While Wylan considered an answer, Seneca grabbed another piece of meat and held it up to his shoulder - which promptly lifted its head and chomped down. "Careful!" he scolded quietly, and the martin chattered as it continued to eat. It did shift around his neck and shoulders to lay more comfortably, and Seneca snorted before looking back to Wylan.

He nodded enthusiastically when his friend mentioned a hot spring, "That's definitely cool - especially in winter. Or maybe instead it's... Hot?" Seneca barked a laugh before snickering, thinking his joke was quite hilarious. Hot springs though, how neat! "Thanks for letting me see the maps! Now I have a better idea of just how big I'll need to make mine. Do you think your Aunt Andy would ever teach someone about the stars? For something in exchange?" He didn't have anything to offer yet, but he would soon - he was going to be the best explorer, after all.

Wylan snickered in response to Seneca’s joke, and found his eyes settling on their shoulder. What he had taken as a thicker patch of fur was actually a companion, and clearly a hungry one at that. With a grin, Wylan picked up another strip of meat, and waved it in front of his friend’s companion to see if they would eat from his paw.

“I should probably return these” he admitted a little sheepishly. He wasn’t sure if it was allowed or not, and didn’t want to find out the hard way he was breaking any rules. “Maybe, she is a good teacher. She holds lessons for stuff in the Armada sometimes, but we never have to pay her. I don’t know what she would charge” He admitted thoughtfully. He’d learned a little more about herbs from the older wolf, but had never sat in any lessons on map making. He wasn’t sure he’d have the patience for it.


"Wylan Fatalis"

The pine martin immediately locked eyes on the moving meat, though it did look back to Wylan for a moment. It felt safe enough, since Seneca was so relaxed, so it quickly reached out and snatched the meat, it's eyes on Wylan. Senece laughed and rolled his eyes. "This is Pollux - he loves food. He's also a little lazy and doesn't like to walk much."

Seneca nodded when Wylan said he should return the maps. He opened his maw to say something, but stopped, a thoughtful look coming on his face. After a moment he finally spoke, his words a little spaced out - either from his delayed thoughts or embarrassment of asking. "Well... How does someone... Uh, join the... Armada?" It was his turn to be sheepish, his ears flicking back and eyes trailing to the side. The Armada sounded so cool, and he'd be able to learn so many things! And hang out with his new friend, of course.

“Just don’t go giving Glacier any ideas, he weighs a ton” Wylan teased the little companion. He glanced around then to see where his polar bear had actually gotten to. He found the bear a short bit off, having found some yarn somewhere, and was on his back, playing with it like a cat.

He shook his head at the companion, before looking back at Seneca. It looked like an idea was stuck in his caw, and he gave a moment for the other wolf to figure it out. “Oh!” He said with an excited wiggle. “Did you wanna join? You could show me how to fish, and maybe we could build you a room in the treehouse, and you could meet my brother/flatmate Ollie and…” He took in a breath of air (the first since he started speaking) and then paused. “Oh yeah, I suppose joining comes first. You just gotta ask Basilisk. Did you want me to call him?”


"Wylan Fatalis"

Seneca giggled at the comment on Glacier, and couldn't help another giggle when he saw what Glacier had been up to. As Wylan listed off all the fun things they could do, the boy jumped to his paws and nodded vehemently - fishing, living in a tree house, more friends?! And that was just the start! His paws tapped on the ground in a little dance, but his mood sobered when Wylan suggested to call his cousin. He wasn't that good at talking to serious adults.

"Uhh, yeah - what should I say?" Worried, he glanced tot he side, trying to think what alphas like to hear. Maybe Basilisk wouldn't mind having another fisher around? "Oh, should you take those back first?" He pointed to the stack of maps with a cheeky grin.

“Just tell him you want to join, and what you're good at, or what you want to be good at” Wylan said. He didn’t think it sounded scary, but then his whole life had been the Armada. These wolves weren’t strangers to him, they were family. He did try to look at the other wolf's perspective, but he struggled a little with the concept.

He was getting antsy on his paws with excitement, and definitely would have called Basilisk then and there if Seneca hadn’t pointed out something rather obvious. He blushed crimson “That’s uhh… that’s probably a good idea” he said, grabbing the maps and dashing off with them. He stuffed them back into the place where he had found them, brushing off some meat crumbs as he crammed them in. There, perfect. Leaving the haphazardly jammed maps, he raced back to Seneca and grabbed the other wolf with a paw. “Come on!” he said, letting excitement sweep him away. He dragged the other wolf to the border next to the market, and raised his head to call for Basilisk.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Luckily, Seneca had some time to think of what to say since Wylan had to return the maps. It didn't seem like long at all, though, as before he knew it his friend had returned. He was super excited though, and it was hard to not let a little bit of that infect him, too. He laughed as Wylan drug him toward the border, laughing a little. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't nervous laughter.

