//ooc: set before zee's death because drunkwicked doesn't have the mood for sad tonight <3

It wasn't the same without Mortis around. Halo knew it. Halo could feel it. There was an almost irrational attachment to him-- her best friend. Really, her closest friend, her confidant, the one who'd gotten her through all of the rough patches that came with settling in somewhere new. The growing pains. That, and then almost losing Hazel, he'd been here for all of that as well. Really, there was nothing that could replace the presence of her best friend... and he'd moved away. That was fair, it was his life, and Sirius had been less than understanding about certain things... there was still a bit of guilt that she harbored for that, too. She'd said she'd help him, but then things got out of hand... and Hazel... and Hazel. Halo's shoulders sagged at the thought. There was always the nagging guilt, the things she struggled with.

But there was no time for that. The first batch of clear alcohol was done, it was properly boiled off, and frankly she was proud of it. This particular bit she'd flavored with lavender, and it smelled fantastic. Mortis had helped her sort out the still and do all the heavy lifting earlier this year, it was only right that he got to take part in drinking some of the first batch. It was the very first of it distilled up north, and Halo didn't want to try a drop, not without Mortis to share it with. With a determined glimmer in her eye, Halo set off in the direction of Valta with a basket weighed down heavily with gifts. She hadn't attended the land claim party, so it was only right that she not only bring something for Mortis, but something for Valta's healers too.

Weighed down with various seeds and honey for the pack, and a few large jars of alcohol to share with Mortis, Halo drew to Valta's boarder. With her voice high, excited, like the ringing of a bell, she called for Mort.

"Halo"

The cry for his name was unexpected to the point of startling. He raised his head, tilting it to the side as he listened. Halo was the first wolf to visit him from the Armada. The first to seek him out, to miss him. It reminded him that despite his self-insistence that he wouldn’t trust again, he had still managed to build himself a friendship.

He trotted to the border and found her there, laden down with a basket that smelled much like her healer-house. “Halo” He said, his voice a little cautious, a little shy. It was good to be around his siblings again, the ones that had left the pack so long ago, but he found himself oddly disjointed here. He missed things about the Armada, even as he had chaffed under his fathers rulings. Of course, Azure led now. He wondered what that was like. Was Azure an easier Warlord, or a harder one? “Hows things, how's the pack, how are you?” he asked, gesturing to her with a wing.


"Mortis Fatalis"

Really, Halo was excited. She was so excited to see her friend again. Friends were important... right? Just like everyone else around her, they had their own lives, their own paths, and she was grateful to be a part of them for as long as she could. Still, it seemed like those paths brought them farther and farther from her as time went on. Halo would, once again, have to push back the creeping of the grey. She needed to convince herself that she wasn't being left behind intentionally. Halo could only do her best to convince herself of it.

The less than kind thoughts in her head quieted as Mortis appeared, and she took an excited step toward him. There was something a bit more confident about her now, but maybe that was brought on by the safety she felt around him. The best friend she'd ever had, that had to count for something-- for everything. She set the basket down as it rattled, only now realizing quite how heavy it was. The caution in his voice gave her a heartbeat to pause, but still, she reached out gently. "Things are... things are okay," Halo finally nodded, thinking about the questions he'd asked. "They um, they lost a raid against the Pirates, Azure was pissed," and even, pissed was probably an understatement. "I really just try to um, avoid him," it's a sheepish admission, one that comes with an even more sheepish smile from the pale healer.

"I'm alright, I um... I missed you," her voice was a bit more quiet now. "I wanted to see how you were doing, and how things are here, and um, I brought some things for the pack," Halo gestured to the basket. "And some alcohol for you, too, you helped me set up the stills and I wanted you to be the first to try it," the words came out in a rush, as was typical when she was a bit nervous. Was she allowed to be here? Halo could hope.

"Halo"

Mortis watched as she set down the basked, and gave him hesitant replies. He waited as the words came slowly from her. Feeling almost… antsy for the answers. Her appearance drove home how strange it was to not be a part of the Armada. It had been his identity all his life. He had expected leaving it to be freeing, but seeing Halo… He wondered if he had always expected to be part of its change. To take some role as his father had always wanted. Before he had let himself drift apart from it, and lost any ambition his father had wanted.

He didn’t want to be in his fathers shadow, but… he wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted, and he realised how lost he was feeling as he watched Halo fumble about. “I missed you too” He admitted, offering her a lopsided sort of smile, before cautiously taking another step forward, and offering out his wing for an embrace. “So the still is working well then?”


"Mortis Fatalis"

Halo was her typical, nervous self. She stepped in to meet Mortis's shoulder, though, and suddenly? Suddenly things were okay again. The girl pressed her face into the man's shoulder, tucked up under his wing, holding there for a long moment. To hear that he'd missed her too? That was comforting. Comforting, enough to steady Halo, though she worried. The confident, lopsided smile, something that she'd missed. Halo's was shy in return.

Stepping back, the girl nodded once. "I think so, at least. I haven't tried it either," a small smile. It had been a long process, but one she was proud of. "How do you like it here? The walk over was really nice, it seems like a nice area," small talk but... maybe she was a bit shy about it still. Maybe just a bit. There weren't words for how much Halo had missed him, really. Her best friend.

"Halo"

He grinned as Halo tucked herself under his wing. Fitting nicely against his shoulder as he wrapped the feathery appendage about her like a blanket. He found himself relaxing a little more. The feeling of homesickness washing over him. Not just for the Armada, and for Halo, but for Tall Grass Plains. The place he had been born and raised. For the little circle den Halo had there, that she had filled to bursting with plants, living and dry. For his own den, and sharing it with any of his siblings that happened by. He was happiest when he was surrounded by others, and he was feeling a little withdrawn here.

“It’s nice, and it's good to see Ko succeed. I just… I don’t know. I don’t know if here is for me, I guess” He admitted, scuffing a paw against the dirt.


"Mortis Fatalis"