Ezra walked along the edge of the castle's courtyard, crunching his way through the light snowfall that had covered everything over night. Aquila was perched on top of one of the near by gargoyles, his sharp eagle eyes following the boy while he sulked around aimlessly. The speckled young man had been avoiding going to the training area his father had set up all day even though he knew he was expected to be there. After the fight they had gotten in to his begrudging acceptance of the task had turned into an out right hatred. He started trying to reason with himself, knowing that it would be much worse for him in the long run if his father had to come find him and drag him to his training instead of just showing up.

He paused his aimless patrolling with frown, kicking a small rock out of his path with an irritated huff. He didn't get why he had to stay here and practice anyway. Maybe his brother had felt neglected with their father gone looking for their mother, but Ezra was the opposite. Now that his father was around more again it just meant that he was going to get nagged at more. Plus, if their father wasn't looking for her and Everlyse then who would? Didn't he care about them being gone? He found that rock he had kicked again and kicked it harder, his ears pinning back against his head. No, he didn't want to train today. Or ever.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Wide, scarred paws touched down upon snow one after the other. The Aegis had been out patrolling. She wasn't one to leave those beneath her to do the task. If it was good enough for them, it was good enough for her. Since sleep hadn't been in the cards lately, the ashen woman had begun her patrol early. As it came to an end, she crossed the courtyard only to see the sulking form of one of Ulric's boys. Ezra, she believed his name was. It was obvious that there was something wrong by the look on his face and the way that he was skulking about, kicking rocks. As Aegis, she supposed it was her duty to see what the matter was. By appearance alone, it was a given that Ezra would be a big boy when he was grown. At almost a year, Resin still towered over him. She approached the speckled boy, staring down at him with her singular golden eye. "Ezra," she rumbled in greeting. Ulric's entire litter was a little sullen and who could blame them? Their mother disappeared with one of their sisters. No trace of them could be found, despite the attempts made to track them. Would they think of themselves as abandoned? Would they think their mother had chosen to leave them behind? "Speech"

Didn't notice Resin approaching him until she was basically right beside him, making him straighten up a little bit when he turned to face her. He wasn't scared of her necessarily, but she definitely had a more gruff air about her and of course she was the alpha too so he was supposed to act better around her - at least that's what his father kept telling him. "Oh, um... hi, miss Resin," he replied to her short, rumbling greeting as he turned to face her, sitting on haunches as he tried to act like he wasn't just sulking around the courtyard kicking rocks and brooding about his father. He gave a glance around just to make sure Ulric wasn't looming behind her or something since he wasn't exactly paying attention before she appeared beside him. He also noticed that no one else was around at all so it made him wonder why she was talking to him in particular anyway.

He looked back up at her one-eyed gaze again with a questioning glance. "Did I... do something wrong?" Why else would the alpha be talking to just him? It had to be because he was in trouble right? He was always in trouble so it wouldn't be a surprise. He frowned and added, "Is it because I didn't come to training this morning? It is, isn't it?" He huffed and frowned deeper, absolutely convinced that she was here because his father had sent her - which almost made it worse since now his father wasn't even coming to scold him himself. "I mean I was going to go, I really was! I swear! I just... I didn't wanna see my dad right now, that's all."

Walk | "Talk" | think

As the boy stammered out a greeting, the big woman arched a brow, the scarred flesh pulling with the motion. "Just Resin will suffice." He seemed nervous, the energy pouring off of him was frenetic as though he had been deep in thought and those thoughts hadn't been good. Haunches folded as the Aegis seated herself. Ulric had asked her to speak to him, but she would have done so anyway. When a member of her pack was less than whole, it was her duty to fill in those gaps as best as she could. Ezra asked if he was in trouble and the grey woman tilted her head ever so slightly. The earthen boy launched in an explanation about missing training and ended with not wanting to see his father. Ah, so there it was. He was at odds with his father. She knew the problem, now she had to work on repairing it. "You aren't in trouble, Ezra. It looks like something is bothering you." Black backed ears perked as she looked down upon the child. "As Aegis, it's my job to help those in need. When you're feeling bad, day or night, my ears are always open to you." It was the same for every single member of her pack. She was always willing to listen, offer advice and find solutions to any problems that they might be having. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong? Why don't you want to see your father? Did something happen?" From Ulric, she'd learned that something did indeed happen. Had something else happened that she didn't know about? "Speech"

Ezra was a little surprised when Resin not only corrected him and told him to call her just Resin, but that he in fact was not in trouble. It felt like most days he was being scolded for not participating, for not being with his siblings, for not doing his training, or whatever else it was that he wasn't doing that day that he was supposed to be doing. Having her tell him that she was just there to help and listen it was... confusing. Nice, but confusing. He relaxed some and replied, "Oh... okay then," giving her a slightly skeptical look. Sure, his father had told him a bunch of times that if he wanted to talk about stuff with him he could, but if the "stuff" was usually his father's fault then did that really work?

