Sirius had told her of their new recruits encounter with the condor and regardless of her unsure feelings towards the was-he or wasn't-he slave, Zee couldn't help but be concerned. She'd given him permission to invite Bird into the den for the time being so he'd feel safe, but ached to have her own conversation with the yearling as well. It wasn't everyday you nearly got plucked out of the sky, after all. "Bird?" She called out to his work-in-progress garden, unsure where else she might find the male. Her ears pulled back as she scouted the terrain, wondering whether she'd have the energy to continue the search throughout the Armada's plains if he was not here. Already pregnancy was dragging her down, and she hoped desperately her strength would quickly return to her when her body was no longer growing half a dozen children. "Bird are you there?" Once more for good measure she called, and then sat upon a stone to wait and see if the small wolf would show himself. "Speech"

永程

"Bird?"

What an odd cry. Yong Cheng, having forgotten momentarily that he was called Bird here, tended to his young garden without ceasing. The grass surrounding it was tall, and he was hidden almost entirely from view, were it not for flashes of his earthen coat brushing amidst the greenery. "Bird, are you there?"

Oh, he remembered. He'd introduced himself as Bird, hadn't he? He'd only seen Zee in passing; he was out of Sirius' and her den before the morning sun even rose, and back in it long after sunset. He'd tried to keep his interactions with her to a minimum; he didn't want her to feel inconvenienced by his presence. Here, hidden by the long grasses, he felt marginally safer than he had in the forest.

"Yeh?" From behind a particularly tall patch of grass, Yong Cheng's head popped out. Zee was there, sat upon a rock and looking more tired than he'd ever seen her. Cheng felt almost guilty -- he hadn't really noticed this, what with trying to repay Sirius for saving his life and everything by being a Good Little Healer. A bundle of sticks was clenched between his jaws. "Need sumthin'?"


""
OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH

Somehow the head popping out of the grass was startling, although it was exactly what Zee expected from a wolf of Bird's height. She stumbled a bit on her rocky perch, maneuvering slowly to turn her graceless fall into a more natural and intentional slide off the rock. She cleared her throat, stood to her full and unimpressive height and threaded through the long grass towards where he'd shown his face. When she came through the thick grass she was much closer then she'd anticipated to him, and startled once more. "Sorry to bother you." The queen still struggled with the commanding tone her husband seemed to always carry, and with her concern and maternal instincts beginning to blossom she cared little about appearing high-and-mighty to the yearling. He had a bundle of sticks in his jaws, and for a moment she considered leaving him to do whatever work he was engrossed in. "I wanted to check in on you. I don't see you around much, and I heard about the condor." Her lips pursed together in what was almost pity, and imagined the over-sized bird with this very under-sized Bird in it's talons. "How are you settling in?" "Speech"

永程

Of course she'd heard about the condor. He was sleeping in her den; Yong Cheng was pretty sure Sirius wouldn't let just anybody bunk with him and his wife, so logically, it followed that Zee knew. Still, his eyes widened. While he still felt the urge to duck into grass every time a shadow passed him by, he'd been building up the courage to get over his newly-acquired fear. It was... embarrassing to have the next-highest ranking wolf in the pack know about his situation.

"Mmfne" he mumbled around the sticks in his mouth, before he realised what he was doing, and dropped them with a sheepish shrug. He wasn't going to let Zee see that he was actually not fine, nuh-uh, though if she stared closely enough, she'd noticed the tension in his shoulders and the limpness of his tail. Yong Cheng wasn't fine, but by gods if he was going to make her think he was. Being an alpha was enough work already; she didn't need to care about him.

He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"'S just a bird, really. Survived that. Bet I can survive anything else." As he spoke, his lips crinkled in a grin. Even standing fully, Yong Cheng was still shorter than Zee. He stepped back, taking his time to observe the queen. "You? 'S a good season for life to start. New plants are coming in just fine."

""
OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH

The yearling's demeanor was similar to how she'd first noticed him on his joining the Armada, and she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something. However this time it worried her much less, as it wasn't hard to understand why he'd want to push away his terrifying experience. "You can be honest with me." She told him once more, like before. "I only want to help. Even Sirius could not fault you for admitting fear in the face of condors." She knew he was worried about Sirius' ears in the territory, his companions standing by to be sure the page did not slip up and say something he shouldn't. Perhaps to share her own fear would help him to open up further. "To be honest, I worry for my future children. If a bird of that size is nearby and could try and carry you away, it'd not struggle with the little ones." Had she even asked Sirius if the creature was dead? Zee couldn't remember, but she also doubted that the warlord would have let it fly away without repercussion. "Speech"

永程

"Kids, huh?" Yong Cheng shook his head, accompanied by a slow blink. He turned away from Zee, motioning her to look at some of the plants in his garden. The ones that he and Sirius and picked had rooted firmly into the soil; with one paw, he patted the soil around them, gesturing at the herbs. In the time that he'd been bunking with the Warlord and his wife, Yong Cheng had felt once more like a small boy sleeping next to his mother. He wondered if the pups would be something like his siblings. Wishful thinking. The boy shrugged. "Look at 'em."

