He scowed at her. She just couldn't leave well enough alone, could she? He didn't say anything for a moment. In fact, he sat down slowly, looking about the den he had uncovered for her. He kept doing things. No matter how many times he tried to push her away again. She just kept creeping back in again. He cared. Despite his best intentions. 


He started off small, giving her an answer she had been waiting for a while. It was easier to admit to his weakness in this quiet, dark den.“Organisation. It's a skill I greatly lack, and essential for running a pack. Cataloguing what's going on around you, supplies and information are things you've proven capable of. But eventually, they will be tasks I can't leave to a slave. But someone much, much higher in rank.” He told her softly. 


He took his eyes off her after that. Scanning the cave again. Looking anywhere but down. “As for how I treat you? I've tried to keep a distance. And I fail, every time. I try to keep installing boundaries, and then cross them every time.” frustration coloured his voice.

She mirrored his scowl back at him, not intentionally as she was too focused on trying to read him and figure out what it was he wanted of her to police her own expressions.

She softened just as he did and mirrored his sitting as he leaned back on his haunches. She waited patiently, eagerly for his reply, her body still knowing that to access that information he needed to truly think about the question.

Okay, so he needed her for organizing, but more than that. He needed someone of higher rank than slave to take on the organization of a pack. The trade, supplies, the comings and goings, the meetings, and scripting, the politics and balancing the needs of the pack and keeping them afloat above the chaos of the world. Things the co-alpha should be doing. Was... Hazel not doing these things with him? Or was she focused on other aspects of the pack? She must be focused on the other aspects. She had to be. Maybe it wasn't her strength either...

As for the boundaries? Hm. Not much of an answer there either. He didn't quite know what he wanted did he? He was thrust into this position, perhaps because he was just the biggest, grabbing her was a test upon himself to see if he could order someone around.

She sat and thought herself for a moment in silence. It was nice and shielded in here.
"You're the Warlord. You can set and reset the ranks as much as you'd like. You can change the pack and it's structure on a whim if you wanted to. You can change the name and what you allowed or not. You're Alpha here. Maybe it's not the role you were ready for, but it's here now, and you can do what you like with it. Suns Breath! You could dissolve the whole thing if you wanted to, just like Ashen!" She had taken all the notes at that meeting, she knew, but she didn't have all the history of Armada.
"If you don't know what you want, then maybe what kind of Leader do you want to be is the question." She tilted her head at him. Maybe it was too far, but she wasn't trying to pushy, or judgemental.

The responsibility on his shoulders didn't have to be there if he didn't actually want it. No one was holding his feet to the fire here except him and the imaginary expectations set upon him by people that weren't even here anymore.

Dissolve the pack? At her words, he found himself regretting sharing his insecurities. For the most part, his acts of anger had been mostly that - an act. Filling in a space he felt was necessary. His anger now was very real, and it rippled across his muzzle as he glared at her. “My father may have abandoned the Armada and everyone he supposedly cared for, but I will not be so quick to do so. The Armada won't fall by my hands. If I have to raise it from the ground up, and drag wolves here to do what must be done. I will. Don’t mistake my acts of kindness with you as overall weakness. Don’t make me feel I should regret them” He snarled at her.

Abandonment was definitely one of his greatest weak points. Abandonment had hurt Hazel. Had shown him who his father really was. Abandonment was the name for the act of his mother when she had left during the flood. The pack’s greatest time of need, she had turned her back on the Armada, on him. For all she knew, he was drowning behind her as she walked away.

“I am building this pack into what I want it to be. I am[ taking pains to shore up my weakness. To take away my reliability in those I don’t trust. You will do what I need you to do, willingly or not.” He threatened her.  

"Basilisk Fatalis"

In the face of his vibrantly real anger, she smiled!

"There you are Basilisk, Warlord of the Armada! Steadfast, persevering, fervently loyal to your people. No one would should dare to assume you are weak! You're commanding, economic and reliable. Basilisk Fatalis would never abandon his people or his pack but protect them! He is ferociously victorious in his endeavors, woe to the fool who misjudges his mercy for weakness!"

Then Ignita bows before him with a flourish, prostrating herself as if he were a holy hero come home from a victorious campaign.

