He had seen Resin off, and he knew she was gone. It was another to see it for himself he wondered what it would be like to enter the hot springs and find it empty. But he wouldn't let it bring him down, perhaps he could make a trip out of it another time. Him and Hikaru could take an adventure down their, and see Resin's new terratory. No doubt his grandmother could make use of two young boys in setting up and building. Perhaps, just maybe, Mortis could get a few tips to building a home well he was at it. he filed the thought away for another day. One adventure at a time, right? today was a hot springs dat-er, trip.

He had grabbed one of the bags stored in the celler, and filled it with a variety of dried goods. from salmon to honeyed pork. A couple of cantens were tossed in for good measure. They may well need something cold to drink after spending some time in the steaming hot springs water. What else could they possibly need? He added in a basic first aid kit. Not that he knew much about healing, but he could kiss a booboo and toss a patch over it. They wouldn't endure anything worse, he would potect Hikaru. Not that his fighting-fit friend would need protection. But... it would be his honour anyway.

Now he was just missing one thing - the boy himself. Bag over his shoulder, and the early hours of the morning barely beginning, he trotted back to his den under the cover of darknes. Taking a seat in the den entrance, and waiting for his friend to awake.

Hikaru was serious about keeping shape, and he’d been to the battlefield once already and was debating about going again. He was trying to meet his pack members, and when he realized what he was doing a feeling similar to the one he’d felt with Keetie filled his belly. Kaiyo wanted to make Mort proud. He felt like the only wolf in the world truly on his side, though he was thankful for both Hanako and Hattori. He quickly settled into daily life with the Armada heir and Hika felt for once like he truly belonged.

The young koi slept deeply inside the dug out den, he’d insisted that it was plenty and then some but Mortis seemed to have something else in mind. Hikaru would follow him wherever he wanted to go, he never slept so soundly as when he was beside the winged boy. So that morning as he slept alone his sleep was lighter than normal. He tossed and turned a little until he heard Mortis settle at the entrance.

He slowly waded fully to wakefulness, curious why Mort was suddenly guarding the door. Hika lazily found his feet, absently wondering if he could convince the winged warrior to the battlefield. Not hesitating in showing his affection Hika nudged the blue marked fur in a groggy hello. ”Good morning.” He greeted with a yawn. ”You’re up and going early.” Hika added in absent comment as he leaned more heavily against Mortis in show of his drowsiness. He’d been sleeping in too much lately.

His tail wiggled as he sensed Hikaru come to life in his den and make his way to the entrance. He returned the greeting with equal affection, getting to his feet and offering Hikaru a gentle nose boop into the soft neck of the white wolf.

Mortis was sometimes out early, mostly if he was rostered on border patrols at that hour, or if he wanted to sneak in some fishing. Since Hikaru had joined him, those reasons hadn’t come up yet. Hikaru had seen the less-early rising part of him. At his question, Mort only grinned and wagged his tail some more.

He would wait for his friend to see the packed previsions before he gave the game away. “Just getting an early start to the day.” hge said, glancing at Hikaru from the corner of his eyes.

Mort’s gentle affection was refreshing as the cold breeze outside the tunnel den. He shook off a slight shiver as the winged boy got to his paws. Hika had been sleeping in recently, and hadn’t been around long enough to see Mort leave the den much before dawn before. This was a strange occurrence but the sleep would hide the clue for a little bit longer as another wide yawn took hold of him. He blinked open his stormy gaze and inhaled more sharply as Mortis answered cryptically.

Finally though Hikaru would see the bag on his friend’s back. ”Early start for a trip somewhere?” He questioned quietly as wakefulness started to take hold. He looked quite packed up. Suddenly the boy’s expression brightened. ”Are you going to the hotsprings?” He’d let Mortis invite him but he was suddenly alight with a buzzing excitement.

It didn’t take long for the white warrior to shake off a few layers of sleepiness and notice something odd about Mort’s manner. From there, his eyes found the bag and the start of excitement sparked in his eyes. His soft silver gaze glowing like starlight. “We are'' the winged heir agreed, nudging the smaller wolf with his side. Fighting the urge to dig his nose into his friend's plush coat.

“Are you ready to go, or do you want a bit longer to wake up first?” he didn’t want to go dragging him off a few lands over before he had even had a chance to shake off sleep. He ignored the little reminder in the back of his head telling him he couldn’t introduce his friend to his Grandmother, that she wouldn’t be there.