He grasped the plants between his teeth, lightly, and tugged. Now that they'd had time to sink their roots into the earth, and had spent some time growing, the plants had tangled themselves together underneath the soil. When Yong Cheng pulled, they didn't budge an inch. He repeated the action again, pulling harder this time, to show the queen. "Y'can try if y'want."

He stepped back to allow Zee some time if she'd liked to, but continued talking. "See, I ain't much of a teacher, but here's what I figured. Give new shoots 'n plants some time to settle in, surround 'em with a community, and take care of 'em, and --" Yong Cheng waved at his garden, "-- they don't come up easy."

Yong Cheng tried to sound comforting, though in reality, he knew he was just leaping onto the proffered subject and avoiding all other matters of conversation -- especially those regarding himself. "Just gotta keep all your fighters conscious of where the kids are, and be watchful, and no bird's gonna snatch them away. Heh, not even me." Not like he was planning to, anyway. Sirius had saved his life -- Yong Cheng owed it to him to be a good pack member.


""
OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH

The yearling turned away from her then, beckoning her to observe has he grasped hold of the herbs. Zee nearly moved to stop him - not wishing to see harm come to his precious garden - though paused when it became apparent that the plants would not allow themselves to be uprooted. She gave the boy a smile, eyeing the plants but unwilling to try herself. It'd be just her luck to pull a little too hard and be the one to blame for one less herb in the Armada's garden. He continued his speech, and the queen's head cocked curiously as she listened. After he'd finished, she took a moment to absorb the lesson. "You're wise for your age." Zee told him, voice warm with pride. Smoothly she moved forward, lifting her paw to aim to rest it gently upon the boy's shoulder briefly. "Thank you, Bird." It was hard to say more, and the queen battled with the knowledge that she had to at least appear somewhat strong for her pack. She could convince herself that a small amount of honest worry was natural and relatable, though she knew she could not afford to vent to the boy further without risking an amount of respect. A thoughtful hum vibrated in her throat as she thought, and then she spoke again with a small change of subject - an attempt to protect herself from succumbing to her hormone-driven irrational worries. "Has your experience shown you more why we need you to be able to defend yourself?" Zee thought back to their meeting, and how the yearling had seemed almost distressed at the mention of learning to fight. He'd tried to hide it, then tried to reason that his speed would be enough. Zee wished to see her pack protected, and hoped he could see better now why they required some knowledge in self-defense. "We only wish to keep you and the others safe." "Speech"

永程

Cheng smiled, as much as he could, but really, it felt like a wince. The queen rested a paw on his shoulder and he tried not to flinch, unwilling to hurt her; yet at the same time, his body screamed for him to duck away from Sirius' wife. The phantom caress of claws wrapping around his underside, and bony wings beating at his head and shoulders, was too fresh in his mind. He felt the gentle pressure Zee applied on his body and Yong Cheng stiffened, but forced himself to relax.

And then, she mentioned it.

"No," the boy gritted out, upset audible in his voice, "it doesn't." Against his will, Cheng sniffed. All Zee had done was to make him feel like he was back to when he'd first met Sirius, again. His speed hadn't saved him then, and it hadn't saved him now, and it was never going to save him, it seemed, because he hadn't even seen them coming. And when they had, all the threats had been so very big that even if he'd fought, he'd still have died. Angry tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "I could fight," he breathed, chest heaving in and out and in and out, "And it wouldn't make a difference!"

He was depending on others to save him, all the time. First he'd had no choice; if he didn't follow Sirius willingly, he'd have followed Sirius on his back, dragged to the Armada belly up. And then if Sirius hadn't caught the bird before it stole Yong Cheng away, he'd probably be a lifeless sack of meat and bones in some bird's nest right now.

It wasn't Zee's fault, he knew, at the back of his mind. It wasn't anything of her doing that had led to him being in this circumstance. So why, why did he feel his breaths coming in shuddering sobs, and his shoulders trembling? Why did he feel like collapsing into a slump of not-wolf at the queen's feet? Why did he, in all his boyish manner, feel like pushing his nose into Zee's side and curling up into her like a young pup?

"But I'm not safe," he sobbed at last, "How can I defend myself against something I can't fight?"

""
OOC:

IMAGE BY ANTHONY CANTIN ON UNSPLASH