She rests her cheek over her wrist, swaying her tail back and forth. Quite proud of her eloquent appeal. She wouldn't even be mad if he decided to give her another scar for being so audacious. She helped figure out who he was, to himself. What he wanted. He wanted to be relied on, he wanted his people to trust him. He wanted his family near him. He wanted his screw up parents to tell him they were sorry but he'll never get that.

She wasn't going anywhere.

He stared at her, for a moment too astonished to say anything. When he did, it was first to shake his head, his angry expression not really lifting. “What the hell, Ignita? You wound me up on purpose?” He demanded to know. He couldn’t believe it. He knew she was audacious, but that was ridiculous. He leaned over and cuffed her again, a little harder this time. “You're a damn fool” He told her, far less impressed by her efforts than she was.

“I should chase you back to your storeroom hole. But we both know I won't. Apparently you can’t choose your family, even when it should be a choice.” He shook his head at her, still mad. His paw raised, as if itching to smack her again.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She flinched but with an impish grin still on her face.
"Honestly, no, I didn't mean to rile you up. But it showed me what you really cared about."

She didn't quite understand you can't just lay out people's inner world in front of them. They didn't like that apparently. She never got any good opportunities to learn that lesson. Her insatiable need to learn became a defense mechanism to learn  how others think and what makes them tick. For Bas it was family and a powerful steadfast self image.
For her previous Alpha it was pure vanity and being the center of attention that made her tick. She hadn't quite figured out Spider yet but she had a feeling it was also related to belonging to a group like family. If she figured out how others operated she felt safer and could anticipate their reactions, sometimes, well at least know how to navigate their reactions.

"I won't argue with you there. Your secrets safe with me. Loose lips, sink ships so they say." She said. Fluttering her eyes and flattening her ears in anticipation of a hard smack.

"So then why can't you shuffle some ranks around? You did that already. Who decides whether a certain rank does a certain job and why can't my rank do the job you seem to need?" Understanding hierarchy seemed important to him, it was an alien concept to her. As demonstrated by her candid behavior with him. She crossed her paws as she sat on her future bed. Perhaps the privacy was giving her a better sense of safety, she knew the minute they walked out she would go back to being his favorite slave. She wondered why he only got so close to smacking her around in privacy and not as much within view of pack members.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He huffed at that remark, not entirely sure what to think. She was a clever wolf in many regards - but not when it came to people. He couldn’t really comment on that, he knew he was lacking in that regard as well. Just… in different ways to Ignita.

“I Wouldn’t trust such important matters to a slave. I intend to move things around, once you’ve been a part of the pack a little longer and have proven an aptitude for the job.” He explained a little dryly. He wasn’t going to drag a slave into the pack unwillingly, and then give her power and trust so soon after. Yes, he had high hopes for Ignita. But he also had patience. Even if it seemed she didn’t.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

Oooh this was one of those things where they had to have a certain time where they learned how to trust someone! Made sense, no one else in the pack would trust her yet and that was what he was getting at. What he had in mind that needed doing he needed someone that commanded respect.

"Oooh, you need someone that everyone else trusts and respects! Makes sense!"

Oh. Then she blinked at him. Would she ever get to that level of maturity? She'd never garnered anyone's respect, except maybe in a way his. But others? She cast her eyes downward, her mind reeling at mile a minute. Usually when someone spent five minutes with her they brushed her off. Though perhaps her view of respect was skewed, since she just thought Bas respected her and still threatened to smack her lights out. But he didn't. Was that the important part?

You also don't get very far proving your worth or aptitude by crawling up to the ceiling of your job site and getting a concussion.

She chewed her cheek as her mind worked it through. She had a long way to go if she was going to even get close to his expectations. That was his plan for her. She just liked doing projects. Did she want to meet his expectations?
Did she have much of a choice?
Not really.
She made a face to herself that was stoic and hardset. She made a decision.
She might as well reach for what she can. Make it a project that had a bunch of little projects. She had something she could grasp and work towards.

"Okay. I got it. I can strive for this now. It's important, to you and to the pack so it'll be important to me. I don't know if I'll get that respect that it needs, but I can promise I'll try." She said with a nod to him. She needed to doodle a map and plan how to clean this out. She should take a look at the damage in the storeroom too. Oh right, bum leg and bad ribs. Well she could at least plan it out.

"Speech"

He watched her, and listened to the conclusions she made. He was surprised by how easily she placed it as a priority to her. Something to strive towards, and achieve. Yes, he had a strong feeling that she was the right wolf for the job. Even if she was a little odd, and he wasn’t exactly happy with the way she had dissected him.

