Azure had noticed the cellar on the way back from Kotori's challenge. It was unfortunate that his brother had failed to earn the ascension of his dreams, but Az did not let the scenario bother him too heavily. He never liked witnessing a Fatalis lose, but every warrior lost. Kotori would come out stronger and this time, worthy of the crown he sought to earn. On the walk back sandwiched between a cluster of family, he had made a mental note of the cellar's location and promptly had forgotten to return. Weeks later, things had changed. Hana had been stolen and freed, Sparrow had lost an ear, Az had lost an ear and some flesh to go with it, her pirates all wearing several new scars. Yet still the biggest change of all; Hana may have cheated on him, she might have wanted to stay with Sparrow. Not only was the usually prideful and arrogant Champion not doing anything about it, but he was letting the situation destroy him. Losing count of the days he'd stayed away now thoroughly enjoying the mind-numbing effects alcohol could offer, Azure headed out in search of the tucked away cellar door he had once encountered in the Stone Steppe. Perhaps there would be more of the substance within so he could stop pilfering from the stores of his pack or the bars of his packmates. Squeezing into the broken down structure toward the exposed wooden door, Azure began his decent into the dark with wide, flaring nostrils. It was muggy and damp, but already aged scents reached him that convinced him he was right - someone had liquor hidden away in here, and he would find it. "Speech"

Zee was not blind to her son's struggle, and while she did not approve of the methods he utilised, the once-Queen had enough experience with the man's father to know that there was little to be done to change their ways. Briar and Artorias' visit had taken a lot of energy out of her, but throughout being a welcoming host (and making frequent trips to the storage rooms) she had taken notice of Azure's peculiar emotional state. She had not known her son to drink, and yet it seemed he smelled of it each day this week. Keeping quiet and a good distance back, Zee tapped into her navigational experience to track him all the way to the cellar he had disappeared into. She waited until he was at the bottom and the sounds of glass on glass began to echo through the caverns, announcing her presence with a patient clearing of her throat. [b"What do you have there, son?" [/b]Slowly her eyes began to adjust, the room brightening just enough to distinguish the outline of the jar in his paw. "Speech"

Azure stepped further into the cellar, rounding a corner and nearly bashing his muzzle into a rotting hunk of wood, it's shape sagging precariously beneath the weight of the jars atop it. Blinking rapidly to try and encourage his eyes to adjust, Azure reached forward with a single mutated paw and scooped the jar from it's place and onto his wide pawpad with care. The movement jostled it against the next container of glass, and a familiar voice broke the silence. Az spun, the glass dropping out where it had been tentatively balanced upon his pawpad and crashing into the floor. Fermented juice splattered across both wolves fur, shards of glass sliding loudly in every direction as the vessel shattered. "Fuck!" Azure swore, peeling back his fangs and bristling in anger towards his mother. "What's wrong with you? Why the fuck would you do that?" The scent of the liquid upon the floor told him it had alcohol content and now it was wasted. He sure as hell was not going to lick it (and the glass shards) off the cold stone floor. "Speech"

Zee expected the characteristic outburst and humoured it only with a faint snarl of her own. She would not be threatened by her son any more than she could allow herself to be threatened by Sirius. No matter how powerful the direwolves of her family had proven themselves to be, Zee knew it was only a matter of time before a win streak was broken and a heavy loss earned. Az knew this very well in fact, from what she had recently heard. "Don't raise your lip to me." She chastised him, toeing carefully through the puddle of juice and glass to reach the shelf herself. Turning her back to him to stand up on the bowing shelving was easy - Azure was a lot of things, but he would not hurt his mother and he definitely would not try and get the jump on her while she was not paying attention. Rifling through the many jars, containers, bowls and vases, Zee finally found one that matched the description of what she was looking for. Enclosing her fangs around the lid she withdrew with it, and then strode to place it at the cellar doorway. "There, you can take that home with you when we're done talking." Curling her tail around her haunches she sat, and waited for her son to calm. "Speech"

Azure stared daggers into the small woman's scruff as she paced forward through the juice, nosed through the near-to-break shelving, and retrieved another drink that she seemed to be implying was equally alcoholic. He huffed through his nostrils in annoyance, continuing to observe as she walked back across the stone floor and placed the trophy down, then insisted they needed to talk. It was Azure's time to wade through the discarded juice but one massive stride of his was worth four of hers. His paws came away clear, and he continued the lengthy strides until he was out the doorway of the room and past her, ignoring her request entirely. Heading down into the darkening hallway, he navigated until he'd reached a room as far back as the cellar's tunnels could take him. More shelves and dozens of various nicknacks were discarded here, and even a few carcasses and mostly-decomposed skeletons of critters who must have made these depths their final resting place. Kicking a mouse skull, he moved to examine the shelves. Blatantly ignoring the woman at his back. "Speech"

Zee remained patient as her son silently tantrumed, tracing the outline of his silhouette through the dark cavern as it moved past her and into the depths behind. There was only so much help she could offer to a wolf who did not want the assistance, and Zee knew better then to push her luck too far when the unruly alpha was in one of his moods. She released a soft sigh as he disappeared fully into the depths and stood, considering for only a moment chasing after him. Turning back to the stairway and stepping carefully over the jar that she had left for him, Zee climbed back into the light of the afternoon sun and started back for home. She had too much going on as it was to waste extra energy on fixing problems that had road blocks at each step. Like her hunger. And the nausea. And the pirates. -exit- "Speech"

Azure's tattered ears pulled back as he walked, blocking out the sounds of his own footfalls and listening intently for sign of his mother's. It wasn't until he had found himself an interesting-enough looking shelf to quietly browse that the telltale echo of her departure came, and he tracked the noise as it moved up along the stairway and into the grasses outside. Once she was gone he allowed himself to relax, releasing a sigh of his own and turning his attention back to the shelving. These ones were just as rotten and ready to collapse as the last, but the various items weighing it down were much different. While still some food remained, there were other items too - ones he could not name. Azure used a curved claw to drag down books from height, allowing them to crash onto the floor and finding small enjoyment in the cloud of dust that kicked up as they landed. The air was musty and moist, but the silence was comforting. Continuing to sort through the various forgotten treasures with mild interest, Azure was mostly ensuring he would spend enough time underground that he would not run into his mother on his way back home. Then it was as easy as collecting from the stairway the drink she had left for him, and heading out back to his den to try and forget the bullshit that had begun to fill each waking day since spring had started. "Speech"