She was allowed... out. At least a bit more than she had been. Hazel wouldn't tell you that she'd missed the sunlight, no. Not at all. The glare was intense, and the red and pale yearling was left squinting against it. She still grit her teeth when she moved too quickly, or turned her head too much. Her muscles were sore, and she tired far more easily than she had before. All of it was part of the healing process, Halo insisted, but she wasn't so sure. At this point it didn't seem like she'd ever fully recover.

Things had been fine, and then they weren't fine. The fever that had swept over her, the infection, her body seemed to reject healing in every way, shape, and form. When would she stop hurting? More than that, when would the nightmares stop? When would they stop coming for her at night, over and over and over. Ceaseless. The mounting pressure of it all. Fuck, was she ever going to be okay again?

Hazel carefully stretched, letting go a soft growl as a twinge ran through her shoulder. Fuck why did that still hurt? Whatever. All she could do was squint against the late morning sun and at least attempt to soak in a bit more fresh air, a bit more warmth, before going back to bed.

"Speech"

Basilisk was frantic to see his friend. Life just wasn’t the same without her around. He’d finished shoring up the tree house, and then left it alone. It hadn’t been fun to sneak out to it alone. At least he’d won the position of heir in his fight against levi. Restless and a little more agitated these days, he stalked quietly along the Armada territory. He had more chores now with his change of rank, and preferred to see to them promptly. He was about to head up to First Light point when he caught a very unexpected scent. Turning sharpy, he found her. Walking freely from the den for the first time since her injury. Halo had chased from the den every time he had gone to see her. Something about too much excitement when she needed to rest. “Hazel? Hazel!!” he said, racing towards her. He skidded to a stop before he could actually touch her, hovering arms length from the recovering girl. He shifted his paws. Excited and nervous in equal measures. It felt like it had been so long since he’d really seen her last… "Speech"

He was... busy. Hazel had written it off when she'd spent so much time alone, or with just Halo. The healer was stuffy, boring, and maybe a little... a little dry to be around. She was nice enough, sure, too nice. Boring. All of it was boring. It was fine, though. She was fine. She'd come through all of it fine. Just like the fight, the injuries, the whole committing a murder thing-- fine. Hazel wouldn't tell anyone it was any different, even though the nightmares woke her near every night. No, her feelings weren't hurt, the longer that Lis stayed away. Why would they be?

It wasn't like she had feelings. It wasn't like she was capable of feeling anything. Hazel was doing her best to convince herself of that, at least. He was a prince, he had... prince things to do. She was... hm. What was she? All the things her father said on that fateful day were still rolling around in her head, and despite her best efforts, Hazel may have started to believe them. Were they even friends? Hazel was starting to convince herself she was little more than an obligation, after all.

And then... there he was. She couldn't help the way her heart leapt in her chest, couldn't help the joy that colored her face. For the first time since she'd woken back up from... er, from everything that had happened, she was excited. Her name on his lips, she couldn't... she couldn't help herself. Still, he stopped short. Hazel, too, was nervous. A knot in her stomach, and she did her best to offer a smile. Did her best to look relaxed, even though that was nearly out of the question. "Hey," it was all she could manage. Her emotions rocked from one to the next, nervous and anxious and excited and... right, the feelings that she was doing her best to stuff down. Maybe a little of that too. "You... did you get taller again?" Maybe it's enough to disarm her. Still, she wants nothing more than to reach out and touch him, but is it... is it even her place to do that, anymore? Fuck.

"Speech"

He grinned at her, wondering how he could feel so nervous. They were friends. They had seen each other nearly every day before her, before the… the thing that happened to her. Now it felt like there was something unspoken between them. Something that made him nervous, and a little unsure. He’d grown into an adult in her absence. He had taken on the rank of Heir, and had expectations on his shoulder. A true Prince of the Armada. “I..” he paused, and touched a paw to his head. “I guess? Hard to say, I don’t have anyone taller than me to measure to” he said with a grin. “So… uh… your jailor let you out?” "Speech"

Things were... they were different now. He'd taken on a rank, a real rank. Hazel's plans had been put on hold, with the whole nearly dying thing and all. That, and she'd picked up her first confirmed kill. Would there be more? If it came down to protecting her family, then she knew that she wouldn't hesitate to do it again. A yearling, and she already had an actual... an actual murder on her record. She'd killed someone. Though Lis would always be a part of her story, their coming of age looked... different. It looked so different, despite being raised right alongside each other. Hell, he'd been there on that fateful day. He'd seen it happen, or at least, some of it. The weight of the differences seemed so much heavier now.

I guess, Hazel couldn't help but reach out and bat at his shoulder with her paw, though there was something more somber about her smile now. "I had to make a break for it, she left for a bit to do... whatever it is that she does. Something in the garden, I think she said?" Hazel thought for a moment, then shrugged. With the shrug came a grimace, feeling the still-healing flesh tug.

It was a long moment before she spoke again. "I um..." Hazel trailed off, feeling the words die on her lips. It was hard to actually voice what she felt. She was never going to ask anyone to stay. She knew it wasn't her place to take up space in someone else's life unless they wanted it, but she couldn't help it. Not with Lis. Not with him. "I missed you." The words were softer now, looking away from her friend's face, finding something to focus on in the nearby treeline instead. She couldn't make eye contact, not in this moment.