When she questioned him about what was wrong and if something had happened he hesitated and frowned, looking away from her. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it - not even with Resin. What if he got in trouble for biting his dad? He supposed his father did deserve it... at least he did in his mind. "I... The other day he wasn't in his room so I tracked him to see where he was and I found him asleep in Aranea's room." He hadn't really known how to say it so he just came out and said it plainly. "We got in a fight after that and I bit his leg and hurt him kinda bad... I didn't mean to, I was just mad... He shouldn't be with anyone but mom like that..." He frowned and looked at the ground, his ears laying against his head. "He stopped looking for mom and now he's with her. It's like he doesn't even care."

Walk | "Talk" | think

In time, the boy let loose, starting off by informing Resin that Ulric and Aranea were spending nights together in her chambers. Two grown adults could do whatever they wished as long as it didn't affect the pack. Ezra's current state proved that it was indeed affecting someone. The woman listened, obsidian ears flicked forward to catch every word. She would have to discuss things with the pair later and urge them to do their business more discreetly. Ezra admitted to attacking his father and Resin's golden gaze narrowed slightly. She understood the boys frustration, but he needed to learn from his mistakes. "Ezra, did your father ever tell you the rules of The Hallows?" She watched his face for a moment before continuing. "There is to be no spilling of blood within Hallows lands." Resin didn't know where this injury had taken place, so she clarified. "Intentionally attacking your father is unacceptable." It was a serious situation and the boy would have to be punished for it. "You are young and I understand your frustration, but this cannot happen again. Do you understand?" She was giving him a free pass this time. Now she had to address the real problem. Azariah's absence. "Your father has indeed searched for your mother. Others have as well. None could find a trace of her, Ezra." Resin believed that the woman and her child were dead. What happened to them, she didn't know. Other packs had been asked. Loners had been asked. No one had seen her nor the child. "I have talked to your father. He tries to hide his pain from you and your siblings, but he is indeed very pained over your mother's disappearance." Overhead a crow called and the giant woman turned her gaze upwards for a moment. "Wolves deal with pain in different ways. Your father sought comfort from someone that could understand his pain. He's trying to make himself okay for the sake of you and your siblings." Looking back to the speckled boy, she continued. "Perhaps it's difficult to understand, but if Ulric is capable of finding a sliver of joy in all of the sorrow that he's been carrying, he's entitled to that. Just as you are entitled to finding something that makes you happy. Something to help with your sorrow." Whether or not the boy would be able to look past his anger was up to him. Resin had said what needed to be said. Now they could focus on other things. "What do you like to do, Ezra? Do you have any interests? Hunting? Fighting? Crafting?" Based on what he chose, she would find him some task to do or some mentor to follow about. "Speech"

Ezra's ears folded back with guilt when Resin mentioned the rules of The Hallows, looking toward the ground as she continued scolding him for attacking his father. He knew it was against the rules and even if it wasn't he still shouldn't have done it, but when his father tried to grab him to keep him from running away he had just done the first thing that came to mind. But still, when Resin asked if he understood and he glanced up at her one-eyed, stern gaze, he nodded in agreement and did genuinely feel bad for what he had done. However, when she moved on to talking about his missing mother, a hard twist of disappointment and loss balled up in his stomach and he ended up looking at the ground again. He was in such denial that his mother and sister could really be gone that even just hearing Resin tell him how much searching had been done for them hurt really badly.

Hearing how much his father was hurting though made him look up at the alpha doubtfully for a moment. He hadn't mentioned anything like that to him or any of his siblings and it didn't look like he was that upset over it any more so how could he really believe that? But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense, and he even started to feel a little guilty for how much he had been avoiding his father and siblings. His father's attempts to put on a brave face for them had come across as indifference in his mind and now he felt extra guilty for how he had been behaving. He still didn't like that Ulric was with this little healer lady that he didn't know at all, but he guessed if she made him happier then he could be okay with that.