Wylan stopped at the appropriate place and called for Basalisk. Seneca hummed and glanced around, trying his best to not look as nervous as he felt. He kept his expression as still as he could, standing straight and tall next to Wylan. He was about to meet the alpha!

It was strange for the Heir to call him at the border. Strange enough that he put down what he was working on, and tilted his head for a moment to listen. That was definitely Wylan, and he was definitely summoning him. He dusted off his forelegs with a sigh, and left the door he was installing for Iggy to the side of the den. He’d finish it off later.

He trotted through the Col, and towards the woods. The call had come from near the market, just to the side of it where the woods began. He arrived to see his cousin, who looked as if he was struggling to contain himself. Beside him was a smaller wolf, with colours of ice and fire in their coat. “Hello, and welcome to the Armada” the behemoth said.

"Speech"

It wasn’t long before his call was answered, and the form of Basilisk - who was even bigger than he was - trotted around the trees and towards them. Wylans tail sped up a little behind him. He could already imagine all the things he wanted to introduce his new friend to. They just needed to get Bas’ okay, and then they could be on their way!

“Hi Bas! This is Seneca, he wants to join the Armada” He explained, and then nodded with his paw to the other wolf, letting them speak their piece. It was clear from the warm smile on his face that he fully believed in the smaller wolf.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Wylan's cousin showed up relatively quickly, and Seneca swallowed when he saw just how big he was. He looked up at Basilisk and blinked, his mind blanking for a moment. Thankfully, Wylan introduced him first, causing the boy to come from his stupor. He looked over to his friend for strength and mustered up a smile before looking back to Basilisk.

"Hello, sir," he began, his voice surprisingly steady. "My name is Seneca Aquila, and I'd like to join the Armada. I-I can fish, and I'm learning about maps, and exploring - And I'm really good at climbing!" He paused to glance over at Wylan, to judge if he did well.

Basilisk glanced at his Heir first, as the winged wolf spoke. Explaining who this wolf was and why they were here. The Armada needed fresh blood, so the idea had merit. He also needed to learn to trust Wylan’s judgement, even if he did think the boy didn’t take life seriously. Coming here with Wylan backing him up had to mean something. He took that into account as well.

There was also what Iggy had told him - the pack needed more food for winter. Another hunter was a blessing. “Alright Seneca, I’ll place you as an apprentice for the moment. I’ll look at setting you up with Andromeda to assess your abilities with maps, and Spider your fishing abilities. From there, they can either teach you or we can talk about rising you in the ranks.” He explained. Andy was already an established teacher, but it would be good practice for Spider to teach another wolf as well. “Wylan can show you the ropes and introduce you to those wolves.” He said, glancing at the excited expression on his cousin's face and rapid nodding.


"Speech"

When Seneca glanced over at him, Wylan nodded his head up and down enthusiastically, looking back at Basilisk as his cousin began to speak. Hearing what Bas had to say only increased his excitement, until he was almost dancing from paw to paw. “Thanks Bas!” he said, nudging Seneca with a wing. “Come on, I’ll show you around! I’ll show you my den, and introduce you to Ollie if he’s in. Then we can go into the Col, and I’ll show you the hot springs” He decided.

It made sense to start in the woods, go to the Col, and eventually wind up on the beach. Perhaps they could spend their evening fishing. Wylan didn’t make friends that weren’t family often, so this was an awesome moment for him.


"Wylan Fatalis"

When he looked to Wylan, he couldn't help but grin - his friend was nodding up and down rapidly, which caused him to grin. Attention returned to Basilisk as he passed his judgment, and Seneca's eyes got wide. Did... Did he really say he could stay? And he'd be an apprentice?! He jumped on his hind legs a couple times, switching from one front paw to the other in excitement. "Oh oh thank you, sir! I'll do my absolute best with my teachers, I promise!" He was going to learn about maps! And fishing!

He looked to Wylan with the biggest grin yet, and nodded just as enthusiastically as Wylan had. "Okay, let's go! Oh, thank you again, Basilisk, sir!" Seneca looked back to his new leader with the same grin.

