It would have been an understatement to say things sucked right now. Mojito frankly had started to resent change. Change always seemed to only bring more strife and this change didn't exactly sit well with him. But Mojito didn't even have the time to consider the ramifications of his pack, his home being taken over by a member of his loathed family... All his energy was going into Asla, and when possible spending time with his eldest daughter. It wasn't exactly easy to try to come to terms with what he knew was the inevitable loss of his very first friend, and love. And not helping was his guilt, he was spending so much time elsewhere he couldn't help but feel that he was neglecting his husband and younger kids and soon enough they'd be old enough to be leaving the den. It weighed on Mojito, visibly. Another night of returning to the den with nothing to offer his husband but his own sadness. His paws dragged and his tail hung limply behind him. But as he plodded forward he couldn't bring himself to actually enter his den. He didn't want to see his children sleeping comfortably at his husband's sides and have to face the guilt of once again failing to be there for his kids. It really was his worst trait. He'd hoped the younger pups might have been a chance to at least try and do right by them, he knew he couldn't ever give Tira a puphood with her father at her side but the new litter? Well seemed it was in his nature to fail. He also didn't want to have to return to Nao and feel the guilt of not having the energy to do much more than curl up beside his husband. So instead he pivoted, moving somewhat away from the mouth of the den and collapsed onto his haunches. Mojito tipped his head back and watched the night sky, he let himself cry silently, it was all too much. Mojito & Nao

Art by MarkLix

He'd been waiting for his husband to return, dozing lightly amidst the sleeping forms of their children while dark auds turned towards the entry in search of approaching paws. So when a set of paws with a familiar gait approached the den, and then stopped shy of entering... well. That was worrisome. So the wraith extricated himself from the pile of slumbering puppies, and slunk out into the chilly night air. And there was his beloved, pallid fur illuminated in the light of the moon, cheeks wet with tears. Mismatched brows furrowed with unspoken concern and sorrow, and he pulled himself fully out into the night to close the gap between them. Slender limbs reached forth to envelop his lover in a gentle embrace, unspoken offerings of comfort thrust upon the bedraggled male as Nao settled his cheek against the smaller male's neck. He didn't utter a sound, instead ushering his husband to lean into him, to allow Nao to be the strong one in this moment. Things were difficult for Mojito lately, the struggle of managing their offspring and tending to his ailing friend. The woman was gravely ill, and her failing health very clearly weighed upon the wolfdog. It seemed that with each passing day, his husband was growing just as sickly. Exhaustion, stress, grief, they were taking their toll. His tongue slipped past dark lips to smooth gently over the silky tresses of fur along Mojito's shoulder, a gesture of comfort as he let the man weep for the loss that hadn't yet befallen him. Sometimes, the waiting was just as terrible as the inevitable death itself. Nao & Mojito

Art by MarkLix

Even exhausted and emotionally distraught as he was Mojito couldn't mistake Nao's approach. How quickly he'd learned how to sense the man. He didn't move, let his lover snake his limbs around him and then leaned into the bigger man. Mojito might have once tried to cover it up, how hard he'd been crying. But he was too old, too jaded to let something as weak as pride stop him from letting himself feel. Letting himself be vulnerable. Or maybe he just trusted Nao. Either way he let himself continue to cry for a bit in the man's arms. The tender ministrations of his lover helped to soothe his pain. Though he was a long way off from being okay his breathing started to even out and he no longer shook with sobs, though the occasional hiccup still jolted him. Finally Mojito shifted, turning slightly so he could bury his face in the bigger man's chest. "You're not allowed to die first." It was a weak attempt at levity, probably still too morbid for that though. Mojito closed his eyes for a moment and tried to let himself just breath in Nao's scent. The man he loved, father to their children (still hadn't figured that one out) and even still though he felt he should have been happy, content... He wasn't. Nao deserved better. Mojito fished a limb around the man, trying to pull himself closer somehow, as if doing so could convey just how grateful be was that the man was there at all. And yet he was drifting back towards Asla in his mind. "She was the first wolf outside my immediate family to not just see a dog when she looked at me. She saw me. Made me see the parts of myself I'd been taught to hate were good actually." Mojito wasn't sure why he was saying this, the last thing he wanted to do was undermine the care his husband had shown him. Which is what this felt like to him. "After my parents and siblings left... She was all I had for a long time. I feel like I'm losing my family." He let out a single sad laugh. "Isn't that fucked up? You, Satira, our kids... You're all my family." Mojito knew he was holding himself to a standard he'd never expect of anyone else. Of course it made sense to be so broken up by losing his first love, the mother of his child... Maybe it was the need to prove himself that had been borne of his family's derision but he had to be better. Mojito & Nao

Art by MarkLix