The night asleep in the tree had been what she needed. Asla had always been able to sleep better during thunderstorms, and so the freshly delivered mother took a much needed rest. She still didn't know how Indigo found her, but it was good that he had. Together they had carried both pups back to Asla's den. Her body was sore and the trek had made her tired again, so she'd curled up on the furs and called for Naiche and Mojito. Naiche had arrived first and left first, so now Asla only needed to wait for the healer to arrive. Still curled up in the main sleeping chamber, Aslatiel sleepily watched the pair as they fed. They were lovely children. The little boy was gold and grey, his larger body somewhat striped on his sides. The girl was cream colored like her mother, but the dark markings on her face, ears and paws were all Mojito. The girl's fur was soft and wavy. She was significantly smaller than her brother. Asla was still amazed that there were two fathers. There was no denying it though. Both Naiche and Mojito now had children. As she waited for Mojito to arrive, the new mother's lids began to droop. She dozed here and there, opening her galactic gaze to check on her children until the flop-eared man arrived. She wondered what he would think of his daughter. "Aslatiel"

The festival had been winding down, a storm having put something of a damper on the later few hours and despite his somewhat inflated sense of accomplishment the young man was ready to return home... it was strange to think it, that the Armada had become home for him but it was true, Ashen had never really been a place he could have flourished and now the warlord and his daughter were more families to him than his own cousins had been. The morning after the storm Mojito had been ready to return to a sort of normalcy, he woke up that morning ready to do a check on the expectant mother, he had no way of knowing that the pups had already been born and so when a call went up for both him and Naiche he couldn't help but feel a small thrill of fear and anticipation go through him. He changed gears, pulling out a small sprig of alfalfa and telling Hoa to remain on standby in the event he needed something more. By the time the young man got to Asla's den he was struck by the scent of milk, not even a tang of blood reaching him and he slowly began to piece together that the birth was not what he had been called for. Naiche's scent also reached him and Mojito swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He retreated some, settling in to wait out the yellow man, no further urgent calls came for him and so he felt no need to intrude upon the family den. He must have dozed off however as when Mojito found himself awake once more Naiche's scent told him the man had left and the trail was quickly growing stale. Gathering himself up Mojito approached the den, giving a light huff of a greeting around the flower still clamped in his jaws, a warning to the new mother he was there. Then he pushed his way inside, allowing for his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the den before moving too far inside. What he found there completely blew him away. Asla was napping lightly, two tiny bundles huddled at her side. Slowly Mojito approached, light blue gaze dropping to the precious life curled at her stomach and Mojito's breath caught. One of them, slightly larger than his sister was a boy of golden hues, broken by tiny white and black markings, no question who his father was... And next to him was a small little girl, her pelt mostly the same tone as her mother's but with some white and black to break up her coat... particularly of note were the familiar splotches of black that so resembled his own. Mojito felt his legs grow weak and he dropped into a crouch, his nose so close to the tiny little girl... his little girl. The Alfalfa was mostly forgotten at his paws as he felt a wave of emotion wash over him. "Gods... they're beautiful." He breathed. Speech

Holy Heck, thanks Kat!

At some point she'd drifted off, but the scent of Mojito roused her from sleep. Asla's eyes opened to paper thin slits as she watched him draw near. The look of awe on his face tightened something in her chest and the soft, breathy exclamation made tears prick her eyes. It hurt her to see the adoration in his eyes, knowing that he never wanted this. Asla raised a paw to her face, brushing the tears away. Hormones were still running rampant and she was an emotional mess. "They are beautiful," she spoke softly before reaching out to place her paw upon his. "The boy is Arcturus Citlali and the girl is Satira Star." Both of her children were named after the stars that she loved. "I don't know how it happened, but you're a father, Mojito." It was some sort of miracle that both he and Naiche had fathered a child with her. "I'm sorry that you weren't there for the birth. They were a bit of a surprise." Asla then proceeded to tell Mojito about going into labor in the middle of her patrol. The thunderstorm prevented her return. She'd given birth in a hollow tree and then Indigo of all wolves had found her and helped her carry the pups back. The pups began to stir lightly, murring and whining as they rolled to their mother to feed. Asla leaned up, looking down at them. "They look healthy to me, but what do you think?" She looked to the healer, eager for his opinion. "Aslatiel"

Mojito lifted eyes, nearly swimming with tears as he struggled to wrap his head around what was before him even as his heart flooded with love, as Asla spoke. He blinked slowly, and when she put a paw on his own he gently nosed it before turning his attention towards his daughter... his daughter! Satira, he rolled her name around in his mind as he watched her. They were both lovely, lovely little bundles and lovely names. How it had happened was less a miracle to him than their mother, however, it wasn't as if he ever expected it of course but he was at least aware that that rare as it was, it was possible for a litter of pups to be born of two different fathers... But before this moment he'd never had any reason to assume it would ever happen to him. The rest however finally was enough to rend his gaze from Satira as she suckled at her mother's side. "I'm sorry I wasn't there as well." His brow furrowed in concern. "There weren't any complications were there? Did you pass your Placenta? No excessive bleeding?" She seemed fine, but these things could still carry negative connotations for her or her pups if it turned out that something had gone wrong, the placenta especially... It seemed however that Asla's concerns were on her children and Mojito scooted forward on his stomach slightly, nosing at each of them, ignoring their high pitched squeals of protest as he gently sniffed at them and nudged them slightly, tiny paws paddling at the air... that was a good sign. He turned to look at their mother again. "As long as they're both eating until their full, and you've got a healthy appetite they should be good, there are more checks we can do as they develop but for now it's only worth concerning yourself over if you notice they're not eating enough or struggling to pass food with a little stimulation." He paused for a moment chewing on an addition: "I brought some alfalfa just in case, if you find you're running a little dry it can help if you eat it, but only as a last resort we don't want to risk adding anything to your milk production that could affect them. Food should be good enough. If you're struggling though let me know." His tone was serious, sometimes mother's couldn't produce enough milk for their litter and in that case it would be important make sure they were still getting developmentally important sustenance some other way. Speech

Holy Heck, thanks Kat!

Mojito ran through a series of inquiries and Asla grinned. "Everything was rather easy other than the location. I was trapped by last nights storm and had them in a hollow tree." Her gaze drifted to the pair of furry blobs at her stomach. "Trouble from their very first breath," she mused softly. No doubt they would continue to be trouble. That's how puppies were. That's definitely how she and her siblings had been. Again Mo expressed his concerns, saying that he'd brought her something to help with milk production. He was thoughtful, but he worried too much. After he had nosed and inspected the pair of tiny pups, Asla reached out and placed a paw gently on one of his. "Thank you, Mojito." Since he was so close, she placed a soft kiss upon the side of his muzzle. "Thank you for caring, but mostly thank you for her." Their daughter was already beautiful. As the girl grew, no doubt she would stop hearts. "Naiche was already here. I sent him off to get the three of us some breakfast." She just wanted to let the horned man know that there could be an intrusion soon so that he wasn't surprised. "Please stay for as long as you'd like though." Her paw hadn't left his and wouldn't until he took it away on his own. "I'd like you both to be in their lives." This was where she stood. Two pups. Two different fathers. A wish for harmony and inclusion. Already she had a feeling that Naiche would favor his own son, but she didn't want the pups to grow up feeling different. They would all have to play house for a while. They'd all have to get along. There was no doubt in her mind that Mojito was willing. He'd always been so patient with Asla and her ways. It was part of the reason that she loved him so much. "Aslatiel"