Wylan grinned, and waited while Seneca gave Bas one last thanks, before he was leading the way through the woods. He knew these trees like the back of his hand, and it wasn’t long before he arrived at the treehouse. He scrambled up the ramp, and in through the open door. “Ollie! You home?” He called out as he came through the entrance. The fresh scent of his brother told him that yes, he was.

He went further into the house and knocked on his brother's door with the back of his paw. “Ollie! There's someone I want you to meet!” He called out, sitting down in front of the door. His tail scraped against the wood behind him as it squished quickly back and forth.


"Wylan Fatalis"

Ollie heard the commotion before they even set paw on the stairs. He perked his pale ears as he finished straining a tincture to get it ready for a load down to the healer's den.

The rap-a-tat knock on the door would allow him to make an entrance. He got up and shook his pale white fur around him and opened the door.

"Hey! Who's this coming into our palace Wyl?" He asked with a grin. A small boy, about their age. No doubt already ran into their giant of a cousin if he was on this side of the market.

Did Wyl take him as a slave or was this a legitimate new member? With the way the boy was hanging on every word, it was probably the latter! Finally, some fresh blood that didn't need to be tossed around a bit first.

"Please to meet ya, I'm Ollie." He said to the shortstop, was he shorter than their cousin Levi or would they be about the same height? Oleander was the shortest brother out of Mortis and Halo, it wasn't often he towered over others.

"Speech"

Wylan was way bigger than Seneca, so his little legs had to do double time to keep up. He was able to, and boy was it fun! He followed up the ramp, panting as Wylan knocked on a door calling for someone named Ollie. He waited excitedly, feeling like he was in a dream. Just a couple hours ago he was wandering around the wall, and now he had a new friend - maybe two?! - and he belonged to a new pack!

The door opened to reveal another giant, this time he was basically the polar opposite color. He greeted them with a boisterous question and a grin, and Seneca grinned back. "Hi, Ollie! I'm Seneca!" He jumped in place, his tail wagging back and forth. "It's so cool you live in a tree house. Is it as fun as I think it is?"

Wylan leaned back to give Ollie room as he opened the door. He was starting to understand this newer version of his brother a little better. When he had been sickly and in the den, it had been harder for Ollie to protest when he had been coddled. But now, now he made it painfully clear. Hugs could not be forced upon. The overly affectionate wolf was doing his best to respect that.

“Living in a tree house is pretty amazing. Actually, Ollie, Seneca just joined and needs a den. I was wondering…” he looked at his brother and raised a brow. Mortis and Bas had made the treehouse initially. Surely it wouldn’t be too hard to add an extra room to it, right?


"Wylan Fatalis"

Oleander lifted a brow at his brother's suggestion and quickly glanced around the space. He was rather busy with a lot of his healing duties, having taken on the idea that Bas put in his head to shoot for the chief healer. Seneca was small enough though, maybe he could have a corner of the common room until a spot was made?

"Whatcha think Sen? Wanna try it out for a bit while Iggy builds you a spot?" He winked at Wylan, they both knew Ignita should be far from the building materials and any place up high. "Maybe Dad should help us out, I don't know how much I can help build it, and Dad will probably know more than I do."

"Speech"

Seneca looked between them both as they debated, catching the wink from Ollie. He smiled, not knowing who this Iggy was, but desperately wanting to be part of the joke. Ollie then suggested getting their father involved, and Seneca piped up. "I don't take much space - I don't need a big room. And I can help build! I follow directions good." He glanced between them hopefully, even though he hurt deep down. It pained him point out his size, since it was such a sore spot, but he really wanted to live in a tree house, even if temporarily.

Wylan grimaced at the suggestion. “Basilisk would have our heads” He said, and glanced over at Seneca “She tried to do some construction on the stores and fell off a ladder. She was bed bound for a few weeks” He explained. At the continued look of interest from Seneca he continued. “Iggy is a slave, and favoured by Bas” Hence why the Warlord would have their heads. “We can all work on it! I’ll ask dad when I see him. Thaaaaanks Ollie. Come on… Sen-” He liked that nickname -”There's so much more for you to see. We’ll both be back at bed time!” He warned Ollie, hoping the other boy would sort out some basic bedding and what not for the first night.

With that, he gave Sen a light tug with one wing, already heading for the den door. So much to show a new wolf! This was so exciting. ”If you like sleeping in a group, you're always welcome to den in my room until we build your own space” he suggested, missing the cuddle piles of all his siblings.


"Wylan Fatalis"