When she changed the subject to his interests and what made him happy, it caught Ezra off guard and he blinked as he looked up at her. "Me? Oh, well... Hunting is pretty fun. Aquila is fun to hunt with," he told her, lifting his paw to point up toward where the black and chestnut eagle was perched on one of the gargoyles. He hesitated and added, "And I do really like learning how to fight too... I just haven't wanted to train with dad so I haven't practiced lately." It was actually his favorite thing to learn, he just hadn't let himself really enjoy it because doing that meant he was going to spend a bunch of time with his father. "Dad says I have to be really careful when I spar with the other pups though because of my pointy teeth," he mentioned, giving her a big, teeth bearing grin to show off his serrated teeth. He giggled softly as the ridiculous grin went back to a normal smile, his tail sweeping across the snow behind him.

Walk | "Talk" | think

All of the information that she'd shared was a lot for a child to process, so she gave Ezra as long as he needed to mull over her words. He had indeed harmed an already hurting father and there would be repercussions to his actions. First, she needed to know where his interests lay so that she could point his skills in the right direction. He had a lot of making up to do with his father, but he also owed the pack for creating such dissension. She seemed to catch him off guard with the quick change of subject, but the question did indeed go right along with their conversation so far. When he chose fighting, Resin was pleased. She had just the task for him. A punishment that would not only give him a goal, but would force him to contribute to the machinations of the pack. Ezra spoke of his teeth and flashed them to her. A smile finally formed on the boy's features and a faint one appeared on hers as well. "I know all too well about the dangers of sharp teeth." Peeling her lips back, she flashed her own wickedly sharp ivories. Serrated teeth were difficult for a child. One had to always be careful, lest they injure someone without meaning to. She didn't doubt for a second that the bite he'd inflicted on his father was a nasty one. "You've attacked a member of the pack," she reminded him, switching topics once again. "The alpacas that we have in the field. It's now your duty to keep them safe." The woman's golden eye fixed on him. Her gaze was hard and soft all at once. "Patrol every day. If there are any problems with the fencing, come to me. If you see predators and are able to scare them off, do so. If you aren't able, call for help." It wasn't a difficult job, but she didn't doubt that it would be hard work. Especially now that winter refused to leave the stage. "Work on your fighting skills with Artorias. I'll be checking on your progress." Her black and blue son was already skilled in the fighting arts. She had no doubt that he could teach this lost boy some discipline. "Speech"

Ezra grinned a little wider and his tail wagged when Resin revealed that her teeth were similar to his own. He was the only one out of his siblings that had this trait and as far as he knew none of the other pups or adults in their pack did either so it was just cool to find someone to relate to, even if it was just a little thing. However, before he could start bombarding her with questions, she reminded him of the fact that he was in trouble and his ears flicked guiltily, his grin fading so his expression could turn more serious. He didn't want her to think he didn't take it seriously after all - he did want to make up for what he had done, he was just a bit easily distracted perhaps.

He wasn't exactly looking forward to patrolling and protecting the stinky, wooly creatures that they kept by the castle, but it made sense that a punishment wouldn't exactly be fun. All in all it wasn't the worst punishment he could have imagined - not like he was going to have to go sit in his room or something - so he just nodded in agreement to that. When he was assigned to train with Artorias he was surprised. Was that part of the punishment or just something he should be doing? Either way, he would get to work on fighting stuff and he wouldn't have to train with his father again right away so it felt like a win win. Plus, he had sparred with Artorias before and he liked the other boy well enough so that was fine by him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with another nod. Hopping to his feet, he added, "I'll get started right away! I'll do a lot better, I promise!" He turned to head back toward the castle, but quickly stopped himself, looking back toward Resin with another grin. "Um... thank you." With that he hurried off, calling, "Aquila! Lets go! We have to find Artorias!" The eagle took off with a strong flap of his wings, gliding down to follow just above the speckled boy.

Walk | "Talk" | think

Ezra sulked a bit as his punishment was given. That was to be expected. No one wanted to get in trouble, especially a youngling like him. It was his own fault though. His actins had brought this about. He'd attacked his father and for that, he would pay. The price wasn't a steep one and she hoped it would help to temper the boy somewhat. Ezra seemed excited at the prospect of training with Artorias an he hopped up immediately to seek the young warrior out. Resin chuckled lightly as the boy scampered away, calling to his avian companion to follow. Shaking her head lightly, Resin went back about her day. She believed that she'd accomplished what she'd set out to do. Time would tell if Ezra would learn from his mistake or would repeat it, however. "Speech"