Mojito had run, he did not know how he'd managed to get out of that with not only his pelt intact but his freedom, for whatever it was worth. So he'd run, he wasn't about to push his luck. He'd find a way to talk to Nao soon but for now he simply needed to get away. His paws had carried him away, he didn't have a place he was going just away, even without thinking he had headed in the general direction the pack he knew his daughter was in, but he wasn't intending to go there specifically and his adrenaline was already failing and he slowed first to a trot then a walk and then finally he fully stopped.

He ached, physically of course, his face was starting to throb but more than that he ached deep in his heart. His mind was finally starting to catch up with it all, starting to put the pieces together and the worst part was he was realizing that the feeling, the pain welling deep within his chest, was familiar. That made it worse. Mojito panted, sky blue eyes scanning the horizon but he knew he was safe for now, but for how long and would he ever feel safe again? It was crashing over him, the realization... The Armada, it was not home, never could be again. The place he'd chosen for himself, the place he'd hoped he could return too, the place where he'd thought he'd carved out space for himself... Had it all been a lie? He'd felt useful there, had made some connections there, and now? Now it was all gone, for the first time since he'd been a child choosing to leave the family that had never been family to him behind, he felt lonely and lost. And he hated how familiar that felt.

It all seeped out of him, he hunched over himself and let out a yell, it was a primal thing, not a scream, closer to a growl. There was frustration there, anger and sadness and oh so much pain. Was this going to be his life forever? Was he never going to actually belong anywhere, always be less than everyone else, always find that what he wanted would never be off consequence? He wasn't even sure he could keep his promise to Nao... Not if he was well and truly alone, and had nothing of worth to anyone... and it seemed never would. Some part of him was trying to rationalize, that hadn't been Sirius but in truth it didn't matter... If Azure had the authority to try and take him into custody then in some way he had his father's endorsement or didn't need it and Mojito could not feel comfortable there ever again. Fuck! It hurt so fucking much!


Speech

Art by Rivaah

Asla had felt a little out of sorts lately. She'd been working nonstop since joining Kotori in Valta. Hunting, defending, running patrols. Work was her middle name. However, in working so hard, it made her feel a little disconnected from the rest of the pack. The blonde woman preferred to do things alone, and so she wasn't often in the company of others. Like this day, the woman was out on her own, following the trail of a deer that she'd wounded. It would be hell to drag it back, but she could always call for Arcturus or Indigo if she needed help.

With her liver colored nose to the ground, Aslatiel followed the spatters of blood that littered the grass here and there. Up ahead, she could see the heaving side of the bleeding ungulate as it lay there dying. The fae's shoulders hunched as she began to rush forward to finish it off, but a scream of frustration rent the air, stopped her in her tracks. The voice hadn't sounded familiar, but she'd also been caught completely by surprise. The lady's galactic gaze moved to the deer, which was now completely still. Hmm... she should probably see if someone needed help.

Turning away from her prey, Aslatiel moved off in the direction of the sound, grey ears perked and listening for any other indicators that she might be nearing her quarry. When she finally came upon the source of the sound, Asla was more than a little surprised. Laying in the grass was a white form, his soft ears pulled back and a look of pure anger and anxiety on his black marked face. Asla's brow furrowed in concern and she wasted no time in stepping forward and into Mojito's space to gently press her forehead against his. "Tell me what's wrong, Mo." Though they'd gone their separate ways, she would always love him and if she could do anything to help him with whatever was bothering him now, she would.

"Asla Indarra"

Mojito screwed his eyes shut and grit his teeth against the pain, against the anger but he did not bother to push back the feeling of tears forming, though they did not fall yet. He would need to get it out, get it all out if he wanted to be able to think through what would come next rationally, and Mojito wasn't afraid of emotion, he knew others thought it weak but he knew those that did were cowards, the strength and courage it took to be vulnerable scared them.

Still his storm of emotions did leave him... Open. Hoa who had trailed behind him the whole way had taken up guard when he'd collapsed. The sheep was the first one to see the woman's approach, he watched carefully but made no move to stop or intercept her, he was ultimately ill equipped to properly comfort the wolf dog right now and had no reason to assume the woman posed him any threat.

Mojito for his part nearly jumped out of his skin when Asla's head gently pushed against his own, it was her voice that kept him from jumping up, snapping jaws to defend himself. He anchored himself on her voice for a moment, a simple question but one with a complex answer and one that, for the moment, he wasn't able to order his thoughts to give. He wanted to pull her in to him, wanted to tip his head up, scratched up muzzle be damned, and kiss her. But he didn't, he couldn't, not after what he'd said to her and the promise he'd made to himself. But he was going to soak in the familiar calm their contact gave him, at least a moment longer.

"There is- There is someone in the Armada that I wished to help." He began softly, it felt off to speak of Nao thus, when simply thinking of him made Mojito's chest tighten but he dared not to hope for more than that. "I approached their borders to see what, if anything, I could offer to help him but- Your brother... Azure, he decided that my doing so was treason and decided that returning to the fold was no longer my choice, he- he tried to force my return." It hurt to say it, to be forced to remember the way in an instant Mojito's place of comfort had turned hostile. "You know I left my family behind because of how they treated me... What I saw in his face then was the same thing I used to see in them. I can't go back, I can never live with that over me again... The only place I'd ever called home, the place I'd chosen for myself..." His voice hitched, breaking and he had to stop talking because though it wasn't a full on breakdown, no full body sobs to wrack his body, he knew the tears were coming now and frankly he just wanted to cry it out, let himself feel the whole thing, fuck he deserved that much at least.