“If you're done demanding answers from me, we have things to do. I need to widen this entrance, and you need to start clearing out the debris in here.” The place was musty from being closed up, and all the smaller rocks that had fallen in littered the floor by the entrance. It would only get worse by the time he finished clearing the entrance.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She got up, feeling refreshed after sitting and doing some mental work after her adventure to discover what was in here with him.
"Demanding answers!? Who'd think a little thing like me was bullying you for answers?" She teased playfully hopping down from the platform and began to use her paws like a bulldozer to push away debris from the entrance. Once he would open the entryway more she could push it all out.

She asked her possum to grab some of her planning and sketching supplies and as soon as Ida came back with them she began to sketch out the layout of the room and where she might start putting things to keep organized.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

“You're the worst bully I know” Basilisk replied dryly, rolling his eyes at the small wolf, though the gesture might well be missed in the darkness of the cave. He watched without moving to help, as she started to scoop some of the debris away from the entrance. “You fully bullied your way into my quarters. Look at this, i’m terrified of you” he said, raising a paw as if to shield his face as she started to get to work on some sketches.

He finally got to his paws, towering over her as he made his way back to the cave entrance, and began digging into fissures of the blockage with his claws, loosening them so he could shove them out of the entrance.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ignita paused her work and looked up at him in the darkness, that was a joke, right? Was that a joke? She shook her head with a chuckle and continued to work, it had to be a silly joke.

"You watch it, I'll bully you right into my sketches!" She teased back, sticking out her tongue, finally understanding that yes, it was a joke, obviously. Right? Right. Yes, she still wasn't entirely sure but maybe wondering if it was a trick instead. No no, it was a joke... right?

As she sketched her layout she watched him out of the corner of her eye. How was he so very tall? Was he one of those ancient heroes that had some kind of demi-god status? Probably not a hero... Not really a villain either... From what she heard about The Syndicate they were probably the villains. Right back to layouts, so her bed here... Ohhh she could make one of those pretty suncatcher windchimey things with some pretty crystals! Oh right, put the vents here... Where should an opening for light go?

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

“If you trap me in your sketches, there'll be no one to lead the pack. And then where will we be? Or worse. Wylan will be leading it, and you’ll all be commanded to sing and dance every night or something” he shuddered. That kid was far too enthusiastic for his own good. He turned back to grin at her, pulling free a couple larger chucks of the stone as he did so. Making a daily large mess over the space she had already cleaned up a little.

At least now it would be easier for him to get back out again. “I wonder if we could build an entrance into my den above? So much easier to make my slave fetch and carry then…” was he still joking? Only Bas knew.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

His toothy grin confirmed it and the hilarious idea of Wylan leading the pack like Bas had suggested made her snigger behind her sketch, then giggle, and then she couldn't contain it but she laughed until she snorted! Her sketch and charcoal were discarded on the floor as she covered her nose, then laughed some more! Shaking her head and wiping away tears of mirth she picked herself up again. She sighed as she tried to get back to work when he mentioned making an entrance to his den above.

"Oh actually I had noticed the wall over here" She indicated a far wall to the left, "Might be breakable. It could lead behind your staircase here, and maybe we can connect to your storage area here. Having a secret escape route from your quarters would be a smart move." If one remembers, Ignita was well read in regards to coups, two-leg medieval sieges, siege weapons, and layouts of castles with several secret passageways.

Then suddenly a thought occurred to her that was a little delayed from their earlier banter, "But... wait a minute! What about Spider? Aren't they actually next in line?" She asked innocently.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Basilisk watched in amusement as his teasing elicited a rather strong response from her. One she seemed to attempt to contain, but ultimately failed. He shook his head, but couldn’t help the companion smile that stretched across his own muzzle. Finding her amusement to be contagious. She seemed… happy here. Despite everything. Hmm. Perhaps she was the strange one.

Her response to his secret tunnel was far more intricate than he had expected. She took his joke seriously, and it piqued his interest. “I like it. Let’s add it to the list.” He agreed, nodding his head towards her. She was the keeper of lists after all. Why else have a slave secretary?

