The south was basically crawling with coyotes, and Hazel had pretty much convinced herself that she was going to take on all of them. Literally all of them. One by one, she’d shrek literally all of those fuckers, until there were none left! No! More! Coyotes! They were terribly annoying, all yipping noises and weird smells and unsettling, unblinking stares. That and they were fast. Hazel didn’t like that either. In the long run, she’d show them all, and they’d all be sorry. Okay, crawling with coyotes except when it came to the packlands. Since moving into the Armada, had she really… had she seen many? The passage of time was strange to Hazel, and she couldn’t really put her finger on why. Not like it mattered. The predators would only keep getting more predator-y, and she needed to train. She needed to train, and fight, and get stronger, and make herself scarier. Yeah, Hazel would need to be able to fuck them up! Right now, the girl didn’t have much more than her enthusiasm, but it had gotten her this far. What could she use to make herself more pointy… more stabby. ‘Lis had elbows with teeth, maybe he’d know. Yeah, that sounded good. She’d get him to help. It was mid afternoon when Hazel went looking for the boy, sniffing around for his scent and following whatever smelled like the freshest trail. He probably knew how to help. That sounded about right. "Bas-uh-lisk," Hazel finally called, enunciating every syllable emphatically. "Where are you? I need your help." It wasn't loud enough to get the attention of any of the adults (she hoped), but Hazel called into his den. Maybe that's where he was. "Speech"

Word count: 285

Basilisk didn’t spend much time in the family den when he didn’t have to. The world was far too big, and he had simply too much to explore for that. He was on his feet most of the day, and nap time generally hit him like a sack of bricks instead of something he sought after. Not like he sought food, at any rate. He was chewing on a bone out the back of the den, wondering what kind of trouble he could get into that day, and how many more punishment-chores he had to do when a hissed voice caught his attention. He knew that voice, of course. His one and only friend, his best friend was hissing his name. It sounded like she was just outside his family den. He jumped to his paws, bone still in maw, and made his way around the side. He found her pairing and sniffing into his den. He snickered quietly. “I’m over here” he called over the bone he wasn’t yet ready to put down. “What’s up?” he asked, wondering closer towards her. Bone sticking haphazardly from his maw. When he reached Hazel he reached an arm and grabbed her around the neck, instigating a puppy wrestling-match just because he could. Of course, he forgot the bone in his mouth and just about bonked her over the head with it in the process. WC: 238 Total: 523 "Speech"

Best friends, and only friends. Hazel figured she didn't really need anyone else though. Quality over quantity, after all. She had Basilisk, and she had been pretty much adopted by his grandfather. She had Seer (sir), and his family made sure that she'd eaten and she was safe and cared for. It won't be easy, his words still echoed in her head. Sure, the training wouldn't be, but the whole... the whole living part of it? It hadn't been as hard as being on her own. Hazel knew that there would be a next meal. Trading one kind of hard for another. From the back of the den, Hazel heard his voice-- there! She bounded forward, not noticing the bone until moments too late. Lis's arm around her, and-- "Ack, owwww," Hazel laughed. It didn't really hurt, but she was a bit startled. A bonk in the side of the head with a bonking stick. At this point, it was probably also mostly Hazel's fault, but she was laughing. It was hard not to laugh, pressing back and wrestling onto the boy. She made a grab for his bone, laughing as she did. Oh yeah, right, there was a reason she'd gone looking for him. "You're pointy," she started, picking up where her thoughts dropped her off. "I've seen so many coyotes, and there's probably only going to be more." These two thoughts are related, Hazel swears. "I think if I can also be pointy, I can help fight them off better." There we go, two related thoughts. Hazel just had a round-about way of explaining it. "So how do I get pointy too?" If she could simply grow some elbow-teeth like 'Lis had, then it would probably be much easier. Probably. "Speech"

WC: 292
Total: 815

He laughed, pulling back his head once he realised his error. His arms still around her, he went cross-eyed looking at his bone. His expression one of some regret as he let out a soft sigh and dropped his prize. If anybody understood his possessiveness over food, it was Hazel. She knew what it was like to be hungry all the time.

Wasting no time, Hazel returned his roughhousing, going for the bone the same time he dropped it. Which meant she had no resistance to grab his prize. “Hey!” he laughed, realising what she had done.

But Hazel’s attention wasn’t for the delicious bone, but something else entirely. He squinted at her as she pointed out his ‘pointy’ state. She wasn’t the first one to observe it. “ I saw a lion, and a tiger” he shot back, his eyes dancing. He wasn’t sure if she would believe him, and his witnesses had gone and run off! Terrible, really.

“We could stick a whole porcupine on you” he teased, his eyes dancing. Otherwise.. Hm. “Maybe we could raid Grandpa’s supplies, he’s always crafting stuff” he suggested. A much lesser offence then trespassing. Cough, cough, erhm. Who here would do that?

Wc: 212
total: 1,027

"Speech"

The rough housing left Hazel devolving into giggles, leaning on Basilisk as she did. As she took the bone in her teeth, there was a great big wagging of her tail. The girl pressed her skull against her friend, offering the bone back with a smile. There were bigger fish to fry, and she'd gotten what she wanted anyway-- really, Hazel had only grabbed it to prove to herself that she could. Sure, she'd lost their first spar, but maybe she'd have a better chance during their second... hopefully.