Speech

Art by Rivaah

The pain written on Mojito's bruised and battered face spoke volumes and Aslatiel wasted no time in wrapping her forelegs around the man and drawing him in against her chest. No matter what had transpired between them, she would always care. She would always be there when he needed her. Mojito was her oldest friend. Even if they weren't together, she cared deeply for him. They were tied together whether he liked it or not. Their daughter was the lock that kept their lives clasped together.

Grey ears perked as Mo spoke. There was someone in the Armada that he wished to save, but Azure had thwarted his efforts and had tried to force claim him. Aslatiel rolled vibrant purple eyes. "That sounds like Azure, alright." Drawing back, Asla placed a paw on either side of the pale mans face. She inspected the wounds upon him with a frown. They would heal, but they shouldn't have been there in the first place. Aside from some basic first aid, Asla didn't know much about healing. She did know that it would be beneficial to put something cold on the swelling, but Mojito continued to speak and all thoughts of healing drifted away.

Mo spoke of how he'd left his family due to how they looked at him and now Azure had looked at him in much the same way. The blonde woman's paw moved up to caress one floppy ear before she brought his gaze up to meet her own. "Others only have power over you when you allow them to have that power. You aren't any less than a wolf or a dog. You're Mojito Klein and that is all that you need to be." It felt like she'd been telling him this their entire lives, but perhaps he needed a refresher. "You're perfect just the way you are." Asla dropped her paws back to the ground and took a deep breath. "I knew that Azure would change the Armada. I love my brother, but he's... spoiled, in a sense. He believes all ways are his ways." Azure was cocky and arrogant. He was a bastard through and through. He likely hated her right now, but hatred was something that Aslatiel could deal with. Mojito... he couldn't. He was made of softer stuff. That was something that the woman had never held against him and she never would.

Rolling her shoulders, Asla proceeded to bend her neck from side to side, releasing the tension that had built up within her. "What is the name of this wolf that you care so deeply for?" If she was going to go and win this wolf's freedom, she should probably know their name. Her mind was already made up. Even if Mo asked her not to do it, she would be leaving for the Armada the following day. The flop-eared man deserved happiness after a life filled with such hardship.

"Asla Indarra"

Mojito allowed himself to be pulled into her embrace and for a moment just allowed himself to feel comforted, when had he last felt that way? When she pulled back he let her, didn't even try to stop her when she grabbed his face, lifting his eyes to look deep into hers. He knew, somewhere deep down, that she was right but he'd thought that he was over letting others have power over him it had just come so suddenly and from a place he'd once trusted that it had hit him so hard.

He wouldn't interrupt her as she spoke, though he did laugh when she spoke of her brother. He'd pegged that almost immediately, had realized in the moment he'd turned on him that Azure had never faced even half the struggle he had, a spoiled child, but with too much power. How did she do that? She'd managed to massage the frustration and anger so that he was no longer simmering and seething, he was still angry, still frustrated of course but it felt more manageable. But Asla's next question still surprised him somewhat.

He didn't hide it well either, there was a brief flash of unease but he quickly shook it free as ideas of Nao entered his mind and he felt his stomach flutter and flip. Oh god could she see that? Who was he a love struck child? Maybe actually... He swallowed the lump in his throat and when he spoke his voice was soft, the fondness he felt heavy in his tone. "Satoru," He started "I don't know his family name or if he has one. From what I understand he's kept there as a slave." He didn't know if that complicated things, at least more so than things already were. It was said without any judgment about the whole practice, for all others might think him weak or soft he'd been raised a Klein.


Speech

Art by Rivaah

Mojito seemed to calm somewhat as Asla continued to speak to him. He even laughed as she described her brother which brought a smile to the blonde woman's maw. She liked it when he smiled. He deserved to smile. In Asla's mind, Mojito was guilty of nothing other than being a good man. As a good man, he deserved good things. He wouldn't be so worked up if he didn't care about someone within the Armada. Her question and his reaction to it proved just that.

Satoru was the man's name. That it was a man and not a woman meant nothing to Aslatiel. The heart wanted who it wanted. Satoru... and he was a slave. Asla released a hmm of contemplation and sighed. "So you wanted to win his freedom," she murmured, her purple gaze looking upon her former lover with consideration. After a time, the woman sighed once more, a striped shoulder lifting in a shrug. "I'll go to the Armada and speak to my father. In the meantime, go to my brother's pack, Valta. Tell Kotori that I sent you. Find Indigo, Arcturus or Satira. They'll help you get settled until I return."

Aslatiel rose and took a step forward to place a kiss upon Mojito's pale cheek. "I love you, Mo. I always will. If you ever need help, I'll always be here, just like I am now." Though he'd never had a good home, he deserved one. Perhaps Valta could be just what Mojito and his soon to be released slave friend needed. Then she left, making her way towards Armada lands.

"Aslatiel Indarra"