Hikaru’s brow lowered in suspicion but that didn’t detract from the excitement that filled his bones. Mortis was quick to correct his statement, we are, which woke Kaiyo even more. He leaned into Mort’s quick affection but stretched languidly after the other boy stood up, ready to go. He hummed lightly and shook the last vestiges of sleep from his pale coat while Mortis made certain that his companion was indeed prepared for their journey. He’d been forced to be up much earlier, and be much more alert, when he’d been in training. This would be a leisurely stroll in comparison to the early morning drills. Excitement and suspense would fill him instead of anxiety and dread.

”No, I’m ready!” He assured Mort with a bump from his shoulder and he bound forwards playfully to encourage his friend to hurry up. ”I was ready to go to the hot springs the day I got here.” He chuckled brightly, an unfettered grin playing on his features as he looked back over his shoulder at Mort’s winged form.

“Ha, I bet!” the winged Fatalias said with a laugh. They had both been icicles on the day they had met. Then, Mortis had the hairbrained idea of bringing Hikaru out for a bath in the Armada stream. He had just about given his friend hypothermia. He definitely owed Hikaru this trip to warmer places, and was lucky they were still on speaking terms. Mortis fell into a trot as Hikaru bounded forward, shaking his wings out on either side of him, causing a few loose feathers to fall free. He ignored them, and trotted forward, using his taller frame to stand over Hikaru as they walked. One wing fell gently over the white wolf's side, offering him an umbrella from the chilly morning air. “It’s just over the stream, and then we are basically there.” He explained, leading his friend to the North East side of tall grass plains. He knew the spots the river was at its smallest, and he made a beeline for one of them. It was an easy jump for the tall wolf, and he assumed Hikaru would have just an easy time. He withdrew his wing, fell into a run, and jumped. Clearing the distance with ease. On the other side, he turned back to watch his friend make the leap. "Speech"

Hikaru grinned even more as Mortis laughed at his confession, truly he had been craving the warmth of the water since he arrived, but who could blame him? He’d been half frozen at the time and he’d never fully thawed out. Though he enjoyed how much Mortis tried. Like the way his dark, very warm, wing draped over his back as they walked along towards old hallowed lands. Thankfully the trip wouldn’t be long, and Mortis would explain as such. Hika had a bounce in his step and he wasn’t so sure it was only from the prospect of hot springs. He grinned, and couldn’t help his gaze as he stole glances at Mort from the corner of his steel eyes until they reached the river. Hika had already had a bad experience with the cold water but when Mort made his leap he managed to find a bit of his confidence and followed after fearlessly. His pale body made long strides and with a powerful leap Hikaru would clear the jump without getting wet. He could smell the warm water from here, so instead of stopping beside Mort a mischievous grin would take over his expression. He wouldn’t let himself slow as he caught his stride and aimed to fly past Mortis but aimed to distract him with his fluffy ink tipped tail to the face on the way past. He wouldn’t stop to see what would no doubt be a priceless expression but continued forward. "Too slow, Mortis! I’m ready to get there now" "Speech"

He turned back to Hikaru, only to watch him sail over the gap with no delay. He landed on the bank on the same side as Mortis, and… kept going. The winged boy turned, almost too-slowly as he watched the white streak blur past him. His vision went white as a sudden object was thrust into view. As the furs of his friend's tail went up his nostrils he let out a violent sneeze, bending over, and sneezing three more times in quick succession before he cleared out the last of the fluff. By the time he straightened, Hikaru had a decent head start on him, and was racing towards the hot springs. Oh no you don’t he thought. He loosened his wings, and leaped forward. Taking off in a dash that swallowed the distance. “Last one there is a rotten egg!” he cried, as he did his utmost to close the gap between them. "Speech"

Hikaru accomplished exactly what he’d gone out to achieve and the loud trinity of sneezes behind him only quickened his pace. By the time Mortis could even look up the young koi was bounding away like a deer. He was quite confident in himself and every leap and awstep was well timed. Like the shinobi he was always supposed to be. Unlike his once destiny his grin hadn’t left his face since they’d started the trip. Sleepy or not Hikaru was looking forward to this, and even more he was looking forward to a warm soak with his winged friend. He heard Mortis call out a threat behind him, but Hika was already confident in his win. His grin played dangerously on his face as he kept running and running. Kaiyo felt like he’d never run out of breath before he finally saw the pools. The excitement and awe nearly had him stopping, but it was only enough to distract him from the wallow. After the wolves moved out the animals were quick to take back over. As Hikaru emerged from the forest his paws were suddenly sucked into a pig wallow. Before he knew it he was chest deep in mud and he could hardly move. "Speech"

