He didn’t want Sirius to see him touch Aslatiel, he didn’t want to be punished again. The boy was eternally conflicted though, he didn’t want anything but to be beside his sister. He loved her so much, and hearing his dad say that it was wrong destroyed him. Indy tried not to dwell on everything and his big paws carried him around the side of Iolaire’s garden. He hadn’t even gone to see her about his problems yet, he’d kept everything to himself and seemed to withdraw inward.

The big pup sighed heavily as his bright blue eyes looked up into the cloudy sky above him. Snow would begin to fall soon, the plants wer dead and everything had gone dormant. There was no more green and as the landscape lost its color Indigo felt similarly. He felt like the color of life was gone, and he didn’t know what to do. He hung his head as he leaned against the outer wall of the garden as he tried to come to terms with the events of his short life.

Mortis came bounding through the long grass, and almost didn’t see Indio near the garden. He stopped the moment he saw the more colourful boy, and wiggled his bum as he watched him. Indi looked very much lost in thought, and Mortis wondered if he was mourning his plants. They looked pretty dead right now, but then so did Io’s, and the trees, and everything growey-like. So, Mortis figured it must be natural, but Indi was still sad about it.

What his brother really needed was some cheering up. Coming up behins him, navigating through the long grass, and being careful not to step on the frosted herb garden, the pup would wiggle closer.

Once he was almost upon Indi, he flared his wings, leaping forward, feeling the wind rustling beneath his feathers, and aimed to land right on top of the other boy.

Indigo really was lost in thought, he didn’t feel like he was completely in the present at all. He wanted to go back to the early days of his life when everything had been green and the world was more simple. Mort and Azure never had their falling out, and before their father found him kissing their sister. He sighed heavily and shifted his blue eyes from the sky above to his massive black paws. Indigo almost missed Mort’s sudden appearance. All he had time to do was widen his eyes in surprise then the winged heir was on him.

The boy was forced to the ground, but he didn’t put up much of a fight either. He hadn’t been chosen as heir, he’d been punished for his love for Aslatiel, all of his beloved plants were dead. Now Mort was on top of him. Indy huffed heavily and submitted to the position, squished by a winged brother. ”I don’t wanna play right now, Mort.” He said softly, wondering when they had switched positions. Indy had been the bright and happy one, where Mortis had been difficult to ever cheer up.

He landed on Indigo, who seemed to just collapse beneath him. The purple boy was a heavier build, and the winged pup hadn’t expected to topple him so easily. He got off Indigo, and frowned at his blue-eyed brother in thought. It was strange to see his beloved, happy brother so depressed. He relied on Indigo’s sunny nature, his gentleness. He was more precious for it, without the hardness that the rest of them seemed to share. “Indy?” he said, lying down on his belly in front of his brother, he reached out a paw, and touched it gently against the other boys shoulder, a sign of companionship. “Did you wanna talk about it?” "Indigo" & "Mortis"

Indigo didn’t put up a fight so Mort was quick to release him. Indy took another moment to right himself, sitting up so he could see into his brother’s similarly blue gaze. Mortis wasn’t stupid, and he could easily sense that something wasn’t right with his brother. Indigo didn’t usually let things get to him, he liked to feel happy, but with everything piled up on him it was difficult to feel his usual self. The young violet pup huffed again and settled beside his brother as his compassionate sibling reached out a paw and uttered his name sweetly and offered an ear for him. The young pup didn’t know what Mort could do for him besides listen. He couldn’t make it warm and revive his plants, he couldn’t give up his place as heir, and he couldn’t any better explain what Sirius meant when he spoke about different kinds of love. ”Have you gotten in trouble with Dad real bad before?” He asked softly, unable to keep his eyes on Mortis’s. ”Or lost something that meant the world to you, or felt like you didn’t really fit in?” He questioned softly, hinting his distress to his sibling. "Indigo" & "Mortis"

Mortis paused, hearing the sadness in Indy’s tone, and the heavy questions his brother asked. He could see that there was a great deal weighing on his brother. It made him sad that anything could have upset his loving, sweetest brother. He let out a soft sigh, wondering exactly what to say. “When I was very little, I refused to hunt. Dad got really mad at me, he yelled and raved, and told me I wasn’t worthy to be his son.” he had since let go of his overly-compassionate side, enough so that he could live the life expected of him. “And… me and Azure, we used to be as close as you and Asla. When… when…” he supposed it wasn’t really a secret anymore. “When he pushed me off the cliff, everything changed. I saw in that moment the jealousy in him. The desire for me to be gone from his life. He hadn’t meant to kill me pushing me off, but I realised in that moment he wouldn’t have been sad if I had. We were so close, and he cast it away” the boy shook his head, the old anger, and sadness still there. Perhaps it always would be. He had loved Azure, he still did, but sometimes it was hard to reconcile what he meant to his brother vs what Azure meant to him. He let out a shaky breath, and shook his head. “What upset you?” he told Indigo his truths, and he hoped his brother might in turn trust him with his own. "Indigo" & "Mortis"