He was already trotting off to the wall to investigate it, but he paused and turned back towards her at her question. “Err… that’s a little complicated” he admitted, but he seemed to be in the habit of sharing truths with Ignita. “My dead Grandmother made me promise to put Wylan as Heir, because my father Azure and his brother Mortis were supposed to co-lead the Armada one day. Mortis was her choice, and Azure was my Grandads”

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

As he mentioned adding the secret tunnel to her list, she made a note accordingly. Not even registering that he had been joking about it initially. His warmth was fairly welcome though.

She then tilted her head at him as he mentioned the promise to his grandmother, and how complicated it was about the next generation of leadership.
She furrowed her brows trying to make sense of it, he made a promise... But the one he made the promise to was gone now, why was the promise to the dead so important to uphold?
"Oh... Why isn't Mortis leading then, was he the one that got your belly? Wait, does Spider know?" She asked, trying to get a handle on who was who in Armada and where leadership lay. She didn't want to trip over a taboo with an innocent comment either. Did Bas lead a coup and that's why things were so quiet?

"Speech"

“Ahh…” Bas gave a regretful look towards the wall, but he could see Ignis was a little confused by things. He came back to her, and settled down across from her and her sketches. Prepared to teach her a little Armada history. “Mortis is sirius’ oldest. He's the Warlord that stopped down and made me leader. Mortis and Azure - my father - were supposed to lead the Armada together. Mortis is Wylans Father, and he decided he didn't have the ambition to lead.”

Mortis had stepped down from Heir a long time ago. He couldn't quite remember what had inspired it. “The wolf that attacked me is Kyanite. She's one of Seer's youngest litter, making her younger than I am. She is ambitious, but My Grandfather never thought she was right to be given a position of power. I guess the resentment of that must have grown…” he explained, unaware of some of the deeper intricacies and spite that had inspired Kite's betrayal. “Spider is kept up to date on everything” through admittedly Bas had never given them a full history of the Armada.

As he started naming names and relating to who was who she pulled a new sheath of paper and began to rapidly scrawl, adding lines to each name and notes as she needed.

Fascinating and complicated. She added another note about his Grandmother, the promise, and Wylan being Mortis's son. She added Oleander who she remembered someone saying was Wylan's brother. There were assumably so many more involved in this family that she hadn't met.

"So I know we were joking a minute ago, but I think it's important to figure out your wishes here since we're on the subject already, especially if something were to happen to you: Is it your plan for Wylan and Spider to rule together or is it understood that Wylan or Spider is to rule by themselves? I can write it down so there's no confusion about it in the future." A will so to speak. Bas was still young and the boys were still underage, but it was never too early to set up the line of leadership as clearly as possible. Hopefully to keep the boys from the same situation as Bas was in currently.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He sighed softly, but he could hardly be annoyed that she wanted to be clear and meticulous with information. Not when he'd told her to do so. Just… maybe not so much about his own family. It felt odd to watch her put it all out there on paper as he spoke it. 


“My grandmother was quite clear, and it's kind of hard to argue with a dead lady visiting you. Wylan is to be the primary heir during the initial phase, but either kid can work towards that position later on.” He explained, looking up at the dark cave roof for a moment. He knew how well missed his grandmother was from the wolves around him. “My grandfather and grandmother built the Armada from the ground up, they poured their lives and souls into this pack. It stands for something, and I won't sully their life's work.” her words of dissolving the pack, and finding what he wanted told him she didn't really see the Armada the way he did. But she was new, a slave. She hadn't been born to this, or here for long.

Dead lady visiting....? Her brows raised as he mentioned it then furrowed as he continued. So he was actively setting them up to... Go head to head or decide to cooperate. Interesting, maybe it was just the way of the Armada here, keep things vaguely vague and hope they come out in the wash.

He mentioned how his grandparents had built the Armada and that it stands for something. But he didn't say what it stood for. Unfortunately, she didn't grow up with a lot of attachments to one's family, she only knew she somehow felt actually attached to him and the people here.

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to get the measure of what he was saying. She licked her lips and looked down at her paper, not knowing how to describe what he just said.

"A dead lady?" She asked mostly rhetorically, incredulous. She shook her head and waved it off, maybe she could mentally tackle the idea of ghosts some other time, another question was grabbing her, "Okay, so what does this pack stand for?" Now that Ashen's gone. She didn't say it, she said it before already. Are they the military arm of... themselves now? The Hallows?

"Speech"