Mortis was quite certain he wasn’t going to be able to catch up with his friend, Hikaru was too quick, and his headstart was too strong. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his best. He wouldn’t just give Hika the win. They left the woods behind, and the hot springs were just ahead of them. Mortis put in a little extra burst of wind. Feeling the drumming of his heart, the steady beat of his paws. The rasp of his breath, loud in his ears. One moment, Hika was just ahead of him, the next, Mortis was shooting ahead, his friend suddenly stopped, and, a moment later, Mortis realised why. He hit the edge of the mud pile, and his paws skidded in the slick surface. Going too fast to stop, he did the splits, landing hard on his chin and sliding another few feet forward. His wings waving in the air in a pathetic show. As through they could have done anything to catch him. Shaking out his head, he tried to get his paws under him. He was muddy from head to tail, he was even shaking it out of his eyes. “You okay, Hikaru?” He called out as he lost his footing again and hit the floor a second time. "Speech"

Hikaru was pretty much down for the count. He’d slammed his chin on the hard yet not solid mud that he’d so easily sunken into. Just as he tried to get his baring’s and warm Mortis the huge winged heir came bursting from the forest and did exactly as Kaiyo. Except he sailed right over the smaller koi and was probably stuck two teed deeper than Hika. For a moment Hikaru was worried the Fatalis had broken a wing and the koi struggled to free himself of the gunk in case his friend needed help. Mort was quick to look back as soon as he stilled, he was literally covered in muck but Hika could see his grin. "My pride hurts, but I think I’m okay." He struggled a bit more but eventually freed himself and all four of his now dark brown paws. He shook himself but it didn’t do much good so he rounded to Mort’s front but was careful to stay in the grass. ”Are you alright?" He lingered for concern of his friend, but what he really wanted especially now while covered in mud, was to get into the warm spring. "Speech"

Hikaru was the first to pull himself free, circling around the mud until he stood in front of the winged heir. Mortis looking up at the white wolf with exasperation and amusement mingled in his expression. How did he get himself into these kinds of situations? “Hi” He said impishly to his waiting friend, as he carefully put a paw in front of himself. Flexing his long claws in a bid to find purchase, his wings flaring outwards for balance. His paw held. He moved his second front paw, and steadied that in front of himself, too. Once he was sure he wasn’t five seconds from slipping, he pushed himself slowly upright, pulling himself free of the mud with a plop, and carefully scrambling free of the slippery surface. Waddling like a penguin to keep himself from sliding again. And then, he was free. He launched himself forward, tackling Hikaru to the ground on the grass and smearing even more mud across the white boy. He rubbed mud across his friend’s forehead, released him, and was running. Taking off like a bullet before Hikaru could retaliate, and skidding to a stop in front of the first big hot pool. "Speech"

He got a big bashful grin in response to his words and managed to stay standing with frozen mud plastered to his limbs until Mort managed to get out of the mud. He wasn’t about to go sit in the warm bath when Mortis was over here struggling. There wasn’t anything Hika could do but offer moral support in the way his mud slicked tail wagged at his hips. Finally Mort managed to get himself out, but not after considerable effort. Hikaru very nearly put himself into a play bow at that point but he could barely move before Mort had him tackled to the ground. "Eep!" Was all he could managed as he felt mud transfer from one wolf to the other and he too was now completely brown. Besides their size difference, and well the massive pair of wings, you could hardly tell them apart. Nor where one wolf ended and another began. Then as quickly as he’d been captured Hikaru was released and Mortis was at the edge of the pools. Hika scrambled to his mud caked paws and raced after, aiming a flying tackle of his own at one great shoulder. "Speech"

He braced himself for Hika’s retaliation, and received a sudden weight on his shoulder. The winged boy let out an ‘oomph!’ as he took on Hika’s full weight for a few moments. He tipped his balance forward, half falling into the pool as he let Hika’s own momentum drive him onwards, over Mortis, and into the pull. He did make sure his friends head wasn’t going to his the side, as he leaped after Hikaru’s falling body and landed in the pool himself with a great splash! “Oops!” Mortis cried, floundering to the surface and ripping the bag off his shoulder, tossing it to the side. The bag was oiled and closed. He could only hope the furs and meat hadn’t gotten too wet. He opened up the bag, turning his back on Hika as he did so (at his own risk) to pull out the absorbent furs and toss them over the side of the pool to let any bit of wetness dry off. He grabbed out the soaps, too, well he was in there. “I only brought one, who wants to use it first?” "Speech"

