The birth of her six beautiful children had not been without its difficulties. There had been pain, there had been blood, and there had been tears. But at the end of the day, all of Aliana’s perseverance had rewarded her with six beautiful little boys. The pups were nursing at her belly, their tiny cries and mewls filling the quiet of the bedchamber while she curled around them, gazing with nothing short of pure love and adoration at the family she and Chimera had created together. Her mate had gone off to procure some food for her while she tended to their children and rested, still feeling the weakness in her body as if recovered from her pregnancy. Oh, but it had been so, so worth it…!

In the quiet and solitude, Alaina very nearly dozed off. Dalila had left to go take care of her own daughter, and Siren was no doubt doing the same with her children. The island of Fenmyre was quite literally filled with pups right now, all ranging in ages, but all very close in age as well. While she watched over her children as they fed and tumbled about over one another like clumsy balls of fat and fur, she couldn’t help but think of Cerberus and Viper. She felt such sorrow for the boy to lose his mother the way he had, and though she never intended to replace Viper in his heart, she hoped that as her children grew, she could be a guardian for young Cerberus as well. One big, happy Klein family.

"Aliana"

It was probably no secret among the pack, or at least those who Chimera was close to of Cerberus' drawn back condition. Since losing Viper, he hadn't seen Aliana but that was also partly because she had her own pups along that time. Of course he hadn't expected her to go out of her way, he had few exceptions even of those he cared about.

Chimera had asked him to come with him, and he reluctantly did so but wouldn't have turned down his father no matter how bad he was feeling. Chimera led him back to his and Aliana's area of the isle, and it hadn't exactly clicked as to why. He was nearly a shell just in line beside his father.

As Chimera had his own duties to the pack, he opened the door letting Cerberus inside before making his own leave and letting Cerberus have the time with both Aliana and the new half-siblings. Maybe he knew it would be a good pick me up for him. His paws grew closer to Aliana, his eyes meeting the pups nestled beside her and he couldn't help but feel the urge to pull even just a small smile in response. Without getting too close as if he could hurt them by breathing on them, he carefully laid down beside Aliana, able to give her a close to tear-filled look with that gentle smile. His paws out in front of him in direction to Aliana's belly and new puppies, he only watched them contently and didn't ask for anything else.

"Cerberus Klein"

The door to the bedchamber slid open, and Aliana greeted Chimera and Cerberus with a welcoming smile. Chimera didn't say much, as he usually did, but ushered his son into the room and motioned towards the queen on the bed. Ali knew exactly what was going on and her heart swelled to get to witness Cerberus meeting his new half-brothers for the first time. Once Chimera had left them alone, the queen gently motioned for Cerberus to come closer. The pup climbed up onto the bed, and as soon as Ali saw him notice the new puppies at her belly, the half dozen little lupine nuggets mewling as they fed and tumbled about in the protective circle of Aliana's curled body. The joy that grew across Cerberus' face nearly brought tears to her aqua eyes, and when she saw those same tears beginning to show in the boy's mint optics, her heart nearly exploded with joy for him. How exciting it must have been to realize he'd become a big brother again six times over!

For now, Cerb simply lay facing the puppies, watching them with such excitement but reserved caution. It was so sweet and respectful, but Aliana knew he would never harm her children. As she reached over to gently nuzzle the boy's forehead, she quietly asked, "Would you like to meet your new brothers?" Moving her fluffy tail to the side so he could come closer and see each of the pups, Ali gently nosed each of her children in turn as she introduced them to their big half-brother. "This is Revenant. This is Morendo. This is Kasos. This is Quill. This is Orthrus. And this is Satyr. They're your new brothers." With names given, Ali lay her head back down on the mattress to watch her children, allowing Cerberus to inspect them closer if he wished, keeping an eye on all seven boys while she rested.

"Aliana"

Cerberus stayed still as Aliana revealed them more, but peered over eagerly at them. He felt he was close enough and wasn't going to be one to crowd them especially while they were so tiny and he felt like if his head went too close it would just fall in on top of them.

His eyes moved to each pup as Aliana introduced each one of them. He knew he wouldn't remember all of them in this one sitting, but he tried to remember their distinct markings to start. Cerberus waged his tail slightly after Aliana named the last one, "They're beautiful." His paw carefully moved on top of hers in response, but his eyes stayed down on the tiny little lives between them. This really was what he needed, Chimera's silent remedy had helped him. In no way was he relating Viper's death to the life of the pups, but just seeing and hearing them here at Aliana's belly just filled him heart and mind with a flicker of joy. He knew it would only get better from here, nd soon he would be outside with them playing or watching them. "I'm happy for you, Aliana."

"Cerberus Klein"

Seeing the excitement and joy in Cerberus' expression and body language made her heart swell and warm with love and joy. She knew that being the oldest amongst a gaggle of younger siblings all from different parents must have been strange for the boy, but he took everything in such stride. He commended them for being beautiful and wagged his tail, and tears began to spring to Aliana's eyes once more. She'd never felt such pure and true joy in all her days as she did watching her family. Yes, she counted Cerberus amongst her family. They were all one big cohesive unit in her eyes, all united by love and familial bonds. "Thank you, Cerberus," she replied softly, leaning in to aim a gentle nuzzle behind one of his ears. Without Viper, Ali wanted to make sure the boy never wanted for anything—especially motherly affection and attention. It felt like the least she could do to honor Viper's memory, by making sure her son was cared for.

While he watched the puppies, one of them began to stir and move, tiny pink nose twitching while it picked up the scent of a newcomer. The tiny bundle of dark fluff that Aliana had introduced as Revenant began to tumble away from the cluster, sniffing out Cerberus with tiny exploratory squeaks for his half brother. Aliana beamed and giggled, watching her fearless son tumble and roll his way to within inches of Cerberus. "I think he knows his big brother is here," he commented jokingly. "They don't know it yet, but they're all going to have the best big brother in the world. Do you want to help teach them to do things like fight and hunt and craft when they get older?"

"Aliana"

Cerberus didn't move as his tiny brother Revenant stumbled over between his paws. In fact, he was sure he didn't even breathe. His head looked down at the little pup, a little nose sniffing at what was available to him. He was still mindful of the others too while they were nestled into Aliana. But Revenant being so close to him, Aliana couldn't really know just how happy it made him. He was pretty reserved at least.

His paws planted on the ground, he looked up carefully to Aliana as she asked if he would teach his brothers things like fighting and crafting. He almost shrugged his shoulders as he looked back down to the pile of little babies. "I'll do whatever Chimera wants me to do." Maybe he was playing cool, but really that was all he would have his heart set to. He'd do what his siblings wanted, or what his father wanted. He wasn't so set on giving them lessons like a chore, or a chore for them is what he considered. He wanted meaningful connections with his siblings, all of them not just Aliana's. So if they didn't want to train with him, that was left up to them. He was thankful that Aliana thought so highly of him, and he planned to follow through with that.

"Cerberus Klein"