"Speech"

He nodded as she spoke of making a break for it. “I’m glad you did, I’ve been going stir crazy ” he admitted, almost shyly. He scuffed his paw again, wishing he knew the right thing to say, to do. He missed the easiness that had been between them. Of sneaking out at night to watch the stars in their tree hut. “I missed you, too” he admitted. Wishing the adults around them didn’t hold him back so much. Sirius, when Hazel killed her father. Halo, while Hazel healed. Why did they always hold them back from her? She was his best friend, and he wanted needed to be there for her. “I, ah. I finished our tree house for us.” He admitted. "Speech"

He'd been going stir crazy? "You're not even the one stuck inside," maybe she played up the whine in her tone of voice a little. There was something weird going on, but he was still her best friend. He was still Lis, she could still joke and laugh with him... right? Right. She could hope. She could hope, in her heart of hearts. It had to be true.

His admission puts her at ease, at least a bit. Her breath was a little shaky though, and a bit of a whimper lived in her throat. "You knew where I was, it's not like I could have really gone anywhere else..." the words were soft. Her feelings were hurt, as much as she pretended to not have them. Or be incapable of having them. Or that she wasn't in lo-- nope, not a thought she'd give voice to.

At the mention of their treehouse though, she perked up. "How does it look?" Her posture shifted, and there was a shade of excitement that had been dormant for quite some time. "I want to see it," before he could even answer, Hazel was on her feet. Now that she'd ventured outside, she wasn't going to be held back by much.

"Speech"

He glanced back at her at her tone of voice. Maybe she was right, maybe he should have tried hard to sneak in, and to sneak her out. But he’d been worried about her. He’d heard the fear in Halo’s voice. What if he had made things worse? “You got a lovely vacation, I’ve been stuck doing your chores this whole time” He whined back, finding teasing her starting to come a little more naturally again. He frowned when she spoke of him knowing where she was. ‘Halo kicked me out ” he told her. “For a little wolf, she can be very fierce.” He sounded a little grumpy, he was almost three times her size. “It’s got a roof, and a balcony. So we can be up there even in the rain” He explained as she perked up at the mention of the tree house. He was grateful to see her interest. "Speech"

Hazel giggled as he spoke of her rather forced vacation, making light of a situation that had weighed heavily on Hazel for... well, since it happened. "We can trade, you can sit inside and help sort seeds and cut rawhide, and all of the other boring inside work. I'll go on patrol and do prince things," she straightened up, tossing her head a bit. It felt better to joke about it, especially with Basilisk.

Halo... she what? Hazel fell silent, stunned. For once, she didn't know what to say. She didn't have a snappy response, she could only look up at Bas, finally meeting his gaze. Her eyes were wide. When she finally spoke, her voice quivered slightly. "I... I didn't know. She was so worried, so busy... she didn't tell me," the words were softer now. She was softer now, an unusual show from the red and pale child. "I'm sorry." The words were near a whisper. Her frustrations, hurt feelings, had been misdirected.

Right, the tree house. "Come on, I want to see for myself," the resolve had returned, they were going on an adventure... even if it was a short one.
"Speech"

The ‘Prince’ stretched out his long, long legs and wiggled his toes. “Oh, to relax inside in Halo’s den, and eat food all day long. I’m not sure I could stand the horror. No! I couldn’t swap” he grinned at Hazel and playfully swiped at her front left paw. Some of the awkwardness was washing away. Thank goodness. He just wanted things to be how they had been before. Hazel and Basilisk, against the world, together. “I was worried too. I’m sorry Hazel, I didn’t want to cross her. I figured she had to have a reason, yahknow?” He tried to explain. When she fixed onto the idea of the tree house, he followed after her. Moving from the Col towards the trees, knowing the way as well as he did the back of his paw. "Speech"

"Hmm, I wonder... maybe if they stop feeding you so many snacks you'll stop growing, I'm not sure I like this whole 'you being like twice my height thing,'" Hazel grinned, a bit more of the light returning to her eyes. He hadn't forgotten about her. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her... it felt better. She was starting to feel better about at least some of the unwelcome thoughts in her head. Abandonment issues were hard to shake, and they always would be, but Lis was still Lis.

"I was scared you... I dunno, like you thought different about me. Less... after what happened," the words were quiet, and she was glad she didn't need to make eye contact as they pathed toward the treehouse. Though it had been ages since she'd made this walk, it felt the same. There was still an excitement to her, to being able to see the treehouse that she'd dreamt of while she'd been stuffed away inside. Her steps were a bit shakier now, and lacked some of her usual energy, but Hazel was so incredibly glad to be out all the same.

"Speech"

He gave her big, sorrowful eyes at the mention of food - or the lack thereof. “You would… you would just starve me?” He whined, but the act was ruined when he couldn’t stop himself from grinning. It was no secret how much the big wolf liked to eat. His smile slipped away when she spoke again, and he frowned at her, shaking his head. “Why would I think less of you? You fought back. I doubt I could have done better” he admitted. She fought against someone bigger and scarier than her. An adult, with experience under their belt. More than that, she had won, and she had killed someone that had intended for her to die as a puppy. If he thought differently of her, it was to think she was even braver than he had first realised. "Speech"