A lion and a tiger-- Hazel's eyes went wide. "That's even more of a reason to be more pointy. I wanna help fight them next time," there was a spark in her green eyes. There was no reason for her not to believe him, and really, it just made her even more excited. There was so much energy in the girl, and a certain zeal that wouldn't be matched. Couldn't be matched... except maybe by Basilisk himself. That was probably why they made such good friends, right? She would get to be a better fighter, a better hunter, and all around better at everything. Hazel had to.

At the mention of the porcupine, Hazel giggled. "Isn't it your brother that has the porcupine spines? Some coyote tried to yoink him, and that fricker got what was coming to him!" While the red and pale girl hadn't caught the boy's name (and he was a whole lot smaller than Lis was), there were some resemblances that were uncanny. The boy had stabbed a coyote in the mouth, and really, the thing was so surprised it was hilarious.

They'd raid the supplies-- perfect! Hazel's eyes lit up, tail wagging. "We can make something that will make me more pointy... like sleeves with teeth? Or a porcupine cape? Or I dunno... tiger claws to go over my normal claws?" Maybe it wouldn't be the most effective or efficient, but she was brainstorming. The red and pale girl bounced on her feet, tail wagging. "Do you think he'll be mad this time?" Well, that was, if they got caught would he be mad? At least this time Hazel already lived here... much less trouble now, probably. Still, she'd already disappointed Sirius once this season, and Hazel worried what would happen if she went for twice.

"Speech"

wc: 390
total: 1,417

Basilisk grinned and accepted his bone back, giving it a fond munch before dropping it at his feet and placing a paw over it. “Next time I see one, I’ll call you!” he promised her excitedly. “You met Levi?” Bas asked, making a face. Levi was a stick in the mud, he never liked to just be silly with Basilisk. Not like Hazel did.

“Yeah, they all sound great” he agreed at her suggestions. He wondered just how much they would be able to do themselves. “A porcupine cape would be easiest” he thought as he began to walk. He shook her head at her question. “Nah, Grandpa loves people taking an interest in making stuff” he explained, leading them this time to the beach, and to where the Warlord kept his crafting supplies. He opened the door of the barracks for her and waited for her to enter. “There's spare stuff in the chest to the right, we can start there”

Total: over 1,500

"Speech"

Hazel's tail wagged happily behind her as she leaned on her friend. He'd call her if he saw one-- they could take it on together. That was good, because they certainly were better off together... better off together than apart. Maybe it was due to the boy's larger size, but Hazel felt a lot better when Lis was around. A lot safer, but she wouldn't admit that. Heck, when had Hazel ever been worried about being safe? Still, it was a comfort that she wouldn't take for granted. You met Levi? the question came, and she giggled at the face he pulled. "Yeah! We fought off coyotes, a whole bunch of them!" The girl grinned. If you ask her, she'd done a lot of the work... but her opinion was pretty biased. He thought they sounded great, and Hazel had to agree. Her tail wagged, walking with the boy towards the beach. "I'm glad," the idea of disappointing Sirius again was something that Hazel wasn't really down for. On quiet feet, she padded into the barracks, taking it all in. There had to be some useful supplies in here. It took Hazel's eyes a moment to adjust to the low light. Relying mostly on her nose, she padded to look for any scraped hides that were tucked away among the supplies. "Do you think a cape would fall off during a fight?" She considered for a moment, thinking about the plan. It had to be something that would stay on, which was another question entirely. "Speech"

Basilisk considered that question as he padded in after her and headed for the supplies. He thought of what armors and weapons he had seen around on Armada wolves. His grandmother had a cape, and she had managed to make it work. “I suppose if you're worried we could sew a tie under it that clips under your belly,?” he suggested, trying to visualise it in their head. If they weren’t just clipping over the coat, then it could still flow nicely on her back

She had also mentioned quills, and he was sure he had seen a collection of some the other day from a porcupine that had been giving his Uncle grief… ah, here it was. He carefully pulled out a box filled with the pointy stuff. “Whatcha think?”

"Speech"

He was smart, that sounded like it would work. Hazel nodded, her tail wagging softly behind her. A cape, but a cape that would allow her to weaponize basically her whole self... that sounded pretty frickin' cool, not going to lie. "Oh yeah, like a strap or a tie or somethin', I get it," the girl nodded, forgetting that she' need help tying that tie. No matter, that would be a problem for later. She kicked up on her hind legs, using her forelegs to steady herself against one of the shelves as she looked at the stacks of hides and leathers, along with the fur and sewing supplies. Right, she could make this happen. They could make this happen, together.

She cast a glance over her shoulder as she tugged down a soft piece of leather, green eyes lighting up near-instantly. "They're perfect!" She was alight, bouncing to Lis's side with the soft hide in her mouth. "I um, I think if there's one layer that holds the quills and then a layer underneath it against my back, maybe I won't get poked," while Hazel didn't know exactly how she'd pull that one off, it sounded like a good idea. Maybe Bas had some sort of idea? She could hope, at least.

"Speech"