and he worked the pieces into their place.

"I would do any job you give me with pride." He vowed, one steely eye closed as he focused on the rabbit fur. Now he was working on the latch part, carefully threading through the pendant and the strap. He had to stop and look up as Sirius offered him a training position. "It would be an honor to train your young, Warlord." He lowered his head humbly, nearly forgetting his almost finished gift to Mortis.

"Speech"

Sirius carefully tapped at the fabric with a paw, his claws sheathed, and looked across at the white wolf. “What are you planning on using this for?’ he asked curiously. Watching the wolf weave, which he managed very well, even without that added benefit of long claws to help pin down his work. “Do you have an area of preference? We need both armour, and general daily goods, like windstoppers for dens. This season has already begun to show its teeth with the weather.” he explained. He wanted to set Hikaru to whatever he was good at, not just what he was told. The Warlord valued his people, he always had, and always would. When Hikaru looked up at him, he realised he had surprised the smaller wolf with his words, and grinned gently at Hika. “It’ll do them good, and help you adjust to this place and its wolves.” He explained his reasoning. “I was thinking Ophelia might be a good bet. I’ll introduce you to her after you’re finished.” "Speech"

With his help, that also meant questions. Hikaru’s cheeks flushed pink as he thought about what he was making for his friend. "Well, it’s a bird holder." He started softly, now kind of uncertain of himself. "Saph nearly froze to death when Mortis and I met, and I wanted to make them something to help keep her warm." Hikaru explained as he put the finishing touches on the bag. The rabbit fur was warm and it would attach to Mort’s neck to keep her under his wing for further protection.

"I can make whatever you need. I’ll be making my own armor soon, but smaller more intricate tasks interest me, no matter how frustrating." He chuckled softly at the second part, not having dexterous paws made things difficult. He lowered his head again as he mentioned the young wolf he’d be paired with. "You’re too kind, Warlord." He said again, happy to go along and meet Ophelia before returning to the den to give his gift to Mortis.

"Speech"

He’d never heard of a bird holder. It was a creative solution, and he could immediately see the benefit. Marshal was too big to sit on a platform on the Warlord, but Saph was smaller and more fragile. She could be under Mortis’s protection closer to his body when she wasn’t in the air. “If you wanted to give the strips more support to hold it in place under him, you could thread pieces of bone into it.” he suggested as Hika made the finishing touches. “We always need more armour, and anything new and different you can bring to the table would be welcome. If you can also look into ways to insulate and warm dens, that would be a very good starting point. Now, are you ready to meet my little one?” "Speech"

Hika had no other word besides how to describe it. A bird bag maybe? A bird… coat? He didn’t know but it seemed like Sirius knew what he was going for. Enough that he could even tac on his own suggestions. Hika’s dark tipped ears pressed forward at the idea. They’d be reinforced but would they be comfortable? He’d have to tweak some things, and confer with the one who’d be wearing it. With white paw to his chin in contemplation he inspected his finished product, content with it and the next leg. Time to go meet his puppy. "I’ll keep all of that in mind." He offered with a quick nod and stood up. "I’ll follow you." Hikaru added, still not completely sure where everyone lived. He was slowly acquainted with the Armada but there was still much to learn. Maybe his apprentice would help teach him all of that.

"Speech"

Sirius looked at the creation for a moment longer, lost in his own thoughts, before giving his head a shake, and looking back at the koi-boy. He got to his feet with a sigh, and shook out his thick winter coat. “Alright, let's go meet a rascal or two” he said. Who knew where his pups would be today? They were often running about, exploring. He had a slew of companions out there keeping an eye on them all. His oldest companion, Marshal, was in charge of knowing where the companions were. He let out a soft howl, calling for the bird, and walking aimlessly with Hika well he waited. When the vulture appeared silently on the air above them, Sirius fell into a ground-eating loop, following the bird as he let them towards one of the pups. "Speech"

Ophie was very busy doing Ophie things. She'd made buddies with a really really big robin the other day and even now she didn't know what to make of him. She knew wolves came in all shapes, sizes and colours, but since when had that rule applied to birds? She called him Todd except that...he didn't really behave like a Todd, he got mad whenever he so much as looked at another bird, puffing up his red breast and hollering as though his cheepy little song was a loud declaration of war. She rolled onto her side, smothering herself in the remains of greyed slush just as another bird flew over head, her dad's buddy from the looks of it, and set Todd off again on yet another one of his screeching tirades.

She rolled up onto her paws, shaking herself off as greyish blobs of muck were sent hurtling about the place. She was and would always be a mucky pup.

"Dad!" She cheeped, leaning up on her tippy toes to catch sight of him sooner rather than later. It seemed as though he had company a new friend maybe? The thought shouldn't have made her as nervous as she did but she grinned the concern away as she bounded on over. "Hey!"

Hikaru had to take two strides for every one of the Warlord’s but he kept up, having gotten used to Mart’s long gait. He wasn’t sure how long they would have to go but he settled into his steps as they followed the massive vulture. Hika felt excitement, he really was making a place for himself here. He’d gotten an official rank and now he was meeting his apprentice. All of it was almost unbelievable. Mortis had saved his life and more the day they met.

The girl looked a lot like her older brother, but she was much less well groomed. Hika chuckled about that internally as she tilted her head curiously and addressed her father with a bright smile, but there was a little hesitance in her. ”Hello,” The yearling returned with a wag of his pale tail and a smile playing on his feature. Hika looked up to Sirius to explain but he’d introduce himself. ”I’m Hikaru.”

Marshal glided through the air, and did a circle about the loud robin, as it puffed up its chest and hollered up a racket. The Warlord’s companion cracked its beak once, a warning against the din, as he came to land close to the much smaller bird. The Warlord on the other hand, ignored the bird and went straight to his girl. Grabbing her with two paws he lifted her up and tossed her lightly in the air, catching her again and kissing her on the cheek. “How’s my best muddy girl?” he asked her as he placed her back on the ground. He cared not for the mud that lingered on her fur, and his from the contact. He wondered if Hika liked to stay pristine and white. He looked back at the smaller warrior and beckoned the boy closer. “This is Hikaru, and he is to be your mentor. He’ll add to your fighting lessons -” he leaned closer and whispered to the girl -”And you can teach him to be a color other then white” he winked at his daughter. "Speech"

Ophie was thrilled to be the centre of her Dad's attention for once. She knew he was really busy running the Armada and that he had a lot of very important things to do, but sometimes she felt a little lonely is all...Like he didn't have time for her. Not that it mattered none as he tossed her about as though she weighed nothing, earning a long string of giggles from the Fatalis princess. Once back down on the ground she was quick to hop up onto her hindlegs to try-and fail- to reach his muzzle to pepper it with puppy kisses. She loved her Dad lots and lots, words couldn't compare. But it was true they had company and no doubt something important was afoot.

"I'm good! And hiii Hikaru, I'm Ophie!" She hollered, as though speaking at a conversational volume was very old news. She wasn't all that surprised that it was time for her to take up a trainer, the Armada was a warrior clan after all, but still it made her feel a hint nervous. Like even with training she wouldn't be good enough. "Thank you for teaching mee! I'll do my best!"