Hika was the master of his own demise, he managed to slam into Mortis but with that decision the both of them were suddenly going into the hot pool. Hikaru had little time to think about how hot the water might be or if he was about to get scalded. With wide storm eyes and a silent yell Hikaru went right into the water with Mortis after him. They were lucky this was such a huge pool, but even as Hikaru surfaced again and gasped for breath the mud that washed off was already being whisked away. He was to happy and content to offer anymore retaliation to Mortis, though he did appreciate the trust he offered when he turned away to asses the contents of the bag, that job was more important than getting back at him for dumping him in the spring. Hikaru swam closer to where Mort’s massive frame lingered at the edge of the pool. Suddenly offering soap. "I can wait, I hear mud is good for the skin." He heavily as he leaned against the side, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and for the first time since he left Nippon he thought he was completely warm. The water eased the tension in his muscles and for a moment Hika could have drifted off into nothing he was so relaxed. "Speech"

When he turned back around to the red-dotted boy, it was clear that the steam had mellowed out. So here was the secret to melting Hika’s heart and stripping away all his defences - throw him head first into a hot steaming bath. With a contented sigh, now that his adrenaline was slowing and the play fight was over, he sunk further into the pool. Forgetting the soap for a moment as he let the heat roll over his entire body. It soothed the parts of him that ached from bouts of spars, and tossing Hika around. He didn’t stay relaxed too long. It was awkward against the side of the pool with his mud-junked wings that couldn’t currently close neatly at his back. He twisted about, trying to reach the back of himself, with the soap in his maw. It didn’t taste amazing, and just as he twisted, he accidentally squeezed the soap too hard. It went shooting out and sank immediately into the water. “Oh, shoot!” he cried, and dived after it. "Speech"

Hikaru swiftly relaxed into the warm water and as the mud melted away so did the stress and the aches and pains that wiggled into his deep muscles. He tipped back his head, closed his stormy gaze, and sigh heavily again. This was literally perfect, hot water to ward off the cold of the day and his truest friend beside him. Hika couldn’t miss how unsettled Mortis was. One steel gray eye peeked open and he watched the winged heir. Mortis too seemed to be relaxing, but his wings seemed to get in the way of his reclining. Before Hikaru could offer his help, Mort was having difficulty getting between his wings, the soap was suddenly plop! Right in the warm water. Hika couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing as Mort dove head first to retrieve the soap. He giggled uncontrollably, but managed to shift himself and with deft paws helped to search the bottom of the pool. Thankfully Hikaru had a bit of luck because he suddenly felt the slippery substance and returned the soap to the surface. "I’ve got it!" He continued to giggle but slowly got control of himself. "Do you want some help?" Kaiyo asked as he settled back into the peace that wished to rule this land. "Speech"

By the time he came spluttering back to the surface, Hikaru had already retrieved the soap for him. He gave the white wolf a sheepish smile, shaking water from his ears. At least he was warm all the way to his ear tips now. At least Hikaru was laughing, the sound made any discomfort worth it. At Hikaru’s offer to help, the winged heir nodded. Sometimes getting to the base of his wings was a down right mission. No point floundering about, disturbing the peace, if Hikaru was offering him a hand. He turned, so his back was facing the other wolf, and he leaned a front paw out over the side of the pool. His wings carefully, gently, unfurled behind him, spreading to their furthest heights in a brilliant display of black, grey, and blue accents. “They can be a real pain to keep clean” he admitted. "Speech"

Mortis looked downright bashful as he turned to see the koi with the bar, Hikaru smiled warmly, none of his amusement came with malice, just the joy of real life experiences. Could he have gotten away with something like that back home? Mort nodded at his offer and shifted to the edge of the pool, extending his wings so Kaiyo could reach every bit of them. They really were amazing. After his first encounter he hadn’t the time to question such an amazing thing and ever since they were just a part of the boy he called friend. "Well, you don’t have a beak or anything to preen like a bird. I imagine maintenance is difficult." Hika slowly waded over and began to gently soap the hard to reach places. He hummed slightly as he tried to ignore the taste of it. Once Mort was all bubbly Hikaru took a pale paw and began to scrub where fur met feather. And in any place he figured might be difficult to access he made sure he gave a good scratch. You never realize how much you want that hard to reach spot scratched until someone does it for you. "I can help whenever you need, just as long as we’re here." He chuckled as soon as he put the soap down. There would be no more frozen river dunks. Besides, being here in the warmth with his best friend would go down as one of the best moments of his life. "Speech"