Hazel had passed off the message as a hurried whisper. After dinner, our treehouse, don't tell anyone. It was a birthday surprise, after all. Both of their birthdays. The pair of yearlings was an odd one, but really, each made the other better. Hell, Bas had saved her life, just like the Warlord had. They may as well celebrate. That, and Hazel had managed to swipe a jar of Halo's good alcohol from a crate of jars that had fallen off the wagon and mostly broken during the move. It was clear, and looked almost like water... but it certainly didn't smell like it.

Dinner came, dinner went. Hazel asked Seer if she could go hang out with Mortis... yeah, that was a good cover story, a good reason for her to cross over into the Woods. After the Warlord left the room, Hazel scooped a few comfy pelts and an armful of snacks into a shoulder bag. Carefully hidden within, as well, was the jar of clear alcohol. The red and pale girl carefully slipped into the chilly evening air, looking over one shoulder and then the other. Right, there was no reason for anyone to be suspicious of her, she was just um... going to see Mort. Or something.

Their treehouse was in its early stages, a rough platform among the trees. Still, it was broad and flat, and they could see the stars through the branches. As quietly as possible, Hazel made her way up and began setting everything out. The pelts, the snacks, but the jar... well, she'd leave that carefully tucked away until Bas was here, a nice surprise for the right moment. The only question was... where was he?

"Speech"

Basilisk was fidgety and impatient and annoying all through dinner, until his father finally sent him off with a flick. Telling him to spend some of his energy patrolling or hunting before he came to bed. A rather convenient excuse that fell tidily into Bas’s plans “After dinner, our treehouse, don't tell anyone.” Her words still rang in his head, and he was excited to finally be released.

Basilisk trotted out past the patrols between the Col and the woods. Looking as if he was going somewhere he was supposed to. Like going to see Mort, or something. Maybe he could see Mort after hearing whatever Hazel wanted to tell him. To give him a cover story later. Maybe he didn’t need to be as careful as he was, but it was part of the fun. A bit of rebellion and trouble to get his heart pounding.

He found the treehouse easily enough. The pair had been working at it - but there were a couple new additions too. Some extra supports under the flooring, and did that smell like Mortis? He frowned, and shrugged it off. Hopping up into the tree house and finding his best friend there. The red and pale toned wolf with green eyes, who was his favourite person in the world. “Pssst.” he whispered. “Fish soap….” he grimaced as he said it, and then pushed his way fully onto the platform. He found the bedding - and the snacks, which earned her a grin - and collapsed on his back on one of the pelts. The tree house shook a little, and maybe it was a good thing Mort had added some supports. He looked up at what he could see of the stars through the treetops. He grabbed a snack with a single claw and dragged it towards him. "What's the occasion?" He asked, voice still a whisper. Not that he needed an occasion to sneak out with his best friend.

"Speech"

She fidgeted. She waited. She tried to stay still, not wanting to pace about the platform. You know... it did smell a bit like Mortis, but she'd... blame that on the breeze? Had these been from the bundle of pelts that was meant to go to Mort's, and ended up in Seer's den instead? Ah, she'd shrug it off for now. The floor didn't seem to shift and creak as much, like things were more solid and better insulated. Maybe they'd just done a better job than Hazel remembered. Well, something like that.

When Bas finally appeared, Hazel couldn't help but wag her tail as she peered down at him. "You remembered the password," and it was a good thing, too, because Hazel... might have made him wait down there. Might have, if it wouldn't be some risk to their whole operation being caught. The treehouse seemed to shudder as Bas collapsed onto the pelts, the girl's green eyes going wide for just a second. "Damn we should maybe put some railings on this thing or something," was she teasing? Was she being serious? Yes to both.

"Your birthday, duh," she grinned. Hazel too, broke into the snacks, pulling out some crunchy dried berries. She'd developed a bit of a sweet tooth... ah, blame the fangs. She was quite pleased with herself and the spread that she'd laid out. "So uh, remember that crate full of jars that smashed like, halfway through the move?" Hazel was pretty sure it was the closest she'd ever seen Halo come to swearing aloud, and the healer was very, very concerned that someone was going to step on broken glass. That, and something about losing so many good jars? Who knew, with that one.

"Well... not all the jars broke," the red and pale girl found her eyes glimmering in the dappled light of the moon and stars above their heads. Her tail wagged as she nosed at the shoulder bag that sat just beside her paws. "A special occasion, and we should celebrate." Damn right they should. Acts of recklessness weren't exactly alien to Hazel, after all. This was a birthday party, a small one, with her best friend. Perfect.

"Speech"

“Hard to forget” he whined playfully, knowing he wasn’t going to live it down for a while. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, okay! His mother loved fish. And being clean and pampered. How was he to know the two ideas wouldn’t mix?

“Why, you afraid you're going to fall?” he teased her back. They still had a lot of work to do on the tree house. They could definitely add rails or something. But maybe they should actually make the house part, first? At least for now it worked well as an elevated platform for them to sneak away to.

He glanced up at Hazel. So far his birthday hadn’t been a big affair, but he didn’t let it worry him. They had the big move distracting everyone, after all. At Hazel’s question, he snorted, and then laughed outright. “Halo was like a mother hen. I thought she’d never get back on the wagon” He agreed. Poor Halo, but it had been kind of funny. He sat up as she explained about the surviving jar. “Oh yeah?” he asked. They hadn’t tried alcohol yet, but he knew some of the adults drank it.


"Speech"